nor does it entail that He indwelt them or united with them; the same applies to His coming. He never said, “I shall dwell in the Messiah and unite with him.” Rather, concerning the House of Zion He said, “I will come to you and dwell in your midst.” Similar phrases occur elsewhere in their scriptures and never indicate that He inhabits a human being.

The same holds for His words, “You will know that I am the mighty God who abides in you.” By this He did not mean that He would dwell inside the Messiah, for the Messiah never resided in the Temple in a position of power. On the contrary, he used to enter it while dominated and subdued until he was seized and crucified—or someone made to resemble him. As for God—exalted be He—when knowledge of Him and faith in Him take root in hearts, they become tranquil and at rest.

When the religion of the Messiah, peace be upon him, later appeared in the Temple after he had been raised up, a level of faith in God and knowledge of Him emerged there that had not existed before.

In short, the earlier prophecies and revealed books—the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the rest of the prophetic writings—do not single out the Messiah with anything that necessitates the union of the divine nature with him or its indwelling in him, as the Christians claim. They single him out only with what God granted him through the tongue of Muhammad in His words: “The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of God, His word that He cast to Mary, and a spirit from Him” (al-Nisāʾ, 4:171).

Thus the earlier prophetic books and all other prophecies agree with what Muhammad—may God bless him and grant him peace—has conveyed; they confirm one another, and everything else to which they appeal