Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 171

171. O People of the Book! Do not go to extremes [1224] in your religion, and do not say anything about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a Messenger of Allah and His Word [225] which He conveyed to Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and do not say, "Three" [226]. Refrain [227] from this; it is better for you. Allah is only One God. He is far above having a child. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him [228], and Allah alone is sufficient to manage the affairs of the universe.

[224]
What is Ghuluww (Excessiveness):

Ghuluww means such exaggeration that is irrational, whether this exaggeration is towards excess or deficiency. For example, regarding Isa, the belief of the Christians was that he was the son of Allah, and in complete contrast, the belief of the Jews was that he was not a prophet, but (God forbid) they considered him illegitimate. On this basis, they expended their efforts to crucify him. Thus, due to ghuluww regarding the same messenger, both major sects of the People of the Book went astray. For examples of ghuluww in the Ummah of Muhammad, see the footnote number 3 of Surah Al-Furqan.

[225]
The Belief in the Divinity of the Messiah:

This address is to the Christians who sometimes declared Sayyiduna Isaؑ as the son of God and sometimes as the third god among three gods, even though the same words are used in the Gospel regarding the miraculous birth of Isaؑ as are used in the Quran. That is, Isa was the Word of Allah and a spirit from Him. Then, when philosophical and monastic thoughts and ideas began to dominate Christianity, the word "Word," which was synonymous with the divine command or the word "Kun," was considered synonymous with "speech" and was regarded as one of the eternal attributes of Allah. And it was thought that this eternal attribute of Allah itself took form in the womb of Sayyidah Maryamؑ and appeared in the form of Isaؑ. And the meaning of "a spirit from Him" was taken to mean that the spirit of Allah itself entered the body of Isa, thus Isa was considered a manifestation of Allah Himself. These false beliefs gained acceptance because the miracles given to Isa supported their beliefs. However, there were countless things that strongly refuted their beliefs. For example, in the Gospel, great emphasis is placed on the divinity of only one God. Also, Sayyiduna Isaؑ and his mother were both created and temporal. Both used to eat food and were subject to all the human needs that all humans experience. Then, Isaؑ could not save himself from being crucified and from such a humiliating death, so how could he be God? Furthermore, Sayyiduna Isaؑ and his mother both worshipped the one God themselves and taught others the same. All these things strongly refute their claim of divinity.

[226]
The Complexity of the Doctrine of Trinity:

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is such a puzzle that they themselves cannot explain it to others, and that belief is that God, Isa, and the Holy Spirit are all three gods, and these three gods together are still one God. That is, they mix up monotheism and trinity in such a way that a person is left bewildered and still finds no satisfaction. For example, they give the example that a penny has three pies, and these three together make one penny. The objection was raised that when Sayyidah Maryamؑ and Isaؑ had not yet been born, was God incomplete? And if He was incomplete, then how did this universe come into existence? And who was ruling over it? In short, so many interpretations of this doctrine have been presented that Christians have split into dozens of sects. Yet, their belief remains «لا ينحل» and will remain «لا ينحل».

[227]
Hair-Splitting in Divine Attributes:

That is, refrain from saying three gods or from philosophical and monastic hair-splitting in the divine attributes, because whoever has delved into the divine attributes has only gone astray. It should be clear that the verses related to the divine attributes belong to the mutashabihat (ambiguous) verses, regarding which the command is that one should not pursue them. Because neither do commands and prohibitions depend on them, nor do matters of permissibility and prohibition, nor do they have any relation to human guidance. Therefore, they should be accepted as they are, that they too are revealed from Allah. Also, only those whose hearts are perverse pursue such verses. Therefore, O group of Christians! It is better for you to accept divine revelation as it is and refrain from such hair-splitting, and the divine revelation is that only Allah alone is God, He has no need of any daughter or son, and He is pure and free from such things.

[228]
That is, Allah is the owner of everything and everything is His possession, and offspring are not possessions but equals. Therefore, only one of these two things can be correct. If he is a possession, then he is not a son, and if he is a son, then he is not a possession. Moreover, when even before the birth of Isaؑ, Allah alone was running the entire system of the universe, then what need arose for Him to have a son? Therefore, use some reason.