Shaykh Muḥammad Taqī ad-Dīn al-Hilālī al-Maghribī (d. 1407 AH/1987 CE) ؒ said:
In the language of the Torah and the Gospel, everyone who is righteous and dutiful is referred to as ‘Son of God’. In the ninth verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, it is written:
طوبى لصانعي السلام، لأنهم أبناء الله يدعون
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9.
And in the very same chapter there is the following statement in verse forty-five:
لتكونوا أبناء أبيكم الذي في السماء
“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven…” Matthew 5:45 (excerpt).
And in verse forty-eight:
فكونوا أنتم كاملين، كما أن أباكم الذي في السماء كامل
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48.
And in the first verse of the sixth chapter:
وإلا فليس لكم أجر عند أبيكم الذي في السماء
“…otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 6:1 (excerpt).
Rabīʿ al-Madkhalī’s Commentary
Shaykh Rabīʿ ibn Hādī ʿUmayr al-Madkhalī (d. 1447 AH/2025 CE) ؒ commented:
It should not be ruled out that referring to Allah as ‘the Father’ and referring to mankind as ‘Sons of God’ may be from the fabrications of the Jews and the Christians and their distortions and alterations of the text of the Torah and the Gospel. Among the proofs of this is Allah’s rejection of this practice in His statement:
وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ وَالنَّصَارَىٰ نَحْنُ أَبْنَاءُ اللَّهِ وَأَحِبَّاؤُهُ
“The Jews and the Christians say: ‘We are the children of Allah and His beloved ones.’” [Q 5:18] (excerpt)
Then Allah said in refutation of this claim:
قُلْ فَلِمَ يُعَذِّبُكُم بِذُنُوبِكُم ۖ بَلْ أَنتُم بَشَرٌ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقَ
“Say: ‘Then why does He punish you for your sins? Rather, you are human beings from those He created.’” [Q 5:18] (excerpt)
And He, the Exalted, says:
وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ عُزَيْرٌ ابْنُ اللَّهِ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ اللَّهِ
“The Jews said: ‘ʿUzayr [Ezra] is the son of Allah’, and the Christians said: ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’” [Q 9:30] (excerpt)
Then Allah said in refutation of them:
ذَٰلِكَ قَوْلُهُم بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ ۖ يُضَاهِئُونَ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَبْلُ ۚ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ ۚ أَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ
“That is their statement from their own mouths. They repeat the statement that earlier disbelievers said. May Allah curse them; how are they so deluded?” [Q 9:30] (excerpt)
In fact, the Christians said that Allah is the Messiah [Jesus], the son of Mary. But Allah rejected this concept and declared them disbelievers in His statement:
لَّقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ
“Certainly, those who say ‘Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary’ have disbelieved.” [Q 5:17] (excerpt)
References
Al-Qurʾān, 5:17–18; 9:30, excerpts. English meanings based on the supplied article.
Muḥammad Taqī ad-Dīn al-Hilālī al-Maghribī, Al-Barāhīn al-Injīliyyah ʿalā anna ʿĪsā Dākhil fī al-ʿUbūdiyyah wa-lā Ḥaẓẓa lahu min al-Ulūhiyyah, passage on the expression ‘Son of God’.
Rabīʿ ibn Hādī ʿUmayr al-Madkhalī, commentary on the same treatise, note 2. Wording corroborated in the electronic transcription; print edition and pagination remain unverified.
The Gospel According to Matthew, 5:9, 5:45, 5:48, 6:1. Arabic wording quoted in al-Hilālī’s treatise; English wording as supplied.
