—by his brother (1) and the one most entitled to him, Muḥammad son of ʿAbd-Allāh, who proclaimed that he (2) is a servant of God and His Messenger, a word He cast to Mary, and a spirit from Him.
The scriptures of the former prophets and all other prophecies agree with what (3) Muḥammad ﷺ reported; each of them (4) confirms the others. Every text the Trinitarians, the worshippers of the cross, adduce from those books as evidence for the Messiah’s divinity—terms such as “son,” “word,” “true spirit,” or even “god”—is shared with others besides the Messiah. The same is true of any statement about the Holy Spirit descending upon him, or about the Lord appearing in him or in his place.
Groups claiming an affiliation with Islam have fallen into an error akin to their polytheism and unbelief: they confused what descends into the hearts of the gnostics—faith in Him, knowledge of Him, His light, and His guidance—with the very Essence of the Lord. Yet the Exalted has said, “To Allah belongs the loftiest description” (16:60), and He said, “His is the highest description in the heavens and on earth; and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise” (30:27). That is, what resides in the hearts of His angels, His prophets, and His believing servants of faith in Him, knowledge of Him, love for Him, veneration of Him, and glorification of Him—echoing His words, “So if they believe in the like of what you believe in, they are rightly guided” (2:137).
Likewise His saying, “He is Allah in the heavens and on earth; He knows your secrets and your public utterances, and He knows what you earn” (6:3).