Answering Islam - A Christian-Muslim dialog

The Quran Confirms the Trinity! Pt. 3b

We continue from where we left off.


Jesus as the Creator and Life-giver

The Islamic scripture describes Christ as creating and giving life in the exact same way that Allah does:

“to be a Messenger to the Children of Israel saying, ‘I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I WILL CREATE for you out of CLAY (annee AKHLUQU lakum mina AL-TEENI)as the likeness of a bird; then I WILL BREATHE INTO IT, and it will be a bird, by the leave of God. I will also heal the blind and the leper, and bring to life the dead, by the leave of God. I will inform you too of what things you eat, and what you treasure up in your houses. Surely in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.’” S. 3:49 Arberry

Now contrast this with the manner in which Allah is said to have created the first man:

When thy Lord said to the angels, 'See, I am creating a mortal of a clay (innee KHALIQUN basharan min TEENIN). When I have shaped him, and breathed My spirit in him, fall you down, bowing before him!' S. 38:71-72 Arthur J. Arberry – cf. 15:28-29

The Quran even employs the same Arabic verb to describe Christ’s act of creating a bird from clay which, in all of its other occurrences, is only applied to Allah:  

“The verb khalaqa is found 180 times in the Qur’an and it is always translated, in various languages, with ‘to create.’ With the exception of Q 20:17 (takhluquna ifkan= you invent a lie), it always designates the creative action of God. In 177 cases, the subject of the verb is God, while in the other two cases (3:49 and 5:110) it is Christ. Evidently this could only come from Christians; Muslim tradition, which could not uphold this meaning (the only one attested in the Qur’an), interprets it with the meaning of ‘to fashion, mold.’ Meanwhile, the action of ‘breathing into’ is, in the Bible as in the Qur’an, typical of the creative action of God.

“Thus the two verbs used in this verse both reflect the divine creative action, and not the human action of a potter, for example, thereby confirming the Christian origin of this verse.” (Samir Khalil Samir, “6. The Theological Christian Influence on the Qur'an – A Reflection,” The Qur'an in its Historical Context, edited by Gabriel Said Reynolds [Routledge Studies in the Qur’an, 2008], p. 146; bold emphasis ours)

This, therefore, indicates that Christ is a Co-Creator with the Muslim deity since he is able to create and breathe out the life-giving Spirit into lifeless objects. 

At this point the Quran is merely parroting what is found in the God-breathed Scriptures, which present Jesus as healing all sorts of diseases such as leprosy and blindness, raising the dead, and even breathing out the Holy Spirit upon his followers:

“Jesus went throughout all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all sorts of diseases among the people. His fame went throughout all Syria. And they brought to Him all sick people who were taken with various diseases and tormented with pain, those who were possessed with demons, those who had seizures, and those who had paralysis, and He healed them.” Matthew 4:23-24

“Now when the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him. And He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons came out of many, crying out, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of God!’ But He rebuked them and did not permit them to speak, because they knew that He was the Christ.” Luke 4:40-41

“In that same hour He cured many of their infirmities and afflictions and evil spirits. And to many who were blind He gave sight. So Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the gospel is preached to the poor.’” Luke 7:21-22 – cf. Matthew 11:4-5

“When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” John 20:22


Concluding Remarks

Our examination of the Islamic scripture has shown that it nowhere condemns the orthodox view of the doctrine of the bless Trinity, but rather affirms it by ascribing specific functions and roles to Christ and the Holy Spirit, which clearly portray them as being fully divine. As we saw, the Quran basically affirms that Jesus is the eternal Word of Allah that came forth as a Spirit from him for the purpose of becoming flesh, and who possesses the ability to create and give life. We further showed from the Muslim scripture that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person that can manifest in human form, and who can also create and give life. The Quran, therefore, also has a trinity that is virtually identical to that of Christianity, in that it speaks of Allah, his eternal Word made flesh, and his Holy Spirit.

Seeing that this is precisely what Christians mean when they speak of God being Triune how, then, can any Muslim accuse us of being disbelievers or polytheists without also condemning Muhammad and/or the author(s)/editor(s) in the process? 

With that said we want to emphasize to the readers that we are not saying that the Allah of Islam is the one true God revealed in the Person of the Lord Jesus, nor do we want them to think for a moment that we actually believe that the Quranic trinity is the same as the glorious Trinity found in the God-breathed Scriptures.

On the contrary, we wholeheartedly affirm that Islam presents another Jesus and spirit, and preaches a different Gospel. As such, the god spoken of in the Muslim scripture is nothing more than a counterfeit set up by the devil for the purpose of keeping people from discovering the one true God manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ:

“Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy we have received, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the secret things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by expressing the truth and commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are lost. The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

“I would to God you could bear with me a little in my folly. Indeed, bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve through his trickery, so your minds might be led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might submit to it readily enough… And I will continue doing what I am doing, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be found equal to us in what they boast about. For such are false apostles and deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 11:1-4, 12-15

Therefore, we exhort Muslims to turn away from this counterfeit trinity and embrace the one and only Triune God revealed in the inspired pages of the Holy Bible. 

All Biblical citations taken from the Modern English Version (MEV).


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