The Qur’an was revealed in old hijazi Arabic as a recitation of linguistic precision and theological subtlety. Yet, much of its meaning is obscured when references to the God/dess are translated to English. The Arabic text employs neutral grammatical forms, such as huwa, to refer to God, but this usage is entirely grammatical rather than indicative of biological masculine gender.

Arabic, like many languages, uses grammatical gender. Nouns and pronouns are categorized as masculine or feminine, but this classification does not carry the connotation of biological sex. In the case of the Qur’an, the pronoun is the default grammatical form, a convention similar to English using “he” generically in older texts but no longer contemporarily appropriate. This does not imply that the God/dess is male. In fact, the God/dess in Islamic theology transcends all human categories of sex and gender.

Yet, almost every English translation of the Qur’an renders these pronouns as “he” or “him.” This is not a neutral act of translation; it assigns a gender to the Divine where none exists. From a theological perspective, this is deeply problematic. Islam emphasizes that the God/dess has no partner, no progeny, no likeness, and no human attributes. To ascribe male pronouns risks suggesting otherwise—a serious theological error that can be viewed as shirk, or associating human characteristics with the God/dess.

The Qur’anic Arabic itself offers guidance for translators. It employs the majestic plural, Nahnu (“We”), which communicates authority and grandeur rather than plurality of beings. This royal “We” provides a precedent for English translation to move beyond rigid grammatical gender. Just as Arabic does not constrain the God/dess to masculine or feminine, English can honor this transcendence by using singular “They/Them.”

Singular “They” is not a modern innovation; it has been a part of English usage for centuries, applied when gender is unknown or irrelevant, so it is puzzling why translators have chosen “he”. Translating Qur’anic pronouns as “They/Them” preserves the text’s theological intent, avoiding anthropomorphic assumptions and maintaining fidelity to God’s transcendence. For example, instead of rendering the Quranic phrase Allahu Ghafur as “He is Forgiving,” a gender-neutral translation would read, “They are Forgiving.” This shift may feel unfamiliar, but it reflects the Quranic message more faithfully than traditional masculine pronouns. It is obvious that Muslims think of the God/dess as male because they express discomfort and outrage when we use the pronoun She. Do you? It’s indicative of the shirk in your heart. Pay attention to it. This translation has had an impact on the beliefs of the English-speaking Ummah.

English translators must recognize that the masculine “he” is not a neutral placeholder in the English language—it carries connotations that Arabic never intended. To remain true to the Qur’an’s linguistic and theological precision, translations must embrace pronouns that reflect the God/dess’s genderlessness. Singular “They/Them,” in harmony with the royal “We” of the original, achieves this goal.

The Quran already provides the model for correct translation. Arabic grammar and literary nuance guide us toward a language of respect and accuracy: one that honors the Divine without imposing human categories. English translations must follow this lead and singular “They/Them” to produce translations that are not only linguistically faithful but theologically sound. This captures the majesty of the Quranic “We,” avoids anthropomorphism, and preserves the intended universality and transcendence of the God/dess.

Angels, False “Sub-Deities,” and Human Figures

The Quran also emphasizes that assigning gender or human attributes to divine agents is impermissible. For instance:

• Angels: The Quran repeatedly describes angels as genderless and emphasizes that they serve the God/dess alone. (e.g., Q35:1). Assigning masculine or feminine pronouns to them is a human projection, not theologically accurate.
• False “sub-deities”: The Quran critiques the worship of pre-Islamic goddesses (al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā, and Manāt) as misattributed powers (Q53:19-23) and hypocritical as pre-Islamic Arabs preferred sons while worshipping goddesses. Translating references to the God/dess with masculine pronouns while critiquing female goddesses subtly imposes a hierarchy of gender where none is divinely intended, especially when (as the Qur’an critiques) Muslim hypocritically oppress women. Verses like 21:43 (“Or do they have gods to defend them other than Us? They are unable [even] to help themselves, nor can they be protected from Us.) also reinforce that neither gods nor goddess should be worshipped as sub-deities.
• Human intercessors: Figures like Jesus/Isa are honored prophets in Islam but, as literally every Muslim knows, cannot explicitly cannot serve as intercessors or partners to the God/dess (Q5:75). Translating the God/dess with gendered pronouns while humans are male or female reinforces a false hierarchy inconsistent with Qur’anic teaching.

Let’s Talk About Al-Lāt, Al-ʿUzzā, and Manāt

“Do you consider al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā, and Manāt the third, the other? Is the male for you and the female for Them? That, then, is a prejudiced division. These are mere names that you and your forefathers have made up—a practice Allah has never authorized. They follow nothing but assumptions and whatever souls desire, although guidance has already come to them from their Lord.” (Qur’an 53:19–22)

The Qur’an highlights the irony: the pagans honored their sons above their daughters, but they worshipped goddesses — assigned a gender that they considered “lesser.” It also remarks on phenomenon of humans asking for guidance to the point of inventing it, yet denying true guidance when it is delivered.

Goddess-Worship Has Never Protected Women from Sexism

…Which honestly makes it really disingenuous. You don’t need to look at ancient pagans to understand this. Look at contemporary polytheists. No better than the monotheists in the treatment of women.

So why did they assign daughters and not sons? (Some people, like the most contemporary [not ancient] Christians, do assign sons, which the Qur’an also critiques.) For the pre-Islamic tribes, there were a few reasons: In older Semitic religions (Canaanite, Mesopotamian), the “high god” often had a “wife” (Asherah, Ishtar) and “divine children.” Female deities were often linked to fertility, love, protection, and fate. So in Arabia, the polytheists imaged Allah — the high God/dess — with female consorts or daughters, who interceded between humans and the distant supreme deity. The message of Islam is that the God/dess has no intercessor. Some people have a misconception that the pagans did not believe in Allah. They did, actually. They even used the same language/word. The pagans were henothesistic (worshipping one supreme Deity and then other deities). They did not think of Allah as masculine, but they thought of the “daughters” as feminine. Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat represented love/fertility, might/protection, and fate/death — key domains of life. The common trinity. These are traditionally feminine-associated powers in ancient religions.

The Qur’an critiques this because in patriarchal Arab society, daughters were often devalued (to the point of female infanticide in some tribes). The Qur’an critiques this also because the practice creates divisions in the attributes of Allah. Let’s take a look at what their names mean:

• al-Lāt (ٱللَّات). Her very title (“the goddess”) suggests she was once seen as a primary mother-figure deity. Her name is likely from ilāhah (“goddess”) → literally “The Goddess.” She’s associated with fertility, motherhood, and the earth; parallels to Canaanite Asherah (“mother of the gods”), a fertility/earth goddess and Mesopotamian Ishtar/Inanna, goddess of love and fertility.
• al-ʿUzzā (ٱلْعُزّىٰ). Her name means “The Most Mighty” (from root ʿ-z-z = strength, might). Her role was the goddess of might, protection, and the morning star; parallels to Canaanite ʿAštart (Astarte), associated with war, power, and the planet Venus, as well as Mesopotamian Ishtar, also linked to Venus as the morning/evening star. Pre-Islamic Arabs explicitly associated her with Venus — a direct link to the great Near Eastern star-goddess tradition.
• Manāt (مَنَاة). Her name is from the root m-n-y, meaning “portion, fate, destiny.” Her role was goddess of fate, time, and death — the allotter of destinies, and she parallels Canaanite Manawat, goddess of fate and death, as well as Greek Tyche/Moirae (Fates) — not a Semitic link, but similar in function. In some accounts, she was the oldest of the three goddesses, fitting with her connection to death and destiny.

The reason for their existence is Allah was seen as a supreme deity Who was out-of-reach to the worshipper, and therefore was not worshipped; instead, there were intercessors who were closer. It’s obvious now why this is so offensive in Islam, a religion in which one must worship neither other deities nor angels, and why it is seen as an (mis)understanding that slices up the attributes of the Divine and leads us away with the belief that Allah is too far to hear us to or care. People assigned Divine attributes unevenly based on function, creating fragmentations in religious worship and divisions amongst worshippers. The 99 Names describe Allah’s attributes in Islam: e.g., al-Rahman (The Most Merciful), al-Qadir (All-Powerful), al-Khaliq (The Creator), al-Wahid (The One). This functions to convey unity and incomparability. Names like al-Wahid, al-Ahad emphasize oneness, countering the idea of children or partners. Allah convey transcendence with names such as al-Khaliq (Creator) and al-Qadir (All-Powerful) which highlight Allah’s supremacy and independence, unlike pagan deities who had specific “domains.” And we see rejection of anthropomorphism with names like al-Samad (The Eternal Refuge) that show Allah is not human, male, or female, contrasting with pagans’ daughter-deity logic. Where pre-Islamic Arabs assigned fertility, protection, or fate to specific goddesses, the 99 Names attribute all these roles to Allah alone: e.g., Allah is al-Razzaq (Provider), al-Muhaymin (Protector), al-Qadir (Powerful). Essentially, each name absorbs what pagans had fragmented across multiple deities. Allah is one, indivisible, beyond gender, yet fulfills all the functions pagans used to assign to other minor “gods.” It’s a linguistic and theological unification, turning a polytheistic, fragmented cosmology into a monotheistic framework.

Pre-Islamic Goddess / Role	Function / Domain	Corresponding Attribute / Name of Allah	Explanation
al-Lāt	Fertility, motherhood, nurturing, life	al-Khaliq (The Creator), al-Razzaq (The Provider), al-Rahman (The Most Merciful)	Allah alone creates life, provides sustenance, and cares for Their creation—absorbing fertility and nurturing roles without gender.
al-ʿUzzā	Strength, protection, might, war, morning star	al-Qadir (All-Powerful), al-Muhaymin (The Protector), al-Aziz (The Mighty)	Allah is omnipotent and protects all creation; strength and power no longer require separate deities.
Manāt	Fate, death, destiny, judgment	al-`Adl (The Just), al-Hakam (The Judge), al-Khāliq (The Creator, who ordains destiny)	Allah controls all destinies, allocates life and death, and judges fairly—absorbing the function of fate.

Every domain previously split among multiple deities or spirits is now uniquely Allah’s responsibility.

Singular They/Them is the most appropriate translation in both older and contemporary English. We should never use ‘he.’ Muslims express outrage when we use the pronoun She as neutral because to them, it is not neutral. Let’s be clear. Neither is ‘he.’ If Muslims truly felt ‘he’ is neutral, they would have no issue with the feminine pronoun as neutral in usage. Except in their minds, Allah has forbidden the use of the feminine more than the masculine. This is some very deep shirk.

Forbidding Masculine Gods

• “They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary’ while the Messiah has said, ‘O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ Whoever associates others with Allah – Allah has forbidden Paradise for them, and the Fire will be their residence. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers. The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food. Look how We make clear to them [those who associate a son with Allah] the signs; then look how they are deluded.” —Qur’an 5:72-75
• “O People of the Scripture! Do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and Allah’s word directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Allah. So believe in Allah and Allah’s messengers. And do not say, ‘Three.’ Cease – it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God/dess. Exalted is Allah above having a son.” —Qur’an 4:171
• “Never did Allah take a son, and never was there with Them any [other] deity. [If there had been], then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have overpowered others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe.” —Qur’an 23:91
• “Say, ‘They are Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. They neither beget nor is born, Nor is there to Them any equivalent.” —Qur’an 112:1-4
• “The Originator of the heavens and the earth. How could They have a son when They have no companion, and They created all things? And They are, of all things, Knowing. That is Allah, your Lord; there is no deity except Allah, the Creator of all things, so worship Allah. And Allah is Disposer of all things.” —Qur’an 6:101-102

There are more but you get the idea. You can see that the verses forbidden the worship of a false god are even more numerous than those forbidding workshop of female sub-deities/goddesses, yet Muslims think the latter is somehow worse. They will not say it straight-out, but it’s evident in their behavior. It is evident in their translations.

If you are a woman who is uncomfortable with Allah being described with a grammatically non-masculine pronoun or you find yourself seeking the validation of men, it’s because you may be committing shirk in your heart. In fact, the latter (need for male validation) follows the former (falsely understanding Allah as male). And I remind myself before all others. Please check your hearts. This is addressed more to women than to men, because obviously men need more guidance than women. That’s why Umm Salaama had to ask why the Qur’an doesn’t explicitly address women. Verse 33:35 was a very gracious response, considering it was men who needed the guidance more than women. (These are my words, not Allah’s.)