As for the polytheism found among the Christians, they introduced it only in imitation of those people, adopting a small measure of their polytheism. Allah Most High says:

“The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah,’ and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ That is what they say with their mouths, echoing the words of those who disbelieved before them.” [al-Tawbah 30]

This includes those who said that the angels are Allah’s offspring, as these Sabian philosophers maintain, for they preceded the Christians.

I say: As for the monotheism ascribed to the philosophers, consisting in the denial of the divine attributes, this resembles the Muʿtazilah’s calling their own teachings monotheism. In reality, this is a denial of the divine attributes that necessarily entails likening Allah to others and associating partners with Him.

As for the Christians, they do not maintain that there are two distinct gods. Rather, their position is contradictory: they make the three one and hold that the one is united