Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V — Page 72
NU S R AT U L- H AQ Q — HE L P OF G OD 72 The Christians believe that, while accursed, Hadrat ‘ I s a descended to Hades and deteriorated to Hell only in the spiritual sense and his body did not accompany him. This being so, why, when it came to exal- tation, was it necessary for his physical body to join and accompany him? Furthermore, all the Prophets and rabbis of the Torah have long held that the curse of crucifixion meant the negation of spiritual exal- tation. Even today they believe that the one who is killed on the cross is not exalted towards God. La‘nat [‘Curse’] means the absence of exaltation. In any case, since God Almighty had to counter the objection of the Jews, who hold non-exaltation to have a spiritual context to this day—meaning, they say that Hadrat ‘ I s a was not spiritually exalted towards God, being a liar—then why did God neglect the essential point, going in another direction as if—God forbid—God Almighty did not even understand the fundamental dispute of the Jews, giving a verdict like a judge who delivers a judgment that has no bearing on the facts of the case? Should such an opinion be deliberately held about God, then what doubt is there in kufr [disbelief ]? Besides, even if we concede that God disregarded the Jews’ funda- mental dispute in this verse and stated something quite novel that was irrelevant and unnecessary—namely, that Hadrat ‘ I s a was taken to the second heaven with his physical body—such a notion is negated as follows: First, because it is nowhere written in the Holy Quran that Hadrat ‘ I s a was bodily taken to the second heaven, but rather the words of the Holy Quran are in fact 1 ْلَب ُهَعَفَّر ُهّٰللا ِهْيَلِا meaning that, God exalted ‘ I s a to Himself. Now, think for yourself: Is God seated upon the second heaven in the manner of material objects? It is obvious that exaltation towards God is always indeed spiritual. And so have all Prophets taught that God is not a physical being towards whom one could ascend physically. This is the idiom used throughout the Holy Quran, that whenever it is said of a person that he went towards God 1. S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:159 [Publisher]