CHAPTER 5: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SIMILARITY AND BEING IDENTICAL
They said, “When we say that God is one god in three hypostases, this is because He said it Himself. He clarified it in the Torah and in the books of the prophets, like what is mentioned in the first book of the Torah which says that when God willed to create Adam, He said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’ (Gen: 1 :26) Who can be more similar to Him and identical to Him than His Word and His Spirit?
When Adam disobeyed his Lord, God, the Exalted, said, This is Adam. The man has become one of Us.’ (Gen: 3:22) it is clear that God made this statement to His Son and His Holy Spirit.”
The answer: Taking this as evidence to support their claim regarding Christ is invalid and is considered to be a form of deviation. The exact wording mentioned in the Torah is, “Make Adam in Our Shape and Likeness “. Others interpret it as, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Gen: 1 :26)
The meaning is the same. It is as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘Verily, Allah created Adam (Adam, peace be upon him) in His Own Shape.” In another narration it says, “In the Shape of Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful).” Their saying, “Who can be more similar to Him and identical to Him than His Word and His Spirit?” is invalid because of the following reasons:
First: There is nothing like unto Allah and the exact word mentioned is not ‘Our Likeness.’
Second: Christ is not exclusively distinguished in this matter, whether it is true or false. It does not specify Christ when interpreting the statement, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Gen: 1:26)
Third: If by the Word they mean, that which is similar to Him and identical to Him, then His attribute of Knowledge is dependent on Him and Life is dependent on Him, and we know that the attribute is never like the attributed. This is because the attribute is the independent entity and the attribute is dependent on it. If they mean something other than His attributes like Christ’s body and soul, this is a part of creation. A creature is never identical to the Creator. The same applies to the Holy Spirit whether the intended is an argel, guidance, or support, for none can ever be identical to Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He.
Fourth: He said, ‘let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” (Gen: 1:26) or He said, “Create Adam or create a human being and our image, after our likeness,” and according to what they said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Gen: 1 :26) Anyway, this is the creation of God, while His Word and His Spirit are not among His creatures. Thus, it is impossible that the intended meaning is His Word and His Spirit.
If they said, “He means the (Christian) human entity; there is no difference between this human entity and all other human entities, while the text refers to Adam, the father of all human beings. The human entity is neither the Word of God nor His Spirit.
Fifth: if we suppose that what is meant here is that the Words of God are like His Entity in some ways as they are original, nothing here refers to the three hypostases.
The same applies to the famous statement, “Let us make man in our image after our likeness.” (Gen: 1:26) It does not refer to a Trinity. For something to be similar to another, it has to be like it in some respects. This does not necessitate it being identical, which requires that they share what is obligatory, permissible, and impossible among their attributes. If it is said, “This is living, knowing, and powerful,” and “This is living, knowing, and powerful,” in which they are similar in life, knowledge, and power, this does not mean that this is identical to that in what is obligatory, permissible, and impossible.
Sixth: His Statement, “Let us make man in our image,” (Gen: 1:26) does not refer to His attribute like His Words or His dependent Life, for this is not a part of creation. This does not involve the Divine Entity who, they claim, has assumed the shape of the human entity, for the Divine Entity is not a part of creation.
The human entity is like all other human entities and is not distinguished by anything such as being similar to God to the exclusion of the rest of mankind. The statement, “Who is the creature similar to Him other than His Word and His Spirit?” is invalid in all accounts.
God said, “This is Adam. He has become like one of Us,” and they said, “It is clear that God made this statement to His Son and His Holy Spirit.” If they mean by ‘One of Us’ His Son, this is totally invalid. If what was meant by this Son was the Word of God, which is His attribute, there is nothing created for this attribute to be one of them. It is not called Adam and God did not call it a son.
If they mean the human entity of Christ, it is impossible to be like the original and the eternal. Besides, God said this statement concerning Adam and Adam is not Christ. It is not right to say ‘Adam’ while you mean ‘Christ 1 as it is not right to say ‘Adam disobeyed’ while you mean ‘Christ.’ He also said, “Adam… like one of Us,” which refers to something that happened in the past, not to something that will happen after thousands of years. If they mean that God made this statement to His Son, who is His Word and His Spirit, then we must ask, which is their intended meaning, as they say that He said this by way of mocking Adam who asked to be like God and as a result became naked and disgraced. In this way, their evidence is the word ‘Us’ because He said it in the plural form. The same applies when they refer to the statement, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” (Gen: 1:26) where they used the plural form to support their claim. The same happened with the Christians of Najran (a place near Yemen) when they argued with the Prophet (peace be upon him). They used the Words of Allah, the Exalted, ‘We’ as proof that they are three. This was not entirely clear, and they sought polytheism and trials, and also sought its hidden meanings. They neglected the dear, manifest evidence that bears but one meaning. Allah, In all of His Divine Books, clarified that He is One God, that He has no partners, and that nothing is like unto Him.
Allah refers to Himself as ‘We.’ In all languages, this word refers to someone who has no partners and people similar to him. It also refers to the One Obeyed Great (Lord) who has supporters to obey Him. They are not partners or equals to Him. Allah, the Exalted, created everything so, it is impossible that He would have a partner or an equal. The angels and all of creation are His soldiers.
It is also known that Adam (peace be upon him) did not ask to be like Allah or like His attributes such as His Knowledge and attributes.
By: Sheikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah
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