Page 117 - The Glad Tidings of the Messiah

xamining the words used in the narratives re-
lating how the Prophets died and the verses
dealing with the Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) ascent to
Allah's Presence reveals an important fact: The
Prophet Jesus (pbuh) did not die like the other
prophets did, nor was he murdered by the unbelievers.
Rather, our Lord took him up to His Presence. In this chapter,
we will examine the Arabic words used to express how the
Prophets died and how Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was raised up to
Allah's Presence, and investigate how the Qur'an uses them.
As we will see in greater detail later on, the Qur'an uses
qataloohu (to kill), maata (to die), halaka (to perish), salaboohu
(they crucified him), or some other special expressions to de-
scribe the death or murder of the Prophets. In the case of the
Prophet Jesus (pbuh), Allah clearly states that he was not
killed in any of those ways, for: "They did not kill him (wa
ma qataloohu) and did not crucify him (wa ma salaboohu)."
Allah reveals that people were shown a look-alike and that
the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was raised up to His Presence, as fol-
lows:
When Allah said: "Jesus, I will take you back (mu-
tawaffeeka) and raise you up (wa raafi'uka) to Me and
purify you of those who are unbelievers. And I will
place the people who follow you above those who are