Jesus' resurrection in the overall testimony of the Quran

In principle, the resurrection of Jesus is not questioned in the Qur'an. Jesus himself speaks

of it: 'So peace (as-salaam) is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)!' (Meryem 19:33). The discussion among Muslim scholars centres on the historical sequence of events mentioned in the above verse. The most widely held opinion is that the sequence must be birth - ascension to heaven without death at his departure from earth - return to earth at the end of history - death - and resurrection on the Day of Judgement. The idea that Jesus was resurrected within history, before the Day of Judgement, is alien to Muslim theology. The understanding of Al-i İmran 3:59 as worked out in previous blogs, fundamentally questions the generally accepted sequence of events in Jesus' life. If verse 59 speaks of Jesus' resurrection in connection with his removal from the earth, the sequence must be as follows: Birth - departure from earth and elevation to God, including Jesus' resurrection in the 1st century of the Christian era - and possibly return to the earth before the general resurrection. In this blog I am interested in the answer to the question of how the Qur'an confirms or refutes this proposed sequence.

In my opinion, there are at least three texts in the Qur'an that support our interpretation of Al-i İmran 3:59 as a statement about Jesus' resurrection in connection with his departure from the earth, that is, his resurrection, not at the Last Judgement but prematurely, on a date known to us within history (ca. in the year 30 according to the Christian calendar).

(i) Explicit Mention of Jesus' resurrection Before the Last Day: Cin 72:18-20

 Christoph Luxenberg analyses the passage Cin 72:18-20 using the Syro-Aramaic reading method that he has made famous. Using this method, he succeeds in shedding light on these verses1, which were previously considered to be difficult to understand. His suggested translation is as follows:

(The Jinn, the invisible beings, spirits claim:) 18. And that worship (belongs) to God, so

you should call upon no other besides God: 19. And that, when the Servant of God was resurrected, all the while calling Him (that is, continuing to worship God), they (the people) would almost have worshiped him (as God); 20. (Upon which, defending himself,) He said (not “say”): 'I call indeed upon my Lord, and I associate no other with him!2

Luxenberg himself comments on this passage:

ʻWith the disclosing of verse 19, the Qur'an speaks for the first time of a resurrected servant of God, who spent some period of time among human beings, according to the Gospels, before his ascension. This detail does not emerge from the other four places in which the Qur'an speaks of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus (Sura 3:55; 4:158; 5:117; 19:33).ʼ3

If Luxenberg's interpretation of these verses is correct, the Qur'an openly states that Jesus was resurrected before the Last Day, i.e. still within the history of mankind, and that he remained for a while among the people still in normal life before he was removed from the earth and elevated to God.

(ii) Jesus' extraordinary role in connection with the resurrection

The overall testimony of the Qur'an emphasises that Jesus has an extraordinary role to play

in the general resurrection of mankind. This fact is most clearly stated in Zuhruf 43:61:

‘And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment) [He is certainly the sign of the Hour (Ahmed Ali)]: therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow ye Me: this is a Straight Way.ʼ

The interpreters agree that the 'hour' obviously refers to the final judgement, that is, the day of the resurrection of all people from the tombs. The context of the verse shows that Jesus' role in relation to the resurrection is of even greater significance than his earthly existence and mission: during his earthly existence, Jesus was '... nothing but [a human being -] a servant [of Ours] whom We had graced [with prophethood], and whom We made an example for the children of Israel.' (Zuhruf 43:59; Muhammad Assad). But with regard to the resurrection, Jesus becomes a sign far beyond the circle of the Children of Israel, even for the (unbelieving) contemporaries of Muhammad and even for all mankind - at least the readers of the Qur'an. Because Jesus is such a 'sign' of the resurrection4, even people who previously did not believe in the resurrection should stop doubting: 'therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow ye Me: this is a Straight Wayʼ (Zuhruf 43:61).

A common interpretation of this verse 61 is that Jesus will return to earth shortly before the Last Judgement, and with his return will announce the imminence of the general resurrection.5 But the intention of the verse, to convince Muhammed's unbelieving contemporaries of the reality of the resurrection of mankind (see Zuhruf 43:66-69)6, does not fit well with such an interpretation. These unbelievers would then have to base their belief in the reality of the resurrection on the equally hypothetical and still pending return of Jesus. But why should Jesus' return to earth - which implies that he is now in hiding somewhere - be more credible to them than the resurrection of humanity? And even if Jesus were to return from his hiding place, but had not yet risen himself, what would such a return say about the general resurrection? The mere hope for Jesus' return could hardly convince unbelievers that there will be a general resurrection of the dead. Jesus' task of being the 'sign of the hour' would not be an aid to faith for these unbelievers and Jesus would not be a sign in which they could believe during their existence on earth, because the sign would only become a sign in the future - at the time of Jesus' return. Furthermore, it is also not clear why, if Jesus really were to announce the nearness of the resurrection with his return, the unbelieving contemporaries would be 'unaware und indifferent toward itʼ: 'Do they (who persist in unbelief and evil deeds) wait but for the Last Hour – (waiting) that it come upon them all of a sudden, being unaware and indifferent toward it?ʼ (Zuhruf 43:66; Ali Unal). For Muhammad's contemporaries, there would nothing to be notice yet, if Muhammad's statement were only fulfilled in the future, at Jesus' return shortly before the final judgement. And the hour of resurrection would not then suddenly come upon mankind unannounced, because it would be announced by Jesus' appearance.

If Muhammad instead wanted to express that Jesus was a 'signʼ for the general resurrection in respect to his own resurrection before his elevation to God, at the time of his departure from earth, the argument would indeed be very powerful for his contemporaries: Jesus proved by his resurrection - which had already taken place in the past at the time Muhammad uttered this verse - that God is indeed able to resurrect the dead. Therefore one must at least reckon with the real posibility of a general resurrection at the end of time. In any case, God has already shown that he has the means to create humans a second time and bring her/him back to Himself. Jesus would then be a real 'signʼ that gives reason to believe in the resurrection. Because of their unbelief regarding Jesus' resurrection, which has already occurred in the past, they are unprepared ''unaware und indifferent towardʼ the Last Hour: 'Do they (who persist in unbelief and evil deeds) wait but for the Last Hour – (waiting) that it come upon them all of a sudden, being unaware and indifferent toward it?' (Zuhruf 43:66; Ali Unal). They have rejected the 'sign' and therefore are well on their way to being caught unprepared by the resurrection.

Zuhruf 43:61 thus seems to presuppose that Jesus' resurrection took place within human history. Because he was resurrected before all other people in mankind's history, Jesus became the sign of the hour of resurrection for all people (after him). At least such a reading makes this verse much more plausible.

iii) The Forefather of the Resurrected: Lokman 31:28

Another verse that points to Jesus' specific role regarding the resurrection is Lokman 31:28:

‘Your creation and your resurrection are but as (the creation and resurrection) of a single soul. Surely God is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (Lokman 31:28; Ali Unal).

Muslim exegetes believe that this verse only wants to show how easy it is for God to raise the dead: as if God only had to raise a single person. But the verse could also be understood to mean that God will not raise every single person to life with the command 'Be!ʼ. Rather, the resurrection will be exactly like the first creation of humans: God only chooses one special representative to whom he issues the command 'Be!'. All other people are then 'created' or will be 'resurrected' through this representative in a 'natural', much less spectacular way. In any case, the answer to the question of who this 'single soul' could be in relation to the creation of humanity is known to every reader: The answer is clearly Adam. God created him through the command 'Be!ʼ and all other human beings descend from him naturally through the process of procreation. Why should there not also be a ʻsingle soulʼ in respect to the resurrection, one person that later makes the resurrection of all other humans possible in a ʻnatural wayʼ? At first glance, the answer to the question of who the 'one soul' could be in connection with the resurrection of people seems difficult. On the other hand, we have already seen in the context of Zuhruf 43:61 that Jesus has an extraordinary role to play in relation to the resurrection. When we bring together the two statements Al-i İmran 3:59 and Lokman 31:28, the answer regarding the identity of the ʻsingle soulʼ becomes obvious: A 'single soul' that can be compared in some sense to Adam's role in the first creation is representative of the resurrection of human beings (according to Lokman 31:28), and Jesus' example is 'before Godʼ7 - i.e. as far as his resurrection is concerned - comparable to the example of Adam as far as his resurrection is concerned (according to Al-i İmran 3:59). Consequently, the logical conclusion is that the 'single soul' in the context of the resurrection of human beings is Jesus. Unfortunately, the question of how exactly the resurrection of all other people from the resurrection of Jesus will take place is not discussed further in this verse. But at least it can be concluded that Jesus' resurrection, like the creation of Adam, precedes that of all other people. According to Lokman 31:28, the resurrection of human beings is then just as dependent on the resurrection of Jesus as their earthly creation is on the creation of Adam. Jesus thus becomes the 'progenitor' of resurrection humanity. This pre-eminence of Jesus in relation to the general resurrection probably also has a temporal component, as with Adam. Like Adam, Jesus is also the firstborn of the respective order of creation. The interpretation of Al-i Imran 3:59 proposed in earlier blogs therefore also makes sense in relation to Lokman 31:28.

At least in the three verses discussed (Cin 72:18-20; Zuhruf 43:61 and Lokman 31:28), the Qur'an supports the interpretation of Al-i Imran 3:59 proposed in this blog: Jesus was raised, that is resurrected, by God in the context of his departure from the earth, i.e. prematurely before the Last Judgement, while human history was still in progress.

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1 Paret observes on verse 19: ʻThe interpretation of the verse is quite uncertainʼ (see Christoph Luxenberg, ʻA New Interpretation of the Arabic Inscription in Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock,ʼ, in Karl-Heinz Ohlig/Gerd-Rüdiger Puin, The Hidden Origins of Islam. New Research into It’s Early History, New York (Prometheus Books), 2009; p. 132).

2 Christoph Luxenberg, ʻA New Interpretation of the Arabic Inscription in Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock,ʼ, in Karl-Heinz Ohlig/Gerd-Rüdiger Puin, The Hidden Origins of Islam. New Research into It’s Early History, New York (Prometheus Books), 2009; p. 136.

3 Christoph Luxenberg, ʻA New Interpretation of the Arabic Inscription in Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock,ʼ, in Karl-Heinz Ohlig/Gerd-Rüdiger Puin, The Hidden Origins of Islam. New Research into It’s Early History, New York (Prometheus Books), 2009; p. 136.

4 ʻ… al-Sijistani speaks of Jesus as being the “sign of resurrection” because he taught his disciples of things that would only be manifested at the time of the Lord of the Resurrection. Jesus’ unveiling of hidden knowledge to his disciples was a typological prefiguration of the same act by the Lord of the Resurrection to his followers.ʼ (Todd Lawson, Crucifixion, p. 129).

5 However, there are also differing interpretations. The 'Fetwa Netʼ, for example, sees a connection between Jesus' miraculous birth and his role as a sign of the resurrection: ʻYukarıda zikredilen ayette Allah Teâlâ, İsa aleyhisselamın kıyamet için bir bilgi/ilim olduğunu bildirmektedir. Bunu anlamak için İsa aleyhisselamın yaratılışına bakmak gerekir. İsa aleyhisselam babasız olarak dünyaya gelmiştir. Allah Teâlâ onun yaratılışının Âdemʼin yaratılışı gibi olduğunu bildirmektedir. “Doğrusu Allah katında İsaʼnın durumu Âdemʼin durumu gibidir. Onu topraktan yarattı sonra da ona: «Ol!» dedi. O da hemen oluverdi.” (Al-i İmran, 3:59) Âdem aleyhisselam topraktan yaratıldı. Onun İsa aleyhisselam gibi bir annesi de yoktu. Niçin Allah onu İsaʼya benzetti? Çünkü toprak, tıpkı Meryem gibi ona annelik vasfı görmüştü. İkisinin de ortak yönü, babasız dünyaya gelmeleriydi. İşte kıyamet günü insanların kalkışı da aynen böyle olacaktır. Yani babasız ama anne vasıflı topraktan… İsa aleyhisselam işte bu açıdan kıyamet için bir ilimdir/bilgidir. Yani İsa aleyhisselam nasıl babasız dünyaya gelmişse kıyamette insanlar böyle dirilecektir. Kıyamette yeniden dirilmeyi kabul etmeyenlere, imkânsız görenlere Allah Teâlâ İsa aleyhisselamı örnek vermiştir. İsaʼnın yaratılışı nasıl olduysa, Âdemʼin yaratılışı öyledir; dolayısıyla sizin de yeniden dirilişiniz onun gibi olacaktır. Görüldüğü gibi ayet, İsa aleyhisselamın kıyametten önce tekrar dünyaya geleceğinden bahsetmemektedir.ʼ (siehe Fetva Net unter ‘Fetva Sorʼ, ‘İsa kıyamet için bir bilgidirʼ ayetini nasıl anlamalıyız, 13 August 2013, in https://www.fetva.net/yazili-fetvalar/isa-kiyamet-icin-bir-bilgidir-ayetini-nasil-anlamaliyiz.html).

6 ‘Do they only wait for the Hour - that it should come on them all of a sudden, while they perceive not? Friends on that day will be foes, one to another,- except the Righteous. My devotees! no fear shall be on you that Day, nor shall ye grieve, (Being) those who have believed in Our Signs and bowed (their wills to Ours) in Islam.'

7 That is, after the resurrection, because the path of man is clearly defined: After the descent of mankind to earth Allah emphasises: "Therein shall ye live, and therein shall ye die; but from it shall ye be taken out (at last)" (Araf 7:25), in order to appear before God: ‘To Him will be your return- of all of you. The promise of Allah is true and sure. It is He Who beginneth the process of creation, and repeateth it ...ʼ (Yunus 10:4).