Page 103 - The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) Did Not Die

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HARUN YAHYA

literal translation of "on the contrary." The features of its

meaning and use in Arabic linguistics indicate a very im-
portant fact: According to the rules of Arabic linguistics, the
sentence that comes after it must have a meaning that is
completely opposite to the preceding statement. That being
the case, it is likely that the verses referring to the Prophet
Jesus (pbuh) "… They did not kill him," (Surat
an–Nisa':157) "on the contrary [bal] Allah raised him up to
Himself…" (Surat an–Nisa':158) refer to the state of being
alive, rather than the state of being dead. (Allah knows the
truth.) Sheikh al-Islam Mustafa Sabri offered the following
interpretation:
If the term bal, which appears in Surat an–Nisa':158 and
which I have translated as "on the contrary," comes after a
sentence expressing a negativity, then, according to the
rules of Arabic linguistics, the sentence following it must
mean the exact opposite of the one preceding it. The op-
posite of death is life. This is a requirement of the rules of
linguistics. If we say that "the ascension here is a spiritual
one" and "Jesus (pbuh) died in the normal sense," then we
are violating that rule. In that case, the ascension follow-
ing the expression "on the contrary" would not represent
the opposite to the verbs of "killing" and "crucifying" in
the negative sentence preceding it. That is because it may
be possible for a person to be killed and for his or her soul
to rise to the skies. Otherwise, this term would be mean-
ingless, and there are no meaningless terms in the Qur'an
… According to those who support the thesis that the as-
cension is only one of the soul, the meaning of the verse is