Tafsir of Surah An-Nisaa Verse 157 (1)

تفسير قوله تعالى: (وما قتلوه وما صلبوه ولكن شبه لهم)

Tafsir of Allah’s Statement: (And they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them) (Part One)

Translated by: Reza Ervani

This article on the Tafsir of Surah An-Nisaa verse 157 is included in the Christology Category

السؤال

Question:

يقول تعالى في كتابه الكريم: وما قتلوه وما صلبوه، ولكن شبه لهم.

Allah the Exalted says in His Book: “And they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them.”

أريد شرحاً مفصلاً عن معنى هذه الآية الكريمة. وما هي الحكمة الإلهية من أن يشبه لهم وهم لا يعرفون إن كان هو المسيح الحقيقي أم لا؟ لقد طرح علي هذا السؤال من قبل شخص مسيحي وقال: لماذا أراد الله أن يشبّه لنا، وألا نعرف الحقيقة؟
لذا؛ يرجى التنوير.

I request a detailed explanation of the meaning of this noble verse. What is the divine wisdom behind Isa being made to appear so to them while they did not know whether he was truly the Messiah or not? A Christian once asked me: Why did Allah make it appear so to us so that we did not know the truth? Please enlighten me.

الإجابــة

Answer:

الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، وعلى آله وصحبه، أما بعد:

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, and his companions. To proceed:

فإن ما ذكره الله تعالى في الآية الواردة في سؤال السائل وهي قوله سبحانه:

What Allah the Exalted mentioned in the verse referred to in the question is His statement:

وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَكِنْ شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِنْهُ مَا لَهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا [النساء: ١٥٧].

“And [for] their saying, ‘Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Isa, the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.’ And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over him are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.” (Surah An-Nisa: 157)

كذبوا بأنهم قتلوه وافتخروا بقتله -على زعمهم- وذكروه بالرسالة استهزاء، لأنهم ينكرونها ولا يعترفون بأنه نبي، كما قال كفار قريش لمحمد -صلى الله عليه وسلم-:

It clarifies that they lied when they claimed to have killed him, and they boasted of that alleged killing, mentioning his being a “messenger” in mockery, since they denied his messengership and did not acknowledge him as a prophet. This is similar to what the disbelievers of Quraysh said to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him):

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِي نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الذِّكْرُ إِنَّكَ لَمَجْنُونٌ [الحجر: ٦].

“O you upon whom the message has been sent down, indeed you are mad.” (Surah Al-Hijr: 6).

وكما قال فرعون:

And likewise the statement of Pharaoh:

إِنَّ رَسُولَكُمُ الَّذِي أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ لَمَجْنُونٌ [الشعراء: ٢٧].

“Indeed, your messenger who has been sent to you is mad.” (Surah Ash-Shu‘ara: 27).

وقد كذب الله تعالى اليهود ومن وافقهم في زعمهم أن المسيح -عليه السلام- قتله اليهود، فقال عزَّ من قائل:

Allah the Exalted refuted the Jews and those who agreed with them in their claim that the Messiah, peace be upon him, was killed by the Jews. He said:

وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَكِنْ شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ.

“And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but it was made to appear so to them.” (Surah An-Nisa: 157).

كما قال تعالى:

And Allah also said:

إِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَاعِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ فِيمَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ [آل عمران: ٥٥].

“(Mention) when Allah said: ‘O Isa, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve, and make those who follow you superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ.’” (Surah Ali Imran: 55).

فقد قصد اليهود حقيقة قتل عيسى -عليه السلام-، فألقى الله تعالى شبهه على إنسان آخر وفي هذا عدة وجوه منها:

The Jews indeed intended to truly kill Isa, peace be upon him. So Allah the Exalted cast his likeness upon another person. There are several reported accounts of this, including:

١- أن اليهود لما علموا أنه حاضر في بيت فلان مع أصحابه، أمر (يهوذا) رأس اليهود رجلاً من أصحابه يقال له (طيطايوس) أن يدخل على عيسى -عليه السلام- ويخرجه ليقتله، فلما دخل عليه أخرج الله عيسى -عليه السلام- من سقف البيت، وألقى على ذلك الرجل شبه عيسى فظنوه هو فصلبوه وقتلوه.

1. When the Jews knew that Isa was in the house of a certain person with his disciples, their leader (Yahudha) ordered one of his men named (Titayus) to go inside to Isa, bring him out, and kill him. But when he entered, Allah raised Isa from the roof of the house and cast his likeness onto that man. They thought he was Isa, so they crucified and killed him.

٢- وكلوا بعيسى -عليه السلام- رجلا يحرسه، وصعد عيسى -عليه السلام- في الجبل ورفع إلى السماء، وألقى الله شبهه على ذلك الرقيب فقتلوه وهو يقول: لست عيسى.

2. They appointed a man to guard Isa, peace be upon him. Isa went up the mountain and was raised to the heavens. Allah cast Isa’s likeness upon that guard, and they killed him while he was saying: “I am not Isa.”

٣- كان رجلاً يدعي أنه من أصحاب عيسى -عليه السلام- وكان منافقاً، فذهب إلى اليهود ودلهم عليه، فلما دخل مع اليهود لأخذه ألقى الله تعالى شبهه عليه فقتل وصلب.

3. There was a man who claimed to be one of Isa’s disciples, but he was a hypocrite. He went to the Jews and informed them about him. When he entered with them to seize Isa, Allah cast Isa’s likeness upon him, and he was killed and crucified.

٤- أن اليهود لما هموا بأخذه وكان عيسى -عليه السلام- مع عشرة من أصحابه فقال لهم: من يشتري الجنة بأن يلقى عليه شبهي، فقال واحد منهم أنا، فألقى الله شبه عيسى عليه فأخرج فقتل، ورفع الله عيسى إلى السماء.

4. When the Jews were about to seize Isa, and he was with ten of his companions, he said to them: “Who will buy Paradise by having my likeness cast upon him?” One of them said: “I will.” So Allah cast Isa’s likeness upon him, and he was taken out, killed, and crucified, while Isa, peace be upon him, was raised to the heavens.

To be continued in the next part, in shaa Allah

Source: IslamWeb