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Will the Jesus Christ will come again?
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[quote][quote]These are very valid questions that come to mind and very confusing too. I believe the answers should be in the Quran too. This article explains it all. http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/query.aspx?id=702[/quote] Muslims all over the world uphold the Christian faith that Jesus(pbuh) is alive. The whole foundation of the Christian faith is rested on this concept and most Muslims overtly support their viewpoint. Somehow the Christian concept has infiltrated in Muslim faith long ago and now it seems it is part and parcel of Islamic concept. Muslims take the help of two sites from the Holy Quran to obtain support for their viewpoint. The verses are 3:54 from Surah Al-e Imran and 4:157-158 from Surah An-Nisa’. We will give you correct translation of the verses, word for word, so that you can get the point. It is a sad that many Muslims blame the correct translation to be false and cite incorrect translations as authentic. We will show you several examples of correct and incorrect translations so that any sensible person can find out the true picture. Analysis of the verse 3:54 from Surah Ale Imran In the verse 3:54 Allah says: 3:54 Behold! Allah Said: "O Isa! I shall cause you to die and I shall exalt you towards me and I shall clear you of those who reject Faith, and I am going to make those who follow you above those who reject Faith - until the day of Awakening. Then towards Me is your return, so that I shall decide among you as to in which you used to differ. They key words here are : Ya Isa, inni mutawaffika wa rafi’uka ilaiya Meaning: "O Isa! I shall cause you to die and I shall exalt you towards me….." Interpretation of the word ‘wafat’: The key word here is "wafat" . The most correct meaning of "wafat" is death, or take away soul. If soul is taken away from a person, it is nothing but death. The problem arises with regards to this verse, when Muslims refuse to interpret the meaning of "wafat" as death. Irony is that all scholars who translated the Holy Quran do agree "wafat" means death. Each and every scholar translated the word "wafat" as death in at least 20 different instances in their translations. However, in this particular verse, they interpreted the meaning as ‘take away’ and insinuate physical ascension. These translators did not hesitate to twist the actual meaning of the word of Allah to support Christian faith and to some extent weak Hadith narrated by Wahab bin Munnabba, Kab Akbar and one isolated Hadith by Abu Hurairaa. In the above verse 3:54, two conditions are stipulated about Jesus(pbuh): first, Allah will cause his Death, second, he will be raised. The second condition can not take place till the first condition is met. In other words, before Jesus(pbuh) can be raised, first, he must die. Let us see various translations of the same verse; Correct translation : "O Isa! I shall cause you to die and I shall exalt you towards me…" Yusuf Ali : "O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to Myself…" Pickthall : "O Jesus! Lo! I am gathering thee and causing thee to ascend unto Me..." Rashad Khalifa : "O Jesus! I am terminating your life, raising you to Me….." Mohammad Sarwar : He told Jesus, "I will save you from your enemies, raise you to Myself..." M. H. Shakir : "O Isa! I am going to terminate the period of your stay (on earth) and cause you to ascend unto Me" Al-Hilali & M. Khan "O 'Iesa (Jesus)! I will take you and raise you to Myself…." Farooq-i-Azam Malik: "O Isa (Jesus)! I am going to recall you (from your mission) and raise you up to Myself...." Ahmed Ali: "O Jesus! I will take you to Myself and exalt you….." Here are some of the verses in the Holy Quran where Allah used the word "wafat". The verses are 2:234, 2:240, 3:193, 4:15, 4:97, 6:61, 7:37, 7:126, 8:50, 10:46, 10:104, 12:101, 13:40, 16:28, 16:32, 16:70, 39:42, 40:67, 40:77, 47:27 etc. In each of the instances, all these scholars translated the word "wafat" as death, or a word very close to death but none of them used a word to mean take away in alive condition. Let us examine some of the verses and see how these translators derived the meaning of "wafat" in these instances. Verse 3:193 Yusuf Ali: "…and take to Thyself our souls in the company of the righteous" Pickthall: "…and make us die the death of the righteous." Khalifa: "…..let us die as righteous believers" Sarwar: "…let us die with the righteous ones." Shakir: "….and make us die with the righteous." Hilali & Khan: "……and make us die in the state of righteousness…." Farooq Malik: "…And make us die with the righteous." Ahmed Ali: "…And grant us (the glory of) death with the just Verse 4:15 Yusuf Ali: "…until death to claim them…." Pickthall: "…until death take them…." Khalifa: "…until they die,…" Sarwar: "…until they die…" Shakir: "….until death takes them away…" Hilali & Khan: "…until death comes to them…" Farooq Malik: "…until they die..." Ahmed Ali: "…until death ..." Verse 7:126 Yusuf Ali: "…and take our soul unto thee as Muslims!" Pickthall: "…and make us die as men who have surrendered." Khalifa: "…And let us die as submitters." Sarwar: "…let us die Muslims (submitted to God)." Shakir: "…and cause us to die in submission." Hilali & Khan: "…And cause us to die as Muslims." Farooq Malik: "…And cause us to die as Muslims." Ahmed Ali: "….that we may die submitting (to You)." Verse 10:46 Yusuf Ali: "…or We take thy soul…" Pickthall: "…cause thee to die,…" Khalifa: "…or terminate your life…." Sarwar: "…or you die…" Shakir: "….or cause you to die…." Hilali & Khan: "…. - or We cause you to die,- …. Farooq Malik: "…Or cause you to die…." Ahmed Ali: "…or take you to Ourself,..." Verse 12:101 Yusuf Ali: "…take Thou my soul (at death) as one submitting…" Pickthall: "… Make me to die muslim (unto Thee), …" Khalifa: "…Let me die as submitter…" Sarwar: "…cause me to die as a Muslim…" Shakir: "…make me die a Muslim…." Hilali & Khan: "…cause me to die as a Muslim…" Farooq Malik: "… make me die as a Muslim …" Ahmed Ali: "…let me die submitting to You." You many go ahead and verify the translations of all other verses. If you do so, you will start discovering an emerging corruption (pardon me) by all the scholars. They misguided you by not translating a word correctly. Given all these facts, may we conclude that Jesus(pbuh) must die first before he can be raised? Some Muslims say that ‘wafat’ here means death of Jesus(pbuh) after his descent from the Heavens in the later years. Good thing is that these Muslims do agree that 'wafat' means death! Please note, the verse here clearly denotes his relationship with his own people and not with any other people of the later days. The people of the later days would admittedly be followers of Muhammad(pbuh) and not of Jesus(pbuh) Interpretation of the word "rafa" – to raise/to exalt: In the same verse 3:54 use of two words "wafat" and "rafa" may have led you to a double jeopardy. On top of that you are under constant influence of Christian doctrine. As a result you simply believe that Jesus(pbuh) did not die and instead was raised alive in heaven. In doing so, you are actually believing the Christian faith and failing to see the true teaching of the Quran. Not only that, now you are making one verse of the Quran contradict another. The meaning of the word is ‘to raise’, ‘to exalt’. In order to validate the Christian faith, first, you refuse to see ‘wafat’ as death, and then interpret ‘rafa’ as physical ascension. When these two incorrect interpretations are combined, you find that Jesus(pbuh) was raised to the heaven. Let us examine the use of the word ‘rafa’ in the Quran. The word ‘rafa’ occurred many times in the Quran conveying a meaning of spiritual honor and exaltation. Please note carefully what Allah says in the verse. He is saying that Jesus(pbuh) will be raised towards Him and not towards Heaven. So the question of Jesus(pbuh) being alive in the Heaven can not arise, because he was not raised in the Heaven. In the literal context even if we think that he was raised bodily near Allah, question comes, where is Allah? Is He ensconced somewhere in the sky, in Heaven or in a throne like a king? Didn’t Allah say that He is omnipresent – in other words, He is present everywhere? Would you say that Allah is confined in a physical body towards which He raised Jesus(pbuh)? Please answer, how can Jesus(pbuh) be raised to sky or Heaven when Allah said he will be raised towards Him. And that Allah is present everywhere (2:115); Allah is nearer to man than his heart (8:24); Allah is nearer to man than his jugular vein (50:16). If that be true, then Jesus(pbuh) could not have been raised physically and bodily in to the sky. If really he was needed to be raised bodily towards Allah, then he could very well stay in Jerusalem, yet be near Allah - because Allah is present everywhere and in Jerusalem too. This drives home the true meaning of the word ‘rafa’ – exalt in honor and/or exalt in spiritual dignity. This verse tells us that while the Jews were planning to kill him, (he will not be killed, rather) Allah will cause him to die a natural death and sanctify him against the charges of the enemies. Once again, please notice the sentence: Ya Isa, inni mutawaffika WA rafi’uka ilaiya… that is ‘rafa’ will take place only after the ‘wafat’. ‘Rafa’ after death can not mean physical ascension, but only exaltation in rank. This is more implied when the words ‘I shall clear you of those who reject Faith’ are present with it. This shows that while Jews plotted heinous crime against him, and brought him utter disgrace and condemned him as a cheat and planned to put him to a shameful death on the cross etc. Allah will instead save him and exalt him in honor and dignity Since the use of the word 'rafa' raised Jesus(pbuh) alive, the use of the same word in case of other prophets must do the same thing! Ask yourself, if you know of any other prophet who was raised alive in the Heaven? None? What about Prophet Idris(pbuh)? Regarding Idris(pbuh) Allah says in Surah Maryam 19:57 as: And We raised him to an elevated state. (WA rafa’naa hu…). The use of ‘rafa’ here should prompt you to declare that Allah raised Idris(pbuh) in alive condition in the Heaven or at least to a place hanging high above. If we apply the same logic, in case of Jesus(pbuh), use of the word 'rafa' kept him alive for 2000 years; therefore the same use of the word 'rafa' in case of Idris(pbuh) must keep him alive for 2000 years or so. The problem now is about these two alive people in the Heaven – Jesus(pbuh) and Idris(pbuh). The Muslims already made stories and speculations that Jesus(pbuh) will descend from the Heaven in the later days, but what about Idris(pbuh)? Has Idris(pbuh) come down already or when is he going to descend or is he going to stay there perpetually? The word ‘rafa’ was used in different places in the Quran to mean spiritual honor and exaltation. Let us see some of the examples: Great Prophets like Muhammad(pbuh) are exalted. 43:32 …And We have raised some of them above others in rank. (…WA rafa’ na…) 94:4 And We have exalted for you your mention (…WA rafa’ NA…) Prophet Ibrahim(pbuh) has been exalted by Allah. 6:84 ….We exalt in degrees whom We please (…narfa’u darazaa…) Prophet Idris(pbuh) has been exalted by Allah. 19:57 And We raised him to an elevated state. (WA rafa’naa hu…) Righteous servants of Allah are raised in degrees. 6:166 …and He raises some of you above the others in degrees…. (…WA rafa’ aa ba’dakum…) 7:176 And had We wished We would invariably exalted him; …. (…rafa’naa hu….) 56:3 It will abase it will exalt (…rafi’aah…) All good deeds are raised towards Allah. 35:10 …all pure speech and all good deed, --He exalts it…. (…yarfa’uhu. …) House of pious Muslims are raised high by Allah. 24:36 in (certain) houses which Allah has permitted to be raised up… (…an turfa’a WA yuzkara…) From this discussion we see that no where the use of ‘rafa’ meant physical ascension. However, in 3:54 verse, you would interpret physical ascension just to validate the Christian faith. Whereas, if we honestly translate the word 'wafat' as death, then 'rafa' after death cannot mean physical ascension, rather exaltation Proof of Death of Jesus(pbuh) There are several convincing proofs in the Quran regarding death of all living being and particularly all Rasuls. Most Muslim don’t like to pay attention to this for various reasons, mainly due to fear of being caught in double jeopardy regarding Jesus(pbuh) death. If one does not believe in these verses and teachings, then he is in a way rejecting part of the scripture and believing in those parts that suits him. Like a hypocrite. Let us begin with the verse from Surah Ma'idah where Allah says as under: 5:75 The Messiah, son of Maryam, was none but a Rasul, surely the Rasuls have passed away before him. And his mother was a truthful woman and they both used totake food… Among other things, this verse tells two things: (1) Jesus(pbuh) was only a Rasul, (2) Rasuls before him have passed away. Based on this, we can interpret that since all Rasuls before Jesus(pbuh) passed away, he too will pass away. Both you and I agree to this, but the question is when he will pass away? I say he passed away after spending his normal life, you say that he is alive and eventually he will pass away when he will come back on the earth, revive Islam and so on. It is important to understand the meaning of the words ‘passed away’. If you think ‘passed away’ do not mean ‘death’, then there must be other prophets who are alive. You must specifically tell us which other prophet(s) before Jesus(pbuh) did not die and living at that time. Since we know that all prophets before Jesus(pbuh) are dead, the use of words ‘passed away’ clearly means death. If the above verse is not all convincing to you, let us explore another verse from Surah Ale Imran. In the battle of Uhud, prophet Muhammad(pbuh), leading the Muslim army, fell down injured. A rumor spread that Prophet has been killed. The Muslims were in despair and brokenhearted. At that moment, in order to instill confidence and boost morale of the Muslim army, a revelation came saying: 3:143 Muhammad is no more than a Rasul, surely the Rasuls before him have already passed away. If then he dies or be killed, will you turn upon your heels?… Among other things, this verse tells two things: (1) Muhammad(pbuh) was only a Rasul, (2) Rasuls before him have passed away. In the verse 5:75, we know that all Rasuls before Jesus(pbuh) died, but right now based on this verse alone we are not sure about him. Then in verse 3:143, we further come to know that all Rasuls before Muhammad(pbuh) passed away. We already concluded ‘passed away’ in the verse 5:75 meant ‘death’. In this verse, the meaning of 'passed away' is very clearly given by Allah as (a) he dies, (b) be killed. So by 'passing away' Allah meant death and killing and nothing else. Thus we can conclude that the use of the same word in verse 3:143 can not mean anything different other than death. If Jesus(pbuh) was an exception and did not pass away, Allah surely would have mentioned it. It is not a small exception by any means. These two verses are so convincing and unambiguous that there should not be any doubt about his death! But alas! Muslim people have tremendous hesitation in accepting the words of Allah! The verse conclusively proves that Jesus(pbuh) who arrived more than 600 years earlier to Muhammad(pbuh) has definitely passed away. Remember, if you don’t believe the teaching of the verses, you are not believing the total Quran. When the verse 3:143 was revealed, if the Muslims had any knowledge that Jesus(pbuh) was still alive, they would have raised a question. Much later, when Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) actually died, it was hard for Muslims to accept the sad news. Thinking that it was conspiracy of the rumormongers, Hazrat Umar (r) drew his sword and declared that whosoever would say that Muhammad(pbuh) was dead, he will behead him. At this critical situation, Hazrat Abu Bakar arrived, seeing the critical situation, he went into the hut of the Prophet and ascertained the truth. Then he came out and recited the same verse from Surah Ale Imran 3:143 and further declared that whosoever wants to worship Muhammad, let him know that he is dead, and whosoever wants to worship Allah, let him know that Allah is all abiding. This incidence conclusively proves that all the companions of the Prophet and Caliphs knew that all Rasuls before Muhammad(pbuh) had died. If the companions believed that Jesus(pbuh) was still alive, then at least someone would have raised a point here. If this is not enough, let us explore more verses. From verse 5:75 above, we already know that "the Messiah, son of Maryam was none but a Rasul…". Let us see what Allah tells about Rasuls in general. In Surah Al-Anbiya' verse 21:7-8, Allah declares: 21:7 We did not send before you (O Muhammad(pbuh)) any but man to whom We sent revelations; therefore you ask the followers of the Reminder if you do not know 21:8 And We did not give them bodies not taking food and neither are they abiding Among other things, the important findings from these verses are: (1) All Rasuls were human beings (2) Their mortal bodies sustained on food (3) They are all dead The Quran categorically tells that all prophets were human being, they were not superhuman or god. Because they were human beings, whatever is natural to a human being has to apply to them as well. All human being eat food for sustenance, so also all Rasuls were dependent on food for sustenance of their physical bodies. 25:20 And We did not send before you any the Rasuls, but they surely ate food and walked through the street. Whatever applies to human being has to apply to Rasuls also. Emphasis on such mundane thing like eating food and walking on street suggest that there is nothing extraordinary in their lives. They are just like any other human being. This is true about their life and death. Once again, I must reiterate that if you don’t believe in the death of Jesus(pbuh) you are putting all these verses to contradict each other. Not only that, you are believing only part of the Quran that suits you and rejecting other part that does not fit your notions and Christian dogma. Yet Another Proof There is one verse in the Quran where Jesus(pbuh) summarizes his relationship with his people. The verse is from Surah Ma'idah 5:116-117. 5:116 And behold! Allah will say: ‘O Isa, son of Maryam was it you who said to the people (-- the Christians, especially the Roman Catholic) "Take me and my mother fortwo deities besides Allah?" He will say: "Glory to be to You! It is not fit for me to say what is not right for me (to utter). If I had said that, You would then have known it indeed. You know what is in my mind, while I do not know what is in Your mind. Surely you are the great Knower of hidden matter 5:117 "I did not say to them anything except about what You had ordered me, namely, "serve Allah, my Rabb and your Rabb" and I was witness over them so long as I was with them, but when you caused me to die (wafat), You were Watcher over them. And You are a Witness over all things This is another definite evidence of death of Jesus(pbuh). On the Day of Judgment Allah will question Jesus(pbuh) whether he taught his people to take him as a god. Jesus(pbuh) will reply that he did not teach so, and he bears witness that during his lifetime his people did not take him and his mother as gods besides Allah, but he does not know what they did after his death. We all know that Christians do regard Jesus as Son of God and Mary as a goddess. If Jesus(pbuh) is alive, this should not have happened. How to reconcile this verse? According to the verse, the Christians were supposed to take Jesus and his mother as deities only after his death (wafat)!! And his death is yet to happen!!!! The answer is if this has to happen, then according to the verse Jesus(pbuh) must have died. It is only after his death people accepted him and his mother as god and goddess. The key word here is ‘wafat’ - death. Falamma tawaffai tani - that is, ‘but when you caused me to die.’ Those who don’t want to believe in the message, translate it saying that ‘when you took me away’ thereby suggesting that when he was raised alive. Thus when Jesus(pbuh) was not with them physically, they started accepting him and his mother as god and goddess. This is yet another instance where the meaning of ‘wafat’ is not taken in its true context. We already discussed above that the scholars and translators of the Quran interpreted the meaning of the word ‘wafat’ as death but in one or two instances they twist the meaning and suggest physical ascension samsher[/quote]
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