He—peace be upon him—is reported to have said to his disciples when he was about to depart from them:

“Go forth and baptize the people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

He then said:

Assuming this wording is sound, it could simply mean that he wished to combine these expressions so that the people might receive all blessings together: the blessing of Allah, the blessing of His Prophet the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit by which Allah strengthens the prophets and messengers.

Indeed, when you pray for one another, we hear you say, “The prayer of such-and-such a saint be with you.” The word “prayer” here means supplication; likewise you say, “May the name of such-and-such a prophet help you in your affairs.”

Similarly, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has said:

“O you who believe, obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you” (al-Nisāʾ 4:59).

Here He couples obedience to His Messenger and to the Muslim leaders with obedience to Himself; yet do we allege on that basis that they are all gods?

He continued:

It is also possible that the phrase contains a meaning too subtle to grasp without interpretation—if its meaning is not what we have suggested—or that the Messiah, peace be upon him, intended by it something he knew better. Why, then, have you judged that he meant by these words that these