Truth About The Crucifixion — Page 37
careful investigation and research, whether it is genuine or not. If it is not genuine, why has it been given so much importance and why has it been held in such great honour? If it is genuine, the evidence that it furnishes, in support of the removal of the body of Jesus from the cross while he was still alive, is not in itself fundamental and indispensable. It is merely corroborative. Even if this genuine piece of linen cloth had been lost, its loss would not have detracted in the very least from the very important and plentiful evidence which establishes that, after his deliverance from the cross and his restoration to health, Jesus continued his ministry for a long time among the lost tribes of Israel. The tribes believed in him and it was the result of his teaching that when they came to know of the advent of the Holy Prophet of Islam, they were able to recognize his truth and became Muslims. Thus the Holy Shroud has not the character of the missing link, in the chain of evidence in support of the deliverance of Jesus from the cross. If the shroud is a fabrication, the Christians are responsible for according undeserved reverence to it. If it is genuine, it is additional evidence in support of our thesis, and adds to our knowledge on the subject. But if it is not genuine, it does not in any way detract from the knowledge that we possess. The Divine purpose of the raising of a prophet is, that the people among whom the prophet is raised may be delivered from their vicious life, and by acting upon the guidance furnished through the prophet, should advance towards the One True God and win His love. Jesus was raised among the children of Israel. It is a historical fact that only a portion of two tribes of Israel dwelt in Palestine at the time of the advent of Jesus. Ten of the twelve tribes had, through various causes, been dispersed through Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Kashmir. 29