Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 75
CHAPTER IV 75 to the Jews. There cannot be anything more absurd than to suggest that he willingly accepted death on the cross in order to redeem the sins of his people. The man who spent the entire night in tearful supplication in a garden to save his life—which was not even heard—and then he was so overwhelmed by panic that he cried out Eli Eli lama sabachtani¹ at the time of the crucifixion. He addressed his God as God and forgot to call him 'Father' in that extreme anguish. Now, considering all this, can anyone believe that he died by his own volition? Who can understand the contradictions in Christian theology? On the one hand, they believe Yasu' to be God, while on the other, the same 'God' is seen praying and crying before another God. Whereas all three 'Gods' were inside Yasu' and he was the embodiment of them all, to whom did he tearfully supplicate? It appears from all this that there is another mighty God for Christians besides the Godheads of the Trinity, who is distinct from them and rules over them, before whom the three were obliged to supplicate. Furthermore, the purpose for which the 'suicide' was committed still remains unfulfilled. 2 His death was meant to free his followers from sin, worldliness, and ☆ 1. 'My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?' (Matthew, 27:46) [Publisher] 2. Unfortunately, after the first three centuries of the Islamic era, certain Muslim sects adopted the belief that Ḥaḍrat ‘Īsā (peace be on him) escaped crucifixion and ascended to Heaven where he physically resides to this day, and he has not been afflicted with death. Such ignorant Muslims have greatly helped the cause of Christianity. They claim that there is no mention of the death of 'Isǎ anywhere in the Holy Quran, when in truth it does mention it ex- plicitly on several occasions. The verse (['But since You did cause me to die', (Surah al-Ma'idah, 5:118)] for example, is categorical about his demise. They claim that the verse ['They slew him not, nor crucified him', (Surah an-Nisa', 4:158)] signifies that Ḥaḍrat ‘Īsā is still alive. Their rea- soning for this is truly lamentable! Does a person who is not crucified never die? I have said again and again that the Holy Quran negates ‘Īsā's death by crucifixion and proclaims his ascension, not because God wants to prove that 'Isǎ is still alive, but to dispel the notion of his accursed death and to confirm that he was spiritually exalted like all believers. It was primarily meant to refute the Jews who did not believe in his (spiritual) ascension. (Author)