In the following chart the readers will see how the Quran juxtaposes the stories of John the Baptist and Jesus (erroneously and mistakenly called Yahya and ‘Isa!) for the express purpose of showing the similarities between them. In so doing, the Quran provides tacit evidence that Jesus must have died before Allah raising him to himself.
The passages are found in Q. 19, titled the “chapter of Mary” (Surah al-Maryam), specifically from vv. 1-33. I will be employing The Study Quran version and will only cite those verses that are relevant to the point I am making.
| JOHN | JESUS |
19:7 “O Zachariah! Truly We bring thee glad tidings of a boy whose name is John; We have not given this as a name to any before him. 19:8 He said, “My Lord! How shall I have a boy, when my wife is barren, and I have grown decrepit with old age? 19:9 He said, “Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me! I had created thee before, when thou wast nothing!’ 19:12 “O John! Take the Book with strength!” And We gave him judgment as a child 19:13 and a tenderness (wa’ḥanānan) from Our Presence, and purity (wa’zakatan); and he was reverent 19:14 and dutiful toward his parents. He was not domineering, rebellious 19:15 Peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive | 19:17 And she veiled herself from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit, and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man 19:18 She said, “I seek refuge from thee in the Compassionate, if you are reverent! 19:19 He said, “I am but a messenger of thy Lord, to bestow upon thee a pure boy (ghulaman zakiyya). 19:20 She said, “How shall I have a boy when no man has touched me, nor have I been unchaste? 19:21 He said, “Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me.’” And [it is thus] that We might make him a sign unto mankind, and a mercy (wa’raḥmatan) from Us. And it is a matter decreed 19:30 He said, “Truly I am a servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet 19:31 He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I live 19:32 and [has made me] dutiful toward my mother. And He has not made me domineering, wretched 19:33 Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised alive! |
Pay careful attention to the similarities between John and Jesus. Both are born miraculously, both are dutiful to their parents, not overbearing, rebellious etc. John is tenderness from Allah and purity, whereas Jesus is a pure son that was sent as a sign and mercy from God.
The final similarity is crucial. The Quran states that there was peace on them the day they were born, the day they die and they die when they will be raised alive.
Herein lies the problem. No Muslim denies that John was born, died and will then be raised alive. And yet these same Muslims want to destroy the parallel connection with Jesus since they want us to believe that Jesus was born, was raised alive to Allah, will later return to die and then be raised to life!
Besides all this, history attests that John was beheaded by Herod, and therefore died a martyr’s death:
“And King Herod heard it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.’ But others were saying, ‘He is Elijah.’ And others were saying, ‘He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ But when Herod heard it, he kept saying, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has risen!’ For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ Now Herodias was holding a grudge against him and was wanting to put him to death and was not able; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he was keeping him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him. And a strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his great men and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.’ And he swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.’ And she went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ And she said, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ And immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb. And the apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.” Mark 6:14-32 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
This too is similar to what happened to the historical Jesus since he was killed by crucifixion, and therefore died similarly to the way John did, namely, both of them were killed in their cause.
Therefore, the plain reading of the Quran points to Jesus having died before Allah raised him alive to himself, since this follows the pattern which the Muslim scripture assigns to John the Baptist. I.e., they were born, they died and they shall be raised alive, with Allah raising Jesus alive to himself in advance of the day of resurrection.
FURTHER READING
The Crucifixion of Christ – A Christian Critique of the Quran
Answering Islam Blog 