In much of today's decadent Western world Easter is mainly associated with a few more days off and tasty chocolate eggs. However, for practising Christians it marks the biggest, most breath-taking celebration of the year! The festival of Easter reminds them that Jesus died on a cross to pay the punishment for the sins of the world and of his subsequent resurrection. The purpose of this paper is to examine what the Quran has to say on the profound truth that has changed the lives of countless millions of people.
The translation of 'mutawaffika' in this verse is disputed among Muslim scholars. The word and its derivation are found over 25 times in the Quran. (see 2:234,240; 3:55,193; 4:15,97, 5:117; 6:61; 8:50; 10:46,104; 12:101; 13:40; 16:28,32,70; 22:5; 32:11; 40:67,77; 47:27) In all but two places they imply death or are associated with it. In the two exceptions (6:60, 39:42) the context reveals that 'mutawaffika' figuratively means slumber. This is not the case in the two verses that speak about the death of Jesus (3:55, 5:117)!
3. WHEN DID JESUS DIE ACCORDING TO THE QURAN?
Islamic scholars are in disagreement about it. The Quran which professes to be a clear guidance that contains no doubts (Surah 2, Al Baqarah, verse 2; Surah 5, Al Ma'idah, verse 16) is apparently silent regarding this question which, according to the Torah and the Injil is of the utmost importance for mankind! (Isaiah 53, Matthew 26:26-28, John 3:16) Muslims are left only with the Hadith in trying to answer this crucial question. How reliable are many of these traditions reporting the sayings and doings of Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) and his companions in the light of the following facts?
This passage, like all the others concerning the end of Jesus' life on earth in the Quran, is unclear. It is not surprising therefore, to find a number of interpretations concerning it. However, to say that the crucified one 'was somehow or other taken for Christ' ('The Meaning of the Quran' by Maududi, Islamic Publications, Pakistan, 1992, commentary on Surah 4, Al Nisa', verse 157) would turn the Holy and Righteous God into the greatest deceiver of all! From a Christian point of view it is totally unacceptable to think that He would be responsible for misleading 1.3 billion people who call themselves Christians today! Some Muslims will say, 'Allah can do whatever He wants. If it pleases Him, to mislead all the Christians, He has the right to do so!' However, they are not willing to use the argument of God's sovereignty, when they study the Christian concept of the Trinitarian God who sent Jesus to die on the cross for sinners.
If the words "nailing him to the cross" would be equal to "death" there would be no need for one or the other! (See also Acts 5:30) In retrospect it is truly amazing how people like Ahmad Deedat who even contradict their own Quran are still tolerated by the Muslims community in general to represent their religion in debates and in literature. Only God knows how much damage they have done to thousands of souls.
How then should we interpret Surah 4, Al Nisa', verses 157-159 in the light of what has been said so far? In Muhammad's (p.b.u.h.) time Muslims were commanded to seek advice in a particular question from those who possess the previous Scriptures, the Jews and the Christians. (Surah 16, Al Nahl, verse 43; Surah 21, Al Anbiya, 7) Therefore, it is surely right to do it in this case as well.
It only appeared to the Jews that they successfully killed Jesus whereas in reality God, in his sovereignty, even used those wicked people in order to bring about his purposes. The emphasis is not that the Jews killed Jesus but that God allowed them to do so! Verse 157 seems to speak out against this wrong, boastful emphasis only not against the fact that Jesus was killed.
4. WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE?
The Bible (Leviticus 11:45) and the Quran (Surah 59, Al Hashr, verse 23) tell us that God is holy. That means He is separated from anything that is unclean, bad, and hypocritical, in other words from anything that is sin. Both, the Bible (Isaiah 59:1-2) and the Quran (Surah 2, Al Baqarah, verses 35-36) tell us that sin separates man from God. Therefore, sin is not just a minor mistake, but absolutely intolerable in the sight of God! Another reason why sin has to be treated seriously, is because God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4, Surah 95, Al Tin, verse 8). He punishes every wrong doer and awards the one who does right. However, God will not judge according to our good or bad works alone (Romans 3:23-24, Surah 35, Fatir, verse 45). He loves us so much (John 3:16) that in His mercy he chooses to forgive our sins. But if He would forgive our sins without punishment, then in His mercy He would become unjust!
There was once a king who possessed a huge kingdom over which he also ruled as a just judge. He wrote down laws which had to be kept by everyone so that order and justice would be maintained. One day his very own son, whom he loved so dearly, committed a terrible crime. The law made it very clear that a perpetrator, such as his child had become would have to face a fine of £ 100,000,000,000. The king's son was not able to pay that large amount of money. However, the just judge could not change the law simply because the sinner was his own son, otherwise he would not have been impartial anymore. He decided that his child too was guilty, but when he pronounced the judgement, out of love, he offered to pay the fine on behalf of his son. In that way he could meet the demands of his justice but also of his love for the disobedient child. The son sorrowfully repented of his crime and humbly accepted his father's offer. This incident changed him so completely that he decided to love and serve his father forever. By doing this he could certainly never pay back the £100,000,000,000. No, he changed his way of life to express his great thankfulness towards his just and loving father.
The king in the illustration symbolises God, the kingdom is the world. The laws are the Holy Scriptures, the king's son is all mankind and the terrible crime committed by him is sin. The sum of £100,000,000,000 stands for the punishment of sin, which is a invincible separation from the Holy God. The king who took his son's place and paid the fine on behalf of him illustrates what God has done for all mankind in Jesus. He paid the punishment for sin by dying on our behalf at the cross. Finally, the complete change that took place in the life of the son is a picture of the new life of a Christian. By faith, through a prayer of forgiveness he accepts what Jesus Christ had done for him. He believes that Jesus took upon him the punishment for men's sin. Only out of thankfulness he starts to love and serve God, not because he thinks he could ever earn a place in heaven by doing good. Whatever the newly born Christian now does will be motivated by love for the One who saved him from a terrible punishment.
Wow! What a message! That Christ was raised to life again after he died sacrificially for us is not a contradiction. Since death for him was no more, there is nothing that could be a contradiction to his being raised to life!
The destiny for us who are living in the time of the New Testament is dependent on our relationship to Jesus.
Genuine faith in Jesus produces a desire to become more like him, to do what is right and just.
Saving faith creates the awareness that this new obedience can only come through faith in Christ. It does not come from focusing on the law, the desperate attempt to meet its demands. Instead it comes from continually fixing one's eyes on Jesus and his work, by remaining connected to him through being in his presence with one's thoughts.
Throughout this study it has become clear that the Quran agrees for certain with the Bible and with secular history that Jesus dies at some stage and is definitely alive today! Furthermore we found possible evidence in the Quran that Jesus indeed died on the cross and rose again which confirms the clear accounts of the Bible (Torah, Zabur, Injil) and of secular history. We therefore have four reliable witnesses in favour of the Easter story and one that is at least partially certain (Quran). It is now left to the reader to come to a decision regarding this crucial matter. Please pray for God's guidance as to who Jesus really is!