Death of Jesus (Sura 5:117)

بســم اللــه الرحمــن الرحيــم

والصلاــة والسلاــم علــى نبيــه الكريــم

وعلــى اهــل بيتــه الطيبيــن الطاهريــن المظلوميــن

والعاقبة للمتقين

In the previous entry we examined the Ayah of the Qur’an (3:55) which speaks of Allah (Azza wa Jall) causing Jesus son of Mary to die. In this entry, I shall cite yet another Qur’anic passage which forcefully proves that Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him) is dead:

وَإِذْ قَالَ اللَّـهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ أَأَنتَ قُلْتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُونِي وَأُمِّيَ إِلَـٰهَيْنِ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ ۖ قَالَ سُبْحَانَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِي أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِحَقٍّ ۚ إِن كُنتُ قُلْتُهُ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُ ۚ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلَا أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ ﴿١١٦﴾ مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَا أَمَرْتَنِي بِهِ أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّـهَ رَبِّي وَرَبَّكُمْ ۚ وَكُنتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنتَ أَنتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ وَأَنتَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ ﴿١١٧﴾

And when Allah said: O Jesus son of Mary, did you say to the people ‘take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?’ He will say: Holy are You! It was not for me to say that which I have no right. If I had said it You would know it. You know what is in myself but I do not know what is in Yourself. Verily, You are the Knower of the Unseen.

I did not say to them except what You ordered me with, to worship Allah my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them while I was among them. But when You caused me to die, You were the Watcher over them. And You are over all things a Witness.

(Sura 5:116-117)

Both the context and wording of this passage is a manifest proof that Jesus son of Mary is deceased. The words falamma tawaffaytani clearly mean:

فَلَمَّا تَمَيْتَنِي

“when you made me die”

This fact was confirmed by the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam) when he mentioned another incident that shall occur on Judgment Day:

أَلَا وَإِنَّهُ يُجَاءُ بِرِجَالٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي ، فَيُؤْخَذُ بِهِمْ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ ، فَأَقُولُ : يَا رَبِّ أُصحَابِي ، فَيُقَالُ : إِنَّكَ لَا تَدْرِي مَا أَحْدَثُوا بَعْدَكَ ، فَأَقُولُ : كَمَا قَالَ الْعَبْدُ الصَّالِحُ ، وَكُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنْتَ أَنْتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ

“Lo! Some men from my Umma shall will be brought but they shall be seized and driven to the left side (Hell). So I shall say, ‘O Lord, my companions!’ But it will be said: ‘Verily, you do not know what they did after you.’ So I shall say as the righteous servant (Jesus) said: ‘And I was a witness over them while I was among them. But when You caused me to die You were the Watcher over them, and You are over all things a Witness.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari: Kitab Tafsir il-Quran)

If the Ulama insist that the words falamma tawaffaytani in the Qur’an mean “when you took me away” instead of “when you caused me to die”, then they will necessarily have to apply this same meaning for the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam) and deny the latter’s death too. Remember, the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam) says he shall quote the exact words attributed to Jesus son of Mary in the Verse (5:117) for himself. Since it is a fact that the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam) died and was not raised up to Heaven in his physical body, it will have to be conceded that Jesus son of Mary also died and was not raised up alive to Heaven.

Interestingly, the Mu’tazilite theologian and teacher of Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari, namely, Abu Ali al-Jubba’i, understood from this verse (5:117) that the death of Jesus is being spoken of:

قال الجبائي: وفي هذه الآية دلالة على أنه أمات عيسى وتوفّاه ثم رفعه إليه

“This Ayah is evidence of the death of Jesus and his subsequent ascension unto Him (Allah)” (Majma al-Bayan of al-Tabarsi: v.3 p.376):