What is incarnation?

Incarnation refers to the embodiment of a deity or the act of a deity entering creation. It is impossible for Allāh (God) to incarnate because it leads to contradictions, as demonstrated in the article that refutes incarnation theology. Thus, any religion that affirms incarnation theology is false. However, it has been alleged that Islām teaches incarnation theology. More specifically, it has been alleged that Islām teaches that Allāh has incarnated in the form of ʿĪsā (Jesus). These allegations are usually leveled against Islām by Christian apologists.

Is Jesus the spirit and word of Allāh?

The Qurʾān calls Prophet ʿĪsā the kalimah (word) and rūḥ (spirit) of Allāh.

Christian apologists have said that if ʿĪsā is Allāh's spirit, then this would mean that Allāh or a part of Allāh incarnated in the form of ʿĪsā. This conclusion is untrue, and it is based on either dishonesty or ignorance. When Allāh attributes something to himself, it can mean that he is attributing a quality to himself, such as his life, omniscience, omnipotence, and so on; these are known as the ṣifāt (attributes) of Allāh. However, Allāh can also attribute something to himself in the sense of ownership. When the Qurʾān calls ʿĪsā the spirit of Allāh, what is meant by 'spirit' is not a part of Allāh but a soul that was created by Allāh and is under his ownership [2]. The Kaʿbah is called baytullāh, which means the house of Allāh, but this does not mean that it is a part of Allāh. Similarly, the Qurʾān calls a she-camel the she-camel of Allāh (Qurʾān 7:73). Allāh attributes it to himself to honor it and to signify his ownership over it.

Ibn Kathīr mentioned in his tafsīr (exegesis) regarding Qurʾān 4:171, "Saying that something is from Allāh, such as the spirit of Allāh, the she-camel of Allāh, or the house of Allāh, is meant to honor such items."

If Christian apologists insist that the Qurʾān teaches that Allāh or at least a part of Allāh has incarnated in the form of ʿĪsā because it says that he is a spirit from him (rūḥum minhu), then they should be educated that the Qurʾān also says that everything in the samāwāt (heavens) and earth is from him (minhu) (Qurʾān 45:13). No Christian who is knowledgeable concerning his own religion’s ʿaqīdah (creed) would ever say that Allāh has incarnated in the form of the samāwāt and earth.

Muftī Muḥammad Shafīʿ mentioned in his tafsīr regarding Qurʾān 4:171, "ʿAllāmah Al-Ālūsī, the author of the famous tafsīr, Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, has reported an episode from the court of Caliph Hārūn ar-Rashīd where a Christian physician entered into a debate against the scholar ʿAlī ibn Al-Ḥusayn Al-Wāqidī challenging him that his book (the Qurʾān) has a particular word which indicates that Sayyidunā ʿĪsā عليه السلام is a part of Allāh. As a proof, he read out the verse (171) which carries the words, "وَرُوحٌ مِنْهُ" (a spirit from him). ʿAllāmah Al-Wāqidī came up with a rejoinder and recited another verse (45:13) of the Qurʾān, "وَسَخَّرَ لَكُم مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا مِّنْهُ". The meaning of the verse is that everything in the heavens and the earth is from the same Allāh where the word minhu (from him) serves to attribute everything to Allāh, and he said, "If رُوحٌ مِنْهُ (rūḥum minhu: a spirit from him) means, as you think, that Sayyidunā ʿĪsā عليه السلام is a part of Allāh, then the verse I have just recited would mean that everything in the heavens and the earth is also a part of Allāh." Thus, silenced, the Christian physician chose to become a Muslim.

ʿĪsā is also called the word of Allāh. This does not mean Allāh’s ṣifah (attribute) of speech incarnated in the form of ʿĪsā. Instead, it is the effect of the word that led to the creation of ʿĪsā, just as Ibn Kathīr mentions in his tafsīr regarding Qurʾān 4:171:

Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded that Aḥmad ibn Sīnān al-Wāsiṭī said that he heard Shādh ibn Yaḥyā say about Allāh's statement, "...and his word, which he bestowed on Maryam (Mary) and a spirit from him...)", "ʿĪsā was not the word. Rather, ʿĪsā came into existence because of the word."

If ʿĪsā is not literally the word of Allāh but came into existence because of his word, then why is ʿĪsā called the word of Allāh? The answer is that the title is meant to honor his miraculous birth. As Allāh mentions in the Qurʾān, he merely says, “Be,” to create something.

ʿĪsā was created miraculously without a father. His virgin mother, Maryam (Mary), became pregnant simply because Allāh said that it would be so, and it was. However, the reality is that everything is due to the word of Allāh, so even when a person who has a father and a mother is created by Allāh, it is Allāh who created the child by using the parents as a means to create the child. Nevertheless, ʿĪsā is called the word of Allāh as an honor for him and to highlight his miraculous birth, which demonstrates that the word of Allāh is sufficient enough to bring anything into existence and that Allāh does not require any means in order to create. This opposes the Christian understanding that the word of God literally became flesh in the form of ʿĪsā.

Did Allāh enter creation at the burning bush?

Numerous āyāt (verses) of the Qurʾān mention that Allāh spoke with Prophet Mūsā (Moses) at the burning bush. This was the place where Mūsā first communicated with Allāh in this worldly life (dunyā) and received waḥy (revelation).

It has been alleged that Islām teaches that Allāh incarnated in the form of a fire because Mūsā heard Allāh at the burning bush. The response to this is that Allāh is omnipotent and that he can make his speech heard from any direction without necessitating that he is spatially located and contained in that particular direction. Another so-called evidence for this allegation is that Qurʾān 27:8 says that whoever was in the fire is blessed, as well as whoever was around it, and this is interpreted to mean that Allāh was in the fire. Mufassirūn (exegetes) have differed over who was in the fire and who was around it; some have said that Mūsā was in the fire, while malāʾikah (angels) were around it, while others have stated the opposite. If one were to ask how can Mūsā be in the fire without being harmed, then this is not impossible, just as Allāh protected his close friend Prophet Ibrāhīm (Abraham) from a fire that his people lit to burn him to death (Qurʾān 21:69).

Nevertheless, even if one accepts the interpretation that it was Allāh in the fire, this does not mean that Allāh literally entered into creation inside the fire or as the fire itself. Al-Qurṭubī mentions in his tafsīr regarding Qurʾān 27:8 that Ibn ʿAbbās, Al-Ḥasan, and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr said that it was Allāh in the fire, and Ibn ʿAbbās and Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb said that the fire was the light of Allāh. Allāh’s veil is light, as mentioned in the Aḥādīth, although some reports mention that his veil is fire (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 179a). Al-Qurṭubī says that the words nūr (light) and nār (fire) can at times be used in place of one another, but in any case, he goes on to say that Allāh is not contained in any place or direction, but he can make himself known through signs and his speech, such as him speaking to Mūsā in the direction of the fire, and this would be the correct understanding of Allāh being in the fire. Furthermore, other āyāt make it explicitly clear that Allāh did not incarnate into the fire or as the fire itself because Mūsā later on asked to see Allāh near a mountain, and he was told that if the mountain remained firm in its place, then he would be able to see Allāh.

When Allāh revealed himself, his splendor caused the mountain to crumble. If the mountain could not bear Allāh, then how could light or fire bear Allāh? Moreover, if Mūsā had seen Allāh at the burning bush, then it is strange that he would ask to see him again. All of this demonstrates that Allāh did not incarnate at the burning bush.

Did the Qurʾān incarnate?

The Qurʾān is the speech of Allāh, which the Qurʾān itself mentions (Qurʾān 9:6). It is one of his ṣifāt (attributes), and all of his ṣifāt are uncreated. It is alleged that Islām teaches that the Qurʾān incarnated because it is uncreated, but the muṣḥaf, which is the physical copy of the Qurʾān composed of ink and paper, is created. The response is that the muṣḥaf is only called Qurʾān because it conveys the meaning of Allāh's speech. For instance, say a person named Zayd makes a speech, which people transcribe on paper. Then, a person reads the paper and says, "This is not Zayd's speech; this is only ink and paper!" This person is not rational, as everyone understands that the transcription of the speech is called speech because it refers to the content of Zayd's speech. It is not that Zayd's speech has literally taken on the form of ink and paper. Likewise, Allāh's ṣifah (attribute) of speech does not literally incarnate by taking on the form of ink and paper.

Is the Qurʾān a divine conscious agent?

On Yawm al-Qiyāmah (Judgement Day), the Qurʾān will intercede for the believers and will plead on their behalf to Allāh so that they may attain salvation. However, those who disregarded it will be cast into Jahannam (Hell).

Jābir reported: The Prophet ﷺ said, "The Qurʾān is an intercessor and a truthful prosecutor. Whoever puts it in front of himself, it will lead him to the Garden. Whoever throws it behind his back, it will drive him into the Hellfire" (Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 124).

Due to the fact that the Qurʾān will intercede for believers on Yawm al-Qiyāmah, poorly made arguments and allegations have been leveled against Islām. One of these arguments is that the Qurʾān is a divine conscious agent because it is a ṣifah of Allāh, so it is divine in this sense, and it is able to intercede, so it must be conscious. This argument is almost exclusively made by Christian apologists. Since the Qurʾān is an uncreated and conscious ṣifah of Allāh, Christian apologists allege that Islām teaches that there is more than one uncreated conscious person, which would be Allāh and the Qurʾān. If so, then Christian apologists claim that Muslims should not accuse Christians of polytheism and idolatry (shirk) for believing in three distinct and divine persons, each of whom is conscious and uncreated. According to mainstream Christianity, three different persons are each fully God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. However, Christians claim that they only worship one God and not three gods, but they say that God exists as three different people, and this is known as trinitarian monotheism or trinitarianism. Muslims, as well as many others, say that monotheism necessitates unitarianism; monotheism is belief in one God, while unitarianism is belief that God exists as one person. The Christian argument is that if Islām teaches that there is more than one uncreated conscious person, then Muslims must either admit that they are polytheists and not unitarians or they must accept that monotheism does not necessitate unitarianism.

Muslims should reply by asking the following: in what way is the Qurʾān a divine conscious agent? As for the Qurʾān being divine, if one intends by this to mean that the Qurʾān is identical to Allāh, then this is false because the ṣifāt of Allāh are not Allāh. Refer back to the article that refutes divine simplicity. If one says that the Qurʾān or any of the ṣifāt are divine in the sense that they describe Allāh, then this is correct, so it is permissible to say, “the divine attributes.” As for the Qurʾān being an uncreated and conscious agent, this is partly true; the Qurʾān can refer to the ṣifah of Allāh’s speech, which is uncreated, but it is not conscious. The word Qurʾān literally means a recitation, so recitation of the Qurʾān can be called Qurʾān. Therefore, those Aḥādīth that say that the Qurʾān will intercede for people on Yawm al-Qiyāmah does not necessarily refer to Allāh’s ṣifah of speech but can refer to the act of recitation itself. In fact, even a believer’s act of fasting will intercede for him.

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr reported: The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said, "Fasting and the Qurʾān will intercede for the servant on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say, 'O Sustainer, I kept him from food and desires during the day, so allow me to intercede for him.' The Qurʾān will say, 'O Sustainer, I kept him from sleep during the night, so allow me to intercede for him.' Thus, both will intercede on his behalf" (Musnad Aḥmad 6626).

One may ask how can a believer’s fasting or recitation intercede? The answer is that Allāh will create something to symbolize a believer’s fasting, recitation, or other acts of ʿibādah (worship). For instance, some Aḥādīth mention that the Qurʾān will come in the form of a man on Yawm al-Qiyāmah to intercede, and of course, what is meant here is not the ṣifah of Allāh but a believer’s act of recitation (Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah 30667). Regardless, what is clear from this is that acts of ʿibādah may intercede for believers, and Allāh has power to create that which symbolizes these actions, and he can endow his creation with consciousness and the ability to intercede. It is ironic for Christians to deny this; in fact, the Bible mentions that God endowed a donkey with the power to speak (Numbers 22:28).

In brief, the Qurʾān is not conscious, if by Qurʾān one means Allāh's uncreated ṣifah of speech. Therefore, Allāh is the only uncreated conscious agent. His ṣifāt are also uncreated, but this does not negate monotheism or the fact that only one necessary and uncreated being exists because these ṣifāt are inseparable from Allāh, so they are not beings in of themselves, nor do they possess their own minds and consciousness [3]. As for the Qurʾān interceding on Yawm al-Qiyāmah, this refers to a believer's act of recitation, which is also called Qurʾān. Allāh will create something to symbolize a believer's fasting, recitation, or other acts of ʿibādah (worship). If one insists that what is meant by the Qurʾān interceding is that the ṣifah of Allāh will incarnate and will then intercede, then no Muslim has ever held this interpretation. Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ said that his ummah (nation) will not collectively disagree on error (Jāmiʿ At-Tirmidhī 2167). Since Muslims have ijmāʿ (consensus) that neither Allāh nor his ṣifāt incarnate, then it would be incorrect to interpret any text of the Qurʾān or Ḥadīth corpus as suggesting incarnation. Even if a Muslim were to interpret such texts in this manner, then this interpretation would be incorrect because it contradicts ijmāʿ.

[1] People of the Book typically refers to Jews and Christians. This āyah (verse) is directed against Jews who deny that ʿĪsā is the Masīḥ (Messiah), as well as deny the nubūwwah (prophethood) and miraculous birth of ʿĪsā. The āyah is also directed against Christians who worship ʿĪsā or believe in the Trinity.
[2] The Qurʾān mentions that Allāh has not revealed much knowledge of the rūḥ to humanity, so any detailed talk concerning it would likely fall into speculation (Qurʾān 17:85). As for its definition, the Arabic word rūḥ can mean soul or spirit. These words are often used interchangeably in the English language, but Allāh does not have a rūḥ in the sense that he has a soul, but he is the Creator of every soul. As for the word spirit, some may say that Allāh is spirit in the sense that he is immaterial, which is true, but the word 'spirit' should not be used because its meaning is ambiguous and can be conflated with the word 'soul'. While the word 'soul' itself may refer to immaterial existence, it can also refer the created life force that is 'breathed' or 'blown' into created beings, and some ʿulamāʾ (Islāmic scholars) have said that the rūḥ, with the meaning of soul, is actually a smaller body inside a person's body. In fact, some ʿulamāʾ believe that all creation is physical and that immateriality is only for Allāh, while others have said that there is both physicality and immateriality present within creation. Nevertheless, Allāh cannot be attributed with rūḥ. He has the ṣifah (attribute) of life without being dependent upon a rūḥ to give him life. It is enough for a person to know that Allāh is immaterial and does not have a physical body that is contained within space, nor does he resemble his creation.
[3] Refer back to the article that refutes divine simplicity for more explanation. Moreover, some Christian apologists have compared the Trinity to the Islāmic understanding of Allāh and his ṣifāt (attributes), but they are completely different. In mainstream Christianity, God is three distinct persons. If each of these persons is God, then this would necessitate that there are three gods. In Islām, Allāh is one, but he has ṣifāt that are distinct from himself. However, these ṣifāt are not persons, nor are they identical to Allāh. Instead, they are possessed by Allāh and are inseparable from him. Essentially, Islām teaches that there is one God who has many qualities, as opposed to mainstream Christianity that teaches there are three gods, although Trinitarians insist that they worship one God.