Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians - Electric Scotland
Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians - Electric Scotland
Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians - Electric Scotland
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DISCOVERING SCRIPTURE IN SCRIPTURE t 27<br />
his very death. According to their underst<strong>and</strong>ing, what the Quran<br />
meant to say is that Jesus will die only on his second, eschatological<br />
coming. The classic commentator al-Tabari, <strong>for</strong> example, sums<br />
up the sources available to him as follows: Jesus will be sent down<br />
to earth <strong>and</strong> will kill the Antichrist. He will remain here <strong>for</strong> some<br />
time, though its duration is a matter of dispute. Finally, however,<br />
he will die a mortal death <strong>and</strong> will be buried by the Muslims next<br />
to Muhammad at Medina. This version of Jesus’ past <strong>and</strong> future<br />
clearly contradicts the New Testament accounts, but the matter is<br />
of little concern to medieval exegetes, who thought the Christian<br />
versions were corrupt. Early in the twentieth century, however, another<br />
reading of these <strong>and</strong> parallel verses begins to be put <strong>for</strong>ward<br />
by some Muslims: Jesus was not crucified by the <strong>Jews</strong> but rather he<br />
died a natural death at about the same time as the supposed crucifixion.<br />
His ascension, God’s “raising up” of him referred to in<br />
3:55, is perhaps to be understood metaphorically.<br />
So the Quran on matters Christian, but what of the <strong>Christians</strong><br />
themselves—the community called Nasara in the Quran, the addon<br />
to “Jesus <strong>and</strong> those who followed him,” or those concealed<br />
under the rubric Peoples of the Book? There is, to put it simply,<br />
both praise <strong>and</strong> blame <strong>for</strong> <strong>Christians</strong> in the Quran. Consider, <strong>for</strong><br />
example, the famous verse 82 from sura 5:<br />
You will find the most vehement of mankind in hostility to the believers<br />
to be the <strong>Jews</strong> <strong>and</strong> the idolaters. And you will find the nearest<br />
to them [that is, to the believers] in affection those who say<br />
“Behold, we are <strong>Christians</strong>.” That is because there are among them<br />
priests <strong>and</strong> monks, <strong>and</strong> because they are not proud.<br />
The celebrated commentator Zamakhshari (d. 1144), after citing<br />
a Prophetic saying to the effect that “if a Muslim is alone with<br />
two <strong>Jews</strong>, they will try to kill him,” glosses the second part of the<br />
text just cited by explaining that the <strong>Christians</strong> are both humble<br />
<strong>and</strong> men of learning, just the opposite of the <strong>Jews</strong>. “Here is a clear<br />
example,” Zamakhshari goes on, “showing that the struggle <strong>for</strong><br />
knowledge is very useful, leading first to good <strong>and</strong> then to success,<br />
even among the (Christian) priests. The same is true about concern<br />
<strong>for</strong> the hereafter . . . possibly another characteristic of the monk,