An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 157 of 176

An-Nisa 4:157

وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَـٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ لَفِى شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا ٱتِّبَاعَ ٱلظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًۢا

“And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the messenger of Allāh." 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.[233]”

Saheeh International

Essence

Jesus, honoured by every one of his names, was neither killed nor crucified; it was made to appear so, and the claim stayed conjecture.

A reflection

Four honours inside a hostile sentence

The ayah quotes a boast: 'We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.' Listen to the names inside it. Al-Masīḥ, the Messiah. ʿĪsā, Jesus. Ibn Maryam, son of Mary. Rasūl Allāh, the messenger of Allah. Four honours, one after another.

Would those who sought his death really have called him 'the messenger of Allah'? The commentaries consider the question. Several say the title was used in mockery. Pharaoh once sneered in the same way at 'your messenger who has been sent to you' (26:27). Others offer a gentler reading. In retelling their words, Allah may have set honourable names in place of their ugly ones. On that reading, the retelling itself lifts Jesus above what was said of him.

Either way, the effect on the reader is the same. Even in a sentence spoken against him, the Quran will not let Jesus be named without honour.

That is its tone towards him throughout. Later in this same surah he is called Allah's word, cast to Mary, and a spirit from Him (4:171). The Prophet ﷺ described meeting him on the night of the Ascension. He was of medium height and ruddy complexion, as if he had just stepped out of a bath. That tender detail is in Sahih al-Bukhari.

Picture a grandfather reading this ayah aloud to his granddaughter. She stops him. Why does it give Jesus all those names, right in the middle of his enemies' boast? He thinks for a moment. 'Because that is how Allah wants us to remember him. Not by what they said. By who he was.'

A Muslim who reads this ayah should come away loving Jesus more, not less.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.