![]() | This article possibly contains original research .(February 2021) |
In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single essence in which three distinct hypostases ("persons"): the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, exists consubstantially and co-eternally as a perichoresis. Islam considers the concept of any "plurality" within God to be a denial of monotheism. Monotheism in Islam, known as Tawhid , is the religion's central and single most important concept, upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. Shirk , the act of ascribing partners to God – whether they be sons, daughters, or other partners – is considered to be a form of unbelief in Islam. The Quran repeatedly and firmly asserts God's absolute oneness, thus ruling out the possibility of another being sharing his sovereignty or nature. [1] In Islam, the Holy Spirit is believed to be the Angel Gabriel. [2] Muslims have explicitly rejected Christian doctrines of the Trinity from an early date. [1] [3]
Three Quranic verses may directly refer to this doctrine, 4:171 , 5:73 , and 5:116 . [1]
O People of the Book! Do not go to extremes regarding your faith; say nothing about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger of Allah and the fulfilment of His Word through Mary and a spirit ˹created by a command˺ from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers and do not say, “Trinity.” Stop!—for your own good. Allah is only One God. Glory be to Him! He is far above having a son! To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And Allah is sufficient as a Trustee of Affairs.
5:17-In blasphemy indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ the son of Mary. Say: "Who then hath the least power against Allah, if His will were to destroy Christ the son of Mary, his mother, and all every - one that is on the earth? For to Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between. He createth what He pleaseth. For Allah hath power over all things."
5:72 Those who say, “Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary,” have certainly fallen into disbelief. The Messiah ˹himself˺ said, “O Children of Israel! Worship Allah—my Lord and your Lord.” Whoever associates others with Allah ˹in worship˺ will surely be forbidden Paradise by Allah. Their home will be the Fire. And the wrongdoers will have no helpers.
5:73 Those who say, “Allah is one in a Trinity,” have certainly fallen into disbelief. There is only One God. If they do not stop saying this, those who disbelieve among them will be afflicted with a painful punishment.
5:74 Will they not turn to Allah in repentance and seek His forgiveness? And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
5:75 The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger. ˹Many˺ messengers had ˹come and˺ gone before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They both ate food. See how We make the signs clear to them, yet see how they are deluded ˹from the truth˺!— Quran 5:72-75
5:116 And ˹on Judgment Day˺ Allah will say, “O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you ever ask the people to worship you and your mother as gods besides Allah?” He will answer, “Glory be to You! How could I ever say what I had no right to say? If I had said such a thing, you would have certainly known it. You know what is ˹hidden˺ within me, but I do not know what is within You. Indeed, You ˹alone˺ are the Knower of all unseen.
5:117 I never told them anything except what You ordered me to say: “Worship Allah—my Lord and your Lord!” And I was witness over them as long as I remained among them. But when You took me, You were the Witness over them—and You are a Witness over all things.
5:118 If You punish them, they belong to You after all. But if You forgive them, You are surely the Almighty, All-Wise.”— Quran 5:116–118
Furthermore, verses 19:88–93 , 23:91 and 112:1–4 are relevant to the doctrine of "Trinity":
19:88 They say, “The Most Compassionate has offspring.”
19:89 You have certainly made an outrageous claim,
19:90 by which the heavens are about to burst, the earth to split apart, and the mountains to crumble to pieces
19:91 in protest of attributing children to the Most Compassionate.
19:92 It does not befit ˹the majesty of˺ the Most Compassionate to have children.
19:93 There is none in the heavens or the earth who will not return to the Most Compassionate in full submission.
Allah has never had ˹any˺ offspring, nor is there any god besides Him. Otherwise, each god would have taken away what he created, and they would have tried to dominate one another. Glorified is Allah above what they claim!
Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “He is Allah—One ˹and Indivisible˺; Allah—the Sustainer ˹needed by all˺. He has never had offspring, nor was He born. And there is none comparable to Him.”
Interpretation of these verses by modern scholars has been varied. [1] [3] Although the latter group of verses have usually been taken to reject the mainstream Christian view of Jesus as son of God, Watt has argued that they refer specifically to an unorthodox notion of "physical sonship". [4] [3] :47
Verse 5:73 has been interpreted as a potential criticism of Syriac literature that references Jesus as "the third of three" and thus an attack on the view that Christ was divine. [5] Hence, verses 5:72–75 may merely be criticizing the idea that Jesus and God are the same. [5] Alternatively, it may be a purposeful simplification of the Christian belief in the humanity and divinity of Christ in order to expose its potential weakness when viewed from the firmly monotheistic position of Islam. [1] [3] :47
Similarly, verse 4:171 can be read as a rejection of Jesus' divinity. It is worth noting that in explaining these verses, early Muslim Quranic commentators noted that "the Christian 'three' was an internal characteristic of the godhead... rather than a series of external beings placed together with God." [1]
Some Muslim commentators believe 5:116 as referring to Mary as part of the Christian Trinity. [n 1] Critics use this to argue that the Quran's author was mistaken about orthodox Christian beliefs, wherein Mary is a human and the third part of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, Muslims argue that past Collyridian Christians have explicitly believed Mary to be a divine being. [7] [8] [6] However some historians, such as Averil Cameron, have been skeptical about whether Collyridians even existed and noted that Epiphanius is the only source for the group and that later authors simply refer to his text. [9] There is no further proof that such a sect ever existed and it is very unlikely that they existed in the 7th century. Others argue that Q5:116 in fact does not allude to the Trinity since the term itself isn't stated in the verse and instances where the Trinity is explicitly mentioned (Q 4:171 and 5:73 ), Mary's alleged divine status is not noted. [6] Some recent Western scholarship support a rhetorical understanding of the Quranic accusation of Mary's divinity claim in Q5:116; [3] :47 [n 2] [10] arguing the verse generally gives an example of Shirk and admonishes it. [1] [n 3]
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of mashiach, messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a mashiach is a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil.
In Islam, Jesus is believed to be the penultimate prophet and messenger of God and the Messiah sent to guide the Children of Israel with a book called the Injīl.
Shirk in Islam is a sin often roughly translated as 'idolatry' or 'polytheism', but more accurately meaning 'association [with God]'. It refers to accepting other divinities or powers alongside God as associates. In contrast, Islam teaches God does not share divine attributes with anyone, as it is disallowed according to the Islamic doctrine of tawhid. The Quran, the central religious text of Islam, states in 4:48 that God will not forgive shirk if one dies without repenting of it.
The Pen, or Nūn is the sixty-eighth chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an with 52 verses (āyāt). Quran 68 describes God's justice and the judgment day. Three notable themes of this Surah are its response to the opponents' objections, warning and admonition to the disbelievers, and exhortation of patience to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Chronologically, this was the first appearance of any of the "disjointed" [i.e., single] letters (muqattaat) which precede a number of the surahs of the Qur'an, while in Quranic order this is the last surah to have the appearance of muqattaat.
The Basmala, or Tasmiyyah, is the titular name of the Islamic phrase "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful". It is one of the most important phrases in Islam and is used by Muslims mostly before starting "good deeds" as well as beginning of most daily actions.
Al-Baqara, alternatively transliterated Al-Baqarah, is the second and longest chapter (surah) of the Quran. It consists of 286 verses (āyāt) which begin with the "muqatta'at" letters alif (ا), lām (ل), and mīm (م). Q2:282 is the longest single verse in the Quran.
An-Nisa' is the fourth chapter (sūrah) of the Quran, with 176 verses (āyāt). The title derives from the numerous references to women throughout the chapter, including verse 34 and verses 4:127-130.
Al-Ma'idah is the fifth chapter of the Quran, containing 120 verses. Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation, it is a Medinan chapter, which means it is believed to have been revealed in Medina rather than Mecca.
Naskh is an Arabic word usually translated as "abrogation". In tafsir, or Islamic legal exegesis, naskh recognizes that one rule might not always be suitable for every situation. In the widely recognized and "classic" form of naskh, one ḥukm "ruling" is abrogated to introduce an exception to the general rule, but the text the ḥukm is based on is not repealed.
Yunus, is the 10th chapter (surah) of the Quran with 109 verses (ayat). Yunus is named after the prophet Yunus (Jonah). According to tafsir chronology, it is believed to have been revealed before the migration of the Islamic prophet Muhammed and his followers from Mecca to Medina (Hijra), as such, it is known as a Meccan surah.
Az-Zukhruf is the 43rd chapter (surah), of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. It contains 89 verses (ayat).
Al-Muzzammil is the seventy-third chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an, containing 20 verses (āyāt), which are recognized by Muslims as the word of God (Allah). The last Ruku of this surah contains only one ayāt making it possibly the smallest Ruku according to the number of verses or ayāt.
Maryam bint Imran is revered in Islam. The Qur'an refers to her seventy times and explicitly identifies her as the greatest woman to have ever lived. In the Quran, her story is related in three Meccan surahs and four Medinan surahs. The nineteenth Surah, Maryam, is named after her. Moreover, she is the only woman named in the Quran.
Tawba is the Islamic concept of repenting to God due to performing any sins and misdeeds. It is a direct matter between a person and God, so there is no intercession. There is no original sin in Islam. It is the act of leaving what God has prohibited and returning to what he has commanded. The word denotes the act of being repentant for one's misdeeds, atoning for those misdeeds, and having a strong determination to forsake those misdeeds. If someone sins against another person, restitution is required.
Collyridianism was an alleged Early Christian movement in Arabia whose adherents apparently worshipped the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, as a goddess. The existence of the sect is subject to some dispute by scholars, as the only contemporary source to describe it is the Panarion of St. Epiphanius of Salamis, published in approximately 376 AD.
The Quran is viewed to be the scriptural foundation of Islam and is believed by Muslims to have been sent down by Allah (God) and revealed to Muhammad by the angel Jabreel (Gabriel). The Quran has been subject to criticism both in the sense of being the subject of an interdisciplinary field of study where secular, (mostly) Western scholars set aside doctrines of its divinity, perfection, unchangeability, etc. accepted by Muslim Islamic scholars; but also in the sense of being found fault with by those — including Christian missionaries and other skeptics hoping to convert Muslims — who argue it is not divine, not perfect, and/or not particularly morally elevated.
Islamic holy books are certain religious scriptures that are viewed by Muslims as having valid divine significance, in that they were authored by God (Allah) through a variety of prophets and messengers, including those who predate the Quran. Among the group of religious texts considered to be valid revelations, the three that are mentioned by name in the Quran are the Tawrat, received by prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel; the Zabur (Psalms), received by David; and the Gospel, received by Jesus. Additionally, the Quran mentions God's revealing of the Scrolls of Abraham and the Scrolls of Moses.
The Quran states that several prior writings constitute holy books given by God to the prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel, in the same way the Quran was revealed to Muhammad. These include the Tawrat, believed by Muslims to have been given by God to the prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel, the Zabur revealed to David (Dawud); and the Injil revealed to Jesus (Isa).
Prophets in Islam are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers, those who transmit divine revelation, most of them through the interaction of an angel. Muslims believe that many prophets existed, including many not mentioned in the Quran. The Quran states: "And for every community there is a messenger." Belief in the Islamic prophets is one of the six articles of the Islamic faith.
Quranic studies is the academic application of a diverse set of disciplines to study the Quran, drawing on methods including but not limited to ancient history, philology, textual criticism, lexicography, codicology, literary criticism, comparative religion, and historical criticism.
The Collyridians, an arabian female sect of the fourth century, offered Mary cakes of bread, as they had done to their great earth mother in pagan times. Epiphanius who opposed this heresy, said that the trinity must be worshipped but Mary must not be worshipped.
can be argued that ... the qur'anic accusations that Christians claim Mary as God can be understood as a rhetorical statement...