? Was it Jesus who was crucified

[Maureen]

I was reading in a beginner's book on Islam, that Muslims do not believe that Jesus was crucified on the cross. They think that his body was substituted for another. Is there any documented evidence for this? How did the idea come about?

[Jibril]

hello Maureen,

the documented evidence i'll share with you is from the Qur'an:

وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ اللّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَـكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُواْ فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلاَّ اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا

"that they said, "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the
Apostle of Allah" 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 knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not"

the question is, who replaced Isa (as)? most scholars believe it was Judas. now, in some books, he's casted as the "good guy", whereas in others, he's given the stereotypical role of the evil fellow like they have in today's christian book.

one narration even has Isa (as) asking, "which of my sahaba (companions) will sacrifice his life for me?" to this, judas answered, "I will, messenger of Allah (awj)."

others think he was involuntarily swapped with Isa (as) because he collaborated with the al-ahzab... and in the last moments of his life crying, "I'm not Jesus! I'm not Jesus! Oh God, why have thou forsaken me?"

[Maureen]

hello Maureen,

the documented evidence i'll share with you is from the Qur'an:

وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ اللّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَـكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُواْ فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلاَّ اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا

"that they said, "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the
Apostle of Allah" 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 knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not"

the question is, who replaced Isa (as)? most scholars believe it was Judas. now, in some books, he's casted as the "good guy", whereas in others, he's given the stereotypical role of the evil fellow like they have in today's christian book.

one narration even has Isa (as) asking, "which of my sahaba (companions) will sacrifice his life for me?" to this, judas answered, "I will, messenger of Allah (awj)."

others think he was involuntarily swapped with Isa (as) because he collaborated with the al-ahzab... and in the last moments of his life crying, "I'm not Jesus! I'm not Jesus! Oh God, why have thou forsaken me?"
I f that is what is written in the Qur'an, I do not believe it. (I believe it is written there but not the content). Can you site another historical text where this information is written?
As I said before on another thread, I believe it is possible that when Muhammad dictated to the scribes, they misinterpreted (not deliberately) some of what he said.
I am always open to other's beliefs though, and I will attempt to investigate this further.

[Arsalan]

I f that is what is written in the Qur'an, I do not believe it. (I believe it is written there but not the content). Can you site another historical text where this information is written?
As I said before on another thread, I believe it is possible that when Muhammad dictated to the scribes, they misinterpreted (not deliberately) some of what he said.
I am always open to other's beliefs though, and I will attempt to investigate this further.
Hi Maureen

There are lots of this threads on this in the comparative religion section of this forum

Here is one such thread.. very long thread... started by a non muslim.

Do you think Jesus died? (http://www.ummah.net/forum/showthread.php?t=52088)

The correct muslim belef is that Jesus peace be upon him was raised unto Allah swt and NOT crucified . And is in heaven with Him, awaiting his return to this world in the final days.

Furthermore . The Quran was actually memorized in an oral tradition ( arabs of that time were great linguists and memorizers ) and not through the medium of a written form. Many 1000s of the ealry muslim companions of the Prophet memorized the revelation as it came through. And this tradition continues today. Hence through this there was an indepedent check on the consistency of the Quran.

Furthermore The Angel Gabriel would come every Ramadan and "revise" the quran with The Prophet , and the companions of the prophet recited and learnt the quran throughout their day.