The Heavenly Sign — Page 19
19 The Holy Qur’an affirms his death in the same words that are used for other deceased. In S a hih Bukh ari , the Holy Prophet sa has verified the death of Jesus as and, according to Ibni ‘Abb a s—a great and eminent Companion—the verse ' Tawaff a ' denotes the death of Jesus as. Moreover, T ibr a n i and Ha kam quote a saying of the Holy Prophet sa which has been related by Hadrat ‘ A ’isha ra that Jesus as lived to the age of 120 years. In the same Hadith, the Holy Prophet sa says that his own age would be half that of Jesus as. This obviously means that if Jesus as has not yet passed away, then our Holy Prophet sa may still be alive as well. There is yet another point which one learns by pondering over the Word of God. When love of Allah, the Exalted, leads a man progressively towards truth and righteousness and he gives up his selfish and carnal desires, he reaches the ultimate stage of the purification of his soul. This is when he comes out of the dark abyss of his ego and its passions; and his body, which is the throne of the soul, is fully cleansed of all carnal dust and smoke and he becomes like a drop of crystal clear water. At this stage, in the sight of Allah, he is the pure soul that has emerged after the carnal self has melted away, and has, in complete obedience to his Lord, acquired a resemblance with the angels. It is at this stage that he deserves to be called R uh ull a h 18 or Kalimatull a h. 19 This is also what we 18 The Spirit of Allah. [Translator] 19 The Word of Allah. [Translator]