The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 287
PT. 6 AN-NISA' CH. 4 context cannot be so twisted as to make room for somebody else of whom no mention at all is made in the verse. alleged death of Jesus by crucifixion, his place is simply absurd. The the Quran says that the act of crucifixion having not been completed, and Jesus having been taken down alive from the cross, the charge carries no weight. It should, however, be noted that the Quran does not deny the mere hanging of Jesus on the cross; it only denies his death on it. To what then was Jesus made like? The context provides a clear answer to that question. The Jews did not kill him by crucifixion, but he was made to appear to them like "one crucified", and thus it was that they wrongly took him for dead. It was thus Jesus who was made to resemble "one crucified. " This interpretation is not only in perfect harmony with the context, but is also clearly borne out that he was put to death by being by all relevant facts of history. Two different views prevail among the Jews regarding Jesus' alleged death by crucifixion. Some of them hold that Jesus was first killed and then his dead body was hung on the cross, while others are of the view fixed to the cross. The former view is reflected in Acts, 5:30 where we read "which ye slew and hanged on a tree. " The Quran refutes both these views by saying, they slew him not, nor crucified him. The words may also signify that the Quran first rejects the slaying of Jesus in any form, and then proceeds to deny the particular way of killing by hanging on the cross. The verb (in the passive voice) means, he was made to appear like, or Iwas made to resemble. Now the question arises, who is the person who was made to appear "like one crucified. " Clearly, it was Jesus whom the Jews tried to crucify or slay. Nobody else can be meant here, for there is absolutely no reference to any other person in the context. Hence, the theory invented by certain commentators that Judas somebody else was made to appear like Jesus and was then crucified in or 727 The second meaning of the expressionis, as explained under Important Words, that "the matter became confused to them. " This interpretation is also clearly borne out by history; for, although the Jews asserted that they had put Jesus to death by suspending him on the cross, they were not sure of it and the circumstances being obscure, the matter had certainly become confused to them. The fact that the Jews themselves were not sure whether Jesus had actually died on the cross is supported by the Bible and by all authentic historical facts. The statements made in this verse are clearly substantiated by the following facts narrated in the Gospels: (1) Jesus had himself predicted his escape from death on the cross, saying, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so