Lecture Ludhiana — Page 26
26 well. It doesn’t mean anything other than ‘death’. This indeed is an incontrovertible proof of the death of Jesus as. Furthermore, the Holy Prophet sa saw Jesus as among the dead on the night of Me‘raj— the Ascension. No one can deny the authenticity of the Tradition about the Ascen- sion. Have a look for yourselves, is Jesus as mentioned among the dead or somewhere else? Just as the Holy Prophet sa saw the Prophets Abraham as , Moses as , and others, so did he see Jesus as. There was nothing special or distinctive separating them. No one can deny the fact that Moses as , Abraham as and all the other prophets have passed away and that the angel of death has conveyed them on to the next world. How then could a person, who was alive in his physical body, be with them? All these proofs are more than enough to satisfy a true Muslim. Also, there are other Traditions which fix Jesus’ age varyingly at 120 or 125 years. Taking all this evidence into account, it is contrary to the spirit of righteousness to summarily pronounce the bodily ascent of Jesus as to heaven, especially when there is no supporting precedent. This is also what reason demands. But, alas, these people paid no heed, and, discarding all fear of God, hastened to label me as the Antichrist. It was a terrible thing indeed, if you come to think of it. When they find no other excuse, they contend that the consensus about Jesus as being alive was reached some time in the middle of the Islamic era. I ask, if so, when? The real consensus was the consensus that was reached