Islam                                     

A Photo ofthe Valley of Kashmir

“And We made the son of Mary and his mother a Sign,  and gave them shelter on an elevated land of green valleys and springs of running water. “

(The Holy Quran: Chapter 23, Verse 51)

We now examine the debates that are occurring within the religion of Islam. DO Muslims believe in Jesus? Those unfamiliar with the religion of Islam might be surprised to discover they do, and also there is great controversy surrounding his position.

Islamic teaching on Jesus Christ is that he was indeed the Messiah sent to the Jews,who were the chosen people of God at that time. Jesus, referred to as ‘Isa’ inthe Islamic scripture, the Quran, was sent to remove the corruption andhypocrisy that had crept in to Judaism. The Quran makes very bold claims aboutJesus diametrically opposed to the orthodox Christian view. The view of Jesusas a literal Son of God, as well as the third part of a holy trinity areexplicitly mentioned and rejected.

Yet, even in the Muslim world there is still division about other aspects of Jesus’ life. What is the contention with Jesus in the Muslim world?

Interestingly enough it boils down to three things that many will have thought were purely Christian beliefs: The Crucifixion, the ascension, and the Second Coming.

Jesus in the Quran

The Quran says:

“That they said (in boast), ‘We killed Jesus Christ the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah,’ but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them.

And those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.”

(Quran, Chapter 4, vs.157-158)

The Quran speaks of a future meeting between Jesus and God in the following words:

“And when Allah will say, ‘O Jesus, son of Mary, didst thou say to men, ‘Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?’ he will answer, ‘Holy art THOU, I could never say that which I had no right. If I had said it, Thou wouldst have surely known it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. It is Thou alone Who art the Knower of all hidden things; “

(Quran, Chapter 5, vs.117)

Islamic Traditions

Below are some Islamic written traditions regarding the life span of Jesus.

“During his last illness, the Holy Prophet (saw) said to his daughter Hazrat Fatima (ra), “Once in every year, Gabriel recited the Quran to me. This year he recited twice. He also told me that every succeeding prophet has lived to half the age of his predecessor. He told me that Jesus, son of Mary, lived to 120 years. Therefore, I think, I may live to about 60 years.” (Mawahib-ud-Duniya by Qastalani, Vol. I, p. 42); (Kanzul Ummal, Vol. VI, p. 120, 160 from Hazrat Fatima (ra)); (Hujjaj al-Kiramah, p. 428); (Hakam)

“Tabarani says regarding this Hadith, “Its narrations are reliable, and it is reported in a number of different versions.” Moreover, Hazrat Ayesha (ra), Hazrat Fatima (ra), and Hazrat Ibn Umar (ra) all related it.”

“Hazrat Aishah [a wife of Muhammad’s], God be pleased with her, relates from the Holy Prophet Muhammad: ‘Jesus, son of Mary, lived to the age of 120 yars.’” (Hujaj al-Kirama, p 428)

“Hazrat Fatimah [a wife of Muhammad’s], God be pleased with her, relates from the Holy Prophet: ‘Jesus, son of Mary, lived to the age of 120 years.’” (Kanz-ul-Ummal, vol. vi, p. 120)

“In the Mustadrak (a Hadith collection) it is reported from Ibn Umar that Jesus lived to the age of 120 years. It is likewise also in the Asabah.” (Tafsir Kamalain).

The Jesus Debate

 

So what is the fuss about? Current day Islamicorthodox thinking in regards to Jesus holds fast to the idea that he willreturn as an apocalyptic Prophet. In his book “Jesus Will Return”popular Islamic scholar Harun Yahya states:

“From what has been related so far, it is clear that Jesus (as) did not die but was raised to the presence of Allah. However, there is one more point that is underlined by the Quran: Jesus will come back to earth.”

Authentic sayings of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, are reported to have said:

“..the son of Mary will soon descend among you as a just judge, and he will break the cross, kill the pig and bolish Jizyah (taxation)…”

“Then Isa son of Mary peace be upon him will descend..”

“There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Isa, peace be upon him. He will descend. When you see him recognise him..”

If Jesus in buried in Kashmir are these prophecies incorrect? In what sense could they still hold meaning?

Judas on the Cross?

Some orthodox interpretations have proposed the “Substitution Theory” This states that Allah replaced Jesus with Judas Iscariot so rapidly that the switch was not noticed.

While Judas was crucified, Jesus was taken up to heaven. This is said to explain the Quran’s words that Jesus was not killed nor crucified but it was made to appear this way.

Another possibility is that Jesus survived the Crucifixion and was made to appear dead but in fact had survived.

Imam Shaltut’s Fatwa

Remember the time when Allah said, ‘O Jesus, I will cause thee to die a natural death and will raise thee to Myself, and will clear thee of the charges of those who disbelieve, and will exalt those who follow thee..”

(The Holy Quran Chapter 3, Verse 56)

Perhaps the single largest threat to the orthodox Islamic view of Jesus from its own community is from Imam Shaltut a deep and powerful Islamic scholar who became the highest Islamic authority of the most prestigious Muslim school on earth, Al-Azhar University. In October, 1958, he became Rector of Al-Azhar University. His religious and scholastic credentials within the world of Islam were impeccable. He issued a “fatwa” (decree) stating that God promised Jesus a natural death.

The full text of the Fatwa can be downloaded here Below is a summary of Imam Shaltut’s fatwa:

1. The Holy Quran and Sacred sayings of the Prophet of Islam do not support the belief that Jesus is alive in heaven now.

2. The Quranic verses show that God had planned for Jesus to die a natural death and not die at the hand of those trying to crufify him

3. Anyone not believing Jesus to be alive in heaven is not contravening any Islamic belief.

What is left of the second coming?

 

The Ahmadi Muslims believe that the hadithreferring to the return of Jesus are metaphorical, and point to some otherindividual who will appear. This individual will be someone who will carry thesame peaceful qualities of Jesus

In support of this viewpoint of a spiritual, rather than a physical, return of Jesus Christ, it is very interesting that the Ahmadis reference a Christian source—the Gospels—as an example:

“Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11: 11-15)

 In Matthew 11:11-15 Jesus Christ claims thatJohn the Baptist, a contemporary of Jesus who baptized Jesus, actually is the“return” of Elias, who the Old Testament foretold would return. Drawing aparallel, the Ahmadiyya viewpoint claims Jesus Christ will not returnphysically—as orthodox Muslims and orthodox Christians believe—since hisphysical body is here on earth at the Rozabal.

Buddhism

The Buddhist connection is a very interesting and wide ranging topic. Holger Kersten has explored this area in both “Jesus Lived in India” and “The Original Jesus: The Buddhist Sources of Christianity”. Of course, Mr. Kersten is not the first individual to suggest a connection between Buddhism and Jesus Christ. Nicholas Notovitch discovered scrolls in a monasrty in Hemis that purported to Jesus having travelled to the east whilst young and studied the scriptures of several faiths, including Buddhism. 

Buddhism today is a major religion whose adherents have been numbered between 150 and 300 million people. Many Buddhists would reject the statement that Buddhism is a religion. Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BC), known as the Buddha, was the founder of Buddhism. The word Buddha is a title that means “one who is awake,” i.e., one who has become enlightened. Buddha was born in Kapilavastu, near what today is the Indian-Nepal border. He was the son of the ruler of a kingdom, and at the age of 29 he began to realize the emptiness of his life. He had been raised in an environment of sheltered luxury. So he renounced all attachments to the world and began a quest for inner peace and inner enlightenment. For a few years he practiced Yoga and became a strict ascetic. Eventually he abandoned this method as pointless, choosing a middle ground between a life of indulgence and a life of self-denial. Finally, at age 35, he was sitting under a Bo tree, meditating. Through this meditation he finally reached the state of perfect enlightenment by moving through a series of higher states of consciousness.

Strange Link Numerous scholars have picked up on a strong similarity between events in the life of Jesus Christ and events in the life of Gautama Buddha. How & Why are the two linked?

Holger Kersten In “The Original Jesus” Kersten puts forward the thesis that Jesus studied and practised Buddhism

Buddhist Wise men from the East ? Scholars looking at the story of the ‘wise men’ from the east have often speculated that they could have been Buddhists in search of the reincarnation of a lama.

Saving the Savior In chapter 4 of this book, by Abubakr Salahuddin, the author explores at length the Jesus-as-Buddhist as a subset of the larger issue of Christianity contrasted with Eastern religions in general.Click here to download or view an extract from writing by the same author on this topic.

Teachings

At the centre of the enlightenment that is said to be achieved by the practices of Buddhism lie what are called the Four Noble Truths; (1) Life is suffering; (2) All suffering is caused by ignorance of the nature of reality as well as the attachments that result from this ignorance; (3) Suffering can be overcome by removing ignorance and releasing oneself from attachment; (4) The way to overcoming suffering is through following the Noble Eightfold Path: right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness and right contemplation. These eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path are divided into three categories that form the pillars of Buddhism: morality, wisdom and samadhi.

Buddhism, as it has evolved and as it exists today, does not recognize the existence of a Supreme Being. But some state that this was not the case in the beginning, and that Buddha did acknowledge a Supreme Being. Ashoka, the most famous and most devoted follower of the Buddha and his teachings, carved many inscriptions on rocks called stupas, and some state that these rocks clearly indicate a belief in a Supreme Being. One such rock is located on the bank of a river named Katak, and reads as follows:
“Much longing after the things (of this life) is a disobedience, I again declare; not less so is the laborious ambition of dominion by a prince who would be a proprietor of heaven. Confess and believe in God (Is’ana) who is the worthy object of obedience. For equal to this (belief), I declare unto you, ye shall not find such a means of propitiating heaven. Oh strive ye to obtain this inestimable treasure.”

Jesus and Buddha

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad explained the similarity between the life events of Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha by suggesting that Jesus went to India &was; in contact with Buddhists after surviving the Crucifixion.

Ahmad believed that Jesus was heralded by the Buddhists as the ‘Metteyya Buddha’ as prophecised by Gautama Buddha. Ghulam Ahmad points out the similarity between ‘Metteyya’ and ‘Messiah’. In another place this figure is called ‘Bagwa Metteyya’ (meaning ‘white metteyya’). Ahmad offers the opinion that the prophecy talked about a fair-skinned Buddha and that Jesus, having come from Syria, would have fair skin in comparison to the Indians. and would be seen as fulfilment of these prophecies and accepted.

The events of the life of Jesus thus became known to the Buddhists, and at this point in history the story of the life of Gautama Buddha had not yet been recorded. Ahmad further speculates that when the life of Guatama Buddha was being recorded the events were confussed and mixed up with the events of the life of Jesus Christ. This is his explanation for the similarity between the life stories of the two. Here are some similiarties:

1. Both fasted for 40 day
2. Both tempted by the devil
3. Both refer to themselves as “the light”
4. Both teach forgivness and to ‘love thy enemy’

Founders

1	Swami Abhedananda
2	Nicholas Notovitch
3	Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
4	Jesus Christ