Does the Quran Misrepresent Christianity? part 1

Well, good evening, everyone. Again, my name is Doug McMasters. I'm the pastor of Trinity Road Chapel here. And I want to extend on behalf of Trinity Road to you, all of you, a very warm welcome. Thank you for being here this evening.

Just a couple of housekeeping items, which we're going to mention. A very lovely mobile phone right here. And you might, too. It has a silent feature. And you might want to just check to make sure yours is there along with mine.

I, in fact, am making preparations to just tell you that I just went on silent. So if you could be sure that yours is on silent. And that way we won't have any interruptions with that. Just to let you know, if you need to use the facilities at all, please just go straight out the back.

You can speak to one of the stewards. And they can show you where the toilets are. That's probably the best way to explain it. They can help you find them, rather than me trying to give you directions from over here.

We're going to break in the middle of this debate for a time of refreshment. I think you'll find that to be an enjoyable time. We've made some preparations for all of you. And so if you're feeling like you're thirsty or hungry, just hang on a little bit.

We'll have something there for all of us to have. So let's go ahead and begin. They're still working to get us onto the live stream. We're going to let that happen as they're able to make me continue with the live event as is.

Debate Format and Speakers

As I mentioned, this is a debate, a formal debate. This is our third in a series of debates that we've had. We had one two years ago with Sammy Zatari and James White on the subject of the deity of Christ, if I recall.

And then last year with Abdullah and Lucy on the Big Trinity debate. Both of those debates, I believe, are available in audio on Trinity Road Chapel's website. So you can go there and you can hear those, as this one will be available also there, in addition to being in other formats available on websites probably by both of the men who are here this evening.

The subject of tonight is, has Islam.

Misunderstood. Christianity?

It is a question that demands a lot of respect and intellectual vigor as we address it. And so we brought two speakers with us this evening that I think are going to be most capable in dealing with that subject.

Let me introduce them to you now. First is Bassam Zawadi, and he's an Islamic apologist engaged and conducted in various interfaith debates, lectures, and dialogues all across the Middle East and Europe and North America.

And he has a website, www .col -2-month, which I would encourage you to spend some time. And his next in, James White, who's been with us for the past two debates and here for the third, is the director of Alpha Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetic organization.

He's the author of more than 20 books. He's a professor, a debater, and an owner of the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church. And his website is www .aomin .bizatherapy. Let me tell you what the format of tonight's debate is going to be.

First of all, we're going to start off with James White, and he's going to give a 25-minute opening statement. And that will be followed immediately with Assaf's 25-minute opening statement as well.

From there, they're going to move directly to the three-minute cross-examination. Now, this cross-examination is simply to verify the claims that were made in the opening statements. So it's not going to be a cross-exam in the kind of sense that you might expect.

It is simply to verify claims that were made. I have 12 minutes each, speaker and I, for a rebuttal. And following that, we'll have our break. So we've got quite a bit on hand for us. Let's welcome James White to come.

We'll be going out of this room this evening with the ability to analyze this very, very important issue of the relationship between Christianity and Islam. Now, here's the focused argument that I would like to present this evening.

Obviously, if the Quran is the word of God, then God is its author. Obviously, from that, God always speaks the truth. He does not ever lie. He does not in any way have errors in his reasoning or in his presentation.

God's arguments in his word will be truthful, and they will be accurate. So if it is God's word, then you will have truthful and accurate presentations. Now, the Quran makes reference to the Al-Kitab, the people of the book, and the Al-Anjil, the people of the gospel.

And the Quran accuses Christians of committing excess in their religion, committing excess in their religion, in their dinikum, their deen. They have committed excess in that. The Quran also identifies as kufr, an act of disbelief, and hence people who commit this as disbelievers, those who say that Allah is the Messiah, in Surah 517 and in 572, and those who say that Allah is the third of three, also in Surah 573.

These are acts of disbelief, according to the Quran. The Quran asserts that the statement, Allah is the Messiah, is an act of shirk, and that those who commit shirk will have the fire as their abode in Surah 572.

Now, the Trinity's most basic assertion is that there is only one true God. There is no association in the Trinitarian theology as this requires a polytheistic belief, an association of other beings or deities with one God.

So why does the Quran respond to the Trinity with assertions of monotheism? We're going to work through all these texts. I have to go quickly, but I want you to listen to the text from the Quran, and you will see that it always responds with assertions of monotheism.

Our question tonight is this. Does Islam misrepresent Christianity through the presentation made of Christian belief in the Quran? Can Mr. Zawadi demonstrate a truthful and accurate representation of Christian belief from the Quran?

And I have a question for the Muslims in the audience this evening. Would you accept the condemnation of your faith as delusion and unbelief leading to hellfire by a later religion that had no greater understanding of Tawhid than the Quran has of the Trinity?

Would you accept that from a religion that comes after you if that religion showed no greater understanding and accuracy of the representation of Tawhid than the Quran shows of the Trinity? If you would not, then you're being inconsistent.

I think it's a very important question this evening. Now, the Quranic argument, O people of the book, do not commit excess in your religion and say of Allah only the truth. That's what I want to do this evening.

I do not want there to be any excess in my religion, and I want to speak of God only what is the truth. That is certainly the direction that I want to go tonight. Now, I want to go through a series of texts in chronological order, in the best chronological order that we can come up with anyways, in which they were written.

And I want to demonstrate that there is in the Quran a theme about the subject of Allah having a son. And this starts from the beginning and runs all the way through in the chronological order of the Quran.

Say, O Muhammad, it has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn listened and said, indeed, we have heard an amazing Quran. It guides to the right course, and we have believed in it. And we will never associate with our Lord anyone.

And it teaches that exalted is the nobleness of our Lord. He has not taken a wife or a son. Surah 72. Notice, he has not taken a wife or a son. What's the nature of sonship if you have to have a wife?

Very important to understand. Surah 19. And they say the most merciful has taken for himself a son. You have done an atrocious thing. The heavens almost rupture therefrom, and the earth splits open, and the mountains collapse in devastation that they attribute to the most merciful a son.

And it is not appropriate for the most merciful that he should take a son. Notice how serious this charge of having a son to God is. But notice the development of the theme. We're going through the Quran from the earliest surahs to the last surahs.

Notice the development of the theme over time. In surah 6, 101 through 102, he is originator of the heavens and the earth. How could he have a son when he does not have a companion, and he created all things?

So it's talked about a wife already. Now it talks about a companion, a mate, a wife. And he is of all things knowing. That is Allah, your Lord. There is no deity except him, the creator of all things.

So worship him, and he is the disposer of all things. Notice the continued assertion. He is the creator. There is only one, and it's always in this context of he does not have a son. How could he have a son unless he had a companion, a wife, by which to have such a son?

Surah 43. Say, O Muhammad, if the most merciful had a son, then I would be the first of his worshipers. Exalted is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Lord of the throne, above what they describe. So leave them to converse vainly and amuse themselves until they meet their day which they are promised.

And it is Allah who is the only deity in the heaven and on the earth, the only deity, and he is the wise, the knowing. No son.

He is exalted above that.

There is only one God. The theme continues on. On the day we will gather the righteous to the most merciful as a delegation and will drive the criminals to hell in thirst, none will have power of intercession except he who had taken from the most merciful a covenant.

All praise is due to Allah who has sent down upon his servant the book and has not made therein any deviance. He has made it straight to warn of severe punishment from him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward in which they will remain forever.

And to warn those who say Allah has taken a son. Taken a son. Not eternally had a son, but taken a son. They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths.

They speak not except a lie. Surah 18, verses 1 through 5. Notice the theme continues on. And in Surah 21, And we sent not before you any messenger except that we revealed to him that there is no deity except me, so worship me.

And they say the most merciful has taken a son. Exalted is he. Rather they are but honored servants. You see over and over again the same theme all the way through this idea of what a son would mean to Allah.

And so with these, we come now to the key texts. And my time is going by very quickly. The key texts that specifically lay out for us what the Alal Kitab and the Alal Anjil mean. Now, in this instance, it's pretty obvious that the Alal Kitab are the Christians, not the Jews, because we're talking about Jesus specifically.

And so let's look at what these texts say. Listen very carefully to what the Quran says so we can understand the foundation of the discussion that Mr. Zawadi and I will have this evening.

O people of the book, Alal Kitab,.

Do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and his word which he directed to Mary and a soul created a command from him.

So believe in Allah and his messengers. By the way, I'm using the Sahih International translation this evening primarily. And do not say three. Now, there are some translations that say trinity. The word trinity never appears in the Quran.

The word three does, but the word trinity does not. And do not say three, desist, it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is he above having a son. Have we already seen this theme?

We have. And what do we hear here? Do not say three. Indeed, Allah is but one God.

Now, what does that mean?

If I say do not say three, there is only one. I'm clearly saying there is only one of this category of being. And so what is being said? Do not say three. Indeed, Allah is but one Allah. To him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and sufficient is Allah as disposer of affairs.

Never would the Messiah disdain to be a servant of Allah, nor would the angels near to him. And whoever disdains his worship and is arrogant, he will gather them to himself. All together, Surah 4, 171 through 172.

Now, clearly the idea is, since Jesus worshipped God, then he could not be God himself. Assuming Unitarianism. That's fine. We can get into that another time. That's not the subject of our debate this evening.

We've already debated that before. But there is the assertion from Surah 4. Then we go to Surah 5. O people of the scripture! There has come to you our messenger, making clear to you much of what you used to conceal the scripture, and overlooking much.

There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear book. They have certainly disbelieved. Notice, it's an act of Kufr. Who say that Allah is Messiah, the son of Mary. Allah is Messiah, the son of Mary.

That's a pretty unusual statement, even for Christians to make. We'll look at it a little bit more closely. Say, then who could prevent Allah at all if he had intended to destroy Christ, the son of Mary, or his mother, or everyone on the earth?

So since they could be destroyed, then they could not be deities. And Jesus could not be a deity. His mother could not be a deity. Anything that's created cannot be a deity, according to this line of thinking.

And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them. He creates what he wills, and Allah is over all things competent. 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? Rather, you are human beings from among those he has created. He forgives whom he wills, and he punishes whom he wills. And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them.

And to him is the final destination, Surah 5, 15, and then 17 through 18. Now that continues in Surah 5. There's a theme in Surah 5, I believe. If we're going to interpret it correctly, we have to look at all of Surah 5.

They have certainly disbelieved, there's Kufr again, who say Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary, repeating what was already said before. While the Messiah has said, O children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.

Indeed, he who associates others with Allah, there's Shirk, Allah has forbidden him paradise, and his refuge is the fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers. Very strong words in regards to disbelief.

They have certainly disbelieved, another accusation of Kufr, who say Allah is the third of three. The term Trinity is not there. It is literally the phrase the third of three. Three what? Well, let's listen to what the text says.

And there is no God except one God. There is no deity except one Allah. Now if, again, if words have meaning, and you say Allah is the third of three, and then immediately the response is, there is no God except one God, then what are you saying as to the threeness?

What does that mean? Is it not an accusation of polytheism? Is it not an accusation that you believe that there is more than one God? I think very clearly that it is. If they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers, among them a painful punishment.

So notice the theme that's also developing. Punishment if you continue to believe what the Alal Kitab have said, literally all along from their beginning. So will they not repent to Allah and seek his forgiveness?

And Allah is forgiving and merciful. So it's something you need to repent of. It is a sin to say these things. Kufr, shirk, these are very, very strong terms that are being used. Say, do you worship besides Allah?

Notice, besides Allah. One thing you must understand, Christians never worship anything besides from God. In fact, one of my strongest arguments against my Roman Catholic friends is that they come very close to violating that very thing which has been so fundamental to Christian theism from the beginning.

Do you worship besides Allah, that which holds for you no power of harm or benefit, while it is Allah who is the hearing, the knowing? I don't worship anything that has no power to harm or benefit me because I believe that the objects of my worship, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have eternally been God.

They sustain all things. Jesus Christ is the creator of all things. Everything that I am comes from his hand. I am sustained by his spirit even at this moment, so I do not worship anything that would fit these words, and yet the Quran says this.

Say, O people of the scripture, do not exceed limits in your religion beyond the truth and do not follow the inclinations of a people who had gone astray before and misled many and have strayed from the soundness of the way.

And so here is the assertion that's being made, that this belief of the people of the scripture involves going beyond the truth, going in exceeding limits. Ta 'alu is the term in Surah 4, verse 171. Ta 'alu fi dinikum, excess in your religion.

That's what we're being accused of. But does the writer here understand what our worship is? Well, remember, we're still in Surah 5. We've looked at Surah 5, 15 through 18. Now we've looked at verses 72 through 77.

It continues on. At the end of Surah 5, verse 116, we have one of the most important verses in this matter, in my opinion, because we've heard much of three. We have heard three, do not say three, that's an act of kufr.

Accusation of association, shirk. And then we've had the warnings that if you continue in this way, if you do not repent, there will be certain punishment for you. Three what? That really is the issue tonight.

Because, folks,.

Just last night I was in Leicester Square, and I know some of you were there last night, and I was talking to a very young Muslim. And he basically said to me that Muslims go to heaven and Christians go to heaven, and I just follow what I believe, and it just doesn't really matter.

I pray, and I think what I believe is true, but you're going to have your opportunities before God as well, and I can't judge. That's not really the historic Islamic perspective. And if the Quran is the word of God, then we have to take it seriously.

And we have to ask the question, what do these words mean? Did they have a meaning when they were first said? The first time that Muhammad recited these words, did they have a meaning then? If the Quran has eternally been God's word, and if in fact the earthly Quran is but a representation of what was written in eternity on that heavenly tablet, then does the Quran speak to all ages?

I've had many Muslims say, well Jesus is just the Messiah for the Jewish people, but Islam is for all people. So the Quran is for all people. Okay, then when Allah wrote the Quran, or when the Quran didn't come into existence, but however the relationship you understand between Allah and the Quran, and it was to be available to all people and relevant to all people, then wouldn't it be describing Christianity as it exists in the world today?

The Christianity that existed in the day of Muhammad believed in a certain doctrine of the Trinity. It continues to believe in that today. And in fact, even that which I would not call Christianity in reality, but which professes to be Christianity in the broad sense, if you take the Protestant and Roman Catholic groups and put them together, they believe the same thing on this subject.

And so, what is the nature of the three that you are to desist from saying? Why does the Quran keep saying, there is only one Allah, right after it says, do not say three. Where does the Quran show an understanding?

Folks, by this time in history, the doctrine of the Trinity had been clearly defined. And there were already people who had written extensive critiques on the subject. There were human beings who had done a good job in arguing against the Trinity, even at this time.

Wouldn't you expect that if God was the author of this text, that he would know more about it than any human being in that day? Even if the Trinity is wrong, didn't Allah know what it was? Of course he did.

And so, what's the three? You tell me. Surah 5, Ayah 116. And beware the day when Allah will say,.

O Jesus,.

Isa bin Mariam, did you say to the people, take me and my mother as deities besides Allah? Now, we know historically,.

Historically,.

That for a brief period of time anyways, there is a group called the Coloridians, a heretical little sect, very small, that is said to have worshipped Mary as a deity. And I've had people say, up, Muhammad had run into them.

I've never seen any evidence that they existed in Muhammad's day. I've never seen any evidence that he ever ran into them. But some people have said, that must be what it is. Why would Allah reveal a text in eternity that would have absolutely no relevance to anyone after it was given?

The Coloridians were gone. Why would you ignore the major world religion that Islam has had to deal with all the way through its history and focus upon a little group that didn't even continue to exist until the days of Muhammad?

I don't see how that works.

If this represents the author of the Quran's understanding of the Trinity, then our debate this evening is concluded. Why would Allah say to Isa bin Maryam, did you say the people take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?

Even the worst forms of idolatry in Roman Catholicism today do not say that Mary is divine. Now I've argued against them many times, I've debated this very subject, that by allowing prayer to her and her intercession, the saints and all the rest of that stuff, they are violating strict monotheism, there's no question about that.

But even at that, that was not in existence in that day. There has been a tremendous evolution over the past number of centuries. Especially just over the past 160 or so years in the Marian doctrines within Roman Catholicism.

So what does this mean? Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah. If this is supposed to be about Christianity, then the author of the Quran did not understand Christianity. Allah, even if Christianity was false, understood it and would have accurately represented it.

This is the question we must address this evening. Now it's interesting, the text goes on, in verses 116, this is actually verse 117 as well, no, this is just 116, I'm sorry. He will say, exalted are you, this is allegedly Jesus' response, 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. Now, folks, the Quran very often puts words in Jesus' mouth and this is one of those places.

Only once in an identifiable historical place, but here you have Jesus allegedly saying to Allah, you know what is within myself, I do not know what is within yourself. And yet, why is this whole subject this evening important?

Because it seems very clear to me that the author of this text had never read words that had been written down and preserved for half a millennium at this time, that had been distributed all over the known world that were a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And those words are found in the gospel of Matthew. Chapter 11, verse 27. And here, from someone who lived at the same time as Jesus, in the same place as Jesus, writing from the same world view as Jesus, we have Jesus saying, all things have been handed over to me by my Father.

And no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. May I suggest to you, my friends, the reason that we gather here this evening, and we do so out of respect.

I'm very thankful that Bassam is here this evening. I hope we're going to have a very respectful and friendly interchange. But what we believe is God's truth is directly contradictory to the other side.

And we cannot compromise about that. And here you have Jesus saying, no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. You see, the reason this is an important debate tonight is because if Jesus is who these ancient documents said He was, not just Amir Razul, but the very one who reveals the Father, He is the only way of having true knowledge of the Father.

And that's something all the world needs to know. That's why we're here this evening. Thank you very much.

Bassam Zawadi’s Opening Statement on Islam and Christianity

Now we have an opportunity from Bassam Zawadi with 25 minutes for his opening statements. Let's welcome him, shall we?

Assalamu alaikum and greetings. I would like to express my appreciation to all of you for coming here this evening in order to participate in this discussion with us. I'd also like to thank Pastor Doug for allowing us to use this chapel as a platform for the debate and Dr. White for his willingness to engage me on this subject.

Has Islam misunderstood Christianity? What is meant by Islam? Well, it's referring to Islamic teachings whose basis is from authoritative sources. What are those authoritative sources according to Orthodox Islam?

Those sources are the Quran. Prophetic traditions are authentic according to Islamic criteria and the consensus of Islamic scholars on a particular issue. What is meant by misunderstood? This subject has nothing to do with whether Unitarianism or Trinitarianism is the true concept of monotheism.

It has nothing to do with whether Islam has successfully refuted or critiqued Christianity. This topic is strictly about whether Islam has misunderstood Christianity by either directly or indirectly falsely attributing certain beliefs to Christianity or Christians who don't hold these beliefs.

What is meant by Christianity? Well, Christianity means different things to different people who claim to adhere to the faith. Biblical Unitarians claim to adhere to a Christianity that would be deemed as nothing absolutely close compared to what someone like Dr. James White adheres to.

Dr. White, as a Reformed Protestant, could spend hours lecturing us on how a number of beliefs that Catholics adhere to have nothing to do with Christianity. So what is Christianity? What is a Christian according to Islam?

Professor Sidney Griffith from the Catholic University of America on page 8 of his book, The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque, Christians and Muslims in the World, he said, the community identity of the Christians in the Quran's audience must be determined in reference to the whole profile of Christians and Christianity that emerges from the Quran's references and allusions to their scriptures, beliefs, and practices.

The matter should not be determined just on the basis of the etymologies and particular terms and phrases taken in conjunction with certain theological constructions that modern interpreters think they could plausibly impose on them.

So we need to see how the Islamic sources use the term Christian and not impose our own understanding of the term onto the Islamic texts. The Islamic sources most commonly refer to Christians by the terms Nasara, which literally translates into Nazarenes, or as Ahl al-Kitab, which translates into people of the book.

There is a tradition where the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, the Christians were divided into 72 sects, 71 of which are in the fire and one is in paradise. So here we see that the Islamic sources recognize that Christians have been divided into several sects.

Furthermore, the Islamic sources still use the same terms, Nasara and Ahl al-Kitab, to refer to each of these sects. Islam is not giving a unique name to each sect. It labels them all as Nasara and Ahl al-Kitab.

The Islamic sources, unlike zealous Christians today, are not interested in providing the label Christianity to the belief that represents the correct interpretation of the Bible. Rather, we see that the Islamic sources use the term Christian to refer to anyone who makes the claim to follow Jesus.

So that's the first important thing to bear in mind. The second important thing to bear in mind is an important linguistic principle in Arabic known as Itlaq ism al-kul al-albaad, which is the method of referring to a specific group of people by using a general name.

For example, there are verses in which the Quran would say the Jews or the people, but it's not referring to all Jews and all people. Similarly, when the Islamic sources or even Islamic scholars say the Nasara or the people of the book, it does not necessarily mean that it's referring to all Christians within that category and could be referring to a specific group of Christians using that general term.

So that's the second important thing to bear in mind. With that said, I would like to dive straight into the arguments. Many allegations have been put forth stating that Islam has misunderstood Christianity.

However, in my opening statement, I would like to touch upon the three most frequent ones that I have come across, and they are the ones that Dr. White has presented to us. One, the Quran claims that Christians claim to believe in polytheism.

Two, the Quran identifies the Trinity as Allah, Jesus, and Mary. Three, Islam assumes that Jesus is a biological son of God, according to Christianity. Argument number one, the Quran claims that Christians claim to believe in polytheism.

Before accusing anyone of misunderstanding something, we need to be fair and open to identifying the intent behind the words of the speaker. When we read Quranic verses such as Surah 4, Ayah 171, addressed to Christians and Jews, which says, so believe in Allah and his messengers.

One is not to interpret that as the Quran saying that Christians say that we reject God's messengers, but rather the Quran speaking based on de facto reality, according to it, is saying that Christians don't accept all of God's messengers.

Similarly, when Jesus is alleged to have said to the Jews in John 8, 44, you belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. No one understands that Jesus is claiming that this is what the Jews themselves claim to do.

So why can't those Quranic passages, which call out to Christians to stop associating other gods with Allah, also be using this method and approach of communication? Why can't we read those passages in a way that shows that the author of the Quran is speaking based on the assumption that Allah is one person, and that only Allah alone is God, and by de facto reality, claiming any other person to be God is considered polytheism according to Islamic guidelines.

Yes, of course, you could disagree with this assumption of Unitarianism. However, this evening's debate, just as Dr. White said, is not about Unitarianism versus Trinitarianism, but whether Islam has misunderstood Christianity.

If we simply and fairly allow the Quran the benefit of the doubt in that it could possibly be communicating with this intent, then there is no basis for arguing, especially with any sort of confidence, that these sorts of passages illustrate that Islam has misunderstood Christianity.

Argument number two. The Quran identifies the Trinity as Allah, Jesus, and Mary. Nowhere do the Islamic sources explicitly identify the three persons of the Trinity. It is not even in Islam's interest to do so.

Islam is mainly concerned with denouncing concepts and beliefs and not delving into any unnecessary details. It's not essential to identify the three persons of the Trinity and then condemn that Trinity concept when you have already made it clear that God is one person.

When we look at Surah 4, Ayah 171, and Surah 5, Ayah 73, where the Trinity is being alluded to, we don't see Mary's name being mentioned as one of the three. The Quran treats the issue of the Trinity and Mary's being taken as a god as two separate themes.

Surah 5, Ayah 116 states,. And when Allah will say, O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say unto men, Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah? He will say, Glory be to you. It was not for me to say what I had no right to say.

This is simply a verse disapproving of the worship of Jesus and Mary besides Allah and also exonerates Jesus from having advised his followers to worship him and Mary. There is no allusion to the doctrine of the Trinity in this verse.

Also, the idea of Mary being taken as a god could be understood in more than one sense. If one refers to Surah 9, Ayah 31, and 25, Ayah 43, one could see that when the Quran refers to someone or something being taken as a god, it doesn't always mean so in a literal sense, but that this someone or something is treated in a way that only God deserves to be treated.

Similarly, one could be open to the possibility that when Surah 5, Ayah 116 talks about Mary being taken as a god, that it doesn't mean so in the literal sense, but that there are those treating Mary in a way that only God deserves to be treated, just like with the Catholics and their excessive venerations of Mary.

Professor of Christianity and Islam at the University of Birmingham, Dave Thomas, said in his article entitled Trinity in the Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 5, pages 369 -370, in regards to this passage,.

Strictly speaking, this verse need not be read as a reference to a version of the Trinity, but rather as an example of shirk. As such, it could be understood as a warning against excessive devotion to Jesus and extravagant veneration of Mary, a reminder linked to the central theme of the Quran that there is only one God and he alone is to be worshipped.

And then he continues on to say,. If, on the other hand, there is no sectarian version of the Christian doctrine being addressed in this verse, it need not be read as a rejection of a deviant doctrine of the Trinity, but as a denial that Jesus and Mary are equal with God and a warning against making excessive claims about them.

Thus, it can be understood as an instance of the warning against the divinization of Jesus that is given elsewhere in the Quran and a warning against a virtual divinization of Mary in the declarations of the 5th century church councils that she is Theotokos, God-bearer.

Islamic historian Heribert Bussey said on page 23 of his book, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, Theological and Historical Affiliations,. There is reference in the Quran to an odd understanding of the Trinity.