“Those who say, ‘Allah is the third of three,’ have certainly disbelieved. There is no deity except the One God. If they do not desist from what they say, a painful punishment will surely afflict those among them who disbelieve. Will they not then repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness? Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. The Messiah, son of Mary, was only a messenger; messengers had passed away before him. His mother was a woman of utmost truth. They both ate food.”

[Surah al-Mā’idah: 73–75]

Thus He—Glorified is He—made clear that they disbelieved because they said:

“Allah is the third of three” (1),

for immediately thereafter He says, “There is no deity except the One God.” He did not say, “There is no eternal being except one eternal being.” He then followed this by mentioning the condition of the Messiah and his mother, because they (2) were the other two whom (3) they had taken as gods, as He made (4) clear in the other verse (5), in His words:

“And when Allah says, ‘O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, “Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah”?’”

[Surah al-Mā’idah: 116]

This verse accords with the context of that verse. It makes clear that those who said, “Allah is the third of three,” meant that He was the third of three gods: Himself, the Messiah, and the Messiah’s mother. The Quran contains no mention of three eternal beings or three attributes. Indeed, neither the Book nor the sunnah mentions “the Eternal” among the names of Allah Most High, even though [the meaning] (6) is sound. The point [here] (7), however, is to show [that] [Allah Most High] did not declare the Christians unbelievers [on account of] (8) what they mentioned.