The symbols {} are used for explanation purposes only
The New Testament calls Jesus (pbh) a prophet in his acting capacity and a Jewish Rabbi of the Law. So, it is of excellent benefit to understand Jewish Law concerning a person planning or taking his/her own life!
Jewish law (halakhah) makes it an important point to insist that the preservation of human life is a Major Commandment that MUST BE FOLLOWED. Both suicide and self-endangerment are forbidden (Genesis 9:5). Our bodies as well as our souls belong to the ONE GOD and any intentional or planned attempt at destroying our bodies {a temple for the soul} is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!
Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Genesis (9:5)
As Jesus (pbh) declared: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have NOT come to abolish {or alter} them BUT TO FULFILL THEM {IN FULL}. Matthew (15:17)
Any deviation from his expression would mean that he (the sinless one) is in error about his mission and that he is guilty of fraudulent and/or misleading behavior and possible hypocrisy. Since that is, according to Islam, totally impossible, then according to Islam it is very plain. Jesus (pbh) was NOT put on the cross when considering his own words found in the Gospel of John!
The Quranic verses concerning the non-crucifixion of Jesus (pbh) tell a different story than what many Christians would want to hear:
And because of their disbelief {Jewish beliefs from mostly the Pharisee Sect at the time in renouncing Jesus} and uttering against Mary a grave false charge {of illegal sexual intercourse resulting in the birth of Jesus}
And {also} because of their {boastful} saying, “We killed {the supposed} Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the {so-called} Messenger of GOD,” BUT THEY KILLED HIM NOT NOR CRUCIFIED HIM but so it was made to appear unto them {that they did} and those who differ {about this} are full of doubts. They have no certain knowledge {truthful knowledge}; they follow nothing but conjecture {made up stories}. For a positive fact, they did not kill him {Jesus the son of Mary}. Q (4: 156-157)
The stipulation above follows two pathways. The first pathway is that they did not take his life resulting in his death. The second pathway is that they did not put him on the cross, stake or tree to hang there.
Crucifixion happens in the Philippines every year whereby people are placed upon a cross, nailed to it, lifted up for a minute or so and then taken down and treated so that their wounds don’t get infected! They can rightfully declare that they WERE CRUCIFIED because they were put in that position or acted upon in that way.
Importantly, for them, they did not die BUT THEY WERE STILL CONSIDERED CRUCIFIED because the act of crucifixion doesn’t imply that death will or must occur. It is only a method THAT CAN LEAD TO DEATH but doesn’t necessarily cause death!
So, if someone is NOT crucified, then that person CAN’T BE PUT ON A CROSS IN THE FIRST PLACE! It is just that simple!
Now, as to what Jesus (pbh) declared when taken together with the notion that he was a JEWISH prophet to the JEWISH people BEFORE his second coming which has not yet happened; leaves us with the notion of going back in time and to find out what his responsibilities were according to his own speech.
First, Jewish LAW must be considered for a Jewish man because Jesus was that model of Jewish expression. His words commanded people to follow the LAW sent down to Moses (pbh).
So in review, Jewish law (halakhah) makes it an important point to insist that the preservation of human life is a Major Commandment that MUST BE FOLLOWED. Both suicide and self-endangerment are forbidden (Genesis 9:5). Our bodies AS WELL AS OUR SOULS belong to the ONE GOD and any intentional or planned attempt at destroying our bodies is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!
Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Genesis (9:5)
The same happens when a man is shot in the arm and doesn’t die. He is still considered shot even though he recovers from the wound. The same can be said of crucifying a person. So one can say, as those who have undergone this ridiculous procedure in the Philippines, they were crucified for whatever purpose they are broadcasting about, yet they lived.
According to Jesus’ words: “Therefore does my FATHER love me, because I lay down my life that I might TAKE IT {up} AGAIN.
No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself {when the time is made known to me by my LORD}. I have {been given the} power to lay it down, and I have {been given the} power to take it {up} again. This commandment {gift}* have I received of my FATHER. John (10:17-18)
{*Those messengers {prophets} WE endowed with {certain} gifts, some above others: To one of them ALLAH spoke; others HE raised to degrees (of honor); to Jesus the son of Mary WE gave clear (Signs), and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit {Gabriel}. IF ALLAH had so willed, succeeding generations would not have fought among each other, {especially} after clear (Signs) had come to them, but they (chose) to wrangle, some believing and others rejecting. If ALLAH had so willed, they would not have fought each other; but ALLAH fulfills HIS PLAN. Quran (2:253)
So, by going to ALLAH’s Perfect Word, the Quran, we find that Jesus (pbh) was NOT put on the cross even for a second. If he was, then he would have been crucified by undergoing the act of being bound or nailed to a support like a wooden cross to hang until he died.
In fulfilling Jewish Law, he should have been found guiltless on all counts, especially since he committed no sin. As he instructed his followers to be subservient to these laws, it would be plain, simple hypocrisy for him to tell others to do what he would not do.
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,
Saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.
Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe that observe and do, but do not do according to their works {because}; for they say, and {like hypocrites they} do not do {as they tell others to do}. Matthew (23:1-3)
Three points can be taken from these thoughts and from the Quran:
First, he was NOT put on the cross. Second, no man could kill him (according to Jesus’ words) and he certainly didn’t kill himself for that would be classified as suicide. Thirdly, in order for him to be ‘lifted up’ or taken up into the sky, he could not do this without some alteration being performed on him.
That alteration would be to have the ONE GOD take his soul while he was made to sleep for the purpose of clearing his name as is stipulated in the Quran and then being returned to Earth but in a different phase or altered state. This altered state would be consistent with his actions from the Last Supper (as defined in the Quran) and to his recorded wanderings so-called post crucifixion time found in the Gospels.
These wanderings show that the people sometimes walk with him or see him but do not even recognize him. So, how can one sit next to ‘your beloved’ and eat food with him AND STILL NOT RECOGNIZE him or walk with him while communicating with him until he chooses otherwise?
Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.
And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know him.
And he said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”
Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have you not known the things which happened there in these days?”
And he {Jesus} said to them, “What things?” So they said to him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and {a} word before GOD and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and crucified him {in their belief}.
But we {members of the 70} were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.
Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.
When they did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive.
And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but him {Jesus} they did not see.”
Then he {Jesus} said to them, “O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory?”
And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, he {Jesus} expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself {and they still did not know who he was}.
Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and he indicated that he would have gone farther.
But they constrained him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And he went in to stay with them.
Now it came to pass, as he sat at the table with them, that he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
{Only} Then their eyes were opened and they knew him; and {then} he vanished from their sight.
And they said to one another, “Did not our heart{s} burn within us while he talked with us on the road, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke (24:13-33)
This is one example given in the New Testament showing a ‘mobile’ Jesus (pbh) after his supposed crucifixion who sits at a table eating food with some of his close companions (the 70) (NOT his DISCIPLES) and yet they do NOT recognize the one they truly loved!!!
While it is an article of faith to believe in the purity of the Quran as ALLAH’s WORD, it is not an article of faith to put theory over fact. The next presentation could be called a ‘theoretical fact’ based upon interpretation of the records and the way those records are described in the Quran and acceptable hadith materials.
“Therefore does my FATHER love me, because I lay down my life that I might TAKE IT {up} AGAIN.” John (10:17).
It is suggested that this soul or Christ-soul is the soul of a man and like all men must conform to the Laws and Rules laid down by the Creator. However, not every soul accomplishes the same task or does the same duty that is required of other individual souls.
So unless instructed otherwise, we cannot determine for a complete fact that the Christ-soul will totally behave like the other souls except in the basic (human-type) points. In fact, according to Quran (2:253) ‘Those messengers {prophets} WE endowed with {certain} gifts, some above others’: we see that even though there is a type of oneness amongst the prophets, there are still differences.
The New Testament is a book that contains many supernatural verses (Mutashabihat-type verses) which are not well understood and which can easily be taken out of context. True enough! However:
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews {as a chief Rabbi}:
The same came to Jesus by night {to meet with Jesus secretly as he feared some of the powerful Jews and their condemnation}, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God {meaning that we know that you are a prophet sent by GOD}: for no man can do these miracles that you do, EXCEPT {that} God be with him.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the KINGDOM of GOD.
Nicodemus said unto him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Jesus answered, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be BORN OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT, he cannot enter into the KINGDOM of GOD.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it comes, and where it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit’.
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, ‘How can these things be’?
Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Are you a master {teacher} of Israel {that is teacher of religious affairs}, and {you} know not these things?
Verily, verily, I say unto you, we speak {of} that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and you receive not our witness.
If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
And NO MAN has ascended up {gone up} to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even {me} the Son of man which is in heaven. {Should state ‘which is FROM heaven as is stated in John (6:38) found at the end of this writing}
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up {and have his name cleared as is verified in the Quran}:
That whosoever {really} believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John (3:1-15)
What did Jesus (pbh) mean by these words? Basically, he meant what he said and said what he meant!
An important idea about this passage is to remember that there are two separate and distinct kingdoms found in religious literature: The KINGDOM of GOD and the kingdom of Christ. They are two separate kingdoms which can be shown to be true by studying the Quran and especially hadith literature.
In brief without getting overly complex:
The kingdom of Christ is supposed to last 1,000 years (Book of Revelation) ** even though Jesus (pbh) will die after being on the Earth 40 some odd years. That kingdom will be propagated through a finite chain of Caliphs from the Quraysh line.
{** And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, AND for the Word of GOD, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ {first on Earth and then in the sky} a thousand years.
But the rest of the dead {those who were not fortunate enough to be born in that kingdom} lived NOT AGAIN until the thousand years were finished {then they will be permitted to live by being born again into the society, rank upon rank, as to their wellness or lack of wellness of being}. This is the FIRST resurrection {for the believers who were born and died within that specified time – the thousand year period}. Revelation (20:4-5)}
Then presumably at some unknown point after the 1,000 year period, when things start to go downhill, the Quran will be lifted up from the world and the human race will eventually behave like wild animals and the Gog and Magog (peoples) will once again come and swarm down from every hill and the HORN will be blown signaling the END TIMES HAVE COME and JUDGMENT is NEAR.
And on that Day (the day that the Gog and Magog come out in their collective swarm) WE shall leave them to surge like waves on one another; and the Trumpet will be blown and WE shall collect them all together***.
{***And on that Day WE shall present Hell to the disbelievers, plain to view. Q (18: 99-100)}
When Jesus (pbh) returns to this world, he returns as a king not a prophet and every king has his authority, his kingdom and his ordained reign, ordained by GOD. In this blessed kingdom people are born and according to the Book of Hebrews (Hebrews 8:10-11) in the New Testament, people, that is the Believers, will not need to be told about the pure way (the acceptable way of living and worshiping) because it will be impressed on their hearts.
In this wonderful kingdom, however, people will be born and die. They will, however, be blessed (in this blessed kingdom) and will be able to accumulate a whole host of good deeds (goodness upon goodness multiplied many times) acceptable to their LORD and that is important for the LAST DAY of JUDGMENT.
Like Jesus (pbh), when the time is ready, they will die and be placed in their graves. However, their souls will be ensconced in the heavens and at rest. This is called in the Book of Revelation the First Resurrection. On these souls shall be no fear for they were the best of the best!
In the KINGDOM OF GOD, however, no one will die and no one will be buried. This KINGDOM, unlike the kingdom of Christ, will last forever and ever.
In this KINGDOM there will be no sickness or toil and definitely no JUDGMENT as JUDGMENT has come and gone! And the wonders of this KINGDOM shall surpass all imaginable wonders!
So, the kingdom of Christ is a stepping stone to the FINAL SOLUTION or JUDGMENT and the various rewards of those who inhabit Paradise.
People are encouraged to seek out the correct and approved hadiths concerning the paradise on Earth as opposed to the Paradise in the Heavens to understand the difference between these two occurrences.
An example of one of the many differences between these two kingdoms is that in the KINGDOM of GOD, people will be in their perpetual state of youth of around 33 years of age whereas in the kingdom of Christ, people will be born and grow into adulthood and beyond. They will have children and when the time is right for them, they will die and be buried.
The religion of truth brought by the Spirit of truth will be the chosen vehicle for the kingdom on Earth called the kingdom of the Messiah as was promised him long ago.
So, in this respect a person has to be born again of water (the watery womb) and of the Spirit (following the righteous pathway of truth chosen by the ONE GOD).
This righteous pathway or practice is the chosen religion or WAY deemed by the CREATOR HIMSELF and is also a testimonial or record of man’s obedience or non-compliance with ALLAH’s WILL.
It is not an Arab thing but a compliance thing of truly bending one’s will to HIS WILL and acceptance of such as was demonstrated by the league of prophets sent by the ONE GOD.
This would imply that there is ONE religion from the beginning of adam to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them both) AND in a perfect kingdom (Christ’s kingdom) there will be no confusion about this at all as all will believe on Jesus before he (finally) dies (pbh).
Other meanings behind these words of Jesus (pbh) as found in the Gospel of John cannot at this time be proven directly but only inferred. Real religion, however, is NOT based on things inferred but on concrete, provable and unified doctrine stretching from across all acceptable faiths especially those called the Abrahamic Traditions.
Because flesh is flesh and spirit is spirit, mankind may keep his body but is not imprisoned for all time in it. Such that the grave is not completely understood. So being buried does not end a person’s awareness or activities as such but of this we have no complete and exact knowledge. And for salvation, we don’t need it!
Aisha narrated that she heard the Prophet (pbh) say, “Souls are like recruited troops: Those who are {of} like qualities are inclined to each other, but those who have dissimilar qualities, differ.” (Bukhari)
Abu Huraira reported GOD’s Messenger (pbh) as saying: “Souls are troops collected together and those who familiarized with each other (in the Heaven from where these come) would have affinity, with one another (in the world) and those amongst them who opposed each other (in the Heaven) would also be divergent (in the world)”. (Muslim)
A tradition of Ubayy-bin Ka’b – All of mankind was assembled in {to} separate groups giving them {the separate groups} the understanding that they were to be made vicegerents on Earth while imparting their wisdom and understanding, i.e. granting them power such that each individual (would be) completely and fully responsible for their actions.
That means that no individual can absolve him or herself from the responsibility of deviation from ALLAH’s WAY. Therefore, it became man‘s duty, if he so chose to make it, to make use of all of his facilities of the gifts given to them to discern truth from error in their respective journeys through life-giving experiences.
Were people hoping that the ONE GOD would lose track of them as they ‘went about their business’ in taking on the challenge?
Truly, WE did offer al-amaanah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which ALLAH has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of ALLAH’s torment). But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results). Q (33:72)
Why must people be born and die in this Christ kingdom if they are NOT present upon his (Jesus’) return? If they are of the ‘faithful’, why not? If Jesus (pbh) goes into the grave, then what of the others? Are they not of mankind also?
And how are souls brought into the ‘world’? Do they just drop in from the sky fully formed? And, if man travels from stage to stage, certainly he must be born again for on this Earth he does not move around as a ghost!
What then about Jesus (pbh)? He comes back (returns) as himself without being born again. What about this? Does he not represent man as a SIGN?
The answers are in the scriptures! Jesus (pbh) completed his trials or sojourn in the flesh as a tempted creature (as all men are) and succeeded in his appointed job (appointed by the ONE GOD). And this is recorded in the scriptures.
Also, even the scum of the Earth have souls and their feelings must be recorded and heard. After all, how can a man facing his LORD on THE LAST DAY be shown to be a lying manipulator or an honest soul WITHOUT RECORDS to show THAT ALL WAS FAIR BUT IT WAS THE LYING DECEITFUL ONES WHO SHOULD BE PUNISHED AND THE RECORDS WILL SHOW WHO THEY ARE TO ALL AS A WITNESS TO THE GREATNESS OF GOD AND THE CORRUPTION AND ROTTENNESS OF THOSE WHO WILL BE BRANDED AS LIARS!
From scripture:
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept {in the flesh or not completely free as being in spirit}.
For since by man {adam} came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead {breaking the chains of continuously facing this trial of death in the flesh}. 1Cor. (15:20-21)
And when he {Jesus comes again} comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
In regard to sin, because they do not {really} believe in me {or what I have been allowed to do by the GRACE OF my LORD};
In regard to righteousness, because I am {will soon be going} going to the Father and you will see me no longer {in this capacity};
AND IN REGARD TO JUDGMENT {TIME} BECAUSE THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD, HAS {ALREADY} BEEN JUDGED***. John (16:8-11)
Behold! ALLAH said: “O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to MYSELF AND CLEAR YOU (of the falsehoods) of those who blaspheme; I will make those who follow you {in TRUE FAITH} superior to those who reject faith, to the Day of Resurrection {THE FINAL RESURRECTION WHERE ALL WILL BE HELD UP FOR JUDGMENT BEFORE THE RAM OF DEATH WILL BE SLAUGHTERED AND DEATH WILL BE CANCELED}: Then shall you all return unto ME, and I WILL JUDGE between you of the matters wherein you dispute {AND SETTLE THOSE DISPUTES} . Quran (3:55)
{***Some Christian sects regard the ‘Prince of this world’ to be Satan. Think about it!!! The All-Powerful and All-Knowing GOD, seemingly took eons to decide whether the Devil was good or bad IN THE SYSTEM HE HIMSELF SET UP (AND IN REGARD TO JUDGMENT {TIME} BECAUSE THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD, HAS {ALREADY} BEEN JUDGED)}!
Whereas simple clay flesh-like man can recognize some evil in less than a minute! What kind of nonsense does this thinking lend itself to? It is much more profitable to acknowledge Jesus (pbh) as the wonderful ‘Prince’ of this world as the royal emissary from the ONE GOD who will come back to establish that kingdom of righteousness that he so very much worked for!
You {O mankind} shall certainly travel from stage to stage. Q (84: 19)
So, when he (mankind) dies in this blessed kingdom, the earth will devour the flesh except for the tailbone and on that score he will be reconstituted in full when he is brought back to life (again)! Hence, the Judgment!
And we can look to the Quran to gather some good thoughts about the unity of religion throughout the years and why there shall be no doubt about THE WAY going forward for those who search for success!
Those {Various Peoples} to whom WE have sent the BOOK study it as it should be studied {with meaning, intent, vocalization, as a Guide and as a Remembrance as they shall pass on knowledge to keep the flame of truth alive and interest in the future-life well-watered}: They are the ones that believe therein: Those who reject faith {and pay no heed to it – to these life giving spiritual waters} therein, the loss is their own {by their own hands so they will have no one to blame but themselves}. Q (2: 121)
Do they now seek a religion other than {what has been} prescribed by ALLAH even though all that is in the heavens and the earth is in submission to HIM – willing or unwillingly – and to HIM all shall return?
Say: We believe in ALLAH and what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and to Isaac and Jacob and his descendants, and the teachings which ALLAH gave to Moses and Jesus and to other Prophets. We make no distinction between any of them and to HIM do we submit.
And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam {that WAY mentioned above}, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers. Quran (3:83-85)
By HIM {THE ONE GOD} in Whose hand is the life of Muhammad, he who amongst the community of Jews or Christians hears about me, but does not affirm his belief in that with which I have been sent {that he has been sent by the ONE GOD as HIS personal emissary to disseminate the truth} and dies in this state (of disbelief), he shall be but one of the denizens of Hell-Fire. (Muslim)
And the successful Jesus (pbh) replied that it wasn’t going to be by his will but ONLY BY AND THROUGH GOD’s WILL and so this Messiah long ago made it a priority to subjugate his will to THE WILL OF his CREATOR!
“For I {Jesus} have come down from heaven, NOT to do my own will, but {only} the WILL of HIM who sent me. John (6:38)
