The meaning of Son of God

• Main Author: Rashid, Ungaran
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: IIUM Press 2021
• Subjects: BL Religion; BM Judaism; BP Islam. Bahaism. Theosophy, etc; BP600 Other beliefs and movements; BR Christianity; BS The Bible; BT Doctrinal Theology
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/87603/1/87603_The%20meaning%20of%20Son%20of%20God.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/87603/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

The understanding of the term “son of God” has long been discussed both by Christians and Muslims. For the Christians, this term is very important because the understanding of this term forms the basis of the doctrine of Christ which then becomes one of the foundations of the doctrine of Trinity. Meanwhile, Muslims argue that Allah (SWT.) neither begets nor is born as mentioned in al- Ikhlāş (112): 3 and al- Taubat (9): 30 says, “The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah,’ and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ That is their statement from their mouth; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?” In other words, those who call the Messiah is the “son of God” are those who are lost. The author thinks that examining the term “son of God” from the main source, which is the Jewish Scriptures, is an important effort to see the meaning of this term objectively. Therefore, the author makes a study to understand the term “son of God” by analysing the term from the perspective of the Jewish Scriptures and its implication when the term is applied to Jesus (PBUH). This book is a revised version a thesis in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage (Uṣūl al-Dīn and Comparative Religion) at International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. The author hopes that after reading this book, the readers will not be confused and misunderstand on the term “son of God”, conversely, they will comprehend the term clearly. So, the misunderstanding that makes Muslims ignore the valuable role of Jesus (PBUH) as the Messiah can be overcome. On the other hand, the misinterpretation of the Christians who believe that the Messiah is God can be re-interpreted in a better way.