The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 208
208 Essence of Islam-III they believed that Jesusas had died. That is why when Hadrat Abū Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), per- ceived at the time of the death of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that some people were in doubt concerning his death, he emphatically af- firmed that all Prophets had died and no one of them was alive. He recited the verse: قدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ 180 Not a single person questioned his statement. Then there is Imam Malik, a great Imam, a reputed scholar of the Qur'an and Hadith and a righteous one; he believed that Jesusas had died. So did Imam Bin Hazam whose high status is well known, and so did Imam Bukhārī whose compilation of Aḥādīth is known as the truest book after the Book of God. In the same way, the learned Muhad- dathīn and commentators Ibn-e-Taimiyyah and Ibn-e- Qayyim, who were the Imams of their respective ages, believed that Jesusas had died. The Chief of the Sufis, Sheikh Mohy-ud-Din Ibn Al-'Arabī very clearly stated in his commentary that Jesusas had died. The same has been the case with leading scholars, Muhaddathīn and com- mentators. All the Imams and scholars of the Mu'tazila held the same view. It would, therefore, be a daring in- vention to say that the bodily ascent of Jesusas to heaven and his expected descent has been a matter of consensus. These are the beliefs of the people of the time when thousands of innovations had found their way into Islām. These were the middle ages which are described by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 180 'Verily, all Messengers have passed away before him. '- Al-e-'Imran, 3:145 [Publisher]