(… وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ) (And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.”…): And because of their disbelief and their saying that they have killed Jesus Christ (PBUH) the messenger of Allah (swt). Allah (swt) responds to the Jews with what they said and what they claimed of their killing and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (PBUH). It is not our place here to argue with anyone or to transgress anyone’s beliefs, but we want to clarify the logic of faith. What we believe in is honoring and glorifying the Jesus Christ (PBUH); he was not crucified, and our belief says that another was made to resemble him to them, so they thought that he was killed or crucified, whereas Allah (swt) has raised him to heaven, Allah (swt) says:
فَحَمَلَتْهُ فَانتَبَذَتْ بِهِ مَكَانًا قَصِيًّا (22) فَأَجَاءَهَا الْمَخَاضُ إِلَىٰ جِذْعِ النَّخْلَةِ قَالَتْ يَا لَيْتَنِي مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسْيًا مَّنسِيًّا (23) فَنَادَاهَا مِن تَحْتِهَا أَلَّا تَحْزَنِي قَدْ جَعَلَ رَبُّكِ تَحْتَكِ سَرِيًّا (24) وَهُزِّي إِلَيْكِ بِجِذْعِ النَّخْلَةِ تُسَاقِطْ عَلَيْكِ رُطَبًا جَنِيًّا (25) فَكُلِي وَاشْرَبِي وَقَرِّي عَيْنًا ۖ فَإِمَّا تَرَيِنَّ مِنَ الْبَشَرِ أَحَدًا فَقُولِي إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ لِلرَّحْمَٰنِ صَوْمًا فَلَنْ أُكَلِّمَ الْيَوْمَ إِنسِيًّا (26) فَأَتَتْ بِهِ قَوْمَهَا تَحْمِلُهُ ۖ قَالُوا يَا مَرْيَمُ لَقَدْ جِئْتِ شَيْئًا فَرِيًّا (27) يَا أُخْتَ هَارُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ امْرَأَ سَوْءٍ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّا (28) فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ ۖ قَالُوا كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَن كَانَ فِي الْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّا (29) قَالَ إِنِّي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ آتَانِيَ الْكِتَابَ وَجَعَلَنِي نَبِيًّا (30) وَجَعَلَنِي مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ وَأَوْصَانِي بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّا (31) وَبَرًّا بِوَالِدَتِي وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْنِي جَبَّارًا شَقِيًّا (32) وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّا
(So she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a remote place. (23) And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, “Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten.” (24) But he called her from below her, “Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. (25) And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, ‘Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.’ ” (27) Then she brought him to her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented. (28) O sister of Aaron, your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste.” (29) So she pointed to him. They said, “How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?” (30) [Jesus] said, “Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. (31) And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive (32) And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. (33) And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive.”) (Maryam: 22-33)
She conceived without a husband, for Allah (swt), who created Adam (PBUH) from dust without a father and a mother, is not difficult for Him to create a human being from a mother without a father:
إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَىٰ عِندَ اللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ آدَمَ ۖ خَلَقَهُ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ
(Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, “Be,” and he was.) (Ali-Imran: 59)
We must make it clear to all people that what we have said is not a cause for disagreement and dispute. Disagreement does not spoil a friendly case. Allah (swt) says:
لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ
(For you is your religion, and for me is my religion.”) (Al-Kafroon: 6)
We, at first, believe in Allah (swt) and after that we believe what He (swt) says, the basis for religiosity is the belief in Allah (swt).
( مَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا … ) (They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain …): Doubt turned into assumption but actually they have not killed him (PBUH). We are as Muslims are required to honour him (PBUH), believe in him is inseparable from believing in Allah (swt), His angels, His Books and His Messengers:
لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ
(“We make no distinction between any of His messengers.”) (Al-Baqara: 285)