'His saying, the Most High: "And their saying, 'Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.' And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, with certainty.' " 'Rather, Allah raised him to Himself, and Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.' " 'And there is none among the People of the Book but will surely believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection, he will be against them a witness.' "

This verse; and the one before it; Allah, the Exalted, enumerated in it the sayings of the Children of Israel; and their actions; across different times; and the succession of generations; thus, from this, there is a rebuke of their contemporaries to Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; and a clarification of the evidence that the curse has become obligatory upon them; and humiliation and poverty have been imposed upon them; this group that said: ﴿Indeed, we killed the Messiah﴾; is not the same as those who broke the covenant at the Mount; nor those who took the calf; and the saying of the Children of Israel is indeed related to His saying: ﴿Jesus, son of Mary﴾ and His saying - Exalted and Glorified is He -: ﴿The Messenger of Allah﴾; it is merely a report from Allah, the Exalted, about a description of Jesus; which is the message; in the context of exposing the sin of those who acknowledge the killing; and the sin is upon them; for they did not kill Jesus; for they crucified that person believing him to be Jesus; and believing that Jesus is a liar, not a messenger; but the sin is upon them based on their belief that their killing occurred in Jesus; so it is as if they killed him; and if they had killed him, their belief that he is not a messenger does not absolve them of sin; just as the Quraysh, in their denial of the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - are not benefited by their belief that he is a liar; rather, Allah has dealt with them according to the reality of the matter in itself; then Allah, the Exalted, informed that the Children of Israel did not kill Jesus; nor did they crucify him; "but it was made to appear to them"; and the narrators have differed greatly in this story and its manner; I will summarize its main points; for there is nothing in all of it that decisively confirms its authenticity; because nothing has been established from the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - regarding it; and we have no basis for preferring any part of it; except the words of the Book of Allah; what we do not doubt is that Jesus - peace be upon him - was wandering in the land; and calling to Allah; and the Children of Israel were seeking him; and their king at that time was placing bounties upon him; and Jesus - peace be upon him - had gathered the disciples who walked with him wherever he went; so when at some times the matter of Jesus - peace be upon him - became known; it was narrated that one of the disciples was bribed and accepted the bribe; and pointed out his location; so he was surrounded; then that disciple regretted and took his own life; and it was narrated that a man from the Jews was given a reward; and he kept tapping on him until he pointed out his location; so when Jesus - peace be upon him - and his companions felt the pursuit of those seeking them, they entered a house in view of the Children of Israel; it was narrated that they counted them as thirteen; and it was narrated as eighteen; and they were besieged at night; it was narrated that Jesus - peace be upon him - separated the disciples from himself that night; and directed them to the horizons; and he remained with one man; so Jesus was raised; and his likeness was cast upon the man; so that man was crucified; and it was narrated that the likeness was cast upon the Jew who had pointed him out; so he was crucified; and it was narrated that when Jesus - peace be upon him - was surrounded, he said to his companions: "Which of you will be given my likeness upon him so that he is killed and saves these; and he will be my companion in Paradise?"; so Sergius said: I will; and the likeness of Jesus was cast upon him; and it is narrated that the likeness of Jesus - peace be upon him - was cast upon all the group; so when the Children of Israel brought them out, one was missing from the number; so they took one of those upon whom the likeness was cast; according to these narrations that I have mentioned; so that person was crucified; and it was narrated that the king and the takers of the bounty were not unaware of the matter of the raising of Jesus - peace be upon him - when they saw the matter of the decrease in number; and the confusion of the matter; so that person was crucified; and the people were kept away from his cross for days; until it changed; and no attribute remained for him; and at that time the people approached him; and the disciples went spreading the news that Jesus was crucified; so this also indicates that he separated them while he was in the house; or that the likeness was cast upon all; and it was narrated that this entire story did not involve the casting of the likeness of the person of Jesus upon anyone; but rather the meaning is: ﴿

And His saying, exalted is He: "And indeed, those who differed concerning it"; means the difference of those who attempted to take it; because when they lost one of the number; and it was said that Jesus was raised, they became confused; and they differed; and according to the narration of the one who narrated that a resemblance was cast, it is likely that there remained in that resemblance places for differing; but they all agreed on the crucifixion of one without certainty; and they do not know which one it is.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The certainty that has been transmitted by all regarding their senses is that a person was crucified; as for whether it was Jesus or not; that is not from the knowledge of the senses; therefore, the transmission of all the Jews and Christians was of no benefit in that; and Allah has denied that they have any knowledge in His matter regarding what it is.

Then he excluded following conjecture; and it is a connected exclusion; since conjecture and knowledge belong to the same genus: that they are from the beliefs of the soul; and the one who conjectures may say - in a figurative way -: "My knowledge in this matter is that it is such and such"; and he means his conjecture.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And they did not kill him, certainly"; the interpreters differed regarding the return of the pronoun from "they killed him"; a group said: It refers back to the conjecture; as you say: "I killed this matter with knowledge"; the meaning is: And what their conjecture was correct with them; and they did not verify it certainly; this is the saying of Ibn Abbas; and Al-Suddi; and a group; and a group said: The pronoun refers back to Jesus - peace be upon him -; He informed that they did not kill him certainly; so it is valid for them to agree; and the transmission of all of them is established; and the implication of the speech is that they did not kill him in reality at all; neither certainly; nor doubtfully; but when the claim occurred in that, his killing became questionable for them; and a group from the people of language said: The speech is complete in His saying: "And they did not kill him"; and "certainly": is a confirming source for the negation in His saying: "And they did not kill him"; the meaning is: He informs you certainly; or He narrates to you certainly; or be certain of that certainly.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Rather, Allah raised him to Himself"; means to His heavens; and His honor; and Jesus - peace be upon him - is alive in the second heaven; as is contained in the hadith of Al-Isra regarding the two cousins: Jesus and Yahya; it was mentioned by Al-Bukhari in the hadith of Al-Mi'raj; and others mentioned it; and he is there residing until Allah sends him down to kill the Dajjal; and to fill the earth with justice; and he will live in it for forty years; then he will die as humans die.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And there is none among the People of the Book but will surely believe in him before his death"; the interpreters have differed in the meaning of the verse. Ibn Abbas, Abu Malik, Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan, and others said: The pronoun in "his death" refers to Jesus. The meaning is that there will not remain among the People of the Book anyone when Jesus descends to the earth except that he will believe in Jesus, just as the rest of humanity believes. All religions will return to one. Mujahid, Ibn Abbas as well, and others said: The pronoun in "in him" refers to Jesus, and in "his death" refers to the person of the Book, which is included in His saying: "And there is none among the People of the Book"; the implication is: "And there is none among the People of the Book". They said: A Jew will not die until he believes in Jesus, the Spirit of Allah, and knows that he is a prophet. However, at the time of witnessing death, it is a belief that will not benefit him, just as the belief of Pharaoh did not benefit him at the time of witnessing. This saying was also stated by Ikrimah, Al-Dahhak, and Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan. Ikrimah also said: The pronoun in "in him" refers to Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - and in "before his death" refers to the person of the Book. He said: A Jew or a Christian will not leave this world until he believes in Muhammad, even if he drowns or a wall falls on him; he will believe at that time. In the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, it is: "before their death"; this reading strengthens the return of the pronoun to the person of the Book. Al-Fayyad ibn Ghazwan read: "And indeed, among the People of the Book" with emphasis on "indeed"; and the pronoun hidden in "will be" is for Jesus - peace be upon him - in most of the sayings, and for Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - in the saying of Ikrimah.