Was Christ Really Crucified - By Faris Al-Qayrawani

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Was Christ ReallyCrucified

Faris Al-Qayrawani

1 Introduction2

2 Chapter One 3

21 Logical Reasons for theCrucif ixion 4

211 Judge for Yourself 4

212 Die for a Lie 5

213 Eye-witnesses5

214 Logical Evidence6

215 Gods Treachery 12

216 The Resurrection the Power of the Church13

22 Biblical Reasons for theCrucif ixion 13

221 Atonement 13

222 Prophecies 15

223 Jesus Testimony15

3 CHAPTER TWO 16

31 The Pagan Documents 16

311 Acts of Pontius Pilate 1832 The Jewish Documents18

321 The Talmud 19

33 The Gnostic Documents 20

34 The Christian Documents 21

35 Additional Evidence 22

4 CHAPTER THREE22

41 Opinions of Muslim Expositors23

411 Conclustion 25

42 The Correct Interpretation 26

43 Conclusion 36

5 BIBLIOGRAPHY 36

51 English References 36

52 Other Sources37

53 Arabic References37

6 QUIZ 38

7 Footnotes39

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1 Introduction

It is not the purpose of this study to kindleany flame of rancour or anger betweenChristians and Muslims in a world alreadypolluted with fury hatred segregationprejudice racial conflict violence andfanaticism Our main intention is toexamine a complicated issue thecrucifixion of Christ We believe that thisevent is the central issue of disputebetween the two faiths In the light of thehistorical religious and other logical dataavailable to us we will endeavour to focus

objectively on the Biblical record toexpose the divine truth as revealed to us inthe Gospels We would also like to helpremove the cloud of doubt and rejectionthat has shrouded the minds of our friendsthe Muslims We will appeal primarily toreason but we hope also to provide aneffective tool that will nurture and deepenthe faith and hope of Christian believers

No doubt the cross is the core of the

Christian faith The Bible clearly indicatesthat the eternal destiny of man dependstotally on the atoning death of Christ onthe cross

This is what Christianity teaches

This is what Christians believe

Islam rejects the whole concept of thecross Muslims allege that it is againstreason to claim that God the Omnipotent

would not forgive mans sins without thecross To say so is to limit Gods powerWhen repentance they say is combinedwith Gods mercy and forgiveness itbecomes sufficient to award the penitentall the pleasures of the paradise promisedin the Quran

The contrast between the two perspectivesis similar to the contrast between East andWest A Christian who believes in Christas the Son of God and in His atoning

death finds the sure guarantee of eternallife in the cross God has embodied Hislove grace mercy and justice on the crossThe source of this certainty is Christspromises Jesus said Whosoeverbelieveth in mehas everlasting life(John 316 NKJ) A Christian can restwell-assured that he has indeed beengranted eternal life on the basis of Jesuspromises Such phrases as if God willsor that depends on Gods mercy cannot

be part of that assurance These phrasesfail to provide any sense of security in thelife of any believer because he would lack the certainty he needs for a fruitful solidfaith This does not mean that a person canindulge in sin believing that the death of Christ has secured for him the pardon of his transgressions in advance Anyone whoseeks everlasting life has to live a

Was Christ Really Crucified

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Christ-like life to meet the moral demands

of the Christian faith A person whose lifedoes not attest to the new creation in himmay still be under the condemnation of Gods wrath

Salvation in Islam is based on acontinuous effort to obtain Gods favourwhich would be bestowed in the form of blessings joys and the pleasures of paradise if He wills This requiresconstant exertion in the hope of pleasingGod A Muslim can never be sure that hereally has pleased God and secured Hisapproval

Good deeds in Islam are an exigency forobtaining Gods reward while good worksin Christianity are the fruit of love andfaith To Christians good works are not ameans of earning some present or futurereward Everlasting life has already beenguaranteed by the merit of the redemptiveact of Christ on the cross It embraces

whoever believes in Him as LordRedeemer and Saviour This is aninescapable condition When thiscondition of faith is met Christian lifebears fruit -- that is good works --naturally There is no need to strive to begood because you are already a newcreature a new person But there is a greatneed to grow in faith and to broaden yourChristian spiritual influence as a goodwitness to Christ

A rose fills the air with its scent naturallyIt does not strive to do so It is its nature toproduce sweet aroma but the entire bushhas to grow in order to continue to yieldmore beautiful roses Likewise it is theChristian nature to bear good fruit as thenatural expression of the new life of thetrue Christian and not to obtain somereward or to secure everlasting life (which

already has been secured through the

blood of Jesus Christ)

In this study we will employ all theavailable historical documents andrecognised references to establish thereality of the crucifixion as an historicalevent that took place almost 2000 yearsago and the fact that the crucified one wasnone other than Jesus Christ Himself Webelieve that all other claims are invalid andcontradict the historical evidence

It is our fervent desire that our Muslimfriends would read this book with an openmind heart and spirit since the motivebehind the writing is to make known thetruth of the cross as an historical andspiritual event We do not ask them toagree with us but rather we hope tostimulate in them the interest to investigatethe veracity or fallacy of Christian beliefHad the founder of Islam been resigned toaccept the religion of his ancestors without

questioning its authenticity he would havebeen content to worship the idols of Meccainstead of the god of the Quran Thereforewe invite our Muslim friends to scrutinisethis brief study thoroughly before theyresolve to deny or to accept theauthenticity of the cross

2 Chapter One

Reasons for the Crucifixion

The redemptive act of Jesus Christ on thecross for the salvation of the human race isan essential tenet of the Christian faith Itwas neither planned nor implemented bypeople but has been carried out by GodHimself Therefore man cannot claim anycredit for it

Since the inception of Islam in the seventhcentury AD the death of Christ on the






cross and His resurrection have been

disputed issues between Muslims andChristians Muslims deny that Jesus wascrucified or even that He died a naturaldeath (although some of their scholars areinclined to say that Jesus suffered a naturaldeath and then God raised Him up toheaven) On the other hand Christiansmaintain that Jesus was crucified for thesalvation of mankind Both sides quotetheir own holy scripture to prove theirpoint of view implying their disbelief of

the others scripture

Muslim denial of the crucifixion of Christaims at negating the whole concept of atonement or even the need for a saviourTo them salvation could be achievedwithout shedding blood that is withoutthe atoning act that took its final andeternal form on the cross in the person of Christ In one reference to the crucifixionthe Bible says

without shedding of blood there is noremission (Hebrews 922 NKJ)

This is the very thing all Muslims stronglydenounce Muslims believe that bothrepentance and good deeds are sufficientto save people from their iniquitiesbecause forgiveness always depends onGods mercy and his will1 Muslims also do not believe that there isa need for an intercessor between man andGod They claim that man is borninnocent He deviates from the straightpath not because of his inherited fallennature but because of his weakness anddeficiency I would like to point out a brief study of The Fallen Nature of Man in Islam and Christianity2 in which the author convincingly refutesthese claims citing both Islamic andChristian sources

The reasons Christians firmly believe that

Jesus Christ died on the cross and wasresurrected on the third day are presentedbriefly within the context of this study

21 Logical Reasons for theCrucifixion

In their absolute denial of the death of Christ Muslims rely on one verse in theQuran Sura al-Nisa 4156--157

and for their saying (in boast) We slewthe Messiah Jesus son of Mary theMessenger of God -- yet they did not slayhim neither crucified him only a likenessof that was shown to them Those who areat variance concerning him surely are indoubt regarding him they have noknowledge of him except the following of surmise and they slew him not of acertainty -- no indeed God raised him upto Him God is All-mighty All-wise

On the basis of this solitary verse whichdenies the death of Christ (though thisverse is subject to various contradictoryinterpretations) Muslims assert that thecrucifixion of Jesus did not take place andthat the story of Christs death andresurrection is the innovation of the earlyChristians Such a charge prompts us tocall attention to the following

211 Judge for Yourself

First assume that you are a judge and acase similar to the case of Christscrucifixion is presented to you Howwould you react to such a case when it iscorroborated by various authentichistorical documents and actual texts of the trial What would you say if thesedocuments included dialogue that took place between Christ and Pilate the






Roman governor details of the debate

between Jesus and the Jewish leaders inthe Sanhedrin the testimonies of the eyewitnesses the list of names of those whowere present during the trial and anaccount of the events that occurred beforeduring and after the crucifixion Howwould you respond to someone who comesalong after six centuries and by oneuncorroborated statement claims that thedeath of Jesus has never happened and allthat is recorded in the Gospel accounts

about this story is the product of theimaginations of the early church fathersWould you as a just judge accept histestimony against all the other provenfacts Some may claim that the aboveverse was revealed to Muhammad by Godand that God does not lie If this is so thenit is the claimants duty to proveconclusively that it is inspired by God

We are here confronted by two facts Firstwe have two books the Quran and the

Bible and each one of them is regarded byits followers as a revelation from GodApparently this cannot be true becausethey contradict each other in some of theirmost basic doctrines This being the caseone of them must have come from a sourceother than God It is of no avail to chargethat the People of the Book as Islam callsthe Jews and the Christians have pervertedthe Bible because all objective studies --not studies based on speculation or

imagination -- have proven the authenticityof the Bible as we currently have it

The second fact is that historicaldocuments corroborate the Gospel textwhile no historical evidence is available toattest to the veracity of the Quranic textconcerning the crucifixion of Jesus Whenhistory confirms the Biblical text but notthe Quranic text then the advantage is

with the Bible and not with the Quran

In addition Christians believe that theirBook is inspired by God Thus every textis divinely revealed When the text issupported by dozens of prophecies whichhave been fulfilled literally in the personof Christ and Christ Himself quoted themand applied them to his person then theChristian claim has the greater weight Itbecomes incumbent on the Muslim torefute and disprove the authenticity of these historical archaeological andBiblical facts To do so he has to presentstronger and more conclusive proof tooutweigh the Christian evidence

212 Die for a Lie

Second if the death of Christ was just anancient myth would all Jesus discipleswith the exception of John have sacrificedtheir lives for it The Quran itself testifiesto the faithfulness goodness and

devoutness of the disciples and calls themexamples to be followed Such peoplewould not fabricate a tale about theirMaster A man may sacrifice his life for anoble end or for a cause in which hebelieves but no one would offer his lifeknowingly for a lie or a myth It isespecially difficult to believe thatGod-fearing men like the disciples woulddie to promote a lie

213 Eye-witnesses

Third from Christs resurrection and up tothe last moment of their lives the disciplescontinued to preach the Gospel of salvation Most often their preachingduring the first period of their ministrywas among the Jewish circles whowitnessed the crucifixion of Jesus andknew the story of his resurrection Despite






that not a single Jew or any of their

religious leaders who conspired againstChrist accused them of lying Ten daysafter the Ascension of Christ the apostlePeter confronted a large crowd of Jews inJerusalem and told them bluntly

Him being delivered by the predeterminedcounsel and foreknowledge of God you havetaken by lawless hands have crucified and putto death (Acts 223 NKJ)

On a similar occasion Peter declared to the

Jews

But you denied the Holy One and theJustkilled the Prince of Life whom God raisedfrom the dead of which we are witnesses (Acts314--15 NKJ)

The New Testament is crowded withsimilar testimonies that bear witness to thedeath of Christ and His crucifixion at thehand of the Jews contemporary with thedisciples Had these charges been invalid

the Jews would have denied them and thedisciples would not have sacrificed theirlives for a lie or a myth3

214 Logical Evidence

Fourth there is also a quantity of otherlogical evidence that is difficult to ignoreOne of the most compelling historicalaccounts is the human drama whose stages

were the courts of the Sanhedrin thepraetorium of Pilate and the palace of Herod along with the horrifying hill that isknown in history as Golgotha In his book Who Moved The Stone the British authorFrank Morrison4 examined the story of the crucifixion of Christ and his resurrection with the criticalmind of a skilled experienced lawyer whowas determined to refute the Christian

allegations The outcome of his intensive

study was unexpected and took Morrisonby surprise Instead of writing a refutationagainst the myth of the cross as heintended to do he produced a documentthat slapped the face of the sceptic

The documents available to us indicatethat Jesus trial lasted all night and part of the next day It was not a secret trial but atrial attended by the general public theJewish leaders and the members of theSanhedrin the highest Jewish authority in

Jesus time This fact creates an unresolveddilemma for the Muslims who allege thatthe crucified one was not really Jesus butanother person perhaps Judas IscariotThis claim is erroneous and lackshistorical proof It does not fit into thenature of the events Could not thecrucified substitute complain loudly andvigorously during his public trial that hewas not Jesus Actually the response of the defendant when He declared that He

was the Son of God was sufficient tosentence Him to death Is it reasonable thata substitute who was mistakenly arrestedwould ascribe to himself so grave a claimunder such circumstances All thehistorical documents at our disposal do notrecord any remonstrance orsemi-remonstrance expressed by theShabih (the one who allegedly resembledChrist) I do not believe that Judas Iscariot--- if he was the crucified one as Muslims

claim --- would not have seized such agolden opportunity to save himself froman atrocious death

On the other hand the Gospel records forus a sublime attitude that could notemanate from any person other thanChrist In His last hours while He was stillnailed to the cross He forgave His killersand enemies with a heart full of love This






act cannot originate from the heart of a

person like Judas Iscariot who betrayed hisLord and delivered Him to His enemies

Furthermore we should not ignore the roleof Mary Jesus mother and the rest of thewomen who accompanied her to the crossalong with the beloved disciple JohnThey were eye-witnesses to thecrucifixion Those devout faithfulfollowers of Christ attest to His actualdeath and crucifixion Even more Johntells us that Jesus Christ in spite of Hisexcruciating pain turned His face towardsHis mother and told her Woman beholdyour son Then He turned His face to Hisfaithful disciple and said Behold yourmother (John 1925--27 NKJ) Was notMary able to distinguish between her sonsvoice and the voice of an impostor theShabih

There is also another important issue thatMuslim commentators failed to resolve

the case of Jesus body Muslims claim thatthe Shabih resembled Jesus in his faceonly His body was not subject to anychange They said The face is the face of Jesus but the body is not His [body]5 They made this statement in the contextof their interpretation of Sura al-Nisa4157

Those who are at variance concerning himsurely are in doubt regarding him they have noknowledge of him except the following of

surmise

If this statement is true how then didMary fail to recognise the differencebetween the body of her son and the bodyof the Shabih

Moreover we have other tangible evidencethat is hard for any objective researcher tooverlook In the context of the crucifixion

story it is stated that Joseph of Arimathea

and Nicodemus a member of theSanhedrin and a secret believer in Jesuswere able to obtain official permissionfrom the Roman governor Pontius Pilateto lay Jesus in a tomb that Joseph hadprepared for himself If the crucified onewas the Shabih and not Jesus how didthese two men fail to distinguish betweenJesus body and the body of an impostorDid Judas have for instance the sameheight weight and skin colour of Jesus

Did he have the same hair and othervisible characteristics of his holy MasterActually Josephs act was a fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah about Jesus Hisgrave was assigned with wicked men yethe was with a rich man in his death(Isaiah 539)

2141 Six Ambiguities

In his commentary on Sura Al Imran 355al-Fakhr al-Razi summarises in six points

the problems that resulted from the theoryof the Shabih These six points are of greatimportance since they are based on soundlogic insight and accurate observationsWhen he tried to refute them he presentedsome unconvincing answers that createdadditional problems for the readers

In order to realise the significance of theseproblems it is appropriate to quote themliterally That would help us to

comprehend the complexities of the theoryof the Shabih It seems however thatal-Razi was indeed convinced of theirvalidity6

bull The First AmbiguityIf we allow thelikeness of one person to be caste onanother that would entail sophistry Forif I see my son (the first time) then I






see him again it becomes possible that

the one I see for the second time is notmy son but just an imperso-nationThat will eliminate the trust in theperceptible concrete things Likewisethe Companions of Muhammad whosaw him instructing and prohibitingthem could not have been certain thathe was the same Muhammad becauseof the possibility that his likeness mayhave been caste on somebody elseThis will entail the collapse of thelaws The pivotal theme in the chain of the oral narration is that the firstnarrator has related what is perceptibleIf making an error in perceptible visualthings is possible then making an errorin relating orally an incident is moreprobable In summary opening such adoor is the beginning of sophistry andits end is the nullification of prophecies entirely

bull The Second AmbiguityGod the

Most High ordered Gabriel peace beupon him to accompany (Jesus) mostof the time This is what the expositorsindicated as they interpreted hissaying As I upheld thee with the holyspirit (Sura al-Maida 5110) Also theedge of one of Gabriels wings wassufficient for taking care of mankindHow then was that not good enough toprotect (Jesus) from the JewsFurthermore since (Jesus) peace beupon him was capable of raising the

dead and of healing the blind and theleper how did he fail to inflict thoseJews who intended to hurt him withdeath or afflicting them with ailmentschronic illnesses and paralysis torender them incapable of confrontinghim

bull The Third AmbiguityGod the Most

High could have saved (Jesus) from

his enemies by lifting him up toheaven What then is the use of castinghis likeness on somebody else Wouldnot this cause an unfortunate person tosuffer death for no reason

bull The Fourth AmbiguityIf he caste hislikeness on another person and thenwas lifted up to heaven people wouldthink that the Shabih is Jesus when infact he was not That would make thema subject of deception and obscurity

This is incompatible with Godswisdom

bull The Fifth AmbiguityMultitudes of Christians in both Eastern and Westernhemispheres despite their extremelove to Christ peace be upon him andtheir excess exaltation of him reportedthat they saw him slain and crucifiedIf we deny this that would be adiscrediting of what was verified byoral transmission The discrediting of

the oral transmission demands thediscrediting of the prophethood of bothMuhammad and Jesus and even the(denial) of their historicity and thehistoricity of the rest of the prophetsThis is futile

bull The Sixth AmbiguityBy virtue of theoral transmission (we are told) that thecrucified one survived a long time If he were not Jesus but another personhe would have become frightened and

said I am not Jesus I am anotherperson He would have made everyeffort to announce this fact Had hementioned that it would have becomewell known among the people Sincenone of this happened we knew thatthe matter is not as you claimed

2142 Al-Razis Responses






After al-Razi stated the above ambiguities

he attempted to respond to them Howeverhis refutations proved to be brief andillogical In order to maintain the samelevel of objectivity an attempt will bemade to quote these responses literallyThis will help the reader to examine themand to form his own opinion Al-Razi said

bull The First ResponseAnyone whobelieves in the only Omnipotent admitsthat God is able to create for instanceanother person in the image of Zayd

Such similarity does not necessitate theabove uncertainty This is the answerto what you mentioned

bull The Second ResponseIf Gabrielpeace be upon him defended (JesusChrist) or if God enabled Jesus peacebe upon him to repel his enemies hismiracle would have been achieved byforce of constraint (had al-ilja) This isnot admissible

bull The Third ResponseIf God had liftedJesus up and did not cast his likenesson another that miracle would havebeen achieved by force of constraint(had al-ilja)

bull The Fourth ResponseJesus discipleswere present and they were aware of the circumstances which surroundedthe event Thus they would removethat ambiguity

bull The Fifth ResponseThose who were

present at that time were few It ispossible for the few to be deludedAfter all when oral transmission ishanded down to the few it wouldbecome useless for knowledge

bull The Sixth ResponseOne probabilityis that the one who bore the likeness of Jesus peace be upon him was aMuslim (that is a believer in him) and

accepted to be his substitute In this

case it is possible that he would notdisclose the truth of the matter Inshort the questions they mentioned aresubject from some aspects to manyprobabilities Since the irrefutable textattests to Muhammads reliability in allthat he reported it would beimpossible for these contingentquestions to contradict the infallibletext and God is the possessor of guidance

These have been the responses of thescholar sheikh the orator of Rayy al-Razito the most profound dogmatic issuedisputed in the dialogue betweenChristianity and Islam They arecharacterised by naivete and superficialityIt seems also that al-Razi realised inadvance the unfeasibility of refuting themThus his last conclusive and emphaticstatement Since the irrefutable textattests to Muhammads reliability in all

that he reported it would be impossible forthese contingent questions to contradictthe infallible text That was his only wayto evade the truth

In this case we cannot but reflect onal-Fakhr al-Razis responses to dispel thedark shades of doubts by which heattempted to shroud the truth

2143 Our Response to al-Razi

bull For his first response we agree that itis true that God is able to create asmany people as he wishes to resembleeach other But in the case of Christthere was no need to do so Christ didnot endeavour to avoid crucifixion Hecame in the first place for theredemption of mankind It is a task Heelected to accomplish by His own will






If Christ really tried to evade

crucifixion either through cowardice orapathy He would be evading aresponsibility He took on Himself tofulfil This is not a characteristic of theChrist who is the Word of God In thiscase there was no need at all for God toperform the miracle of the Shabih

bull Second Christ never needed the AngelGabriel to rescue Him from the handsof his enemies Jesus was notdefenceless The miracles that He

performed before His death were evenmore wonderful and far surpassed thealleged rescue operation The factsrecorded in the Gospel are examples of His unlimited power When Hisenemies came to arrest Him He threwthem down to the ground by thepowerful word of His mouth He couldhave gone on His way safely That wasnot the first time in which the Jewsconspired against Him but each time

He slipped away from among themNone of them dared at that time to hurtHim But when His appointed timecame Jesus willingly delivered Himself to His foes to accomplish what Hecame for Al-Razi and all those likehim should have studied Christspurpose for His incarnation Thatwould have helped them to perceivethat forgiveness of sin through deathon the cross was the main reason forChrists incarnation and virgin birth

bull Third did God really need to castJesus resemblance on anybody Someclaimed that the purpose of theresemblance story was to penaliseJudas Iscariot who had betrayed hisMaster But the Gospel accountpresents us with all the facts about thesuicide of the ignominious Judas

Besides why should refraining from

casting the likeness of Jesus on theShabihbe regarded as a forcedconstraint Lifting Jesus up to heavenbefore the eyes of the Jews woulddispel any doubt that surrounded theperson of Jesus Christ Both thereligious and political Jewishleadership would realise then what agrave error they had perpetratedagainst the Word of God

bull Fourth it is true that Jesuss disciples

and some of His followers werepresent in that horrible night andwitnessed what happened to theirMaster Thus by the guidance of theHoly Spirit they accurately recordedthe details of the crucifixion on thepages of the Gospel accounts TheGospels narration corroborated bytangible references and documentsdisagrees with the Quranic text theva-rious stories of the Islamic

Tradition and the many fantasies of theMuslim expositors The Gospel haspreserved for us even the minutedetails of this important event

bull Fifth al-Razi contradicts himself as hestates in his fourth response Jesusdisciples were present and they wereaware of the circumstances whichsurrounded the event Thus theywould remove that ambiguity Nowhe claims that the disciples were few

and it is possible for the few to bedeluded After all when oraltransmission is handed down to thefew it would become useless forknowledge What a contradictionWhen al-Fakhr al-Razi realised thatquoting the disciples would serve hispurpose he resorted to them aseye-witnesses who could dispel the






ambiguity Then suddenly those

eye-witnesses become subject to theinfluence of the illusion The fact is if we examine the chain of authorities forany sound Islamic Tradition we rarelyfind any tradition supported by a chainof twelve authorities at one timeActually those who witnessed theevent of the crucifixion and those towhom Christ appeared after Hisresurrection and gathered together towatch Him ascending to heaven weremore than 500 persons Therefore thedisciples record of the crucifixion isno doubt authentic

bull Sixth according to the contrastingIslamic episodes with one or twoexceptions the Shabih was never abeliever in Christ Most Muslimexpositors are inclined to believe thatthe Shabih was one of Jesus enemiesThus it is unlikely that he would resortto silence and would not vigorously

shout that he was not Christ or thathe would not disclose the truth of thematter in that case A person who iserroneously accused and whose life isat stake would do everything possibleto save himself unless he is dying for anoble cause Also if al-Razi utilises thetruthfulness of Muhammad in all thathe reported in support of the Islamicversion of the crucifixion story wealso resort to the credibility of Christand His disciples for all the

information found in our infallibleGospel Besides one verse uttered sixcenturies later in the Quran cannotdiscredit the authentic historicaldocuments available to us

Muslim scholars also disagreed on theidentity of the Shabih Muslim narratorshave related many imaginary stories to us

and they have been quoted by many

Muslims expositors without any inquiryinto their validity These are not based onany historical document archaeologicalproof or authentic text No Muslim wasable to provide any concrete evidence toprove the veracity of any of these fantasiesconcerning the Shabih In his booklet TheCross in The Gospel and The Quran7 Iskander Jadeed was able to collect mostof these stories from their original sourcesThey contradict each other in details suchas names the order of events andoccasions That is not surprising since theyare based on sources fabricated by thenarrators imagination as they attempt tocomment on an inexplicable verse or toprove a case incongruous with the Gospelsaccount at the expense of the truth

The historical resources inform us that themyth of the resemblance as indicated inthe Quran is not a novelty During the firstsix centuries and before the inception of

Islam this false teaching was widespreadamong Christian heretics Basilides theGnostic claimed that Simon of Cyrenewho carried the cross for Christ when Hebecame weary consented to be crucified inHis stead thus God cast on him thelikeness of Christ and he was crucified

The Docetists said that Jesus was notcrucified at all but that it seemed orappeared so to the Jews Actually the wordDocetic is derived from a Greek verb

that means to seem or to appear Itsums up their general doctrine on thecrucifixion

Throughout the course of church historythe heresy of the Shabih has neverdisappeared From time to time itreappeared among the Christiancommunities in the East preached by






scattered groups of heretics In the year

AD 185 a heretic sect of the descendantof the priests of Thebes who embracedChristianity claimed that God forbids thatChrist should be crucified He was safelylifted up to heaven Also in the year AD370 a hermetic Gnostic sect that denied thecrucifixion of Jesus taught that He wasnot crucified but it seemed so to thespectators who crucified Him Again inthe year AD 520 Severus bishop of Syria fled to Alexandria where heencountered a group of philosophersteaching that Jesus Christ was notcrucified but that it only appeared so to thepeople who nailed Him on the cross InAD 560 the monk Theodor deniedChrists human nature and thus denied Hiscrucifixion About AD 610 Bishop Johnson of the governor of Cyprus began toproclaim that Christ was not crucified butthat it only seemed so to the spectatorswho crucified Him8

Among those who preached the theory of the Shabih is the Persian self-proclaimedprophet Mani (AD 276) He said thatJesus was the son of a widow and the onewho was crucified was the son of thewidow of Nain whom Jesus raised fromthe dead In another Manichaean traditionwe read that Satan was the one who soughtto crucify Jesus but he failed and wascrucified in His place

It is obvious from this brief historicalsummary that Islam has adopted theteachings of the Shabihand the denial of Jesus crucifixion from the Christianheresies We believe that these heresieswere widespread among the Gnostic sectsin the Arabian Peninsula during the era of Muhammad9 History books and bibliographies inform

us that the Council of Constantinople

(AD 380) commissioned Bishop Gregoryof Nyssa to visit churches in Arabia andJerusalem where disturbances had brokenout and schism threatened10 These sects did not construct theirbeliefs on historical evidence or officialdocuments but followed their ownconceptions and imaginations and focusedprimarily on the nature of Christs humanbody

215 Gods TreacheryFifth if we assume for the sake of argument only that the story of the Shabihis true then we would be attributingperfidy and trickery to God Accordinglythe disciples who preached fervently aboutChrists crucifixion and resurrection wouldhave been in fact preaching about thedeath and the resurrection of the ShabihThat would mean that the church whichfollowed the footsteps of the disciples

would have also been deluded for over sixcenturies---until the inception of Islam Inthis case who would be blamed Whowould have been the source of thisperfidy Why would the almighty God notreveal the truth to the disciples of Hisprophet and messenger but instead keepthem in complete darkness Why wouldGod allow the church to believe in such agrave lie for six centuries Who would beresponsible for the millions of souls who

went astray and believed in a lie It wouldseem that God was in the centre of thisconfusion He would be the one whocreated the heresy of the crucifixion andmade everyone believe that Jesus was theone who was crucified In this case Godwould not be better than the gods of Greek mythology who enjoyed deceiving eachother and their own worshippers as well






But we know that we cannot attribute any

of these detestable characteristics to GodHe is a holy God who will never contradictHis holy divine nature and actfraudulently

216 The Resurrection the Power of the Church

Lastly the resurrection has become thefocal point of the Christian faith Theresurrection was not an ordinary event thatleft no mark on the history of the church

and its development On the contrary theresurrection is the secret of the constantpower of the church and its growth If thecrucifixion is the essence of salvation theresurrection is the secret of the churchstriumph and victory The crucifixionwithout the resurrection is insignificantthe resurrection without the crucifixion ismeaningless

But the resurrection also attests to the

reality of Christs death After Hisresurrection Jesus appeared to Hisdisciples and hundreds of His loyalfollowers assuring them that He wasindeed crucified and then raised from thedead For the last 40 days of His earthlylife He continued to explain to them themeaning of that spiritual and historicalevent and its impact on humanity Maybethe most remarkable incident we can citein this respect is the reaction of the apostleThomas who was famous for his realisticapproach and suspicious mind He refusedto believe what other disciples told himabout the appearance of Jesus It seemsthat he thought that the disciples who weremourning the death of their Master hadlost their minds Therefore he challengedthem saying

Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails

and put my finger in the print of the nails and

put my hand into His side I will not believe(John 2025 NKJ)

Eight days later the disciples were togetheragain Though the doors were shut for thefear of the Jews Jesus appeared to themand stood in their midst After greetingthem he said to Thomas

Reach your finger here and look at My handsand reach your hand here and put it into Myside Do not be unbelieving but believing (John

2027 NKJ)

This passage reveals that the incident of Jesus crucifixion has been subjected to avery careful scrutiny and investigationeven by the most loyal friends of ChristHis disciples It is not acceptabletherefore to disregard the Biblical text andclaim without any solid evidence that thestory of the crucifixion of Christ is theinvention of the early Christians Needless

to say the historical credentials are infavour of the Gospels account

22 Biblical Reasons for theCrucifixion

As Christians it is incumbent on us to referto our holy book as the main source of ourbelief Both the historical andarchaeological evidence strongly supportsthe Biblical claims These provide us withsubstantial facts that we need to present to

a sceptic or a Muslim who does not acceptour Biblical record alone Let us alsoexamine some of the Biblical referencespertaining to our theme

221 Atonement

First the concept of atonement has neverbeen a Christian novelty It has been an






essential part of religious practices even

among the heathens According to the OldTestament these practices were primarilydivinely ordained rites enacted by Godafter the fall of Adam and Eve As theyconfessed their sins and realised that theyviolated Gods law God took an animalskinned it and made garments for Adamand Eve to clothe them (Genesis 320)Linguistically the word atonement meansto cover or to hide Thus according toScripture the entire concept of atonement

began with God as the result of mansfailure to live up to Gods standardEvidently this ordinance persisted inreligious rituals and worship Abel andCain both offered their sacri-fices to Godbut God accepted Abels sacrifice andrejected Cains because Cains sacrificewas based not on blood but on his owndeed Likewise Noah Abraham Isaac andJacob all offered animal sacrifices as Godordained Later during the time of Moses

these ceremonial sacrifices became awritten law Biblical scholars affirmed thatthose sacrifices were ritual symbols to thegreat and final sacrifice that is thecrucifixion of Christ11 Pagan nations took these liturgies fromthe devout men of God and offered themto their idols They distorted their purposethough basically they continued to be asymbol for expiation

Atonement in Islam is founded on good

deeds Charity and good work obliterateoffences Also the performing of the fivepillars fighting for the cause of Allah andthe reciting of the Quranic chapterspurchase the forgiveness of sins12

But there is another theme in Islam that isworth examining before we conclude thispart of our study the theme of ransom

Maybe the most outstanding reference to

this subject is found in Sura al-Saffat37107 in the context of the story of Abraham and his son who consented to beoffered as a sacrifice

And we ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice

Al-Baydawi illustrates this verse bysaying that is by what is sacrificedinstead of him thus the act by that isfulfilled

In his exposition of this verse al-Razi citesa tradition The Suddi said Abraham wascalled out he looked around and all of asudden he saw a ram intermixed withwhite and black descending from themountain He got up from beside him (hisson) took the (ram) slaughtered it andfreed his son He said My son today youwere given to me as a giftit was saidthat the (ram) was called momentous forits great status since Godaccepted it as a

ransom for Abrahams Son

How was the son given to Abraham as agift That black and white ram was slainas a ransom for Abrahams son It was thesubstitute Thus he was given a new lifeAlso the ram was great firstly becauseGod was the one who prepared it andsecondly because it was a symbol for thegreatest and the final sacrifice that isChrist the Redeemer of all humanity He isthe one about whom John the Baptist said

Behold The Lamb of God who takesaway the sin of the world (John 129NKJ)

In his book Ihya of ùlum al-Din AbuHamid al-Ghazali the greatest Islamictheologian who ever lived states13

But be informed that slaughtering the sacrifice is






(a means) to draw nearer to Godby way of

obedience Therefore perform the sacrifice andhope for God to liberate from hell by each partof it a part of you For as thus came thepromise The bigger the sacrifice is and the morenumerous its parts are the more fully yourredemption from hell is

In this same book al-Ghazali urgesMuslims to seek Gods nearness bysacrificing an animal He says

gtSeek nearness of God by sacrificing an animal

Try to sacrifice an animal which is strong andstoutthe Prophet said Nothing is dearer toGod on the Day of Sacrifice out of the actions of men than the sacrifice of an animal It will comeon the resurrection day with its hoofs and hornsand its blood falls in a place near to God beforeit falls on the ground So purify your soul bysacrifice There is in Hadith (ProphetsTradition) There is reward for every hair of thesacrificed animal and for every drop of bloodand it will be weighed near God So give goodnews The prophet said Sacrifice a good animalas it will be your carrier on the ResurrectionDay

14

222 Prophecies

Second the Old Testament is full of prophecies concerning Jesus death andresurrection It is enough to have a generallook at the Book of Isaiah to realise thatOld Testament prophets were aware of thisgreat event and looked forward to it Sincewe do not have sufficient room to point to

the ample references predicting Christsdeath agony and resurrection I would liketo refer the reader to some helpful sourcespertaining to this theme15

223 Jesus Testimony

Third Christ Himself talked about His

death and His resurrection The Gospel

accounts are crowded with verses whereJesus predicted His crucifixion andsuffering In this case when He talkedabout His death He was either a liarinsane and confused or an honest personwho declared the truth Indeed neitherChrists mortal enemies nor any Muslimdared or would dare to accuse Him of lying or insanity It remains for us to saythat Jesus was truthful in all that Hepreached and ascribed to Himself It is

futile here to claim that all the informationrecorded in the Gospel about Jesus deathare the invention of the disciples or thefathers of the early church The integrityand honesty of Christs disciples havenever been questioned or doubted Johnthe Evangelist ascertains in his first Epistle11--2 NKJ

That which was from the beginning which wehave heard which we have seen with our eyeswhich we have looked upon and our hands have

handled concerning the Word of Life---the lifewas manifested and we have seen and bearwitness and declare to you that eternal lifewhich was with the father and was manifested tous--

The rest of the disciples reiterated thesame testimony especially the apostlePeter All of them are honesteye-witnesses16 But the greatest testimony we cite inthe context of this study is Christs

testimony about Himself Jesus quoted theprophecies of the Old Testament andapplied them to Himself He alsoexpounded them in lucid language todispel any doubt that may cloud the mindsof His audience He was accustomed tosay That the scripture may be fulfilledor As it is written or something similar17 As He quoted Old Testament






prophecies He would explain to the

disciples along with the multitudes whogathered together to hear Him how theseprophecies were fulfilled in Him Forinstance in one speech to His disciples Hesaid

These are the words which I spoke to you whileI was still with you that all things concerningme must be fulfilled which were written in theLaw of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalmsmust be fulfilled Then He said to them Thusit is written and thus it was necessary for theChrist to suffer and to rise from the dead the

third day (Luke 24 44-46 NKJ)

The above verses include two importantfacts First the prophecies in the entire OldTestament refer to Jesus and not to anyother prophet When Jesus pointed to theLaw of Moses the Prophets and thePsalms He covered the whole OldTestament with the exception of thehistorical books He documented all Hisclaims by quoting these familiar

prophecies and explained them to theastonished disciples It is very interestingto see how Muslims selected some of theseprophecies which Christ ascribed toHimself to prove to the Jews that he wasthe Messiah and applied them toMuhammad In the opinion of the authorbased on the interpretations of Jesus andthe disciples the Islamic claims are invalidand deceptive

Second Jesus Himself made it clear to the

disciples that He had to be crucified anddie and then be raised from the tomb onthe third day Jesus here attests to Hiscrucifixion and defies any other claim thatdenies or rejects this historical fact It isvery hard for the sceptic to look Jesus inthe eye and say to Him You are a liar

3 CHAPTER TWO

The Historical Documents

There are many historical documentsattesting to the death of Christ Hiscrucifixion is mentioned in pagan JewishGnostic and Christian literature Theevidence of Christs existence and mode of death is multiple yet consistent We willexamine the crucifixion of Jesus throughthe writings of various historians

31 The Pagan Documents

The pagan documents play an eminent rolein the story of the crucifixion primarilybecause the authors do not belong to anyChristian sect and do not take its side Therelevant passages quoted from suchliterature are more in contempt of Christianity rather than in praiseespecially in the first era of church history

Most pagan documents available to us arethe product of the first two Christiancenturies They attest to events that took

place in the life of Christ and during Histime

It is worthwhile to analyze the testimoniesof these political writers and chroniclers inthe light of the political and religiousevents of the age

Among those outstanding authors whodocumented and shed light on thecrucifixion of Jesus are

Cornelius Tacitus(ca AD 55--120) aRoman historian famous for his integrityand goodness He outlived six emperorsand was called the greatest historian of ancient Rome His best known books arethe Annals and the Histories The Annalsis composed of 18 books and the Historiesof 12 books Tacitus held the offices of Praetor in AD 88 Consul in 97 and






Proconsul in 122

18 FF Bruce indicates that Tacitus mighthave received his information about Christand Christians from the official records towhich he had access19 In his two major historical worksTacitus recorded three references to Christand Christianity The most important oneis found in his Annals

Consequently to get rid of the report Nerofastened the guilt and inflicted the mostexquisite tortures on a class hated for their

abominations called Christians by the populousChristus from whom the name had its originsuffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procuratorsPontius Pilatus and a most mischievoussuperstition thus checked for the moment againbroke out not only in Judea the first of the evilbut even in Rome where all things hideous andshameful from every part of the world find theircentre and become popular20

It is obvious from this historical document

that Christianity derived its name fromChrist and that the procurator PontiusPilate is the one who sentenced Jesus todeath The mischievous superstition or theevil rumour to which Tacitus alluded wasdoubtless the resurrection

Thallus(ca AD 52) was also one of thegreat ancient Roman chroniclers whoreported the death of Christ This authorwrote a book about the history of theeastern Mediterranean world from the

Trojan War to his own time21 Only a few fragments of this historicalwork are preserved in the quotations of other authors among them JuliusAfricanus It seems that Julius was familiarwith Thallus work In the context of hisreport about Christs crucifixion and thedarkness that enveloped the land whenJesus entrusted his spirit to the hands of

his Father Julius referred to a statement

made by Thallus concerning this incidentHe said

Thallus in the third book of his historiesexplains away this darkness as an eclipse of thesun---unreasonably as it seems to me22

Julius rejected this explanation in AD221 on the basis that a solar eclipse couldnot take place at the time of the full moonand it was at the season of the Pascal

[Easter] full moon that Jesus [wascrucified]23

Thallus was not the only one whomentioned this darkness Several otherancient authors also reported it Dionysiusthe Areopagite said when he saw thisdarkness Either the god of nature ismeditating now or he is lamentingsomeone dying In the second centuryPhilophone the astrologer pointed to it

saying The darkness that occurred whenJesus was crucified nothing like ithappened before The Muslimchronicler al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir referred toit in his book al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya[Vol 1 p 182]24 In his Annals Ibn al-Athir recorded iton the authority of the narrators andexpositors25

Lucian the Greek a prominent Greek satirist of the second century commentedderisively on Christ and Christians Sincehe followed the Epicurean philosophy hefailed to comprehend the true nature of theChristian faith He could not understandthe readiness of Christians to die for thesake of their beliefs He regarded them asdeluded people who yearned for thehereafter instead of enjoying the pleasures






of the present world He said

The Christians you know worship a man to thisday---the distinguished personage whointroduced their novel rites and was crucified onthat accountand then it was impressed on themby their original law-giver that they are allbrothers from the moment they are convertedand deny the gods of Greece and worship thecrucified sage and live after his laws26

It is evident from the above quotation thatthe crucifixion of Christ was not a

disputable issue even among the heathenswho ridiculed the Christian faith To themit was an historical event and not a mythThey never had a trace of doubt as to whothe crucified one was

311 Acts of Pontius Pilate

In his First Apology Justin Martyr (caAD 150) affirmed that Christscrucifixion could be confirmed by Pilatesreport He also referred to Jesus miraclesand acts of healing and added And thathe did those things you can learn from theActs of Pontius Pilate27 Tertullian (ca AD 200) also pointedto the same document28

Another ancient author who mentioned thecrucified Christ is Suetonius the chief secretary of Emperor Hadrian (AD117-138) His office allowed him to

inspect the official records and to becomewell acquainted with the different reasonsthat led to the persecution of the Christiancommunities specifically their faith inChrists crucifixion death and resurrection29 Also among the governmental officialswho became interested in the status of theChristian community was Pliny theYounger the governor of Bithynia in Asia

Minor In his tenth book (AD 112) he

referred to Christ as a deity worshipped byChristians30 Another Epicurean philosopherCelsius (ca AD 140) who was a mortalfoe of Christianity attested the fact of thecrucifixion in his book The True Discourse though he derided its purposeHe said Christ endured the anguish of thecross for the welfare of humanity31

Mara Bar-Serapion in a letter sent to his

son from prison said

What advantage did the Jews gain fromexecuting their wise king Nor did the wiseking die for good he lived on in the teachingwhich he had given32

It seems that this letter was writtensometime between the late first centuryand the third century Naturally the paganMara viewed Christ as one of the

philosophers like Socrates and Plato asthe rest of the letter revealed

In all these writings there is no mention of the Shabih as the Muslims claim Theauthors of these pagan documentsrecognised that the crucified one wasindeed Jesus of Nazareth

32 The Jewish Documents

The Jewish documents have a special

significance despite their negative tone Itwas very natural that the Jewish politicaland religious leaders would harbour ahostile attitude toward Jesus They werethe ones who compelled the Romanprocurator to crucify Him They realisedthat His revolutionary teachings threatenedtheir political and religious status Despitethis these documents are proof of the






credibility of the crucifixion record as it is

reported in the Gospel In this part of ourstudy we intend to examine them ashistorical testimonies of the authenticity of the greatest event in human history

Josephus(AD 37--97) In his Antiquitieswhich was written about AD 90--95Josephus recorded a passage pertaining tothe crucifixion of Christ This historicalpiece created a heated debate among thepaleographers Some believed that zealousChristians might have interpolated somephrases which could not have been said bya Jew about Christ But in 1972 animportant Arabic manuscript wasdiscovered and later published whichscholars believed to be a very closetranslation of the original text33 Josephus said

At this time there was a wise man who wascalled Jesus And his conduct was good and (he)was known to be virtuous And many peoplefrom among the Jews and other nations becamehis disciples Pilate condemned him to becrucified and to die And those who had becomehis disciples did not abandon his discipleshipThey reported that he had appeared to themthree days after his crucifixion and that he wasalive accordingly he was perhaps the messiahconcerning whom the prophets have recountedwonders34

Josephus testimony preceded thetestimonies of most pagan authors Though

he presented his report from a Jewishperspective he proved to be objective andrealistic in his approach As we consider itit becomes apparent to us that this is areliable piece of historical evidence

321 The Talmud

The Talmud is divided into two mainbodies the Mishnah and the Gemara The

Mishnah is the oral traditions handed

down from one Jewish generation toanother until the time they were firstrecorded in the second century AD TheGemara is the compilation of the ancientcommentaries on the Mishnah Thematerial in the Talmud concerning thedisputed legal questions is known as the Halakah The legends anecdotes and othersayings used to illustrate the traditionallaws are called the Haggadah35 In Tractate Sanhedrin it is stated

Jesus was crucified one day before the PassoverWe warned him for 40 days that he would bekilled because he was a magician and planned todeceive Israel with his delusions We askedwhoever wished to defend him to do so Whennone did he was crucified on the eve of thePassover Does anyone dare to defend him Washe not the stirrer of evil It is said in theprophets Deuteronomy 138 To a person suchas this do not listen nor shall your eye pity himnor shall you conceal him but you shall killhim36

Evidently the Talmud identifies thecrucified person as Christ Himself We donot find any trace of doubt about Hisidentity in this testimony

There is another Jewish hostile manuscriptcalled Toledoth Jeshu This manuscriptdoes not refer to Jesus only but it alsorelates to us a fictitious story about whathappened to his body after His death Itsauthor claimed that Jesus disciples plotted

to steal Christs body but a certaingardener whose name was Judasdiscovered the conspiracy He camesecretly and removed the body fromJosephs tomb and relocated it in anewly-dug grave When the disciples cameto the original tomb and found it emptythey proclaimed that He had risen from thedead Soon after the Jewish leaders also






approached Josephs tomb and found it

empty The gardener then took them to thenewly dug grave and showed them Jesusbody37

Though this tradition was not compiledbefore the fifth century AD itundoubtedly echoed an earlier Jewishtradition that was widespread among theJewish circles after the resurrection of Christ (Matthew 2811-15) Thismanuscript despite its hostility to

Christianity is strong evidence for Christscrucifixion death and resurrectionbecause it is the testimony of an avengingfoe

In his book Biography of Jesus the Nazarene Yohanan Bin Zakkai a discipleof the famous Rabbi Hillel wrote

The king and the Jewish rabbis had condemnedJesus to death because he blasphemed when heclaimed that he was the Son of Godand God

Then he added

When Christ was on his way to death the Jewsshouted in front of him `May You destroy Yourenemies O Lord38

33 The Gnostic Documents

The word gnosis is a Greek term forknowledge Gnosticism is a religious

philosophical movement including underits umbrella diverse groups who may agreeor disagree on any number of principlesKnowledge was the main concept onwhich this movement built its religiousdoctrine

We have already mentioned the theory of the Shabih as was taught by some of the

Gnostics the Ebionites and the Docetists

We also believe that their teachings hadgreat impact on shaping the Islamic viewof crucifixion Yet the teaching of thelikeness theory in Gnosticism stemmedfrom the controversy about the two naturesof Christ Gnostics believed that Jesus wasGod incarnate thus He could not besubject to crucifixion because His bodywas a divine body unlike ours So theyasserted that the one who was crucifiedcould not be Christ but somebody else

Islam does not deny the crucifixion but itdenies that Christ was crucified not on thebasis of His divine nature but because thewhole concept of redemption has no placein Islamic theology Muslims believe thatman is born innocent therefore there is noneed for a saviour or a cross According toIslam God lifted Jesus up to heaven alivebefore His enemies could arrest Him thenGod cast His likeness on somebody elsewho was crucified instead

But not all the Gnostics believed in thetheory of the Shabih It seems that theearly religious and literary work of theGnostics attested to the veracity of theGospel record They provide us with moreevidence supporting Christs crucifixionand resurrection especially The Gospel of Truth (AD 135-160) The Apocryphone of John (AD 120--130) and The Gospel of Thomas (AD 140--200) Though theseapocryphal gospels are not inspired by

God and are regarded by the church aspseudo-Christian scriptures they allreferred to Christ as the Logos and as Godand Son of Man In The Gospel of Truthfor instance we read the followingparagraph

Jesus was patient in accepting sufferingsincehe knew that his death is life for manyhe wasnailed to a tree he published the edict of the






father on the cross He draws himself down to

death through lifeeternal clothes him Havingstripped himself of the perishable rags he put onimperishability which no one can possibly takeaway from him39

We also read in The Secret Book of James

The Lord answered and said I tell you thetruth no one will be saved who does not believein my cross for the kingdom of God belongs tothose who believe in my cross40

So the cross and the crucifixion were inthe centre of the Christian faith evenamong the heretical sects of the earlyphase of the church

34 The Christian Documents

The Christian religious literary andhistorical documents are generallyaccurate records that reflect the deep faith

of the early fathers of the church Theyunquestionably believed in all theteachings and information they receivedfrom the disciples either by way of transmission or authorised tradition or thewritten word Some of them were even thedisciples pupils such as Clement of Rome(AD 30-100) Ignatius (AD 35-107)Papias (AD 60-130) and Polycarp (AD65-155) The writings of the early fathersof the church are conclusive evidence of the authenticity of the Gospels events anddoctrines especially those pertaining tothe death and resurrection of Jesus ChristJust as these two events occupied a largepart of the New Testament they were alsothe focal point of the writings of thefathers of the early church

Indeed these manuscripts emphasise themany prophecies related to the death of

Christ and His resurrection as does the

Bible By studying the writings of theearly church since the first century andcompiling their quotations from the NewTestament the entire text of the NewTestament with the exception of onlyseventeen verses can be reconstructed41 These texts do not differ from the textsof the New Testament we possessparticularly the passages relating toChrists divinity death and resurrection Inaddition to that there is no other book in

the world (even the Quran) which issupported by thousands of ancientmanuscripts as the Bible is The discoveryof the Dead Sea Scrolls has further addedto the credibility of the Scripture

Among the writings of the early fathers of the church are the two epistles of ClementBishop of Rome and the two short letterswritten by Ignatius which he delivered tochurches and individuals during his tripfrom Antioch to Rome before his

martyrdom The Didache or TheTeaching of the Apostles is an earlyhandbook that deals with practical mattersconcerning Christian ethics and churchorder There is also a letter ascribed toBarnabas in which he criticised those whodo not reinterpret the Jewish law in lightof its fulfilment in ChristIn the Shepherdof Hermas the main character claims thathe received visions commands andparables of Christian doctrines from an

angel of the Lord42 In the Apologies of Justin Martyr hestated several Gospel facts especiallyabout the person of Christ His earthly lifecrucifixion and resurrection the historianEusebius quoted selections fromQuadratus Apology (2nd Century AD) ashe addressed the emperor Hadrian Amongthose selections is the following






The deeds of our Saviour were always before

you for they were true miracles those that werehealed those that were raised from the deadwho were seen not only when healed and whenraised but were always present They remainedliving a long time not only whilst our Lord wason earth but likewise when he had left the earthSo that some of them have also lived to ourtimes43

Some of the early church writers werestudents trained under the auspices of thedisciples They undoubtedly received theindisputable facts from the disciples andmay also have witnessed some of themiracles performed by the disciples in thename of Christ

It is quite obvious from all these writingsthat those fathers of the early church whowere ready to sacrifice their lives for theirfaith did not believe in a myth

35 Additional Evidence

In addition to the writings we have alreadydiscussed early church history andarchaeology can be examined This wouldprovide more significant evidence of thebeliefs of the first century Christians aboutthe crucifixion death and resurrection of Jesus Drawings and inscriptions of thecross can be seen in the catacombs andvaults of Rome These undergroundlocations were the secret meeting placeswhere early Christians gathered together toworship away from the surveillance of thegovernments spies

Early Christians also began to engrave theemblem of the cross on their tombs todistinguish them from the pagans tombsHad these Christians not been sure of Christs crucifixion they would never haveadopted the cross as their emblem Though

the cross was a symbol of shame to both

the Jews and the Romans after thecrucifixion of the righteous Christ itbecame a symbol of hope and faith to theChristians If the cross was not a factdeeply-rooted in the faith of theseChristians they would not have enduredall the sufferings of persecution evendeath for the sake of their Saviour

Some of those martyrs were eye-witnessesof the crucifixion Others received thesefacts from the disciples or through thewritten words of the Gospel accounts andthe Epistles which were inspired by theHoly Spirit

The ordinances of the Lords Supper andBaptism are also historical evidence of Christs death and resurrection On thenight in which Judas Iscariot betrayedJesus He Himself performed this firstordinance and requested His disciples tocontinue it in His memory (Matthew

2819) Since then the Lords Supper hasoccupied an important place in thepractices of the church through the agesThe real significance of this ordinance asChrist interpreted it is that it is a symbolof His crucifixion and death WhenChristians exercise this ordinance theyalways commemorate His death (Matthew2626-29 Mark 1422-25 Luke 2214-20First Corinthians 1123-27)

The same thing could be said about the

ordinance of Baptism It is a symbol of theChristians death to the old life andresurrection with Jesus Christ These twoordinances were practised by the disciplesin compliance with Christs commandmentand are still practised by the church untilthis very day

4 CHAPTER THREE






Christs Crucifixion in Islam

In previous pages we discussed the issuesof the Shabih and atonement in Islam Inorder to do justice to this study it isnecessary to examine a few Quranic versesthat Muslims traditionally misinterpretedand thus evaded the inevitable fact of thecrucifixion and resurrection

The Quran does not deny that someprophets have been subjected to deathSeveral Suras indicate that

and whensoever there came to you a Messengerwith that your souls had not desire for did youbecome arrogant and some cry lies to and someslay (al-Baqara 282)

and their slaying the Prophets without rightand We shall say Taste the chastisement of theburning (Al Imran 3178)

Those same men said God has made covenantwith us that we believe not any Messenger untilhe brings to us a sacrifice devoured by fire

Say Messengers have come to you before mebearing clear signs and that you spoke of whytherefore did you slay them if you speak truly(Al Imran 3179-180)

So for their breaking the compact anddisbelieving in the signs of God and slaying theProphets without right and for their sayingOur hearts are uncircumcised -- nay but Godsealed them for their unbelief so they believenot except a few -- (al-Nisa 4154)

These Quranic verses acknowledge thatprophets had been slain for one reason oranother God does allow that to happen tosome of His messengers Since the HolyGospel proclaims that Christ came by Hisown choice and in obedi-ence to the wishof the heavenly Father to redeemhumanity why then do Muslims refuse toaccept His crucifixion

Still the Quran contains other references

to the death of Christ and His crucifixionLet us examine the following verses

When God said Jesus I will take thee to Meand I will raise thee to Me (Al Imran 347)

And I was a witness over them while I remainedamong them but when Thou didst take me toThyself Thou wast Thyself the watcher overthem (al-Maida 5117)

The Messiah the son of Mary was only a

Messenger Messengers before him passedaway (al-Maida 579)

In one of the Quranic references toHimself Jesus is quoted as saying

Peace be upon me the day I was born and theday I die and the day I am raised up alive(Mary 1934)

This is the same statement Jesus utteredabout Yahya (John the Baptist)

Peace be upon him the day he was born and theday he dies and the day he is raised up alive(Mary 1915)

Muslim expositors endeavoured tointerpret these verses on the basis of theirpre-conceived idea that Jesus neither wascrucified nor died They explained theArabic word mutawaffika to mean to endyour term This explanation does notagree with the general context of these

verses Many exegetes who were closer tothe age of the Quranic languageunderstood it to mean to cause you todie We will examine these verses andstudy the term wafat (death) and itsderivations as they are stated in the abovetexts

41 Opinions of Muslim Expositors






Muslim scholars fail to agree on the

meaning of the term mutawaffikaConsequently they are divided into twogroups Al-Razi was able to compiletogether the various opinions of thesescholars in the course of his interpretationof the verse Al Imran 345 I will causethee to die In fact al-Razi refrained fromexpressing his personal opinionconcerning this term and he resorted topresenting the opinions of other scholarswithout committing himself to any point of

view Apparently al-Razis attitudedespite its elusiveness was safer for himin a society which does not permit such anoutstanding religious scholar to infringe onthe consensus of Muslim opinion on sucha serious issue Thus he resorted as itseems to compiling and editing thevarious views leaving to the Muslimreader the freedom to embrace the opinionwhich best fit his religious background

The contradictory opinions which al-Razi

set forth as interpretations for the termmutawaffika are

End your termthat is I end your termon earth so I do not leave you to yourenemies the Jews to kill you

Cause you to diethis is a statement madeon the authority of Ibn Abbas theexpositor of the Quran and Muhammad bIs-haq They said that the purpose was notto let His enemies the Jews to kill Him

Then after that (God) honoured Him(Jesus) by raising Him up to heaven Fromthis point on Muslim scholars differed inthree ways a) Wahb said He died forthree hours then was raised up b)Muhammad b Is-haq said He died sevenhours then God quickened Him and raisedHim up c) al-Rabi ibn Anas said Godcaused Him to die when He raised Him up

to heaven for God said (in the Quran)

God takes the souls at the time of theirdeath and that which has not died in itssleep (al-Zumar 3944)

The waw (and) regulates the wordorderSince Jesus is alive that means thatGod has raised Him up to heaven firstthen He will descend to kill the anti-ChristAfter that God will cause Him to die

The spiritual interpretationThis is theopinion of Abu Bakr al-Wasity (I cause

you to die) of your lusts and the desires of your soul Then He said I raise you up toMe because unless He dies to what is notbut God He would never reach the place of the knowledge of God Also when Jesuswas raised up to heaven He became likethe angels free of lust anger andreprehensible dispositions

Obviously this mystic interpretation isincongruous with the Islamic principle of the infallibility of the prophets and their

sublime characters We also see here theinfluence of the Ebionites who claimedthat Jesus became the archangel in Hisascension

The complete ascensionThat is Jesusson of Mary was raised up whole in bothbody and spirit not only in spirit as somemay think What supports thisinterpretation is Gods saying Theywould not cause You any harm

I make you as if you diedRaising Jesusup to heaven the eradication of anyphysical trace of Him from this earth andthe obliteration of His reports would makeHim as if He really died Applying thename of one thing to another if they sharesimilar properties and qualities ispermissible






Graspingwhich means to repay or be

repaid as when receiving in full a sum of money which you are owed Either waysnatching Him out of the earth andascending Him to heaven is a payment forHim

Compensation for the workThat is Godhas announced to Him the glad tidings of accepting His obedience and His deed Herevealed to Him (Jesus) the troubles andthe toils He would suffer from His enemiesas He spread His (Gods) religion and lawHe (God) would not forfeit Hiscompensation or waste His reward

Al-Razi adds These are the total saidviews of those who interpreted the verseaccording to the literal meaning

Other commentators say The verse musthave meaning-inversionwithout a need forword-order-inversion (to be stated) theyreiterated that His saying and I will raisethee to Me implies that he raised Him(Jesus) up alive and the waw does notnecessitate word-order-inversion Itremains to be said that it has ameaning-inversion Thus the meaning is Iwill raise you to Me and I will purify youof those who believe not And I will causeyou to die after I send you down to theworld Such inversions in the Quran arenumerous To those al-Razi responds

Be informed that the many views which we

presented are sufficient to free (us) from theobligation of contradicting the apparentmeaning and God knows better44

The two supplication verses mentioned inSura Mary 19 request the peace of God tobe upon Jesus and Yahya (John theBaptist) the day they were born and theday they die and the day they will be

raised from the dead

45 These failed to incite Muslim scholarsto examine thoroughly the story of Christsdeath It is believed among Muslims thatthe phrase the day I die alludes to Jesusdeath after His second coming and thedestruction of the anti-Christ

Other Muslim commentators such asal-Tabari Ibn Kathir Zamakhshari andBaydawi did not provide betterinformation to illuminate the obscurity of these verses In many ways they weredependent on each other except in rarecases46

411 Conclustion

What can be concluded from al-Razissurvey of the commentators opinions of the word mutawaffika

First apparently al-Razi was merely a

compiler of opinions who seems to haveintentionally refrained from interactingwith or reacting to these opinions Areader cannot help but feel that thisrationalistic scholar could not be contentwith the expositors interpretations On theother hand as a religious Muslim scholarit would be almost impossible for him tosuggest a new interpretation that wouldstand in contrast to the general consensusof the Islamic theology concerning thedeath of Christ

Secondly the contradictory opinions andinterpretations of Muslim scholars haveonly created more confusion andperplexity in the minds of the fact-findersand did not help them to unveil the truthThese expositors and narrators held notedacademic status in Islamic history andwere frequently quoted by students of






religion and researchers Thus these

contrasting speculations only increase theobjective Muslims bewilderment and fillhim with agonising frustration He maywonder what the right interpretation isWhy did Muslim scholars differ in theirinterpretations of a certain commonly usedword What type of explanation should heaccept or reject

One sign of the sense of loss amongMuslim scholars is the use of the phraseGod knows better each time they try to

explore a disputed issue or opinion Thiswas al-Razis concluding phrase after heexhausted the current opinions of otherMuslim scholars Such an attitude showsthe sense of uncertainty in the authorsmind

Third in the verses pertaining to the deathof Christ the main purpose for theambiguity is to veil the interpretation of the word mutawaffika This vagueness isascribed to the contentious view of Muslim commentators who persistentlyevade admitting its true meaning deathMuslim consensus on this meaning woulddemand them to seriously examine thecase of crucifixion and resurrection in anew light which they emphatically refuseto do

42 The Correct Interpretation

In order to be freed from the unnecessary

ambiguity of the Muslim scholars as theyattempt to interpret the word mutawaffikawithout resorting to futile sophisticmethods one should study theconnotations of this word as it is stated inthe Quran

The word mutawaffika and its derivationshave been mentioned in the Quran over 25

times

47 With the exception of two places theyall allude to or are in some way associatedwith death In these two verses the contextmakes it clear that it figuratively meansslumber One verse reads

It is He who recalls you by night and He knowswhat you work by day (al-Anam 660)

The other verse is found in al-Zumar3942

God takes the souls (of men) at the time of theirdeath and that which has not died in its sleep

A study of the two verses that pertain tothe death of Christ will show that there isno evidence in the context to suggest thatthe word mutawaffika has a figurativemeaning The word means deathregardless of whether that death was anatural death or crucifixion On the otherhand an examination of the verse butwhen Thou didst take me to Thyself Thouwast Thyself the watcher over them(al-Maida 5117) will reveal that the task of watching over Jesus followers hasbecome Gods responsibility This impliesthat after His death Christ had no controlover His followers However if we acceptthe Islamic point of view that Jesus did notdie but had been raised up to heaven bodyand soul then He would still be able towatch over them and to witness againstthem or for them But according to the

above verse when Jesus said And I wasa witness over them whilst I dweltamongst them He was referringindirectly to His death In reality He wassaying Now after You caused me to die Iam not able to watch over themEverything now is in Your hand becauseYou are the living eternal God This samerule could be applied to His saying He






has enjoined me to pray and to give the

alms so long as I live (Mary 1931)Thus since Jesus is still alive in flesh andblood in heaven does He still offer Hisalms as He was ordered to do48

In more than one place the sound Hadithattests to this fact In The Sahih of al-Bukhari we read

On the authority of Ibn Abbas The Prophet of Allah said You will be gathered (on the Day of

Judgment) bare-footed naked and notcircumcised then he recited As We began thefirst creation We shall repeat it A promise Wehave undertaken truly we shall do it(al-Anbiya21104) He added the first to be dressed in theDay of Resurrection will be Abraham and someof my companions will be taken to the right sideand the left side and I will say Mycompanions It will be said After you left themthey regenerated (from Islam) Then I will sayas the pious slave Jesus son of Mary saidand I was a witness over them while I dweltamongst them When you caused me to die Youwere the watcher over them and You are a

witness to all things If You punish them theyare Your slaves and if You forgive them Youare indeed the All-Mighty the All-Wise

Evidently Muhammad quoted the Quranicverse that Jesus uttered We also know thatMuhammad died and no Muslim claimedthat he was raised up to heaven Thereforewhen he cited the above Quranic verse andused the term tawaffaytani ( caused me todie) he indeed referred to his own deathand not his being raised up to heaven It is

not permissible to play with theinterpretation of these terms at the expenseof the truth So this word (caused me todie) applied both to Jesus andMuhammad The difference between thetwo is that Christ rose from the dead onthe third day and He will come back notto die -- because He has already died andrisen from the dead -- but to judge the

living and the dead as the infallible Bible

statesIn addition to the Quranic texts in whichthe term wafat (death) indicated thecommon meaning as used by ancientArabs we found that the sound IslamicTradition utilises this same term to meandeath On the authority of Anas it is saidthat

The Apostle of God said no one should wishfor death because of any misfortune that befalls

him If he had to do so let him say O Allahkeep me alive so long as life is good for me and(authors italics) cause me to die (tawaffani) if death is better for me49

It is also indicated in another tradition

On the authority of Ibn Abbasthat Ali Ibn AbiTalib came out of the chamber of the Apostle of Godduring his last illness of which hedied (authors italics)50

In the Quran there are three verses inwhich the term natawaffayannaka (weindeed cause you to die) is used (Yunis1046 al-Rad 1340 and Ghafir 4077)These verses are addressed to Muhammadby God God promised His apostle that Hewould punish the disbelievers during Hislifetime or He would take the apostle toHimself before them and they would bepunished in the hereafter The above termdoes not differ in its use or meaning fromthe same term when used for Christsdeath It is very interesting to note thatMuslim expositors did not take the troubleto comment on this term as they did withthe term mutawaffika when theyinterpreted the verses related to Jesusdeath They took it for granted that thisterm means to cause you to die






Thus the normal meaning of the term

wafat as it is expressed in most Quranicverses and the Islamic Traditions unlesscontextual evidence indicates differentlyis death The sophistry that Muslimscholars mastered failed to veil thehistoricity of the crucifixion It onlysucceeded in creating confusion in theminds of many Muslims and drawing themaway from the truth

Some may wonder how we can reconcilebetween the above and the verse of al-Nisa4157

and for their saying (in boast) We slew theMessiah Jesus son of Mary the Messenger of God -- yet they did not slay Him neithercrucified Him only a likeness of that was shownto them Those who are at variance concerningHim surely are in doubt regarding Him theyhave no knowledge of Him except the followingof surmise and they slew Him not of a certainty

The meaning of this verse has been

shrouded in obscurity Even modernMuslim scholars have failed to liberatethemselves from the impact of thetraditional interpretations of narrators andexpositors In my view the problem lies inthe lack of documentation and historicalevidence for these traditionalinterpretations Let us scrutinise some of these important facts

The verse states they did not slay Himneither crucified Him This does not

disprove that Jesus may have died anatural death It denies that He was killedor crucified if taken at its face value Thisconsideration is congruent with what wasalluded to before about the termmutawaffika especially if one freeshimself from the sophistry of theexpositors Many expositors found a threatto all their proclaimed interpretations and

beliefs in the historicity of Jesus death

Christs death itself refutes the claim thatHe will die after He returns Consequentlythe Quranic verses confirm the Christiansteaching about the death of Christ If Jesusreally did die then He cannot die againsince His death on the cross was to redeemman from his fateful condition He haspaid the price once for all

In the phrase for they slew Him not of acertainty there is an indirect emphasis onJesus crucifixion because it follows the

preceding statement They did not slayHim neither crucified Him only alikeness of that was shown to them Whatwas the source of that certainty that theyslew him not of a certainty We haveproven conclusively that Christ wascrucified The crucifixion was only thefirst phase on the road to redemption Thesecond phase was crowned with theresurrection The source of certainty is theresurrection that defeated the conspiracies

of Christs foes So in His resurrectionJesus Christ appeared as if He was notcrucified because He came out of the battlevictorious

Jesus said that His life was not taken fromHim but He laid it down voluntarily (John1017--18) Thus those who boasted thatthey killed Him did not in fact becauseHe offered Himself freely Had He notdone so they would never have been ableto ever touch Him or hurt Him It may

have appeared to wicked men that theykilled Jesus by their own power but theydid not for He freely gave His own life

The denial here is not a denial of thekilling or of the crucifixion but rather adenial of the fulfilment of the objectives of Christs foes They thought that they gotrid of Him forever but what really






happened was the opposite Christianity

flourished and grew even in the era inwhich the heroes of the conspiracy livedThe resurrection and the growth of Christianity were the arrows that hit themat their most vulnerable spot

The phrase only a likeness of that wasshown to them has connotations thatdemand our scrutiny We must examine iton two levels -- the Quranic level and theinterpretative level --- in order tocomprehend its meanings within itsintellectual and religious timeframe

It seems that the purpose of this verse is toexpose the conspiracy of the Jews and toreveal their impotency in the face of thedivine volition which willed contrary totheir will Sura Al Imran 355 states Andthey (the Jews) devised and God devisedand God is the best of devisers Thisverse unveils the Jews attitude towardsChrist It also preceded His saying --

When51 God said Jesus I will take Thee to meand raise Thee to MeThis word when isa conjunction that connects the two versesDespite their brevity they manifest theunequal struggle between Gods will andChrists enemies will In his valuable book al-Quran wa al-Masihiyah ProfessorHaddad states

The clarity of the text and its evidence make itan official testimony used by Christian authority

that the Jews had devised against Christ killedhim and crucified him but Gods device againstthem was better than their device for heresurrected Jesus after he was killed andcrucified52

The Jews conspired and planned to destroyChrist and their plot succeeded for awhile But Gods device was better than

theirs because Jesus was resurrected from

the dead on the third day and then after 40days he ascended to heaven EvidentlyGods device against the Jews was not torescue Jesus from their hand and raise himup to himself Such an interpretationcontradicts the historical facts the logicalarguments and the Quranic evidence fromwhich we drew our proofs Gods plan wasto resurrect Jesus This is how Goddevised against them and defeated theirplot after they thought -- and this is the

true meaning of it appeared to them ---that by killing Jesus and crucifying Himthey had gotten rid of Him forever Christsresurrection was not only a victory overthe Jews conspiracy but it was also avictory over death

In his interesting book Qiss wa Nabi (APriest and a Prophet) Abu Musa al-Haririrefers to the heresies of some Ebioniteswho claimed that

Christ by His own will changes from one imageto another He cast His own likeness on Simonwho was crucified in His place while Heascended to heaven alive to the one who sentHim deluding all those who have conspired toarrest Him because He was invisible to all53

Thus it becomes clear that Christsresurrection on the third day as Heindicated about Himself and as it is writtenin the prophecies was the fatal blow to the

conspiracies and plots of the JewsOn the interpretative level the phrase itso appeared to them became it waslikened to him Since that time Muslimexpositors have concerned themselveswith the identity of the Shabih This is themain difference between the Quranic textand interpretations of the commentatorswho did not find sources other than the






heresies to quote from They used the

writings of the Docetists the Ebionites andthe Gnostics to explain their concept aboutChrist and His crucifixion They receivedtheir information from former heretics whowere converted to Islam or directly fromthe adherents of these heresies Muslimsdid not have other historicalarchaeological or religious documents onwhich to rely in their interpretations of these verses This is not a hollow claimsince we have sufficient Islamic sources toconfirm this point of view

Maybe the best example we can quote hereis what was related on the authority of Wahb Ibn Munabbih (AD 647--733) whowas an authority on the People of the Book and regarded among the Successors54 It seems that his information did not gobeyond the literary work of the Christianheretics the apocryphal books and theTalmud His knowledge of the Bible wasdefinitely superficial This transmitter of

information relied heavily on the opinionsand episodes of these sects a combinationof Biblical texts and the speculations of the heretical scholars Arab historiansquoted him excessively about theaccounts of the prophets peoples andnarratives of the Children of IsraelAmong the information al-Thaalabicited on his authority is the account of thedarkness that enveloped the land uponChrists crucifixion He said

They took Him (Jesus) and verified His identityThey tied Him with a rope and dragged Himsaying You used to raise the dead and to healthe blind and the leper why dont you untieyourself from this ropeThey spat at Him andput thorns on Him Then they erected a post tocrucify Him on it When they brought Him tothe post the land grew dark and God sent Hisangels to bar them from reaching Him Jesuslikeness then was cast on the one who led them(Jews) to Him whose name was Judas the

Iscariot and was crucified in His place thinking

that He was Jesus God caused Jesus to die forthree hours then He raised Him up to heavenThat is His saying --- He may be exalted --- Iwill cause Thee to die and raise Thee to Myself and clear Thee from the disbelieversWhen theresembler of Jesus was crucified Mary themother of Jesus and another woman for whomJesus prayed and healed of her insanity came tobewail beside the crucified person Then Jesusapproached them and asked Over whom areyou bewailing They said Over You Hesaid God the Most High has raised Me andnothing but good befell Me And this man so

appeared to them (to be like Me)55

Also Wahb Ibn Munabbih used to say Ihave seen 92 books which all came fromheaven Seventy-two of them are found inthe churches and in the hands of peopleand twenty are only known to the few56 No doubt that 66 of the books were thebooks of the Bible but the rest wereapocryphal and Gnostic books with whichWahb as it seems was well acquainted

These books were Wahbs sources of information that he used to explain someof the Quranic verses

In his famous commentary al-Tabarirecords a similar story on the authority of Wahb with a slight variation in the text inwhich he claimed that Jesus waited sevenhours before the two women came

It is amazing however that not one soundProphetic Tradition dealing with the issue

of the Shabihhas been mentioned toillustrate the Quranic account though theproblem of the cross is one of the majordifferences between Christianity andIslam All that was transmitted werereports based on the allegations of theexpositors and the narrators who wereenchanted with anything that was strangeand exciting If the sources of these stories






were traced their origins would be found

in the legends of former nations or in someof the current material of the age Maybethe best book to demonstrate this fact isThe Sources of Islam by W St ClaireTisdall who was able to trace most storiesand commentaries of the narrators andexpositors related to the Biblical events totheir original sources So why did theProphetic Tradition neglect to explainthese obscure verses We know thatIslamic biographies and collections of Traditions have recorded a host of interpretations and teachings by whichMuhammad instructed his followersconcerning clearer verses than these

What can be inferred from this evidence

bull First the heresies of the Christianreligious sects that flourished duringthe inception of Islam had great impacton the views of Muslim commentatorswho received their information andknowledge about Jewish and Christian

beliefs from scholars whose expertisewas limited to the heresies of thesesects It is evident that Wahb was wellacquainted with the teachings andbeliefs of the Docetists Ebionites andGnostics

bull Second some narrators such as WahbIbn Munabbih embraced Islam andcarried with them the seeds of theirearly beliefs They may have tried toreconcile those beliefs with the

teaching of Islam Wahbs narrativestories appear to be the nearest thing tothe Christian doctrines Maybe hesought to accomplish a consciousreconciliatory act intended to bridgethe wide gap between the contrastingpoints of view57

bull Third in the narrative of Wahb there

is another historical confirmation of

the authenticity of the Gospels storyabout the darkness This factcontradicts the view of direct ascensionas related in the Quran One of thesound Prophetic Traditions recordedby both Muslim and Bukhari states

On the authority of Abdullah IbnMasudwho said (I recollect) as if I amstill looking at the Apostle of God narratingabout a prophet who was beaten by his ownpeople until he was bleeding profusely yetas he was wiping away the blood from his

face he said O God forgive my people forthey know not58

Who was the prophet who spoke thesewords On which occasion were theyspoken Anyone who searches the entireBible will never find such a prophet in theOld Testament But surely he will find anadequate report about Christs excruciatingagony and the abuse He suffered from His

own people and His crucifixion There onthe cross in the last moments of His lifeHe said

Father forgive them for they do not know whatthey do (Luke 2334 NKJ)

This is the full text of Jesus supplicationon the cross in the most crucial momentof his life In fact this Tradition is anotherindirect proof of the authenticity of theBible It also contradicts the allegation of

the direct ascension which omits anymention of Jesus sufferings either in theQuran or in the interpretation of theexpositors

The two verses recorded in Sura Mary 19about Jesus and Yahya and the invocationfor peace to be upon them the day theywere born the day they die and the day






they will be resurrected are in my opinion

further evidence of the death of Christ fortwo primary reasons

bull First all Muslim scholars agree thatYahya died and the verse Peace beupon him the day he was born and theday he dies and the day he is raised upalive(Mary 1915) which was saidabout Yahya is similar in its linguisticstructure to the verse uttered by Jesusabout Himself Peace be upon me theday I was born the day I die and the

day I am raised up alive In fact bothverses have been uttered by JesusChrist Himself Why then do Muslimexpositors refuse to apply to Jesus thesame interpretation they apply toYahya Why do they pervert theinterpretation of these two versesaccording to their biases Why do theyclaim that the first verse really alludesto the death of Yahya but then allegethat the expression I die in the

second verse refers to the future deathof Christ after His second coming

bull Second the historical documents theQuranic evidence and the logicalreasons that were cited from theauthoritative sources and referencesprove that the term I die mentionedin the above verse points to the deathof Christ in the immediate futureBesides Ibn Abbas who was knownas the interpreter of the Quran and

other expositors who were closer to thecurrent language of the timeunderstood the expressions wafat andmutawaffika as hints to His immediatefuture death regardless of whether thedeath was for three days or sevenhours

Dr Mahmud Shaltut the late Rector of

al-Azhar University said

The expression tawaffaitani [sic] is entitled inthis verse to bear the meaning of ordinarydeath There is no way to interpret death asoccurring after His (Jesus) return from heaven inthe supposition that He is now alive in heavenbecause the verse very clearly limits theconnexion of Jesus to His connexion with Hisown people of His own day and the connexion isnot with the people living at the time when Hereturns All that the verses referring to thissubject mean is that God promised Jesus that Hewould complete for Him His life-span and

would raise Him up to Himself59

Or as Parrinder states there is no futurityin the grammar of the Quran of verse[Mary] 1934 to suggest a post millennialdeath The plain meaning seems to be Hisphysical death at the end of His presenthuman life on earth60

Another modern Muslim writer says that

in Sura Al Imran 347 God is addressingJesus and says Truly I am He who callsYou to deathor It is I who am causingYou to die61 The construction of this Quranic phraseis in the active participle with thepronoun (object) attached to it62

In his book Christ in Islam and Christianity Neal Robinson states

The three ayat [verses] about Muhammad andthe two about Jesus are the only ones where theverb is used in the active voice with God as thesubject and with one of His prophets as theobject Moreover in both sets of ayat [verses]there is a similar emphasis on Gods witnessingmans actions and on mans return to Him forJudgment63

It is important now to examine the Quranic






statement It so appeared to them The

question is to whom Undoubtedly thoseintended by them in the Quranic text arethe Jews and the Romans who executedthe death penalty But what about Jesusdisciples His mother and the rest of Hisfollowers Were they really deceived andit so appeared to them also The Qurankeeps silent and does not mention them Itis obvious that they were not among thosewho were deceived In other words thedisciples who were present there did not

fall into the trap of it so appeared tothem They were sure that the crucifiedone was Christ Himself and nobody elseMaybe the most significant proof is that allthe disciples teachings and their inspiredepistles are centred on the death of Christand His resurrection We say this thoughwe know that there is no historical ordocumentary evidence to prove that theJews and the Romans had any shade of doubt concerning the identity of thecrucified one

Judas Iscariot had alreadycommitted suicide and his corpse wasfound and buried probably in the PottersField The darkness enveloped the landafter Jesus as the Son of Man deliveredHis soul on the cross into the hands of theFather and not before He was crucified assome Muslim narrators claim Mary themother of Jesus and some of His discipleswere present when He was crucifiedChrists body was wrapped with spicedlinen cloth by those who knew Him well

The Roman soldiers who oversaw Hiscrucifixion and divided His clothes amongthemselves and pierced Him with a speardid not question the identity of thecrucified In the darkness when theearthquake terror seized all those whowere watching the crucifixion thecenturion who was standing right in frontof Jesus said Truly this man was the

Son of God Furthermore the empty tomb

is the strongest proof of the identity of thecrucified person If the crucified personwas other than Christ would He be able torise from the dead and then to appear tothe disciples and to His followers for 40days

Needless to say the authentic historicaldocuments strongly refute any claim thatthe crucified person was a Shabih Whatexcuse do the sceptics still have

The last phrase from Sura al-Nisa 4157 is

Those who are at variance concerning Himsurely are in doubt regarding Him they have noknowledge of Him except the following of surmise and they slew Him not of a certainty--

This passage is shrouded in obscurity If the text is examined at its face value itbecomes apparent that it does not fit in thegeneral context of the incident It wasdemonstrated above that Christs disciples

did not fall into the trap of the Shabih andthat there is no proof that the Romans andJews were unsure of the identity of thecrucified person Who then were thosewho had no knowledge

The answer is simple those who had noknowledge were the various Christiansects dispersed all over the ArabPeninsula It is true that the Quran wastalking about the crucifixion of Jesus butat the same time it was reflecting the

heretical religious movements andtheological trends of that time TheDocetists Ebionites and other hereticalsects who taught and preached the conceptof the Shabih were constantly indisagreement with Biblical Christianitywhich asserted the reality of Christscrucifixion and did not believe in the mythof the Shabih which contradicted the






Biblical report

64It is apparent that the Quran has stronglyendorsed the teachings of the hereticalsects and joined them in their struggleagainst Biblical Christianity It is theopinion of this writer that the main reasonfor the Quranic attitude is that Muhammadacquainted himself with the beliefs of these sects only Certainly those beliefsleft a deep impression on Muhammadsmind and on his religious tendencies

Besides a number of the followers of these sects embraced Islam because inmost cases their tenets are not inconsistentwith the Quranic teachings The Quraniccontradictory attitudes towards theChristians can be explained in the light of this proposition Those who were exaltedwere the adherents of the resemblancetheory among the Christians but thosewho were reproached and attacked werethe people of the Gospel who believed in

the crucifixion and death of ChristPerhaps the episode of Muhammadsdialogue with the people of Najran and hisdisagreement with them about the divinityof Christ is the most striking example of this fact

It is not a secret that some of the People of the Book were accustomed to reading theHebrew Torah and interpreting it in Arabicto the Muslims which sometimes irritatedMuhammad so that he cautioned his

followers to be careful in accepting orrejecting what they heard from them65 Inspite of that Muhammad himself used to hold dialogue sessions withChristians and Jews from time to time andeven to visit the Jewish synagogue inMedina66 Islamic biographies attested thatMuhammad developed a strong

relationship with one of the most famous

Christian scholars in Mecca67 His name was Waraqa Ibn Nawfal thecousin of Khadija Muhammads first wifeIn Sirat Ibn Hishamit is stated thatMuhammad made the acquaintance of Waraqa Ibn Nawfal at an early age68 Waraqa was the one who presided overMuhammads wedding69 Moreover when Muhammad related tohis wife Khadija his vision or experiencein the cave of Hara the first thing she didwas to take him to her cousin Waraqa toconsult with him No doubt Muhammadwho refused to worship the idols of Mecca found in Waraqa the bestcounsellor to share his earnest doubts andspiritual crises When Muhammad marriedKhadija he was 25 years old During thenext fifteen years and before the claim of the prophethood Muhammad it seemswas constantly inquiring and searching forthe truth What better source could he getthan Waraqa who was well-acquainted

with both the Hebrew and the Arabiclanguages and monotheism It was saidthat Waraqa as the head of the Christiancommunity of Mecca occupied himself with the translation of the Gospel to theHebrews which was used by theEbionites into Arabic70 Besides some scholars believe thatWaraqa was the bishop of Mecca and hebelonged to the Ebionite sect71 If this is true --- and there are solid

indications that this claim is true ---Waraqas theological tendencies had greatimpact on Muhammads concept of Christs nature crucifixion andincarnation72

Among Muhammads Companions wereseveral former Nasara and Jews who






embraced Islam for one reason or another

such as Abdullah Ibn Sallam Tamimal-Dari Abdullah Ibn Suriyya and Bilalal-Farisi who converted from Paganism toJudaism to Christianity and then to IslamBesides some of Muhammads wives andconcubines were Christians and Jews whoindeed conveyed to him many folk religious episodes and legends about theprophets of the Old and New Testaments

Other Companions on the authority of thePeople of the Book transmitted withoutany discernment a collection of folkloricstories as they were in vogue among themasses Among those Companions wereAbdullah Ibn al-Abbas the interpreter of the Quran Abdullah Ibn Amru Ibn al-Asand Abu Hurayra Most of the informationthey transmitted had no basis in the Bibleitself

It can also be inferred from availablereports that Muhammad in many cases

did not prohibit his followers from readingthe Torah and the Gospel These reportsare inadequate because they do not statewhat part of the Torah or the Gospel theywere allowed to read and for what reasonsOther reports negated that the Apostlepermitted the Muslims to read any otherreligious book than the Quran73

In his Sahih the Imam al-Bukhari on theauthority of Abdullah Ibn Amru Ibn al-As

related that the Prophet said Convey (tothe people) on my behalf even if it is oneverse and pass on (what you heard) fromthe children of Israel without objection74

Al-Hafidh al-Thahabi records thatAbdullah Ibn Sallam came to the prophetand told him I have read the Quran and

the Torah (last night) He answered him

Read this one night and that anothernight75

A very interesting story is found in Sahihof Muslim On the authority of Fatimadaughter of Qays who said that after thecongregational prayer on Friday theProphet asked the people to stay then hesaid By Allah I have not made youassemble for exhortation or for warningbut I detained you here because Tamimal-Dari a Christian who came andaccepted Islam told me something whichagrees with what I was telling you aboutthe Dajjal (anti-Christ)76

The story to which Muhammad referred ismost probably a distorted version of theepisode of the Beast mentioned inRevelation 13 Perhaps Muhammadsinterest to cite the testimony of Tamim

was to bestow credibility on hisprophethood in the eyes of both Muslimsand Christians

It is obvious from these reports thatChristian and Jewish folkloric storiesmyths and legends permeated the Hadithand the interpretations of the Quran andeven the verses of the Quran itself Studiesin comparative religions show how theQuran drew much of its information fromthe apocryphal and Christian-Jewish

folklores77 It is no wonder then that the Islamicinterpretation of the crucifixion wasdistorted by these unreliable legends

There are two other verses in the Quranthat would shed additional light on themeaning of mutawaffika These two versesare






The Messiah son of Mary was only a


and also

Muhammad is naught but a MessengerMessengers have passed away before him Whyif he should die or is slain will you turn abouton your heels (Al Imran 3144)

If these two verses are examined on thebasis of their relation to the destiny of all

previous prophets it would be obvious thatall of them have one thing in commonthey all died Jesus and Muhammadaccording to the Quran faced the sameend They are like the rest of the prophetswho passed away before them NeitherJesus nor Muhammad was exceptional Itis difficult for the researcher to assumethat the Quran that includes Jesus amongthe deceased prophets would exclude himfrom the same destiny As Muhammad

died Jesus died alsoGrammatically there is no differencebetween these two verses They have thesame meaning When former Muslimscholars attempted to interpret themeanings of these two verses they werevery careful not to mention the death of the previous prophets when comparingJesus to them It is true that the Quran wasreproaching Christians who attributeddivinity to Christ and His mother but as it

compared them to the prophets who passedaway before them it intended toemphasise their humanity in every aspectparticularly that they were also subject todeath This is also evident in Muhammadscase Sura Al Imran 3144 refers to thebattle of Uhud in which Muhammad wasalmost killed It is apparent here that thebottom line of the comparison was to

ascertain the humanity of Jesus who was

subject to human experience even death

43 Conclusion

In conclusion this is a brief study in whichI attempted to deal with a complicatedsubject Yet I believe that this theme is themost significant theme in our Christianfaith While we do not find any reliabletext historical evidence archaeologicalproof or authenticated document that

corroborates the Quranic denial of thecrucifixion of Christ and his death thereare a wealth of textual evidence andoriginal documents available to anyChristian that confirm the veracity of theBibles record

Therefore as Christians we reject any textfound in the sacred books of otherreligions that contradicts the accounts of our infallible Book Also we certainly donot care about what the Christian heretical

sects believe or teach Our faith is basedon what is revealed to us by Gods holydivine inspiration because all theScriptures are inspired by God Anyteaching that contradicts Gods Book is notacceptable

5 BIBLIOGRAPHY

51 English References

Abdel-Haqq Abdiyah Akbar SharingYour Faith With a Muslim MinneapolisMinnesota Bethany House Publishers1980

Abu Ameeneh Bilal Philips SalvationThrough Repentance Riyadh TawheedPublications 1990

Bernard LR That One Face Memphis






Mid-America Baptist Seminary 1980

Blomberg Craig The Historical Reliability of the Gospel Downers GroveInterVarsity Press 1987

Bukhari Muhammad Ibn Ismail Sahih of al-Bukhari trans Muhammad MuhsinKhan New Delhi Kitab Bhavan 1984

Bruce FF Jesus and Christian OriginsOutside the New Testament Grand RapidsWm B Eerdmans Publishing Co 1974

The New Testament DocumentsLondonInterVarsity and Tyndale Press 1960

Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia

Gabril Nicola Yacoub Themes for the Diligent Rikon The Good Way 1989

Ghazali Abu Hamid Ihya of Ulum al-Dintrans Maulana Fazlul Karim New DelhiKitab Bhavan 1982

Habermas Gary R The Verdict of History

Nashville Thomas Nelson Publishers1982

Jadeed Iskander The Cross in the Gospeland the Quran Rikon The Good Way1969

Sin and Atonement in Islam and ChristianityRikon The Good Way 1979

McDowell Josh Evidence that Demands aVerdict Arrowhead Springs Campus

Crusade for Christ 1978Meyer W Marvin (trans) The Secret Teaching of Christ New York RandomHouse 1984

Morrison Frank Who Moved the StoneLondon Faber and Faber 1978

Moyer Elgin S Who was Who in Church History Chicago Moody Press 1962

Muslim Ibn al-Hajjaj Sahih of Muslim

trans Abdel Hamid Siddiqi New DelhiKitab Bahavan 1987

Nawawi Abu Zakariya Yahya Riyadh of al-Salihin trans SM Madni Abbasi NewDelhi Kitab Bhavan 1987

Parrinder Geoffery Jesus in the QuranLondon Sheldon Press 1965

Robinson Neal Christ in Islam and Christianity Albany State University of

New York 1991Shahid Samuel The Fallen Nature of Manin Islam and Christianity ColoradoSprings al-Nur Publications 1991

Tisdall W St Clair The Sources of Islamtranslated and abridged by Sir WilliamMuir Edinburgh Tamp T Clark nd

Yamauchi Edwin The Crucifixion and Docetic Christology ConcordiaTheological Quarterly 46 (1986)

52 Other Sources

The Holy Quran interpreted

The Holy Bible New King James Version

53 Arabic References

al-Baydawi Nasir al-Din Anwar al-Tanzilwa Asrar al-Tawil Beirut Dar al-Jil nd

Ghazali Abu Hamid Ihya Ulum al-DinArabic Egyptian edition 1326 H

Haddad Yusuf al-Quran wa al-MasihiyaJuniah Pauline Press 1969

Hariri Abu Musa Qiss wa Nabi LebanonDar il-Ajl al-Marifa Diar Aql 1985

Ibn al-Athir al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh Dar






Sadir-Dar Bayrut 1965

Ibn Dawud Zakariya al-Qawl al-Sahih Bit-tibaì Din al-Masih 3rd editionBeirut al-Nafir nd

Ibn Hanbal Ahmad Al Musnad edAhmad Shakir Egypt Dar al-Maarif1948

Ibn Hisham Sirat of Ibn Hisham edMuhammad al-Saqqa et al Beirut Daral-Kutub al-Ilmiya nd

Ibn Sad Tabaqat of Ibn Sad Beirut np1957

al-Jalalayn Tafsir al-Jalalayn 1st edDamascus Dar Ibn Kathir 1987

Mikhail Labib Qadiyat al-Salib 1st edCairo np 1956

Nanaah Ramzi al-Israiliyat Beirut Daral-Qalam-Dar al-Diya 1970

Razi al-Fakhr al-Tafsir al-Kabir Beirut

Dar al-Fikr 1981

Siman Awad Qadiyat al-Ghufran fial-Masihiyat Egypt al-Nahda al-Jadida1951

Luzum Kaffarat al-Masih Stuttgart Nidaal-Raja 1986

Kayfa Nantafiu bi Kaffarat al-MasihStuttgart Nida al-Raja 1986

al-Thahabi al-Hafidh Tathkarat

al-Huffaz (np nd)

al-Thaalabi Ahmad ibn MuhammadQisas al-Anbiya Egypt Dar Ihya al-Kutubal-Arabiya nd

6 QUIZ

Was Jesus Really Crucified

Dear Reader if you have studied this book

carefully you will be able to answer thefollowing questions

1 What does mans eternal destinydepend on according to the Bible

2 What is salvation based on accordingto Islam

3 What does the author of this book useto prove that Jesus is the one who wascrucified for mans sin

4 What is the aim of the Muslim denial

of Christs crucifixion5 On what do Muslims base their denial

of Christs death

6 Why is the claim that Judas Iscariotdied in Jesus place erroneous

7 How does Jesus behaviour before Hisdeath contrast with Judas behaviour

8 What are the six ambiguities about thecrucifixion presented by al-Razi Listthem

9 How does al-Razi respond to each of the six ambiguities

10 How does the author answer each of al-Razis responses

11 What other people propounded ateaching of someone who resembledChrist and was crucified in His placeWhat has happened to them sincethen

12 Contrast a God who deliberately

allowed His people to believe a lie forover 600 years with a God who keepsHis promises and stands by His WordWhich would you rather serve

13 What was the first act of atonementWhat was its purpose

14 What is the connection between theIslamic theme of ransom and Biblicalatonement






15 What did Jesus say about Himself and

what does this prove16 What can be learned from the

references to Christs death in thepagan documents

17 What facts about Jesus do the Jewishdocuments agree on

18 Why is the witness of the early fathersof the church important

19 What can be deduced from the Biblequotations found in the writings of the

early church fathers20 What other evidence is there of the

historicity of the crucifixion of Jesus

21 What do the passages in the Quran sayabout the prophets Was Jesus aprophet

22 Why did al-Razi only compile theopinions of Muslim commentatorswithout analyzing them

23 Give some examples of the

contradictions found in the differentinterpretations of mutawaffika

24 What does the expression God knowsbetter which al-Razi adds to the endof his compilation tell us

25 What is the meaning of mutawaffika asit is used in the Quran

26 What is the meaning of Sura 4175according to the author

27 What was the original purpose of Sura

4157 and how does Sura Al Imran355 relate to it

28 What is the true meaning of the phraseit appeared to them and how did itreceive its present incorrectinterpretation

29 How did the Docetists Ebionites andother heretic Christian sects influenceIslam in its early phases

30 In Sura 4157 who are the ones who

have no knowledge of Him and whathave they done

Copy and paste all questions into thecontact form and write the answer beloweach question

Please use our Email-Form to contact usor write to

The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland

wwwthe-good-waycomencontact

7 Footnotes

1) Abu Ameeneh Bilal Philips SalvationThrough Repentance TawheedPublications Riyadh Saudi Arabia nd

2) Shahid Samuel The Fallen Nature of Man in Islam and Christianity Al-NurPublications Colorado Springs CO nd

3) Jadeed Iskander The Cross in TheGospel and the Quran The Good WaySwitzerland nd

4) Morrison Frank Who Moved TheStone Faber amp Faber London 1978

5) Al-Fakhr Al-Razi Al-Tafsir Al-Kabir p102 vol 11 Dar al Fikr Beirut Lebanon

1981 Also refer to the Commentaries of the Jalalayn and the Baydawi concerningthe interpretation of verse 157 of Sura 4

6) Al-Tafsir Al-Kabirpp 77-79 vol 8

7) pp 12 and 14

8) Siman Awad Qadiyat Al-Ghufran fi Al Masihiyat pp 91-92 Awad Siman quoted






his information from Al-Manara

Al-Tarikhiya fi Al-Masihiyat wa Al-Wathaniya by Iskander Sayfi pp 103153 189 197 201 Another invaluablereference is Yamauchi Edwin TheCrucifiction and Docetic Christology pubin Concordia Theological Quarterly 461982

9) The Cross and the Gospelpp 10 + 11

10) Moyer Elgin S Who Was Who in theChurch History P 175 Moody Press

Chicago Il 196211) Siman Awad Luzum kaffarat Al-Masih amp Kayfa Nantafiù bi Kaffarat Al-Masih Nida al-Raja StuttgartGermany

12) Jadeed Iskander Sin and Atonement In Islam and Christianity pp 33-41 TheGood Way Switzerland

13) Ihya Ùlum Al-Din243 vol 1(Arabic Version)

14) Al-Ghazali Ihya Ùlum Al-Dinpp250-251 vol 1 trans Maulana FazlulKarim Kitab Bhavan New Delhi

15) Mikhail Labib The Issue of TheCross pp 59-95 (For Arab reader) Ibelieve that this is one of the best books inthis subject written in Arabic Als TheCross in The Gospel and The Quran pp20-26 Another important book in Englishis The Evidence that Demands a

Verdictby Josh McDowell Chapter 9

16) The Cross in The Gospel and theQuranpp 21-22

17) Matthew 25 44 7 10 2113 2624Mark 76 1210 Luke 1949 2444 John217 22 631 738 42 1034 1318 and1924

18) Funk amp Wagnalls New

Encyclopediavol 25 p 9519) FF Bruce Jesus and Christian OriginOutside the New Testament p 23Eerdman 1974

20) Habermas Gary R The Verdict of History pp 87-88 Thomas NelsonNashville 1982

21) Ibid pp 93-94

22) F F Bruce The New Testament

Document p 113 IVF amp Tyndale PressLondon 1960

23) Ibid 113 See also Siman AwadKayfa Nantafi` Bi Kaffarat Al-Masihp17

24) Kayfa Nantafi`Bi Kaffarat Al-Masihp17

25) Ibn Al-Athir Tarikh Al-Kamil p 319Vol 1 Dar Sadir - Dar Bayrut Lebanon1965

26) Lucian The Death of Peregrine p11-13 in the works of Lucian of Samosatatrans by HW Fowler and FG Fowler 4vols (Oxford The Clarendon Press1949) vol 4 as quoted by Habermas inThe Verdict of History p 100

27) The Verdict of Historyp 107

28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95

31) Qadiyyat Al-Ghufranp 109

32) The Verdict of Historyp 101 see alsoBruce The Origin of Christianity p 30

33) Ibid p 91






34) Ibid pp 91-92 as quoted by the

author from New Evidence on Jesus Life Reported New York Times February 121972 pp 1 24

35) Funk amp Wagnalls New Encyclopediap 111 vol 25

36) The Cross and The Gospel p 35 AlsoSanhadrin 43 a p 281

37) The Verdict of History p 99 See alsoMaier Paul L First Easter pp 117-118New York Harper and Row publishers

1973

38) Qadiyyat Al-Ghufran 108 Also seeGabril Nicola Theme For the Diligent pp 87-88 The Good Way Switzerland

39) The Verdict of History p 103

40) Meyer Marvin W trans The Secret Teaching of Jesus p 6 Random HouseNew York 1984

41) Mc Dowell Josh Evidence that Demands a Verdict pp 54-55 CampusCrusade for Christ InternationalArrowhead San Bernadino CA 1977The autor has compiled the documentedopinions of the greatest scholars of the ageon the basis of their extensive research

42) Blomberg Craig The Historical Reliability of the Gospel pp 201-218Inter-Varsity Press Downers Grove Il1987

43) Eusebius IV III as quoted byHabermas The Verdict of History p 144See also Evidence that Demands a Verdict pp 66-67

44) Al-Tafsir al Kabir vol 8 p 74

45) The implications of these two verseswill be discussed later

46) Robinson Neal Christ in Islam and

Christianity refer to 13 University of New York Press Ibany 1991

47) Refer to the following verses 2 234and 240 3 193 and 55 4 15 and 97 5117 6 61 8 50 10 46 and 104 12 10113 40 16 28 32 and 70 22 5 32 11 467 and 77 47 27

48) The Serach of the Diligent p 70

49) Al-Nawawi Imam Yahya bin Sharaf Riyad of Al-Salihin vol 1 40 and 586

See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910

51) It can be also translated as for andsince

52) Haddad Al-Quran wa Al-Masihiya p45 Pauline Press Junieh Lebanon 1969

53) Al-Hariri Abu Musa Qiss wa Nabi p129 Dar for Ma`rifa Lebanon 1985

54) The second generation afterMuhammads companions

55) Al-Tha`labi Qisas Al-Anbiya pp360-361Dar Ihya` Al-Kutub al-Àrabiya-Ìsa Al-Babi Al-Halabi

56) Ibn Sa`d Tabaqat Ibn Sa`d p 543vol 5 Beirut 1957

57) Abdul-Haqq Abdiah Akbar Sharing your Faith with a Muslim chapter 11

Bethany House Publichers198058) Riyad Al-Salihin 36 vol 1

59) Muslim World xxxlv pp 214 ff asquoted by Parrinder Geoffery Jesus in theQuran pp115-116 Sheldon PressLondon 1965

60) Ibid p105






61) Al-Tafahum Abd The Quran and the

Holy Communion pp 242 ff In the Muslim World 1959 as quoted byParrinder p106

62) Jesus in the Quran p 106

63) Robinson Neal Christ in Islam and Christianity pp 113-114

64) Bernard L R That One Face Mid-America Baptist Seminary 1980

65) Al-Bukhari p 339 460 vol9

English version

66) Ibn Hanbal Al-Musnad pp 23-24vol6 ed Ahmad Shaker Dar Al-MaàrifEgypt 1948

67) Ibn Hisham Sirat Ibn Hisham p 223vol ed Muhammad Saqqa Dar al-kutubal- ìlmiyya Beirut Lebanon

68) Ibid p 167

69) Qiss Wa Nabi p 37

70) Sahih of Muslim pp 77-78 vol 1

71) Qiss Wa Nabi p 71 ff

72) Ibid chapter five

73) Na`naàh Ramzi Al-Israiliyyat p 86Dar Al-Qalam amp Dar Al-Diya (Damascus-Beirut)1970

74) Sahih of Al-Bukhari p 442 667vol 4 English ed

75) Al-Imam Al-Thahabi Tathkarat Al-Huffadh p 27 vol 1 pub in India ND

76) Sahih of Muslim p 1522 7023 vol4 English version

77) Refer to Sources of Islam by St ClaireTisdall




1 Introduction

It is not the purpose of this study to kindleany flame of rancour or anger betweenChristians and Muslims in a world alreadypolluted with fury hatred segregationprejudice racial conflict violence andfanaticism Our main intention is toexamine a complicated issue thecrucifixion of Christ We believe that thisevent is the central issue of disputebetween the two faiths In the light of thehistorical religious and other logical dataavailable to us we will endeavour to focus

objectively on the Biblical record toexpose the divine truth as revealed to us inthe Gospels We would also like to helpremove the cloud of doubt and rejectionthat has shrouded the minds of our friendsthe Muslims We will appeal primarily toreason but we hope also to provide aneffective tool that will nurture and deepenthe faith and hope of Christian believers

No doubt the cross is the core of the

Christian faith The Bible clearly indicatesthat the eternal destiny of man dependstotally on the atoning death of Christ onthe cross

This is what Christianity teaches

This is what Christians believe

Islam rejects the whole concept of thecross Muslims allege that it is againstreason to claim that God the Omnipotent

would not forgive mans sins without thecross To say so is to limit Gods powerWhen repentance they say is combinedwith Gods mercy and forgiveness itbecomes sufficient to award the penitentall the pleasures of the paradise promisedin the Quran

The contrast between the two perspectivesis similar to the contrast between East andWest A Christian who believes in Christas the Son of God and in His atoning

death finds the sure guarantee of eternallife in the cross God has embodied Hislove grace mercy and justice on the crossThe source of this certainty is Christspromises Jesus said Whosoeverbelieveth in mehas everlasting life(John 316 NKJ) A Christian can restwell-assured that he has indeed beengranted eternal life on the basis of Jesuspromises Such phrases as if God willsor that depends on Gods mercy cannot

be part of that assurance These phrasesfail to provide any sense of security in thelife of any believer because he would lack the certainty he needs for a fruitful solidfaith This does not mean that a person canindulge in sin believing that the death of Christ has secured for him the pardon of his transgressions in advance Anyone whoseeks everlasting life has to live a

















2 Chapter One





































212 Die for a Lie



213 Eye-witnesses











Jews

























surmise

























































































































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

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7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167
























2 Chapter One





































212 Die for a Lie



213 Eye-witnesses











Jews

























surmise

























































































































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

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7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167









































212 Die for a Lie



213 Eye-witnesses











Jews

























surmise

























































































































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

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7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167






















212 Die for a Lie



213 Eye-witnesses











Jews

























surmise

























































































































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

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7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167

















Jews

























surmise

























































































































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

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7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167



















surmise

























































































































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

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7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167





















































































































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

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7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167

































































































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

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7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167











































































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167

























































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167







































2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167

























2027 NKJ)






221 Atonement


































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167








































14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167


















14

222 Prophecies



223 Jesus Testimony






















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167





















3 CHAPTER TWO















Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167













Proconsul in 122



















































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167











































321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167



















321 The Talmud



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167



















Then he added



















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167















































4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167



























4 CHAPTER THREE


































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167









































































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167














































411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167
























411 Conclustion



















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167






















times



























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167




























































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167








































































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167



















































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167































































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167













































































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167






















































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167
































Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167













Biblical report







































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167




































and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167















and also








43 Conclusion





5 BIBLIOGRAPHY


































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167





































52 Other Sources























Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167






















Dar al-Fikr 1981





al-Huffaz (np nd)


6 QUIZ









of Christs death







































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167




































The Good Way

PO BOX 66

CH-8486 Rikon

Switzerland


7 Footnotes








7) pp 12 and 14






















21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167




























21) Ibid pp 93-94








28) Ibid pp 107-108

29) Ibid pp 89-9030) Ibid p 95



33) Ibid p 91











1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167


















1973














See also 687

50) Ibid vol 2 910










60) Ibid p105












English version



68) Ibid p 167



















English version



68) Ibid p 167









