Is Prophet Isa Alive or Dead?
Brief description of the dubiety
In some verses of the Holy Quran such as Surah Ale Imran, verse 55; and Surah al-Nisa, verse 157, the Quran discusses the ‘death’ of Prophet Isa. The contents in these verses appear to be contradictory because in some of them it refers to his death; but in others it denies his death.
Detailed description of the dubiety
Contradictory Verses
Verse which rejects Prophet Isa’s death
In Surah al-Nisa, verse 157 it is mentioned: “And for their saying, ‘We killed the Messiah, Isa son of Mariam, 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 about that beyond following conjectures, and certainly, they did not kill him.” In this verse, it has been clarified that Prophet Isa was not killed.
Verses which refer to Prophet Isa’s death or removal from this world
In Surah Ale Imran, verse 55 it says: “When Allah said, ‘O Isa, I shall take you[r soul], and I shall raise you up towards Myself, and I shall clear you of [the calumnies of] the faithless, and I shall set those who follow you above the faithless until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me will be your return, where I will judge between you concerning that about which you used to differ.’” This verse shows that Allah took Prophet Isa up towards Himself.
There are also other verses which refer to this as well. In Surah al-Maidah, verse 117 we read: “I did not say to them [anything] except what You had commanded me to say: ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ And I was a witness to them so long as I was among them. But when You had taken me away, You Yourself were watchful over them, and You are witness to all things.” It is also mentioned in Surah Mariam, verse 33: “Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised alive.”
Summary
In some verses of the Quran there have been references to Prophet Isa’s death or being taken away from this world; but in the verse of Surah al-Nisa, it says that they certainly did not kill him, and he is not dead, and these verses at first glance appear to be contradictory.
A summarized response
In Surah al-Nisa, verse 157, the fact that Prophet Isa was not killed has been confirmed; but in the second group, it appears as if his death has been confirmed. There is no contradiction between these two because murder means death in an unnatural fashion, meaning that someone or some people have killed another person. Now that we have established that death is separate to murder, one can understand that Prophet Isa’s life was not ended by other people according to verse 157 of Surah al-Nisa and he was not killed, even though according to other verses, it is possible that he may have died.
A detailed response
Introduction
The confirmation of a contradiction relies on the incompatibility of two reports
If there are different reports regarding a certain incident, then one can only say that they are contradictory when the reports are incompatible. In reality, contradiction means that it is impossible for these to be compatible, in other words, the existence of one leads to the negation of the other. For example, the two sentences ‘it is cold outside’ and ‘it is hot outside’ are contradictory to one another; thus one cannot say they are compatible because the first sentence (it is cold outside) negates the fact that the weather is hot. In reality, it negates the exact thing which is mentioned in the other sentence. The second sentence (it is hot outside) also negates the first sentence which said that it was cold outside. Only one of these two sentences can be correct, and they cannot both be true at the same time. Under such circumstances, the reports are inconsistent, but if one report does not negate the other report and they can exist at the same time, then one cannot say that they are conflicting.
For example, it is mentioned in a newspaper that the star player of the Brazilian football team was involved in a terrible car accident two days before the final game. Two days later, it is written in a newspaper that the Brazilian football team has been crowned champions with the help of their star player. At first sight, it is possible to think that these two reports are contradictory because it is not possible for someone who was involved in a car crash to participate in a sporting competition two days later, but these two reports can be compatible and are not inconsistent automatically because someone who is involved in a car crash may not necessarily be injured. Therefore, it is possible that the star player of the football team was not injured and was able to play in the finals.
Assessment of the definitions of «قتل» and «توفی»
In order to assess the aforementioned words, one must recognise the literal meanings of some of the words that we are to assess here. «قتل» means that someone kills another person, i.e. to kill someone with a weapon or through poison. [1] The literal meaning of «توفی» means to take something completely. For example, «توفّیتُ مالَه» means: ‘I took his wealth completely.’ [2] When this verb is used for human beings, it means the complete seizing of the soul. The Quran has used this word in issues regarding death, because death includes the complete seizing of the soul. For example, in Surah al-Sajdah, verse 11 it is mentioned: “Say, ‘You will be taken away by the angel of death, who has been charged with you. Then you will be brought back to your Lord.’”
However, this verb is not used solely for death, but rather it is also used for sleep. It has been mentioned in Surah al-Zumar, verse 42 that: “Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those who have not died in their sleep. Then He retains those for whom He has ordained death and releases the others until a specified time. There are indeed signs in that for a people who reflect.” In this verse, the word «توفی» is used in the context of taking the souls at the time of death, but it is also used for people who are asleep. One must keep in mind that «توفی» also includes all kinds of death, be it natural death or murder.
Assessment of the verse which rejects the death of Prophet Isa
It has been mentioned in Surah al-Nisa, verse 157 that Prophet Isa was not killed: “…though they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him…”
Two theories have been negated in this verse:
1. The murder of Prophet Isa;
2. Prophet Isa’s crucifixion, even though crucifixion leads to one’s death, but it is possible that the negation of this after the negation of his murder was for emphasis, because if the Quran only rejected the murder of Prophet Isa, it would be possible that those who claim that he was murdered could say, “Crucifixion is a form of execution and it is not included in the word «قتل»,” but by clarifying that Prophet Isa was not crucified, the Quran removed this possibility as well.
In conclusion, one can say that this verse proves that Prophet Isa was not killed by anyone.
Assessment of the verses which refer to Prophet Isa’s death
In the second group of verses, words have been used as if Prophet Isa is dead. Now we will assess these verses and see if they contradict the verse which rejects the murder of Prophet Isa or not.
Assessment of verse 55 of Surah Ale Imran
This verse is as follows: “When Allah said, ‘O Isa, I shall take you[r soul], and I shall raise you up towards Myself…” In this verse, the words «توفّی» and «رفع» have both been used in the subjective form. As we explained in the introduction, the verb «توفّی» has many meanings and includes all forms of death. Therefore, this verse does not specify whether Prophet Isa is alive, died a natural death, or was murdered. All that is understood from this word is the seizing of Prophet Isa’s soul by Allah, but this is not in contradiction with the fact that he had not been killed, because it is also possible that he either died a natural death, or some of the other states of «توفّی» had occurred for him other than murder.
There are also different meanings for the word «رفع», but one of the best definitions is that when Allah mentioned this, He meant that he would raise his position and status. [3] Therefore, «رفع» does not give the meaning of murder and thus it is not contradictory to Surah al-Nisa, verse 157.
Assessment of verse 117 of Surah al-Nisa
In this verse it says: “…but when You had taken me away, You Yourself were watchful over them…” In this verse, the verb «توفّیتني» has also been used, but as explained before, «توفّی» has different meanings and only one of these definitions refers to murder. «توفّی» can also occur due to a natural death, or death from an illness or accident. Therefore, this verse is compatible with verse 157 this same surah because it is possible that Prophet Isa was not killed, but only his soul had been taken.
Assessment of verse 33 of Surah Mariam
This verse quotes Prophet Isa as saying: “Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised alive.” In this verse, the Prophet sends peace upon himself in three situations - when he was born, when he dies, and when he is resurrected. For the time of death, the word «أموت» is used, and this word is in the present tense. In the Arabic language, the present tense is used for both the present and the future. [4] The present tense verb was definitely used for the future because his death had not occurred at the time in which Prophet Isa said these words. On this basis, there is no contradiction between the sentences ‘Prophet Isa was not killed in the past’ and ‘Prophet Isa will die in the future.’
Even if this claim is not accepted, there will still be no contradiction between this verse and Surah al-Nisa, verse 157 because inthat verse, Prophet Isa’s death was negated, but in this verse his death has been confirmed, however as mentioned there are several different kinds of death: natural death, murder, illness or accident. Therefore, there is no contradiction between the two phrases ‘he is dead’ and ‘he has not been killed’ because it is possible that he could have died naturally.
Conclusion
In verse 157 of Surah al-Nisa, Prophet Isa’s murder has been negated, but in the verses of the second group, his «توفّی», «موت» and «رفع» have been confirmed, but there is no contradiction between the negation of the fact that he was killed and these three issues, because «توفّی» means the complete seizure of the soul, and this has many definitions which are unexclusive to murder. «رفع» also means the raising of status and position, and this is not contradictory to the rejection of him being killed. «موت» in verse 33 of Surah Mariam has been used in the meaning of the future tense, and also there is no contradiction between death and the rejection of his murder because death has different aspects and is not just limited to murder. Therefore, these verses are all compatible with each other.
Common example
The prime minister of a country passes away suddenly without any record of illness. The health minister announces the news of the prime minister’s death to the press and says: “This afternoon, the prime minister passed away.” After two days, the health minister stands at the rostrum and announces that: “The prime minister was not killed. Do not listen to the rumours.” There is no contradiction between the first and second statements of the health minister, and they are compatible with one another because it is possible that the prime minister died naturally. Basically, he passed away but was not killed. This is a similar situation to that of Prophet Isa, and therefore there is no contradiction.