CHAPTER 5: CHRISTIAN’S CLAIM REGARDING THE THREE HYPOSTASES
They said, “According to this clear statement made by God in the Torah and in the books of the prophets, we believe in the three hypostases: One Essence, One God. One Lord, and One Creator.
He is the One we call: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
The answer is based on the following reasons:
First: The Torah and the Divine Books are full of proof that support the Oneness of Allah and refute polytheism. They also refute the godship of anything other than Allah. There is so much clear proof that they invalidate all the claims of the Christians. There is no mention of the hypostases whether explicitly or implicitly. They make the hypostasis a name for the Entity along with the attribute, while the Entity is One and there is multiplicity in the attributes not in the Entity.
It is impossible for an attribute to be united without the other attributes or the Entity. That means it is impossible for a hypostasis to unite or be immanent in some creature without the other hypostasis being present. There is no evidence to prove the existence of the three hypostases or the three attributes without the rest, in any of the Divine Books or in the words of the disciples. Nothing proves “A True God from a True God.” There is nothing to support calling the attributes of God, like His Words and His Life, a son, a god, or a lord. Nothing proves the unification of the Lord of heaven and the earth with a human being. Nothing supports the immanentism of the Entity and an attribute with the rest of the attributes without the Entity. There is no evidence to prove the immanent of the same attribute, His Knowledge, His Words, or His Life which are in His body in another.
There is nothing in the books of the prophets that they have with them to support that which they have proven concerning the Trinity, Immanentism, and Unification. It only contains many statements which clearly contradict what is mentioned in the Qur’an and contradicts reason as well. The Christians oppose both reason and the revealed books of God.
Second: They say, “We only assert the existence of One God.” Then they say words in their Caron, and cite their proof, to clearly support three gods, and in this way, they contradict themselves. This proves that all their words must be questioned. Wise people say, “Christians do not have a reasonable statement and their words are not taken from the prophets. There is neither hearing nor reasoning regarding them. As Allah, the Exalted, says about the denizens of Hellfire,
which means, “Had we listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!” (Al-Mulk, 67: 10)
Third: They admitted that the statement, “He is the One we call: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” was never said by them in the first place. They never used their reason concerning this Trinity, which is mentioned in their Canon and in this statement. Rather, this statement is taken from some versions of the Gospel where Christ ordered people to be baptized. If Christ said it, it is obligatory to think of what was meant by it and to consider al! the words and meanings. His statement should be interpreted according to the language he used to benefit the rest of what he said.
These people interpreted the words of Christ and the prophets beyond their meaning. They made such words prove the exact opposite of their meaning. Thus, they called the Words of God, His Knowledge, His Wisdom, or His Speech, a son. This is an invented name which none of the prophets ever called the attributes of God. When they invented this name, they said, “What is meant by the Son is Christ, the Word.” This is considered falsehood and interpreting the words of Christ beyond their meaning. The word ‘Son’ in their books means the one brought up by God. Thus, this word is not used in their prophet’s words except for Christ or with the human entity apart from the Divine Entity. According to them, neither Isra’il (Ya’qub, peace be upon him) nor Dawud (David, peace be upon him) were called the Son of God. The same applies to the disciples. It is mentioned in the Gospel of John regarding Christ and his people, that his people rejected him (those who crucified him). As for those who accepted him, they were granted the privilege of being the sons of God not because they resembled Him in their bodily form but because they are His sons.
This is clear evidence that all are the sons of God. They acknowledge that none among them has a human entity uniting with a Divine Entity. From this it is known that what was meant by ‘The Son of God’ mentioned in the books was the human entity alone and does not mean an attribute of God.
Thus, when they say that Christ meant the Divine Entity when he mentioned the word ‘Son,’ is a manifest lie. Christ is called a Son on these bases. None among the prophets ever named the Life of God, which is His attribute, a Holy Spirit. The term ‘Holy Spirit’ refers, in the Books of God, to the angel (Gabriel). At times, it means guidance, revelation, and support.
By: Sheikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah
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