Author: Harris Abdullah
Does Al-Quran contradict the crucifixion of Christ or the death of Christ as written in the Injil?
Surah 4: 157 That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-
In my opinion, Surah 4:157 has been looked at with much prejudice, bias and traditionally lopsided views. This resulted so much from historical antagonism that wanted to prove something opposite to foundational basis of the Christian faith and the objective is basically to invalidate the Scripture that they possess. I believe that the Al-Quran is for all people to read because its miracle is for the Alamin (the worlds) which includes all people of the book. If one takes the traditional explanation of Surah 4:157, I fear that the objective of the Al-Quran for all Alamin will not be fulfilled with the existing explanation; it has caused a big rift among the people of the book that could not be reconciled with one another. Allah is a God of order; He does not desire dissension among His people. This is something vital and I propose that we examine Surah 4:157 carefully. Would there be any other way of looking at Surah 4:157 from the existing interpretation that we have? Hopefully we could get proper enlightenment and understanding.
It is vital for people who have faith to take the word of God given to them seriously but unfortunately many people of faith, due to lack of better understanding, narrow-mindedness, bad traditions, etc. have led to wrong doctrines and practices. What I would like to propose on this Surah 4:157 is that we look at what Abdullah Yusuf Ali or other prominent scholars’ work had commented, and from here we would ask a few questions on the methods of deduction from their commentaries if they are reasonably justifiable. Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s work is indeed highly respected for its contribution of many good insights to the Al-Quran but in some respects, I would have to contemplate deeper on the basis of his conclusion. The procedure and methods are simple; we would ask some questions to the comments/statements made by the scholars and hopefully, we could get results to the answers as we shall see later.
In the Al-Quran, what kind of treatment received by the prophets or messengers of Allah who came to His people?
When we looked at the subject of prophets or messengers of God in the Al-Quran and also from other books like the Taurat and the Injil, there are quite a number of places in the Al-Quran repeatedly mentioned that most messengers of God/prophets of God met with persecutions and even put to death by the people, e.g. Surah 2:61, 87; Surah 3:181.
Surah 2: 61 And remember ye said: “O Moses! we cannot endure one kind of food (always); so beseech thy Lord for us to produce for us of what the earth groweth, -its pot-herbs, and cucumbers, Its garlic, lentils, and onions.” He said: “Will ye exchange the better for the worse? Go ye down to any town, and ye shall find what ye want!” They were covered with humiliation and misery; they drew on themselves the wrath of Allah. This because they went on rejecting the Signs of Allah and slaying His Messengers without just cause. This because they rebelled and went on transgressing.
Surah 2: 87 We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of messengers; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you a messenger with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay!
Surah 3: 181 Allah hath heard the taunt of those who say: “Truly, Allah is indigent and we are rich!”- We shall certainly record their word and (their act) of slaying the prophets in defiance of right, and We shall say: “Taste ye the penalty of the Scorching Fire!
Also from the Injil, Isa Al-Masih had said to the followers/believers in Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness…. “Luke 21:16 “…put some of you to death.”
We could also look in the Al-Quran and ask this: “Did Prophet Muhammad talk about his death in Al-Quran?” From Surah 3:144 we read, “Muhammad is no more than a messenger: many were the messenger that passed away before him. If he died or were slain, will ye then Turn back on your heels?…….”
If we look at the context from Surah 3:143 to 3:145, we can see that it is about death. If we take Prophet Muhammad as the last messenger and along this reasoning, the words ‘no more than’ are not meant to be disrespectful words but simply to say that he was like any other man who will face death at one point of his life. How about Isa Al-Masih? Is there any verse that spoke about his death in the Al-Quran? We can read that in Surah 19:33 about Isa Al-Masih saying about his journey of life:
وَالسَّلاَمُ عَلَيَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّا
“So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)”!
The following verse (Surah 19:34) mentions that the above verse is a statement of truth:
ذَلِكَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ قَوْلَ الْحَقِّ الَّذِي فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ
Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute.
Some basic questions that we need to put forth on the first phase of this study:
i) What were the supporting evidences used by Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his text and commentary on Surah 4:157?
ii) Could those evidences really support Surah 4:157 that mentioned Jesus the Messiah was not crucified and died?
iii) If Al-Quran is going to base on these evidences, would this have positive or negative implication on the Al-Quran?
On the second phase of this study, I would propose we read the context of Surah 4:157 from Surah 4:153 and ask some important basic questions:
iv) Who was the subject being addressed from Surah 4:153 to 4:157?
v) Did the subject being addressed here crucify/kill Jesus the Messiah?
vi) If they didn’t, would other party able/allowed to crucify/kill the Messiah?
On the third phase of this study, I would propose to look at the word شُبِّهَ ‘made to appear’:
vii) Could شُبِّهَ be understood only as substitute, an illusion or appearance?
viii) If it does mean ‘substitute’/making an illusion/appearance, would this implicate something more serious about God and even about us?
ix) Could this شُبِّهَ better mean to resemble something else other than referring to a ‘person’ in this context?
On the fourth phase of this study which is also the pivotal part of the whole study, let us look at the word of Allah to see if there are strong evidences to prove that Jesus the Messiah was crucified. After all, what is more important than the Word of Allah, to allow the Scriptures to reveal the truth to us because only the Scriptures carry the truth. This means we will look at the
x) Torah – is there any indication of the coming and death/suffering/crucifixion of the Messiah?
xi) Injil – whether there are solid accounts that prove the death/crucifixion of Isa Al-Masih.
xii) Al-Quran – the statement by Isa Al-Masih himself about his death.
I hope our dear readers will have open hearts and discerning eyes to allow the Word of Allah to speak to you. We hope to continue our study next time.
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Note:
- All Al-Quran verses are sourced from English Translation of Al-Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, with thanks.
- All Injil verses (Gospel verses) are sourced from New American Standard Bible with Codes (1995), with thanks.