Islamic view of the Trinity

In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a communion of three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Within Islam, however, such a concept of plurality within God is a denial of monotheism and foreign to the revelation found in Muslim scripture. Shirk, the act of ascribing partners to God – whether they be sons, daughters, or other partners – is considered to be blasphemous in Islam. The Qur'an repeatedly and firmly asserts God's absolute oneness, thus ruling out the possibility of another being sharing his sovereignty or nature.[1] There has been little doubt that Muslims have rejected Christian doctrines of the Trinity from an early date, but the details of Quranic exegesis have recently become a subject of renewed scholarly debate.[1][2]

In the Qur'an

Three Qur'anic verses may directly refer to this doctrine. Possible Qur'anic references to the doctrine of "Trinity" are verses 4:171, 5:73, and 5:116.[1]

Furthermore, verses 19:88-93, 23:91, and 112:1-4 are relevant to the doctrine of "Trinity":

Discussion

Interpretation of these verses by modern scholars has been varied.[1][2]

Although the latter group of verses have usually been taken to reject the mainstream Christian view of Jesus as son of God, William Montgomery Watt has argued that they refer specifically to an unorthodox notion of "physical sonship".[9][10]

Verse 5:73 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.[11] Hence, verses 5:72–75 may merely be criticizing the idea that Jesus and God are the same.[11] 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.[1][10]

Similarly, verse 4:171 can be read as a rejection of Jesus' divinity. 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."[12]

There is also debate about whether this verse should be taken literally.[10] For example, Thomas states that verse 5:116 need not be seen as describing actually professed beliefs, 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 one God and He alone is to be worshipped."[1] When read in this light, it can be understood as an admonition, "Against the divinization of Jesus that is given elsewhere in the Qur'an and a warning against the virtual divinization of Mary in the declaration of the fifth-century church councils that she is 'God-bearer'."[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 David Thomas, Trinity, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
  2. 1 2 Mun'im Sirry (1 May 2014). Scriptural Polemics: The Qur'an and Other Religions. Oxford University Press.
  3. ↑ Quran 4:171
  4. ↑ Quran 5:72–75
  5. ↑ Quran 5:116
  6. ↑ Quran 19:88–93
  7. ↑ Quran 23:91
  8. ↑ Quran 112:1–4
  9. ↑ W. Montgomery Watt (1956). Muhammad At Medina. Oxford At The Clarendon Press. p. 318.
  10. 1 2 3 Mun'im Sirry (1 May 2014). Scriptural Polemics: The Qur'an and Other Religions. Oxford University Press. p. 47.
  11. 1 2 S. Griffith: Christians and Christianity.
  12. ↑ Edward Hulmes: Qur'an and the Bible, The; entry in the Oxford Companion to the Bible.

External links

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