CHAPTER 4: REFUTING THE CHRISTIANS’ CLAIM
Their Claim of the Trinity: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Answer: The Christians disagree about interpreting this principle. Many of them say that the Father is Existence, the Son is the Word, and the Holy Spirit is Life. Others say that the Father is Existence, the Son is the Word and the Holy Spirit is Omnipotence. Others say that the three hypostases are: an Originator Wise and Omnipotent; the Father is the Originator, the Son is the Wise and the Holy Spirit is the Omnipotent. They claim that the three qualities are attributed to these three, alleging that they have found evidence of His Existence in His bringing things from nonexistence into existence.
Some of them say, i.e., an Originator Wise and Omnipotent, with knowledge, saying: an Existing Living Knower or the Existing Knowing Omnipotent. Some say He is speaking, others say He is the Existing Living All-Wise, while others say he is the Self-Existent Living All-Wise. They all agree that the hypostasis united with or immanent in Christ is that of the Word, which they call the Son, not the Father.
Those who deny unification and immanence; like for instance the Ad-Dhusiyyah sect, say that Christ (peace be upon him) is a servant, who was sent just like ail Messengers (peace be upon them all). They agree to the words of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, but they do not believe in immanence and unification.
Their claim, “When we saw the occurrence of things and knew that something else had caused their occurrence…”
Those who make such allegations are a certain Christian sect, and it should be said to them, “The claim concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit existed among Christians before your existence, your seeking, and this conclusion. Thus, your seeking to understand cannot be considered as the cause behind this claim. If they mean that from the time of ‘seeing,’ all the Christians also saw, concluded and said so, this would be a manifest lie, for the Christians say that they took this belief from the Bible, where Christ (peace be upon him) said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matt: 28:19)
Neither Christ nor any of the Disciples ordered them to do this, which resulted in this belief. Also, Christ did not make this saying dependent upon seeing. Thus, their claim that this belief had sprung from that conclusion is false, and they know it to be so. If Christ did not say this (i.e., the trinity), then it should not be said. If, by saying this statement, one means that it is a human being in the correct meaning, this statement would cause falsehood in general to be believed. That is why there are many Christians who believe that Christ is the son of Allah as a form of ordinary filiation known between creatures. They believe that Maryam (Mary, may Allah be pleased with her) is Allah’s wife. This is the established belief between Christians, and even if they do not admit this, they know that the one who begets must have a wife.
That is why the Exalted says,
which means, “How can He have children when He has no wife? He created all things and He is the All-Knower of everything.” (Al-An’am, 6; 101)
Considering the Lord to be the father of the child is more deniable to the human mind than proving that He has a wife, whether the begetting is interpreted as being a normal one or a mental one, which some Christian Scholars allege. If the matter of the wife can be interpreted then the same can be interpreted about the son. They said that the father had begotten the Word while Maryam had begotten the human entity. Then the human entity was united with the divine. Thus, the father is considered to be a father of the divine side not the human side, while Maryam is the mother of the human side and not the divine. Similarly, she can be a wife to the human side but not to the divine. In addition, the divine entity is a husband to Maryam with his divinity, so he is also a father to Christ with his divine entity. If human and divine natures unite in Christ for a long period of time, what would prevent the divine nature from uniting with the human nature of Maryam for a short period of time? If the human being she begat was considered a son of the divine entity, why should she not be the companion and wife of the divine entity? To them, i.e., the Christians, Christ is the unity of divine and human nature; he is a complete divine entity and a complete human being. His divinity stems from Allah, while his humanity stems from Maryam. Thus, he has two origins: a divine one and a human one. If one of the origins is his father and the other is his mother, why would not his mother be a wife of his father? This must be so especially since companionship always occurs before filiation. How can the conclusion (descendent) be an established fact while the premise (ascendant) is not?
These allegations are not possible and their only evidence is that of proving the Prophethood of Christ. If Christ (peace be upon him) really said these words, we know that he and all prophets are sinless and always truthful, and if he really said so, the words must have a correct truthful meaning.
It is unreasonable that the Christians meant something about Jesus that can be refuted by plain rationally deduced evidence or by authentic textual evidence. If the minds and early divine books as well as the Qur’anic texts contradict what the Christians have invented about Christ, it will be known that Christ did not intend a false meaning that contradicts clear rationally deduced evidence and authentic texts.
Moreover, if that claim was correct about the sinless Christ (peace be upon him), his words would have coincided with what he said in other speeches found in their books, which refers to the lord as father and his servants as sons. They mentioned that the Lord said to Ya’qub (Jacob, peace be upon him) in the Torah, “You are My eldest son,” and to Dawud (David) in the Psalms, “You are my son and my loved one.” In the Gospel and in more than one place, Christ says, “My father and yours,” like for example, his saying, “I go to my father and yours, my lord and yours.” Thus, the Lord is referred to as a father while they are referred to as his children. If that is true, then what is meant is that he is the Merciful, Educating Lord. Allah is more merciful to His servants than a mother is to her child. Thus, the father means the lord and the son means Christ whom He has raised and educated.
The Holy Spirit is a phrase mentioned in Christianity in several books, and all of them agree that it does not mean Allah’s Life. According to them, the Holy Spirit is incarnated in Ibrahim (Abraham, peace be upon him), Musa (Moses, peace be upon him), Dawud (David, peace be upon him) and other prophets and righteous people.
In the Qur’an, Allah says that He supported Christ with the Holy Spirit,
which means, “And We gave ‘Isa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), clear signs and supported him with Ruhul-Qudus [Jibril (Gabriel)].” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 87)
He also says,
which means,” O ‘Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)! Remember My Favour to you and to your mother when I supported you with Ruhul-Qudus [Jibril (Gabriel)]. (Al-Ma’idah, 5: 110)
The Holy Spirit either means the Holy Angel; like Jibril, or the revelation or guidance and support, which Allah causes to descend with or without the angel. These can be correlated, as the angel descends with revelation, so revelation descends by means of the angel, and Allah supports His Messengers with both angels and guidance. The Exalted says to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),
which means, “Then Allah sent down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquillity, peace, etc.) upon him, and strengthened him with forces (angels) which you saw not.” (At-Tawbah, 9: 40)
He, the Almighty also says,
which means, “And We sent against them a wind and forces that you saw not [i.e., troops of angels during the battle of Al-Ahzab (the Confederates)].” (Al-Ahzab, 33: 9)
The Holy Spirit is mentioned in the speech of early and later prophets as an order, which Allah causes to descend upon His prophets and righteous servants, whether it be in the form of angels who descend with revelation or with victory. Thus, the Holy Spirit is revelation and support with or without the angel, and it certainly does not mean the life of Allah. His saying, “Go ye therefore, and teach a!! nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…” (Matt: 28:19) means, “Order people to believe in Allah, the Messenger He has sent, and the angel who has descended with revelation.” Thus, it is a command for them to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books and His Prophets, and this is the truth proven by plain rationally, deduced evidence and authentic textual evidence. Interpreting the statement of the sinless Christ with that which agrees with the other statements in their books, the Qur’an and reason is more correct than interpreting it with that which disagrees with plain rationally, deduced evidence and authentic textual evidence.
This is a clear interpretation, it is not a false one, which distorts words from their apparent meaning, but rather it is an interpretation which is reflected in the apparent words with known used language and the wording of Christ’s speech as well as that of all other prophets.
The Christian interpretation that the Son is Knowledge or is the Word of Allah, it is an incorrectly applied interpretation whether it is taken from the speech of one of the prophets or from their language. Similar to this is the interpretation of the Holy Spirit as being the Life of Allah. That which the Christians used to interpret the apparent meaning of Christ’s statement is an interpretation that disagrees with his language and habit of talking and also with the language of other prophets and nations. The only thing that agrees with his speech is the interpretation we have outlined, which has also been established by Christian scholars.
Because of the misguidance of Christians who distort the meanings of the Books of Allah, the Exalted and Ever-Majestic, they interpret the statement with something that disagrees with its apparent meaning, and which also disagrees with the mind and established laws. Their interpretation contradicts the apparent meaning of the language by which they were addressed and the apparent meaning of the Books they have, but our interpretation agrees with the apparent meaning of their language and with the apparent meaning of their Books. Thus, it is clear that they have neither a textual nor reasonably deduced evidence to assert the existence of the trinity, which is, therefore, considered invalid by established laws and reason.
Their Claim Concerning the Three Hypostases
They believe in the hypostases while it is invalid, both according to reason and to their laws. It is not mentioned in any of their books. This term is not found in any of the books of their prophets, which are in their hands, neither in the words of the disciples, but it is a term that they have innovated. It is said to be a Roman word. In their language, the word hypostasis means the origin. That is why when they interpret the hypostases, one time they say it refers to humans, at another to properties, at another time to attributes, and at other times to essence. Sometimes, they use the hypostasis to refer to the entity and attributes together which is the interpretation of their wisest people.
Their Claim That Christ is a Creator
This is an invalid claim according to both law and reason. It was not mentioned in any of their prophecies but they put forth proof for it which is not applicable.
Their Claim Regarding the Incarnation of Divine Nature
This is also an invalid claim according to both law and reason. There is no evidence to support it in the truthful words of the prophets and messengers.
Their Claim that Allah is a Living Speaking Being
There is no doubt that Allah is a Living, All-Knowing, All-Powerful, and speaking being. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) guided Muslims to a lot of rationally deduced proof until the fact became known and supported by evidence from Islamic law.
The Christians claim to prove it by reason and yet they provide no rationally, deduced evidence.
They say, “When we saw the occurrence of things, we knew that another being caused them to occur, for it is impossible that they happen by themselves as they are contradictory and in a continual state of flux.”
This is a false statement for the following reasons:
First: You did not see the occurrence of all creatures but you only saw the occurrence of the matters, which you personally witnessed such as clouds, rain, animals, plants, etc. So where is your evidence concerning the occurrence of ‘all’ things?
Second: You should have said, “When the occurrence of things, the occurrence of animals, the occurrence of all things other than God, etc, became known” which shows that occurrences are anything apart from God. But it is invalid to generalize the occurrence of all things because in this way, according to you, Allah is one of these things!
Third: It is necessary to know that the occurrence of things must be caused by an originator, for it is essential, inherent knowledge. That is why Allah, the Exalted, says,
which means, “Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators?” (At-Tur, 52: 35)
It is known both by natural disposition and by reason that an occurrence does not occur without an occasion to occasion it and that it is impossible for an occurrence to occur without an occasion to occasion it. This is an inherent matter in human beings, even in children. If a child was hit and said, “Who hit me?” and it was said to him, “No one hit you,” his mind would not accept that the blow happened by itself!
It is also obvious that it did not originate or occur by itself, for if it did not exist before its occurrence, it was nothing, which means that it is impossible for it to create another thing, let alone create itself.
When you say that it does not happen by itself because of its contradictory and changing nature, this is an invalid justification. The reason for this is because our knowledge that it occurred is not found by itself and it is not because of its contradictory and changing nature, for whether it was similar, different, or contradictory, we know by reason that the occurrence does not originate itself. This is obvious and clear. Things that do not exist cannot create something and the occasional of existing occurrences is certainly not non-existent.
When you said, “We said it is unlike any created thing, for He is the creator of all things in order to refute His nonexistence.”
To this we reply, “There is no doubt that Allah is as He described Himself,
which means, “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the Ail-Seer.” (Ash-Shura, 42: 11)
Any rational thinking mind would assert that there is nothing like Allah, but you did not provide any proof to your claim based on the fact that He is the Creator of all things. You depended on the occurrence of things that you witnessed, but it is not possible that you witnessed all things. You did not provide any proof that there is nothing like unto Him although He is the Creator of all things.
There is no doubt that the Creator must exist and could never be non-existent. This is a fact that does not require any proof to those who are wise and observe life carefully, in spite of the fact that some of them have proven His Existence with abstract proofs. But you did not provide any proof that He is unlike all the created things. When you said, “He is the Creator of all things, it denotes that He is the Creator of all things other than Himself,” this does not show or refute His likeness to other things. Ignorance of the revealed books is made manifest in such statements.
By: Sheikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah
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