—that is, His knowledge or wisdom—“son.” They further called it “Word,” and they labeled another of His eternal, pre-existent attributes—namely His life—“Holy Spirit.” Now, giving these attributes such names is found in none of the speech of the prophets or of anyone else. It is unknown that anyone—prophet or otherwise—ever referred to Allah’s inherent knowledge as “His son,” let alone referred to the knowledge possessed by any created being as “his son.”

The term “son” is employed only for one who is born in the well-known physical sense, or, by extension, for someone whose existence has come about through something. Thus people say “ibn al-sabīl” (child of the road) for a wayfarer, for since he arrives by way of the road it is as though the road had begotten him. Some birds are called “ibn al-māʾ” (child of water) because they emerge from the water. One also says, “Be among the children of the Hereafter and not among the children of this world,” for a son affiliates with, loves, and is ascribed to his father—meaning: be of those who affiliate themselves with the Hereafter, love it, and are attached to it.

This usage occurs in the scriptures now in the hands of the People of the Book concerning the righteous whom Allah loves and nurtures. They report that the Messiah said: (abi wa abikum wa ilahi wa ilahikum) ("my Father and your Father, my God and your God"). And in the Torah it is related that Allah said to Jacob: (anta ibni bikri) ("You are My son, My firstborn"). Similar expressions—when authentic—carry a sound meaning: divine love, election, and mercy. The meaning was understood by