I Restrained the Children of Israel From You (5:110)

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

وعلى آلك واصحابك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

فداك ابي وامي يا رسول الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Blessing and peace be upon you, my master, Apostle of God!

And upon your family and your companions, my master, Apostle of God!

May my father and mother be ransomed for your sake, Apostle of God!

Allah جلّ جلاله says:

وَاِذۡ کَفَفۡتُ بَنِیۡۤ اِسۡرَآءِیۡلَ عَنۡکَ

And when I restrained the Children of Israel from you (Jesus)

(Surah 5, Ayah 110)

This is interpreted to mean that the hostile Jews who disbelieved in the Messiah عليه السلام were prevented from killing him, as Allah says:

وَمَا قَتَلُوۡہُ وَمَا صَلَبُوۡہُ وَلٰکِنۡ شُبِّہَ لَہُمۡ

And they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, rather it was made to appear as such to them

(Surah 4, Ayah 157)

The people historically and presently differ greatly concerning the matter of Jesus’s death and crucifixion. The Jews boast that they murdered him, as Allah says:

وَّقَوۡلِہِمۡ اِنَّا قَتَلۡنَا الۡمَسِیۡحَ عِیۡسَی ابۡنَ مَرۡیَمَ رَسُوۡلَ اللّٰہِ

And their saying, “Verily, we killed the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”

(ibid)

And this arrogant boast of the Jews about having killed Jesus Christ is mentioned in their Talmud too: “Jesus was hanged on Passover Eve. Forty days previously the herald had cried, ‘He is being led out for stoning, because he has practiced sorcery and led Israel astray and enticed them into apostasy. Whosoever has anything to say in his defense, let him come and declare it.’ As nothing was brought forward in his defense, he was hanged on Passover Eve.” (Sanhedrin 43a)

Some people object that why would the Jews, when claiming responsibility for having murdered Jesus عليه السلام refer to him as the Messiah and the Messenger of God? One possibility is that this is Allah’s own description of Jesus and not how the Jews referred to him. Another possibility is that the Jews said this sarcastically, in an apparent jest. The Gospels also state that the enemies of Jesus would call him “King of the Jews” out of mockery (Matthew 27:29) and that a sign reading INRI, a Latin acronym meaning Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews, was placed on the cross upon which Jesus was apparently crucified.

Many secular historians likewise tend to believe that Jesus was killed by means of crucifixion, though his execution was not carried out directly by the Jews but by the Romans under the authority of Pilate.

The Christians believe that Jesus was crucified and died on the cross but that he was subsequently resurrected and then ascended to Heaven, to sit at the right hand of God “the Father”. Their belief about Jesus’s resurrection and ascension are naturally rejected by the Jews and secular historians who affirm the historical existence of Jesus (as opposed to the Mythicists who say Jesus was not a historical person and never existed).

Among Muslims too there are a variety of views. Most Muslims believe Jesus was never put on the cross, that he ascended to Heaven before his enemies could capture him and that someone else was crucified in his place. This is known as the Substitution Theory. Others, especially the Qadianis who are a heretical sect that are in fact not Muslim, teach the Swoon Theory, which is that Jesus was placed on the cross but did not die, rather he merely swooned, and regained consciousness a few days after having been taken down from the cross presumed dead while in reality he was alive the whole time. The Qadianis deny that Jesus ascended to Heaven and teach that instead he migrated eastward eventually settling in present-day Kashmir where he is supposedly buried. Some others, especially the Isma’ili sect, believe Jesus really was crucified and died on the cross. According to them, when the Quran denies that the Jews killed or crucified him it means they were unable to kill his soul, but his physical body or apparent being was indeed killed.

But Allah عز وجل says about all this confusion and differing over this matter:

وَاِنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ اخۡتَلَفُوۡا فِیۡہِ لَفِیۡ شَکٍّ مِّنۡہُ ؕ مَا لَہُمۡ بِہٖ مِنۡ عِلۡمٍ اِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ

And, verily, those who differ therein are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge about it except the following of conjecture

(Surah 4, Ayah 157)

Ultimately it has to be admitted that nothing may be said about this matter, the alleged crucifixion of Jesus and his apparent dying on the cross, with any degree of certainty unless there is decisive Revelation on the matter. Everything else, including the various theories, must be termed nothing more than speculation. Based on the Revelation of the Quran we can know for certainty only a few matters, that Allah restrained the Jews from Jesus and ultimately saved him, that it seemed as though Jesus was killed or crucified, but in reality the Jews did not kill him, and that Allah did raise Jesus to Himself. This is all that is required for a Muslim to believe. There is no definitive basis to believe that Jesus was actually placed on the cross and either was killed or simply swooned as a result of that crucifixion, or to believe that someone else was made to look like Jesus and that person was crucified in his place, or to believe that Jesus was resurrected as the Christians say, or to believe that Jesus died already.

As a Sunni Muslim I affirm my belief that Jesus is the promised Messiah, that he is a Messenger of God and a Prophet that Allah sent to the Children of Israel, that he was born with a virgin birth to Mary without any father or male agency, that he performed many miracles like restoring sight to the blind, healing lepers from their leprosy and raising the dead back to life, that Allah raised him to the Heavens up to Himself, and that he will descend back into this world during the End Times. As a Muslim I also believe he is a mortal human and not God incarnated in the flesh as the Christians believe.