The Christians’ Following of Conjecture and Doubt Concerning the Messiah

The Christians and followers of Christianity who express opinions about Jesus do not have scholarly and investigative speech, but rather follow conjecture and supposition. They have doubt and their words are filled with uncertainty: “Indeed those who differ concerning him are surely in doubt about him: they do not have any knowledge of that beyond following conjectures” (4:157). The exception in this verse is disconnected. They speak about the Messiah based on following conjecture, and conjecture is not reliable in such matters: “indeed conjecture is no substitute for the truth” (10:36).

The meaning of doubt is also in opposition to knowledge, and unreliable conjecture is also in the category of doubt and is not authoritative. Therefore, the Qur’an rejects their certainty with three expressions:

1. The basis of the Children of Israel’s judgment about Jesus is their doubt, and they have no knowledge of the story of the Messiah: “they do not have any knowledge of that” (4:157).

2. They follow conjecture: “beyond following conjectures” (4:157).

3. They have no certainty: “and certainly they did not kill him” (4:157).

These expressions, together with the expression “surely in doubt about him” (4:157), make clear that the Children of Israel do not have anything worthy of scholarly presentation concerning Jesus, and the fundamental and real news about that personage is specified by divine revelation: that neither killing occurred nor crucifixion took place. What is certain is the raising of that personage to divine proximity: “Rather God raised him up toward Himself” (4:158); but whether this was after natural death or while alive cannot be determined from this statement.