al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, by Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Qurṭubī (d. 671 AH / 1273 CE). The commentary of the Andalusian jurist, which takes each verse through its legal and grammatical questions as well as its narrative.
The complete commentary on Neither killed nor crucified (4:155-159), covering 4:155-156 to 4:159.
On 4:155-156
His words, Exalted: So for their breaking of their covenant (4:155). for their breaking is in the genitive by the bāʾ, and the mā in fa-bi-mā is redundant, for emphasis, as in His words: So by mercy from God (fa-bi-mā raḥmatin) (3:159), which has already been discussed. The bāʾ is connected to an elided word, the implied sense being: so for their breaking of their covenant We cursed them; this is from Qatādah and others, and it was elided because the hearer knows it. Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Ḥamzah al-Kisāʾī said: it is connected to what precedes it, and the meaning is “so the thunderbolt seized them for their wrongdoing” (4:153), down to His words So for their breaking of their covenant. He said: He thus explained their wrongdoing, on account of which the thunderbolt seized them, by what follows it, namely their breaking of the covenant, their killing of the prophets and all the other things He set out in which they wronged themselves. Al-Ṭabarī and others rejected this, because those whom the thunderbolt seized were in the time of Moses, whereas those who killed the prophets and hurled the calumny against Mary came a long time after Moses; so the thunderbolt did not seize those whom it seized on account of their hurling the calumny against Mary. Al-Mahdawī and others said: this is not a necessary objection, because it is permissible that He report of them while the ones intended are their forefathers, in accordance with what has already been said in al-Baqarah. Al-Zajjāj said: the meaning is “so for their breaking of their covenant We forbade them good things that had been made lawful to them”, because this narrative extends to His words So for the wrongdoing of those who became Jews We forbade (4:160). Their breaking of the covenant was that it had been taken upon them to make plain the description of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And it has been said: the meaning is “so for their breaking of their covenant and their doing such-and-such and their doing such-and-such, God set a seal upon their hearts”. And it has been said: the meaning is “so for their breaking they do not believe except a few”, the fāʾ being intrusive. their disbelief is conjoined (to “breaking”), and likewise their killing. What is meant by the signs of God is their scriptures, which they distorted. Ghulf (wrapped) is the plural of ghilāf (a covering, a sheath), that is: our hearts are receptacles for knowledge, so we have no need of any knowledge other than what we have. And it has been said that it is the plural of aghlaf, which is that which is covered with a wrapping, that is: our hearts are in coverings, so we do not understand what you say; this is like His words: Our hearts are in coverings (41:5). This has already been discussed in al-Baqarah. Their purpose in this was to ward off the argument of the messengers. Setting a seal (ṭabʿ) is sealing (khatm), and this has already been discussed in al-Baqarah. for their disbelief, that is, as a recompense to them for their disbelief, as He said: Rather, God has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is it that they believe (2:88), that is, except a little belief, namely in some of the prophets, and that does not benefit them. Then He repeated and for their disbelief (4:156) to report that they disbelieved with one disbelief after another. And it has been said: the meaning is and for their disbelief in the Messiah, this having been elided because what follows indicates it. The governing word of for their disbelief is the same as the governing word of their breaking, because it is conjoined to it, and it is not permissible for the governing word to be set a seal. The great calumny is their accusing her with Joseph the carpenter, who was one of the righteous among them. Calumny (buhtān) is the excessive lie at which one is astounded, and it has already been discussed. And God, Glorified and Exalted, knows best.
On 4:157-158
His words, Exalted: and their saying: We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary (4:157). Inna is given a kasrah because it begins a sentence after the verb of saying; giving it a fatḥah is a dialectal usage. The derivation of the word “Messiah” has already been discussed in Āl ʿImrān.
the Messenger of God: a substitute (badal), or if you wish, in the sense of “I mean”.
And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him: a refutation of their claim.
but it was made to appear so to them, that is, his likeness was cast upon someone else, as has already been discussed in Āl ʿImrān. And it has been said: they did not know him by sight, and they killed the one they killed while in doubt about him, as He, Exalted, said: And truly those who differ concerning him are in doubt about him. The report, it has been said, is about all of them; and it has been said that only their common people differed about him, and that the meaning of their differing is that some of them said he was a god, and some of them that he was the son of God; al-Ḥasan said this. And it has been said that their differing was that their common people said: We have killed Jesus, while those who witnessed his being raised to heaven said: We did not kill him. And it has been said that their differing was that the Nestorians among the Christians said: Jesus was crucified in respect of his humanity, not in respect of his divinity; while the Melkites said: The crucifixion and the killing befell the Messiah in his entirety, his humanity and his divinity. And it has been said that their differing was that they said: If this is our companion, then where is Jesus? And if this is Jesus, then where is our companion? And it has been said that their differing was that the Jews said: We killed him, because Judas, the chief of the Jews, was the one who worked to have him killed; and a party of the Christians said: Rather, it was we who killed him; and another party of them said: Rather, God raised him to heaven while we were looking on at him.
They have no knowledge of it: min is redundant, and the sentence is complete. Then He, Mighty and Majestic, said: except the following of conjecture: a discontinuous exception (istithnāʾ laysa min al-awwal) in the position of the accusative; it may also be in the position of the nominative as a substitute, that is: they have no knowledge of it except the following of conjecture. Sībawayh recited:
Many a land in which there is no companion
except the young gazelles and except the white antelopes.
His words, Exalted: And they did not kill him for certain. Ibn ʿAbbās and al-Suddī said: the meaning is that they did not kill their conjecture with certainty, as when you say “I killed it with knowledge” (qataltuhu ʿilman) when you know a thing completely; so the pronoun refers back to the conjecture. Abū ʿUbayd said: Had the meaning been “they did not kill Jesus for certain”, He would have said only “and they did not kill him”. And it has been said: the meaning is that they did not kill for certain the one who was made to appear to them as Jesus; on this view the pause is at for certain. And it has been said: the meaning is “they did not kill Jesus”, with the pause at and they did not kill him, and for certain is the attribute of an elided verbal noun, and in this there are two construals. One is: that is, they said this as a certain saying; or God said this as a certain saying. The other view is that the meaning be “and they did not know it with certain knowledge”. Al-Naḥḥās: If you construe the meaning as “rather God raised him to Himself for certain”, that is an error, because what comes after bal does not govern what comes before it, owing to its weakness. Ibn al-Anbārī allowed the pause at and they did not kill him on the basis that for certain is in the accusative by an implied verb which is the complement of an oath, its implied sense being: and you have indeed spoken the truth for certain, that is, a certain truth.
Rather, God raised him to Himself (4:158): the beginning of a fresh sentence; that is, to heaven, for God, Exalted, is far exalted above place. The manner of his being raised has already been discussed in Āl ʿImrān.
And God is Mighty, that is, strong in taking vengeance on the Jews, for He gave power over them to Petrus son of Astīsānūs the Roman1, who slew them in a great slaughter.
Wise: He decreed upon them the curse and the wrath.
On 4:159
His words, Exalted: And there is none of the People of the Book but will surely believe in him before his death (4:159). Ibn ʿAbbās, al-Ḥasan, Mujāhid and ʿIkrimah said: the meaning is, he will surely believe in the Messiah before his death, that is, the death of the person of the Book; so the first pronoun refers to Jesus and the second to the person of the Book. This is because there is no one of the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians, but believes in Jesus (peace be upon him) when he sees the angel with his own eyes; but it is a belief that does not benefit, because it is belief at the moment of despair and when one is already in the state of death. The Jew at that moment acknowledges that he is the Messenger of God, and the Christian acknowledges that he was the Messenger of God. It is related that al-Ḥajjāj asked Shahr ibn Ḥawshab about this verse and said: Captives from among the Jews and the Christians are brought before me and I order that their necks be struck, and I look at such a one at that moment and I see no belief from him. Shahr ibn Ḥawshab said to him: When he sees the affair of the Hereafter with his own eyes, he acknowledges that Jesus is the servant of God and His messenger, and so he believes in him, but it does not benefit him. Al-Ḥajjāj said to him: From where did you take this? He said: I took it from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah. Al-Ḥajjāj said to him: You have taken it from a pure spring. It is related of Mujāhid that he said: There is no one of the People of the Book but believes in Jesus before his death. It was said to him: If he drowns, or burns, or a wild beast eats him, does he believe in Jesus? He said: Yes! And it has been said that both pronouns refer to Jesus (peace be upon him), and the meaning is: whoever is alive at the time of his descent on the Day of Resurrection2 will surely believe in him; Qatādah, Ibn Zayd and others said this, and al-Ṭabarī preferred it. Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related, from a man, from al-Ḥasan, concerning His words, Exalted, And there is none of the People of the Book but will surely believe in him before his death, that he said: before the death of Jesus; by God, he is alive with God now, but when he descends they will all believe in him. The like of this is reported from al-Ḍaḥḥāk and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr. And it has been said: will surely believe in him, that is, in Muḥammad (peace be upon him), even though no mention of him has preceded, because these narratives were sent down to him and the object is belief in him; and belief in Jesus includes belief in Muḥammad (blessings and peace be upon him) as well, since it is not permissible to make a distinction between them. And it has been said: will surely believe in him, that is, in God, Exalted, before he dies, though belief at the moment of seeing with one’s own eyes does not benefit him. The first two interpretations are the more evident. Al-Zuhrī related, from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, from Abū Hurayrah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said: “The son of Mary will surely descend as a just judge; he will surely kill the Antichrist, kill the swine and break the cross, and prostration will be one, to God, the Lord of the worlds.” Then Abū Hurayrah said: Recite if you wish: And there is none of the People of the Book but will surely believe in him before his death. Abū Hurayrah said: before the death of Jesus, repeating it three times. The implied construction of the verse according to Sībawayh is: and there is not anyone of the People of the Book but will surely believe in him. The implied construction of the Kufans is: and there is none of the People of the Book except one who will surely believe in him; but there is an ugliness in this, because it involves the elision of the relative pronoun, while the relative clause is part of the relative pronoun, so it is as if part of the noun has been elided.
His words, Exalted: and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them, that is, to the denial of those who denied him and the affirmation of those who affirmed him.
About this text
This is a complete English rendering of al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān on these verses, prepared for this website from the public-domain Arabic text (tafsir.app, src=qurtubi). Nothing is abridged: every opinion, every report with its chain of transmission, every verse of poetry and every grammatical note is translated. Qur’anic quotations are in bold; the translator’s own notes are confined to the numbered footnotes and identify names, terms and variant readings only. A second translator has not checked the rendering, and the Arabic is linked so that any passage can be compared. The modern editors’ apparatus is not part of the classical text and is not translated.
Neither killed nor crucified (4:155-159): all commentaries · The classical commentaries