Among the circumstances that occasioned the revelation of this verse was the Christians’ appeal to expressions they found ambiguous, such as His words “Indeed, We” and “We.” Scholars know that these refer to a single exalted One who has helpers; He did not mean that there are three gods. Those firmly grounded in knowledge know the interpretation of this—that is, its explanation. They distinguish between passages in which He says “Me” and those in which He says “Indeed, We”: the latter include the angels in the tasks on which He sends them, since they are His messengers. But being the God who is worshipped belongs to Him alone. Hence He does not say, “So worship Us alone,” or “Fear Us alone.” Rather, whenever He commands worship, piety, reverent fear, or reliance, He mentions Himself alone, using His distinctive name. When He mentions actions for which He sends the angels, He says:

“Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory.”

“So when We have recited it, follow its recitation.”

“We recount to you in truth some of the story of Moses and Pharaoh.”

There are other examples of this. Yet its interpretation—in the sense of the actual reality of the angels referred to, their attributes, and how the Lord sends them—is known only to Allah, as has been explained at length elsewhere.

The point here is that one must take what Allah and His Messenger have said as the foundation, reflect upon and understand its meaning, and recognize its proof and evidence, whether rational or transmitted through revelation. One must also recognize how the Quran provides both kinds of evidence. People’s statements, which may agree or disagree with it, should be treated as ambiguous and insufficiently explicit. Those who use such expressions should therefore be told: “These may mean such-and-such, or they may mean such-and-such.” If by them they mean what