The Quran on the crucifixion

The Quran (Surah 4:157) denies the crucifixion of Jesus. To resolve the conflict between this and the historical record, classical Muslim theology developed the doctrine of tahrif: the previous scriptures were corrupted in transmission. The strong textual corruption claim was popularised by Ibn Hazm in the eleventh century; earlier Muslim scholars typically held the milder "corruption of meaning" position.

The Quran itself, however, repeatedly appeals to the Torah and the Gospel as confirming its message (Surah 5:46 to 47; 5:68; 10:94). If the previous scriptures had been textually corrupted, these appeals would be meaningless. The strong tahrif doctrine creates a tension within Islamic theology, not just between Islam and Christianity.

The Sana'a manuscripts (discovered 1972) include early Quranic fragments with variant readings, which complicates the popular contrast that "the Quran is perfectly preserved while the Bible has been corrupted." Both texts have manuscript histories; the New Testament's is by every measurable metric far better attested.

On the crucifixion specifically: Bart Ehrman, an agnostic, calls it "one of the most certain facts of history." The historical evidence is overwhelming and predates the Quran by approximately 600 years. A thoughtful Muslim seeker is asked to weigh which evidence base is stronger.

Reading

• Behnam Sadeghi and Uwe Bergmann, "The Codex of a Companion of the Prophet and the Qurʾān of the Prophet," Arabica, 2010.
• Nabeel Qureshi, No God But One: Allah or Jesus?, 2016.
• Mark Beaumont, Christology in Dialogue with Muslims, 2005.