Tafsir of Al-Ikhlas 112:3

(He did not beget) and what follows is based on the previously mentioned principle. This is denied of Him, the Exalted, because procreation necessitates the separation of a substance from Him, the Glorified, and that necessitates composition, which contradicts al-Samadiyah (The Absolute/The Independent) and al-Ahadiyah (The Oneness). Or, it is because the offspring is of the same genus as the father, and nothing is of the same genus as Him, the Exalted, for He is Necessary Existence while all others are possible existents. Furthermore, the offspring, as it is said, is sought by a rational being either for assistance or to succeed him after his departure, and He, the Glorified, is Everlasting, Remaining, and in no need of any of that.

The restriction to the past tense, rather than using "He shall not beget" (lan yalid), is because it was revealed as a refutation of those who claimed that the angels are the daughters of Allah, the Exalted, or that the Messiah is the son of Allah—exalted is Allah far above that with a great exaltation. It is also permissible that the intended meaning is the continuity of the negation, and the past tense was used to correspond to the verse, "and He was not begotten" (wa lam yulad), which must be in the past tense.

The negation of being begotten (al-mawludiyah) is applied to Him, the Exalted, because it necessitates substance, which implies composition—incompatible with Absolute Self-Sufficiency and True Oneness—or because it necessitates the precedence of non-existence (even if only in essence), or because it necessitates the impossible [concept of] sharing a genus. The negation of "begetting" was mentioned first because it is more significant, as a group of disbelievers imagined the opposite of it, unlike the negation of "being begotten." Or, it is because there are more who imagine the opposite of the former than the latter, based on the fact that the Christians are compelled by their claim of union to assert both begetting and being begotten regarding whom they believe to be God.

This is in accordance with what their books contain: they say the Father is the first hypostasis of the Trinity; the Son is the second, proceeding from Him eternally, equal in eternity; and the Holy Spirit is the third, proceeding from them likewise. They claim the Divine Nature is one, belonging to each of the three, and each is united with it, yet they are three substances, not one substance. Thus, the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, and they together are not the Holy Spirit. Yet, they are one God, as they have one divinity, one nature, and one substance, and each of them is united with the divinity even if there is a distinction between them.

The first is the Necessary Essential Existence, the second is the Essential Intellect—referred to as "Knowledge"—and the third is the Essential Will—referred to as "Love." Thus, God is three essential hypostases, and despite their real distinction—though they sometimes describe it as relational, meaning the relation of some to others—they are one substance and one nature, which is God. There is nothing else in Him; rather, everything within Him is identical to His Essence.

They claim there are—exalted is He above what they say—four relations: the first is the activity of intellection in the first hypostasis; the second is the passivity of being-intellected in the second hypostasis, which is the mental image of the Father; the third is the activity of emanation in the first and second hypostases, both of whom possess the will; the fourth is the passivity of this emanation in the third hypostasis, which is the love of the divine will belonging to the first and second. They claim that the expression of "activity" and "passivity" regarding the divine hypostases is used metaphorically. The "activity" in the Father towards the Son is nothing but Fatherhood, and in it and in the Son towards the Holy Spirit is nothing but the commencement of its proceeding from them. The "passivity" in the Son and the Holy Spirit is nothing but Sonship in the Son and Procession in the Spirit.

They say all of this must be believed, even if it is beyond human perception. They claim that these hypostases have names received from the Apostles: the first hypostasis in the divine nature is called Father; the second is Son, Word, Wisdom, Light, Radiance, and Ray; the third is the Holy Spirit and "Comforter" (mughrin), which is the meaning of their Greek term, Paraclete.

They explained the reason for these designations as follows: the first hypostasis is like a fountainhead and principle that gave to the second hypostasis, which proceeds from Him by an act necessitating a likeness to its actor—which is the act of the Intellect—its entire nature and substance. Thus, the second hypostasis, which is in the essential divine image of the first, is equal to Him in perfect equality. The definition of begetting is the proceeding of a living being from a living being by an instrument and a concomitant principle that necessitates a likeness of its nature. Here, it is the same, or even more profound, because the second is the Divine Nature itself. Therefore, it is not strange if the first is called Father and the second Son.

The second is called "Word" because the begetting is not like the begetting of animals and plants, but by the action of the Intellect—meaning the Father imagines His divinity and understands His Essence. There is no doubt that this image is a "Word" because it is the concept of the Intellect and its utterance. It is called "Wisdom" because it was begotten from the Father by the action of His divine Intellect, which is Wisdom. It is called "Light," "Ray," and "Radiance" because where there is wisdom, there is the knowledge of the truths of things and their manifestation, like the aforementioned.

The third is called "Holy Spirit" because it proceeds from the Father and the Son by the action of the Will, which is one for the Father and the Son, and it emanates from them by an act that is like the agitation of the Will through love towards its beloved; thus, it is the love of God, and God is Himself pure Spirit and holiness itself. Each of the first and second has an aspect that could allow it to be called "spirit" due to the union, but since the first was called by a name indicating its rank and relation to the second, and the second likewise, the third was specified by the common name. It is not called "Son," even if it has the nature of the Father and His substance like the Son, because it did not proceed from the Father by an act necessitating a likeness to its actor—meaning the act of the Intellect—but proceeded from Him by the act of the Will. Thus, the second is from the first like Abel from Adam, and the third is like Eve from him, and all are one reality; yet Abel is called a "son" and she is not called a "daughter." It is called "Comforter" because it was destined to come to the Apostles to comfort them after the loss of the Messiah, peace be upon him.

As for activity and passivity, they are not actually present; Fatherhood and Sonship here do not necessitate them as they do in created things. Therefore, the Father is not called the cause and origin of His Son, even if that were said elsewhere. Thus, the three are equal in substance, essence, the entitlement to worship, and merit in every respect.

Then, they claimed the incarnation of the second hypostasis, the Word, and its union with the most noble parts of the Virgin—the blood—by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Messiah, peace be upon him, was composed of the human nature and the Word. The Word, despite its union, did not depart from its simplicity and did not change, because it is the boundary at which union ends. Therefore, there is no barrier on its part to the union, and likewise, there is no barrier on the part of the human nature, for nothing is too difficult for Allah, the Exalted. They claimed that the Messiah, peace be upon him, was a perfect God and a perfect man, possessing two natures and two wills established in one divine hypostasis, which is the hypostasis of the Word. From there, both divine and human attributes are predicated upon him, but from two different perspectives.

Then they added another ring to the bell: they said that the Messiah one day fed the Apostles bread and gave them wine to drink, saying, "You have eaten my flesh and drunk my blood, so you have united with me, and I am united with the Father," along with other claims more famous than to be mentioned. From what we have mentioned, it is known that to them, there is no difference between saying "Allah is the Messiah," "The Messiah is His son," or "He is the third of three." This is why each of these statements appears in the Revelation as attributed to them, and there is no need to assign each statement to a different group, as more than one of the commentators and theologians has said.

Furthermore, it is not hidden that what they mentioned contradicts Oneness and al-Samadiyah, and their claim that the hypostases—despite being three distinct substances in a real sense—are one substance, is self-evidently false, offering no nourishment and satisfying no hunger. The examples they provide to clarify this are far removed from clarification and distant from the intended meaning by a million stages. We have previously mentioned within this book matters related to some of their beliefs along with their refutation, but that was before looking into their books, and we relied on what the theologians mentioned regarding them. Today, we have the intention to compile a treatise that includes a precise editing of their beliefs regarding the Necessary Being, the Exalted, and a mention of their intellectual and textual arguments upon which they rely for the Trinity, as we have encountered them in their books, with a refutation of them in the most complete manner, if Allah, the Exalted, wills. We ask Allah, the Exalted, for success in that, and that He leads us in all our affairs along the most upright paths, for He, the Glorified, is the Most Generous, the Most Bountiful, who does not turn away with rejection those who turn to Him.