Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 171

(Ayah 171) ➊ {يٰۤاَهْلَ الْكِتٰبِ لَا تَغْلُوْا فِيْ دِيْنِكُمْ ……:} Razi writes: After answering the objections of the Jews, now in this verse the objection of the Christians is being refuted. (As stated in Fathur-Rahman) However, some scholars have written that this address is to both the Jews and the Christians, because "ghuluw" means abandoning the path of moderation, and this can be in both excess and deficiency. On one hand, the Christians committed excess regarding the Messiah (peace be upon him) by declaring him the son of Allah, while on the other hand, the Jews went to the extent of denying even his prophethood. The Qur'an explained that both these groups are committing ghuluw. The path of moderation is that Isa (peace be upon him) is neither the son of Allah to be worshipped, nor a false prophet, but rather he is a servant and messenger of Allah. (Qurtubi) Nowadays, a similar kind of ghuluw has also appeared among Muslims, and there are such people who elevate the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the saints of the Ummah so much that they declare them partners in Allah's divinity, and then consider regarding the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as a human being to be the height of disrespect, whereas the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) strictly forbade such ghuluw. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ لاَ تُطْرُوْنِيْ كَمَا أَطْرَتِ النَّصَارٰي ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ، فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا عَبْدُهُ فَقُوْلُوْا عَبْدُ اللّٰهِ وَرَسُوْلُهُ ] [بخاری، أحادیث الأنبیاء، باب قول اﷲ تعالٰی: «واذكر في الكتاب مريم ……» : ۳۴۴۵ ] "Do not exaggerate about me as the Christians exaggerated about Isa ibn Maryam. I am only His servant, so call me only the servant of Allah and His messenger."
➋ {وَ كَلِمَتُهٗ اَلْقٰىهَاۤ اِلٰى مَرْيَمَ:} That is, He created him with the word { ”كُنْ“ }, and thus his birth was without a father. This does not mean that the word itself became Isa (peace be upon him), otherwise Adam (peace be upon him) was created from the word { ”كُنْ“ } without both mother and father. Then he too would have to be considered Lord. See Surah Al-Imran (59).
➌ {وَ رُوْحٌ مِّنْهُ:} That is, His created spirit. This attribution is meant to express the greatness of Isa (peace be upon him), otherwise all spirits are created by Allah. He said: « {هَلْ مِنْ خَالِقٍ غَيْرُ اللّٰهِ} » [ فاطر : ۳ ] "Is there any creator other than Allah?" As He said: { ”ھٰذِہٖ نَاقَةُ اللّٰهِ“ } "This is Allah's she-camel," and { ”طَھِّرْ بَيْتِيَ“ } "Purify My house," although Allah is the owner of all she-camels and all houses. This {’’ مِنْ ‘‘} is not for partition, but for indicating the starting point. (Ibn Kathir)
➍ {فَاٰمِنُوْا بِاللّٰهِ وَ رُسُلِهٖ:} That is, Isa (peace be upon him) is also a messenger of Allah, so you should consider him only as Allah's messenger like other prophets, and do not give him the status of divinity (godhood). (Kabir)
➎ {وَ لَا تَقُوْلُوْا ثَلٰثَةٌ: ”ثَلٰثَةٌ“} is the predicate of an omitted subject, i.e., {’’ اٰلِهَتُنَا ثَلاَثَةٌ ‘‘} or {’’اَلْاَقَانِيْمُ ثَلاَثَةٌ ‘‘}, that our gods are three, or the hypostases are three. The subject is omitted because the statements of the Christians are very diverse, although their summary is one: that God is three, but they are not three, they are one. Now, one being can have countless attributes, but Allah, Maryam, and Isa (peace be upon them) are three independent personalities and beings; how did they become one being! The Christians simultaneously accept God as one and also believe in the Trinity. This trinity is also extremely convoluted and incomprehensible. (Kabir) Just as among some Muslims, the belief of [ نُوْرٌ مِّنْ نُوْرِ اللّٰهِ] is extremely misleading, which is clearly against Surah Ikhlas and the entire Qur'an. Sometimes the Christians interpret these three as existence, knowledge, and life, and sometimes they express them as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, whereas existence, knowledge, and life are attributes of one being, but the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three personalities; how did they become one! Then see their blindness: sometimes they say that by Father is meant existence, by Spirit is meant life, and by Son is meant the Messiah (peace be upon him), and they also say that by the Trinity is meant Allah, Maryam, and Isa (peace be upon them). The Qur'an has also mentioned this last statement. See Surah Al-Ma'idah (73, 75, 76, 116). In short, there is no belief more irrational than the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, and there is so much division and disagreement among them on this matter that is not found in any other belief in the world. Therefore, the Qur'an invited them to abandon the confusion of three gods and adopt the pure belief in monotheism.
➏ {اِنَّمَا اللّٰهُ اِلٰهٌ وَّاحِدٌ :} That is, He has no partner, no wife, and no relative; He has neither begotten anyone nor was He begotten.
➐ {لَهٗ مَا فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ مَا فِي الْاَرْضِ:} And the one whom you have declared as His partner is also, like other humans, His owned and created being, and whoever is owned or created cannot be the son or partner of the Creator or Owner.
➑ {وَ كَفٰى بِاللّٰهِ وَكِيْلًا :} That is, what need does He have of a son? Wakil means He Himself is the one who manages all affairs. (Muwaddih)