A Critical Review on Gabriel Sawma’s View about the Verse Al-Baqarah, 116: Wa Qālūt takhadhal lāhu Waladāan Subĥānahu

The book The The Qur’an Misinterpreted, Mistranslated, and Misread: the Aramaic Language of the The Qur’an was published in 2006 by Gabriel Sawma. The author has claimed that the language of the Qur’an is the SyroAramaic, and most of its teachings are derived from JewishChristian sources. Among his claims, he alleges that Muslims have misunderstood the verse 116 of Surah alBaqarah: And they say Allah has taken to Himself a son Glory be to Him… (Wa Qālūt takhadhal lāhu Waladāan Subĥānahu). He regards the word ‘اتَّخَذ’ (Has taken) as a distortion of the Syriac «اتَّحدَ» (has united) happened by the Qur’anic scribers.  According to this recitation, the meaning of the verse is They said that God is united with the Son . This meaning is in accordance with the New Testament doctrine of the incarnation of God through the Son. In this paper, Gabriel Sawma’s viewpoint is reviewed and criticized by two intrareligious aspects including the Qur’an and Arabic literature and extrareligious features including linguistic historicalcomparative in some branches of Sami languages and interfaith research. The authors conclude that the textual and linguistic evidence prove contrary to the Sawma’s claim.