Islamic view of the Trinity
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In Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single essence in which three distinct hypostases ("persons"): the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, exist consubstantially and co-eternally as a perichoresis. Islam considers the concept of any "plurality" within God to be a denial of monotheism. Monotheism in Islam, known as Tawhid, is the religion's central and single most important concept, upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. Shirk, the act of ascribing partners to God – whether they be sons, daughters, or other partners – is considered to be a form of unbelief in Islam and is considered the worst sin in Islam.[1] The Quran repeatedly and firmly asserts God's absolute oneness, thus ruling out the possibility of another being sharing his sovereignty or nature.[2] In Islam, the Holy Spirit is believed to be the angel Gabriel.[3] Muslims have explicitly rejected Christian doctrines of the Trinity from an early date.[2][4]
In the Quran
Three Quranic verses may directly refer to this doctrine, Template:Qref, Template:Qref, and Template:Qref.[2] Template:Quote
Furthermore, verses Template:Qref, Template:Qref and Template:Qref are relevant to the doctrine of "Trinity": Template:Quote Template:Quote Template:Quote
Discussion
Interpretation of these verses by modern scholars has been varied.[2][4] Although the latter group of verses have usually been taken to reject the mainstream Christian view of Jesus as son of God, Watt has argued that they refer specifically to an unorthodox notion of "physical sonship".[5][4]:47
Verse Template:Qref 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.[6] Hence, verses Template:Qref may merely be criticizing the idea that Jesus and God are the same.[6] 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.[2][4]:47
Similarly, verse Template:Qref can be read as a rejection of Jesus' divinity. It is worth noting that in explaining these verses, early Muslim Quranic commentators noted that "the Christian 'three' was an internal characteristic of the godhead... rather than a series of external beings placed together with God."[2]
Some Muslim commentators believe Template:Qref as referring to Mary as part of the Christian Trinity referring to the worship of both Jesus and Mary as gods.Template:Refn Critics use this to argue that the Quran's author was mistaken about orthodox Christian beliefs, wherein Mary is a human and the third part of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, Muslims argue that past Collyridian Christians have explicitly believed Mary to be a divine being.[7][8][9] However some historians, such as Averil Cameron, have been skeptical about whether Collyridians even existed and noted that Epiphanius is the only source for the group and that later authors simply refer to his text.[10] There is no further proof that such a sect ever existed and it is very unlikely that they existed in the 7th century. Others argue that Template:Qref in fact does not allude to the Trinity since the term itself isn't stated in the verse and instances where the Trinity is explicitly mentioned (QTemplate:Qref and Template:Qref), Mary's alleged divine status is not noted.[9] Some recent Western scholarship support a rhetorical understanding of the Quranic accusation of Mary's divinity claim in Q5:116;[4]:47Template:Refn[11] arguing the verse generally gives an example of Shirk and admonishes it.[2]Template:Refn
Insofar as Islam developed as a simplification,[12] restoration,[13] or reformation[14] of various Abrahamic traditions and practices, the purely monotheistic Islamic rejection of any form of Trinitarian doctrine can function as a rejection or evasion of the fierce controversies on the Trinity that beset the early Christian churches and which had led to repeated schisms, especially evident in Muhammad's west Asian milieu.
See also
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Notes
References
External links
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=9i3lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT8&dq=is+shirk+the+worst+sin&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj334-Dq7qNAxVK_8kDHVEeGrsQ6AF6BAgFEAM
- ↑ a b c d e f g David Thomas, Trinity, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
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