A Discussion of the Narrations

Occasion of Revelation

It is narrated that the delegation of Najrān said to our Prophet: “O Muḥammad, why do you criticize our companion?” He said: “And who is your companion?” They said: “Jesus.” He said: “And what do I say about him?” They said: “You say that he is a servant of God and His messenger.” So the verse was revealed.(138)

Note: This occasion of revelation has been mentioned in some Shi’i and Sunni exegeses; however, the connection of these verses with the exaggeration of the Christians and the refutation of their Trinity is clearer. For this reason, the phrase “The Messiah will never disdain to be a servant of God” (lan yastankifa al-masīḥu an yakūna ʿabdan lillāhi) is another argument for the purity of Jesus from the claim of divinity and being God’s son. How can Jesus be one of the three persons of the Trinity when he calls himself a servant of God: “He said, ‘Indeed I am a servant of God! He has given me the Book and made me a prophet’”,(139) just as God is also holy from any kind of Trinity and glorified from any kind of incarnation (ḥulūl), union (ittiḥād), partnership (sharika), and the like.