Did Jesus(as) Die? Will Jesus(as) Return? – Refuting Rashad Khalifa and Qadianis

Did Jesus(as) Die? Will Jesus(as) Return? – Refuting Rashad Khalifa and Qadianis

By Ebrahim Saifuddin

The main verses under question regarding the ascension or death of Jesus(as) as alleged by some imposters are 5:117 and 3:55. Muslim as well as imposter translations are as below:

Rashad Khalifa

Thus, GOD said, “O Jesus, I am terminating your life, raising you to Me, and ridding you of the disbelievers. I will exalt those who follow you above those who disbelieve, till the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is the ultimate destiny of all of you, then I will judge among you regarding your disputes. – [3:55]

“I told them only what You commanded me to say, that: `You shall worship GOD, my Lord and your Lord.’ I was a witness among them for as long as I lived with them. When You terminated my life on earth, You became the Watcher over them. You witness all things. – [5:117]

Qadiani (Ahmadi)

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 above those who disbelieve, until the Day of Resurrection; then to Me shall be your return, and I will judge between you concerning that wherein you differ.’ – [3:55]

‘I said nothing to them except that which Thou didst command me – Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I remained among them, but since Thou didst cause me to die, Thou, hast been the Watcher over them, and Thou art Witness over all things. – [5:117]

Authentic Translation approved by Muslims (Yusuf Ali)

Behold! Allah said: “O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to Myself and clear thee (of the falsehoods) of those who blaspheme; I will make those who follow thee superior to those who reject faith, to the Day of Resurrection: Then shall ye all return unto me, and I will judge between you of the matters wherein ye dispute. – [3:55]

“Never said I to them aught except what Thou didst command me to say, to wit, ‘worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord’; and I was a witness over them whilst I dwelt amongst them; when Thou didst take me up Thou wast the Watcher over them, and Thou art a witness to all things. – [5:117]

The Word under Question

When we take a look at the verses we find that one Arabic word has been translated in 2 different ways. This word is “tawaffa”. Let’s study this word below before explaining the verses in question.

Word: tawaffa

Root Word: waffa

The word “waffa” means “To give someone his due in full, let someone have his full share, pay someone in full, to treat exhaustively, write or speak fully about, set forth or develop in detail, fulfillment, keeping, honoring, carrying out, living up to, redemption, making good, standing by, carrying out.” – [Al-Mawrid, Arabic-English, Page 1240.]

The word “tawaffa” means the act of “taking the self back” (either in sleep or in death as seen in the Quran). And as seen in Al Mawrid Arabic-English, pg 391: To take (receive, get, obtain) one’s due or one’s share in full.

This word has been used to mean both death and sleep in the Quran.

Other Translators Face Problems with this Word

We will now take three more translators and analyze their translation of the verses concerned.

E.H. Palmer

When God said, ‘O Jesus! I will make Thee die and take Thee up again to me and will clear thee of those who misbelieve, and will make those who follow thee above those who misbelieve, at the day of judgment, then to me is your return. I will decide between you concerning that wherein ye disagree. – [3:55]

I never told them save what Thou didst bid me,- “Worship God, my Lord and your Lord,” and I was a witness against them so long as I was amongst them; but when Thou didst take me away to thyself Thou wert the watcher over them, for Thou art witness over all. – [5:117]

Rodwell

Remember when God said, “O Jesus! Verily I will cause thee to die, and will take thee up to myself and deliver thee from those who believe not; and I will place those who follow thee above those who believe not, until the day of resurrection. Then, to me is your return, and wherein ye differ will I decide between you. – [3:55]

“I spake not to them aught but that which thou didst bid me–’Worship God, my Lord and your Lord;’ and I was a witness of their actions while I stayed among them; but since thou hast taken me to Thyself, Thou hast Thyself watched them, and Thou art witness of all things. – [5:117]

Shakir

And when Allah said: O Isa, I am going to terminate the period of your stay (on earth) and cause you to ascend unto Me and purify you of those who disbelieve and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve to the day of resurrection; then to Me shall be your return, so l will decide between you concerning that in which you differed. – [3:55]

I did not say to them aught save what Thou didst enjoin me with: That serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord, and I was a witness of them so long as I was among them, but when Thou didst cause me to die, Thou wert the watcher over them, and Thou art witness of all things. – [5:117]

Some people who wish to portray that Jesus died use these translations to prove their point. They will quote 3:55 by these translators and then claim that everyone translates the word as “die” except for most Muslim translators. From the translations it is apparent that while the translators have translated the word “tawaffa” as “die” in 3:55, they have translated the same word as “to take away” in 5:117. This clearly shows the lack of understanding these translators have for the word “tawaffa”. Hence to say that these translators are cent percent accurate would be a lie.

E.H Palmer translates it as “cause to die” for verse 3:55 and translates it completely differently for verse 5:117 as seen above. Shakir translates it as “cause to die” for verse 5:117 and translates it completely differently for verse 3:55. Also keep in mind that “terminate the period of your stay (on earth)” does not necessarily mean death and could mean ascension from earth. This same trait is seen in Rodwell’s translation. His lack of knowledge is seen in his translations of 3:55 where he translates it as “cause to die” and then in 5:117 he translates it as “thou hast taken me to Thyself.”

Verses where Tawaffa is not used for Death

It is He Who takes you back to Himself (yatawaffakum) at night, while knowing the things you perpetrate by day, and then wakes you up again, so that a specified term may be fulfilled. Then you will return to Him. Then He will inform you about what you did. – [6:60]

and

Allah takes back people’s selves (tawaffa) when their death arrives and those who have not yet died, while they are asleep. He keeps hold of those whose death has been decreed and sends the others back for a specified term. There are certainly Signs in that for people who reflect. – [39:42]

These verses are clear that Allah takes back the self of the one who is in sleep and returns it to those who are not yet to die. For those who die, their self is returned. So it can be said that the phrase “take your souls by night” (6:60) means to cause you to sleep just as the phrase “yab athukum” (to revive or quicken you or, as translated, to be raised) is used to refer to us waking up from sleep.

Explanation of Tawaffa

Tawaffa originally means to “take”.

Example: “tawaffaytu min fulanin ma liya `alayhi” this is when one would say: “I have taken back my debt from so and so”

In the Quran it is seen as to take in death or in sleep. This proves that tawaffa does not mean death only. Tawaffa from 6:60 can also be said to mean “to cause one to sleep”.

I have tried to explain this in the simplest terms possible and it is seen that to take (tawaffa) can mean death or to cause to sleep etc. This I have done by omitting all the interpretations of various scholars and sticking strictly to the word itself and its meaning and how it is used in the Quran in different places because Submitters (followers of Rashad Khalifa) and Qadianis or Ahmadis (followers of Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani) wish to ignore the hadith, the former ignores every one of it while the latter ignores those that prove their cult to be false.

One might question, ‘why should tawaffa mean to sleep in the case of Jesus?’ In other words ‘why should there be sleep before ascension?’ To try to explain it in modern scientific terms, it is known that the higher a man goes, the harder it gets to breathe. Therefore if Jesus(as) was taken up while awake, that would have been difficult for him. However while in a state of deep sleep, the ascension would be much easier for him.

When Talking about other Prophets what does the Quran use?

The Quran speaks about the death of other prophets as well but it generally uses the terms “mawta” or “qataluhu” or their derivatives. Below are some examples:

“He Who will cause me to die (yumeetunee), then give me life.” – [26: 81]

“…when he (Joseph) died (halaka), you said: “God will never send another Messenger after him.” – [40:34]

“We did not give any human being before you immortality (khuld). And if you die (mitta), will they then be immortal?” – [21:34]

“Or were you present when death (mawt)came to Jacob?” – [2:133]

Then when We decreed that he (Solomon) should die (mawt), nothing divulged his death (mawtihi) to them except the worm that ate his staff. – [34:14]

“So naught was the answer of (Abraham’s) people except that they said: ‘Kill (uqtuloohu) him or burn him.’ But Allah did save him from the Fire. Verily in this are Signs for people who believe.” – [29:24]

But Jesus(as) said Salah and Zakat is Compulsory for him as long as He Lives

“And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live.” – [19:31]

There is no evidence that in the Heavens, no one would worship Allah(swt). The rules of worship could or could not change. That depends on what Allah(swt) has planned for us there. Hence yes Jesus(as) would be worshipping Allah(swt).

The only thing that anyone else can think to pounce at is Zakat. For this one will have to know the rules of Zakat. Zakat has some rules to it. I will explain them in context to this verse.

When Jesus(as) spoke these words he was a baby in the cradle. Does this mean that he was giving out Zakat while he was a baby? He was alive as a baby as well but the condition for Zakat did not apply to him while he was a baby so naturally he was not giving any. When he grew up then the condition applied to him.

Now who does one give Zakat to? Surely you don’t give it to a king. You have to give it to poor people. Zakat can only be given to the people who qualify as being the ones who can receive Zakat. Other than them you cannot give Zakat to anyone else.

E.g. When Jesus(as) will return, there will come a time when wealth will be so abundant that there would not be a single person whom one can give Zakat to. At such a point when you cannot give Zakat then naturally you do not give it. This does not mean that you are defying the laws of God, because the moment you see someone who is poor and needy, you have to give Zakat.

Similarly because there are no “poor people” in Heaven so Zakat is not applicable on Jesus(as). Surely once he returns then it will be applicable automatically provided there are people who qualify as being the ones to receive Zakat. Hence Zakat though applicable, is suspended till conditions prevail in which Zakat is applicable.

Consulting Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Below is the excerpt from the tafseer of
3:55 by Ibn Kathir:

Allah said,

(I will take you and raise you to Myself) while you are asleep. Allah said in a similar Ayat,

(It is He Who takes your souls by night (when you are asleep).) (6:60), and,

(It is Allah Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and those that die not during their sleep.) (39:42).

Evidence for the Return of Jesus(as)

And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow ye Me: this is a Straight Way. – [43:61]

Narated By Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, son of Mary (Jesus) will shortly descend amongst you people (Muslims) as a just ruler and will break the Cross and kill the pig and abolish the Jizya (a tax taken from the non-Muslims, who are in the protection, of the Muslim government). Then there will be abundance of money and no-body will accept charitable gifts. – [Bukhari Vol.3, Book 34, #425] & [Muslim Book 1, #287; #289]

Narated By Abu Huraira:Allah’s Apostle said, “The Hour will not be established until the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you as a just ruler, he will break the cross, kill the pigs, and abolish the Jizya tax. Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it (as charitable gifts). – [Bukhari Vol.3, Book 43, #656]

Narated By Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said “How will you be when the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you and he will judge people by the Law of the Quran and not by the law of Gospel – [Bukhari Vol.4, Book 55, #658] & [Muslim Book 1, #290; #291]

Jabir b. ‘Abdullah reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say: A section of my people will not cease fighting for the Truth and will prevail till the Day of Resurrection. He said: Jesus son of Mary would then descend and their (Muslims’) commander would invite him to come and lead them in prayer, but he would say: No, some amongst you are commanders over some (amongst you). This is the honor from Allah for this Ummah. – [Muslim Book 1, #293]

Conclusion

Many people have tried to suggest that Jesus(as) died either after being brought down from the cross or before being arrested. These claims are made on the basis of lack of understanding the Arabic language and lack of knowledge of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad(saw). For those who reject the sayings of Prophet Muhammad(saw), e.g. Rashad Khalifa, this article proves that tawaffa does not only mean death and thus Jesus(as) did not die. For others I have provided many references from Sahih Hadith that Jesus(as) will descend among us. All the ahadith quoted are Sahih and have been declared as such by all Muslim scholars.

The Islamic belief has unlimited evidence to support it. Muslims believe that Jesus(as) was not crucified nor killed. He was taken up alive by Allah(swt) probably in the state of sleep, and will one day, towards the end of time, descend among us. Let me close this article with yet another verse from the Quran:

That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus 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 4:157-8]