İslâmî Monoteizm ve Teslîs/Islamic Monotheism and the Trinity

Abstract

Christians and Muslims both believe that there is only one God, but they differ over how this God is one, with Muslims rejecting the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. This study first surveys Islamic arguments against the Trinity from the Qur’ān, historical corruption of doctrine, and reason. It then widens the scope of the discussion in order to find bridges between the Islamic and Christian doctrines of God. After explaining that the rationale behind the doctrine of the Trinity is that God saves in Christ, the study draws parallels between, on the one hand, the Islamic doctrines of the simplicity of God’s essence, the unity of God attributes, the uniqueness of God acts, and God’s exclusive worthiness of worship and, on the other hand, the Christian theological categories of the immanent Trinity and the economic Trinity, the doctrine of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and Christian devotion to Christ.

Keywords

• history of religions
• tawḥīd
• trinity
• christianity
• monotheism