The notion of God incarnating in any physical or spiritual form is unacceptable to Islam and its teachings. It is neither necessary, useful nor possible for God to incarnate in a human being or any other physical entity.

How does Islam arrive at this conclusion? If one does not accept a religion, its prophet and revelations, then there has to be an objective source of information that is accessible to everyone equally, no matter what cultural and geographic background one might come from. In proving its set of propositions, the methodology of the Qur'an (Islam) uses the universe and the natural world as the objective source of information to which everyone has access. Since eternal salvation depends on the set of propositions one is expected to believe, any proposition of faith must pass the following two criteria:

• It must be clear and beyond the realm of interpretation. It must be verifiable by reason.
• There must be a very important purpose for the proposition in the universe or in human life.

For example, let us apply these two criteria to belief in resurrection. A Muslim has to believe in life after death, where we will give an account of our earthly life. The Qur'an clearly reiterates this in many of its verses. In order to prove the notion of life after death, the Qur'an says, "So consider the signs of God's mercy; how He gives life to the earth after its death. Indeed, it is He Who gives life to the dead, for He is powerful over all things."  [QUR'AN, 30:50] This verse illustrates the fact that there is life after death by using information from nature and argues that just as life seemingly flourishes out of nothing after a good rainfall in an arid landscape, it is also possible for life to be created out of substances that appear dead in the grave. Since God is capable of giving life to dead earth in an observable fashion, so too He is powerful enough to give life to dead humans. Thus, the first criterion is fulfilled.

The second criterion is also fulfilled in the case of resurrection, as it has very important repercussions in social life and the idea of justice. Belief in life after death allows the policing of every individual through their conscience resulting in the death of evil inclinations, even before they are born in the mind. The idea that this worldly life is the only one is one of the greatest dangers to human happiness and safety. This philosophy is an open invitation to people to commit crimes if they think they can get away with it. The soaring crime rate in countries where belief in a hereafter is weak, irrespective of material comfort, education and laws, is proof of this fact.

There are many similar lines of argument in the Qur'an that give rational arguments on all matters of belief. These verses usually end with the phrases, "there are signs in this for people who think", and for "people who reflect", "people of understanding" and so on. There are also many verses in the Qur'an that are critical of people who blindly follow the religion of their fathers. The faith that Islam wants is a certain, educated, verified and rational conviction.

If we apply the two Islamic criteria to the idea of God reincarnating in a human being, we see that Islam cannot agree with this notion. Muslims feel that the belief that God reincarnated in Jesus or the Hindu proposition that God reincarnates in every object are interpretations without firm evidence. When there is lack of demonstrable evidence, assumptions step in. Assumptions lead to conjectures, which in turn lead to differing interpretations. Great debates and disagreements follow suit as happened in Christian and Hindu circles in relation to the nature of the Divine. From an Islamic perspective, the fact that we witness extraordinary events taking place in nature does not mean natural matter has divinity in it, but rather means that there is a God who has the attributes of Knowledge, Will and Power to bring those events into reality. Similarly, the fact that Jesus performed miracles does not mean he was divine, but means that he was supported by God just as the Bible says, "After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.'"  [JOHN 6:14]

It is often said in support of Christianity that one of the reasons why "God incarnated in Jesus" at the moment of the crucifixion was to feel the pain of suffering that human beings undergo in life. Moreover, in human form "God in Jesus" reduced Himself to the human level so that he could relate to humanity better. Also, in this way, we are able to relate to a God in human form personally as God is otherwise distant and unreachable. God granted humanity a favour by assuming a human form.

Islam's view is that it is not necessary for God to enter into a physical body to know pain and suffering. He is the one who created the nervous system and the brain sensations that give the feeling of pain and suffering. Therefore, He does not have to experience it in order to know what we go through in life. Since God maintains the balance in an atom as He does in galaxies, His knowledge and power know no boundaries. God is not distant and is even closer to us than our jugular vein and knows what we think and go through [QUR'AN, 50:16]. Therefore there is no reason why God should enter into a human body.

Suffering and pain is a result of our natural disposition, designed to channel our emotions and awareness towards God. We are intrinsically weak and powerless. An unseen virus can kill us. We have innumerable enemies and ailments. Our ability to get what we want is finite yet our wants and desires are limitless. We are rather lazy and short in power and influence, yet life's requirements are many. Events in nature and the universe unavoidably touch us as we are connected with the whole universe. Our mind directs us towards lofty goals, yet we are limited in capacity, short in patience and have a brief earthly life. No knowledge and no technological advance will adequately address this inherent human disposition. All of these paradoxical situations in which we find ourselves were designed by the Creator so that we might seek the Eternal, long for the Perfect and reach out to find God. Islam's position is that only through a certain faith in God, a strong spirituality, transcending the self and desires, and submission in God will adequately close the gap and place a person on the right wavelength and groove in life. Therefore, suffering and pain are not there to punish humans, but to lead them to find purpose in life and as a result of this, to find God.

Islam has a unique way of meeting the human needs to personally relate to God without anthropomorphising God (that is, giving Him human attributes). In Islam, God has many names including All-Merciful, Most Compassionate, The Mighty, All-Knowing, The Loving, The Caring, The Living, The Bringer of Peace, The Avenger of Evil, The Generous, and so on. Through these names we get a feel for God and see His presence in everyday life, in nature and the universe. Therefore, we no longer need to concern ourselves with what God may look like as we can relate to Him by His observable actions, thereby appreciating His qualities.

Islam's position is also that the acceptance of God's incarnation in human form is neither possible nor purposeful. It is against God's majesty to reduce Himself to the level of His creation. The idea of God's incarnation brings with it theological and rational problems.

It entails an acceptance of the notion of the Trinity, which Muslims find irrational and impossible to accept. Muslims ask endless questions, such as, "Who was governing the universe when God was fully human in Jesus while he was eating, sleeping and being limited by space and time?" "Who was creating new stars in other galaxies during this time?" "What happened to God when Jesus died?" "Who caused his death?" "Was the incarnation physical or spiritual? If the incarnation was physical, is God composed of matter or did part of God became matter?" "If incarnation was a spiritual one, what happened to Jesus' spirit?" and "Did Jesus have a human spirit at all?"