Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 509
Reply to the doubts raised by rashĪd a H mad gangohĪ 509 means, ‘O ‘ I s a , I will cause you to die your natural death. ’ And this is why he interpreted the verse ْيِّنِا َكْيِّفَوَتُم [ inn i mutawaff i ka ] to mean اِنِّی مُمِیتك حتف انفك [‘I will cause you to die of your natural death’]. 1 ٭ Thus, ‘All a mah Zamakhshar i’ s deep insight is truly laudable in that he did not confine himself to the use of the word توفّی [ tawaff i ] in its original context, but also kept in view those verses of the Holy Quran which say that ‘ I s a was neither killed nor crucified, and then inter- preted َ یْك ِّ مُتَوَف [ mutawaff i ka —will cause you to die a natural death] in keeping with the original meaning of the word. None but a true master of the art of language could have interpreted it in such a way. Keep in mind that ‘All a mah Zamakhshar i is the recognized master of the Arabic language, and that all those who came after him bow their heads before him. Lexicologists present his opinion as authority. For instance, the author of T a jal-‘Ar u s frequently presents the authority of his quotes. Readers can now understand that the verse 2 اَم ُهْوُلَتَق اًۢنْيِقَي and the verse 3 َو اَم ُهْوُلَتَق َو اَم ُهْوُبَلَص have been set out only to explain the word توفّی [ tawaff i ], and have no new purpose. This verse was meant only to elucidate that, just as it was promised in the word َ یْك ِّ مُتَوَف [ mutawaff i ka ] that ‘ I s a would die his natural death, so did he die naturally, and that he was neither killed nor crucified. Thus the notion that had arisen in the minds of the Jews that ‘ I s a is—God forbid—accursed and, therefore, did not have a spiritual exaltation is falsified simultaneously. This is because the very basis of this notion was his murder and crucifixion, and from that 1. ٭ According to the Jewish belief, the spiritual exaltation of any Prophet de- pends on him dying a natural death, and being killed or crucified precludes spiritual exaltation. That is why God first said, to refute the Jews, that ‘ I s a would have a natural death. Then, since spiritual exaltation is a result of nat- ural death, He used the words َّ رَافِعُك َ اِلَی [will exalt you to Myself ] after the term متوفّیك [ mutawaff i ka —will cause you to die a natural death], so that the notions of the Jews were refuted comprehensively. (Author) 2. S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:158 [Publisher] 3. S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:158 [Publisher]