19.88 – They say, “ The Merciful has taken a son ”
Up to this point the Quran has made many references to the “son of God,” and earlier in this sūra we saw the expression, “It is not for God to take any son” (v. 35). Looking further back, these verses seem to be part of a series of verses against son-ship alongside 17.111 and 18.4.
However, there seems to be an extra depth of feeling in this passage (vv. 88–92). Here, it is a terrible thing to say that the Merciful ( raḥmān ) has taken to himself a son (v. 89), and the universe starts to disintegrate at the mere mention of it (v. 90). The claim is that it is not appropriate for the Merciful to take a son (v. 92).
The expression “Allah has taken a son” appears six other times in the Quran; these verses give a variety of reasons for why the Quran does not consider the statement theologically appropriate.