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Main articles: Islamic views of Jesus and Death of Jesus

The issue of Jesus' death is important to Muslims because it differentiates their concept of Jesus from Christians, to whom the death of Jesus is paramount. While there is some dispute, most Muslims believe Jesus did not die but was raised to heaven by God. God gave someone Jesus' appearance, causing everyone to believe Jesus did die. The basis of any of these beliefs is the following verse in the Qur'an:

“	And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the messenger of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure. Nay! Allah took him up to Himself; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.	„
—Qur'an, 4:157-158

Most Muslims believe Jesus was raised to heaven alive by God, while some Islamic scholars argue that he was indeed rescued but died before his ascension.<ref name="ren">Tariq Hashmi. The Second Coming of Jesus. Renaissance - Monthly Islamic Journal, 14(9). September 2004.</ref>

Contents 1 Substitution interpretation 2 Jesus died 2.1 5.117 2.2 3.55 2.3 3.144 2.4 19.31 2.5 19.33 2.6 Other opinions 3 Swoon hypothesis 4 Non-literal interpretation 5 Denial of the crucifixion event 6 Historical Considerations 7 Muslim and Christian interpretation 7.1 Muslim interpretation 7.2 Christian interpretation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Substitution interpretation

While non-Muslims believe Jesus was crucified, the vast majority of Muslims believe he was raised to heaven without being put on the cross and Allah (God) transformed another person to appear exactly like Jesus to deceive the Romans and he was crucified instead of Jesus. Jesus was ascended bodily.

The substitute has been a great source of interest among Muslims. Two categories of people emerge: volunteers and victims. Common interpretation is that Allah (God) used the substitution to punish one of Jesus' enemies. Judas Iscariot, Jesus' traitor, is most often cited, including by the medievial Gospel of Barnabas. Other possibilities are Titawus, a Roman soldier, or an anonymous guard put to watch Jesus when arrested.

The converse interpretation is that Allah (God) asked for someone to volunteer to be crucified instead of Jesus. Simon of Cyrene is the most commonly accepted person to have done this, 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.^{[citation needed]}

The Qur'an states that Allah (God) caused Jesus' time on the earth to "terminate". The translation of "terminate" in 3:55 is debated. The Qur'an claims that Allah (God) is Almighty to do anything but has some wisdom in doing so, as the Qur'an says, "But Allah took him (Jesus) up unto Himself. Allah was ever Mighty, Wise". 4:158

The interpretation that Jesus taken down alive from the cross is considered valid, linguisticly, even if it's not the common interpretation. This is mostly followed by Ahmadiyya community.

[edit] Jesus died

Hadith related to Jesus' second return are oftenly quoted to deny Jesus' death (see Jesus' second coming). But Islamic scholars like Javed Ahmed 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 to dishonour His messengers, even their dead bodies.<ref name="ren"/> Several verses in Qur'an appear to affirm his death.

[edit] 5.117

According to some translations, Jesus says in the Qur'an:

“	I was a witness of them so long as I was among them, but when Thou didst cause me to die, (literally mutawafik) Thou wert the watcher over them, and Thou art witness of all things.	„
—Qur'an, 5:117

Majority of Muslims translate verb "mutawafik" (متوفيك) "to terminate a period of time" while others translate it "to die." Islamic scholars like Javed Ahmed Ghamidi and Amin Ahsan Islahi consider it as physical death of Jesus, and hence question the return of Jesus.<ref>Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, Qur'anic Verse regarding Second Coming of Jesus.</ref><ref name="ren"/><ref>Islahi, Amin. Tadabbur-i-Qur’an, 1st, Lahore: Faran Foundation. OCLC 60341215. vol.2, p.243</ref> Geoffrey Parrinder discusses different interpretations of this Qur’anic verse and writes in his conclusion that ‘the cumulative effect of the Qur’anic verse is strongly in favor of a real death’.<ref>Geoffrey Parrinder, Jesus in the Quran, p.121, Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1996. ISBN 1-85168-094-2</ref>

For understanding the traditional translation, see this article.

[edit] 3.55

“	O Jesus! I will cause you to die of natural causes and I will exalt you in honor in My Court...	„
—Qur'an, 3:55 as per QXP translation

The following translations or translators translate "to die"<ref>http://www.islamawakened.com/Quran/3/55/default.htm</ref>

• QXP translation
• Muhammad Asad
• George Sale
• Mohamed Ahmed*
• Maulana Ali An Ammadiyya Muslim
• Free Minds Muslims A Qur'an alone translation
• JM Rodwell

[edit] 3.144

According to Qur'an, every prophet (messenger) dies.

“	And Muhammad is no more than a messenger; the messengers have already passed away before him...	„
—Qur'an, 3:144

An Ahmadiyyan, Maulana Muhammad Ali writes about verse 3:144:<ref>(Ali, Holy Quran [USA; Ahmadiyyah Anjuman Isha'at Islam Lahore Inc., 1995], pp. 168-169, f. 496 emphasis ours) as quoted [1]</ref>

Some of the companions thought that the Prophet was not dead. Abu Bakr went in, and seeing that life had departed, ascended the pulpit and read this verse, which had a magical effect upon his hearers, all of them being convinced that the Prophet had passed away, as all prophets had passed away before him. . . . This verse affords a conclusive proof that Jesus Christ was also dead; otherwise Abu Bakr's argument could not have silenced the doubters of the Prophet's death."

[edit] 19.31

In verse 19:31, Jesus says of God regarding himself:

“	And He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and He has enjoined on me prayer and poor-rate so long as I live.	„
—Qur'an, 19:31

Charity here refers to alms, Sadaqa. If Jesus did not die, he is still giving money to the poor from heaven.

[edit] 19.33

In verse 19:15, says of the prophet John the Baptist:

“	And peace on him on the day he was born, and on the day he dies, and on the day he is raised to life.	„
—Qur'an, 19:15

and is repeated later in the same chapter by Jesus talking about himself in verse 19:33:

“	And peace on him on the day he was born, and on the day he dies, and on the day he is raised to life.	„
—Qur'an, 19:33

An obvious parallel is made between the pattern of life of the two prophets and no Muslim believes that John did not die. Muslims believing the substitution interpretation agree that "raised to life" here refers to when God raised Jesus up at the time of the crucifixion. The order in verse 19:33 implies that Jesus died before being raised up, not after.

[edit] Other opinions

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 however adds that "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."

[edit] Swoon hypothesis

Main article: Swoon hypothesis

In the swoon hypothesis, Jesus was crucified but did not die. He fainted (swooned) and the Romans thought he was dead. He later awoke and a rumor naturally started that he had risen from the dead.

The early proponents of this view were the Ahmadiyya Community. They add that he subsequently migrated to Kashmir to search for the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.<ref>"Death of Jesus", by Shahid Aziz, Bulletin October 2001, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Lahore (UK), [2]</ref> where he took the name Yuz Asaf.<ref>http://www.alislam.org/topics/jesus/index.php</ref> Yuz Asaf was venerated by Hindus and died a natural death at the age of 120. Muslims who disagree consider this belief heresy.

Mary Magdalene came to his tomb and revived him. His ability to survive the crucifixion is considered proof of his prophethood. Deedat has been criticized by Christians for adopting a view where Jesus is deceptive and that contradicts the Qur'an that "they killed him not nor crucified him."

Supporting the swoon hypothesis, Shabir Ally said<ref>debate with Dr. William Lane Craig, "Did Jesus of Nazareth Physically Rise from the Dead?", held on Monday, March 4, 2003 at the University of Toronto</ref>

[W]e see that the quranic text ends with a summary which says wama qataloohu yaqeenan, "they did not kill him definitely", Bal rafaAAahu Allahu ilayhi, "but God raised him to himself." I take this to be a summary of the whole discussion on what has happened to Jesus. There was a plot to kill him but they neither killed him nor crucified him, crucified him in the sense of killing him by crucifixion. That is a definition that has been given in Tafsir-Ul-Qur’an by Abdul Majid Daryabadi, which is a Sunni Tafsir on the Quran.

[edit] Non-literal interpretation

Another minority interprets that Jesus was not crucified but died in another way. The Qur'an's reference God elevated him in status and honor, not physically.

Others see this verse in the context that interprets Jesus' crucifixion to be an end of his material existence, but not to his spiritual life. Indeed, practitioners of this view argue: what effect did the crucifixion have? Spiritually He lived on, and in terms of His message it was only after Jesus' crucifixion that His body of followers finally arose and were galvanized.

Conceptually, this theory suggests the spiritual resurrection of Jesus' soul--and draws into attention how no crucifixion, or any material means, could ever "kill" or "crucify" the Spirit of Christ. According to this theological perspective, irrespective of what happens to the physical body, the spiritual reality remains inviolable and inaccessible to the influence of men, regardless of their power or means. Thus, the death only appeared so within a physical realm, but in the view of reality, no harm was inflicted.

[edit] Denial of the crucifixion event

Muslim scholar Muhammad Asad believes that the entire circumstance surrounding the crucifixion never happened. He writes,

Thus, the Qur’an categorically denies the story of the crucifixion of Jesus. There exist, among Muslims, many fanciful legends telling us that at the last moment God substituted for Jesus a person closely resembling him . . . However, none of these legends finds the slightest support in the Qur’an or in authentic Traditions, and the stories produced in this connection by the classical commentators must be summarily rejected. . . . The story of the crucifixion as such has been succinctly explained in the Qur’anic phrase wa-lakin shubbiha lahum, which I render as "but it only appeared to them as if it had been so" - implying that in the course of time, long after the time of Jesus, a legend had somehow grown up . . . to the effect that he had died on the cross . . . and this legend became so firmly established among the latter-day followers of Jesus that even his enemies, the Jews, began to believe it. . . . This, to my mind, is the only satisfactory explanation of the phrase wa-lakin shubbiha lahum, the more so as the expression shubbiha li is idiomatically synonymous with khuyyila 1i, "[a thing] became a fancied image to me", i.e., "in my mind" - in other words, "[it] seemed to me" (see Qamus, art. khayala, as well as Lane II, 833, and IV, 1500). <ref>http://www.geocities.com/masad02/004</ref>

[edit] Historical Considerations

Image:Unbalanced scales.svg

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

According to some historians, the crucifixion of Jesus is considered a fact.^{[citation needed]} Robert Funk represents the secular Jesus Seminar which thinks that almost nothing can be known of the historical Jesus but, "The crucifixion was one indisputable fact which neither the early Christians nor their opponents could deny."<ref>http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/fales.html</ref> Only the Judeo-Christian sect the gnostics rejected the crucifixion because they believed Jesus as God was only a bodiless spirit and a spirit could not be crucified.

[edit] Muslim and Christian interpretation

Apart from the historical death of Jesus, Christians and Muslims have given certain interpretations to that.

[edit] Muslim interpretation

On the interpretation of those scholars who deny the crucifixion, the Encyclopedia of Islam writes:

The denial, furthermore, is in perfect agreement with the logic of the Qur’an. The Biblical stories reproduced in it (e.g., Job, Moses, Joseph etc.) and the episodes relating to the history of the beginning of Islam demonstrate that it is “God's practice” (sunnat Allah ) to make faith triumph finally over the forces of evil and adversity. “So truly with hardship comes ease”, (XCIV, 5, 6). For Jesus to die on the cross would have meant the triumph of his executioners; but the Quran asserts that they undoubtedly failed: “Assuredly God will defend those who believe”; (XXII, 49). He confounds the plots of the enemies of Christ (III, 54).

[edit] Christian interpretation

The Christian interpretation of the death of Jesus can be taken from the writings of Paul and Peter. According to Paul, people normally used to follow “the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air [Satan], the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”Ephesians 2:2 But those who become Christians will be reborn of the spirit of God (the Holy Spirit), and as a result will become “slaves to righteousness.”Romans 6:18 This transformation of mind is described as dying to one's old self. Paul writes that “If we have been united with him [Jesus] like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.”Romans 6:5 Salvation is guaranteed for one who is united with Jesus in his resurrection. Even though one has earned God's wrath before conversion and deserves (spiritual) death, yet as Jesus overcame death by his resurrection, God will forgive the convert's past sins and grant him a new life through Jesus.

[edit] See also

• Jehovah's Witnesses view of Jesus' death

[edit] References

<references />

[edit] External links

• Did Jesus Die, A short BBC Film
• Regarding the Death of Jesus
• What Was the Sign of Jonah Ahmad Deedat's pamphlet describing the swoon hypothesis.
• Was Christ Crucified? Transcript of a Deedat debate about the swoon hypothesis
• A Fact, not Fiction Christian response to the swoon hypothesis