An Emblematic Qur'anic Argument: The Death of Jesus

The main goal of this article is to give an overall picture of the Qur᾿ānic view about the issues of Jesus’ crucifixion, death and second coming. The Qur᾿ān states unequivocally that the Jews did not kill the son of Mary, while another person assumed his appearance and was crucified. Therefore, escaping death, Jesus was assumed into heaven alive and God will send him back to earth in the End Times. Probably, this is the most widely-known view on this issue in the Muslim world today. Hence, the article gives an analysis of the Qur᾿ānic relevant passages, in addition to an overview of the most influential mainstream commentaries of the Sunnī tradition about those references. Finally, stress has been placed on the philological aspects, by focusing the investigation on the Arabic text of the Qur᾿ān, so as to attempt to retrace an emblematic aspect of the Qur᾿ānic account of Jesus.