Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 838
838 AL-ISTIFTA' SUPPLEMENT TO HAQIQATUL-WAḤI [Holy Quran] and do not deny it. And do not be like those who have put the Word of God behind their backs and do not care. They say that there is consensus among the Muslims about him still being alive. Nay, they are telling a lie. How can there be a consensus as long as the Mu'tazilah are among the Muslims? When they are asked, 'Why do you not reflect upon the Word of your Lord; or do you not believe in it?', they have no answer to this except to misinterpret the words of God and say that tawaffi means the raising of the spirit along with the material body. Behold how they deviate from the truth. They know that these are the words of 'Isa which he would deliver on the Day of Judgment before the Lord of Honour when He would enquire from him why his people digressed from the right path. This is what you read in the Holy Quran. Allah is my Witness; I am amazed at their plight and their lack of reason and understanding! Do they not know that no human being is capable of presenting himself on the Day of Judgment unless he sur- renders his soul and joins the ranks of the dead? What has gone wrong with them that they do not ponder that the Companions buried the Best of Mankind [the Holy Prophet] in dirt and his grave is still present in al-Madinatul-Munawwarah. ² Hence, it would be extreme disrespect to say that 'Īsā did not die. Indeed, it amounts to extreme shirk, which undermines virtue and is totally opposed to reason. Rather, the fact is that 'Isā died just like his brothers and contemporaries. Indeed, the belief of his being alive has infiltrated the Muslims from the Christians, who, only because of this [presumed] characteris- tic, have deemed him worthy of worship. Then the Christians, spend- ing money and wealth, carried this creed to towns and villages where there dwelled no learned scholars or thinkers. As for the early Muslims, it was a slip or a stumble on their part to profess this statement. Hence, 1. But since You did cause me to die (Surah al-Ma'idah, 5:118). [Publisher] 2. Literally, 'the Radiant City'; an honorific title for the city of Madinah. [Publisher]