The prophet Isa ibn Maryam al-Masih, identified with Jesus Christ, is one of the greatest Islamic preachers, whose name appears dozens of times on the pages of the Holy Quran.
Seeing in Isa not God and not the son of God, but only the servant of God, Muslims worship him as the Messiah who, without being crucified, will return to earth on the Day of Judgment, defeat the Dajjal (Antichrist), destroy evil on the planet and preach Islam.
Jesus for Muslims
From the book of Said-afandi Chirkei "History of the Prophets" it becomes obvious that the son of Isa, who was born in the immaculate conception of Maryam, until the age of thirty, led a normal life, and after that, at the behest of Allah, he became a prophet who instructed the Jews on the path of true faith.
Having received the Injil (Gospel) from the Almighty, he miraculously healed people for three years, showing the grace of Allah, wandered and preached, calling his fellow citizens to monotheism.
Frightened by the growing popularity of the teachings of Isa among the people, the Jewish kings and priests did everything to slander him. Turning to the Roman governor, they reported that the prophet Isa allegedly wants to overthrow his rule in Judea and establish his own kingdom in it. Believing the slander, Pontius Pilate sentenced Isa to death.
However, according to Islamic beliefs, the prophet Isa was not crucified, but by the will of the Almighty Creator at the age of 33 he was raised to heaven by angels. Confirmation is provided by lines from the Koran (4: 157-158): "For saying:" We killed the son of Maryam - the Messiah Isa, the messenger of God. " But he was not killed by them, and he was not crucified. They only imagined all this, And who starts a dispute about him, In doubts about it dwells. They have no knowledge (about this), And they follow their assumptions, - Indeed, he was not killed. No, (he was not killed)! The Lord lifted him up to Himself. After all, He is Great and Wise!"
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In addition, according to the theologian Abu Yusuf Yaakuba bin Ibrahim al-Kufi, Allah could not allow Isa to be killed by crucifixion, since such an execution in the Muslim environment was considered the most shameful and only rapists, robbers and other criminals were subjected to it.
Heard prayer
According to the theorist of Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, the prophet Isa escaped crucifixion, because the merciful Allah heard his prayers with a request to "carry the cup of death past him." Fulfilling the desire of his messenger, the Almighty saved him from a painful death on the cross, and people, not realizing that the angels had taken Isa to heaven, thought that he had been crucified.
As a confirmation of his version, Ibn Taymiyyah in the book "Al-Jawab as saheeh" suggests turning to the Gospel of Luke, believing that the first Christians possessed true knowledge, which the church hierarchs later declared heresy. It is in it that Jesus, having come to the Garden of Gethsemane, “knelt down and prayed, saying: Father! Oh, if you were pleased to carry this cup past Me! nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And an angel appeared to him from heaven and strengthened him”(Luke 22: 41-43).
Bachelor of Theology Wilhelm Macus explains: since in Islam the prophet Isa was not considered as a redeemer of human sins, then the execution of the preacher was a senseless sacrifice. In addition, Allah, allowing the crucifixion of Isa, would show his powerlessness in saving a person from unjust accusations and humiliation.
Substitution idea
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, referring to the tafsir of the Qur'an and the comments of the Muslim enlightener Abu al-Al Maududi, claims that instead of the prophet Isa, another man was crucified, whom Allah made like his messenger.
The Arab historian Ibn Kathir, based on the interpretations of the theologian Ibn Abbas, wrote that on Friday evening, being surrounded by his disciples, Isa heard that the house in which they were was surrounded by Roman legionaries.
At that very moment, the prophet asked his companions who of them wanted to become outwardly like him and be crucified, so that later they would accompany him in paradise. One young man responded to this call, but Isa, considering him too young for such a sacrifice, repeated his question again. But no one else responded, and then, Allah endowed the volunteer with the features of a prophet, and then through the hole in the roof took Isa who fell into a doze to heaven, saying: “Oh, Isa! I will return you and take you to Me …”(Al Imran: 55).
When Isa disappeared, the doors of the house were thrown open and the soldiers seized a young man who looked like Isa, put a crown of thorns on his head and took him to the place of execution.
Crucified Judas
The Islamic historian Ibn al-Athir also believed that instead of Isa, another person was crucified, in the role of which was played by Judas who betrayed him. According to his interpretation, when the traitor brought the Roman guards to the house of the prophet, they ordered him to enter and take the preacher out into the street. Not daring to disobey them, Judas entered the dwelling, and at that very moment he saw how Allah lifts Isa to heaven. Shocked by the picture he saw, Judas ran out of the house, but was immediately seized by the guards, and then executed, since the Almighty gave him the appearance of Isa.
Crucified Titianus
A companion of the Prophet Muhammad, Ibn Abbas, adhered to the version that instead of Isa, the Roman warrior Titianus, endowed with his appearance, was nailed to the cross. It was he who was instructed to burst into the house to kill the prophet. However, having followed Isa into the dwelling, he never found his victim in it, since Allah, with the help of the angel Jabrail, took him to Him through the window in the roof. The discouraged warrior could not understand for a long time where the preacher of monotheism had gone, and, trying to comprehend what was happening, stood in the center of the room. Due to the length of his absence, the comrades-in-arms decided that his friend needed help in a fight with Isa and broke into the house. There they saw the confused prophet, arrested him and hanged him a few hours later. And only then did the soldiers ask themselves: "Where did Titianus go?" and "Why is Isa's body so similar to that of Titianus?"
Author: Ashkhen Avanesova