The Commentary of Al-Qasidah — Page 171
The commentary of al-Qa si dah 171 half that of Jesus. 41 However, there is no mention of ascension in this h ad i th. The belief about the ascension of Jesus as was introduced to the Muslims from newly converted Christians as we have explained above. It was certainly not the belief of the Holy Prophet sa or his companions. They were all believers in the death of Jesus. As a matter of fact, the first imam among the four imams of fiqh [religious jurisprudence], Hadrat Im a m M a lik, who passed away in year 179 after hijrah , was a believer in the death of Jesus as. Im a m Muhammad Ta hir Gujr a t i , writes in Majma‘ul-Bih a r, volume 1, page 286: h/. A /. /7 : ; Z £X[. Generally people say that Jesus has not died but Im a m M a lik’s belief was that Jesus had died. ( Majma‘ Bi ha rul-Anw a r, ‘ All a mah Muhammad Ta hir Gujr a t i, vol. 1, p. 534, under the word ‘ H akam’, Maktabah D a ril- I m a n, Mad i nah Munawwarah, 1994) Sheikh Sa‘d i has stated correctly in his Persian couplet: k b z c ? ö ¬ 7 û× k _ If anyone were worthy of everlasting life, 41 Kanzul-‘Umm a l F i Sunanil-Aqw a li Wal-Af‘ a l, Kit a bul-Fa da ’ili, Fa da ’ilu S a ’iril-Anbiy a ’i S alaw a tull a hi. . . . . , vol. 11, p. 217, H ad i th no. 32,259, D a rul- Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2001