Jesus' resurrection

Started by fireheart47, December 15, 2024, 01:59:35 PM

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fireheart47

Hello Quran's Message forum,

Please discern between my ideas and the truth, and may God guide you to an answer. I hope the scholarly among you may answer my questions and consider my conjecture.

One of my troubles with the Qur'an and mysteries of the Qur'an are the verses pertaining to Jesus' death and resurrection in Surah an-Nisa 4:157, it reads:

Surah an-Nisa 4:157
Quoteوَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَـٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ لَفِى شَكٍّۢ مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا ٱتِّبَاعَ ٱلظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًۢا

Sahih International
QuoteAnd [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah ." 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.

Surah an-Nisa 4:158
Quoteبَل رَّفَعَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًۭا 

Sahih Intl.

QuoteRather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.

Arabic pasted from https://quran.com and English translation from https://www.islamicity.org/quransearch/

*Note: I usually study with https://www.islamicity.org/quran/ and prefer AJ Arberry English translation found on http://archive.org , because of the translation:
QuoteThe Opening 1:2 Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being.

When I read the whole chapter and tried to find the context of the verses, I saw these verses as important:

Surah an-Nisa 4:46

Quoteمِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ يُحَرِّفُونَ ٱلْكَلِمَ عَن مَّوَاضِعِهِۦ وَيَقُولُونَ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَٱسْمَعْ غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍۢ وَرَٰعِنَا لَيًّۢا بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ وَطَعْنًۭا فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۚ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَٱسْمَعْ وَٱنظُرْنَا لَكَانَ خَيْرًۭا لَّهُمْ وَأَقْوَمَ وَلَـٰكِن لَّعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا

Sahih Intl.

QuoteAmong the Jews are those who distort words from their [proper] usages and say, "We hear and disobey" and "Hear but be not heard" and "Ra'ina," twisting their tongues and defaming the religion. And if they had said [instead], "We hear and obey" and "Wait for us [to understand]," it would have been better for them and more suitable. But Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not, except for a few.

with specific emphasis on this segment:

Quoteمَّوَاضِعِهِۦ وَيَقُولُونَ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا

Quote[they*] say, "We hear and disobey"

*I added this to show it was talking about Jewish people, which is shown if you hover over the words in Islamicity.org

Surah an-Nisa 4:155

Quoteفَبِمَا نَقْضِهِم مِّيثَـٰقَهُمْ وَكُفْرِهِم بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَقَتْلِهِمُ ٱلْأَنۢبِيَآءَ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّۢ وَقَوْلِهِمْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌۢ ۚ بَلْ طَبَعَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهَا بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا

Sahih Intl.

QuoteAnd [We cursed them] for their breaking of the covenant and their disbelief in the signs of Allah and their killing of the prophets without right and their saying, "Our hearts are wrapped". Rather, Allah has sealed them because of their disbelief, so they believe not, except for a few.

It seems there is a constant theme of criticizing Judah, the place and people with power in the temples of Jerusalem. I believe the criticism here is not to deny the Jewish people right to their faith or exclude them from Islam. Instead it is to warn them against a tradition of viewing themselves negatively, as rejecters and stumblers, instead of believers and people with a right to salvation and a right to the straight path. This conflict and negative self-perception is something which the Bible talks often about: the Golden Calf, Moses and him never arriving to the promised land, and in light of Christianity, the conspirators against or killers of Jesus.

So, this could add context to why Jesus wasn't killed but instead lives, because God raised him. He is not another source of collective negative self-perception.

Additionally, I have pondered about the use of وما in 4:157, because the Hebrew cognate מה can also mean "how" (Book of Numbers 24:5). In some instances it can negate, yet it does not seem as strong of a negation as ولم (Surah al-Ikhlas 112:4). Could this change the meaning, so that the killing and crucifixion is not negated, rather stated as a condition before arriving to the final conclusion? What do scholars think?

When I reflect upon this verse in light of what the Gospels say, I find some conflict. Jesus' death, be it by crucifix or on a stake (Deuteronomy 22:22-23, Luke 23:31, Acts of Apostles 5:3, and JW sect belief), is an important part of the gospel narratives, which can't be easily negated, because of multiple allusions to it throughout the gospels.

In one lecture, Dr. Zakir Naik, makes a powerful argument against it, by pointing out the outcome of the Jonah story, where he survives. Or prophecies which speak of people being unharmed. Yet, I believe resurrection teaching, which Jesus and others in the Jewish faith believe in, is that resurrection is the survival of ourselves after death. So, I believe the Jonah story comparison can be refuted, since it alluded to a future resurrection.

What is the resurrection? This is something which troubles many, because it seems very difficult to believe someone can conquer death, and seems like a fanciful story. Yet, I believe idea of resurrection can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where the priests would observe nature's cycles, and determined our lives must conform to a cycle. Many Egyptologists talk about how these stories deal with the Pharaoh's journey into the afterlife, yet I believe they are universal stories, which were attributed to the kings in their tombs, because of the political structure of the religion and the funerary economy the priesthood could complete if they conformed their wisdom around the identity of the king. So for example, in one story, a person's soul transforms to light, and passes through a group of beings of light, then must struggle against a monster representing chaos and annihilation, before rising with the sun. This idea of rising up, the idea of our light rising again with the sunrise, reminds me of the word al-Qiyama, القيامة.

(Source: Egyptian Secrets of the Afterlife, National Geographic)

For this reason, I believe the idea of a metaphysical resurrection makes more sense than a physical resurrection. In a metaphysical resurrection, one's qualities and attributes survive, and are manifested in others. The essence of ourselves or mathematics of our being persists in the universe, God-willing. In a physical resurrection, one's body re-materializes and we come back to life fully ourselves and with a body to control our spirit. I hope the latter option is true, and God knows, I don't.

The former option is demonstrated in various parts of the gospels (Gospel of Matthew 18:20 [Jesus' presence amongst his followers], Gospel of Mark 16:12 [Jesus appears in different form], Gospel of Luke 24:16 [Disciples can't recognize him], Gospel of John 20:14-17 [Jesus resembles gardener]).

What do you all think about this topic?