Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam

Overview

The view of Jesus having journeyed to India before crucifixion had also been researched in the literature of independent authors predating the foundation of the Ahmadiyya movement, most notably by Nicolas Notovitch,.

Ghulam Ahmad in his treatise Jesus in India (Urdu: Masih Hindustan Mein) proposed a post-crucifixion journey arguing that Jesus survived crucifixion and travelled to India only after his apparent death in Jerusalem. He expressly rejected the theory of a pre-crucifixion visit (as Notovitch had postulated).

The teaching was further developed by Ahmadi missionaries. Kamal ud-Din and Khwaja Nazir Ahmad (1952) added Notovitch's theory of a first earlier visit.

History

The first response in English to Ahmad's teaching came in a book by an Urdu-speaking American pastor in Lahore; The Ahmadiyya Movement (1918) by Howard Walter. Walter, like later scholars, identified the Islamic version of the Barlaam and Josaphat story as the primary source 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 – (three sections ) – respectively.

According to Ahmadiyya teaching the Roza Bal tomb in Srinagar, which contains the grave of a holy man known as Yuz Asaf is actually the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. The claims remain compelling yet highly controversial ones.

While the material of Notovitch and Ahmad has been examined and dismissed by historians such as the Indologist Günter Grönbold (1985) and Norbert Klatt (1988)., it has been supported by others such as the archaeologist, Fida Hassnain and Holger Kersten. Anthropological research tends to corroborate the connection between the lost tribes and the peoples of south/central Asia specifically the Pashtuns of Afghanistan, albeit lacking in conclusive genetic evidence.

Publications

The Ahmadis have published extensively on the topic of Jesus' natural death and have expanded on Ghulam Ahmad's work in light of more fresh research.

In 1978, Mirza Nasir Ahmad the third Khalifa, 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 read their papers discussing the circumstances surrounding the Crucifixion of Jesus, after which the Ahmadiyya viewpoint regarding the death of Jesus was presented. On this occasion Nasir Ahmad also delivered a lecture on this issue dealing with the subject of Jesus’ survival from death upon the cross, his travel to the east, the Unity of God and the status of Muhammad.

In more recent times, the view has been publicized in a BBC documentary by Richard Denton and an independent documentary by Paul David; Jesus in India The Movie.

Denton (2010) represented the Roza Bal tomb as being supported by ancient manuscripts and Kashmiri tradition, but did not interview academics who have written critically on the use of claimed ancient texts, and who generally consider the texts relate to the Barlaam and Josaphat traditions about Buddha in Kashmir, and not to Jesus.

Biblical accounts

Ahmadis also illustrate the notion of Jesus having survived the Cross through Biblical analysis.

1. Jesus had prophesied that his fate would be like that of Jonah (the story of Jonah is one of survival).^{[Matt 12:40]}
2. Jesus was placed on the cross for only a few hours. Death by crucifixion usually takes several days. While he was on the cross his legs were left intact, and not broken as was the normal procedure. This would have prevented death by respiratory distress. As blood and water were reported to have 'gushed' from the spear wound, this was sign of a beating heart.
3. Jesus prayed to be rescued from death on the cross. ^{[Matt 21:22]}
4. Pilate, having sympathy for Jesus, secretly devised to save him by setting his Crucifixion shortly before Sabbath day.
5. The Gospel of John records that Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes ^{[John 19:39]}. These healing plants, particularly aloe plants, are considered medicinal and applied to wounds. It would make little sense applying them to a dead body.
6. After he had awoken from his swoon ("resurrection"), Jesus bared his wounds to Thomas ^{[John 20:25-27]}, showing he did not have a supernatural, resurrected body, but a wounded human body. He was also seen in the flesh by a large number of his followers, baring the same wounds that he had suffered from his ordeal on the Cross. ^{[Luke 24:38-39]}
7. After his wounds had sufficiently healed Jesus left the tomb and met some of his disciples and had his food with them and walked from Jerusalem to Galilee. ^{[Luke 24:50]}
8. Jesus had prophesied that he would go to seek out the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel ^{[John 10:16]}. The Jews of Jesus's time believed that the Lost Tribes of Israel had become dispersed in different lands. ^{[John 7:34-35]}
9. Being a divine prophet, Jesus could not have died on a cross because according to the Bible “He that is hanged is accursed of God.” ^{[Deut 21:23]}
10. When Joseph requested Jesus' body from the cross ^{[Mark 15:43]}, Pilate asked a centurion if Jesus was already dead ^{[Mark 15:44]}. The centurion confirmed that Jesus was already dead ^{[Mark 15:45]}. This centurion was a believer that Jesus was the son of God ^{[Mark 15:39]}.
11. There are no accounts in the gospel of Jesus ascending into the heavens, aside from accounts that were absent from the earliest written gospels.

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 ^{[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"). See also The Natural Death of Jesus

Quranic accounts

Ahmadiyya state that there are about 30 verses of the Qur'an 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 that God had “raised” Jesus unto Himself (not into heaven).

[4:157] 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 made to appear to them like one crucified; and those who differ therein are certainly in a state of doubt about it; they have no definite knowledge thereof, but only follow a conjecture; and they did not convert this conjecture into a certainty;

[4:158] On the contrary, Allah raised him to Himself. And Allah is Mighty, Wise.

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.

Thus Ahmadis interpret the Arabic word for 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 dying the accursed death which his adversaries had wished for.

To further support the view of Jesus having died a mortal death, Ahmadis interpret the verse in the Quran 5:75:

[5:76] The Messiah, son of Mary, was only a Messenger; surely Messengers the like unto him had passed away before him. And his mother was a truthful woman. They both used to eat food. See how We explain the Signs for their good, and see how they are turned away.

In this verse Jesus is compared to the previous Messengers, all of which had died a natural death and none of whom had ascended bodily to Heaven.

From the following verse in Al-Imran, the Quran clarifies that all messengers before the Prophet Muhammad had passed away:

[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?...

This verse pertains that all previous prophets including Jesus had passed away.

Hadith accounts

Ahmadi scholars have provided references citing hadith regarding the death of Jesus.

If Jesus and Moses had been alive, they would have had no choice but to follow me.[Kathir vol II, p 245 and al yawaqit wal Jawahir, part 2, page 24]

[Kanz al Ummal, part 6, p.120

As Muhammad has lived and died after some 60 years, it means that Jesus is also dead. As Muhammad is dead, this states that there likewise was a death of Jesus. During the Mi'raj, Muhammad had seen Jesus in the second heaven along with John the Baptist. Thus, it means Jesus is dead because the dead do not dwell amongst the living.

Second Coming of Jesus

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.

Similarities to Jesus

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.

Ahmadis consider that the founder of the movement, in both his teachings and character as well as his situation and struggles, was representative of Jesus. In consequence, he attained the same spiritual status of Prophethood as Jesus.

Henceforth, Ahmadis believe this prediction – the Second Coming – was fulfilled by Ahmad and continued by his movement.

Universal Prophethood

The Ahmadiyya movement assert the expected arrival of a Latter Day Messiah is historically represented across all major faiths. The prophecy regarding a latter day messiah had diverged into separate theories and distinct interpretations and this filtered through to different religious movements. This prophecy nonetheless was originally only intended to refer to a single Messiah. As such, Ahmadis declared that the Messiah concerning all major world faiths has been unified by the advent of a single Promised Messiah (Ghulam Ahmad).

Ahmadi's believe that all world faiths will gradually move towards Ahmadiyyat; and that such a process will follow a correlative pattern of circumstances and take a similar amount of time to what it took for Christianity to rise to dominance (roughly 300 years).

Contention with Mainstream Islamic beliefs

The Encyclopedia of Islam states that the post-crucifixion journey of Jesus towards the East and his natural death as an aspect of Ahmadi belief is one of three primary tenets that distinguish Ahmadi teachings from general Islamic ones, and that it has provoked a fatwa against the movement.

The claim that Mirza Ghulam was a prophet forms a point of contention with mainstream Islam, as it views this as a contradiction to the Quranic and Hadith teachings of Muhammad. Contempory Islamic scholars view the Ahmadiyya belief as a contradiction with a verse in the Quran, Chapter 33 (The Combined Forces), verse 40:

"Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and Seal of the prophets. And ever is Allah , of all things, Knowing."

Further, in the farewell sermon of the Prophet Muhammad, delivered just prior to his death, he warned his followers and all of mankind with the following message:

""O People! No Prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore O People! and understand words that I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qur'an and the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray."

Ahmadis believe however, in accordance with the Hadith traditions, that the "Last" of the Prophets is meant to signify the "Very Best" and "Most Exalted Law Giver Prophet" among all the Prophets and that The farewell sermon had only signified that no prophet would come immediately after the Prophet Muhammad had passed away.

The movement believe the interpretation of "finality" that is upheld by the mainstream Islamist view, paradoxes the Hadith concerning the second advent of Jesus altogether. For instance if Jesus is expected to return physically, as contemporary Islamic scholars uphold, it would be completely implausible considering that at the same time it is impossible for any Prophet to come after the Prophet Muhammed.

The Hadith indicated when the Prophet Muhammad had declared himself as the Last of the Prophets, with the same breath he had also declared his mosque as the Last of the mosque.

Ayesha narrated that the Prophet (Allah's prayer and salvation be upon him) said : " 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."

(Reported by al-Bazzar and authenticated by Sheikh Albani in Sahih Targhib No. 1175)

This Hadith implicates the view of Muhammad as being the "Last" in the absolute sense. If the Prophet Muhammad declared his mosque being Last of the mosques then by the same interpretation this would have effectively invalidated all other mosques.

The Ahmadiyya understanding of the term Seal of Prophets with reference to Muhammad, establishes that a prophet cannot come after Muhammad from outside the Islamic dispensation. Nor can one whose prophethood is independent of Muhammad. Jesus' ministry, according to the Quran, was limited to the Israelites and since he received his prophecy independently of Muhammad, his physical return after the advent of Muhammad, (as contemporary muslims expect) violates the Seal of Prophethood.

Consensus of Companions of Muhammad on Jesus' death

Ahmadi scholars profess that when Prophet Muhammad died, the Sahaba were grieved. Umar, angered and upset, took out a sword, and said that he would kill anyone who said Muhammad is dead. At this instance Abu Bakar quoted:

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." (3.144)

The Ahmadiyya sect believes that because no companion said Jesus is alive in heaven and he would come physically in Second Coming, the implication invariably is that Jesus died a natural death (and not on the Cross).

Fulfilment of Messianic prophecies

Mirza Ghulam Ahmed regarded the prophecies and concepts in Hadith and bible concerning his advent in an entirely metaphorical light. For example he wrote:

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)

Breaking of the Cross

The Islamic Hadith describe that Jesus would, upon his second coming, "Break the Cross". Ahmadis interpret this to mean that he will "make plain the error of the creed of the cross". Ghulam Ahmad's teachings of Jesus, being a mortal man who survived crucifixion and died a natural death upon earth, is considered as a testimony of the prophecy being fulfilled. Ahmadi's believe the followers of Christianity will gradually come to accept the same teaching and this will repeal the central doctrines of the divinity of Jesus, Atonement and Resurrection. In turn, the traditional Christian reverence for the cross and doctrine of the immortality of Jesus will become untenable.

Ending of wars

In 1894, Ghulam Ahmed had declared that contemporary Islamists views of Jihad of the sword and Holy War was an immoral innovation that was invented in the dark ages of Islam and was to be ended in its entirety. The Ahmadiyya Movement contend that he had abrogated and condemned the ideologies of violent Jihad. As a result, early Ahmadis faced bitter opposition from extremist groups, some of whom had raised objections that he was put in place by the British Government to appease Muslims. Ahmadis believe that in the modern era "Jihad of the sword" is now reformed as "Jihad of the pen" (intellectual reasoning) and that this the potent way of espousing and spreading the Islamic teaching. As such the movement consider this fulfillment had been fulfilled by his teaching.

Journey from Palestine to India

According to Ghulam Ahmed, (and further developed by the next generation of Ahmadi writers such as Khwaja Nazir Ahmad in 1952), Jesus taught the message of Jewish messianism to his disciples and to the people living in Palestine. After surviving his ordeal on the cross, Jesus remained in Palestine for a short time before leaving from there. Jesus was declared a criminal and therefore, decided to leave Palestine with his mother Mary, his wife Mary Magdalene and his apostle Thomas the Apostle. Thereafter, Jesus traveled toward Asia.

From Palestine to Iraq

With these three companions, he went first to Iraq. Here he met his disciple, Ananias. He met his rival Paul who later became a Christian. In Nusaybin, he got another tension at the hands of a cruel king. He was arrested again. Prophet Jesus along with his mother performed some miracles and impressed the king. The king gave him permission to go to Parthia kingdom. There was a strong Jewish community living there.

Iraq to Iran and Afghanistan

From Iraq, he went to Iran where he was honourably received by the Persian Jews. Five centuries before Cyrus the Great had conquered Babylon and the Jews were freed. Many of the Jews went to live in Iran and were known as Persian Jews. Jesus preached here and went on to Bactria (Afghanistan). At that time, Persia was a great center of Judaism. He professed the advent of the coming of a great prophet named Muhammad to his fellowmen in these areas specially in the area of Afghanistan. He met with the first king of Parthia who honored him. The Pashtun people have a tradition in their royal and non-royal functions and consider themselves to be the sons of Children of Israel. Many of these Persian Jews who had been receiving the teachings from Jesus proselytized to Muslims at the time of Muhammad and accepted his call. Qais Abdur Rashid, his name is this and the original was Kish.

Reasons for coming to India

According to Ahmadiyya sources (Islam International Publications Ltd.) the Tribes of Israel who had migrated to eastern countries seeing the attraction in Hinduism and Buddhism had themselves become Hindus and Buddhists. They subsequently became unaware of their religion. Jesus and Thomas the Apostle had later arrived in India to restore the abrahamic teachings to these tribes.

Jesus Meets King Shalewhin

According to a late section of the Hindu Bhavishya Purana (written after 1739). Jesus Christ met a Hindu monarch, King Shalivahan.

The king along with his companions went to the peak of Himalayas to meet a man who was a dignified person of fair complexion in white clothes sitting in the mountain. When the king asked who he was, the man replied "I am the Messiah, born of a virgin."

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.

Tomb of Jesus

During his initial research into Jesus' death, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad postulated that Jesus may have been buried in either Galilee or Syria. After investigating further he eventuality uncovered evidence to conclude that the tomb of Jesus was located at the Roza Bal shrine in Srinagar, Kashmir. Based upon this evidence, Ahmadis today believe the tomb of Jesus is located in the Srinagar region of Kashmir.

Ghulam Ahmad, and later Ahmadi writers cite various evidences for identifying the grave as that of Jesus: The Bhavishya Maha Purana Official Decree, The Glass Mirror, Tarikh-i-Kashmir, Qisa-shazada, The Garden of Solomon (Bagh-i-Sulaiman) of Mir Saadullah Shahabadi Kashmiri (1780 A.D.), Wajeesut Tawarikh, Ikmal-ud-Din (962 AD), The Ain-ul-Hayat, The Acta Thomae, Takhat Sulaiman (Throne of Solomon, a hill in Kashmir), Tahrik-i-kabir-Kashmir, Rauzat-us-Safa. Ahmadis believe that these sources testify to the view that Yuz Asaf and Jesus are the same person.

Haji Mohi-ud-din Miskin, writing in 1902, three years after Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1899, is the first historian to mention that "some" connect the shrine of Yuzasaf as the grave of Hazrat Isa Rooh-Allah (Jesus the Spirit of God).

The importance of the shrine has been preserved in the memory of the descendants of the ancient Israelites to this day. They call the shrine "The tomb of Hazrat Issa Sahib", "The Tomb of Lord Jesus".

The building constructed is named "Roza Bal" or "Rauza Bal". " Rauza " is generally a term used to denote the tomb of a celebrated personality, i.e. noble, wealthy, or saintly. A local scholar and supporter of the theory, Fida Hassnain, has claimed that the tomb is arranged with the feet pointing in the direction of Jerusalem, and claimed that this is in accordance with Jewish tradition.

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

Tomb of Mary

The Ahmadis also believe that Mary had accompanied her son on the journey to Kashmir.

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, 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."