Muslim Understandings of Jesus' Departure from Earth

The topic of Jesus' removal from the earth is one on which Christians and Muslims

diametrically contradict each other. While the Christian faith rests to a large extent on the basis of Jesus' death on the cross - Paul: ‘For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucifiedʼ (1. Kor.2:2; NİV) –, many Muslims hold the view that Jesus certainly was not killed on the cross, but was miraculously saved by God from such a cruel death. If the representatives of the two religions correctly represent the views defended in their respective Scriptures, one could certainly not claim with a clear conscience that the Koran 'confirms' the Gospel. Rather, one would then have to speak of a 'total contradiction' and a 'fundamental correction' -, or one would have to fundamentally doubt the accuracy of the Gospel. We are therefore interested in the question of what exactly the Koran says about Jesus' death on the cross.

There are four texts in particular that are recognized by both Muslims and Christians as the basis of the Qur'anic teaching on Jesus' departure from the earth. These are Al-i İmran 3:55, Nisa 4:157-159, Maide 5:117 und Meryem 19:33. The correct interpretation of these verses is hotly debated both among Muslims themselves, and also between Muslims and Christians. The views of Muslim experts can be divided into two main groups and various subgroups:

1. Jesus did not die before his exaltation to God: The vast majority of Muslims believe1 that Jesus was not crucified, but that another person died on the cross in his place. The Jews (and Christians) mistook this person for Jesus because God 'threw' his (Jesus') likeness on someone else.2 The transformation of a person's appearance into the likeness of another person is described by the term 'tasbih'. The Jews (and Christians), it is argued, were thus misled by God, the disciples and Jesus into believing that Jesus died on the cross when another person took his place. Opinions differ widely as to who this person was: the cross-bearer Simon of Cyrene3, the traitor Judas Iscariot, a volunteer from Jesus' group of disciples (according to the hadiths, there are 17 possible people to choose from, e.g. Sergius4), a guard of the imprisoned Jesus (Tatianus), and several other people have been suggested. Jesus himself, it is assumed by the interpreters, was rescued by God from the hands of the persecutors (according to certain accounts through a hole in the roof5), and then lifted up to God alive - i.e. his soul together with his earthly body - without dying first.6 Some interpreters assume that Jesus first 'fell asleepʼ and was only then 'raised to Godʼ in order to fulfil the sequence of Al-i İmran 3:55 - muteveffîke - ve râfi'uke ileyye. They do not understand the verb muteveffike as 'to die a natural death' (Ahmediyya), but in a figurative sense as 'to fall asleep': 'Ibn Kathir said in his Tafsir: “The majority of the scholars said: “What is meant by Mutawafeeka here is sleep”.'7

However, proponents of the theory that Jesus was saved by God from death on the cross hold different views when it comes to the question of whether Jesus will ever die:

a) Jesus will still die a natural death before the final judgment Proponents of this view argue that according to the Qur'an, every human being must die (Enbiya 21:35; Ankebut 29:57)8. This fact therefore also applies to Jesus. Moreover, various verses speak of Jesus' death (see Al-i İmran 3:55; Maide, 5/117; Meryem 19:33). According to this, he must also have died before the day of resurrection so that he can then be resurrected with all other people. Because Jesus did not die when he departed from earth, many commentators argue on the basis of Nisa 4:159 that Jesus will return to earth again shortly before the final judgement and then die: ‘There is not one of the People given the Book(s), who will not believe in him (Eisa ) before his Eisa´s death[that only will occur shortly befor the Day of Resurrection]; and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them.ʼ (Faridul Haque). The possessive article 'his' in 'before his death' is interpreted as referring to Jesus.9

b) Jesus will never die For some modern interpreters, the idea that Jesus will come to earth again at the end of time is a thorn in the flesh, as Muhammad would not be the last prophet. Therefore, some hold the view that Jesus did not die when he departed from earth, but that he would never see physical death in the future either. Nisa 4:159 poses no problem for this idea, as the possessive article 'his' in 'before his death' can simply be applied to the people of Scripture ‘Yet there is not one of the followers of earlier revelation who does not, at the moment of his [own] death, grasp the truth about Jesus; ...' (Muhammad Asad). It becomes more difficult to explain other verses that point to Jesus' death (see Al-i İmran 3:55; Maide, 5/117; Meryem 19:33; Enbiya 21:34-35; Ankebut 29:57). This position is therefore not held because its advocates are convinced that Jesus did not die, but is rather a consequence of the acceptance of the common Muslim opinion that Jesus was raised by God without dying and the rejection of a second appearance of Jesus before the final judgement. Of course, the biggest problem with this position is to explain how to understand the verses related to Jesus' death, or why he did not have to die like all other people. Zeki Sarıtoprak, who accepts the common Muslim theory of Jesus' salvation from death on the cross, and his physical and spiritual elevation to God, but also supports the idea of a purely symbolic return of Jesus at the end of time, is aware of the resulting problem that Jesus therefore never dies physically and proposes the following solution: 'If one accepts different levels of death, or understands death as being cut off from food and drink', - Jesus is separated from physical nourishment with the exaltation to God, which could represent a non-physical, invisible reality -, Jesus then would have died.10 According to Sarıtoprak, the exaltation of Jesus to God can be interpreted as a kind of death, even though no physical death of Jesus ever took place, nor will take place.

2. Jesus died before he was exalted to God

Some commentators argue on the basis of Al-i İmran 3:55 ('Remember the time when ALLAH said' `O Jesus, I will cause thee to die a natural death and will raise thee to Myself ...ʼ; Mauvli Sher Ali) and Maide 5:117 ('... And I was a witness over them as long as I remained among them, but since Thou didst cause me to die, Thou, hast been the Watcher over them ...ʼ (Mauvli Sher Ali), that Jesus died on earth before his exaltation to God.11 They understand the verb 'tawaffa' in the original meaning of 'ending life, letting die'.12 They point out that the sequence 'ending life' and 'raising to God' has meaning and must not be interchanged at will (Araf 7:25 13; see point 1).14 They also emphasise that all people must die before they return to God and that Jesus is no exception in this respect (Al-i İmran 3:144; Enbiya 21:8+34 and Rad 13:38). The interpreters who hold this view agree that the Qur'an clearly speaks of the death of Jesus and therefore the hadiths that deny this should be declared invalid or interpreted allegorically.15 However, the ideas differ widely as to how and when Jesus really died: Sayyd Qutb, who holds the view of Jesus' death before his exaltation to God, warns that people cannot really know how and when Jesus died and was exalted to God. Only God knows these things. Qutb even goes on to warn that the in-depth examination of these issues only leads to confusion, but no solution can be found.16 Nevertheless, exegetes have made various suggestions: a) Jesus died on the cross Some early exegetes (e.g. Ibn 'Abbas and Muhammad ibn Ishaq) and various Shia exegetes17 mention the possibility that Jesus could have died on the cross and that God could then have resurrected him before his exaltation. However, the views on how long Jesus was really dead vary widely: from 0 hours or 3 hours to 7 hours. Some scholars, such as S.A. Mourad18 , accept the physical death of Jesus on the cross, but understand his resurrection and exaltation only spiritually: Jesus lives in heaven as it says of the martyrs in Al-i İmran 3:169: 'And you must not think that those who have been killed for the sake of Allah are (really) dead. No, (they are) alive (in the Hereafter), and they will be given (heavenly food) with their Lord.ʼ b) Jesus did not die on the cross Thanks to the missionary zeal of Ahmadiyya followers, more and more exegetes are coming to the conclusion that Jesus died a normal physical death on this earth, however not on the cross, but afterwards, before his exaltation to God. The Ahmadiyyas support the 'Swoon Hypothesisʼ19 in connection with Jesus' crucifixion: According to this hypothesis, Jesus was crucified but did not die on the cross; he only fainted. It was wrongly believed that Jesus had died. Jesus was therefore taken down from the cross before he died, and was burried in a cool grave, where he regained consciousness due to the fresh air. On the third day, he had gathered enough strength to break out of the tomb. He then emigrated to India, Kashmir, where he died a natural death many years later.

Other, non-Ahmadiyya, Islamic scholars also argue that Jesus was saved from death on the cross, but later God allowed him to die before he was physically raised to God (e.g. Mohammed Al-Ghazali, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi and Amin Ahsan Islahi).

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Conclusions: The average believer is hardly familiar with all these theories and arguments. The vast majority only knows the most common version, namely that someone else went to the cross instead of Jesus and that Jesus himself was saved by God from his enemies and raised alive to heaven. For such people, the Qur'an's statement about Jesus' departure from earth is clear and unambiguous. Since it contradicts the accounts in the Gospels, it is often assumed that the Qur'an corrects the false accounts of Jesus' death on the cross. As shown above, however, the situation among Muslim interpreters is by no means so clear and simple; on the contrary, it appears to be rather complicated. The present exegetical situation does not by any stretch of the imagination justify the view that the Qur'an corrects the Gospel accounts. Ibn 'Atiya's observation comes closer to reality: "About the how of the killing and crucifixion and about those on whom the likeness [of Jesus] was cast, there are many different opinions, and there is nothing from the Messenger of God that is certain."20 Indeed, it is sobering that exegetes can come to absolutely opposite conclusions on the basis of the same statements in the Qur'an: how is it possible that respected exegetes can understand the Qur'anic text to mean that Jesus had not yet died, while others, on the basis of the same text, claim with the same certainty that the Qur'an teaches that Jesus died on the cross or of natural causes some 2000 years ago.21 It is not surprising that people like Seale or Lawson come to the conclusion that the Qur'an simply does not provide enough information to be able to make a certain statement about Jesus' departing from this earth.22

It is our intention to show that the available information in the Qur'an about Jesus' removal from the earth would actually be sufficient if the history of interpretation had not departed so far from God's revelation as it is found in the Tevrat and the Gospel.

'Was it not Jesus who was nailed to the cross? in Good Question, https://www.gutefrage.net/frage/war-es-gar-nicht-jesus-der-ans-kreuz-geschlagen-wurde (15/01/2024).

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1 Most Islamic traditions, save for a few, categorically deny that Jesus physically died, either on a cross or another manner (Wikipedia contributors. Islamic views on Jesus' death [Internet]. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia; 2022 Jul 13, 04:21 UTC [cited 2022 Jul 16]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Islamic_views_on_Jesus%27_death&oldid=1097883815).

2 So already found in San'ani (died 211/827), Tabari (died 310/923), Tafsir (No. 10786), Ta'labi (Kasf u. Qisas), Qusairi (died 465/1072) and many others after them (Busse, Heribert. "Jesus' Salvation From the Cross in The Islamic Quranic Exegesis of Sura 4:157.” p. 166 in Oriens 36 (2001): pp.160–95. https://doi.org/10.2307/1580480.).

3 The most widespread view is that Simon of Cyrene was crucified in Jesus' place (see e.g. page "Simon of Cyrene". In: Wikipedia – Die freie Enzyklopädie. Bearbeitungsstand: 3. Mai 2022, 14:50 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Simon_von_Cyrene&oldid=222584010 (visited: 20/07/2022, 09:39 UTC)).

4 Sometimes Sergius is also counted as the 13th disciple of Jesus.

5 ‘… the resemblance of Jesus was cast over that man while Jesus ascended to Heaven from a hole in the roof of the houseʼ.

6 So Ebu Cafer Muhammed b. Cerir et-Taberi, Taberi Tefsiri, Vol. III, pp. 161-166, in https://archive.org/details/taberitefsiri3_201912/Taberi%20Tefsiri-3/page/n159/mode/2up?view=theater (visited 21/07/2022). This interpretation is supported by many commentators, with minor differences: ‘Farklı zaman aralıklarında yaşayan Hasan Basrî (ö. 110/728), İbn Kuteybe (ö. 276/889), Taberî (ö. 310/922), Mâturidî (ö. 333/944), Semerkandî (ö. 373/983), Sa’lebî (ö. 427/1035), Zemahşerî (ö. 538/1143), Râzî (ö. 606/1209), Kurtubî (ö. 671/1272), İbn Kesîr (ö. 774/1372), Âlûsî (ö. 1270/1853) gibi müfessirlerin tamamı, öldürüldüğüne dair ayetlerin farklı anlamaya müsait olması ya da öldüğüyle ilgili hiç hadis bulunmaması nedeniyle Hz. İsa’nın canlı olarak göğe kaldırıldığını söylemiştir.ʼ (Mehmet KILIÇARSLAN, 'Hz. İsa’nın Ölümü ve Ref’inin Naslar Bağlamında Tetkiki', in Uluslararası Sosyal Bilimler Eğitimi Dergisi Journal of International Social Sciences Education 2019:5(2):198-215, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/872169 (visited, 23/07/2022)).

7 citede in https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/472615/no-decisive-evidence-that-jesus-was-raised-awake-or-sleeping (21/06/2024).

8 ‘Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. to Us must ye return.ʼ (Enbiya 21:35).‘Every soul shall have a taste of death in the end to Us shall ye be brought back.ʼ (Ankebut 29:57). See also:- Maide 5:17: 'In blasphemy indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ the son of Mary. Say: "Who then hath the least power against Allah, if His will were to destroy Christ the son of Mary, his mother, and all every - one that is on the earth? For to Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between. He createth what He pleaseth. For Allah hath power over all things."'- Maide 5:75: ‘Christ the son of Mary was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how Allah doth make His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth!ʼ; Al-i İmran 3:144: 'Muhammad is no more than a messenger: many Were the messenger that passed away before him. If he died or were slain, will ye then Turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; but Allah (on the other hand) will swiftly reward those who (serve Him) with gratitude.'

9 According to tradition, Jesus' second stay on earth would last 25 or forty years; after his natural death, according to Islamic tradition, he would be buried by Muslims in Medina next to Muhammad's tomb, between the tombs of Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab. (The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition. Bd. 4, p. 90 mentioned in „ʿĪsā ibn Maryam“. In: Wikipedia – Die freie Enzyklopädie. Bearbeitungsstand: 09/07/2022, 10:02 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%CA%BF%C4%AAs%C4%81_ibn_Maryam&oldid=224356905 (visited: 22/07/2022, 08:54 UTC); s. also Mahmut Aydın, Hz. İsaʼya ne oldu?, p.106, Otto 18 Ankara, Şubat 2017).

10 ‘Here we are challenged with another question: Is this ascension of Jesus a kind of death? The answer depends upon oneʼs understanding of death. If one accepts different levels of death or understands death as a cutoff from eating and drinking, the answer would be ‘yesʼ. The Quranic understanding of life and death is different from the common understanding. For example, according to the Quran, martyrs are not dead; they are alive and receive sustenance from their Lord (2:154). In this understanding, Jesus has likewise been freed of the conditions of worldly life by his ascension and thus is alive.ʼ (Zeki Sarıtoprak, Islamʼs Jesus, p. 21, University Press of Florida, 2014).

11 Just as for John the Baptist: 'So peace (salaam) on him the day he was born, the day that he dies, and the day that he will be raised up to life (again)!ʼ (Meryem 19:15), so also for Jesus: "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 same sequence of birth, death and resurrection is assumed. For Jesus, no additional form of existence is interposed between his removal from earth and his reappearance before the final judgment.

12 'The verb tawaffa … that appears here causes significant confusion among Muslim exegetes. Yet the Quran itself offers no cause for confusion. Tawaffa appears in twenty-five passages in the Quran, and twice in relation to Jesus (here [Q 5:117] and Q 3:55). For twenty-three of those passages the Muslim commentators generally follow the standard definition fo this term, namely God's act of separating the soul from the body, or making someone die. ... For the two verses where tawaffa is applied to Jesus, however, Muslim exegetes generally search for a secondary meaning of the term. Thus they reconcile these two verses with the doctrine of Jesus' escape from death. (Reynolds, Gabriel Said. “The Muslim Jesus: Dead or Alive?” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 72, no. 2 (2009): 237–58, pp. 239f.; http://www.jstor.org/stable/40379003 (visited 22/07/2022)).

13 'And (He added), `In this (very universe) you shall live and therein you shall die and from it you shall be brought forth (in the Hereafter)' (Abdul Mannan Omar).

14 See for example Mustafa Öztürk, Kıssaların Dili, Ankara: Kitabiyat, 2006, p. 240 mentioned in Hz. İsaʼya ne oldu? p. 122.

15 ‘Görülüyor ki âyetlere göre Hz. Îsâ’nın vefâtı kesindir. Bu âyetleri, âhâd haberlerine dayanarak te’vîl etmek yerine bu hadîsleri te’vîl etmek daha doğrudur. Eğer bu hadîsler rivâyet edildikleri şekilde gerçekten Hz. Peygamber tarafından söylenmiş ise, bunlardan şu mânâ anlaşılabilir: Bir peygamber, yaşayan ümmeti içinde anıldıkça mânen yaşar. Hz. Îsâ da, dini yaşayıp ümmetince anıldığı sürece yaşamaktadır. Belki bir gün onun ümmeti, Hz. Muhammed’in dinin temel prensiplerini uygulamak suretiyle Hz. Muhammed’in dininin ruhuna dönecektir. Gerçeği Allah bilir.ʼ (Süleyman Ateş, 'HZ. ÎSÂ’NIN YÜKSELTİLMESİ VE GÖKTEN İNECEĞİ SORUNU', https://www.suleyman-ates.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=36 (visited, 11/08/2022)).

16 ‘How Jesus was gathered and how he ascended to God are matters which lie beyond our human perception. They are unknown except to God. To try to pursue these matters is of no use whatsoever in respect of faith or its implementation. Those who pursue them will inevitably end up more confused, struggling with complicated and endless arguments, gaining no certainty or satisfaction whatsoever. For the whole matter is part of God’s own knowledge.ʼ (Sayyid Kutub, Fizilalil-kuran, Al-i İmran 3:55; p. 277). “… as for how his [Jesus’] death occurred and how he was raised to Paradise … are incomprehensible issues” (Sayyid Qutb, Fizilalil-kuran, Vol. 2, p. 86).

17 ‘10th and 11th-century Ismaili Shia scholars Jaʼfar ibn Mansur al-Yaman, Abu Hatım Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Razi, Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani, Muʼayyad fiʼl-Din al Shirazi and the group Ikhwan al-Safa affirm the historicity of the crucifixion, reporting Jesus was crucified and not substituted by another man as maintained by many other popular Qur'anic commentators and Tafsir.ʼ (Wikipedia contributors. Islamic views on Jesus' death [Internet]. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia; 2022 Aug 3, 08:49 UTC [cited 2022 Aug 3]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Islamic_views_on_Jesus%27_death&oldid=1102086396 see also detailed discussion in Todd Lawson, Crucifixion, pp. 123-133). Interesting is Lawson's observation: ‘For the Isma’ilis, Jesus was crucified; for the Twelvers, he was notʼ (Todd Lawson, Crucifixion, p. 145).

18 S.A. Mourad, ‘Does the Qur'an deny or assert Jesus's crucifixion and death?ʼ pp. 349-357 in New Perspectives on the Quran - The Qur,an in its historical context 2, edited by Gabriel Said Reynolds, Routledge Oxxon, 2011; Muhammad Ayoub, ‘Towards an Islamic Christlolgy II. The Death of Jesus, Reality or Delusion: A Study of the Death of Jesus in Tafsir Literatureʼ, The Muslim World, LXX/2 1980 in Mahmut Aydın, Hz. İsaʼya ne oldu?, pp. 131-133.

19 Wikipedia contributors. 'Swoon hypothesis' [Internet]. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia; 2023 Sep 1, 15:04 UTC [cited 27/11/2023], available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swoon_hypothesis&oldid=1173298575.

20 Ibn 'Atiya, translated and rendered by Heribert Busse (Busse, Heribert. “Jesu Errettung Vom Kreuz in Der Islamischen Koranexegese von Sure 4:157” p. 162 in Oriens 36 (2001): 160–95. https://doi.org/10.2307/1580480).

21 For example, Şutut claims with great certainty that neither in the Koran nor in the Hadis could any convincing statements be found that would indicate that Jesus is still alive: 'İsa'nın cesedi ile semaya yükseltildiğine ve orada şu ana kadar hayatta olduğuna ve ahir zamanda oradan dünyaya ineceğine dair, inanışın varlığı hususunda, ne Kur'an-ı Kerim'de ne de Resulullah'ın hadislerinde kalbin tatmin olmasını sağlayacak inandırıcı birşey vardır.ʼ (Mahmut Şeltut, 'İsaʼnın Refi', s. 516, aus er-Risale Cilt: 10. Nu.: 462, pp. 515-517 translated by Doç. Dr. E. Ruhi FIGLALI).

22 ‘The attitude of Seale, that the Qur’an simply does not say enough on the subject to either confirm or deny the eventʼ seems to reflect Todd Lawson's conviction (siehe Todd Lawson, Crucifixion, p. 24).