Home > Surah 5 - The Table Spread
1. Misidentification of the Trinity:
The text asks Jesus if he commanded followers to take him and Mary as deities. Historic Christian creeds universally define the Trinity as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. No mainstream branch of Christianity has ever defined Mary as a persona within the Godhead.
2. The Sectarian Hypothesis:
Defenders suggest the verse targets local heretical sects like the Collyridians. Critics counter that the text addresses the "People of the Book" broadly, arguing an omniscient revelation would target the universal doctrines of the global Church rather than obscure anomalies.
3. Confusion of Devotion and Worship:
The text conflates the veneration of Mary (Theotokos) with literal deification. Mainstream 7th-century Christianity maintained a sharp distinction between honor for Mary and worship due to God alone. Failing to recognize this implies reliance on external, visual observations
The Quran Verse
Surah 5:116:
And when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right."
The Relevant Bible Text
Matthew 28:19:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The Quran assumes the Christian Trinity consists of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and Mary the Mother.
This is a glaring historical and theological error. No orthodox Christian council, creed, or canon ever taught that Mary was part of the Godhead.
Islamic Scholars point out that the Quranic author was reacting to a minor, heretical sect in Arabia called the Collyridians (who offered cakes to Mary), or misunderstood the Catholic/Orthodox title for Mary, "Theotokos" (God-bearer). There is no definite evidence that they existsed or that the Quran is refering to some obscure Christian sect!
An omniscient God would know what Christians actually believe; the presence of this error proves the Quran is based on Muhammad's flawed, human observations of local heretics.