division and partition become inevitable—an inseparable corollary of their doctrine, for affirming natural begetting necessarily implies that a part has separated from Him. Allah, exalted is He, says:

“They assign to Him, from among His servants, a portion. Truly, man is glaringly ungrateful” (az-Zukhruf 43:15). (15)

“Or has He taken, from what He Himself creates, daughters for His own and favored you with sons?” (az-Zukhruf 43:16). (16)

“But whenever one of them is given the glad tidings of what he attributes to the All-Merciful, his face darkens and he is choked with grief” (az-Zukhruf 43:17). (17)

“Is one who is reared among ornaments and, in debate, is unable to express himself clearly [fit to be God’s child]?” (az-Zukhruf 43:18). (18)

“They have declared the angels—who are servants of the All-Merciful—to be females. Were they present at their creation? Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned” (az-Zukhruf 43:19). (19)

As for the concept that certain Christian theologians affirm and label ‘begetting’ and ‘sonship,’ they designate an eternal, uncreated attribute inhering in the Essence as “the Son.” At times they call it “utterance,” at other times “the Word,” “knowledge,” or “wisdom,” and they insist, “This is begotten of God, the Son of God.” No prophet—nor any of their followers—or indeed any rational person outside this circle of Christian innovators has ever spoken thus, nor does any intelligent person understand the terms ‘begetting’ and ‘sonship’ in this fashion. The prophets used the word “son” only for a created being, yet these people claim that He is the Father of the Messiah by nature and the father of others merely by conferment—a notion that the vast majority of rational minds simply cannot comprehend