Is Allah Masculine in Gender Question: Why do we quote Allah (swt) as - he Him/His ? Answer: The Arabic word Allah has no gender. The Arabic grammar has only two genders, male and female and male gender is of two types: 1. Masculine Haqeeqi i.e. Real, which is used to denote the masculine gender in humans, animals. 2. Masculine Majazi i.e. Unreal, wherein it is used as Masculine but in reality it is not so e.g. (Angels) Malak, Layl (Night), Bab (door). The word Allah (swt), too falls in the second category i.e. Masculine Majazi. The English language has got three genders; male, female and neutral. So if we translate the Arabic word huwa into English, it can be translated as he or it. And the Arabic word hiya can be translated as she or it. Allah (swt) is unique and cannot be referred as it in English, since Allah (swt) has no gender, neither male nor female or neutral. Some people may argue that the Arabic word huwa and hiya both can be used for it or neutral gender, then why Allah has used huwa and not hiya? In Arabic grammar there are certain rules and criteria for feminine gender. First, if it is female by nature, like the word mother (ummum), it becomes feminine in gender. Allah is not a female. Second, if it ends with the third Arabic letter ta like mirwahtun (fan), it becomes feminine. The Arabic word Allah doesnt end with ta so it cannot be feminine. Third, if the word ends with Alif Mamduda (big Alif), it becomes feminine. But the Arabic word Allah doesnt end with Alif Mamduda so, it cannot be feminine. And lastly, if the object occurs in pairs, like pairs of the body, e.g. Ainun (eyes), yadun (hands), they are considered feminine. But Allah (swt) says in the Glorious Quran in Surah Ikhlas, chapter 112, verse 1 Say: He is Allah the ONE and Only; So Allah (swt) is one and not a pair. Therefore, by default since it cannot be used as Hiya i.e. she or it, Allah (swt) uses huwa i.e. He. And Allah (swt) knows the best.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 08:23:54 +0000
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