Lecture Sialkot — Page 23
L ECTURE S IALKOT 23 irrelevant to what the Jews had claimed. What is more, the verse clearly says that Jesus as was exalted towards God and not towards the second heaven. The question is, does God reside in the second heaven, and is it essential for salvation that the physical body should accompany the spirit to heaven? The amazing thing is that in the verse 18 there is no mention of heaven at all. It only says that God exalted the Messiah as towards Himself. Tell us whether Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on them all), were exalted to some other place and not towards God? Here I proclaim with all the emphasis at my command that ascribing 'exaltation towards Allah' only to Jesus as —to the exclusion of all other Prophets as —is a grave blasphemy! There could be no greater blasphemy, for this would imply that no Prophet, with the sole exception of Jesus as , was ever exalted towards God. The fact, on the contrary, is that the Holy Prophet sa himself testified to their exaltation on his return from Mi‘r a j. One must remember that the exaltation of Jesus as has been mentioned only to refute the allegation of the Jews and as an admonition to them; otherwise all Prophets and Messengers as and true believers partake of this exaltation, and every 18 Ibid.