and whatever is on the earth—all from Him.” And He says:

“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah.”

Whatever is attributed to Allah, or said to be from Him, falls into two categories. If it is an entity existing in its own right, then it is owned by Him, and “from” indicates its point of origin, as Allah Most High says:

“Then We sent to her Our Spirit.”

And He says concerning the Messiah:

“And a spirit from Him.”

If it is an attribute that does not exist in its own right, such as knowledge or speech, then it is an attribute of His, as in the expressions “Allah’s speech” and “Allah’s knowledge.” Thus, Allah Most High says:

“Say: The Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord in truth.”

And He says:

“Those to whom We have given the Scripture know that it has been sent down from your Lord in truth.”

Verbal nouns may be used to denote their objects or effects: what is commanded is called a “command”; what is brought about by power, “power”; that through which mercy is bestowed, “mercy”; and what is created by the word, a “word.” Thus, when the Messiah is called Allah’s Word, this means that he was created by His word “Be,” rather than in the customary manner of human creation. Jesus himself is a human being existing in his own right; he is not speech inhering in a speaker as an attribute. Likewise, when something created is called “Allah’s command,” this means that Allah brought it into being by His command, as in His words:

“Allah’s command has come, so do not seek to hasten it.”

And His words:

“When Our command came, We turned it upside down and rained upon it stones of baked clay.”

The Lord Most High is One, the Self-Sufficient. It is impossible for Him to be divided into parts or fragments such that a part of Him comes to be within something else, whether that part is called a spirit or anything else. Thus, the Christians’ notion that Jesus is His son is shown to be false, and it becomes clear that he is one of Allah’s servants.

It has also been said that the origin of these people’s error was that, in the language of those before us, reference was made to