Did Jesus die on the cross according to the Qur'an?

Many Christians feel that the biggest difference between their faith and that of Muslims is their respective understanding of Jesus' death. While Muslims claim that Jesus did not die on the cross, for Christians Jesus' atoning death on the cross forms the basis of their faith.

Did Jesus die on the cross according to the Quran?

As we have seen in our discussion so far, there is no reason to assume that the Qur'an criticises the Gospel account of Jesus' departure from earth or replaces it with an alternative account. Al-i Imran 3:54-59 can easily be read as a confirmation of the Gospel. Neither Maide 5:117 nor Meryem 19:33 question the Gospel account. Finally, we were able to prove that although Nisa 4:156-159 criticises the Jewish account in the strongest terms, it can very well be understood in harmony with a Christian criticism of this very account. Verses 156-159 even make more sense when read as a defence of the Gospel account than when explained with the help of the substitution theory. The latter variant contradicts the rules of grammar, questions the objectivity of human perception, does not do justice to the context - the topic of discussion is the Messianity of Jesus - and contradicts similar passages in the Qur'an (e.g. Al-i Imran 3:54-59).

No criticism of the Gospel account does not necessarily mean conscious, full acceptance of Jesus' death on the cross. We must now ask ourselves this central question: Did Jesus die on the cross according to the Qur'an or not? The answer to this question is now answered on a new basis thanks to the previous discussion. We have already rejected the theory of substitution as an unsatisfactory explanation of the material in the Qur'an concerning Jesus' departure. Thus we gain thefreedom to understand the words ‘muteveffîke’ (Al-i Imran 3:55) and ‘teveffeytenî’ (Maide 5:117) in their most natural meaning of ‘to die’, and no longer need to consider complicated reinterpretations. We can therefore conclude that the Qur'an clearly speaks of Jesus' death in Al-i Imran 3:55, Maide 5:117 and Meryem 19:33. As already shown in the context of these three verses, this is not a death shortly before the Last Judgement, but one that happened at a point in human history in the past. In all the verses mentioned above, Jesus' death is part of the events in connection with his being called away from the earth. We conclude from this that the Qur'an clearly testifies to Jesus' death in connection with his departure from the earth.

Unfortunately, nowhere in the Qur'an are there explicit statements about the nature of Jesus' death. Some Muslim commentators who accept Jesus' death in connection with his departure assume that it could not have been crucifixion. Their reasoning is based on Nisa 4:157: “But they did not (in fact) kill him, nor did they crucify him”. They propose alternative versions of death. As already explained, the statement in Nisa 4:157 nowhere rejects the idea that Jesus died on the cross. Rather it is a historical correction of the Jewish claim to have killed Jesus, and a refutation of the moral and theological message contained in the Jewish slogan “We killed the Messiah”. The historical correction, as explained earlier, concerns more the executing authority than the event in and of itself. The Qur'an does not say that Jesus was not killed or crucified. But the Qur'an states correctly that it was not the Jews who killed Jesus, and from the Gospel we know who did it, namely the Romans. From Nisa 4:157 we cannot therefore necessarily conclude that Jesus did not die on the cross.

Conversely, if we assume that Jesus died but was not crucified, then some difficulties arise in the explanation of Nisa 4:157-159: - The fact that the Jews did not question the crucifixion of Jesus as such, but only the reason why it was carried out, is a strong argument in favour of the historicity of the event1. The additional fact that the Qur'an mentions a dispute with the Jews on the subject of Jesus' claim to be the Messiah and the crucifixion, further supports the fact that the Qur'an also accepts the historicity of the crucifixion of Jesus. It does not contradict the crucifixion itself, but only the Jews' claim to have carried it out and the conclusions they drew from it. If the Qur'an had intended to correct the claim that Jesus died by crucifixion, it would surely have done so in the context of the discussion with the Christians about Jesus' resurrection in Al-i Imran 3:55. The fact that there is no mention of such a correction must be interpreted as an acceptance of Jesus' death on the cross.

- If Jesus had not died by crucifixion, one would have to ask what the Jews had been deceived about with regard to Jesus' messiahship. And why should Jesus' resurrection and exaltation to God justify his claim to messiahship once again? The crucifixion as an expression of God's rejection of Jesus as being cursed by God was a real obstacle that made it extremely difficult to recognise the Messiah in Jesus. This is already mentioned in the Gospel. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, the religious leaders (chief priests and scribes) made fun of the idea of a crucified Messiah: '... 'He saved others', they said, 'but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.' ...' (Mark 15:31-32). If God had rescued Jesus from the cross before their eyes, it would have become clear that Jesus was not cursed by God. Since God did not do this, the opposite seemed to be proven.

Only the resurrection from the dead - which was rejected by the Jews - and the elevation to God was the necessary justification for Jesus' otherwise disproved claim to be the Messiah. If Jesus had not died on the cross according to the Qur'an, it would have been sufficient to mention his actual manner of death in order to refute the Jewish argument against Jesus' messiahship, in the sense of: 'The manner in which Jesus departed from the earth is not a convincing argument against his messiahship, because he did not suffer the death of a blasphemer, but died a natural death.' The Qur'an does not take this route, but instead of revealing the nature of the natural death, it cites Jesus' exaltation to God as justification for his claim to Messiahship. This proof would not have been necessary in the case of a natural death.

The fact that the manner of Jesus' departure cast doubt on his messiahship (v. 157) and that the Qur'an cites Jesus' exaltation to God as a defence of his messiahship (v. 158) is further proof that the Koran presupposes the crucifixion of Jesus.

- Both in Al-i Imran 3:55 ('... I shall judge between you with regard to all on which you were wont to differ' (Muhammad Asad)) and in Nisa 4:157 ('... those who hold conflicting views thereon ...' (Muhammad Asad)), it is mentioned that there were various groups that contradicted each other in their view of Jesus' departure from the earth. The contradictory views in both cases obviously concern the death of Jesus and what happened to him afterwards. Since the Qur'an does not present a third version in addition to the Jewish and Christian views on this subject, but is well aware of the Jewish version which differs from the Christian version (see discussion on Nisa 4:157-159), it must be assumed that it is a matter of the contradictions between these two groups, namely contradictions between Jews and Christians, with regard to Jesus' death and resurrection. Nisa 4:157 is explicitly about Jews who held contradictory views on the account of Jesus' death as reported in the Gospel. In Al-i Imran 3:54-63, the Christian views on the subject based on the Gospel are confirmed without reservation. So it is people who are at odds with the Gospel who are accused of ignorance and wrong conclusions based on false assumptions.

The view that the people with contradictory views are Christians2 is at odds both with the context - it is about Jews not Christians in Nisa 4:157 - and with the actual views held by Christians on the subject. In contrast to the claim often repeated by Muslims that the views of Christians on Jesus' death are totally contradictory and that the Gospels are also full of inconsistencies on this subject3 , it must be countered that 'one of the few events in Jesus' life that is practically universally accepted by all Christians is precisely the crucifixion of Jesus.'4 This is why Christianity was able to agree without much discussion on the following simple testimony to Jesus' death: '... He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.'5, as attested by all Christian churches in the common creed.

The logical explanation for the contradictory groups mentioned in Al-i Imran 3:55 and Nisa 4:157 is therefore based precisely on the Gospel's depiction of the crucifixion. If the Qur'an did not confirm the crucifixion of Jesus, a truly convincing alternative identification of the two groups would have to be proposed. The above argument also makes it clear that the Swoon hypothesis is not compatible with the statements in the Qur'an about Jesus' departure, because it also contradicts the account found in the Gospel. It would certainly not be a theory put forward by Jews either.

- The Qur'anic reference to Jesus being 'cleansed' of the deniers through exaltation to God (Al-i Imran 3:55) makes the most sense if his messianicity has been called into doubt by the manner of killing. The Gospel account of Jesus' condemnation and death on the cross explains this most conclusively, as discussed in a previous blog.

- If Jesus had not died on the cross, one would have to find a good explanation for the judgements of the Jews regarding the event of Jesus' death: 'are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow'. As shown earlier, these judgements can be easily explained within the gospel account based on Jesus' death on the cross. If Jesus had departed from this world by a different manner of death, a new explanation would first have to be found. Since the Qur'an presupposes the death of Jesus, but does not mention an alternative account, this is unfortunately not possible.

- The conclusion in Nisa 4:158 that Jesus' exaltation to God characterises Allah as ‘almighty, wise’ supports the theory that Jesus died on the cross: just like the Koran, Paul sees God's power and wisdom revealed with extraordinary clarity in the way Jesus was called from the earth. In the NİV Bible, the relevant section is entitled - 'Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom':

‘For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”[c]

Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength’ (1. Korinther 1:18-25).

Paul recognises God's power (or might) and God's wisdom in the implementation of God's plan in connection with Jesus' departure. Could there be a connection here between Nisa 4:158 and 1 Corinthians 1:24? Interestingly, the context of both verses is about Jews seeking signs (Nisa 4:153; a scripture from heaven; 1 Corinthians 1:22), and in both texts the emphasis on God's power and wisdom is based on the manner of Jesus' departure from the earth.

We can conclude from these considerations that the Qur'an nowhere explicitly mentions Jesus' death on the cross, nor can we find a passage in the Qur'an that refutes Jesus' death on the cross. On the other hand, the entire argument in Nisa 4:157-159 can be understood most convincingly and simply on the basis of Jesus' death on the cross. If Jesus had not died on the cross, the argument in Nisa 4:157-159 would not make sense: Deception of the Jews in connection with Jesus' departure, assessment of their alternative account of Jesus' departure, exaltation to God as the most powerful argument against their attack on Jesus' messianicity, importance of the event of Jesus' departure to the Jewish faith even to the last judgement. In order to determine whether all of these points could be explained as satisfactorily as is possible under the assumption that Jesus died on the cross, an alternative account of Jesus' death that is consistent with the key data contained in the Qur'an would first have to be devised. As shown in previous posts, the substitution theory does not fulfil this requirement and must therefore be rejected.

Quran supports Jesus' death on the cross

The reader of the Qur'an is confronted with the fundamental importance of Jesus' departure and the belief in it for the Last Judgement (Al-i Imran 3:55-64. and Nisa 4:157-159), but nowhere is there any mention of the necessary details of this departure. They are implicitly assumed to be already known. It is particularly disappointing for the Christian reader that the Qur'an does not speak more clearly about Jesus' death on the cross and its significance for humanity. Nevertheless, from the Qur'anic material on the departure of Jesus, taking into account the opinions held by both Jews and Christians, the clear conclusion can be drawn indirectly that Jesus taken from this world by Allah through his death on the cross.

The Gospel thus remains the only source that provides sufficiently detailed information about this event that determines the afterlife of every believer. Even not mentioned Christ's death on the cross and resurrection is implicitely fully supported by the Qur'an.

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1 E.g. Faris al-Qayrawani schliesst aus der Erwaehnung von Jesu Kreuzigung in Toledoth Yeschu: ‘This manuscript, despite its hostility to Christianity, is strong evidence for Christ's crucifixion, death and resurrection, because it is the testimony of an avenging foe.› (Faris al-Qayrawani, Was Christ Really Crucified? [Light of Life, P.O. Box 13, A-9503 Villach, Austria, 1997], p. 48 in Sam Shamoun, Answering İslam, ‘JESUS IN THE RABBINIC TRADITIONS’, in https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/talmud_jesus.htm (visited: 11/03/2023)). 

2 This is the argument of many commentators such as Ala Maududi on Nisa 4:157: “Those who differed’ refers to the Christians. The Christians have dozens of different versions, rather than one universally agreed view, regarding the crucifixion of the Messiah’ (in https://myislam.org/surah-an-nisa/ayat-157 (visited, 03/04/2025)). Others interpret 'those' as consisting of both Jews and Christians: '… referring to the Jews who claimed to kill `Isa and the ignorant Christians who believed them. Indeed they are all in confusion, misguidance and bewilderment' (İbn Kathir, https://myislam.org/surah-an-nisa/ayat-155, (visited, 03/04/2025)). However, there is debate among some interpreters as to whether they are Christians or Jews (e.g. Fahreddin Er Razı, Fahreddin Razı Tefsiri, https://archive.org/details/tefsir-fahreddin-er-razi-17.-cilt/Tefsir-Fahreddin-Er-Razi-08.Cilt_/page/405/mode/2up (visited: 07/04/2025).

3 E.g. Ömer Çelik: Âyette bahsedilen “ İsa hakkında anlaşmazlığa düşenler ”den maksat Hristiyanlardır. Onların Hz. İsa’nın çarmıha gerilmesi konusunda ortak bir inançları yoktur. Bir inanca göre çarmıha gerilen kişi Hz. İsa değil, ona çok benzeyen bir adamdı. Başka bir görüşe göre, çarmıha gerilen kişi Hz. İsa idi, fakat çarmıhta ölmemişti ve çarmıhtan indirildiğinde yaşıyordu. Bazıları da Hz. İsa’nın çarmıhta öldüğüne, daha sonra tekrar dirilip havarileriyle birçok kez buluşup, konuştuğuna inanırlar. Bir kısmı ondan Kutsal Ruh’un çıkarıldığını söylerler. Bazıları da Hz. İsa’nın ölümünden sonra, insan vücudu içinde dirildiğini ve bu vücut içinde yükseltildiğini söyler. Tüm bunlar, Hristiyanların bu konuda gerçek bir bilgiye sahip olmadıklarını, farklı görüşlerini sadece tahminlere dayandırdıklarını ve bir şüphe içinde bulunduklarını gösterir.' (Ömer Çelik Tefsiri, https://surahquran.com/turkish-aya-157-sora-4.html (besucht, 07/04/2025). 4 see Wikipedia contributors. Crucifixion of Jesus [Internet]. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia; 2025 Apr 4, 15:23 UTC [cited 2025 Apr 7]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crucifixion_of_Jesus&oldid=1283933334. 5 Apostles' creed, inhttps://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/apostles-creed (visited: 09/04/2025).