There was a time when the circumstances surrounding the crucifixion of Hadhrat Jesusas was a matter of great debate between Ahmadis and non-Ahmadi Muslims.Whereas Ahmadi Muslims believe Hadhrat Jesusas was a prophet who died like all other human beings, a great majority of Muslims held the view that Hadhrat Jesusas was taken to Heaven by Allah and a Jesus-look-alike was crucified by the Jews instead.
Few non Ahmadi scholars today like to raise the topic of the death of Hadhrat Jesusas. To most it has become a non issue. They would rather vigorously propound their interpretation of khatam nabiyyin. It has become the "flavor of the month" so to speak. The majority of Muslims appear to be indifferent or just plain uninterested.
A more interesting change in the attitude of Muslim scholars has been in the total abandonment of the belief that Hadhrat Jesusas is alive in Heaven. Only recently I ordered books from the Juma Masjid in Toronto, the largest non-Ahmadi Mosque in Toronto. One book entitled "Myth of the Cross" by Al Hajj Ajijola gave full support to the Ahmadiyya view that Hadhrat Jesusas died a natural death. Similarly, well known Muslim scholars such as Ahmed Deedat back the Ahmadiyya position on Hadhrat Jesusas. Moreover, several commentaries of the Quran from Egypt, one of them endorsed by Al Azhar, now interpret the verses regarding the death of Hadhrat Jesusas as Ahmadis do.
A four part series of articles on the death of Hadhrat Jesusas, based on the Quran, the Hadith, and books of history is presented.
Dr. Tahir Ijaz, M.D.
- PROPHET JESUSas HAS DIED: THE QURAN
The Quran is quite clear that Hadhrat Jesusas has passed away, and gives no support to the concept of Hadhrat Jesusas physically going to heaven. Some specific verses will now be considered:
"Jesus said, I am a servant of Allah. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet. And He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be and has enjoined on me prayer and alms-giving so long as I live. He has made me dutiful toward my mother, and He has not made me haughty and unblessed. Peace was on me the day I was born, and peace there shall be on the day I shall die, and the day I shall be raised up to life again." (19:31-4)
The verse shows Hadhrat Jesusas must have died, and could not exist in heaven with his physical body:
If he was still alive, he would have to give alms in heaven, but who would need alms there?
If he would descend again to earth alive, he would have to follow the Jewish prescriptions on both prayer and alms-giving - and could not be a follower of Islamic law.
Did his mother accompany him to heaven physically? How could he otherwise behave like a dutiful son towards her?
"Keep in mind when God will say to Jesus, son of Mary: Didst thou say to people: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? - and he will answer, Holy art Thou, I could never say that to which I had no right. If I had said it, Thou wouldst have surely known it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. It is only Thou who art the Knower of hidden things. I said nothing to them except that which Thou didst command me: Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I was a witness over them as long as I remained among them, but since Thou didst cause me to die, Thou hast been the Watcher over them, and Thou art Witness over all things." (5:117-8)
The verse proves that:
The corruption of Christian doctrine took place after the death of Hadhrat Jesusas. If Hadhrat Jesusas is still alive, as some Muslims believe, then Christianity must still be pure.
The same Hadhrat Jesusas will not appear a second time in this world, as he would then become aware that Christians had now taken his mother as Divine, and could not, therefore plead ignorance in front of God's judgment seat.
The Quran says about persons or beings worshiped as God: "They are dead, not living; and they know not when they will be raised." (16:21)
If Hadhrat Jesusas is alive, as some Muslims believe, he must be God
- Part II: PROPHET JESUSas HAS DIED: THE QURAN
The fact that Jesus (peace be upon him) is dead is clearly mentioned in the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
These will be outlined below:
"If Jesus and Moses had been alive, they would have had no choice but to follow me." (Kathir vol II, p 245 and al yawaqit wal Jawahir, part 2, page 24).
"Jesus son of Mary lived for 120 years, and I see myself as only entering upon the beginning of the sixties." (Kanz al Ummal, part 6, p.120).
In Bukhari, it is reported that in the spiritual event known as the miraj, the Holy Prophetsaw saw Hadhrat Yahyaas and Hadhrat Jesusas in the second heaven. If Hadhrat Yahyaas is dead, then Hadhrat Jesusas is dead, for the dead do not keep company with the living.
In Bukhari, it is recorded that after the death of Hadhrat Muhammadsaw, some of the companions, among them Hadhrat Umar ibn al-Khattabra, doubted he was really dead.
However, Hadhrat Abu Bakrra, ascended to the pulpit in the Mosque and recited the Quranic verse: Muhammad is only a Messenger. All Messengers before him have passed away. If he dies, or is killed, will you then turn upon your heels? (3:145)
After the short speech and recitation of this verse, the companions realized that indeed, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsaw had passed away. NO ONE OBJECTED THAT HADHRAT JESUSas OR ANY OTHER PROPHET HAD NOT DIED. EVERYONE ACCEPTED AND CONFIRMED THE DEATH OF ALL PREVIOUS PROPHETS. THIS WAS THE FIRST IJMA OR CONSENSUS OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY.
The family of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsaw were also agreed on the death of Hadhrat Jesusas. Imam Hasanra, recounting the events relating to the death of Hadhrat Alira, stated, "he (Ali) died during the 27th night of the month of Ramadan, the same night that the spirit of Jesus was raised to heaven." (Tabaqat Ibn Sa'ad, vol III Page 26).
The words of the Holy Prophetsaw, his family, and his companions all indicate that Hadhrat Jesusas passed away like all mortals.
- Part IV: PROPHET JESUSas HAS DIED: CHRISTIANITY CONNECTION
The death of Hadhrat Jesusas in Islamic Christology is a complex and controversial subject. In some Islamic circles, the crucifixion of Hadhrat Jesusas was denied altogether. Instead, according to some Muslim scholars, Allah miraculously transformed a disciple of Hadhrat Jesusas into the physical image of Hadhrat Jesusas, and the Jews crucified the disciple, thinking him to be Hadhrat Jesusas. This concept may be called the "Substitution theory." Hadhrat Jesusas, having been saved from such suffering and death, ascended to God in Heaven.
As mentioned in the previous articles, the substitution theory and eventual physical ascension of Hadhrat Jesusas is not substantiated by the Quran and Hadith. Rather, the Quran and Hadith is clear that Hadhrat Jesusas died a natural death. However, the theory of substitution has figured prominently in Islamic tafsir literature. The purpose of this final part is to explain how the substitution theory was introduced into Islam. I will show that the belief of Hadhrat Jesusas not being nailed to the cross and a Jesus-look-alike replacing him was introduced into Islam from the teachings of certain Gnostic Christian sects. These teachings were brought into Islam through conversion of the "People of the Book."
1. Different Versions of Substitution Story in Islamic Literature.
The belief that someone substituted for Hadhrat Jesusas on the cross has been mentioned by various Muslim commentators of the Quran over the past centuries. Most of the traditions relating the details of the story of Hadhrat Jesusas are told on the authority of Jewish or un-named Christian converts (reference: "Towards an Islamic Christology: The Death of Jesus, Reality or Delusion" in The Muslim World vol 70, No. 2, page 96). The commentary of Tabari (d. 923 A.D) relates on the authority of Wahb (a Jewish convert) that when the Jews were seeking Hadhrat Jesusas to crucify him, God cast the likeness of Hadhrat Jesusas on seventeen disciples. The Jews threatened to kill them all, but instead took just one in the group and killed him, believing him to be Hadhrat Jesusas.
In the next stage of development of the substitution theory, one of the disciples of Hadhrat Jesusas voluntarily accepts to die on the cross for the purpose of saving his master. Such a story may have originated to avoid a major problem associated with the idea of substitution: WHY WOULD GOD FORCE AN INNOCENT PERSON TO SUFFER AND DIE TO SAVE ANOTHER? Tabari relates on the authority of Qatada: "It has been related to us that Jesus, son of Mary, the prophet of God, said to his companions, Who among you would consent to have my likeness cast upon him, and be killed? One of them answered, I would, O Prophet of God. Thus that man was killed and God protected His Prophet and took him up to Himself." A similar account is mentioned in the traditions of Ibn Ishaq. His source was an unnamed Christian convert. In this story, the person who offered to bear the likeness of Hadhrat Jesusas was not one of the twelve disciples, but a man named Sergus.
In other versions, the miracle of transforming a person into the likeness of Hadhrat Jesusas was a form of Divine punishment for that persons' persecution and betrayal of Hadhrat Jesusas. For instance, it is said that the enemies of Hadhrat Jesusas sent a man named Tityanus to kill him. However, God foiled the plan by raising Hadhrat Jesusas to Himself and miraculously causing Tityanus to resemble Hadhrat Jesusas. Tityanus was subsequently put to death on the cross by the Jews. BUT, God cast the likeness of Hadhrat Jesusas only on the man's face and not the body. Thus the people were confused as to the identity of the man killed. This is added to explain the Quranic verse 4:158 which states that those who differed concerning him followed only their conjecture. (reference, The Muslim World same issue as quoted above).
2. Origin of Substitution Theory in Islamic Thought.
The substitution of Hadhrat Jesusas on the cross for someone else has no basis in the Quran or Hadith, as mentioned earlier. This concept likely originated from the influence of Gnostic Christianity on Islam. Several Gnostic Christian sects were known to flourish from the third to the ninth centuries A.D. They were regarded as heretical by the Roman Church. These sects eventually disappeared, both as a result of persecution and gradual conversion of their followers to the fastest growing faith at the time, namely, Islam. Most of the persecution was at the hands of the Roman Church. In the 1940s, documents and writings of these sects were discovered in Egypt, and they became known as the Nag Hammadi documents. These documents are valuable in understanding Gnostic Christian theology.
It is not my purpose here to go into details of Gnosticism. Only the philosophy of docetism will be discussed here. Docetism was a prominent feature of Gnosticism, which held that matter and spirit are antagonistic; matter was considered evil, and spirit considered good and holy. Docetism proposed that Christ only "appeared" to have a real human body, and that Christ only "appeared" to suffer and die on the cross: it was either an illusion or someone else was substituted for him. This tendency to deny or at least diminish the reality of the humanity and suffering of Hadhrat Jesusas was central to the docetic view. It is believed that docetism had its roots in the difficulties some felt in the notion of the Incarnation of God in the person of Christ - it was difficult to associate a Divine-incarnate Son (spirit) with a human being (matter) subject to suffering and death (reference: "Gnosis" by Geddes MacGregor).
A reference from the Nag Hammadi documents demonstrates the docetic view of Hadhrat Jesusas. The book "Apocalypse of Peter" relates a vision of the disciple Peter. He sees Hadhrat Jesusas apparently nailed to the cross and another Jesus floating above the cross. Hadhrat Jesusas explains to Peter: "He whom you see above the tree (cross), glad and laughing, is the living Jesus. But the one whose hands and feet they drive the nails is his fleshy part, which is the substitute...one made in his likeness." (Reference: "The Laughing Savior", by John Dart, Page 107).
In summary, the death of Hadhrat Jesusas in Islamic thought has been that of controversy and debate. It is clear that belief in the ascension of Hadhrat Jesusas and death of a Jesus-look-alike did not exist in the original teachings of Islam. The existence of such speculations in the Quranic exegesis appear to have resulted from the influence of certain Gnostic Christian philosophies such as docetism.
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