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And those who differ Therein are full of doubts. With no (ccrtain) knowledge, But only conjecture to follow. For of a surety They killed him not:158. Nay, Allah raised him up6l>4 Unto Himself; and Allah Is Exalted in Power. Wise;-
And there is none Of the People of the Book But must believe in Him Before his death;665 And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness6M Against them;-
is necessary for the theologicill doctrine of blood s,lcrifice i1nd vicarious atonement for sins. which is rejected by Islilm. But some of the early Christian sects did not believe that Christ was killed on the Cross. The Basilidans believed that some one else was substituted for him. The Docetae held that Christ never had a real physical or natural body. but only an apparent or phantom body. i1nd that his Crucifixion was only apparent. not real. The Marcionite Gospel (about A.D. 138) denied that Jesus was born. and merely silid that he appeared in human form. The Gospel of 51. Bilrmlbas supported the theory of substitution on the Cross. The Quranie teilehing is that Christ was not crucified nor killed by the Jews. notwithslanding certain ;tpparent circumstances which produced that illusion in the minds of some of his enemies: that disputations. doubts. and conjectures on such mailers arc vain; and that he was taken up to Allah (sec next verse and note). tl64. There is difference of opinion as 10 the exact interpretation of this verse. The words are: The Jews did not kill Jesus. but Allah mised him up (ra!a'u) to lIimsclf. One school holds that Jesus did not die the usual human death. but still lives in the hody in heaven. which is lhe generally accepted Muslim view.
665. Before his death: Interpreters are not agreed as to the exact meaning. Those who hold that Jesus did not die refer lhe pronoun "his" to Jesus. They say thilt Jesus is still living in the body and that he will appear just before the Fimll OilY. after the coming of the Mahdi. when the world will be purified of sin and unbelief. There will be a final death before the final Resurrection. but all will have believed before that final death. Others think thill "his" is belter referred to "none of the People of the Book". and that the emphatic form "must believe" (/a·yu· minanna) denotes more a question of duty than of fact. 666. Cf iv. 41 ~
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