Life of Ahmad — Page 671
as JESUS as IN INDIA 671 The Prophet had come to Kashmir from another country about 1900 years ago. He lived about 600 years before the Holy Prophet sa. According to some the tomb was described as that of ‘ I s a Sahib. He was also called a prince. The tomb is situated in Khanyar Street, Sirinagar. This part of the town is inhabited by Muslims. No Hindu lives in the neighbourhood. There is no Hindu shrine near it. When Ahmad as , the Promised Messiah, thought over the matter and investigated and went deeply into it, he was convinced in every way that it was the tomb of Jesus as himself. New York, I, p. 485) traces its origin to an Indian story, composed some time between the beginning of the Christian era & 600 A. D. The Encyclopaedia of Islam says that the oldest Arabic texts appear to be ultimately derived from a Pahlavi original which taught the Iranians the doctrine of Budha. . . . The Kitab Yudasaf Wa Balanhar mentioned in the Fihrist story. . . The Hebrew version also goes back to these Arabic texts. With regard to the Greek story the Encyclopaedia says that it was composed in Palestine. It is therefore not wrong to conclude from the above that the story is an ancient one which may have originated in the beginning of the Christian era. It is well known throughout Europe and Asia and refers to a Budha. Jesus as , we know, was known in India and Tibet as Budha ‘ I s a. The fact that it was originally written in Pahlavi indicates that Y u z As af lived in that part of the world which was under the Iranian influence and culture. It is also known that Afghanistan and Kashmir were inhabited by the Israelites and they were under the Iranian Government. Hence the tradition that the tomb in Sirinagar is that of a Prophet known as Y u z As af who lived about 1900 years ago must refer to Jesus as alone. Mr. G. E. C. Wakefield C. I. E. O. B. E. was a Minister of the Kashmir State when the Viceroy, Lord Irwin (now Lord Halifax), paid a visit to Sirinagar. Mr. Wakefield says: I took him (Lord Irwin) to see Christ’s tomb in Sirinagar. The Ahmady sect of Muhammadans believe that Christ was taken down from the Cross, revived and Lord Irwin was interested but just looked and said never a word. ( Recollections. 50 years in the service of India , published by the Civil and Military Gazette , Lahore page. 197).