Qur'an 4:157–159: 'they did not kill him, nor crucify him'
c. c. 625 – c. 632
Place: medina
24.468, 39.611 · On the map
The text is attested. What it means is disputed. A docetic or Basilidean source behind it is a hypothesis.
Answering people it describes as boasting 'we killed the Messiah', Q 4:157 says 'they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them (shubbiha lahum)', and 4:158 says God raised him up. Most classical commentators read this as substitution, with someone else made to look like Jesus. Some modern scholars read it as denying that the killers were really in control, not denying the death.
People named here
- Jesus
Where scholars disagree
For
- Gabriel Said Reynolds — BSOAS 2009: the verse addresses the Jews' boast; the substitution theory comes from later exegesis
- Suleiman Mourad — 2011: the Qur'an does not unequivocally deny the crucifixion and death
Against
- Classical exegesis (e.g., al-Tabari on 4:157): substitution of another man; the dominant Muslim reading
Links
Text and wording
Out
Qur'an 4:171 and 5:73: 'Do not say Three' / 'God is the third of three'
4:171 follows in Sura 4: Jesus as messenger, word and spirit, 'do not say Three'.
same_sura
attestedIn
Basilides' substitution teaching, as reported by Irenaeus
Substitution (Simon of Cyrene) is compared with the later tafsir reading of 'shubbiha lahum'. No route of transmission is shown.
idea_parallel
scholarly hypothesisIn
Second Treatise of the Great Seth (NHC VII,2)
The 'they only thought they killed him' motif parallels 4:157; direct influence is not established.
idea_parallel
scholarly hypothesisIn
Apocalypse of Peter (Coptic, NHC VII,3)
Separating the true Jesus from the crucified body parallels the 'appearance' language of 4:157.
idea_parallel
scholarly hypothesisIn
Docetism: Christ only 'seemed' to suffer
Docetic 'appearance' language as possible background to 4:157; contested.
idea_parallel
scholarly hypothesis
Context
In
Qur'an, Sura 3 (Al 'Imran): Mary's family and Jesus
Q 3:55 ('I will cause you to die/take you and raise you to Myself') is read with 4:157–158.
context
attested
Sources
- Qur'an 4:157–159, 4:171
Quran.com. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Gabriel Said Reynolds, 'The Muslim Jesus: Dead or Alive?', Bulletin of SOAS 72.2 (2009), 237–258
Cambridge UP. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Suleiman A. Mourad, 'Does the Qur'ān Deny or Assert Jesus's Crucifixion and Death?', in G. S. Reynolds (ed.), New Perspectives on the Qur'an (2011)
Routledge. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Wikipedia: Islamic views on Jesus' death
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.