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The question

Why was the negation not rendered as "لم يقتلوه ولم يصلبوه" (they did not kill him nor did they crucify him) instead of "ما قتلوه وما صلبوه" (they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him) in verse 157 of Surat An-Nisa?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

Allah revealed the Qur’an in a clear Arabic tongue, and He challenged the Arabs with its eloquence and the beauty of its style, placing every word in its rightful position. There should be no objection to the words of the Qur’an except for understanding its secrets, and scholars have drawn attention to the benefits of doing so. The reason for deviating from the negated present tense verbal sentence using "lam" to the negated past tense using "ma" is that the original intent is to report about the past, and because the past tense sentence conveys certainty and established fact. Their not having killed him is a firmly established truth, and expressing it this way is precise and beautiful.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
75030
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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Read the full answer on Ftawy