233 Highlights to the Holy-Quran-English.pdf

R.22. 

154. The People of the Book ask 

thee to cause a Book to descend on 

them from heaven. They asked Moses a greater thing than this: 

they said, 'Show us Allah openly.' 

Then a destructive punishment 

overtook them because of their 

transgression. Then they took the 

calf.for worship after clear Signs 

had come to them, but We pardoned 

,:,even that. And We gave Moses 

manifest authority. 

155. And We raised high above them 

the Mount while making a covenant 

with them, and We said to them, 

'Enter the gate submissively,' and 

We said to them, 'Transgress not in 

the matter of the Sabbath.' And We 

took from them a firm covenant. 

156. Then, because of their breaking 

of their covenant, and their denial 

of the Signs of Allah, and their 

seeking to kill the Prophets unjustly, 

and their saying: 'Our hearts are 

wrapped in covers,'-nay, but 

Allah has sealed them because of 

their disbelief, so they believe not 

but little-

157. And because of their disbelief 

and their uttering against Mary a 

grievous calumny, 

,:, 158. And their saying, 'We did kill 

the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the 

Messenger of Allah;' whereas they 

slew him not, nor crucified! him, but 

he was made to appear to them like 

This Jewish claim is firmly rejected by the Holy Qur'an. Thal is why by the end of the verse,

the conclusive declaration is that whatever may have happened they certainly failed to kill

him. This implies that it is not the act of crucifixion which is denied. What is denied is death

by crucifixion.

Wa/iikin shuhhiha /ahum ( ~ 0 ~ ,): the word shuhhiha (0) in the text must be

carefully studied. The context of the preceding text would not permit'the implied reference to

any other than Jesus or alternatively it could refer to the incident in general. In conformity with

the rules of grammar the implied pronoun in the word shubbiha (0) can refer to none other

than Jesus Christ himself. This means that it was he who was obscured and made to appear to

them similar to someone else. Hence as Jesus was hung upon the cross he hung in the likeness

of someone else. Evidently the denial is not that of crucifixion or apparent death thereupon but

the denial is death by crucifixion. There certainly was great confusion as lo what actually had

happened. So the verse continues to build the scenario of the confusion and doubt. All else is

nothing but conjecture. Thal is the final conclusion.

If the word shubbiha refers to the incident as such, this would point to the divergent

claims of the two disputing parties as to what had happened. Neither of the parties were certain

of the validity of their claims. For instance the Christian belief of Jesus' death by crucifixion

and later resurrection was not based on any tangible grounds but was merely conjectural.

Likewise the Jewish claim of Jesus' death upon the cross was no less conjectural. Hence their

appeal to Pilate for the possession of Jesus' body. In fact they clearly expressed their doubts

regarding the entire episode of his so-called death and warned Pilate that in the likelihood of

his survival he might reappear in public claiming that he had risen from the dead. (Matthew

27:63-64)

Tt is to this that the last part of the verse under study refers, when it says wa

innalladh,na (&.i}, i,,). Certainly those who differ about it (or about him as lo what actually

befell him) were themselves in doubt.

,:, 159. Note: Bal rafa'ahulliihu ilaihi (~),i,', Ll; j.;): the majority of orthodox Muslims infer

from this part of the verse that the connotation of Bal refers to the act of crucifixion i.e.,

instead ofletting him die upon the cross, God rescued him by raising him bodily to somewhere

in the heavens. As such he should be living somewhere in space in the same corporal form that

he possessed prior to the attempt of his crucifixion. This interpretation raises many difficult

questions, mainly:

(a) If Jesus was not crucified at all, is the entire history of crucifixion emphatically

denied and the whole episode just a fiction or delusion suffered by the Jews, the Christians and

the Romans alike''

(b) Where in the verse is the claim that Jesus was raised bodily lo heavens? All that is

mentioned simply is that Allah exalted him to Himself.