Is Jesus dead ?
Qur’an 3: 8. HE it is who has sent down to thee the Book; in it there are verses that are firm and decisive in meaning – they are the basis of the Book – and there are others that are susceptible of different interpretations. But those in whose hearts is perversity pursue such thereof as are susceptible of different interpretations, seeking to cause discord and seeking wrong interpretations of it. And none knows it except ALLAH and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge; they say, `We believe in it; the whole is from our Lord.’ – And none take heed except those gifted with understanding –
This verse speaks of the verses that are unknown to anyone but Allah Almighty and these verses are as follows:
Alif Laam Meem – Haa Meem – Ya Seen – Kaaf Haa Ya Ain Suaad – Qaaf – Noon – Alif Laam Meem Suaad – Ha Meem Ain Seen Qaaf
There are people who have tried to explain these verses and one such example is Rashad Khalifa who has tried to give the date of the Day of Judgment using these verses. The sayings of Prophet Muhammad (may upon him be mercy of Allah and peace) agree that these are the verses the meaning of whom are unknown as the verse above states. Applying the verse above to the case of Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) is extremely unwise and a appears to be deliberate attempt to make differences among the Muslim Ummah. The matter is very clear as this entire article explains.
Such people claim that if anyone deserved such a special treatment of being raised up alive, then it was our beloved Prophet Muhammad (may upon him be mercy of Allah and peace). This is a similar trick used by some Christians, i.e. get emotional and make excuses such as “I have faith”.
Allah, in the Qur’an, has answered this claim.
The likeness of Issa in Allah’s sight is the same as Adam (3:59).
Why wasn’t it Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) instead?
A man was resurrected after one hundred years (2:259). Why wasn’t it Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) instead?
“Companions of the Cave” were awakened after many years(18:10-11, 18-19, 25-26).Why wasn’t it Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) instead?
Other people have also received similar treatment and if one argues that Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) is receiving special treatment, then he/she must look at these verses and step out of this “faith” excuse!
These death theorists also argue that when Issa (peace be upon him) will speak to Allah on the Day of Judgment with these words, “… when you took me back, you were watching over them…” why doesn’t he clearly say “…when you took me back, then sent me to earth and then took me back again…”? This is a poor question and nothing else. Empty vessels make the loudest noise. He is a prophet of Allah and will not speak uselessly or when not required. Issa (peace be upon him) will reply to Allah Almighty to the question asked to him and will not speak more than what is required of him. Standing in front of Allah Almighty would be the greatest moment and even according to common sense, one is unlikely to deliberately act unwise as these claimants of death hope one to be.
Verses and references presented by proponents of death theory
Many have been answered above with the explanation. The rest are answered in this section.
[Qur’an 16:20] Those whom they invoke besides Allah create nothing and are themselves created.
[Qur’an 16:21] (They are things) dead, lifeless: nor do they know when they will be raised up.
This is a response to the pagan Makkans who worshipped idols! Their idols are lifeless and cannot do anything on their own and do not even know when they will be raised up. Idols do not have life in them! The context clearly shows that it is a reply to the idol worshippers and has nothing to do with Issa (peace be upon him) as it is also a Makkan Surah.
17: 93. `Or, thou have a house of gold or thou ascend up into heaven; and we will not believe in thy ascension until thou send down to us a Book that we can read.’ Say, `Holy is my Lord ! I am but a mortal sent as a Messenger.’
Please also remember that:
33: 63. Such has been the way of ALLAH with those who passed away before, and never thou wilt find a change in the way of ALLAH.
The pagan Makkans demanded that Prophet Muhammad (may upon him be mercy of Allah and peace) show them a miracle. They were shown a miracle but their claims were denied earlier. This denial was to make them understand that the Prophet was only a mortal and had no power of his own to do miracles just like Prophet Issa (peace be upon him). When it was made very clear to them that he is only a mortal, Allah Almighty, then showed them a sign they wanted. This sign was promised by Allah Almighty in 6:37, 6:110 and 27:82.It must be remembered that no Prophet on his own can do anything. Whatever Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) did was by the will of Allah Almighty as he was also a mortal. He had no power to raise himself and if we read the verses carefully, we find that Allah Almighty is saying that He would raise Issa (peace be upon him). This is in complete harmony with the verses presented by the Ahmadi above.
The claimants of the ‘death theory’ present the following verse for their claim:
[3:144]“And Muhammad is only a Messenger. Verily, (all?) Messengers have passed away before him. If then he die or be slain, will you turn your back on your heels?”
Please note the word “all” in the brackets. This is just the interpretation of the ones presenting this verse and has no significance or existence in reality.
Different translations can be used to confirm this.
The word “all” is just the wishful thinking of the enemies of Prophet Issa (peace be upon him). All messengers have not died and Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) is the one who has not died yet but will die when he returns.
Moreover, if the arguers are bent on pure denial without any evidence, another clearer verse shall be presented to them to clear their misconception:
[3:81] Allah took a covenant from (all) the prophets, saying, “I will give you the scripture and wisdom. Afterwards, a messenger will come to confirm all existing scriptures. You shall believe in him and support him.” He said, “Do you agree with this, and pledge to fulfill this covenant?” They said, “We agree.” He said, “You have thus borne witness, and I bear witness along with you.”
The deniers argue that in 3:144 there is ‘al’ before Rasool (Messenger) which means ‘the’ and is referring to ‘all’ Messengers. If their explanation is believed, then we would be in trouble as there is ‘al’ before Nabi (Prophet) in 3:81 as well and that would mean that Prophet Muhammad (may upon him be mercy of Allah and peace) gave an oath about himself that he would believe in himself when he would come after him! Does this make sense?
[5:75] “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.”
Here Allah answers the false claims of the Christians who believed that he died for the sins plus that he was Allah. Besides, this verse does not say that Issa (peace be upon him) died but compares him with other Prophets before him who have passed away. It rejects the divinity of Issa (peace be upon him) and says that just like he was a human, other Prophets were also humans and they have passed away. Allah said that they ate food and Allah does not eat food and according to the Christians, they passed away but Allah does not die which they themselves accept.There was a large sect in Syria and surrounding areas of Christians that had Lady Mary (peace be upon her) in the Trinity. Romans had a different trinity and these Christians are being answered here!
[21:34]”We granted not abiding life to any human being before thee. If then thou shouldst die, shall they have abiding life?”
Very true! Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) will die and not have abiding life when he returns!
[19.31] And He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and He has enjoined on me prayer and poor-rate so long as I live;
Those who argue that Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) died according to the Qur’an put forward the above verse and state that a person cannot pray or pay charity to the poor in heaven. The answer to this claim is very simple. The prayer part should not be a problem to anyone; it would be no surprise if there are prayers to be observed in heaven. The part about charity is worth discussing. Charity or Zakaat is an obligation upon every Muslim who earns and has a saving above a certain level. Zakaat must be paid to deserving people. A person who does not earn has no obligation to pay Zakaat and therefore, Issa (peace be upon him) has no obligation to pay in heaven at the moment. He will have to pay when he makes a living on his second coming.
[19:33] “Peace upon me the day I was born. The day I shall die. And the day I shall be brought back to life!”
Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) will die when he returns. It has been explained above.
Here is what Noble Verse 19:33 states: “So peace is upon me [Issa] the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life.”
Trinitarian Christians believe that Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) was ALLAH Himself, or part of ALLAH, came to earth, was crucified on the cross to purify our sins and then raised from death back to life and went up to heaven until he will come back again to this earth. The Noble Qur’an does not in anyway support this theory!. We Muslims believe that Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) was born from a Noble Virgin; Mary the Virgin, preached the word of ALLAH to the people of Israel, raised to Allah Almighty alive, will come back to earth again to fight the army of Satan and then die a natural death and then be raised again back to life from death as we all do in the Day of Judgment. Some Muslim scholars say that Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) not being crucified in Noble Verse 4:157 means that he was put on the cross but didn’t die, and others say that it means that he was not put on the cross itself and never died either. There are some Christian sects such as the Basilidans, the Docetate and the Marcionite do not believe that Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) was put on the cross. The more important point is that Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) never died according to Islam. There is a similar Verse to 19:33 in the Noble Qur’an that was mentioned to another Messenger of ALLAH: “So peace on him [Yahya, or John the Baptist] the day he was born, the day that he dies, and the day that he will be raised up to life! (The Noble Quran, 19:15)“
This Noble Verse (19:15) is similar to 19:33, where it does not at all state that any Messenger of ALLAH was crucified or will die twice!. The reason why no Messenger of ALLAH will ever die twice is because Allah Almighty said clearly in His Noble Book that every soul He creates (this includes all of His Messengers and Prophets even Issa) shall taste death once; “Nor will they [all humans who end up in heaven] there taste death, except the first death; and He will preserve them from the penalty of the blazing fire. (The Noble Quran, 44:56)“.
In addition to these, haters of Prophet Issa (peace be upon him) disguised as Muslims, present extremely weak narrations to make their claims. Qur’an is the criteria in this discussion and so they have not been touched. However, no person will ever be able to prove anything, to the contrary, from any authentic Hadith.
There are numerous sayings of The Prophet relating to this subject but only the Qur’an has been used here. There is no such thing as blind faith in Islam. Each and everything in Islam is logical and has extensive proof. The ones making distorted interpretations, even though they know their own lie, will never stop deceiving unless Allah gives them guidance.
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