The Messiah 'Eesaa is Alive
The Mesiah, may peace be upon him, was preserved and protected by Allah, he was not killed, nor was he crucified! It was a person who resembled him greatly who was crucified and killed. When his enemies from amongst the Jews harbored evil intentions towards him, Allah protected him from their plot and raised him to the heavens. He bestowed his likeness upon another man from the Hawaariyoon, so they captured that man and crucified him, believing that he was the Messiah, may peace be upon him. Allah the Elevated said concerning the Jews:
{Because of their breaking the covenant, their rejecting the Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah, their killing the Prophets unjustly, their saying: "Our hearts are wrapped (with coverings, i.e. we do not understand what the Messengers say)," – nay, Allah has set a seal upon their hearts because of their disbelief, so they believe not but a little.
And because of their disbelief and uttering against Maryam (Mary ['alayhas-salaam]) a grave false charge (that she has committed illegal sexual intercourse)
And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed the Messiah (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allah," – but they killed him not, nor did they crucify him, but it appeared so to them [the resemblance of ‘Eesa (Jesus) was put over another man], and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely, they killed him not.
But Allah raised him up to Himself. And Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise.
And there is none from the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but must believe in him, [as only a Messenger of Allah and a human being] before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection, he ['Eesa (Jesus)] will be a witness against them.
Whoever contemplates over these Ayaat would know that their claim of killing and crucifying him is a lie. But they did intend to kill him and were determined to do so. They besieged him and those with him in a house, but Allah saved him from their plot, raised him to the heavens and made someone else from his companions look like him.
Contemplate over the Ayah:
{ but they killed him not, nor did they crucify him, but it appeared so to them
You will find that it is mentioned explicitly. The scholars of Tafseer, Hadeeth and history have all affirmed what I mentioned.
Ibn Katheer stated: Al Hasan al Basree and Muhammad ibn Ishaq stated:
“At the time of ‘Eesa ibn Maryam, there was a king named Dawud ibn Nooraa. When he heard of ‘Eesa, he ordered that he be killed and crucified. They besieged the house of al Miqdam where he was, on a Friday night. When they entered upon them, one of the people present in the house was made to look like ‘Eesa, and he was raised from that house to the heavens while those in the house were watching. So the guardsmen entered the house, they found the person who resembled ‘Eesa and captured him, thinking he was ’Eesa. They crucified him and placed thorns on his head to humiliate him. The majority of Christians, who did not witness the crucifixion, gave in to the account of the Jews, and due to this, they have clearly strayed. Allah the Elevated stated:
{And when Allah said: "O ‘Eesa (Jesus)! I will make you sleep and raise you to Myself, and clear you [of the forged statement that ‘Eesa (Jesus) is Allah's son] of those who disbelieve, and I will make those who follow you (monotheists, who worship none but Allah) superior to those who disbelieve [in the Oneness of Allah, or disbelieve in some of His Messengers, or in His Holy Books till the Day of Resurrection]. Then you will return to Me and I will judge between you in the matters in which you used to dispute."
So in these Ayaat, Allah promised him that he would raise him and purify him from the disbelievers, and Allah was true to His promise, indeed Allah does not break His promises.
The type of death that was mentioned in this Ayah is sleep, as was affirmed by many scholars - that sleep descended upon him when he was raised, and the word death is sometimes used to mean sleep, Allah said:
{It is Allah Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and those that die not during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed. Verily, in this are signs for a people who think deeply.
Furthermore, what proves that he was raised to the heavens is that he will descend to Earth at the end of times and kill the Dajjaal. Ibn Katheer stated in his Tafseer:
{ And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but must believe in him [‘Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), before his death.
Meaning after he descends to Earth in the end of times, before the Hour, for indeed he descends, kills the pig, breaks the cross and abolishes the Jizyah, he will not accept any religion except Islam. All religions at that time will be one religion; the religion of Islam, al Hanafiyyah – the religion of Abraham. No one from amongst the Jews or the Christians would remain except that they would believe in him, it was also said that it is only the Jews. Al Hasan stated about this Ayah:
{And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but must believe in him [‘Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), before his death.
Before the death of ‘Eesa, for by Allah he is alive right now, with Allah.
Ibn Jareer, may Allah have mery upon him, was even clearer than this when explaining these Ayaat: ‘No one from amongst the People of the Book would remain after the decent of ‘Eesa except that he /she would believe in him before he – ‘Isa ‘alayhi as salaam – dies. He then brings Ahadeeth that prove this, such as the Hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said that the Messenger of Allah – صلى الله عليه وسلم – said:
“By the One whose Hands my life is in, soon the son of Maryam will descend upon you as a just judge; he will break the cross, kill the pig and demolish the Jizyah. Wealth will be so abundant to the point that no one would take it, to the point that prostrating to Allah would be more beloved to a person than anything on the face of the earth.”
It was narrated that he would descend at ‘al Manaarah al Baydaa’ east of Damascus. He would battle against the Dajjaal along with the victorious army of Islam. He will catch the Dajjaal at the Door of Lud and kill him. Majma’ ibn Haarithah, may Allah be pleased with him, said he heard the Messenger of Allah – صلى الله عليه وسلم - saying: “The son of Maryam will kill ad Dajaal by the door of Lud.”
Al-Mufti Muhammad ibn Ibraheem
[Majmoo' Fataawaa Muhammad ibn Ibraheem]
