KĒRUSSŌMEN 6/1 (2020) 104–144

ISLAM AND THE TRINITY

Billy C. Sichone

Whenever one interacts with Muslims, regardless of which

part on the world they are from, a discussion of the nature of
God ensues. If they discover that the opposite speaker is not a
submitter like them, let alone a Christian, Muslims often bring to
the table the unity of Allah. While they agree and, in many cases,
assert that all previous religious Prophets were predecessors of
the final one, Muslims often object to the idea that the these
religions are as accurate as Islamic perspective, for Islam1 is the
ultimate and correct religion. Muhammad (Muslims often add
the words: ‘Peace Be Upon Him’ or PBUH as a sign of respect for
any prophet) brought the final corrected view about God not the
corrupted versions found in the Torah (Tawrat) or gospel (Ingil)2.
Muslims, therefore, inflexibly assert that God is one, a unit,
indivisible, eternal, possessing 99 beautiful names, merciful,
transcendent, without associates or parts and prescribes how
humans should live, in harmony, equity and care for each other.
In short, in Islam, the concept of God is strict monotheism
termed Tawhid.
On the other hand, Muslims often demonstrate a great
degree of social concern3 that often sweeps the unsuspecting

1
‘Islam’ means ‘to submit’ to the will of Allah. A Muslim, therefore,
is one who submits.
2
Abdullah Saeed, “The Charge of Distortion of Jewish and
Christian Scriptures” The Muslim World Vol 92 issue 3–4 (Sept 2002):
419–436; see also Muhammet Tarakci and Suleyman Sayar “The
Qur’anic View of the Corruption of the Torah and the Gospels” The
Islamic Quarterly, Vol 49, Issue 3 (2005): 227–245.
3
Even often eclipsing that of Christians!
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making them believe that, for sure, Islam must be the only true
religion of God. From another perspective, it is hardly surprising
to hear adherents claim that Christians and Muslims are sister
religions4 and serve the same God. Muslims claim that Islam
venerates the same deity Christians worship, except that they
merely use the Arabic rendering for God.5 They further assert
that Islam highly esteems Mary6 and Jesus7 as a Prophet, Apostle,
perhaps more than Christians do in their Bible practice.
In the highly religious context of Zambia, Islam has been for
a long time a minority religion, commanding less than 1% of its
total population. In recent times, however, things seem to be
rapidly changing; Islam appears to be expanding globally. One
wonders how this could be so, especially in Zambia, where the
Christian faith has reigned supreme for over a century now.
Suddenly, Islam seems to be undercutting Christianity and other
faiths. Many reasons could be adduced for this phenomenon, but
it suffices to say that Islam is a religion on the march.
Islam has used a number of strategies to carve inroads into
Christian turf, one of which is to oppose the doctrine of the
Trinity on the grounds that it makes Christianity guilty of
polytheism, or at least tri-theism, for worshiping three deities,
namely, Father, Isa (Jesus) and Mary (Q5:116; see also 4:171).
Christians on the other hand are blissfully slumbering assuming
all is well with absolutely nothing to ever rock the boat. Most
saints rarely wrestle with the mysterious doctrine of the Holy
Trinity, but instead uncritically accept the orthodox dogmas

4
That is, they are both from a family that has come to be known as
‘Abrahamic faiths’ consisting of Judaism, Islam and Christianity given
their apparent sharing the patriarch Abraham.
5
Others claim “Allah” is the actual proper name of God: ‘Allah’
literally means ‘The God.’
6
Mary the mother of Jesus called Maryam.
7
Isa Ibn Maryam
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passed down without any personal biblical examination. How is

the Christian to effectively respond to this scenario? How will
the Christian potently push back against the onslaughts of Islam
on the Trinity? What should the Christian know in order to
intelligently engage with Islamic theological combatants? What
apparatus will they deploy to advance the cause of Christ? These
and many others are key questions worth addressing but the
study addresses only aspects of them in some minor detail.
The scope of this study therefore revolves around and
explores what Islam is, its nature, tenets and the Qur’ans’ view of
the nature of God, in relation to the Trinity. To achieve these
ends, this article gives a brief background to the religion and its
worldview before highlighting its errors concluding with a
correct Christian view of the Trinity. The enquiry concludes
with some helpful remarks for effective cordial Christian-
Muslim engagement.

The first thought that invades the mind is: why should we
bother expending time to address the matter of the Trinity?
Why should there be any consideration of two views completely
worlds apart, those of Christianity and Islam? There are a
number of reasons, some of which have already been alluded to
in the introduction.
First, we note that Islam claims to be of the same root as
Christianity. It is part of the family of religions dubbed the
Abrahamic faiths, hailing from the Oriental East. Judaism,
Christianity and Islam lay claim to Abraham as their patriarch.
Second, Islam claims to be the successor of Christianity as
Christianity does to Judaism.
Third, Islam claims to be the final religion that supersedes
all others, meaning that all religions must bow to its dictates.

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Fourth, Islam claims to be monotheistic like the other two

except that it is asserts that God is a singular being rather than a
Tri-unity. Islam is inflexibly dogmatic on this matter.
Fifth, Islam accuses Christians of being polytheists and
therefore guilty of the heinous unpardonable sin dubbed shirk. In
the Muslim mind, Christians actually do not really espouse one
God but a limited pantheon of three deities.
Sixth, Islam is making serious inroads in traditionally
Christian contexts like Zambia and seems to be winning in some
places though not all. Being a missionary religion and through
its Dawah8 efforts, Islam is busy undercutting the unquestioned
Christian Dogma of the Trinity as espoused by believers.
Seventh, very few Christians seem to understand or are
competently able to articulate the doctrine, let alone believe it in
the orthodox sense. A survey would probably reveal that many
Christians hold defective or unclear views on the Trinity ranging
from Sabellanism (Modalism) or Docetism, and in some extreme
cases, even pantheism! Gnostic views seem to flow apace where
ignorance reigns. For these and other reasons, it is necessary to
address this important matter not only for now but for posterity.

Islam is a religion9 started around AD 610 when Muhammad,

a previous orphan but now established Arabian trader received
his first revelation in a cave at Hira. Naturally, he was staggered
and suspected that some questionable spirit had possessed him,
but his wife assured him that what he had received meant that

8
Or missionary activities aimed at winning converts to Islam.
Dawah takes place in different forms across contexts.
9
Some scholars like Dr Shabbir Ahmed and Dr Syed Abdul Wadud
object to Islam being dubbed a ‘religion’ per se.
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he was a Prophet.10 Watt gives an interesting narrative on how

many years earlier, as a young lad, Muhammad had been
identified by a monk to be a mighty man in future, and this
turned out to be as from AD 610.11 For the next 23 years,
Muhammad received intermittent revelations (i.e. Wahi) to guide
him and the emerging ‘umma’ or Muslim Community.
Despite the changing scenes of life, amidst trouble,
challenges, betrayal and triumphs, Islam eventually established
itself that by AD 630, Mecca had been conquered. The Arabian
movement would then rapidly expand to global proportions
literary spanning the world. John of Damascus12 considered it as
a Christian heretical cult from Arabia and engaged it attempting
to prove that Christianity was true while Islam was false. His
efforts are definitely outstanding but Islam none the less
transitioned on to become the global movement we have today,
practically not ignorable!
As the religion was gaining traction, certain core tenets
emerged, including the claim that Allah was ‘The God’ or the
supreme, unique and above all others. Prior to the advent of
Islam, Arabs are said to have lived in ignorance 13 and darkness,
worshipping a multiplicity and pantheon of deities. Paganism
was rife and unchecked. Among these idols were Manat, al-Lat
and al-Uzza, deities which Surah 53 alludes to (Ayahs 19-20).14
Islam dogmatically asserted that there was only one single

10
Some writers claim that a Christian prophet and relation to
Khadijah assured Muhammad that he was in fact a Prophet of Allah,
given his unusual experience.
11
Montgomery Watt, Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1961).
12
See Daniel Janosik’s insightful book John of Damascus: First
Apologist to Muslims (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2016).
13
Or jahiliyyah.
14
Chapter divisions in the Qur’an are called Surahs and verse
divisions Ayahs.
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deity.15 This was the chief and central revolutionary doctrine

Muhammad promoted. If anyone did not submit, sanctions
followed, although some claim that Islam never used the sword
to convert. Mark Shaw suggests that this story line has been
exaggerated though carries some grain of truth in some cases.16
He and others, however, claim that Muslims have been far more
tolerant in comparison to the Christian Byzantine Empire.
But then there were other doctrines that emerged out of
the revelations, the Tanzil as encapsulated in the Qur’an. In our
brief discourse, we summarize these doctrines (in addition to
Tawhid) as held in common by Muslims:

1. Angels (Malaikah)
2. Divine Predestination (Al-qadr)
3. Prophets and their scriptures (Risalah)
4. Judgement and afterlife (Akhirah)

It must be mentioned that in Islam, orthopraxy is relatively

more critical than orthodoxy. This means that Muslims
emphasise right practice over correct belief. Orthopraxy relates
to the five pillars, namely Declaration of faith (Shahadah), Prayer
(Salat), Fasting (Saum), Alms giving (Zakat) and Pilgrimage (Hajj).
Shii Muslims adopt a few additional tenets including Jihad.

Whenever we seek to effectively engage people with the

gospel, it is necessary to first know how they think and process
matters. Muslims are no exceptions. Many state that in order to
adequately address the issue of Islam and the Trinity, it is critical

Those believing in only one deity were often called Hanifs.

15

Mark Shaw, The Kingdom of God in Africa (Katungayake, Sri Lanka:

16

New Life Literature [Pvt.] Ltd., 2006).

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for one to have an appreciation of the Muslim worldview.17

Muslim thought process is best appreciated if one knows the
grids through which they perceive and interpret the world. They
think differently from others and thus react in ways that may at
times startle onlookers. That is not to suggest that they are
irrational or unrealistic, not at all! Rather, Muslims come to
conclusions about matters based on certain firm principles
regulating all their thinking, decision making and interactions. If
anything is perceived not to find a place in their framework of
thinking, it is swiftly rejected or treated with extreme caution.
Although some argue that Islam does not have a specific world
view per se, given that it often adapts to the surrounding
culture,18 Islam does indeed have a unique world view as
Abdullah & Nadvi among others have well demonstrated.19

17
E.g., Phil Parshall, “The Muslim Worldview” Encountering Islam,
Caleb Project (2004); Patrick Sookhdeo, Understanding Islamic Theology
(McLean, VA: Isaac Publishing, 2013); Amar Djaballah, “Jesus in Islam”
SBJT 8/1 (Spring 2004): 14–30; Rick Brown “Muslim Worldviews and the
Bible: Bridges and Barriers” Part 1. International Journal of Frontier
Missions 23:1 (Spring 2006): 5–12; Colin Chapman, “Christian Reponses
to Islam, Islamism, and ‘Islamic Terrorism’” Cambridge Papers Vol 16, no
2 (June 2007): 1–6 (2007); Sproul & Saleeb, The Darkside of Islam
(Crossway Books 2003); Geisler, Norman L. “Jesus and Muhammad in
the Qur’an: A Comparison and Contrast” The Southern Baptist Journal of
Theology 8/1 (Spring 2004): 50–59; Esposito John L. Ten Things Everyone
Needs to Know About Islam. (Oxford University Press, 2002).
18
A reading of Phil Parshall in ‘The Muslim world view’ or Rick
Brown in ‘Muslim Worldviews and the Bible: Bridges and Barriers’ are
immensely helpful.
19
Muhammad Abdullah and Muhammad J. Nadvi, “Understanding
the Principles of Islamic World-View” The Dialogue. Vol VI, no. 3 (2011):
268–289.

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Before addressing the Muslim world view, it is prudent to

lay the ground. One key definition needs to be in place and that
is ‘worldview’. The word ‘worldview’ or “Weltanschauung’ has
German roots and carries the idea of the comprehensive
attributes or traits that one uses to interpret reality. In other
words, a worldview is simply how an individual looks at,
responds to and interacts with the world. Every person,
regardless, has a worldview that has been shaped by various
factors including past experiences, socialization, training or
enculturation. A worldview may have many layers to it but at
the core of it is the guiding and interpretive principles that
eventually influences how one behaves. The definition of the
word can be fluid, but we select a few definitions as a sample.
Nadvi and Abdullah define ‘worldview’ as:

…the term…is often used to emphasize a personal and

historical point of view…a set of beliefs about fundamental
aspects of reality and ground, and influence all one’s
perceiving, thinking, knowing, and doing. It is a study of
the world; a view of life; literally, a perception of the world;
a particular philosophy of life; concept of the world held by
an individual or a group.20

Charles Craft writes:

…perceptions of reality are patterned by societies into

conceptualizations of what reality can or should be, what is
to be regarded as actual, probable, possible and impossible.

20
Abdullah, Muhammad & Muhammad J. Nadvi. “Understanding
the Principles of Islamic World-View” The Dialogue. Vol VI, no. 3 (2011):
268–289.
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These conceptualizations form what is termed the

worldview of the culture…21

Parshall cites the definition of Eugine Nida as simply a “systems

of values.”22 From these different definitions, a common feature
is that they all allude to the fact of one’s reaction to reality.
This is also true of Muslims; they too have a worldview that
affects their interpretation of reality. According to Abdullah &
Nadvi, Parshall, and Djaballah, the Muslim life radiates around a
three-pronged hub. Adherents strongly hold on to the following:
Tawhid, viceregency, and justice.

1. Tawhid
Muslims believe that God is one unit, never separated,
without division or parts. All things begin and end with God. All
activities must reflect this fact, and this principle extends to all
aspects of life, including politics, dress, family relations others.
Thus, because Allah is one unit, there are no dichotomies in
Islam such as the “secular” and “spiritual” life. All things are
enmeshed together, and no one dares rip these apart. Being
strict monotheists, a Muslim is taught from infancy that Allah is
transcendent, uncreated, eternal, unique, wholly other, pure,
without body parts, never interacts with his creation, creator of
the world and, in a sense, impersonal.23 Thus, a Muslim must
fashion their lives around Allah and his will. Failure to do so
attracts sanctions, both in this life and the next.

21
Cite in Parshall, Phil. “The Muslim Worldview” Encountering
Islam. Caleb Project (2004), 1.
22
Ibid., 1
23
Although some argue that Allah is nearer to people than their
own jugular vein, they claim that Allah is merciful, caring, forgiving
and therefore personal in some sense. This view is held by some sects
within Islam such as the Sufi.
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Further, this view of Allah excludes all other views such as

polytheism or even the Trinity. No one dares associate any
created thing or person with Allah because he stands alone. He
does not have a son, consort, wife or anything outside himself.
Any such associations are deemed shirk, the unpardonable sin
(Q4:48; 4:116, 171). To suggest that Allah has a son evokes violent
reactions in the Muslim mind because that sounds illogically
blasphemous, for how could Allah have a son or wife? This
suggests the pagan thought and practice common in Arabia
before Islam came around to correct things. In the Muslim mind,
not even Christians were spared from the influence of
polytheism, for how could they embrace a Trinitarian God?

2. Viceregency
The Muslim believes in structure and order in society
radiating from the Tawhid view posited earlier. When Allah
created the world, he placed order in nature and somewhat
retreated away from direct interaction with his world, though he
remains active through his angels. In the created order, Allah
has placed human beings as Khaliffahs, caretakers of the world
and its inhabitants.24 Thus, in every homestead, there is
structure with the male as leaders. Not only is there structure at
the domestic level, but it cascades upwards to the clan, tribe or
nation. Thus, Muslims talk about Caliphates where the Khalifs
reign. In short, there should be order and way of doing things in
Allah’s world.
It must be mentioned here that an additional facet is the
place of angels, prophets and apostles. Each of these have a very
special place in Islam and one trivializes them at their own peril.
These Nabi and Rasuls brought a word from Allah, called people

24
See Parshall, “The Muslim Worldview” and Abdullah & Nadvi
“Principles of Islamic World-view.”
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back to right living and, in some cases, bequeathed a scripture (Q

2:87). This scripture is critically important to the Muslim to
receive direction in the straight path—prescriptions necessary
to obey Allah. Thus, the Qur’an is cardinal in the life of the
Muslim (Q2:23; 4:80). Anything that the Qur’an declares must be
accepted without question as it completes or confirms all
previous revelations (Q2:89). All other scriptures, including the
Bible are subservient to it. If at all they differ from it, then they
must have been corrupted while the correct view is retained by
the Qur’an (Q2:75).25

3. Justice (Q4:135)
Again, arising from Tawhid, Allah created all human beings
equal, and as such, they should treat each other with equity,
civility and due consideration. If this equity is not forth coming,
Muslims are restless with some sections demanding for the
removal of the leader. Allah is just demanding that all his
subjects follow his prescriptions on justice. 26 That partly
explains why Muslims find the individualistic laws or standards
in other parts of the world, especially the West, as unjust. At
times, onlookers will be startled when Muslims bitterly complain
of injustice in other contexts. This is soon explained if one
understands the lenses through which they interpret the world.
Thus, Muslims do not spare any efforts unless and until things
change to fit into their thought framework.

25
See Abdullah Saeed “The Charge of distortion of Jewish and
Christian scriptures” as well as Muhammet Tarakci & Suleyman Sayar,
“The Qur’anic view of the corruption of the Torah and the Gospels”
26
Some think he is arbitrary in his dispensing of justice. However,
all the shariah law are derived from his revelation the Qur’an and the
Hadith which is a record of what the prophet Muhammad is reported
to have approved according to his early followers. In the Muslim mind,
these laws are beyond comparison or question.
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Parshall and Brown cite additional aspects relating to the

Muslim worldview.27 According to them, Muslims have certain
cultural and contextual perspectives that drive their reaction to
the world among them being:

1. Collective rather than individualistic thought, including

decision making
2. A worshipping community that meets for prayer (salat)
five times a day
3. Strong family bonds and values
4. Honour and shame cultures
5. Paternalistic families where all aspects of life are
regulated including marriage, divorce, dwelling among
others. Polygamy or arranged marriages are common in
Islam, though there have been push backs in recent
years by the Reformist Movement.

It is thus evident that as the Muslim encounters the Trinity,

they have layers of prior understandings to clear prior to
grasping or accepting the Trinity. Before then, the Trinity is
pure tri-theism!

The following figures have come to be viewed as influential

voices in Islam:

Al-Tammiyyah
Al-Tabari
Al-Ghazali (d. 1111)
Fuzlur Rahman

27
Parshall, “The Muslim Worldview” and Rick Brown, “Muslim
Worldviews and the Bible: Bridges and Barriers” Part 1. International
Journal of Frontier Missions 23:1 (Spring 2006): 5–12.
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Abd al-Jabbar (d. 1025)

Al-Sabuni (b. 1930)
Abu ‘Isa-alwarraq (d. ca 860)
Muhammad ibn ‘al-Wahhab (d. 1791 or 92)
Ibn Sina (known in the West as Avicenna d. 1037)

In Islam, Allah is the supreme, the only deity, owning and

knowing all things (Q 3:5,7, 29, 109). All others are idols and thus
never to be venerated at all. Allah alone is the uncreated,
eternal, self-existent, indescribable, unimaginable, without
associates, creator and sustainer of the world, transcendent and
wholly other. He has ninety-nine beautiful names that describe
him through his attributes but he himself is unknowable and
never interacts with His creation. Allah stands alone and does as
he pleases being absolutely sovereign (Q3:189). He has a will, and
none can deviate from it because he has predestined all things.
This presupposes that human beings have no will eventually
ending up as Allah has decreed, although some sects within
Islam argue for some degree of free will.28
Allah is pure, majestic, a being controlling all things. He has
no beginning or end and dispenses justice as he wills. He knows
all things and thus can guide into the straight path or even
mislead by the same token. Who can question Allah? For he is
from everlasting, has his eternal word, the Qur’an in Paradise
and draws or hates whom he will. Those who obey his will take
care of creation, animals, plants etc. and are pleasing in his sight;
they will be rewarded in paradise with fruits and gardens with
streams flowing underneath (Q3:148, 160, 169, 195; 4:122).
Although separate from his, Allah is merciful, forgiving, near to

Jon Hoover, “Islamic Monotheism and the Trinity” Corrected

28

Version. The Conrad Grebel Review (Winter 2009): 57–82.

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his creation (Q4:125), pardoning the repenting (Q3:135). Allah is

the self-sufficient one (Q2:267; 3:2), not needing anything outside
himself, whether humans or anything else. He does not beget,
marry, have sons, daughters, or wives for that would suggest he
were dependent, and that cannot be. Allah is Spirit and should
never be described with human properties.
When one reads this description, surely, are we not
describing the very attributes of Yahweh, the Ancient of Days? A
cursory view may suggest this but on further scrutiny, some
distinctions emerge which will be discussed in another section.

Does the Qur’an ever refer to the Trinity? We have briefly

surveyed what the Muslim view of God is, but have not
succinctly stated what the Qur’an actually says. It will interest
the reader that the Qur’an actually does say a number of things
about polytheism, tri-theism and indeed the Trinity itself. We
commence our brief survey by making a number of preliminary
observations:

1. The Qur’an mentions both the Trinity and polytheism

directly.
2. The Qur’an condemns in the strongest terms any pagan
worship of other deities.
3. As far as the Qur’an is concerned, the doctrine of the
Trinity is tri-theism or classic polytheism.
4. The Qur’an seems to view the Trinity in mathematical
terms (i.e. 1 + 1 + 1 = 3).
5. As far as the Qur’an is concerned, all other explanations
of the Trinity are mere smokescreens and attempts to
justify shirk.

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6. According to the Qur’an, the people of the book

changed the original scriptures to develop the doctrine
of the Trinity and sternly warns Christians about this.
7. Evidently, the Qur’ans’ view of the Trinity is that it is
composed of three beings namely Father, Mary and
Jesus.

Using the grids we earlier highlighted on worldview, the

Muslim cannot help but arrive at the conclusions above. Tawhid
dictates that any associations to Allah must be rejected forth
with. In the Muslim mind, the Trinity is a terrible hazard badly
wounding their consciences; the sooner it is eradicated, the
better so that mortals speedily revert to Islam, for all are
supposed to be Muslims, as all the previous 124,000 Prophets
were.29
What exactly does the Qur’an say about The Trinity? What
Surahs or Ayahs can be adduced? We will focus on a few select
passages that should be representative.
The Qur’an teaches that Allah alone in one unit must be
worshipped; anything deviating from this norm is sin. All other
sins may be forgiven but if one persists in polytheism, they will
never receive mercy or pardon in the next life and to some
extent, the present (Q4:48). A number of Surahs are very clear on
who Allah is in contradistinction to other idols. Surah 112 states
the following:

“Say, ‘He is Allah, One,

Allah, the eternal Refuge.
He neither begets nor is born,
Nor is there to Him any Equivalent’”

29
Patrick Sookhdeo, Understanding Islamic Theology.

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This is a very short but pointed Surah summarizing the

Muslim conception of Allah. We observe that Allah is One unit
(see Q4:36), he is eternal and does not have a Son nor is he
created or born. This entirely knocks out the divinity of Christ
and the Trinity as a whole. As far as the Qur’an is concerned, Isa
(Jesus) was created in time, akin to Adam and thus cannot be
divine (Q3:59; 5:116).30
The Qur’an also makes a number of specific statements
about Christ, denying that he is divine. In Surah 4:171, the
Qur’an says the following:

“O people of the scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or

say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah Jesus son of Mary,
was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to
Mary and a soul from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers.
And do not say, “Three”; desist-it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is
but one God. Exalted above having a son… ”

From this Surah, it is evident that the Qur’an asserts two major
things of interest namely 1.) Isa is a mere messenger, a mere
man, 2.) The Trinity is rejected because Allah is one unit not
numerical three.
Surah 5:17 directly rejects Jesus’ divinity, in effect attacking
the very idea of the Trinity; it says: “They certainly disbelieved
who say that Allah is Christ, son of Mary. Say ‘then who could
prevent Allah at all if He intended to destroy Christ, son of Mary,
or his mother or everyone on the earth?...’”31 Surah 5:18 says:

30
Additional passages: Q2:163; Q6:1, 56, 101–2, 106, 136, 161, 163;
10:28; 15:94-96; 16:20, 22, 49, 51, 56, 57, 120; 17:22; 18:38, 110; 20:8, 98;
21:25; 23:91–2; 38:65; 40:42; 47:19.
31
Additional passages: Surah 4:48; 5:72, 73, 75; 6:103; 9:30, 31; 10:68;
18:4; 19:35, 36; 21:26; 32:4; 39:4, 66; 42:51.
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“But the Jews and the Christians say, ‘We are the Children of
Allah and His beloved.’ Say, ‘Then why does he punish you for
your sins?’”
Allah does not have a personal relationship with people.
Calling people his children, or indeed using human terms such as
‘Father’ have no place. Islam finds the Christian claim and
practice offensive, if not blasphemous. Muslims fail to get the
logic that a loving Father would punish his children, much like
the claim that Jesus was the Son of God and yet allowed to perish
on the cross!

Islam’s perspective of the Trinity is evidently in error on

several points. As highlighted earlier, Muslims hold certain
views which they inaccurately read into what Christians are
saying. At other times, they impute meanings which were clearly
not meant. In this section, we highlight what we consider clear
errors, which we will seek to correct in the ensuing section
entitled “The Christian view of the Trinity.”
In an attempt to demonstrate that Christianity is flawed,
the Qur’an makes general statements in relation to the Trinity
stating that people of the book should not say ‘Trinity’ or
associate others to God. In other places, it alludes to the Godhead
being a unit without associates, sons, daughters or consorts. The
closest it gets to mentioning the members of this Trinity is when
it mentions Jesus, God and Mary as part of God (Q5.116; see also
4:171; 5:73), although some recent scholars have denied that the
Qur’an was in fact referring to the members of the Trinity.33
Whatever the case, this view is erroneous; biblical Christianity

32
See appendix for a further argument around these errors.
33
See Jon Hoover in “Islamic Monotheism and the Trinity”, 58.
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has never believed in a Trinity where Mary is part of the

Godhead.
Again, Muslims believe that Jesus cannot be the Son of God,
and this for a good reason. In their mind, they conceive a
physical sonship where God had sexual relations with a woman
namely Mary to conceive Isa. For any rational thinking person,
this cannot be! As much as this is shirk in Islam, this is equally
blasphemous even in Christianity. Partly, they argue that the
doctrine of ‘Theotokos’ by the Nestorians suggests that Mary is
the mother of God in the physical and may we say spiritual
sense. This physical understanding of the sonship of Jesus by
Muslims is incorrect. Rather, Jesus is the eternal son of God, of
the same essence, substance and attributes. As long as the Father
has been Father, so has the Son been. He is not a son by creation
but generation, the uncreated one and creator of the world.
Eternal generation of the son is what Christians mean. More than
that, Christians mean to say that Jesus is both God and man in
his hypostatic nature and yet remains God (Phil 2:5f). At no point
did Christ cease to be divine.
Muslims repeatedly make the claim that Jesus never
claimed to be God and was made to be so by others. They use at
least two arguments. The first, is that Jesus nowhere made this
claim in Scripture. The second, is the historical argument that
Jesus progressively came to be viewed as God through
ecclesiastical formulations, debates and discussions until a
particular viewpoint won the argument expressed in the
church’s confessions and creeds. The argument goes something
like this: “You see, as you read the Bible, Jesus never claimed to
be God. Instead, he consistently claimed to be a mere Prophet of
Allah in keeping with the Old Testament…Jesus kept reminding
people that he was a mere human being with limitations, unable
to know certain things before hand or at all, got tired, expressed
emotion, dreaded suffering, ate food, slept and could not clearly
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know or foretell the father’s mind or will. In fact, he made

certain assertions that he was the son of man who was to go
away when another, Ahmed would come to replace him. So you
can see that it is people that made the conclusion and added to
his nature what he vehemently denied. In the Holy Quran, Jesus
will be asked at the last day if he claimed to be God and he will
clearly refuse…”

Responding to Islamic Arguments Against the Trinity

Muslims keep drumming their line of thought without
carefully examining the Bible with an objective, clear mind,
applying the correct hermeneutical principles, let alone,
establishing the authorial intent as to what the Bible says in its
context and entirety. In the gospel of John, Jesus makes several
claims that he is divine and in fact states that he is the Son of
God. John 5:17–24 has succinct statements demonstrating that
Jesus had a unique relationship with the Father, one of eternal
generation. In the John 17:24 Jesus speaks of have pre-existed34
before the world was and of returning to his glory after
accomplishing the work of redemption (cf. John 1:1).
But the fact of Jesus being divine is not limited to the book
of John. In Philippians 2:6–8, Paul makes a statement that Jesus
was God but took on flesh to redeem man, a baffling thing
human beyond comprehension. Scholars tell us that the apostle
inserted here a stanza in an ancient first-century hymn which

See John 16:28; Interestingly though, Muslims are more and

34

more claiming that Muhammad equally pre-existed as all the other

previous prophets. This appears to be a departure from orthodoxy, in
my view, because the Qur’an is generally silent on this matter
suggesting that this concept or idea never existed in the original
Muslim mind. Be that as it may, Muslims use one Qur’anic Ayah in
Surah 26 to make this claim.
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highlights the view that the early Christians had about Jesus.35
Elsewhere, in say 1 Timothy 6:14–16 Jesus is said to be the
potentate, God and saviour of the world. Then we have Hebrews
that articulates a Christology proving that only God could save
another, hence the need of Jesus.
What about the other gospels and indeed the Old
Testament? Without delving into much detail, we need to state
that Jesus claims to be the son of man (Matt 9:6; 10:23) proving to
be a full human being not a phantom or imaginary docetic being.
By this, he qualified to be the saviour of the world. Having
passively and actively obeyed God’s law, Jesus has become a fit
sacrifice that saves the world. Again, in Matthew’s narrative,
Jesus states that he is the son of Man36 and yet in some instances
exhibits traits of being divine; for instance, he calms the wind,
feeds the four or five thousand (Matt 14:13–21 & 15:29–39), heals
the sick, forgives sinners and claims that he is the saviour of the
world. At end of His ministry in Matt 28, Jesus claims that all
authority has been given to Him; thus he can decree things as
well as be worthy of worship. The Scriptures are replete with
instances of people worshipping him and he never stops them.
Why? Evidently, it is because he knew who he was, God in flesh.37
This is not an idea borrowed from Greek mythology but a reality.
In the Old Testament, Jesus appears in theophanies or is
revealed as the ‘son of man’, Emmanuel, mighty God, everlasting
Father or some such ideas. For instance, in Daniel 7:13–14, the
Son of man comes before the ancient of Days and is granted all
authority as well as worshipped, which worship is only due to

35
See Ralph P. Martin, Philippians, Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1987), 99.
36
E.g., Matt 11:15, 27; 8:20; 12:8, 32, 40; 16:27; 17:9; Luke 24:7.
37
Refer to other passages including: Matt 11:25; 8:29; 4:3, 6; 12:25;
14:13–21; 14:22–36; 15:29–39; 16:16–17; 16:21–28; 17:5, 27; 28:9; Luke
24:7, 52; John 20:28; John 20:31.
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Yahweh. In other passages (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6), his virgin birth is

foretold and called Emmanuel meaning “God with us.” Note that
this is over five hundred years before his birth and yet certain
titles are given to him. We could say more but for now, we rest
our case here on this point having demonstrated that Muslims
are mistaken when they claim that Jesus never claimed to be
God.
But then there is the historical argument that claims that
originally, the Jewish Christians never considered Jesus to be
God nor worshipped him, though this later became so over
several centuries until the fourth or fifth centuries. This
argument, at face value, seems to make sense especially that the
ecumenical councils hammered out the matter of Trinity in
which they addressed the nature of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
However, when one critically analyses the Scripture and
external sources to the Bible, it soon becomes apparent that in
fact, the early Christians had a certain view of Jesus which is
consistent with the present perspectives, although not as clear
in some cases. Both Pliny and Josephus make statements that
Jesus was worshipped as divine.
We commence our brief excursion into history within the
pages of the gospels and Acts and the Epistles. Towards the end
of John, Thomas comes across the risen Lord in the upper room
and upon seeing him exclaims ‘my Lord and my God!’ (John
20:28). Then, we see that the early Christians sticking together in
the upper room after Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:13), whom they
had worshipped. Reading through Acts, one cannot help noticing
that the Jewish Church knew who Jesus was, his mission and
what he had accomplished, satisfying the demands of God. He
propitiated as well as expiated for humanity (1 John 2:1–3), and
thus, Peter declares that Jesus is the saviour of the World and
salvation is found in Him only to the exclusion of all others (Acts

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4:12). The Philippians 2 hymn is a window into what early

Christians believed when persecution was rife.
In the midst of these challenges and accusations of
cannibalism, ritualism, incest and all sorts of imputed vices, the
Church emerges as the dominant force in the Roman Empire.
Obviously now that Jesus has ascended to Heaven, the Apostles
now deceased and apostolic fathers about to exit the centre
stage giving way to the Church fathers, error begins to creep in
generating trouble for the Church. Of course we have Marcion
the Heretic claiming that the God of the Old Testament is
different from the one in the New Testament, as much as we
have Arius, a Deacon at Alexandria claiming that Jesus was of a
similar substance, rather than same substance (i.e. homoousios)
with the Father.
These doctrinal battles rage on as the church is forced to
refine matters into crystal clear statements commencing with
the Apostle’s creed, the Nicene, Athanasius, Chalcedon and then
finally Toledo where in which the Holy Spirit is most explicitly
stated as God proceeding both from the Father and Son (filioque;
Latin: “and from the Son”). By end of the fifth century, based on
scriptural evidence, the Church has a clear doctrinal stance in
dogmatic form, the opposing view not fully vanquished only to
emerge in later centuries, albeit in a modified form. So can we
honestly conclude that Jesus was made God across the centuries?
Was the Trinity idea hatched by men? Absolutely not! What the
Church merely did, of course with the facilitatory
instrumentality of mortals like Constantine was hammer out,
think through, refine and express what they felt was the Biblical
view which this has stood the test of time. Jesus is God, the God-
man.

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Responding to the Teachings of Ibn Taymiyyah (1263–1328)

A further error that Muslims express, especially in the
thought of the venerable Ibn Taymiyyah, the Mujtahid titled
Sheikh ul-Islam (AD 1263–1328), the Trinity is said to be illogical
and classic tri-theism because the idea clearly posits three
eternals and deities, which of course, is contrary to what
Christians claim.38 Taymiyyah asserts that the Christian
formulation of the Triune God is a forced understanding on the
Hebrew Scripture because the Bible, whether Hebrew or
Christian never claims that God is composed of three persons. In
his view, the idea of Trinity is not only absurd and blasphemous
but a clear demonstration that Christians have departed from
the straight path and must repent or else face the sword, Allah’s
judgement or both. In his view, using both mathematical and
philosophical argumentation, if one adds 1 to 1 to 1, what do we
get? 3! How then could Christians claim that three divine
persons could be one? As far as Taymiyyah was concerned, that
was a logical impossibility, a foolish thought worth trashing. In
responding to John of Damascus’ letter, Taymiyyah expends
much energy in several volumes to both objectively state and
then debunk the expressed Christian trinitarian view of God. In
his view, Trinity is pure shirk that must never be condoned.
Given that Taymiyyah was a great mental powerhouse, his
arguments apparently carried weight and made logical sense. He
also seems to have studied meticulously, like to Qadi abd al-
jabbar (d. 1025), and he correctly represented the extant
surrounding Christian view39 before proceeding to argue

38
Abdullah Ismail. “Tawhid and Trinity: A Study of Ibn Taymiyyah’s
al-Jawāb al Ṣaḥīḥ” Intellectual Discourse, Vol 14 no. 1 (2006): 89–106.
39
That is of the Melkites, Nestorians and Jacobites. Sabri Yilmaz
does an outstanding job analyzing these various Christian sects as he
analyses Qadi Abd al-Jabbar’s view of the Trinity. It is a paper worth
reading. Another, Jon Hoover, equally does a great work on these
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strongly against it. However, when one carefully reviews his

work on the Trinity, it eventually becomes evident that his
perspectives about the meaning of the Christian Trinity are not
entirely correct.40 For instance, he argues that 1 + 1 + 1 is equal to
3. Logically this is correct. At another time, he questions why
Christians limit themselves to only three persons in the God-
head and not four, five or a thousand?41 Regardless, the
Christians cannot defend their polytheism according to him.
Such reasoning betrays a lack of understanding of the nature of
the Christian conception of God. The Trinity is a mystery that
the human mind cannot fully comprehend. All we use is what
God has made known. He reveals truth and we believe it. Despite
Taymiyyah’s rejection of the Biblical evidence or even the Bible’s
use of anthropomorphic language in allusion to God, the
evidence is there for all to see. Though the Trinity a high truth
beyond full human comprehension, it can be investigated and
understood by faith in some sense. God is a Trinity in unity, one
God subsisting in three persons—three co-equal, co-eternal
persons of the same substance, power and will. How God is three
and yet one or one and yet three persons is beyond our
explanation. Our finite minds fail at some point.
One thing we know is that the Biblical evidence points to
the fact of the Trinity. Further, it may be said that when we are
considering God, we are not to view Him in human terms such as
numerical additions of numbers as Taymiyyah attempts to do.
Granted, we may use those same numbers and flip the argument
on its head. Instead of using addition, why not use multiplication

groups in addition to his analysis of the various schools of thought

within Islam in relation to the nature of Allah.
40
Admittedly, one needs a very good and trained eye to detect his
deficiencies and wrong understanding
41
Qadi Abd al-Jabbar long before him used this argument. Perhaps
Taymiyyah borrowed that heifer from him
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instead? That may not necessarily be a firm argument because it

is human but attempts to show that human logical
argumentation at some point fails to bring out the reality of God.
As to the argument against the use of anthropomorphic
language in relation to God, assuming we are talking about the
same deity, the Bible freely uses such language to demonstrate
to his creatures the aspects of his nature. We must further insert
a qualifier here that although the Bible uses such language at
times, it is for our human understanding. References to the “arm
of God,” the “ear” or “eye” use human language to connect with
humans. Does that necessarily mean God has those physical
human parts? The Bible is clear that God is Spirit (John 4:24) and
has a nature distinct from humans. But then, the Bible is not
alone in using anthropomorphic language in relation to God, for
even the Qur’an does the same, though in relatively fewer
instances. So Taymiyyah’s argumentation may not fully hold
though they give the Christian serious food for thought.

Problems in the Islamic View of God

Muslims claim that Christians have more than one God
whilst they themselves, perhaps closer to Judaism, are closer to
the original Shema assertion in the Torah and Qur’an. They
claim that Islam is strictly monotheistic as is Judaism. This looks
impressive at face value but on serious scrutiny, it turns out that
even Islam has some challenges. For one thing, some scholars
have argued that Judaism is binitarian rather than unitarian.42 For
another thing, Islam equally has inherent challenges with the
nature of God. Jon Hoover highlights the fact that Islam grapples

42
E.g., Daniel Boyarin “The Gospel of the Memra: Jewish
Binitarianism and the Prologue to John” The Harvard Theological Review
Vol 94 no. 3 (July 2001): 243–84.
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with at least four connected views on the nature of God.43 He

mentions them as follows:

1. Tawhid al-tawhid al-dhati: “the oneness of God’s essence”

2. Al-tawhid al-sifati: “the unity of God’s attributes”
3. Al-tawhid al-af’ali: “the uniqueness of God’s acts”
4. Al-tawhid al-ibadi: this posits that Allah is one, the only
one to be worshipped and there is no other. Here, all
Muslims perfectly agreed.

From the forgoing, it is evident that even within Muslim

scholarship, the nature of God is not as straight forward as often
portrayed. Granted, all are agreed at the fourth level al-ibadi, but
what about at the other levels? The Mu’tazili and Ash’ari schools
of thought are often at odds as to the exact nature of God. Is he
one being to the exclusion of all other attributes? Is Allah eternal
as his attributes are or do all these co-exist? Are the attributes
real? These are deep questions which divide the house of Islam if
not well handled.
Hoover has done an excellent job demonstrating that, in
fact, Muslims face similar challenges that Christians face in
relation to expressing the nature and understanding of God. For
instance, if God’s attributes are eternal, uncreated and real, then
this breed room for one to claim that there exists more than one
God besides Allah. We may freely add here another secondary
thought which is not directly resulting from Hoover’s analysis,
that of the Qur’an. Is the Qur’an eternal and uncreated? Or is it a
mere record of the writings of men? Muslims are often in
dilemma here because if they say that the Qur’an is eternal and
uncreated, then their house of cards goes up in flames with shirk!
If on the other hand they downgrade the Qur’an to a writing of

Hoover “Islamic Monotheism and the Trinity.”

43

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men, this evaporates its inherent authority, appeal or thrust for

then the charge of error, corruption, contradiction and
inconsistency creeps in.
There is now room to claim that the text has been edited
here and there and perhaps even been unstable, especially in the
early years before Hajjaj made his epic 11 changes to the text
making it clearer.44 Be that as it may, Muslims need to explain to
us how that God’s attributes and Qur’an are both eternal and
uncreated in relation to Tawhid. Could it be a case of language
misunderstanding? If so, would Christians be wrong to argue
that God is triune? We rest our case there for now.

The entire Bible is about God from start to finish. It gives a

metanarrative a covenant-making God that deals with his people
and creation from eternity past. As one moves through the pages
of Scripture, they cannot help but notice that God reveals
himself in various ways including creation or through the names
attributed to him. In Genesis 1, he is called Elohim, the almighty
one, the creator of the universe. He is the omnipotent one. In
Genesis 2 and onwards, he is Yahweh, the self-existent one,
needing nothing outside himself. In Genesis 11 and onwards, we
see an additional name of Adonai, the master in relation to
human slaves. We also encounter compound names in Scripture,
all attempting to describe the indescribable one, the great I AM.
He is the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:13–14), The Holy one of Israel,
the eternal one, the sovereign ruler, the gracious God, the
Loving Father, the Shepherd of his people among others. He is
the eternal and everlasting one, the immutable God among other
names and titles attributed to him. He is One, the only wise God,

Michael Cook, The Koran: A Very Short Introduction (New York:

44

Oxford University Press, 2000).

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eternally holy and incomparable to any of his creatures. He

stands alone, decrees all things, immanently sustains the world,
and yet the transcendent One. He can never condone or look at
sin and yet in Christ, he draws sinners to himself through the
cross, whilst punishing sin, thus remaining just and holy. He is
the Sustainer and giver of life, a God who cannot lie, of order and
above all, love. He is a relational being, both immanent and
transcendent.
He never slumbers nor sleeps and the father of creation,
though he has a special love for his own, elected before the
foundations of the world. God is Triune and lives in one eternal
moment, is outside time, absolutely free, merciful, gracious and
treasures his own like the apple of His eye. To describe and
reveal himself in scripture, Jehovah has used anthropomorphic
language so that we may understand his character, attributes,
being and nature. He may use figurative language to describe
himself such as his hand, arm, back, foot, eye etc. so that his
creatures may have some level of comprehension of who he is.
Yet, he is the incomprehensible God, omniscient, omnipresent,
pure, intelligent, the only wise God never increasing or
diminishing in knowledge or wisdom for to him are all things.
In the language of Thomas Aquinas, he is the first cause of
all things, the uncaused, uncreated one. To him all creatures bow
in adoration, and yet all that adoration can never approximate
to the praise that is due to his name. With God, the past, the
present and the future are the same, there is nothing that ever
catches him by surprise because he is from eternity and will
never die or grow old.
In all these words, we mean to communicate the idea that
God is One God. He is name is Yahweh and not the Islamic Allah
or some such deity. This is what some theologians call the
Ontological Trinity, where God is said to be one, in keeping with
Deuteronomy 6:4 which reads: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God,
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the Lord is one.” To both the Christian and the Jew, this rings
true with a hearty Amen!
But there is a second aspect of God’s nature which ties in
very well with his being love. God is love (1 John 4:16; John
17:24). He exists as One and yet is three persons or tri-unity. God,
in the economic Trinity is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The
Father plans salvation, the Son saves and the Spirit applies the
work of redemption. As we read through Scripture, we observe
that God is three persons and yet one. For example, right at the
beginning of Genesis 1 we read that “In the beginning God…”
This verse presupposes that before verse 1, Elohim eternally
exists when he begins to Create. Next, we notice that the Spirit is
hovering and then Elohim states the famous “Let us” in verse 26,
although some theologians argue that the Bible is here using the
majestic plural and thus cannot prove the Trinity from this
passage; fair enough. But notice that we clearly see both the
Father and the Holy Spirit in this passage (Gen 1:1–3). In John 1:1
and Col 1:16, we notice that the creator is actually Jesus. Nothing
was created without him! Was Jesus merely an agent of creation?
Not so, the Scripture makes it plain that he was indeed God!
(John 1:1). This same Word became incarnate (John 1:14) and
dwelt amongst us that he might be a fit saviour of mankind.
Although he took on flesh, he never ceased to be God (Phil
2:5–8). This was indeed true humiliation and yet in his
hypostatic nature Jesus never for a moment ceased to be God.
Kenosis (“pouring out”) comes to mind here. Having redeemed
his own, Jesus returned to the Father (John 17:12). The Son did
not become the Son of God at Incarnation, far from it; he was
before the world ever existed. Christ’s sonship is eternal, what
theologians call ‘eternal generation’ of the Son. In other words,
there was never a time when the Son was not and by the same

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token, there was never a time the Father was not the begetting
one.
In time, however, the Father sent the son to redeem a
people he had predestined to eternal life. The Son obeyed the
Father and was miraculously conceived, born among us to
actually redeem a fallen mass of humanity. Only the elect are
thus saved by the particular redemption of Christ; not one of
them is ever lost. Jesus actually saved his people (Matt 1:18).
The Son is God, of the same (not similar BUT same!) essence
and nature with the Father and the Spirit. He is the uncreated
eternal one. The Qur’an and the Arians reject this claim,
including the Atonement and why God had to incarnate to save
his people, so as to remain just.
The Spirit is God as we have demonstrated from all eternity.
He is dubbed the Spirit of Holiness, the sanctifier, pure,
righteous, the convictor of sin, reminder, revealor of truth,
comforter, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, life giver,
advocate (John 14:26), regenerating the spiritually dead. The
Spirit equips, gifts and empowers believers for service as well as
enables them to live a sanctified life. He is a person not a force
and proceeds from both the Father and the Son (filioque; Latin:
“and from the Son”).
Given the above, we can summarize the following,
borrowing from the rich ancient creeds: The Father is God, The
Son is God and the Spirit is God, not three Gods but one. The
Father, Son and Spirit are co-equal, co-eternal, uncreated of the
same substance, without beginning or end. These are not three
eternals but one, not three separate persons but distinct.
The Economic Trinity is wrapped around love within the
Godhead and only then can we talk about a loving redemption in
Christ. In redemption, the Father sends the Son who willingly
submits to the Father and incarnates to save the elect. The Spirit
cannot come unless the Son sends him (John 15:26; 16:7; 14:15).
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He thus proceeds from both the Father and the Son (John 14:26).
The Triune God is not a unit but a Trinity, not divisible but of
three persons, not changing in form through the Testaments or
epochs but as eternally triune in both the Old and New
Testaments. In the Old Testament, God is Triune as much as he is
in the New. God is Spirit, eternal, unchangeable, all powerful and
one in nature and essence.45 He never changes modes but
remains the same. Thus, Docetism, Sabellanism, Modalism and
other heresies have no place in Christian theology.
A detailed treatment of the Trinity is handled by other
authors in this Journal but suffice to say that the Muslim
understanding of the Trinity is seriously faulty.

From the foregoing and evidence adduced from internal

and external evidence of the Bible. The teaching of the Trinity or
indeed the nature of God is different between the two religions.46
Furthermore, the two religious scriptures do not refer to the
same deity, despite some overlapping traits. The differences are
far beyond the mere use of language whether Arabic, Hebrew or
Greek. Despite several similarities in some attributes, the nature,
essence and immanence of God differ. For one thing, the
Trinitarian God is love, personal, redemptive and just. He
interacts with his creation despite being transcendent. There is
an organic relationship between the Triune God and his people.
God in Himself is love, with loving relations within himself,
Father, Son and Spirit. For another thing, Yahweh is the same

45
This rendering is similar to what we have in the Baptist or
Westminster confessions of faith. I am indebted to them
46
Juhansar A. Latief, “The Concept of God in Christianity: An
Islamic Perspective” Jurnal Al-Ulum, Vol 11 no. 1 (June 2011): 1–16.

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God we read about in the New Testament, a covenant-keeping

God, true to his word and never random.
On the other hand, Allah comes across as a totally
transcendent and therefore impersonal deity. Though the Qur’an
calls Allah merciful, forgiving and all knowing, he has no direct
contact with creation and operates through agents such as
Angels. Furthermore, Allah cannot have relational interactions
with his creation. Additionally, the Muslim concept of the
Trinity is faulty and illogical. Christians never worship three
gods nor is the Trinity composed of Father, Jesus and Mary. The
Prophet had it wrong, perhaps due to the spurious gnostic
gospels he was exposed to.

To effectively engage Muslims with the gospel, there are a

number of things we should do or not do, say or not say. We do
not go into details about that but for now, we give some
suggestions and recommendations:

1. The Doctrine of the Trinity is under immense attack

from Muslims across the world. From our experience,
research and observations, Muslims have targeted this
area.
2. Arising from differing interpretations and
understanding of God, Muslims and Christians will
always differ on this point. Christians should not take
offence, but should patiently continue to explain.
3. Many Christians do not have a clear workable and
defendable grasp of the doctrine of the Trinity. Many
have accepted it as a mystery which they should not
explore. This needs to change. There is need to have a
meticulously good trained eye. One way is to know
exceptionally well what is authentic, akin to a good

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banker with money. Anything different will be thrown

out. Muslims indoctrinate their own on Tawhid thus
explaining how strongly they oppose what they
perceive to be different.
4. The Qur’an makes statements about Allah claiming that
he is Yahweh of the Bible. Christians and Jews need to
be clear on this and discern the differences. The two are
not the same, much less Isa (Jesus).
5. Churches must be intentional in revisiting and teaching
this mysterious but sweet doctrine. They need to
examine Scriptures and break it down for their
congregants.
6. Creeds and confessions need to be loved again. They are
a boundary, a fence, bulwark and protection from error.
They also help us to early detect what is spurious,
dangerous or undesirable. Several are around, well
hammered out for us from ancient times. The Apostles,
Nicene, Athanasius and Toledo Creeds are especially
useful on the Trinity. In some churches, reciting of the
Apostle’s creed is mandatory. The Reformed Church of
Zambia and the Roman Catholic Church do well on
recitations.

A last recommendation is to urge Christians to take an

interest into exploring the Qur’an. Its admittedly not an easy
read but once one gets the big picture, things just open up.

We can safely conclude that Christians and Muslims have

different interpretations of the nature of God. The Trinity is a
serious stumbling block for Muslims because their view is
different from the Christian worldview. Christians need to

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master the doctrine of the Trinity as well as the Muslim

worldview if they are to effectively engage them with the gospel.

serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Academics at

Central Africa Baptist University.

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A cursory reading of the Qur’an can be quite impressive, if

one understands how it functions. Background information and
hermeneutical skills come in handy to appreciate the message of
the Qur’an especially as relates to Allah, his beautiful descriptive
names and attributes. One can scarcely notice the differences
between Yahweh and Allah. In fact, one may be tempted to
conclude that this is one and the same God being described,
though defies description. However, a meticulous examination
of the Scripture will reveal some key points of concern. Here, we
restrict ourselves to the nature of God in relation to the Trinity.
The first error one observes is that Allah is depicted as one
unit or being and yet, through a careful reading of the Qur’an
and Muslim theological literature, we notice that the Qur’an is
considered eternal and uncreated.47 Though Muhammad is only
a messenger, yet has assumed the exalted level of a mediator of
sorts as recorded in the Hadith. Is Allah alone eternal and
uncreated, or the Qur’an also? If so, would we safely conclude
that there are two eternals and two uncreated in Islam? The
Muslim faces a challenge here.
The second challenge is that the Qur’an does not present a
correct picture of the Christian Trinity because it ascribes
divinity to Mary as part of the Trinity. Christians do not believe
in such a Trinity. It is evident that the Qur’an misunderstands or
misrepresents the biblical Trinity.
Third, the Qur’an states that people of the Scripture believe
in “three” gods. This is incorrect as Christians do not believe in
three separate eternals or gods but one eternal God in three
persons.
Fourth, the Qur’an gives a conflicting picture about the
people of the Book/Scripture. In one breathe, it applauds them

Cook, The Koran.

47

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and in the next it speaks of them with contempt. The reader of

the Qur’an is at a crossroads; should they despise or accept the
Bible?
Fifth, the Qur’an claims to complete and confirm the
previous Scriptures but contradicts them at some points. Why
would this be so? Tahrif (corruption) is often cited as the cause,
hence the arrival of the Qur’an; but what exactly has been
corrupted, the text or the interpretation of the text? The
contradictions raise questions in the minds of Christians.
A sixth challenge is that the word ‘Tawhid’ does not exist in
the Qur’an and yet Muslims use it. We can argue that the term is
foreign to the Qur’an and yet expresses thoughts which are in
the Qur’an. Why then should Muslims have problems with a
theological concept termed ‘Trinity”?
The Qur’an’s interpretation and understanding of “sonship”
or eternal generation is incorrect. It focuses on the physical
aspects of a biological Son borne out of sexual union between
man and woman. The Biblical thought is not that. Rather, as
taught in John 5 and 8, it is that Jesus is the eternal son of God
and therefore divine. We agree with Sookhdeo’s conclusion
when he asserts:

Clearly, Islam misunderstood the Christian Doctrine at this

point. It equates the Christian dogma of Jesus being the Son
of God with pagan ideas of divine sonship. It is evident that
either Muhammad never really understood Christianity or
refused to take seriously its protestations of innocence
when accused of semi-paganism…48

48
Patrick Sookhdeo, Understanding Islamic Theology, page 86
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