Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam: Difference between revisions

The [[Ahmadiyya|Ahmadiyya branch]] portrays [[Jesus]] as a human mortal man and a [[prophet]] of God, born to the [[Mary in Islam|virgin Mary]]. Jesus is understood to have survived [[Crucifixion of Jesus|the crucifixion]] based on the account of the gospels, (see [[Swoon Hypothesis]]) [[hadith]], and the [[Quran]]. Having delivered his message to the Israelites in [[Judea (Roman province)|Judea]], Jesus is understood to have emigrated eastward to escape persecution from Judea and to have further spread his message to the [[Lost Tribes of Israel]].

Jesus is thought to have died a natural death (as have all prophets). Jesus lived to old age and later died in [[Srinagar]], Kashmir and his tomb is presently located at the [[Roza Bal]] shrine.  Although sharing many similarities with contemporary [[Jesus in Islam|Islamic views of Jesus]], the Ahmadiyya teachings are distinct from the beliefs held by mainstream Islamic scholars who view that Jesus was [[Islamic view of Jesus' death|raised up to Heaven and remains alive there]].

Ahmadis believe the prophecies surrounding the [[second advent]] of the messiah Jesus were fulfilled in the ‘likeness’ and personality of [[Mirza Ghulam Ahmad]], who initiated the foundation of the movement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alislam.org/messiah/|title=Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad &#124; Islam Ahmadiyya|website=www.alislam.org}}</ref>

According to Ahmadiyya belief, a literal interpretation of Jesus' miracles in the [[Quran]] (such as creating birds and bringing back the dead to life) is inconsistent with the Quran and attributes a semi-divine status to Jesus. This understanding is replaced with a [[hermeneutic]] interpretation of the Quranic verses on account of these miracles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alislam.org/quran/view/?page=399&region=E1|title=The Holy Quran|website=www.alislam.org}}</ref> For example, Jesus bringing the dead back to life is understood in the context of bringing back a 'spiritual life’ to people who were spiritually dead.

Ahmadi scholars regard the contemporary Islamic interpretations relating to the second coming of Jesus (see [[Prophethood (Ahmadiyya)|Ahmadi prophetology]]) are inaccurate. The belief that Jesus' of Nazareth himself will bodily return in the flesh from Heaven is deemed to be unrealistic and impossible. The expected return of an [[Israelite]] prophet, after [[Muhammad]] contravenes the [[Khatam an-Nabiyyin|finality]] of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and subsequently of the Islamic dispensation.

As both the Quran and [[Hadith]] contain an absence of the use of terms referring to a ''return'' or ''second coming'' regarding Jesus's second advent during the end times,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.alislam.org/library/articles/Advent-of-Messiah-Descend-or-Return.pdf | title=Advent of the Messiah—Descend or Return?| access-date=4 February 2016}}</ref> the Ahmadiyya movement view these prophecies as purely allegorical. The movement consider the expression of the coming of Jesus rather as being in the "likeness" of Jesus. In other words, the prophecy of the latter day messiah accredits a different person in the latter day who would be raised in the same spirit and prowess of the earlier prophet Jesus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alislam.org/book/true-christianity-leads-islam/second-advent-of-jesus/|title=The Second Advent of Jesus}}</ref>

The Hadith prophecies of Jesus are understood in the Ahmadiyya view to be interchangeably linked with the prophecies of the coming of the [[Mahdi]]. Both the terms, ''Jesus Son of Mary'' and ''Mahdi'' (as used in Islamic Hadith and eschatological literature), designate two titles for the same person.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reviewofreligions.org/1599/my claim-to-promised-messiahship/|title=My Claim to Promised Messiahship|date=January 1, 2009}}</ref>

The views of Jesus having [[unknown years of Jesus|travelled to India]] had been put forth prior to Mirza Ghulam Ahmed’s publication, most notably by [[Nicolas Notovitch]] in 1894.<ref name="Nicolas Notovitch">{{cite web|url=http://reluctant-messenger.com/issa.htm|title=The Lost Years of Jesus: The Life of Saint Issa - Notovitch|first=Internet Innovations|last=Inc.|access-date=11 April 2017}}</ref><ref name=Wil84>''New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1: Gospels and Related Writings'' by [[Wilhelm Schneemelcher]] and R. Mcl. Wilson (Dec 1, 1990) {{ISBN|066422721X}} page 84 "a particular book by Nicolas Notovich (Di Lucke im Leben Jesus 1894) ... shortly after the publication of the book, the reports of travel experiences are said to have been rejected.</ref> Mirza Ghulam Ahmad expressly rejected the theory of a pre-crucifixion visit that Notovitch had proposed, arguing instead that Jesus’s travels to India took place after surviving crucifixion.<ref name="Faruqi_1983_98">{{harvnb|Faruqi|1983|p=98}}.</ref><ref name="SchaeferCohen">{{harvnb|Schäfer|Cohen|1998|p=306}}</ref>

The first response in English to Ahmad's writings came in a book by [[Howard Walter]], an Urdu-speaking American pastor in [[Lahore]], ''The Ahmadiyya Movement'' (1918). Walter, like later scholars, identified the Islamic version of the [[Barlaam and Josaphat]] story as the primary of Ahmad's evidence despite the fact that the four chapters of his book are arranged around evidence from the [[Gospels]], the [[Quran]] and [[hadith]], medical literature and historical records – respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.alislam.org/library/books/Jesus-in-India.pdf|title=Jesus in India}}</ref>

=== Other Publications ===

In 1978, [[Mirza Nasir Ahmad]], the third [[Khalifatul Masih|Khalifa]] of the [[Ahmadiyya]] movement, travelled to [[London]] where the international conference of Jesus’ ''Deliverance from the cross'' was held at the Commonwealth Institute in [[Kensington]]. This was attended by a number of scholars and academics who had presented papers discussing the circumstances surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus, in which the Ahmadiyya viewpoint regarding the death of Jesus was presented.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFKNVZjY8_Q|title=1978 Visit of Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad to England and Deliverance from The Cross Conference - YouTube|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reviewofreligions.org/1964/conference-on-deliverance-from-the-cross/|title=Conference on Deliverance from the Cross|date=March 1, 2008}}</ref> Nasir Ahmad’s lecture discussed the subject of Jesus’ survival from death upon the cross, his travel to the east, the Unity of God and the status of [[Muhammad]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alislam.org/library/history/ahmadiyya/92.html|title=Conference in London - Islam Ahmadiyya|access-date=11 April 2017}}</ref>

In 2003, the viewpoint of Roza Bal being Jesus' tomb was covered in a BBC documentary by [[Richard Denton (producer)|Richard Denton]], ''Did Jesus Die?''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uclu.org/whats-on/clubs-societies/jesus-in-india-bbc-documentary-film-screening|title=Jesus In India: BBC Documentary Film Screening|access-date=11 April 2017}}</ref> Jesus' possible travels to India are also discussed in a 2008 documentary ''Jesus in India'' by [[Paul Davids]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-davids/jesus-lost-years-may-fina_b_179513.html|title=Jesus' Lost Years May Finally Have Been Found|first=Paul|last=Davids|date=26 April 2009|access-date=11 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jesus-in-india-the-movie.com/html/themovie.html|title=Jesus in India - The Movie|access-date=11 April 2017}}</ref>

The Ahmadiyya movement advocates the notion of Jesus' survival of crucifixion through a mixture of Biblical and Quranic analysis.<ref name="Jesus in India">{{cite web|url=http://www.alislam.org/topics/jesus/|title=Jesus in India - Tomb of Jesus - Where Did Jesus Die - Jesus in Islam - Al Islam Online|access-date=11 April 2017}}</ref>

#According to the Bible “He that is hanged is accursed of God.” {{Bibleref2c|Deut|21:23}}; something [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] imputed to Jesus.{{Bibleref2c|Gal|3:13}} However, since the word "curse" would signify a satanic connection, divine antipathy and displeasure, spiritual impurity, faithlessness and disobedience to God; Jesus' being from God and the beloved of God, does not allow for him to have become accursed at any moment and therefore for him to have died on a cross.

After surviving crucifixion, Jesus fled to [[Galilee]]. Jesus (along with several disciples) later left Palestine to further preach the Gospel to the Lost Tribes of Israel {{Bibleref2c|John|10:16}} that had scattered as far as [[Afghanistan]] and northern India. He eventually settled in Kashmir where he was given the name [[Yuz Asaf]] (meaning “Leader of the Healed”/"Son of Joseph").{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

Ahmadiyyas state that there are at least 30 verses of the [[Quran]] that suggest that Jesus did not ascend to Heaven but instead died a natural death on Earth. The verses in Chapter Al-Nisa (4:157-158) indicate that Jesus did not die on the Cross - but rather that God had “raised” Jesus unto God Himself (not into heaven).

[4:157-158] And their saying, ‘We did kill the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the

Messenger of Allah;’ whereas they slew him not, nor crucified him, but he was

As the Quran speaks of God being Omnipresent in the Earth and in the hearts of mankind, God's existence is not to be misconstrued as being confined to the Heavens alone, making any bodily movement ''towards'' God impossible.<ref name="Jesus in India"/> Ahmadis interpret the Arabic word raised in these verses to mean “exalted”. In other words, Jesus' spiritual rank and status was raised to come closer to God as opposed to him dying the accursed death which his adversaries had wished for.

[3:145] And Muhammad is only a Messenger. Verily, all Messengers have passed away before him. If then he die or be slain, will you turn back on your heels?...<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alislam.org/quran/3:145|title=The Holy Quran - Chapter: 3: Aal-e-`Imran|website=www.alislam.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quran.com/3/144?translations=131|title=Surah Ali 'Imran - 3:144|website=quran.com}}</ref>

To illustrate the death of [[Jesus]], [[Ahmadiyya]] scholars use references to various Islamic [[Hadith]]. For example,  

The Hadith and the Bible indicate that Jesus will return during the latter days. Islamic Hadith commonly depicts that Jesus, upon his second coming, would be an "Ummati" (Muslim) and a follower of Muhammad and that he would revive the truth of Islam rather than fostering a new religion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/037.sat.html#037.4310|title=Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab Al-Malahim, Book 37, Number 4310|access-date=2008-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081128185613/http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/037.sat.html#037.4310|archive-date=2008-11-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> In other words, that he would restore the religion of Muhammed (as Jesus had restored the religion of Moses).

The movement interprets the prophecised [[Second Coming]] of Jesus as being of a person "similar to Jesus" (''mathīl-i ʿIsā''), rather than that of Jesus of Nazareth himself. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad professed that the prophecy in traditional religious texts were greatly misunderstood to interpret that Jesus of Nazareth himself would return.

===Similarities of Jesus===

| Ghulam Ahmad gave no new laws and was a follower of the [[Quran]]

|Early Christian followers were pejoratively described by Jewish mainstream as Nazerini’s

|Followers of the Ahmadiyya movement are pejoratively described by Muslim mainstream as Qadiani’s

Henceforth, Ahmadis believe this prediction &ndash; the Second Coming &ndash; was fulfilled by Ahmad and continued by his movement.<ref>[http://www.alislam.org/library/books/promisedmessiah/index.htm?page=63 “A Prophet Like Unto Moses”], The Promised Mehdi and Messiha, by Dr. Aziz Ahmad Chaudhry, Islam International Publications Limited</ref><ref name="muslim.org">[http://www.muslim.org/bookspdf/fourques.pdf The Four Questions Answered], by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, AAIIL 1996</ref>

Ahmadi's believe that God will cause all world faiths to gradually fade away and gravitate towards the Ahmadiyya faith; that such a process will follow a correlative pattern of circumstances and take a similar amount of time as what it took for Christianity to rise to dominance (e.g. roughly 300 years – [[Seven sleepers]]).<ref>The third century from today would not have elapsed when all who wait for ‘Isaas [Jesus] to descend from heaven, whether Muslims or Christians, will give up this doctrine in hopeless despair and disgust. Then there will be only one religion and one leader. I have come to sow the seed and the seed has been sown by my hand. It will now grow and flourish and there is no one who can hinder it. [Tadhkiratush-Shahadatain, pp. 64–65, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 20, pp. 66–67; Review of Religions, vol. 2, no. 11, 12, November, December, 1903, p. 455, 456]</ref>

Ahmadi scholars use Hadith and the Quranic sources that indicate these strictly rigid ideologies are a fallacy of misplaced concreteness. The following hadith for instance illustrates the context of when Muhammad had declared himself to be the ‘Last of the Prophets’, with the same breath he had also declared his mosque as the ‘Last’ of the mosques.

" I am the last of the Prophet and my mosque is the last of the mosques of the Prophets. The most rightful of the mosque that may be visited and for which the vigours of the journey may be borne are the Masjid Haram and my mosque; and a Salah in my mosque is more excellent than a salah in any other mosque by one thousand times, except the Masjid Haram."

This hadith implicates the rhetoric of Muhammad being the "Last" in the absolute sense. If for instance the Prophet Muhammad declared his mosque as being ‘Last’ of the mosques by the same interpretation this would have invalidated all subsequent mosques that have ever been built after his advent.

The Ahmadiyya understanding of the term [[Khatam an-Nabiyyin|''Seal of Prophets'']] with reference to Muhammad, establishes that a prophet cannot come after Muhammad from outside the [[Ummah|Islamic dispensation]]. In other words, one whose prophethood which is independent of Muhammad cannot develop a new faith.

Contemporary Muslims interpret from the Hadith the notion of Jesus's actual physical return in person after the advent of Muhammad. According to the Quran, Jesus' revelation was addressed for the Israelites.<ref>{{Cite quran|3|49|s=ns}}</ref><ref>{{Cite quran|61|06|s=ns}}</ref><ref>{{Cite quran|43|59|s=ns}}</ref> Since Jesus had received his revelation independently of Muhammad, this would conversely violate the Seal of Prophethood of Muhammed altogether.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MdRth02Q6nAC&pg=PA134 | title=Islam and the Ahmadiyya Jama'at: History, Belief, Practice| access-date=22 September 2015| isbn=9781850659167| year=2008| last1=Valentine| first1=Simon Ross}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.alislam.org/books/truth/finality.html | title= Finality of Prophethood| access-date=22 September 2015}}

{{Quote|[3:144] And Muhammad is but a messenger; the messengers passed away before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels, he will by no means do harm to Allah in the least and Allah will reward the grateful."}}

The Ahmadiyya movement believe that no companion ever stated [[Jesus]] is alive in heaven. Nor that he would come physically in [[Second Coming]]. As such according to the Quranic verses, Jesus could only have died a natural death (and not have died on the Cross).

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad regarded the prophecies and concepts in Hadith and Bible concerning his advent in an entirely metaphorical light. As an example, in his publication, Izala-e-Auham Mirza Ghulam Ahmad stated:

<blockquote>

The second special aspect of the prophecy, which relates to the advent of the Promised Messiah, is that he will break the cross, slaughter the swine and kill the one-eyed Antichrist. Every disbeliever who is touched by his breath will die instantly. The spiritual interpretation of this special aspect is that the Promised Messiah will crush under his feet all the glory of the religion of the cross, that he will destroy with the weapon of conclusive arguments those who are afflicted with shamelessness like swine, and who devour filth like pigs, and that he will wipe out with the sword of clear proofs the opposition of those who possess only the eye of the world and are bereft of the eye of the faith in place of which they have only an unsightly taint. Not only such one-eyed ones, but also every disbeliever who views Islam with contempt will suffer spiritual extinction through the glorious breath of Messianic reasoning. In short all these signs are metaphoric, the significance of which has been fully revealed to me. Some may not appreciate it at this time but after waiting for sometime, and despairing altogether of the hopes that they now entertain, all of them will accept it.” (Izala-e-Auham, Volume 3, Pages 141-143)

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad elaborated on the depictions of [[Antichrist]] as prophecised in the Bible and the Hadith concerning the emergence of the Dajjal. These are interpreted in [[Ahmadiyya]] teachings, in metaphorical terms - to denote a group of nations centred upon falsehood. The reference to the Dajjal is personified as a unified system - a chain of deceptive ideas indicating it’s chains of unity as a class (instead of any single person).

Accordingly as per scriptural prophecies in the Hadith relating to the Messiah ending of wars, the movement regard this declaration has deprecated "Jihad of the sword" and consider the prophecies in the Hadith relating to ending of religious wars had been fulfilled by Ghulam Ahmad teachings.

He told the king he had come from a far off place where he has suffered at the hands of his people. When the king asked what religion he adhered to, he said that his religion was of peace, love and purity of heart. The king was impressed, so he paid homage to him.<ref name="alislam">{{cite book|title=The True Story of Jesus|publisher=Islam International Publications Ltd.|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1-85372-625-5|page=95|url=http://www.alislam.org/topics/jesus/}}</ref>

Ahmadis give the Yuz Asaf enshrined in the tomb the epithet ''Shahzada Nabi'', “Prophet Prince”. The majority [[Kashmiri Muslims|Srinagar Sunni Muslim]] community reject the Ahmadiyya claims that the tomb is that of Jesus and consider this viewpoint as [[Islam and blasphemy|blasphemous]].

Muslim and Persian documents — the Tafir-Ibn-I-Jarir, the Kanz-al-Ummal, and the Rauzat-us-Safa — have references that contribute to the theory of Jesus' escape. Some of these also mention that Jesus was accompanied by [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]], and there is another burial place in Pakistan, along his theoretical route to Kashmir, known as [[Mai Mari da Ashtan]], or "resting place of Mother Mary."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://travel.news.yahoo.com/b/rba_daily/rba_daily4337;_ylt=Aqwkw5JnBWPG5mKEouQ1tbuhO84F;_ylu=X3oDMTBhdTdkN3BoBHNlYwNibHRyaXA-|title=Mystery of the Martyr's Tomb: Part Two|access-date=11 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810005454/http://travel.news.yahoo.com/b/rba_daily/rba_daily4337;_ylt=Aqwkw5JnBWPG5mKEouQ1tbuhO84F;_ylu=X3oDMTBhdTdkN3BoBHNlYwNibHRyaXA-|archive-date=10 August 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/124-jesus-in-india-a-road-map-of-his-lost-years</ref>

In the following Quranic verse: "And we made the son of Mary and his mother a sign, and we gave them shelter on lofty meadows and spring." it indicates that after Jesus was saved, his mother had accompanied him in his subsequent migration.

* [http://deathofjesus.blogspot.com The Natural Death of Jesus]

* [http://reluctant-messenger.com/issa.htm The Life of Saint Issa (Nicolas Notovitch)]

* [http://www.alislam.org/topics/jesus/ Jesus a humble prophet of God]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081108125256/http://www.tombofjesus.com/2007/home.html The Tomb of Jesus Website]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090210150125/http://thoughtsnmemories.net/jesustomb.htm A buddhist perspective]

* [http://www.sol.com.au/kor/7_01.htm Holger Kersten's book “Jesus Lived in India”]

[[Category:Jesus in Islam]]

[[Category:Ahmadiyya beliefs and doctrines]]