Jesus In India — Page 62
52 JESUS IN INDIA the earth would mourn, the word 'earth' means Bilaad-e-Sham¹ with which these three peoples are basically connected-Jews, because that is their place of origin and their place of worship; Christians, because Jesus, the Messiah, appeared in that place, and the first Christian peoples came into being in this very place; Muslims, because they are the heirs of this land to the Last Day. And if the word 'earth' is taken to embrace all lands, even then it presents no difficulty, for when the truth is laid bare every denier would be ashamed. And from among the testimonies that have reached us through the Gospels, is this statement from the Gospel of Matthew that is written herein below: And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his res- urrection (that is to say after the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah) and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (Matthew 27:52)2 There is not the slightest doubt that this story that is mentioned in the Gospel that after the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah, the people came out of the graves and appeared alive to many, is not the recounting of any historical incident that took place; for, had it been so, the Judgment Day would verily have manifested in this very world, and those matters that had been kept hidden from the 1. Syria and its neighbouring areas. [Publisher] 2. In the King James Version, these verses are Matthew 27:52-53. [Publisher]