son of Mary. Yet they were commanded only to worship one God; there is no deity worthy of worship except Him. Glory be to Him! He is far above what they associate with Him.” Allah Most High also said:

“And when Allah says, ‘O Jesus, son of Mary, did you tell people, “Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah”?’ He will say, ‘Glory be to You! It is not for me to say what I have no right to say.’”

Up to His words:

“Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord”—and the rest of the verse.

In several places in His Book, Allah mentions their claims that Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary, that Allah is the third of three, and that Allah has taken a child. He explains the enormity of their fabrication, their insult to Allah, and their “monstrous” claim, at which:

“The heavens almost rupture, the earth splits apart, and the mountains collapse in devastation.”

For this reason, in several places He calls upon them to worship only one God, as in His words:

“O People of the Scripture, do not go to extremes in your religion, and say nothing about Allah except the truth.”

Up to His words:

“And do not say, ‘Three.’ Desist—it is better for you. Allah is but one God. Glory be to Him! He is far above having a child.”

Up to His words:

“The Messiah would never disdain to be a servant of Allah, nor would the angels brought near to Him. Whoever disdains His worship and is arrogant—He will gather them all to Himself.”

This is because those who associate a created being—human or otherwise—with Allah themselves become guilty of associating partners with Him, while the human or jinn whom they associate with Him becomes arrogant. As He said:

“There were men among mankind who sought refuge with men among the jinn, and they increased them in arrogance.”

Allah thus states that His servants do not arrogantly refuse to worship Him, even if those who associate partners with Him take them as His partners.

Likewise, Allah Most High said:

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of three.’ There is no god but one God.”

Up to His words:

“The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger; messengers had passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth”—and the rest of the verse.

Allah Most High also said:

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary.’ Yet the Messiah said, ‘O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever associates partners with Allah—Allah has forbidden