Islam - The Summit of Religious Evolution — Page 75
75 his death; and on the day of resurrection, he (Jesus) shall be a witness against them. So because of the transgression of the Jews, We forbade them pure things, which had been allowed to them, and also because of their hindering many men from Allah's way. According to the above verse, Jewish excesses were due to their disbelief in Jesus, their blasphemy against Mary and their invalid claim that they had killed Jesus. In fact, they had failed to kill Jesus either by the sword or by crucifixion; they only suspected that he died on the cross. This suspicion was never established as a fact. The Jews continued to differ among themselves and no one had definite knowledge about this event. They only followed conjecture. They certainly failed in their plan to kill Jesus. Allah on the other hand, saved him from an accursed death on the cross and blessed him with His favors because Allah is both Powerful and Wise. The Jews, Christians and Muslims will continue to affirm their belief in Jesus' death on the cross, but on the Day of Judgment, Jesus will himself depose against them and accuse them of affirming a falsehood. Based on these excesses and consistent with his promise, God withdrew his bounties from the Jews which they considered as their birthright. The above Quranic passage is self-explanatory. The same message is also contained in the New Testament. John records that the Promised One will correct the erroneous belief in the resurrection of Jesus and prove that Jesus, the Israelite, will not come to the world again. 109 The Holy Prophet of Islam corrected this erroneous belief that Jesus rose from the dead, and physically ascended to heaven where he is still alive and will return again in the same physical form. The Quran states the factual position which confirms its earlier statement and also supports the Biblical position: 112 And when Allah will say, "O Jesus, son of Mary, didst thou say to men, 'Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?'" he will answer, "Holy art Thou. I could never say that to which I had no right. If I had said it, Thou wouldst have surely known it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. It is only Thou Who art the Knower of hidden things. I said nothing to them except that which Thou didst command me 'Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord'. And I was a witness over them as long as I remained among them, but since Thou didst cause me to die, Thou hast been the watcher over them; and Thou art witness over all things. If Thou punish them, they are Thy servants; and If Thou forgive them, Thou surely art the Mighty, the Wise". According to the Quran, the above interrogation will occur on the Day of Judgment. The above passage declares that, contrary to common belief, Jesus is dead and is not alive in heaven. Only his misguided followers had elevated him to godhead after his death. The prophecy of John 109 continues to describe the attributes of the Promised Prophet. It states that Satan and satanic forces will be smashed at the hands of the Promised One. Among all the Prophets, the Prophet of Islam has achieved a preeminent status for standing up against all the satanic forces. He has instead strongly promoted the purity and piety of human beings. The single, most important visible evidence of this claim is the Muslim prayer for the protection against Satanic influence as taught by the Holy Prophet is “I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the rejected”. The Holy Prophet urged his followers to recite this prayer regularly. Today, the Muslims in their daily lives habitually use this prayer. A similar prayer, which is recited as extensively, cannot be found in