# How can Christians defend the Trinity to a Muslim neighbour? Document: study/islam-trinity Confess one God clearly and explain the real disagreement. Topic: worldviews Keywords: Islam, Muslim, tawhid, Trinity, oneness ## Starting answer Begin with the Christian confession: one God in three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christianity rejects three gods. Islam's affirmation of God's oneness does not remove its disagreement with this confession: Qur'an 112 denies begetting, and 4:171 rejects the language of three. Basis: Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; [Westminster Assembly · OPC text — 2.3](https://opc.org/wcf.html); [Qur’an · Quran.com translations — 112:1–4](https://quran.com/al-ikhlas); [Qur’an · Quran.com translations — 4:171](https://quran.com/en/an-nisa/171) ## Reasoning 1 The unity of God is explicit in Scripture. Basis: Deuteronomy 6:4 ## Reasoning 2 The Son is distinguished from the Father while sharing divine identity. Basis: John 1:1-3 ## Reasoning 3 The baptismal command names Father, Son and Holy Spirit together. Basis: Matthew 28:18-20 ## Conclusion The dispute is about the identity of the one God, not whether Christianity should permit three separate deities. Basis: [Westminster Assembly · OPC text — 2.3](https://opc.org/wcf.html); [Qur’an · Quran.com translations — 4:171](https://quran.com/en/an-nisa/171) ## Define before illustrating Being and person answer different questions. The confession is not one person who switches roles, nor three beings who cooperate. Everyday objects cannot reproduce God's triune life; a simple illustration can mislead if it removes the distinction. Basis: [Westminster Assembly · OPC text — 2.3](https://opc.org/wcf.html); Matthew 3:16-17 ## Eternal, not physical, generation The Nicene confession calls the Son begotten, not made. This expresses his eternal relation to the Father, not a physical birth within the divine nature. The Word already is before creation and later takes flesh. Basis: [Historic Christian confession · Church of England text — The confession concerning the Son](https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-life/what-we-believe/nicene-creed); John 1:1-3; John 1:14 ## Objection Does calling Jesus God divide God's oneness? ## Reply The confession distinguishes persons without dividing the divine being. That answers a three-gods caricature; the positive reason for the doctrine is God's revelation in Scripture. Basis: [Westminster Assembly · OPC text — 2.3](https://opc.org/wcf.html); John 1:1 ## Scope and limits Explaining what Christianity teaches does not make the disagreement disappear. We should acknowledge the Qur'anic rejection rather than claim the texts secretly teach the same doctrine. Basis: [Qur’an · Quran.com translations — 112:1–4](https://quran.com/al-ikhlas); [Qur’an · Quran.com translations — 4:171](https://quran.com/en/an-nisa/171) ## Conversation starter · editorial application Could I explain what we mean by one being and three persons, then hear which part you find difficult? Basis: 1 Peter 3:15-16 ## Read in Scripture - Deuteronomy 6:4-5: One God - Matthew 28:18-20: The three persons named together Related studies: god, islam-jesus, conversation ## Sources and their limits ### The Nicene Creed [creed] Historic Christian confession · Church of England text · Historic Christian witness [Read source](https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-life/what-we-believe/nicene-creed) A historic confession of Christian belief. It identifies the doctrine being defended; it is not independent historical evidence for every claim. ### Qur’an 112:1–4 [q112] Qur’an · Quran.com translations · Primary record · not a teaching authority [Read source](https://quran.com/al-ikhlas) An Islamic primary text on God's oneness and incomparability. Compare translations and commentary; an English rendering is not the Arabic text itself. ### Qur’an 4:171 [q4171] Qur’an · Quran.com translations · Primary record · not a teaching authority [Read source](https://quran.com/en/an-nisa/171) A primary passage addressing Jesus and the language of three. Read its whole statement rather than an isolated phrase. ### Westminster Confession of Faith [wcf] Westminster Assembly · OPC text · Reformed confession [Read source](https://opc.org/wcf.html) Our subordinate doctrinal standard for these guides. Citations specify chapter and paragraph. Scripture judges the confession itself (1.10); the confession does not replace Scripture. ## Connected documents - [editorial/library](editorial-library.md) - [source/creed](source-creed.md) - [source/q112](source-q112.md) - [source/q4171](source-q4171.md) - [source/wcf](source-wcf.md) - [study/conversation](study-conversation.md) - [study/god](study-god.md) - [study/islam-jesus](study-islam-jesus.md) - [topic/worldviews](topic-worldviews.md)