Now, since Rūḥ al-Qudus (the Holy Spirit) is universally recognized in the speech of both the earlier and the later prophets as something that Allah sends down upon His prophets and His righteous servants—whether as angels who come with revelation and victory, or as revelation and divine support together with the angel, or even as support without any angel at all—it is clear that by the Holy Spirit one cannot mean “the life of Allah inherent in Him.”

Accordingly, if the Sinless One actually said, “Baptize the people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” what he meant was: instruct the people to believe in Allah, in the prophet He has sent, and in the angel who brought down to that prophet the revelation he conveyed. In other words, it is a command to them to believe in Allah, His angels, His scriptures, and His messengers. This is the truth borne out by plain reason and sound transmitted evidence.

Interpreting the words of the Sinless One in this fashion—an interpretation that accords with the other expressions found in the books they possess, harmonizes with the Quran, and agrees with reason—is far preferable to construing them in a way that openly contradicts clear reason and authentic transmission.

Moreover, this explanation is obvious and involves no strained interpretation. It is not a figurative exegesis that diverts the wording from its apparent meaning to something that opposes it; rather, it is an interpretation that the apparent wording itself indicates in the well-known language and familiar idiom used by the Messiah and by the rest of the prophets.

As for the Christians’ interpretation that the “Son” is an eternally begotten, pre-existent entity—namely the divine knowledge or the Word—