The Qur'anic Cross and the Missing Substitute in Early Muslim-Christian Polemics

Early Muslim commentators develop a sophisticated interpretation of Q 4:157–158, known as the substitution narrative: another person was crucified in Jesus’ place. However, mention of the Substitute rarely occurs in early writings between Muslims and Christians, even when discussing the qur'anic crucifixion. This case study of almost two dozen primary sources examines the reception of the qur'anic crucifixion, including new observations on the Creed among Eastern Christians at the dawn of Islam, and lays out an approach to analyzing the rhetorical and linguistic features of qur'anic prooftexting. The project draws out the lack of evidence for the substitute narrative as an established interpretation among Muslim and Christian theologians from the eighth to the eleventh centuries. How Muslims and Christians discussed the qur'anic crucifixion account, defining themselves vis-à-vis one another, demonstrates how central crucifixion narratives were—with ample competing interpretations—to the development of monotheistic history.