The Miracle of Ahmad — Page 31
THE MIRACLE OF AHMAD 31 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had passed away. Strange indeed is the logic applied by Abu Bakr that in spite of the fact that 'Isā was alive in Heaven, he recited this verse before the people! What kind of assurance did he mean to offer them by doing this? Did he not know that 'Isā was alive in Heaven and would return to the world and spend forty years in it?! Alas, such a long life for 'Īsā and such a short one for the Chief of all the Prophets! تِلْكَ إِذَا قِسْمَةٌ ضِيزى Further, the Companions [of the Holy Prophetsa] would be deemed very weak in reasoning since they became silent when they heard this verse and none of them confronted Abū Bakr by asking him why he was reciting a verse which made them feel even more miserable, for 'Īsā was alive in Heaven and would return to the world and their beloved Prophet had left them forever! If 'Isā was exempt from this law of nature and could live up to thousands of years and then make a return to the world, why was our beloved Prophet not granted this privilege?! The truth is that Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and all other Companions who were all present on that occasion-and none was absent-inter- preted the verse to mean that all Prophets have died. It seems that one or two Companions, whose understanding was not perfect, used to believe-as they might have heard the statements made by the local Christians-that Jesus was alive in Heaven. One such person was Abū Hurairah, who was a man of poor understanding. 1. That indeed is an unfair division (Sūrah an-Najm, 53:23). [Publisher]