LessonsBayān al-Ibdāl: Verbs, Nouns, Particles and Sentence-Level MeaningQuiz

“Innā fataḥnā laka fatḥan mubīnā”
“Indeed, We have granted you a manifest victory.” (al-Fatḥ 48:1)

God sometimes uses first-person plural forms such as “innā” and “fataḥnā.” In this context they express majesty; they do not imply multiple deities. A singular explanatory statement can clarify that the acting Lord is one, while preserving the exalted plural in recitation.

Likewise, “innā la-qādirūn” (al-Maʿārij 70:40, excerpt) speaks of the power of the one God. The speaker and the rhetorical form must be distinguished.

This is a specific rhetorical use of first-person plural, not an invitation to treat every plural noun or pronoun in the Qur’an as a plural of majesty.

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“We granted you victory”: the plural of majesty

Bayān al-Ibdāl: Verbs, Nouns, Particles and Sentence-Level Meaning

“Innā fataḥnā laka fatḥan mubīnā”
“Indeed, We have granted you a manifest victory.” (al-Fatḥ 48:1)

God sometimes uses first-person plural forms such as “innā” and “fataḥnā.” In this context they express majesty; they do not imply multiple deities. A singular explanatory statement can clarify that the acting Lord is one, while preserving the exalted plural in recitation.

Likewise, “innā la-qādirūn” (al-Maʿārij 70:40, excerpt) speaks of the power of the one God. The speaker and the rhetorical form must be distinguished.

This is a specific rhetorical use of first-person plural, not an invitation to treat every plural noun or pronoun in the Qur’an as a plural of majesty.