The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 199
The Messiah and his Second Coming وَمَا جَعَلْنَا لِبَشَرِ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ الْخُلْدَ 165 وَمَا جَعَلْنَهُمْ جَسَدًا لَّا يَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ وَمَا كَانُوا خُلِدِينَ 166 199 To conceive of Jesus as alive in the face of these verses, and to believe, contrary to the purport of the verse: وَمَا جَعَلْتُهُمْ جَسَدًا لَّا يَأْكُلُونَ الطَّعَامَ 167 that Jesus is alive in heaven like the angels, without the need of food, would be to turn away from the Holy Word of God. I again affirm that if Jesus is alive in heaven in his physi- cal body, then the Divine reasoning set out in one of the above verses that if the Holy Prophet (peace and bless- ings of Allah be upon him) were to die it would not be inconsistent with his Prophethood as all Prophets before him have been subject to death-would be accounted as defective and meaningless. Surely God Almighty is far above saying that which is not true and is against the facts. [Izāla-e-Auhām, Rūķānī Khazā'in, vol. 3, pp. 277-278] The Holy Qur'ān says: وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَخْلُقُونَ شَيْئًا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَه امْوَاتٌ غَيْرُ أَحْيَاءِ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ 0 168 (Sūrah Al-Nahl, Part 14) This means that: 'Those who are worshipped and called 165 'We granted not everlasting life to any human being before thee. ' Al-Anbiyā', 21:35 [Publisher] 166 'And We did not give them bodies that ate no food, nor were they to live forever. ' Al-Anbiyā', 21:9 [Publisher] 167 Ibid. 168 Al-Nahl, 16:21-22 [Publisher]