The Crucifixion Of Christianity

One of the major theological divides that separates Islam and Christianity is the denial of the death of Jesus in Islamic tradition. This denial is based on the following verse from the Qur’an:

“And said, ‘We have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God.’ (They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, though it was made to appear like that to them; those that disagreed about him are full of doubt, with no knowledge to follow, only supposition: they certainly did not kill him-” (Surat Al Imran 4:157)

It is the only verse that mentions the crucifixion of Jesus, and it has been interpreted by the majority of Muslim scholars as a categorical denial of the historicity of the crucifixion of Jesus and a denial of Jesus

It also clearly implies he will one day die. The question of when this death will occur, however, is where the disagreement lies. A small minority of scholars believe the order is straight forward, and he will die and then go up to God. However, the majority of scholars believe this verse contains a non-chronological arrangement (taqdim wa-ta’khir). The implication is: Peace be upon me the day I was born, on the day I will be raised up, and on the day I will come back and die. This idea of a non-chronological arrangement lends support to the standard Islamic theory— Jesus was taken up into heaven, and at the end of times he will descend to the earth and fulfill his eschatological role, which ends with him dying. In potential opposition to this idea, however, is a verse that comes only 18 verses before in 19:15. This verse has the exact same phrasing and order and is used in reference to John the Baptist with his father Zechariah saying about him “Peace was on him the day he was born, the day he died, and it will be on him the day he is raised to life again.” 19:15 Not one scholar has said this verse should be subject to taqdeem wa ta’khir, in spite of it having the same

To the Day of Resurrection I will make those who follow you superior to those who disbelieved. Then you will all return to Me and I will judge between you regarding your differences.” (Al ‘Imran 3:55). The key word in this verse we need to understand is mutawaffika. This word is from the root w-f-y, and this root appears in the Quran sixty-six times. This particular word is in the 5th form which is seen twenty-five times in the Quran. (Lawson, pg 702) Twenty-three times Islamic commentators follow the standard definition of this word, which is God separating the soul from the body and causing someone to die. In all of these instances either God or the Angel of death is the subject, and a human being is the object. The resulting meaning is the taking away of the soul, whether in sleep or death. However, in the two instances where it is applied to Jesus many Muslim scholars look for another meaning of the word. Al Tabari in his landmark tafseer of the Quran broke down the various opinions on this word into four groups. The first group says tawaffa means sleep which changes the meaning of the verse to “I am causing you to sleep and raising you to myself.” The second group says that it means seizing “qabd” which changes the meaning to “I am seizing you from the earth and raising you to myself.” This