God Is One

Since the first interactions between Christians and Muslims, a central point of contention has been the nature and identity of God in relation to the doctrine of the trinity and divine oneness. Yet the belief that God is one is vociferously upheld by Christians, Jews and Muslims alike.

In this detailed historical study and subsequent analysis, Dr Michael F. Kuhn explores the teachings of two Arab Christian theologians from the Abbasid Era (750–1250), ʿAbd Allāh Ibn al-Ṭayyib and Iliyyā of Nisibis, and how they defended the Christian view of God as three-in-one in the Muslim milieu and in reference to the Islamic concept of tawḥīd, that God is indivisibly one. The intellectual contribution of these two Christian thinkers in the Muslim Golden Age has had a lasting effect on contemporary Islamic thought, with the concepts they first articulated continuing to feature in Muslim-Christian dialogue to this day.

With a review of Nestorian Christology in light of recent studies and with important theological background to contemporary Muslim-Christian engagement, this book is ideal for anyone engaging intellectually with Muslims in the area of theology, spirituality and ethics.