God: Triunity or Tritheism

Both Islam and Christianity are monotheistic – meaning that they both believe that there is only one God. However, Muslims have difficulty understanding the Christian concept of the Trinity, and their concept of our Triune god is erroneous.

The Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith. This doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists simultaneously and eternally as three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. In other words, the Trinity is a belief that the Godhead is not three different people but rather three different conditions of the same person. 

Islam dismisses the Christian belief in the Trinity as tritheism or a belief in three distinct gods. Muslims believe Christians worship Jesus, the Messiah, his mother Mary, and Allah (Arabic for god). The Qur’an states,” They are unbelievers who say ‘God is the Third of Three’. No god is there but the One God” (sura 5:73, Arberry). 

This passage goes on to explain that because Jesus and Mary both ate food to sustain themselves, they cannot possibly be gods like Allah. “The Messiah, son of Mary, was only a Messenger; Messengers before him passed away; his mother was a just woman; they both ate food. Behold, how We make clear the signs to them; then behold, how they perverted are!” (sura 5:75, Arberry).

The idea that Mary was considered divine by Christians and part of the Holy Trinity may result from the excessive veneration given to her by an early Christian heretical sect in Arabia known as the Collyridians, who considered Mary a goddess and offered cakes to worship her. Regardless of the source, Muhammad’s limited and defective knowledge of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity led him to mistakenly believe in a tritheism of Jesus, Mary, and Allah. Because of this mistake, the Christian belief in the Trinity is considered blasphemy in Islam. 

The Triune God of Christianity is demonstrated throughout the Bible, for instance, in the activity of redemption. The Father planned it; the Son obtained it (Ephesians 1:4-9); and the Spirit applies it. (2 Thessalonians 2:13).