Allah, the Best Deceiver (Qur'an 3:54): Difference between revisions

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The [[Qur'an]] openly states many times that [[Allah]] is the best ''maakir'', a word sometimes mildly translated as ''planner'', though also as ''schemer''. The Arabic word used here is "ماكر" "maakir", coming from the root m-k-r م-ك-ر, with the word ''Makr'' "مكر" meaning to practice deceit or guile or circumvention, practice evasion or elusion, to plot, to exercise art or craft or cunning, act with policy, practice strategem.<ref>Makr - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000256.pdf Lane's Lexicon p. 2728]</ref> Due to the primary definitions, many critics consider this a highly inappropriate term for the Quran to describe Allah, theologically, particularly as the Quran elsewhere tells believers to shun lying speech ({{Quran|22|30}}), to not testify to falsehood ({{Quran|25|72}}), and describes them as the truthful ({{Quran|3|17}}). Similar exhortations to truthfulness are found in hadiths, with exceptions in the case of warfare, assassinations and peacemaking (note that one Quranic concept is sometimes misrepresented in online discourse as if it were a general permission to lie about the faith - see the article [[taqiyya]]).

 

Edward William Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon is the most revered and scholarly English dictionary of the Arabic language. From Lane's Lexicon p. 2728 (the full entry can be viewed [[:File:Makr Lane-Lexicon-page Vol 7-pg. 256.jpg|here]] or [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000256.pdf here]):

 

It is summarized here with a concordance of occurances:

{{Quote|1=[http://www.studyquran.co.uk/14_MIIM.htm&date=2013-07-21 Lane's Lexicon - Miim]|2='''Miim-Kaf-Ra''' = To practice deceit or guile or circumvention, practice evasion or elusion, to plot, to exercise art or craft or cunning, act with policy, practice strategem.