Who Said Islam Doesn’t Have Trinity?
Hamzah Yusuf says: “These three men (Abu Mansur Al-Maturidi, Abu Ja’afar Al-Tahawy, Abu Hasan Al-Ashari) are all living at the same time and they formulate these creeds that save Islam.”
Hamza Yusuf seems to be stuck on ‘threes.’
For instance, according to Hamza Yusuf, Muslims don’t really understand Christian trinity, “There are a lot of Muslims that think that Christians are mushrikoon” (Hamza Yusuf). Well, Christians are sure not muwahhidun! God; the Holy Ghost; Jesus, are not one, and surely, are not one and the same. Their names don’t sound the same. Even Christians call their creed, ‘trinity,’ not, ‘one-nity.’
To use Hamza Yusuf’s preferred terminology, Christians have a true paradoxical formula: 1+1+1=1. The input is three, the output is one, so we are told. However, even after the claimed merger, when Jesus died, as Christian dogma tells us, God and the Holy Ghost did not die. The Holy Ghost ‘gave up’ Jesus, i.e., abandoned Jesus to crucifixion, while God was nowhere to be heard of or found in this polytheistic picture. We seek refuge with Allah from this utter shirk, {O, People of the Scripture (Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, nor say of Allâh aught but the truth. The Messiah ‘Îsâ (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), was (no more than) a Messenger of Allâh and His Word, (“Be!” — and he was) which He bestowed on Maryam (Mary) and a spirit (Rûh) created by Him; so, believe in Allâh and His Messengers. Say not: “Three (Trinity)!” Cease! (It is) better for you. For Allâh is (the only) One Ilâh (‘God’), glory is to Him (Far Exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allâh is AllSufficient as a Disposer of affairs. The Messiah will never be proud to reject to be a slave of Allâh, nor the angels who are the near (to Allâh).} (4:171-2)
In previous articles, we discussed this claim by Hamza Yusuf, “’How the Buddhists saved Islam’.” Here, Hamza Yusuf claims that Islam was saved by three different, competing creeds that stand in conflict with each other, i.e., paradoxical creeds. These three (3) creeds cannot represent a creed in one-nity (1), but a creed in trinity (3): 1+1+1=3. However, according to Hamza Yusuf, two of the three, the Ash’aris and the Maturidis, bitterly paradoxical to each other themselves, formulated their creeds from Buddhist logic. Is this a new Paradoxical problem?
Hamza Yusuf does not seem to have much trust, faith, or confidence in Islam’s ability to explain and promote its own methodology and creed. To Hamza Yusuf Islam is weak, deficient, vague, in need of a savior, such as Buddhist logic, so he claims. Otherwise, why would he keep saying that Islam was saved by something or someone?
Next article, Saving Islam Comes in Threes.
Jalal Abualrub (www.IslamLife.com)