The Commentary of Al-Qasidah — Page 158
158 The commentary of al-Qa si dah I said that from a physical sense, all prophets have died, and the word rafa‘a in the mentioned verse refers to an elevated status and nearness to All a h. Since the Jews claimed that they had killed Jesus on the cross and therefore established him as being accursed of God, All a h states that the Jews killed him neither on the cross nor in any other manner. Therefore, he is not accursed but has a close relationship with All a h. In the Arabic language, if the word rafa‘a is used when the subject is All a h and the object is a human being, there is no other meaning of this word except nearness to All a h and elevation in status. Forget about the heavens, it cannot mean elevating anyone even upon a hill. In the Holy Qur’ a n in S u rah A‘r a f, it says: And if we had so desired, we could have exalted him thereby, but he inclined to the earth, and followed his evil inclination ( a l- A ‘raf, 7:177 ) In this verse even the word ‘earth’ has been mentioned with rafa‘a, but no one attempts to imply the meaning of ‘taking him up to the skies. ’ In a h ad i th it says: " & ^ [ "8 & ^ ; @ 4 @ L @ / ; < I