Islamic view of Jesus' death
Encyclopedia
The issue of the crucifixion
and death of Jesus
(Isa) is important to Muslim
s as they believe that Jesus will return before the end of time. Muslims believe Jesus was not crucified
, but was raised bodily to heaven
by God
.
Depending on the interpretation of the following verse, Muslim scholars have abstracted different opinions. Some believe that in the Biblical account, Jesus' crucifixion did not last long enough for him to die, while others opine that God gave someone Jesus' appearance, causing everyone to believe that Jesus was crucified. A third explanation could be that Jesus was nailed to a cross, but as his body is immortal he did not "die" or was not "crucified" [to death]; it only appeared so. In opposition to the second and third foregoing proposals, yet others maintain that God does not use deceit and therefore they contend that crucifixion just did not occur. The basis of all of these beliefs is the following verse in the Qur'an
:
Most Muslims believe Jesus was raised to heaven alive by God. However, a small minority of Islamic scholars, mainly Ahmadi Muslim
scholars, argue that he was indeed rescued but died before his ascension.
writes:
In regard to the interpretation of the minority of Muslims who accept the crucifixion, Mahmoud Ayoub states:
, Jews, and Christians believe Jesus died, most Muslims believe he was raised to Heaven without being put on the cross and God transformed another person to appear exactly like Jesus who was crucified instead of Jesus. Jesus ascended bodily to Heaven, there to remain until his Second coming in the End days.
The identity of the substitute has been a source of great interest among Muslims. One proposal is that God used one of Jesus' enemies. Judas Iscariot
, Jesus' traitor, is most often cited, including by the medieval Gospel of Barnabas
. The second proposal is that God asked for someone to volunteer to be crucified instead of Jesus. Simon of Cyrene
is the person most commonly accepted to have done it, perhaps because according to the Synoptic Gospels
he was compelled by the Romans
to carry Jesus' cross for him (there is no indication in the Gospels that he volunteered). Al-Baidawi
writes that Jesus told his disciples
in advance that whoever volunteered would go to heaven
.
The following narration
recorded in the Qur'anic exegesis
of Ibn Kathir
is graded as authentic by orthodox Sunni
scholars and provides a plausible explanation for the Qur'anic verse related to the substitution of Jesus:
, an 11th century Maliki
jurist, writes that there have been differences of opinion on this issue and Sunnis accept the second coming of Jesus only through individual reports by narrators who are of sound character—a view supported by majority of Muslims (see Jesus' second coming). However, some Islamic scholars like Sheikh
Mohammed al-Ghazali
(not Imam
al-Ghazali), Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, and Amin Ahsan Islahi
argue that Jesus was indeed rescued but was given death by God before he was ascended bodily as God never allows His messengers to be dishonored, even their dead bodies.
Thomas McElwain states that the context of the verse is clearly within the discussion of Jewish
ridicule of Christians, not in context of whether or not Jesus died. He continues that the text could be interpreted as denying the death of Jesus at the hands of Jews
rather than denying his death. He adds, however, "the expressions against the crucifixion are strong, so that to interpret the meaning for Romans rather than Jews to have committed the act is also suspect" and that if this meaning is correct, "it would have been more effective to state that the Romans killed Jesus, rather than to emphasise that the Jews were not in possession of the facts."
According to some translations, Jesus says in the Qur'an:
The majority of Muslims translate verb "mutawafik" (متوفيك) "to terminate after a period of time" while others translate it "to die of natural causes". Islamic scholars like Javed Ahmad Ghamidi and Amin Ahsan Islahi consider it as physical death of Jesus, and hence question the return of Jesus. Geoffrey Parrinder
discusses different interpretations of the Qur’anic verse 19, chapter 33 and writes in his conclusion that "the cumulative effect of the Qur’anic verse is strongly in favor of a real death". This verse could also refer to the Second Coming of Jesus. According to Muslim tradition, after his Second Coming, Jesus will die.
One should note, the claim that Jesus will die after his Second Coming is in direct opposition to Christian teaching. Christians believe that Jesus will reign supreme over the nations forever and they also view Isa, known as Yeshua
or Jesus, as the son of God.
The following translations or translators translate "to die":
However, majority of Qur’anic translators including Abdullah Yusuf Ali
, Muhammad Habib Shakir and Marmaduke Pickthall
, do not translate as "to die".
as opposed to having been raised up alive to Heaven.
Although the view of Jesus having migrated to India had also been researched in the literature of authors independent of and predating the foundation of the movement, the Ahmadiyya Movement are the only religious organization to adopt this view as a characteristic of their faith, independently of earlier authors.
The Jesus in India theory
has been promoted and discussed at length by various modern researchers and authors such as Holger Kersten, James Deardoff and Suzzane Olsson as Jesus having migrated and buried in India
.The possibility that Jesus lived and died in India has also been publicized in several documentaries and has become increasingly popular. This highly controversial issue has been opposed by various other authors such as Norbert Klatt, and the theory labelled speculation by Indologist and Tibetologist Dr Günter Grönbold.
and Isma'ili commentators so as to unite Islam
, Christianity
and Judaism
into a single religious continuum
. Making use of the New Testament
's distinguishing between Jesus
, Son of Man
, - being the physical human Jesus – and Christ
, Son of God
, - being The Holy Spirit of God residing in the body of Jesus – The Holy Spirit, being immortal and immaterial, is not subject to crucifixion, for it can never die, nor can it be touched by the earthly nails of the crucifixion, for it is a being of pure spirit. Yet the body that was Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, thereby bringing the Old Testament
to final fulfillment. Thus Qur’anic passages on the death of Jesus affirm that while the Pharisees
intended to destroy The Son of God completely, they, in fact, succeeded only in killing The Son of Man
, being his nasut (material being). Meanwhile, The Son of God, being his lahut (spiritual being) remained alive and undying – for it is The Holy Spirit.
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
and death of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
(Isa) is important to Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s as they believe that Jesus will return before the end of time. Muslims believe Jesus was not crucified
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
, but was raised bodily to heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
by God
God in Islam
In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...
.
Depending on the interpretation of the following verse, Muslim scholars have abstracted different opinions. Some believe that in the Biblical account, Jesus' crucifixion did not last long enough for him to die, while others opine that God gave someone Jesus' appearance, causing everyone to believe that Jesus was crucified. A third explanation could be that Jesus was nailed to a cross, but as his body is immortal he did not "die" or was not "crucified" [to death]; it only appeared so. In opposition to the second and third foregoing proposals, yet others maintain that God does not use deceit and therefore they contend that crucifixion just did not occur. The basis of all of these beliefs is the following verse in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
:
Most Muslims believe Jesus was raised to heaven alive by God. However, a small minority of Islamic scholars, mainly Ahmadi Muslim
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious revivalist movement founded in India near the end of the 19th century, originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times, who was to herald the Eschaton as...
scholars, argue that he was indeed rescued but died before his ascension.
Jesus lives
Discussing the interpretation of those scholars who deny the crucifixion, the Encyclopaedia of IslamEncyclopaedia of Islam
The Encyclopaedia of Islam is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies. It embraces articles on distinguished Muslims of every age and land, on tribes and dynasties, on the crafts and sciences, on political and religious institutions, on the geography, ethnography, flora and...
writes:
In regard to the interpretation of the minority of Muslims who accept the crucifixion, Mahmoud Ayoub states:
Substitution interpretation
While most Western ScholarsHistoricity of Jesus
The historicity of Jesus concerns how much of what is written about Jesus of Nazareth is historically reliable, and whether the evidence supports the existence of such an historical figure...
, Jews, and Christians believe Jesus died, most Muslims believe he was raised to Heaven without being put on the cross and God transformed another person to appear exactly like Jesus who was crucified instead of Jesus. Jesus ascended bodily to Heaven, there to remain until his Second coming in the End days.
The identity of the substitute has been a source of great interest among Muslims. One proposal is that God used one of Jesus' enemies. Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
, Jesus' traitor, is most often cited, including by the medieval Gospel of Barnabas
Gospel of Barnabas
The Gospel of Barnabas is a book depicting the life of Jesus, and claiming to be by Jesus' disciple Barnabas, who in this work is one of the twelve apostles...
. The second proposal is that God asked for someone to volunteer to be crucified instead of Jesus. Simon of Cyrene
Simon of Cyrene
Simon of Cyrene was the man compelled by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus as Jesus was taken to his crucifixion, according to all three Synoptic Gospels...
is the person most commonly accepted to have done it, perhaps because according to the Synoptic Gospels
Synoptic Gospels
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and sometimes exactly the same wording. This degree of parallelism in content, narrative arrangement, language, and sentence structures can only be...
he was compelled by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
to carry Jesus' cross for him (there is no indication in the Gospels that he volunteered). Al-Baidawi
Baidawi
Baidawi , was a Muslim scholar, was born in Fars, where his father was chief judge, in the time of the Atabek ruler Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd . He himself became judge in Shiraz, and died in Tabriz about 1286. Many commentaries have been written on Baidawi's work...
writes that Jesus told his disciples
Disciple (Christianity)
In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. While Jesus attracted a large following, the term disciple is commonly used to refer specifically to "the Twelve", an inner circle of men whose number perhaps represented the twelve tribes of Israel...
in advance that whoever volunteered would go to heaven
Jannah
Jannah , is the Islamic conception of paradise. The Arabic word Jannah is a shortened version meaning simply "Garden". According to Islamic eschatology, after death, one will reside in the grave until the appointed resurrection on . Muslims believe that the treatment of the individual in the life...
.
The following narration
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
recorded in the Qur'anic exegesis
Tafsir
Tafseer is the Arabic word for exegesis or commentary, usually of the Qur'an. Ta'wīl is a subset of tafsir and refers to esoteric or mystical interpretation. An author of tafsir is a mufassir .- Etymology :...
of Ibn Kathir
Ibn Kathir
Ismail ibn Kathir was a Muslim muhaddith, Faqih, historian, and commentator.-Biography:His full name was Abu Al-Fida, 'Imad Ad-Din, Isma'il bin 'Umar bin Kathir, Al-Qurashi, Al-Busrawi...
is graded as authentic by orthodox Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
scholars and provides a plausible explanation for the Qur'anic verse related to the substitution of Jesus:
Jesus died
Yusuf ibn abd al-BarrYusuf ibn abd al-Barr
Yusuf ibn Abdallah ibn Mohammed ibn Abd al-Barr, Abu Umar al-Namari al-Andalusi al-Qurtubi al-Maliki, commonly known as Ibn Abd-al-Barr was a famous Sunni Maliki Islamic Scholar...
, an 11th century Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
jurist, writes that there have been differences of opinion on this issue and Sunnis accept the second coming of Jesus only through individual reports by narrators who are of sound character—a view supported by majority of Muslims (see Jesus' second coming). However, some Islamic scholars like Sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Mohammed al-Ghazali
Mohammed al-Ghazali
Sheikh Mohammed al-Ghazali al-Saqqa , was an Islamic cleric and scholar whose writings "have influenced generations of Egyptians". The author of 94 books, Sheikh Ghazali attracted a broad following with works that sought to interpret Islam and its holy book, the Qur'an, in a modern light...
(not Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
al-Ghazali), Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, and Amin Ahsan Islahi
Amin Ahsan Islahi
Amin Ahsan Islahi was a Pakistani Muslim scholar, famous for his Urdu exegeses of Qur'an, Tadabbur-i-Qur’an—an exegesis that he based on Hamiduddin Farahi's idea of thematic and structural coherence in the Qur'an.-Early life:...
argue that Jesus was indeed rescued but was given death by God before he was ascended bodily as God never allows His messengers to be dishonored, even their dead bodies.
Thomas McElwain states that the context of the verse is clearly within the discussion of Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
ridicule of Christians, not in context of whether or not Jesus died. He continues that the text could be interpreted as denying the death of Jesus at the hands of Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
rather than denying his death. He adds, however, "the expressions against the crucifixion are strong, so that to interpret the meaning for Romans rather than Jews to have committed the act is also suspect" and that if this meaning is correct, "it would have been more effective to state that the Romans killed Jesus, rather than to emphasise that the Jews were not in possession of the facts."
According to some translations, Jesus says in the Qur'an:
The majority of Muslims translate verb "mutawafik" (متوفيك) "to terminate after a period of time" while others translate it "to die of natural causes". Islamic scholars like Javed Ahmad Ghamidi and Amin Ahsan Islahi consider it as physical death of Jesus, and hence question the return of Jesus. Geoffrey Parrinder
Geoffrey Parrinder
Geoffrey Parrinder , was a professor of comparative religion at King's College London, Methodist minister, and author of over thirty books...
discusses different interpretations of the Qur’anic verse 19, chapter 33 and writes in his conclusion that "the cumulative effect of the Qur’anic verse is strongly in favor of a real death". This verse could also refer to the Second Coming of Jesus. According to Muslim tradition, after his Second Coming, Jesus will die.
One should note, the claim that Jesus will die after his Second Coming is in direct opposition to Christian teaching. Christians believe that Jesus will reign supreme over the nations forever and they also view Isa, known as Yeshua
Yeshua (name)
Yeshua, was a common alternative form of the name Joshua "Yehoshuah" in later books of the Hebrew Bible and among Jews of the Second Temple Period...
or Jesus, as the son of God.
The following translations or translators translate "to die":
- The Quran As It Explains ItselfThe Quran As It Explains ItselfThe Quran As It Explains Itself, or QXP is an English translation of the Qur’an by Dr. Shabbir Ahmed into contemporary English. It uses a Tasreef based understanding of the Qur’an, which means that it refers primarily to the Qur’an itself to explain Qur’anic passages, rather than referring to...
- Muhammad AsadMuhammad AsadMuhammad Asad , was an Austrian Polish Jew who converted to Islam, and a 20th century journalist, traveler, writer, social critic, linguist, thinker, reformer, diplomat, political theorist, translator and scholar...
- George SaleGeorge SaleGeorge Sale was an Orientalist and practising solicitor, best known for his 1734 translation of the Qur'an into English. He was also author of The General Dictionary, in ten volumes, folio....
- Mohamed Ahmed
- Maulana Muhammad AliMaulana Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali was a Pakistani writer, scholar, and leading figure of the Ahmadiyya Movement.-Biography:Ali was born in Punjab, British India, in 1874. He obtained an English and Law in 1899...
- Free Minds Muslims, a Qur'an aloneQur'an aloneQuranism is an Islamic denomination that holds the Qur'an to be the only canonical text in Islam. Quranists reject the religious authority of Hadith and often Sunnah, libraries compiled by later scholars who catalogued narratives of what the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said and done,...
translation - John Medows RodwellJohn Medows RodwellJohn Medows Rodwell was a friend of Charles Darwin while both matriculated at Cambridge. He became an English clergyman of the Church of England and a Non-Muslim Islamic scholar. He served as Rector of St.Peter's, Saffron Hill, London 1836-43 and Rector of St Ethelburga's, Bishopsgate, London...
However, majority of Qur’anic translators including Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Hafiz Abdullah Yusuf Ali, CBE, FRSL was an Indian Islamic scholar who translated the Qur'an into English. His translation of the Qur'an is one of the most widely-known and used in the English-speaking world....
, Muhammad Habib Shakir and Marmaduke Pickthall
Marmaduke Pickthall
Marmaduke Pickthall was a Western Islamic scholar, noted as an English translator of the Qur'an into English. A convert from Christianity, Pickthall was a novelist, esteemed by D. H. Lawrence, H. G. Wells, and E. M. Forster, as well as a journalist, headmaster, and political and religious leader...
, do not translate as "to die".
Ahmadiyya view
Similar to mainstream Islamic views, the Ahmadiyya Movement consider Jesus was a mortal man, but go a step further to describe Jesus as a mortal man who died a natural death in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as opposed to having been raised up alive to Heaven.
Although the view of Jesus having migrated to India had also been researched in the literature of authors independent of and predating the foundation of the movement, the Ahmadiyya Movement are the only religious organization to adopt this view as a characteristic of their faith, independently of earlier authors.
The Jesus in India theory
Lost years of Jesus
The lost years of Jesus concerns the undocumented timespan between Jesus's childhood and the beginning of his ministry as recorded in the New Testament....
has been promoted and discussed at length by various modern researchers and authors such as Holger Kersten, James Deardoff and Suzzane Olsson as Jesus having migrated and buried in India
Roza Bal
Roza Bal is the name of a shrine located in the Khanyar area of district Srinagar, in Kashmir, India, venerated by some Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. Some people identify the sage buried there with one Yuz Asaf, that is Jesus of Nazareth, whom they allege to have arrived in Kashmir after...
.The possibility that Jesus lived and died in India has also been publicized in several documentaries and has become increasingly popular. This highly controversial issue has been opposed by various other authors such as Norbert Klatt, and the theory labelled speculation by Indologist and Tibetologist Dr Günter Grönbold.
Esoteric interpretations
An alternative, more esoteric interpretation is expounded by both certain Islamic philosophers and some SufiSufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
and Isma'ili commentators so as to unite Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
into a single religious continuum
Continuum
Continuum may refer to:* Continuum , anything that goes through a gradual transition from one condition, to a different condition, without any abrupt changes-Linguistics:...
. Making use of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
's distinguishing between Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, Son of Man
Son of man
The phrase son of man is a primarily Semitic idiom that originated in Ancient Mesopotamia, used to denote humanity or self. The phrase is also used in Judaism and Christianity. The phrase used in the Greek, translated as Son of man is ὁ υἱὸς τοὺ ἀνθρώπου...
, - being the physical human Jesus – and Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, Son of God
Son of God
"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...
, - being The Holy Spirit of God residing in the body of Jesus – The Holy Spirit, being immortal and immaterial, is not subject to crucifixion, for it can never die, nor can it be touched by the earthly nails of the crucifixion, for it is a being of pure spirit. Yet the body that was Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, thereby bringing the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
to final fulfillment. Thus Qur’anic passages on the death of Jesus affirm that while the Pharisees
Pharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
intended to destroy The Son of God completely, they, in fact, succeeded only in killing The Son of Man
The Son of Man
The Son of Man is a 1964 painting by the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte.Magritte painted it as a self-portrait. The painting consists of a man in an overcoat and a bowler hat standing in front of a short wall, beyond which is the sea and a cloudy sky. The man's face is largely obscured...
, being his nasut (material being). Meanwhile, The Son of God, being his lahut (spiritual being) remained alive and undying – for it is The Holy Spirit.
External links
- Jesus in Heaven on Earth An account of Jesus' life and death in Kashmir