Subtleties and Allusions

The Impossibility of Christ Inviting People to Polytheism

God is aware of the inner secrets of the believer and the unbeliever: “And Allah has knowledge of all things”;(311) “and whether you disclose what is in your hearts or hide it, Allah will bring you to account for it.”(312) However, regarding Christ there are many characteristics, three of which are presented here, according to which God’s knowledge of the practice and conduct of Jesus is intimate:

First: Jesus is a righteous servant (ʿabd ṣāliḥ) who is close to God,(313) and according to the authentic and reliable tradition of the proximity of supererogatory acts (qurb al-nawāfil), if someone attains proximity through supererogatory acts, God will become—in the station of action (maqām-i fiʿl), not essence (dhāt)—his channels of perception and movement, and such a person who is close will be effective in the external world through divine tongue, sight, hearing, and so forth: “My believing servant continues to draw near to Me through supererogatory acts until I love him, and when I love him, I become his hearing through which he hears, his sight through which he sees, and his tongue through which he speaks.” (314) Based on this, God (in the station of action) has become the tongue, ear, and eye of Jesus Christ, so if Christ spoke any words, it was with a tongue in which God was present, and those words were certainly known to the Exalted Truth. For this reason Christ said: “You know whatever is in my self, and I do not know what is in Your Self.”

One whose tongue God has become in the station of action, it is impossible for him to call to polytheism (shirk) with the divine tongue. Therefore, following his previous words, Jesus added: “Immaculate are You.”

Second: God has announced trade and exchange in the Torah, Evangel, and Qur’an: “Indeed Allah has bought from the faithful their souls and their possessions for Paradise to be theirs: they fight in the way of Allah, kill, and are killed. A promise binding upon Him in the Torah and the Evangel and the Qur’an.”(315) This trade and exchange is also mentioned in the Evangel, and the most prominent example of one who responded positively to this call is Jesus himself. If someone possessed God-loving goods and God purchased them, he is brought near (muqarrab), because the best act of proximity (ʿamal qurbī) was performed with the intention of proximity (qaṣd qurbat), and the result of actual proximity (qurb fiʿlī) and active proximity (qurb-i fāʿilī) is the attainment of nearness (taqarrab). As it says about Jesus: he is not only distinguished in this world and the Hereafter, but is also close to God: “distinguished in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near [to Allah].”(316) In such circumstances, is it possible for Jesus to say something that God does not know? For this reason he says: “Immaculate are You” —I who have sold myself to You, would I call people to polytheism? It is absolutely impossible!

Third: The Qur’an says that the party of God (ḥizb Allāh) are averse to outsiders: “You will not find a people believing in Allah and the Last Day endearing those who oppose Allah and His Messenger even though they were their own parents, or children, or brothers, or kinsfolk. [For] such, He has written faith into their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from Him… They are Allah’s confederates.”(317) If individuals possess the perfections mentioned in this verse and God has strengthened them “with a spirit from Him” (bi-rūḥin minhu), the most perfect example of this could be Jesus, about whom the Qur’an has said in various places, especially in the verse under discussion: “when I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit” (idh ayyadtuka bi-rūḥ al-qudus).(318) Is it possible for such a being to establish relations with outsiders who invite others to polytheism (shirk), to the extent that he would want to call them to polytheism? Such a thing is impossible. For this reason Jesus said: “Immaculate are You.”

In conclusion, by considering the word “Immaculate are You” (subḥānaka) and based on the three proofs that have passed, it is known that calling to polytheism (shirk) is absolutely impossible for Jesus and cannot occur.