Ahmadiyyat or Qadianism! Islam or Apostasy? — Page 162
die a natural death indicates that Jesus was saved from being slain and from the mischief of his enemies. Obviously rafa' after death cannot mean any physical ascension, but only exaltation in rank, especially when the words 'I will clear you of those who disbelieve' are present along with it. This shows that it is a question of spiritual honour and exaltation. ' 107. After supporting his argument with several Quranic passages which contain the expression rafa', Allama Shaltut states: 'All these expressions signify only shelter, protection and coming under. His care. So one fails to understand how the word heaven is deduced from the word 'towards Him'. And such an offence is committed on account of a belief in such stories and narratives which are devoid of accuracy, not to speak of established unauthenticity. ' 108. After elaborating his discussion on all these points, the renowned scholar of Al Azhar concludes his edict with the submission: 'To sum up: 1. There is nothing in the Holy Quran, nor in the sacred Traditions of 'the Prophet which endorse the correctness of the belief to the contentment of the heart that Jesus was taken up to heaven with his body and is alive there even now and would descend therefrom in latter days. 2. The Quranic verses about Jesus show that God had promised to cause him to die a natural death, then exalt him and save him from the mischief of the disbelievers and this promise had certainly been fulfilled. . His enemies could neither kill him nor crucify him, but God completed the span of his life and then caused him to die. ' 3. Any person who denies his bodily ascent and the continuity of his physical existence in heaven and his descent in the latter ages, does not deny a fact that can be established by clear and conclusive arguments. Thus he is not outside the faith of Islam and it is absolutely wrong to consider him apostate. He is perfectly a Muslim. If he dies, his death is that of a believer and his funeral prayers must be said and 108. Ibid 107. Ibid 163