Where is the grave of the man who was crucified? Why is there no record of it?

- We say that Jesus did not die and was not crucified. The Quran rejects the Christian belief in the crucifixion (4:171). However, some missionaries or advocates argue as follows: “You Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified on the cross, but that someone else was crucified in his place. So, where is the grave of the person who was crucified? Why is there no record of it?”
 - Besides, it is claimed that the grave where Jesus was buried was later found empty. Whose grave is this empty one? They explain that this means the one who was crucified was Jesus.
- How can we respond to such claims?
- Where is the grave of the one who died in Jesus’s place?

Dear Brother / Sister,

“That they said (in boast), ‘We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah’;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.” (an-Nisa, 4/157)

It is pointed out in the verse above that Jesus was not crucified, that the person they killed was someone made to resemble him, that those making these claims are merely speculating, that they have no definitive knowledge on the matter, and that everything they know is based on conjecture.

The phrase “with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow...” in the verse can be interpreted as a reference not only to the killing of Jesus but also, more generally, to the identity of the person who was killed and where he was buried.

Tafsirs mention—so to speak—that the men in the assembly, who were ready for the crucifixion, inquired about the matter, asking, “Well, if this is Jesus who is being killed, where is our friend (who resembles him)? And if this is our friend who is being killed, where is Jesus?” (See Razi, Maraghi, Ibn Ashur, the interpretation of the verse in question)

However, we have not come across any information indicating that answers to those questions exist.

Since we cannot find this transmitted information in the sources of the Quran and Hadith, we cannot determine it through reason.

Questions on Islam