Muslims will argue that
Allah is a singular person, though they may not employ that specific term, on
the basis of Quranic texts which state that the Islamic deity is one. They
further base this on the fact that the Quran often ascribes singular verbs,
adjectives, pronouns, etc. to Allah.
Suffice it to say they are
major problems with this approach.
In the first place, the
Muslim scripture also employs plural verbs, adjectives, pronouns, etc., to
describe the Islamic god:
It is We who
give life, and make to die, and it is We who are the
inheritors. S. 15:23
Surely We shall inherit the
earth and all that are upon it, and unto Us they shall be returned. S. 19:40
No, indeed! We shall
assuredly write down all that he says, and We shall
prolong for him the chastisement; and We shall inherit
from him that he says, and he shall come to Us
alone… Hast thou not seen how We sent the
Satans against the unbelievers, to prick them? S. 19:79-80, 83
Secondly, the Quran
identifies other divine beings besides Allah such as the Spirit, which the Islamic
text identifies as a personal entity whom Allah breathes out, that can appear
as a man, is able to create and give life, is omnipresent and omnipotent,
who is personally distinguished from all angels, and whose precise nature is
mysterious (cf. Q. 2:87, 253; 5:110; 15:28-29; 16:2, 102; 17:85; 19:16-21;
21:91; 38:71-72; 58:22; 66:12; 70:4; 78:38; 97:4).
The Quran even depicts
Allah as a subordinate deity who is subject and answers to another as his very
own Lord:
We shall turn about their hearts and their eyes, even as they
believed not in it the first time; and We shall leave them in their insolence wandering blindly. Though We had
sent down the angels to them,
and the dead had spoken with them, had We mustered against them every thing, face to face, yet they would
not have been the ones to believe, unless God willed;
but most of them are ignorant. So We have
appointed to every Prophet an enemy — Satans of men and jinn, revealing tawdry
speech to each other, all as a delusion; yet, had thy Lord willed,
they would never have done it. So leave them to their forging, and that the
hearts of those who believe not in the world to come may incline to it, and
that they may be well-pleased with it, and that they may gain what they are
gaining. What, shall I seek
after any judge but God? For it is He who
sent down to you the Book well-distinguished; and those whom We have
given the Book know it is sent down
from thy Lord with the truth; so be not thou of the
doubters. S. 6:110-114
Glory be to Him, who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque to the Further Mosque the
precincts of which We have blessed, that We might
show HIM some of Our signs. He is
the All-hearing, the All-seeing. S. 17:1
Surely God is my
Lord, and your Lord; So serve you Him. This is a straight path. S.
19:36
That is Paradise
which We shall
give as an inheritance to those of Our servants who
are godfearing. We come not down,
save at the commandment of thy Lord. To Him belongs
all that is before US, and all that is behind US, and all between that. And thy Lord is
never forgetful, Lord He of the heavens and earth and
all that is between them. So serve Him, and be thou patient
in His service; knowest thou any that can be named
with His Name? S. 19:63-65
And heaven — We built
it with might, and We extend it wide.
And the earth — We spread it forth; O excellent Smoothers! And of everything created We two kinds;
haply you will remember. Therefore flee unto God! I am
a clear warner from Him to you.
And set not up with God another god; I am a clear warner from Him to you. S. 51:47-51
Thirdly, the Muslim
scripture itself testifies that singular verbs, adjectives, pronouns, etc., do
not prove singularity but can and often do point to a plurality and unity.
There are examples in the Quran where the singular is employed in reference to
plural subjects forming or coming together as a unit. Note the following
verses, for instance:
“He it is who has revealed
to thee the Book, of which there are some verses (ayatun)
that are decisive, they are the mother of the Book (ommu al-kitabi); and others ambiguous; but as for those in whose hearts is
perversity, they follow what is ambiguous, and do crave for sedition, craving
for (their own) interpretation of it; but none know the interpretation of it
except God. But those who are well grounded in knowledge say, ‘We believe in
it; it is all from our Lord; but none will remember save those who possess
minds.” S. 3:7 Rodwell
Ayatun is a nominative feminine plural indefinite noun whereas ommu is
a nominative feminine singular noun.
And (remember) her who
guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our spirit, and We made her
and her son A SIGN (ayatan) for all peoples. S. 21:91 Y. Ali
And We made the
son of Mary and his mother as A SIGN (ayatan): We gave them both shelter
on high ground, affording rest and security and furnished with springs. S.
23:50 Y. Ali
Ayatan is an accusative feminine singular indefinite noun.
We thus have cases where
plural subjects or entities are governed by singular nouns.
This, thereby, soundly
refutes the claim that Allah must be a singular person or consciousness solely
because the Quran uses singular nouns, pronouns, verbs, etc. to describe the
Islamic deity.
So much for the Muhammadan
claim that Allah is a singular consciousness and that Islam proclaims absolute
unitarianism.
Further Reading
The Quran’s Many
Gods and Lord (https://answeringislam.net/Quran/Incoherence/many_gods.htm)
The Quran, Allah and
Plurality Issues (https://answeringislam.net/Shamoun/allah_plurality.htm)
The Uncreatedness of
the Quran and the Unity of Allah (https://answeringislam.net/Shamoun/eternal_quran.htm)
IHS
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