Life of Ahmad — Page 234
CLAIMS TO BE THE MESSIAH as as 234 How will you be when the son of Mary comes and stays with you: He will be your Im a m from among yourselves ( Bukh a r i ). The son of Mary had died long before and it is an established fact that the dead can never return to this world (Al-Anbiy a ’ 21:96). So it is obvious that the Holy Prophet sa could not mean the coming of the same son of Mary 54 who was put on the Cross. But he has further made his meaning clear by saying that he would be 'from among yourselves,' i. e. he would neither descend from the heavens nor would he be the same son of Mary, who is dead; but, on the other hand, he would appear from among the Muslims of the age. As the promised Imam was to be the Messiah, therefore the Holy Prophet sa called him the Son of Mary. The name of one is generally given to another when there is striking resemblance between the two. Abu Sufy a n, after meeting Heraclius, said to his companions: 'Of a certainty, the son of Abi Kabshah has succeeded, because even the king of Ban i A s far fears him' (Bukh a r i ). Everyone knows that the Holy Prophet sa was not the son of Ab i Kabshah, but Abu Sufy a n calls him as such 54 The fact that the physical features of Jesus as and the Promised Messiah described by the Holy Prophet sa (see Bukh a r i ) are not the same is a proof positive of the fact that they are really two different persons and not one and the same.