Arabic pronouns and the Quran - Revision history

Zhothaqquah at 18:10, 24 November 2025

2025-11-24T18:10:41Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:10, 24 November 2025
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	{{QualityScore\|Lead=1\|Structure=3\|Content=2\|Language=2\|References=1}}		{{QualityScore\|Lead=1\|Structure=3\|Content=2\|Language=4\|References=1}}
	This article lists the pronouns of the Arabic language and discusses their usage in the Qur'an. While other dialects of Arabic with slight differences in pronouns exist, discussion in this article is limited to the dialect that appears in the Qur'an.		This article lists the pronouns of the Arabic language and discusses their usage in the Qur'an. While other dialects of Arabic with slight differences in pronouns exist, discussion in this article is limited to the dialect that appears in the Qur'an.
	==Arabic pronouns==		==Arabic pronouns==

Zhothaqquah: revised language

2025-11-24T18:10:31Z

revised language

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:10, 24 November 2025
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	{{QualityScore\|Lead=1\|Structure=3\|Content=2\|Language=2\|References=1}}		{{QualityScore\|Lead=1\|Structure=3\|Content=2\|Language=2\|References=1}}
	This article lists the pronouns of the Arabic language and discusses their usage in the Qur'an.		This article lists the pronouns of the Arabic language and discusses their usage in the Qur'an. While other dialects of Arabic with slight differences in pronouns exist, discussion in this article is limited to the dialect that appears in the Qur'an.
	==Arabic pronouns==		==Arabic pronouns==
	To understand this section it would be good to know the [[Arabic letters and diacritics\|Arabic alphabet]], although transliterations will be provided. Only the Qur'anic Arabic will be discussed, but there are also other dialects of Arabic with slight differences in pronouns (like Egyptian Arabic). We won't go into too much detail.

	===Subject pronouns===		===Subject pronouns===
	There are 12 different subject pronouns in Arabic:		There are 12 different subject pronouns in Arabic:
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	\|}		\|}

	*~~They~~ are more complicated than in English, because they differentiate between dual and plural forms and also sometimes differentiate between gender ~~while English doesn't (for exampe "you" feminine plural and "you" masculine plural)~~.		*Pronouns are more complicated in Arabic than in English, because they differentiate between dual and plural forms and also sometimes differentiate between gender.
	*~~Since~~ Arabic has different verb forms for different pronouns, ~~the~~ pronouns are often not written~~. For example in English "he wrote" and "she wrote" couldn't be expressed by just "wrote"~~, ~~because~~ the ~~gender would~~ be ~~ambiguous. But in Arabic "he wrote" is "howwa kataba" and "she wrote" is "heyya katabat", so writing "kataba" is enough to express "he wrote",~~ without the ~~need for "howwa" (he).~~		*Arabic has different verb forms for different pronouns. Thus, pronouns themselves are often not written, since the subject of a verb can be inferred without the pronoun.
	*Dual pronouns might be considered redundant, when they can be expressed with plural forms. Also there is no gender neutral pronoun~~, like "it". So English is easier and has something that Arabic doesn't~~.

	===Object & posessive pronouns===		===Object & posessive pronouns===
	Object pronouns, like "me" or "us" are expressed as a suffix added to the verb. For example, ~~the violent~~ verse 2:191, ''"Waqtuloo'''hum''' haythu thaqiftumoo'''hum'''"'' (واقتلو'''هم''' حيث ثقفتمو'''هم'''), means "and-kill-'''them''' wherever you-find-'''them'''". Arabic uses only three words for the sentence, because the conjunction "and" (و, ''wa'') is prefixed and the object pronouns "them" (هم, ''hum'') are suffixed.		Object pronouns, like "me" or "us," are expressed as a suffix added to the verb. For example, verse 2:191, ''"Waqtuloo'''hum''' haythu thaqiftumoo'''hum'''"'' (واقتلو'''هم''' حيث ثقفتمو'''هم'''), means "and-kill-'''them''' wherever you-find-'''them'''." Arabic uses only three words for the sentence, because the conjunction "and" (و, ''wa'') is prefixed and the object pronouns "them" (هم, ''hum'') are suffixed.

	The verb is represented by "-" in the table:		The verb position is represented by "-" in the following table:

	{\| class="wikitable" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"		{\| class="wikitable" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
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	\|}		\|}

	() Posessive pronouns like "his" or "our" are expressed almost identically, with the exception of "my" ~~being~~ <span style="font-size:150%;">ـي-</span> (-i).		() Posessive pronouns like "his" or "our" are expressed almost identically, with the exception of "my," <span style="font-size:150%;">ـي-</span> (-i).
	*Although possessive pronouns don't change the meaning of the noun in any way, apologists, when counting the word "day" (يوم, ''yawm''), exclude words like "your day" (يومكم, ''yawmi'''kum''''') in the [[365 days miracle in the Quran\|365 days miracle]], because otherwise they wouldn't get to 365.

	==Allah refers to himself in the plural==		==Allah refers to himself in the plural==
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	Surely We (نَحْنُ, ''nahnu'') have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian. }}		Surely We (نَحْنُ, ''nahnu'') have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian. }}

	It is worth noting that Muhammad preached his message to polytheists in Mecca. He once preached polytheism in the ~~incident called~~ [[Satanic Verses]] and ~~the~~ polytheists understood the message of Islam to be "all gods grouped into one":		It is worth noting that Muhammad preached his message to polytheists in Mecca. He once preached polytheism in the [[Satanic Verses]] incident, and polytheists understood the message of Islam to be "all gods grouped into one":
	{{Quote\|{{Quran\|38\|5}}\|What! makes he the gods a single Allah? A strange thing is this, to be sure!}}		{{Quote\|{{Quran\|38\|5}}\|What! makes he the gods a single Allah? A strange thing is this, to be sure!}}
	~~So the~~ polytheists might have understood verses like "we created the heavens" as multiple gods creating the heavens.		Thus, polytheists might have understood verses like "we created the heavens" as multiple gods creating the heavens.

	~~It seems~~ that ~~Muhammad wanted to make it easy for polytheists to convert to Islam by saying "we" meaning "we~~ the ~~gods together". Apologists~~ of ~~Islam say that~~ Allah referring to himself in the plural form is ~~just a style of speech~~ <ref>http://www.islam101.com/tauheed/AllahWE.htm</ref>, ~~but it is strange that he uses this style of speech, when ''tawheed'' is such an important issue~~.		Islamic scholars argue that, despite the importance of ''tawheed'', Allah referring to himself in the plural form is simply stylistic<ref>http://www.islam101.com/tauheed/AllahWE.htm</ref>, similar to the "royal we" historically used by monarchs.

	==Allah talks about himself in the 3rd person==		==Allah talks about himself in the 3rd person==
	~~Sometimes it looks like~~ Muhammad is talking about ~~god~~, rather than ~~god~~ talking about himself:		Certain passages in the Qur'an are written as though Muhammad is talking about God, rather than God talking about himself:
	{{Quote\|{{Quran\|64\|13}}\|		{{Quote\|{{Quran\|64\|13}}\|
	ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُو		ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُو
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	=="Iltifaat" - bad usage of pronouns in the Qur'an==		=="Iltifaat" - bad usage of pronouns in the Qur'an==
	~~The~~ Qur'an ~~in some places contains strange~~ changes in pronouns. While Muslims apologists consider them to be a "linguistic miracle" <ref>http://www.hamzatzortzis.com/essays-articles/exploring-the-quran/the-inimitable-quran/</ref>, critics of Islam might see them as grammatical errors.		Some parts of the Qur'an contain unusual changes in pronouns.

	{{Quote\|{{Quran\|10\|22}}\|		{{Quote\|{{Quran\|10\|22}}\|
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	He it is Who makes '''you''' (يُسَيِّرُكُمْ, ''yusayyiru'''kum''''') travel by land and sea; until when you are in the ships, and '''they sail (وَجَرَيْنَ) on with them''' in a pleasant breeze, and they rejoice, a violent wind overtakes them and the billows surge in on them from all sides, and they become certain that they are encompassed about, they pray to Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience: If Thou dost deliver us from this, '''we will''' most certainly be (لَنَكُونَنَّ) of the grateful ones.}}		He it is Who makes '''you''' (يُسَيِّرُكُمْ, ''yusayyiru'''kum''''') travel by land and sea; until when you are in the ships, and '''they sail (وَجَرَيْنَ) on with them''' in a pleasant breeze, and they rejoice, a violent wind overtakes them and the billows surge in on them from all sides, and they become certain that they are encompassed about, they pray to Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience: If Thou dost deliver us from this, '''we will''' most certainly be (لَنَكُونَنَّ) of the grateful ones.}}
	~~The other pronouns~~ besides ''yusayyiru'''kum''''' are omitted and only ~~signalized~~ by the verb conjugation.		Pronouns in the above passage, besides ''yusayyiru'''kum''','' are omitted and only signaled by the verb conjugation.

	==See Also==		==See Also==

IbnPinker at 01:48, 11 August 2020

2020-08-11T01:48:49Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:48, 11 August 2020
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	There are 12 different subject pronouns in Arabic:		There are 12 different subject pronouns in Arabic:

	{\| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5~~" class= "wikitable~~"		{\| class="wikitable" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
	!English		!English
	!Arabic		!Arabic
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	\|they (feminine)\|\|<span style="font-size:150%;">هن</span>\|\|''hunna''		\|they (feminine)\|\|<span style="font-size:150%;">هن</span>\|\|''hunna''
	\|}		\|}
	* They are more complicated than in English, because they differentiate between dual and plural forms and also sometimes differentiate between gender while English doesn't (for exampe "you" feminine plural and "you" masculine plural).
	* Since Arabic has different verb forms for different pronouns, the pronouns are often not written. For example in English "he wrote" and "she wrote" couldn't be expressed by just "wrote", because the gender would be ambiguous. But in Arabic "he wrote" is "howwa kataba" and "she wrote" is "heyya katabat", so writing "kataba" is enough to express "he wrote", without the need for "howwa" (he).		*They are more complicated than in English, because they differentiate between dual and plural forms and also sometimes differentiate between gender while English doesn't (for exampe "you" feminine plural and "you" masculine plural).
	* Dual pronouns might be considered redundant, when they can be expressed with plural forms. Also there is no gender neutral pronoun, like "it". So English is easier and has something that Arabic doesn't.		*Since Arabic has different verb forms for different pronouns, the pronouns are often not written. For example in English "he wrote" and "she wrote" couldn't be expressed by just "wrote", because the gender would be ambiguous. But in Arabic "he wrote" is "howwa kataba" and "she wrote" is "heyya katabat", so writing "kataba" is enough to express "he wrote", without the need for "howwa" (he).
			*Dual pronouns might be considered redundant, when they can be expressed with plural forms. Also there is no gender neutral pronoun, like "it". So English is easier and has something that Arabic doesn't.

	===Object & posessive pronouns===		===Object & posessive pronouns===
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	The verb is represented by "-" in the table:		The verb is represented by "-" in the table:

	{\| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5~~" class= "wikitable~~"		{\| class="wikitable" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
	!English		!English
	!Arabic		!Arabic
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	\|them (feminine)\|\|<span style="font-size:150%;">ـهن-</span>\|\|''-hunna''		\|them (feminine)\|\|<span style="font-size:150%;">ـهن-</span>\|\|''-hunna''
	\|}		\|}
	* (*) Posessive pronouns like "his" or "our" are expressed almost identically, with the exception of "my" being <span style="font-size:150%;">ـي-</span> (-i).
	* Although possessive pronouns don't change the meaning of the noun in any way, apologists, when counting the word "day" (يوم, ''yawm''), exclude words like "your day" (يومكم, ''yawmi'''kum''''') in the [[365 days miracle in the Quran\|365 days miracle]], because otherwise they wouldn't get to 365.		() Posessive pronouns like "his" or "our" are expressed almost identically, with the exception of "my" being <span style="font-size:150%;">ـي-</span> (-i).
			*Although possessive pronouns don't change the meaning of the noun in any way, apologists, when counting the word "day" (يوم, ''yawm''), exclude words like "your day" (يومكم, ''yawmi'''kum''''') in the [[365 days miracle in the Quran\|365 days miracle]], because otherwise they wouldn't get to 365.

	==Allah refers to himself in the plural==		==Allah refers to himself in the plural==
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	==See Also==		==See Also==
	* [[Iltifat]]
	* [[Spelling Inconsistencies in the Quran]]		*[[Iltifat]]
	* [[Arabic letters and diacritics]]		*[[Spelling Inconsistencies in the Quran]]
			*[[Arabic letters and diacritics]]

	==References==		==References==
	{{page_title\|Arabic pronouns and the Qur'an}}		{{page_title\|Arabic pronouns and the Qur'an}}
			<references />

IbnPinker at 22:35, 3 August 2020

2020-08-03T22:35:53Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:35, 3 August 2020
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	{{QualityScore\|Lead=1\|Structure=3\|Content=3\|Language=2\|References=1}}		{{QualityScore\|Lead=1\|Structure=3\|Content=2\|Language=2\|References=1}}
	This article lists the pronouns of the Arabic language and discusses their usage in the Qur'an.		This article lists the pronouns of the Arabic language and discusses their usage in the Qur'an.
	==Arabic pronouns==		==Arabic pronouns==

IbnPinker at 22:34, 3 August 2020

2020-08-03T22:34:53Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:34, 3 August 2020
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			{{QualityScore\|Lead=1\|Structure=3\|Content=3\|Language=2\|References=1}}
	This article lists the pronouns of the Arabic language and discusses their usage in the Qur'an.		This article lists the pronouns of the Arabic language and discusses their usage in the Qur'an.
	==Arabic pronouns==		==Arabic pronouns==

Prekladator: /* See Also */

2020-04-10T15:31:50Z

Prekladator: /* "Iltifaat" - bad usage of pronouns in the Qur'an */

2020-04-10T15:31:20Z

"Iltifaat" - bad usage of pronouns in the Qur'an

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:31, 10 April 2020
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	He it is Who makes '''you''' (يُسَيِّرُكُمْ, ''yusayyiru'''kum''''') travel by land and sea; until when you are in the ships, and '''they sail (وَجَرَيْنَ) on with them''' in a pleasant breeze, and they rejoice, a violent wind overtakes them and the billows surge in on them from all sides, and they become certain that they are encompassed about, they pray to Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience: If Thou dost deliver us from this, '''we will''' most certainly be (لَنَكُونَنَّ) of the grateful ones.}}		He it is Who makes '''you''' (يُسَيِّرُكُمْ, ''yusayyiru'''kum''''') travel by land and sea; until when you are in the ships, and '''they sail (وَجَرَيْنَ) on with them''' in a pleasant breeze, and they rejoice, a violent wind overtakes them and the billows surge in on them from all sides, and they become certain that they are encompassed about, they pray to Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience: If Thou dost deliver us from this, '''we will''' most certainly be (لَنَكُونَنَّ) of the grateful ones.}}
	The other pronouns besides ''yusayyiru'''kum''''' are omitted and only signalized by the verb conjugation.		The other pronouns besides ''yusayyiru'''kum''''' are omitted and only signalized by the verb conjugation.

	Apologists say that there are hundreds of such grammatical shifts in the Qur'an <ref>https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/7308/1/GrammaticalShift_AbdelHaleem.pdf</ref>, therefore it must be intentional. But in their "other examples" it is often a reasonable shift. For example:
	~~{{Quote\|{{Quran\|14\|13}}\|So '''their Lord''' inspired to them, "'''We will''' surely destroy the wrongdoers."}}~~
	~~Their Lord spoke to them in the first person. That's not grammatically strange.~~

	==See Also==		==See Also==

Saggy: /* Object & posessive pronouns */

2017-03-27T19:21:21Z

Object & posessive pronouns

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:21, 27 March 2017
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	===Object & posessive pronouns===		===Object & posessive pronouns===
	Object pronouns, like "me" or "us" are expressed as a suffix added to the verb. For example, in the violent verse 2:191, ''"Waqtuloo'''hum''' haythu thaqiftumoo'''hum'''"'' (واقتلو'''هم''' حيث ثقفتمو'''هم''') means "and-kill-'''them''' wherever you-find-'''them'''". Arabic uses only three words for the sentence, because the conjunction "and" (و, ''wa'') is prefixed and the object pronouns "them" (هم, ''hum'') are suffixed.		Object pronouns, like "me" or "us" are expressed as a suffix added to the verb. For example, the violent verse 2:191, ''"Waqtuloo'''hum''' haythu thaqiftumoo'''hum'''"'' (واقتلو'''هم''' حيث ثقفتمو'''هم'''), means "and-kill-'''them''' wherever you-find-'''them'''". Arabic uses only three words for the sentence, because the conjunction "and" (و, ''wa'') is prefixed and the object pronouns "them" (هم, ''hum'') are suffixed.

	The verb is represented by "-" in the table:		The verb is represented by "-" in the table:

Saggy: /* Subject pronouns */

2017-03-27T19:20:11Z

Subject pronouns

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:20, 27 March 2017
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	* They are more complicated than in English, because they differentiate between dual and plural forms and also sometimes differentiate between gender while English doesn't (for exampe "you" feminine plural and "you" masculine plural).		* They are more complicated than in English, because they differentiate between dual and plural forms and also sometimes differentiate between gender while English doesn't (for exampe "you" feminine plural and "you" masculine plural).
	* Since Arabic has different verb forms for different pronouns, the pronouns are often not written. For example in English "he wrote" and "she wrote" couldn't be expressed by just "wrote", because the gender would be ambiguous. But in Arabic "he wrote" is "howwa kataba" and "she wrote" is "heyya katabat", so writing "kataba" is enough to express "he wrote", without the need for "howwa" (he).		* Since Arabic has different verb forms for different pronouns, the pronouns are often not written. For example in English "he wrote" and "she wrote" couldn't be expressed by just "wrote", because the gender would be ambiguous. But in Arabic "he wrote" is "howwa kataba" and "she wrote" is "heyya katabat", so writing "kataba" is enough to express "he wrote", without the need for "howwa" (he).
	* Dual pronouns might be considered redundant, when they can be expressed with plural forms. Also there is no gender neutral pronoun, like "it". So English is easier and has something that Arabic ~~hasn~~'t.		* Dual pronouns might be considered redundant, when they can be expressed with plural forms. Also there is no gender neutral pronoun, like "it". So English is easier and has something that Arabic doesn't.

	===Object & posessive pronouns===		===Object & posessive pronouns===

Prekladator: /* Object & posessive pronouns */

2017-03-26T19:53:51Z

Object & posessive pronouns

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:53, 26 March 2017
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	!Transliteration		!Transliteration
	\|-		\|-
	\|me\|\|<span style="font-size:150%;">ـني-</span>\|\|''-ni''		\|me\|\|<span style="font-size:150%;">ـني-</span>\|\|''-ni'' *
	\|-		\|-
	\|you (masculine singular)\|\|<span style="font-size:150%;">ـكَ-</span>\|\|''-ka''		\|you (masculine singular)\|\|<span style="font-size:150%;">ـكَ-</span>\|\|''-ka''
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	\|them (feminine)\|\|<span style="font-size:150%;">ـهن-</span>\|\|''-hunna''		\|them (feminine)\|\|<span style="font-size:150%;">ـهن-</span>\|\|''-hunna''
	\|}		\|}
	* Posessive pronouns like "his" or "our" are expressed almost identically, with the exception of "my" being <span style="font-size:150%;">ـي-</span> (-i).		* (*) Posessive pronouns like "his" or "our" are expressed almost identically, with the exception of "my" being <span style="font-size:150%;">ـي-</span> (-i).
	* Although possessive pronouns don't change the meaning of the noun in any way, apologists, when counting the word "day" (يوم, ''yawm''), exclude words like "your day" (يومكم, ''yawmi'''kum''''') in the [[365 days miracle in the Quran\|365 days miracle]], because otherwise they wouldn't get to 365.		* Although possessive pronouns don't change the meaning of the noun in any way, apologists, when counting the word "day" (يوم, ''yawm''), exclude words like "your day" (يومكم, ''yawmi'''kum''''') in the [[365 days miracle in the Quran\|365 days miracle]], because otherwise they wouldn't get to 365.