The Structure of the Discussion in Nisa 4:156-159

In the confrontation with the Jews, as presented in Nisa 4:156-159, the following structure

can be recognized:

I.A. First argument of the Jews against the Messianity of Jesus: ‘that they uttered against Mary a grave false charge;’ (v. 156);

I.B. Discrediting the critics: ‘That they [i.e. the Jews] rejected Faith; that they uttered ... a grave false charge;’ (v. 156);

II.A. Second argument of the Jews against the Messianity of Jesus, Talmudic counterstatement to the Gospel: 'That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ [i.e. Messiah] Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- …’  (v. 157a);

II.B. Refutation of the Talmudic rebuttal: ‘... but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, ...’ (Abdullah Yusuf Ali, v. 157b);

III.A. Third argument of the Jews against the Messianity of Jesus: This argument is not explicitly mentioned in the text, but can be derived from the Jewish assertion that Jesus was not the Messiah: 'We killed Christ [i.e. Messiah] Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah ...' and the Qur'anic relativization: ‘... and they killed him not of a certainty’ (v. 157; Ali Unal). We know from similar discussions between Jews and Christians that the former claimed that Jesus never was and never will be resurrected - the disciples or another person had only hidden the dead body, thus creating the impression that Jesus had left the tomb, but in reality Jesus will languish in hell for eternity;

III.B. Discrediting the critics: '... and they killed him not of a certainty’ (v. 157c; Ali Unal), that is, the Jews cannot prove that Jesus will remain dead for all eternity and burn in hell;

IV. Qur'anic argument for Jesus' messianicity: ‘Nay [to the contrary!!! (own translation)], Allâh exalted him with all honour to His presence; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;-’ (v. 158). Jesus' elevation to God to a position in which he resembles Adam at creation (Al-i Imran 3:59) refutes the three arguments of the Jews against Jesus' messianity;

V. Consequences of the Messiahship of Jesus for the people of Scripture: Yet there is not one of the followers of earlier revelation who does not, at the moment of his death, grasp the truth about Jesus; and on the Day of Resurrection he [himself] shall bear witness to the truth against them (Nisa 4:159, Muhammad Asad). The Messiahship of Jesus must be believed by everyone who wants to go to heaven and will be the subject of the Last Judgement. Jesus himself will stand as a witness against those who did not believe in him as the Messiah during his lifetime.

Summary: Obviously, Muhammad reacts very angrily to the Jews' criticism of Jesus' claim to Messiahship: the Jews' first argument against Jesus' Messiahship is their criticism of Mary (I.A.). Muhammad discredits the accusers with the remarks 'rejected faith' and 'grave false charge' (I.B.). The Jews' second argument against Jesus' messiahship is the Talmudic counter-narrative to the story of Jesus' departure from earth, as found in the Gospels (II.A.). The Qur'an clearly rejects this Talmudic account of the recall of Jesus by exposing the false basic assumptions of this account: the Jews '... killed him not, nor crucified ...' Jesus - neither historically nor morally and above all not theologically - rather they were deceived, they lacked certain knowledge (II.B). The third criticism of the Jews - that Jesus will spend eternity in hell - is not explicitly mentioned in the Qur'an, but is implied by the discrediting of the critics, '... and they killed him not of a certainty’ (v. 157c; Ali Unal) (III.B).

With the introduction 'no' or 'to the contrary' in verse 158, the Qur'anic counter-argument to the Jewish criticism of Jesus' Messiahship is introduced: The Jews argued that Jesus was not the Messiah, and the Qur'an now responds: no, this Jewish claim is not true because God Himself defended Jesus' messianity (IV). With the answer to the Jewish criticism in verse 158, Jesus' Messiahship is established for certain; no further defensive arguments are needed.

The Qur'an only explains the practical consequences of Jesus' Messiahship for the lives of the Jews (and beyond): Either they decide to believe in Jesus as the Messiah before they die, or they risk Jesus' witnessing against them in the last judgement (V).

From the above discussion, the following logic emerges in Nisa 4:156-159:

A) Claim of the Jews: Jesus is not the Messiah because:

i) Jesus is not from the family of King David (grave false charge against Mary);

ii) Jesus died as a traitor, blasphemer and deceiver and he was exposed as cursed by God because of his hanging on the cross. B) Criticism of this assertion: The Qur'an criticizes this Jewish argumentation:

(i) to claim that Mary committed adultery is but a grave false charge;

(i) the Jews did not kill the Messiah - neither in the historical sense, but especially not as far as the theological side of such a statement is concerned;

iii) it only seemed to them that they could have discredited Jesus' Messiahship;

iv) they are in doubt as to what really happened to Jesus when he departed from the earth;

v) they lack the necessary knowledge about God's handling of the situation;

vi) they follow assumptions, not facts, in their arguments against Jesus' messianicity;

vii) they do not have total certainty about God's final judgment of Jesus; C) Refutation of the Jews: Finally the Qur'an provides the absolutely convincing counter-argument, introduced with the strong expression 'on the contrary': 'God exalted Jesus to Himself'. The Jews are fundamentally mistaken if they believe that they can refute the Messiahship of Jesus because God Himself exalted him to the position of ultimate honour due to the Messiah and thus Jesus has the divine aproval to be the Messiah. D) Consequences: Finally, the logical conclusion resulting from this counter-argument is drawn: possessors of the Scriptures must accept Jesus as the Messiah and messenger of God before they die, otherwise they will rebel against God's irrevocable confirmation of Jesus as the Messiah; and Jesus, justified by God, will himself testify against such deniers at the Last Judgement.