How to remove or solve a possible shirk Issue from Verse (43:84)?

Question

If we take the Verse (43:84)literally, it would mean that there's a deity in the heaven and an other on earth, which is a clear conflict to our monotheistic view (tawhid). Maybe the translation of Muhsin Khan (see also the translation of Dr. Ghali) shows this issue more clearly than any other:

It is He (Allah) Who is the only Ilah (God to be worshipped) in the heaven and the only Ilah (God to be worshipped) on the earth. And He is the All-Wise, the All-Knower.

The linguistic issue here is: that the noun deity (Ilaah إله) here is nakirah نكرة -which means it is a noun which doesn't begin with the "al ال"- (instead of al-Ilaah الإله) in both cases and if it is repeated that way it means in Arabic language that both nouns are different. For example in surat a-Sharh where hardship and ease both have been quoted twice (but only the ease was a nakirah), we find in a narration:

...Whatever hardship befalls a believing slave, Allah will make an opening for him after it, and a hardship will not overcome two eases. ...

Some scholars also refer a similar saying to our Prophet (peace be upon him) (Here an Arabic Fatwa about the qualification of these ahadith).

But how to solve this issue? I know it is easy to explain the issue which may appear in the meaning of the Verse (and honestly I know it as I've read enough tafsirs of the Verse)

I recall that there's even a linguistic solution, it would be great if anybody could provide and explain this also!

Answer 1

If we take the Verse (43:84)literally, it would mean that there's a deity in the heaven and an other on earth

No, it would not mean that if you take it literally(and we always should). the verse means that Allah is a deity in heaven , (and also) a deity on earth.

who said

and an other on earth !!?

the verse only means

and on earth

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EDIT: as for the linguistic issue: you said

and if it is repeated that way it means in Arabic language that both nouns are different.

nakirah نكره does not always mean different things.

I give you an example: suppose our friends are going to have dinner together in Ahmed's home at night , on the way to Ahmed home that night there was a big strange star shown up in the sky, what the friends are going to tell Ahmed when they arrive at Ahmeds home ?

first person : Ahmed, I saw a star on the way to you لقد رأيت نجما في الطريق إليك

second person : Ahmed, I saw a star on the way to you لقد رأيت نجما في الطريق إليك

third person : Ahmed, I saw a star on the way to you لقد رأيت نجما في الطريق إليك

note that the three persons when they talk about the star , they said (a star) - nakirah , they didn't say (the star !), although they all mean the same exact star.

Nakirah does not always used to reference different things, sometimes it mean the same thing , and sometimes they don't

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EDIT: also this is much better example quoted from tarek comment, that shows how to repeat nakirah in the same sentence while mean the same thing

The star that you saw yesterday is a star that belongs to the Milky Way galaxy and a star that has never been seen so shiny before!

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EDIT: brother, you had the answer in the comments to your question in the youtube video that Laconic give it to you.

El- sharawy said in the last 25 seconds from the video the exact answer that we are looking for. the Nahw rule that rules this sentence is called الواصل والموصول (elwasel - and elmawsol) - I don't know the exact English translation for it but it is something like the (referenced noun, and referencing noun)-

you can have many nakirah nouns that referencing the same one maarefa (not-nakirah) referenced noun

which means if you had a noun(mawsool) that is known(marifa - not nakirah) معرفة which you joined it later with many nakirah nouns (wasel), that means all those nakirat later (referencing nouns- wasel - واصل) referencing the same (referenced noun- mawsool - موصول ), and means the same referenced noun.

let us apply this Nahw rule on our examples , I will put the( referenced noun - الموصول - mawsool ) in this gray background and the (referencing nouns - wasel - واصل) in bold for clearity:

Example - 1 (43:84)

It is He (Allah) Who is Ilah (God to be worshipped) in the heaven and Ilah (God to be worshipped) on the earth. And He is the All-Wise, the All-Knower.

وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَهٌ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُ

Example - 2 tarek example

The star that you saw yesterday is a star that belongs to the Milky Way galaxy and a star that has never been seen so shiny before!

إن النجمة التي رأيتها بالأمس هي نجمة تنتمى لمجرة درب التبانة, وهي نجمة لم تكن يوما بهذا السطوع

Answer 2

Salam.

I am just pointing something here, not necessarily to be real but I concerned with the verse which is 'ilah' doesn't necessarily has one meaning. In arabic ilah can be of god as literally as possible but ilah also has a meaning that is 'something that is worshipped'.

Two translations example:

'La ilaha illa ana'

1. No/nothing worthy of worship except me

2. No god(small g not the big one) except me

I hope it is helping you.