Why do Muslims not believe Jesus was crucified?

This may be brief but it touches upon the verses concerning Jesus (p) in the Quran:

JESUS in the QURAN

The Islamic view of Jesus lies between two extremes. The Jews , who rejected Jesus as a Prophet of God, called him an impostor. The Christians, on the other hand, considered him to be the son of God and worship him as such. Islam considers Jesus to be one of the great prophets of God and respects him as much as Ibrahim (Abraham), Moses, and Mohammed. (Peace Be Upon Them) This is conformity with the Islamic view of the oneness of God, the oneness of Divine guidance, and the complementary role of the subsequent mission of God's messengers.

The essence of Islam - willing submission to the will of God - was revealed to Adam, who was passed it on to his children. All following revelations to Noah, Ibrahim, Moses, Jesus, and finally Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Them) were conformity with that message, with some elaboration to define the revelation between man and God, man and man, man and instructions. Thus, any contradictions among revealed religions is viewed by Islam as a man-made element introduced into these religions. The position of Jesus in the three major religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - should not be an exception.

Although the Quran does not present a detailed life-story of Jesus, it highlights the important aspects of his birth, his mission, his ascension to heaven, and passes judgements on the Christian beliefs concerning him. The Quranic account of Jesus starts with the conception of his mother, Mary, whose mother, the wife of Imran, vowed to dedicate her child to the service of God in the temple. When Mary became a woman, the Holy Spirit (the Archangel Gabriel) appeared to her as a man bringing her news of a son. We read the following dialogue in the Quran between Mary and the Angel:

"When the angel said, "Mary, god gives you a good tidings of a Word from Him whose name is messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, -high honoured shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to men in the cradle, and of age, and righteous he shall be, "lord" said Mary "How shall I have a son, seeing no mortal has touched me? "Even so, he said "God creates what He will".

When he decrees a thing He but say to it, "Be", and it is. (Al-Imran 3:45-47)

In a chapter (Surah) entitled "Maryam" (Mary), the Quran tells us how Mary gave birth to her son, and how the Jesus accused her when she brought the child home:

"Then she brought the child to her folk, carrying him, and they said, "Mary, you have surely committed a monstrous thing. Sister of Aaron, your father was not a wicked man, nor your mother a woman unchaste. Mary pointed to the child; but they said, 'Hoe shall we speak to one who still in the cradle, a little child. And he said, 'Lo, I am God's servant, God has given me the Book and made me a Prophet Blessed He has made me ,wherever/may be; and hi has enjoined me to prayer, and to give the alms so long as I live, and likewise to cherish my mother; He has not made me arrogant and wicked. Peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up a live. "Maryam 19:29-33)

in the same chapter, following the above quotation, God assures Mohammed (PBUH) and through him the whole world, that what is told above is the TRUTH about Jesus (PBUH), although Christians might not accept it. Jesus is NOT the son of God: He was obviously enough, the son of Mary. The verses continue: "That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which they are doubting. It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him, He nut says to it, 'Be, and it is. (Maryam 19:34-35)

After this strong statement about the nature of Jesus, God directed Mohammed (PBUH) to call the Christians to worship the one God: "Surely God is my God, and your God, so surely serve him. This is the straight path". (Maryam 19:36)

The rejection of the very idea of God having a son is restated later in the same chapter with even stronger words: "And they say, The All-merciful has taken unto Himself a son. You have indeed advanced something hideous. As if the skies are about to burst, the earth to split asunder and its mountain to fall down in the utter ruin for that they have attributed to the All-merciful a son; and behaves not the All-merciful to take a son. None there in the heavens and earth but comes to the All-merciful as a servant" (Maryam 19:88-93)

The Quran recognizes the fact that Jesus had no human father, but this does not make him the son of God, or God himself. By this criterion, Adam would have been more entitled more entitled to be the son of God, because he had neither a father nor a mother, so the Quran draws attention to the miraculous creation of both in the following verses; " truly the likeness of Jesus, in God's sight is as Adam's likeness; He created him of dust, then He said upon him, 'Be' and hi was. (Al-Imran 3:59)

The Quran rejects the concept of Trinity God the Father, God the son, God the Holy Spirit - as strongly as it rejects the concept of Jesus as the son of God. This is because GOD IS ONE. Three cannot be one. The Quran addresses Christians in the following verses from the Surrah entitled "An-Nisaa" (The Women)

People of the Book, do not go beyond the bounds in your religion, and say nought as to God but the Truth. The messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only the messenger of God, and his word (Fulfilment of his word (Fulfilment of His command, through the word "Be", for the creation of Jesus) that he committed to Mary, and a spirit originating from Him (was given life by God). So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not 'Three'. Refrain, better is for you. God is only one God. Glory be to him-that He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the Heavens and in the Earth; God suffices for a guardian.

The Messiah will not disdain to be a servant of God, neither the Angels who are close to Him. Whosoever disdains to serve Him and walks proud, He will assuredly muster them to Him, all of them.

As for the believers, who do deeds of righteousness, we will pay them their rewards in full, and He will give them more, of His bounty; as for them who disdain and walks proud, then He will punish with a severe punishment, and they shall not find for them, apart from God, a friend or helper." (An-Nissa 4:171-173)

The denial of Jesus's divinity (and. For the matter, of Mary's divinity) is presented in the Quran in the form of a dialogue, at the Day of Judgement, between the Almighty Jesus. All the Messengers and their nations will gather before God and He will ask the Messengers how they were received by their people and what they said to them. Among those who will be questioned is Jesus:

"And when God said, 'O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say unto men, "Take me and my mother as gods, apart from God"? He said, 'To you be glory! It is not mine to say what I have no right to. If I indeed said it, you would have known it, knowing what is within my heart, though I do not know your knowledge; you know the things unseen. I only said to them what you did commands me: "Serve God, my God and your God." (Al-Maida 5-116)

Given that the Quran denies the Trinity and the son ship of Jesus, what, according to the Quran, was the real mission of Jesus? The answer is that Jesus was a link in a long chain of Prophets and Messengers sent by God to various nations and societies whenever they needed guidance or deviated from his teachings of Moses and other Messengers. As he was miraculously supported by numerous miracles to prove that he was a Messengers from God. However, the majority of the Jews rejected his ministry.

In another verse of the Quran, Jesus confirmed the validity of the Torah which was revealed to Moses, and also conveyed he glad tidings of a final Messenger who follow him: "And when Jesus son of Mary said, 'Children of Israel, I am indeed the Messenger to you, confirming the Torah that is before me, and giving good tiding of a Messenger who shall be the praised one."(As-Saff 61:6)

Note that "praised one" is a translation of "Ahmad" - The Prophet Mohammed's name. Careful study of the New Testament shows that Jesus refers to the same Prophet in John 14:16-17: "And I will give you another Counsellor (ThProphet Mohammed). To be with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth."

The usual explanation of this Prophecy is that the counsellor referred to is the Holy Spirit, but this explanation is excluded by a previous verse in John: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counsellor will not come to you."

The characteristics of this counsellor, as can be derived from the prophecy, are that he will stay forever with the believers, he will glorify Jesus; and he will speak that he hears form God. All four characteristics apply to the Prophet Mohammed. He came six centuries after Jesus. He came six centuries after Jesus. He came with a universal and everlasting message, fulfilling the prophecy that the counsellor will stay forever with the faithful. He glorified Jesus as a great Prophet. The Quran attributes to Jesus miracles not mentioned in the Bible's Old and New Testaments, as well as specific verses in the Quran show how the Prophet Mohammad is rejected by Jews and Christians out of prejudice and misunderstanding, rather that carefully study the Bible.

It is a sad fact of history that not many are following the "straight path" to which people were called by Jesus. He was only followed by a few disciples inspired by God to support him. The non-believers plotted - as they would against Mohammed, six centuries later - to kill Jesus. But God had better plan for him and his followers, as the Quran tells us:

"And when Jesus perceived their unbelief, he said 'Who will be my helpers in the cause of God?The apostles said, 'we are Gods helpers. We believe in God; so bear witness of our submission God, we believe in that you have sent down, and we follow the Messenger. Inscribe us therefore with those who bear witness. 'And they devised, and God devised, and God devised, and God is the best of divisors. When God said, 'Jesus, I will take you to Me and will raise you to Me, and I will purify you (of the falsehoods) of those who do not believe. I will make your followers above the unbelievers till the Resurrection Day."(Al-Imran 3:52-55)

As the above verses indicate, Jesus was taken and raised to heaven. He was not crucified. It was certainly the plan of the enemies of Jesus to put him to death on the cross, but God saved him and someone else was crucified:

"And for their unbelief, and their uttering against Mary a grave false charge, and for their saying, 'We killed the messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messiah 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 are surely in doubt the following of conjecture; and they did not kill him of certainty…no indeed; God raised him up to Him; God is Almighty, Allwise. There is not one of the people of the book but will assuredly believe him before his death, and on the Resurrection Day he will be a witness against them." (An-Nissa 4:156-159)

The Quran does not explain who was the person crucified instead of Jesus, nor elaborate on the Second Coming of Jesus. However, explanators of the Quran have always interpreted the last verse of the above quotation to mean that Jesus will believe in him before he dies. This understanding is supported by authentic sayings (Hadith) of the Prophet Mohammed may the peace and blessings of Allah him and upon all His Messengers.

format_quote Originally Posted by Ramadhan

Yes, prophet Jesus pbuh is in paradise.

I wasn't aware of this. Do you know where I can read more on this? I thought all we knew was that Allah took him up to Himself, and that the rest is from the knowledge of the unseen that we haven't been given, until he descends to earth.

I was only aware of this:

(Mention) when Allah said: O Jesus! Lo! I am gathering thee and causing thee to ascend unto Me, and am cleansing thee of those who disbelieve and am setting those who follow thee above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me ye will (all) return, and I shall judge between you as to that wherein ye used to differ. (Qur'an 3:55)

If you have some hadeeths, please do share. Jazaakallah khayr.

There will be no oppression and no need to fight oppressors (war will be abolished) and no need to collect Jizyah (since there will be no non-Muslim people of the Book to collect this tax from). Every human being will be well-off and no one will accept charity.
Messiah will perform Hajj and/or Umrah,
marry, remain married for 19 years,
beget children,
and die after living on earth for 40 years.
His death will signal the beginning of the last days:

also - i notice some of the scholars have conjectured on who the person on the cross was - when the Quranic verses say: walaakin shubbiha lahum.
"but so it was made to appear unto them" . 4:157

it doesn't say whether Allah did it - or whether the Roman king did it in order to save face in front of the masses - as a missing Jesus whom the Romans couldn't kill would cause people to still have hope.

we are told in many commentaries that the man on the cross was so badly beaten up that even his mother couldn't recognise him.
and who would put it past them to grab an innocent to "pay for the "sins" of another" and then punish him.

i found this in bible.org:
That Jesus was submissive to this entire procedure is the measure of His total submission to the will of God. Here, the Lord of glory, capable of destroying anyone who put a hand upon Him, allowed Himself to be abused in this painful and humiliating way. Although the Scriptures are graphic, even they state only the essentials. The prophet Isaiah anticipated this when he stated in Isaiah 52:14, “His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.” Jesus was beaten about the head and the body until He was almost unrecognizable.

it is possible:


although this also is conjecture - it is an argument to counter other conjecture - and to say that some scholars and translators have deeply gone into conjecture based on what they perceive to be the case despite there being other just as probable possibilities

what is clear is that there was a lot of confusion in this instance and the jewish leaders - instead of calling him an impostor - chose to say "We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God ". (4:157) thereby indicating a desperation to prove that they had killed him and that it was him on the cross - this is not the way a corrupt leadership would try to cover up their crimes if it was really the case, common sense would suggest that they'd attempt to discredit him as an impostor before the people - what it indicates is that they were trying to demoralize the people with shock and awe tactics which tyrants have attempted to use throughout the ages.
that's where faith in God and certainty of His reward in paradise becomes an issue for tyrants.

it's bad enough that some people who penned the account into the bible made a TOTAL joke of it.
but in SOME of the following translations of the Quran you will find much conjecture - despite the verse mentioning conjecture, which is why we should be careful with translations:
here's the original verse:
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
{4:157}

004:157 Khan	:	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)]:
004:157 Maulana	:	And for their saying: We have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah, and they killed him not, nor did they cause his death on the cross, but he was made to appear to them as such. And certainly those who differ therein are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge about it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for certain:
004:157 Pickthal	:	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.
004:157 Rashad	:	And for claiming that they killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of GOD. In fact, they never killed him, they never crucified him - they were made to think that they did. All factions who are disputing in this matter are full of doubt concerning this issue. They possess no knowledge; they only conjecture. For certain, they never killed him.
004:157 Sarwar	:	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.
004:157 Shakir	:	And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the messenger 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.
004:157 Sherali	:	And for their saying, `We did slay the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of ALLAH;' whereas they slew him not, nor did they bring about his death upon the cross, but he was made to appear to them like one crucified; and those who differ therein are certainly in a state of doubt about it; they have no certain knowledge thereof, but only pursue a conjecture; and they did not arrive at a certainty concerning it.
004:157 Yusufali	:	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:-

format_quote Originally Posted by Ramadhan

Yes, prophet Jesus pbuh is in paradise.
By the leave of Allah SWT, Prophet Muhammad SAW also visited all the seven levels of paradise during Isra' Mi'raj.

It is not a paradise . It is the 2nd heaven.

Then Gabriel ascended with me till we reached the second heaven. Gabriel asked for the gate to be opened. It was asked: 'Who is it?' Gabriel answered: 'Gabriel.' It was asked: 'Who is accompanying you?' Gabriel replied, 'Muhammad.' It was asked: 'Has he been called?' Gabriel answered in the affirmative. Then it was said: 'He is welcomed. What an excellent visit his is!' The gate was opened. "When I went over the second heaven, there I saw John (Yahya) and Jesus (Isa), who were cousins of each other. Gabriel said (to me): 'These are John and Jesus; pay them your greetings.' So I greeted them and both of them returned my greetings to me and said, 'You are welcomed, 0 pious brother and pious Prophet.'

http://www.islamawareness.net/Isra/isra.html

Looks like People are getting confused between heaven and paradise. Paradise has several levels -highest of which is Jannatul Firdaus and has only one gate is guarded by Angel Rizwaan alaihi Salaam and paradise will not be entered until the day of Judgement when everyone has to account

Also, You can see very well there is no mention of Angel Rizwaan in the above link wheen Prophet Muhammad (PBUH ) went to the heavens thus proving that Paradise and the 7 heavens
are not one and the same thing

You are correct about the difference between heaven and paradise,
It's made ambiguous in the previous scripture.

However regarding jannatul firdaus being the highest, I am unsure,
Since jannah means garden
And firdaus means paradise.
It would mean the garden of paradise,
And if jannatul firdaus is the highest, we would need a new word for the others in english

format_quote Originally Posted by abz2000

You are correct about the difference between heaven and paradise,
It's made ambiguous in the previous scripture.

However regarding jannatul firdaus being the highest, I am unsure,
Since jannah means garden
And firdaus means paradise.
It would mean the garden of paradise,
And if jannatul firdaus is the highest, we would need a new word for the others in english

Janna, the etymology of the word literally means 'that which is hidden from sight' derivatives of are 'jinn' 'jinoon' all of them Janna, jinn, jinoon (craziness) come from things which are hidden, occult, not known, not gardens as is commonly understood..

& Allah swt knows best

thanks for that angle sis,
was just wondering about the context here though
- when the Quran says jannathan in surah rahman, (55:46) it does refer to two gardens
and when it says: jannaathun tajri min tahtihal anhar, it does mean gardens with rivers flowing beneath.

17. Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning.
Quran 68:17
also uses the word jannah

so wouldn't it mean garden in this context?
since our father Adam and mother Hawa lived in the Garden of Eden (jannathu 'Adn) a term which is also mentioned in Al-bayyinah (98:8)/

though Allah knows best.

format_quote Originally Posted by abz2000

thanks for that angle sis,
was just wondering about the context here though
- when the Quran says jannathan in surah rahman, (55:46) it does refer to two gardens
and when it says: jannaathun tajri min tahtihal anhar, it does mean gardens with rivers flowing beneath.

17. Verily We have tried them as We tried the People of the Garden, when they resolved to gather the fruits of the (garden) in the morning.
Quran 68:17
also uses the word jannah

so wouldn't it mean garden in this context?
since our father Adam and mother Hawa lived in the Garden of Eden (jannathu 'Adn) a term which is also mentioned in Al-bayyinah (98:8)/

though Allah knows best.

The garden where Adam & Eve were expelled from isn't the same as paradise & Allah swt knows best..
there are many things in Jannah that are described to us, that we can relate to as we understand it from this world, but obviously Jannah is nothing like this world, it is what NO eyes have seen nor ears have ever heard nor known ever to the heart of man..

& Allah swt knows best