The Qur’an’s statements about Christian belief and history are hard to square with the record: it describes the Trinity as God, Jesus and Mary, and addresses Mary the mother of Jesus as the sister of Aaron.

A few passages are difficult to reconcile with history. The Qur’an appears to describe the Christian Trinity as Father, Mary, and Jesus (5:116), which is not what Christians have ever believed; the Trinity is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It addresses Mary the mother of Jesus as sister of Aaron (19:28), language that has prompted debate over whether it conflates her with Miriam, Moses’ sister, who lived more than a thousand years earlier. These are not knockdown arguments, and Muslim scholars offer readings of each. Raised charitably, they are reasonable questions about a book presented as the direct, error-free word of God.