A Present to Kings — Page 74
( 74 ) death, the new reformer gave a fresh lease of life to Islam, and now the Mussalmans are for all times saved from falling a prey to the Christian missionaries. . I grant that the belief in the natural death of Jesus had always existed among a small section of the Mussalmans, and that among the early Muslims, that was the view that had general acceptance. Nevertheless, no one before the present reformer ever made use of this weapon in the defence of. Islam, and this was a special part that remained to be performed by the Promised Messiah. . AHMAD'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHRISTIANITY. . Nor did the new reformer rest content with merely telling the Chirstians that Islam did not subscribe to the belief in the bodily ascension of Jesus. God had another mighty work to perform at his hands, and that was that he established by proofs derived from the New Testament and from history that. Jesus did actually survive the crucifixion and travel down to. Cashmere. From the history of Cashmere he proved that there was in that country a tomb about which it was said that it belonged to a prophet whose name was Isa Messih, and who visited the country six hundred years before the Holy. Prophet (peace be on him). The story derives support from the evidence of medical works where mention is found of a certain ointment well-known as the ointment of the apostles or the ointment of Jesus, and about which it is narrated that it was prepared by the apostles for application to the wounds of Jesus, and as regards the latter history mentions no other wounds save those received upon the cross. ,of the Holy Quran ما صلبوه. At this point, I consider it necessary to mention that the opinion that Jesus was put upon the cross, but escaped alive is not contrary to the verse because the word does not mean "to put upou the cross," but means "to kill a person by crucifixion," as may be seen from any well-known Arabic lexicon as "Lisan-ul-Arab," &c.