What happened to Jesus according to Islam? - Why Christians Convert to Islam

WHAT HAPPENED TO JESUS IN ISLAM?

According to Islam Jesus was raised up to God (Quran 4:158). To make the analogy, God carried Jesus up to heaven in a whirlwind at some point during Jesus’ life. Whether or not God did this because Jesus faced a crucifixion is uncertain. The crucifixion of Jesus is not an attested historical event and may have been nothing more than Paul’s invention (See article on main web page entitled “Deconstructing Isaiah 53 & The Crucifixion/Resurrection.”) However, if Jesus were in some kind of trouble, God would have raised Jesus up before the evil deed was inflicted on him. As a former Christian I know this is not easy to accept at first glance. In fact, when I first heard this I could not believe the audacity to make such a statement! That changed when I learned that the phenomenon of pulling prophets off the face of the earth had happened before in the Bible. There could never be a better time for it to happen again. Here are some other situations where God did this before:

Genesis 5:21-24 Enoch was sixty-five years old when he begot Metuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters. He lived three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God, and then was seen no more, because God had taken him away.

2 Kings 2:11-13 They went on, talking as they went, and suddenly there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, which separated them from one another, and Elijah was carried up to heaven in a whirlwind. At the sight Elisha cried out, My father, my father, the chariot and the horsemen of Israel! and he saw him no more. He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

Moreover, the Quran clearly says that Jesus was not crucified.

Quran 4:157
“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 was made to appear to them so 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.” M.H. Shakir, Yusaf Ali

This verse is referring to people in Muhammad’s time who made the claim that Jesus was killed (see verse 153 of the same Surah which indicates it was people in Muhammad’s time.)

The following verse also shows that Jesus was never crucified but rather taken up to heaven just as Enoch and Elijah as stated above.

Quran 3:55
“And when Allah said: O Isa, I am going to terminate the period of your stay (on earth) and cause you to ascend unto Me and purify you of those who disbelieve and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve to the day of resurrection; then to Me shall be your return, so I will decide between you concerning that in which you differed.”

This above verse where God said “I am going to terminate the period of your stay” most likely would not have been made to Jesus while he was dieing on a cross. This verse was probably made to Jesus during his ministry. Hence, Jesus’ disciples appear to have recorded this statement.

John 16:7,13 Jesus said,”But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. But when he the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (NIV)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 12 The disciples said to Jesus, “We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?”

Gospel of Thomas Saying 37 His disciples said, “When will you appear to us, and when will we see you?”

COULD JESUS HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED?

Some Muslim scholars insist that Jesus was put on the cross but not crucified. The Quran states:

The definition of Crucify is “to put someone to death by nailing or binding them to a cross, especially as an ancient punishment.” Similarly, to hang someone means “to execute by hanging.” Another words, if someone is put on a cross or hanged and does not die then you do not have a crucifixion or a hanging; you have merely tortured the person. This is what some Muslim scholars maintain happened with Jesus. Another words, what the Quran really says in 4:157 is “They did not kill him nor did they kill him by way of crucifixion, but it was made to appear to them.” Muslim scholars will go to the earliest gospel of Mark to support this theory. For example, according to Mark 15:25 it was 9AM when Jesus was crucified and he died at 3pm according to Mark 15:34. Hence, Jesus was only on the cross for 6 Hours when he died. This is difficult to believe since most people that are crucified stay alive for days before they die. Jesus was a healthy strong 30 year old man. In fact, according to Mark 15:44 “Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead.” Again, this is because the normal period for someone to die from crucifixion is a few days,

The definition of crucifixion, Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied, nailed, or otherwise attached ^[1] to a large wooden beam and left to hang for several days until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation.^[2]^[3] It is principally known from classical antiquity, but remains in occasional use in some countries. (From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion).

According to the theory of some Muslim scholars Jesus was put on the cross for a short period of time and then brought down before he died. When we look at the Gospel of Mark we can see that this is entirely possible since Pontius Pilate according to Mark 15:10 “Realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over.” Hence, he may have been sympathetic to allowing Jesus to survive since he really was innocent of the charges levied against him. Furthermore, some Muslim scholars claim that even if it appeared Jesus was killed on the cross this would not contradict the statement in Quran 4:157 because there is an exception that the Quran has for people who are killed in the way of Allah, Quran 2:154 states, “And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah , “They are dead.” Rather, they are alive, but you perceive [it] not.”

Realizing that this is entirely possible the Christian Apologist responds that then God tricked the world into thinking that Jesus was crucified and then God is responsible for the birth of the Christian religion. I say why so? Why is God responsible for Paul’s theological interpretation of Jesus’ crucifixion? Remember there were early Christians that had no clue of Paul’s theological views.

1 Corinthians 1:10-12 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. What I mean is this: One of you says, I follow Paul; another, I follow Apollos; another, I follow Cephas; still another, I follow Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:4-5 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those super-apostles.

1 Corinthians 3:4 For when one says, I follow Paul, and another, I follow Apollos, are you not mere men?

According to the New Testament “Apollos” was an early disciple that only knew about the baptism of John. Apollos is first mentioned as a Christian preacher who had come to Ephesus (probably in the year 52 or 53), where he is described as “being fervent in spirit: he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:24-25). From 1 Corinthians 1:10-12 & 1 Corinthians 3:4 it is clear that people followed his teachings rather than those of Paul, and that he and Paul had different theology. Hence, God is not responsible for the birth of Pauline Christianity. Paul pushes his agenda very hard.

Galatians 3:1-2 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.