And for saying: "We killed the Christ, Jesus, son of Mary, who was an apostle of God;" but they neither killed nor crucified him, though it so appeared to them. Those who disagree in the matter are only lost in doubt. They have no knowledge about it other than conjecture, for surely they did not kill him,
And because they said, “We have killed the Messiah, Eisa the son of Maryam, the Messenger of Allah”; they did not slay him nor did they crucify him, but a look-alike was created for them; and those who disagree concerning it are in doubt about it; they know nothing of it, except the following of assumptions; and without doubt, they did not kill him.
and for their saying, 'We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God' -- yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown to them. Those who are at variance concerning him surely are in doubt regarding him; they have no knowledge of him, except the following of surmise; and they slew him not of a certainty -- no indeed;
and their boast, "Behold, we have slain the Christ Jesus, son of Mary, [who claimed to be] an apostle of God!" However, they did not slay him, and neither did they crucify him, but it only seemed to them [as if it had been] so; and, verily, those who hold conflict­ing views thereon are indeed confused, having no [real] knowledge thereof, and following mere con­jecture. For, of a certainty, they did not slay him:
And for their saying: verily We have slain the Messiah 'Isa son of Maryam, an apostle of Allah, whereas they slew him not, nor they crucified him but it was made dubious unto them. And verily those who differ therein are in doubt thereof, they have no knowledge thereof; they but follow an opinion; and surely they slew him not.
And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed Messiah 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allah," - but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of 'Iesa (Jesus) was put over another man (and they killed that man), and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not [i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)]:
And for their saying, “We have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the Messenger of God.” In fact, they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them as if they did. Indeed, those who differ about him are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it, except the following of assumptions. Certainly, they did not kill him.
and their saying: 'We slew the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary', the Messenger of Allah - whereas in fact they had neither slain him nor crucified him but the matter was made dubious to them - and those who differed about it too were in a state of doubt! They have no definite knowledge of it, but merely follow conjecture; and they surely slew him not,
And because of their saying, "We killed Al-Masih `Isa, son of Maryam, the Messenger of Allah," but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared as that to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not.
And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain.
and for their saying, ‘We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the apostle of Allah’—though they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but so it was made to appear to them. Indeed those who differ concerning him are surely in doubt about him: they do not have any knowledge of that beyond following conjectures, and certainly, they did not kill him.
and for their saying, 'We killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger (and Prophet) of Allah' They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but to them, he (the crucified) had been given the look (of Prophet Jesus). Those who differ concerning him (Prophet Jesus) are surely in doubt regarding him, they have no knowledge of him, except the following of supposition, and (it is) a certainty they did not kill him.
And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.
and their statement that they murdered Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God, when, in fact, they could not have murdered him or crucified him. They, in fact, murdered someone else by mistake. Even those who disputed (the question of whether or not Jesus was murdered) did not have a shred of evidence. All that they knew about it was mere conjecture. They certainly could not have murdered Jesus.
And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the apostle of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure.
Waqawlihim inn<u>a</u> qataln<u>a</u> almasee<u>h</u>a AAees<u>a</u> ibna maryama rasoola All<u>a</u>hi wam<u>a</u> qataloohu wam<u>a</u> <u>s</u>alaboohu wal<u>a</u>kin shubbiha lahum wainna alla<u>th</u>eena ikhtalafoo feehi lafee shakkin minhu m<u>a</u> lahum bihi min AAilmin ill<u>a</u> ittib<u>a</u>AAa a<b>l</b><i><u>thth</u></i>anni wam<u>a</u> qataloohu yaqeen<u>a</u><b>n</b>
They declared, "We have put to death the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God." They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it only seemed to them [as if it had been so]. And those who differ in this matter are in doubt concerning it. They have no definite knowledge about it, but only follow mere conjecture. But they certainly did not kill him.
That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger 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 (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-
وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ لَفِى شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مَا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا ٱتِّبَاعَ ٱلظَّنِّ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًۢا
I cursed them because they proudly, but falsely, said, ‘We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah’. They did not kill him as they claimed, nor did they crucify him; but they killed and crucified a man whom Allah made to resemble Jesus, so they thought the person who was killed was Jesus. Those Jews who claimed to have killed him and those Christians who surrendered him over to them are in doubt and confusion regarding the matter. They have no knowledge, but make guesses that are of no worth against the truth. Truly, they did not kill Jesus nor crucify him.
I cursed them because they proudly, but falsely, said, ‘We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah’. They did not kill him as they claimed, nor did they crucify him; but they killed and crucified a man whom Allah made to resemble Jesus, so they thought the person who was killed was Jesus. Those Jews who claimed to have killed him and those Christians who surrendered him over to them are in doubt and confusion regarding the matter. They have no knowledge, but make guesses that are of no worth against the truth. Truly, they did not kill Jesus nor crucify him.
<p>Commentary</p><p>In the verse يَا عِيسَىٰ إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَ‌افِعُكَ (Isa, I am to take you in full and lift you towards Me... 3:55) appearing in Surah 'Al-` Imran, Almighty Allah had made five promises in connection with foiling the Jewish plans against Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) and protecting him from their hostile intentions. A detailed explanation of these has been given earlier on that occasion in Surah 'Al-` Imran. One of the promises made there was that the Jews will not be allowed to have their way with their intention to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Instead of that, Allah will lift him towards Him.</p><p>In the present verses (157-158) of Surah al-Nis-a', it has been made explicit that they did not kill nor crucify Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، rather, what actually happened was that they were deluded by resemblance.</p><p>How were the Jews 'deluded by resemblance?'</p><p>While explaining the words of the Qur'an: وَلَـٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ (but they were deluded by resemblance), master exegete, Dahhak says: It so transpired that, following the intention of Jews to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) his disciples assembled at a given place. Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) joined them there. It was Iblis who gave the address of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) to the execution squad standing ready for the mission. Four thousand men surrounded the suspected house. Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) said to his disciples : 'Is one of you willing to go out and be killed and then be in Paradise with me?' One of them offered to do so. Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) gave him his shirt and head-cover. Then, cast on him was the resemblance of Jesus and as soon as he came out, the Jews, believing him to be Jesus, caught him and crucified him, and Sayyidna ` Isa was lifted. (Qurtubi)</p><p>According to some reports, the Jews had sent a person known to Arabs as Teetlanoos to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . He did not find Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) in the house for he was already lifted by Allah towards Himself. So, when this person came out of the house, he had been made to resemble the looks of Sayyidna ` Isa . The Jews took him to be Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Thus, they took away their own man and killed him. (Mazhari)</p><p>There is room for whichever of the situations came to pass - the Holy Qur'an has not determined any particular situation. Therefore, Allah alone knows what really happened. However, this sentence of the Holy Qur'an seen with other exegetical reports does yield the common factor that the Jews and Christians were subjected to compelling delusion. The event as it took shape remained hidden from them, though they did advance all sorts of claims based on their conjectures which only landed them into mutual differences. This is what the Holy Qur'an points out to in the following words:</p><p>وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا ﴿157﴾</p><p>And those who disputed in this matter are certainly in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it, but they follow whims.</p><p>It means that they do not have certitude based on any true knowledge. The diverse claims put forward by those who have differed in the case of Masih (علیہ السلام) are simply based on doubt and conjecture. The truth of the matter is that they certainly did not kill Masih (علیہ السلام) rather Allah lifted him towards Himself.</p><p>According to some other reports, when some of them woke up to what had happened, they said, We seem to have killed our own man, for the man we have put to death resembles Masih in face only but not in the rest of the body. Now, if this man we have killed is Masih (علیہ السلام) where, then, is our man? And if this is our man where, then, is Masih (علیہ السلام) ?'</p><p>Verse 158, part of which was referred to immediately earlier, ends at: وَكَانَ اللَّـهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا : (And Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise) carrying a significant message. It means that the planning of Jews to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) was insignificant as matched against the Power of Allah who has taken it upon Himself to protect Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Might and mastery are His domain. If materialists in their single-track isolation, remain incapable of understanding the reality of the 'lifting off of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، that is their own limitation. As for Allah, He is All-Wise - everything He does is based on wisdom and fitness to whatever end is desired.</p>
CommentaryIn the verse يَا عِيسَىٰ إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَ‌افِعُكَ (Isa, I am to take you in full and lift you towards Me... 3:55) appearing in Surah 'Al-` Imran, Almighty Allah had made five promises in connection with foiling the Jewish plans against Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) and protecting him from their hostile intentions. A detailed explanation of these has been given earlier on that occasion in Surah 'Al-` Imran. One of the promises made there was that the Jews will not be allowed to have their way with their intention to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Instead of that, Allah will lift him towards Him.In the present verses (157-158) of Surah al-Nis-a', it has been made explicit that they did not kill nor crucify Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، rather, what actually happened was that they were deluded by resemblance.How were the Jews 'deluded by resemblance?'While explaining the words of the Qur'an: وَلَـٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ (but they were deluded by resemblance), master exegete, Dahhak says: It so transpired that, following the intention of Jews to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) his disciples assembled at a given place. Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) joined them there. It was Iblis who gave the address of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) to the execution squad standing ready for the mission. Four thousand men surrounded the suspected house. Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) said to his disciples : 'Is one of you willing to go out and be killed and then be in Paradise with me?' One of them offered to do so. Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) gave him his shirt and head-cover. Then, cast on him was the resemblance of Jesus and as soon as he came out, the Jews, believing him to be Jesus, caught him and crucified him, and Sayyidna ` Isa was lifted. (Qurtubi)According to some reports, the Jews had sent a person known to Arabs as Teetlanoos to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . He did not find Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) in the house for he was already lifted by Allah towards Himself. So, when this person came out of the house, he had been made to resemble the looks of Sayyidna ` Isa . The Jews took him to be Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Thus, they took away their own man and killed him. (Mazhari)There is room for whichever of the situations came to pass - the Holy Qur'an has not determined any particular situation. Therefore, Allah alone knows what really happened. However, this sentence of the Holy Qur'an seen with other exegetical reports does yield the common factor that the Jews and Christians were subjected to compelling delusion. The event as it took shape remained hidden from them, though they did advance all sorts of claims based on their conjectures which only landed them into mutual differences. This is what the Holy Qur'an points out to in the following words:وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا ﴿157﴾And those who disputed in this matter are certainly in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it, but they follow whims.It means that they do not have certitude based on any true knowledge. The diverse claims put forward by those who have differed in the case of Masih (علیہ السلام) are simply based on doubt and conjecture. The truth of the matter is that they certainly did not kill Masih (علیہ السلام) rather Allah lifted him towards Himself.According to some other reports, when some of them woke up to what had happened, they said, We seem to have killed our own man, for the man we have put to death resembles Masih in face only but not in the rest of the body. Now, if this man we have killed is Masih (علیہ السلام) where, then, is our man? And if this is our man where, then, is Masih (علیہ السلام) ?'Verse 158, part of which was referred to immediately earlier, ends at: وَكَانَ اللَّـهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا : (And Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise) carrying a significant message. It means that the planning of Jews to kill Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) was insignificant as matched against the Power of Allah who has taken it upon Himself to protect Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . Might and mastery are His domain. If materialists in their single-track isolation, remain incapable of understanding the reality of the 'lifting off of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، that is their own limitation. As for Allah, He is All-Wise - everything He does is based on wisdom and fitness to whatever end is desired.