Lecture Sialkot — Page 26
26 L ECTURE S IALKOT The world has always opposed those who are sent by God, because love for this world can never go to- gether with love for Divine Messengers as. Had you not been in love with this world you would have rec- ognized me, but now you cannot recognize me. Besides, if the verse 22 does mean that Jesus as was lifted up to the second heaven, then let them show us the verse which decides the actual dispute. To this day the Jews deny the raf‘a [Exaltation] of the Messiah as in the sense that he was neither truthful nor a believer and, therefore—God forbid—his spirit was not exalted towards God. If you are in doubt about this, go and ask the Jewish scholars. Do they not believe that when a person has been crucified his body and spirit do not ascend to heaven? Indeed, it is their unanimous belief that one who dies on the cross is accursed and is not exalted towards God. That is why, in the Holy Quran God rejects the concept of Jesus’ death upon the cross and says: 23 Here God has added the word 'slew him' to 'killed him by crucifixion' in order to make it very clear that 22 On the contrary, Allah exalted him to Himself. —Al-Nis a ’, 4:159 [Publishers] 23 Whereas they slew him not, nor killed him by crucifixion, but he was made to appear to them like one crucified. —Al-Nis a ’, 4:158 [Publishers]