The Trinity in the Qur'an
The possible Qur'anic references to the
doctrine of "Trinity" are verses
4:171 , 5:73 ,
and 5:116 .
[1]
'
People of the Book , do not go to
excess in your religion, and do not
say anything about God except the
truth: the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary,
was nothing more than a messenger
of God, His word, directed to Mary, a
spirit from Him. So believe in God and
His messengers and do not speak of
a 'Trinity'—stop, that is better for
you—God is only one God, He is far
above having a son, everything in the
heavens and earth belongs to Him
and He is the best one to trust.
— Qur'an, sura 4 ( An-Nisa ), ayat
171
[2]
”
“
Those who say, "God is the Messiah,
son of Mary," have defied God. The
Messiah himself said; "Children of
Israel, worship God, my Lord and
your Lord." If anyone associates
others with God, God will forbid him
from the Garden, and Hell will be his
home. No one will help such
evildoers. Those people who say that
God is the third of three are defying
[the truth]: there is only One God. If
they persist in what they are saying,
a painful punishment will afflict
those of them who persist. Why do
they not turn to God and ask his
forgiveness, when God is most
forgiving, most merciful? The
Messiah, son of Mary, was only a
messenger; other messengers had
come and gone before him; his
mother was a virtuous woman; both
ate food. See how clear We make
these signs for them; see how
deluded they are.
— Qur'an, sura 5 ( Al-Ma'ida ), ayat
72-75
[3]
”
“
And when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son
of Mary, did you say to the people,
'Take me and my mother as deities
besides Allah ?'" He will say, "Exalted
are You! It was not for me to say that
to which I have no right. If I had said
it, You would have known it. You
know what is within myself, and I do
not know what is within Yourself.
Indeed, it is You who is Knower of
the unseen.
— Qur'an, sura 5 ( Al-Ma'ida ), ayat
116
[4]
”
Furthermore, verses 19:88-93, 23:91, and
112:1-4 are relevant to the doctrine of
"Trinity":
“
They say: "(Allah) Most Gracious has
begotten a son!" Indeed ye have put
forth a thing most monstrous! At it
the skies are ready to burst, the
earth to split asunder, and the
mountains to fall down in utter ruin,
that they should invoke a son for
(Allah) Most Gracious. For it is not
consonant with the majesty of (Allah)
Most Gracious that He should beget a
son. Not one of the beings in the
heavens and the earth but must
come to (Allah) Most Gracious as a
servant.
— Qur'an, sura 19 ( Maryam (sura) ),
ayat 88-93
[5]
”
“
No son did Allah beget, nor is there
any god along with Him: (if there
were many gods), behold, each god
would have taken away what he had
created, and some would have
lorded it over others! Glory to Allah!
(He is free) from the (sort of) things
they attribute to Him!
— Qur'an, sura 23 (Al-Mumenoon),
ayat 91
[6]
”
“
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He
begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.
— Qur'an, sura 112 ( Al-Ikhlas ), ayat
1-4
[7]
”
Discussion
Interpretation of these verses is varied
[1]
and the most straightforward appears to
be 5:73. It has been interpreted as a
potential criticism of Syriac literature that
references Jesus as "the third of three" and
thus an attack on the view that Christ was
divine.
[8]
Hence, verses 5:72-75 may merely
be criticizing the idea that Jesus and God
are the same.
[8]
Alternatively, it may be a
purposeful simplification of the Christian
belief in the humanity and divinity of Christ
in order to expose its potential weakness
when viewed from the firmly monotheistic
position of Islam.
Similarly, verse 4:171 can be read as a
rejection of the divinity of Jesus. It is worth
noting that in explaining these verses, early
Muslim Qur'anic commentators noted that
"the Christian 'three' was an internal
characteristic of the godhead... rather than
a series of external beings placed together
with God."
[1]
Regarding the verse 5:116, some scholars
have written that the version of the
"Trinity" concept that the Qur'an is
criticizing appears to be God, Jesus, and
Mary ; and that this is not a description of
orthodox Christian belief, wherein the third
part of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. Edward
Hulmes writes:
“
"The Qur'anic interpretation of
trinitarian orthodoxy as belief in the
Father, the Son, and the Virgin Mary,
may owe less to a misunderstanding of
the New Testament itself than to a
recognition of the role accorded by local
Christians (see Choloridians ) to Mary as
mother in a special sense."
[9]There is also debate abut whether this
verse is about the Trinity. For example,
Thomas states that verse 5:116 need not
be seen as discussing the Christian Trinity,
but rather, giving examples of shirk
(claiming divinity for beings other than
God) and a "warning against excessive
devotion to Jesus and extravagant
veneration of Mary, a reminder linked to the
central theme of the Qur'an that there is
only 1 God and He alone is to be
worship