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This, then, denies that He—glory be to Him—is the father of anything or has taken anything as a child, in any conceivable form of begetting or taking a child.

As for denying that He was begotten, this includes denying that He originated through any kind of generation from any human being, or belongs among any other beings that originate from another. It thus refutes those who say that the Messiah is Allah. It also refutes the Dajjāl, who claims that he is Allah, and those who say that a human being is Allah: the extremists of this community who make this claim concerning ʿAlī, certain members of the Prophet’s household, or certain shaykhs. Some have said this of ʿAlī and a number of members of the Prophet’s household; they have also said it of the prophets. Others have said it of al-Hallāj, others of al-Hākim in Egypt, others of Shaykh ʿAdī, and others of Yūnus al-Qanīnī. Some extend this claim to shaykhs generally and endorse all these claims.

Thus His statement—glory be to Him—

“Nor was He begotten”

negates all of this, for all these people were begotten, whereas Allah was not begotten.

For this reason, when Allah mentions the Messiah in the Quran, He calls him “son of Mary,” unlike the other prophets, as in His statement:

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah.’”

And His statement:

“The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger; messengers had passed away before him.”

And His statement: