Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 467
Laying to Rest Some Doubts 467 it is stated that after his death he was spiritually exalted towards God Almighty. The word بل [‘rather’] here serves as a temporal conjunction rather than an immediate conjunction—a connection between the two periods of time, and not the sameness of the moment of occurrence. Therefore, the meaning of the verse is that Hadrat ‘ I s a, may peace be upon him , was not killed or crucified at that time, but that he died a natural death and was thereafter exalted towards Almighty God, and this was in keeping with the promise recorded in the Holy Quran: 1 ىٰۤسْيِعٰي ْيِّنِا َكْيِّفَوَتُم َو َكُعِفاَر َّيَلِا And توفّی [ tawaffi ] means to cause someone to die a natural death. The author of Kashsh a f has written in his commentary on this verse that انّی متوفّیك means. إنّی ممیتك حتف انفك [‘I will cause you to die a natural death’]. This verse of the Holy Quran: ْيِّنِا َكْيِّفَوَتُم َو َكُعِفاَر َّيَلِا thus settles the matter once and for all, because while our opponents claim that Hadrat ‘ I s a, may peace be upon him, was raised [to heaven] while he was alive, God in this verse says that his exaltation occurred after his demise. Alas for the people who claim what is contrary to the clear edict of the Book of Allah. The Holy Quran and all past Scriptures and the Hadith confirm that the ‘exaltation’ that takes place after one’s death is referred to as spiritual exaltation, and this is the same exaltation that every believer necessarily experiences after he dies. Some prejudiced people, having been silenced on this point, say that this verse should read like this یٰعِیْسٰی اِنِّی ْ رَافِعُك َ اِلَی َّ وَمُتَوَفِّیْكَ. [‘O Jesus, 1. O Jesus, I will cause you to die a natural death and will exalt you to Myself ( S u rah A l-e-‘Imr a n, 3:56). [Publisher]