Does 5:75 show Jesus (as) passed away?

Question

This is one of the proofs Ahmadis use to show Jesus (as) is dead, taken from: How do Ahmadis justify their belief that Jesus (as) is dead?

"The Messiah, son of Mary, was only a Messenger; surely, Messengers like unto him had indeed passed away before him. And his mother was a truthful woman. They both used to eat food. See how We explain the Signs for their good, and see how they are turned away." (5:75).

In this verse Allah is refuting Jesus's (as) divinity by saying that Messengers like him passed away. But what's the point of mentioning this if Jesus (as) is the only exception to this rule and he is still alive?

Answer 1

All Messengers?

The verse does not necessarily say that all the Messengers passed. News about a genus does not necessarily apply to all individual members of it. As an example consider the verse:

الذين قال لهم الناس إن الناس قد جمعوا لكم فاخشوهم

Those to whom the people said, "Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them."

^{— Quran 3:173}

Now it is understood that not all of people (every single human in existence) said this. Rather only one man ( Nuaym ibn Masud) or at most a few people from the hypocrites said it. Hence An-Naas does not necessarily apply to every individual Insaan. Similarly what is said about Ar-Rusul does not necessarily apply to every individual Rasool.

Also keep in mind that Muhammad ﷺ was alive at the time of the revelation of this verse. And Muhammad ﷺ is a Messenger. Hence it is understood that this verse does not necessarily mean all the Messengers.

Passed Away?

Secondly the verse does not say that the Messengers passed away i.e. died. Rather it means passed or gone - meaning existed before. It is possible that some Messengers did not die but rather passed on by being lifted up alive like Jesus, and according to Israelite reports also Enoch and Elijah. As evidence of this see the verse:

سنة الله التي قد خلت من قبل

[This is] the established way of Allah which has occurred before.

^{— Quran 48:23}

It is understood that Allah's Sunnah has not died.

Point of the verse

The point of this verse is not to say that Jesus is not divine because he is dead. Rather it is an answer to those who claimed divinity for Jesus because of his miracles.

ما المسيح وإن ظهرت الآيات على يديه فإنما جاء بها كما جاءت بها الرسل ; فإن كان إلها فليكن كل رسول إلها ; فهذا رد لقولهم واحتجاج عليهم

Although miracles occurred at the hand of Jesus miracles also occurred at the hand of previous Prophets. So if Jesus is divine then they (previous Prophets) should also be divine. This was a response to their saying.

^{— Tafsir al-Qurtubi}

Being alive in heavens was not the Christian argument for Jesus's divinity. Because they also have similar beliefs about some other Prophets like Elijah and Enoch whom they do not consider to be divine.

Conclusion:

In conclusion this verse is not evidence for the death of Jesus. And we have other evidence that Jesus is alive in heavens and will return at the end of times.

Answer 2

Salam,

Not all verses of Qur'an are to be understood literally but interpreted with compliance with other verses too; otherwise one may get trapped in what is called superficial contradictions.

has revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺ the Book, of which some verses are precise—they are the foundation of the Book—while others are elusive. Those with deviant hearts follow the elusive verses seeking ˹to spread˺ doubt through their ˹false˺ interpretations [Al-Imraan 3:7]

Now , you say that :

what's the point of mentioning this if Jesus (as) is the only exception to this rule...

You seem to imply that all prophets should be identical, which is not true :

And these Messengers (who have been designated to guide people), We have exalted some of them above the others. Among them are such as were spoken to by Allah Himself, and some He exalted in other respects. [ Al-Baqarah 2:253]

Moreover, prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) is above all the Prophets.

As for Isa (p.b.u.h.), Qur'an explicitly says that:

And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah ." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. [An-Nisā':157]

Combined with this answer, it is sufficient to conclude that no verses refers to death of Jesus, either implicitly or explicitly.