Question 9: When reading about the matter of crucifixion and sacrifice in the statements of the religious clerics, one finds obvious contradictions, so is it possible to provide a conclusive statement from the texts in which they believe?
And what is the interpretation of this narration: ﴾it was said to Imam Abu Abdullah Jafar al-Sadiq℗, “For what reason was he named the Riser?” He℗ answered, “Verily, he rises after his death, he rises with a great matter, he rises with the matter of Almighty God.”﴿?
Answer: Sheikh al-Tousi in his book Al-Ghayba (The occultation) said,
{And as for what was narrated of the narrations which include that the “man of Time” [Imam al-Mahdi, peace be upon him] dies and then lives, or is killed and then lives, such as: Al-Fathil bin shathan said that musa bin sadan, that Abdullah bin Qasm al-hathrami that Abi saeed al-Khurasani said, ﴾“i said to Imam Abu Abdullah℗, ‘For what reason was he named the Riser?’ He℗ an- swered, ‘Verily, he rises after his death, he rises with a great matter, he rises with the matter of Almighty God.’”﴿
And Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Jafar al-humairi narrated from his father, from Yaqoub bin Yazid, from Ali bin al-hakam, from hammad bin uthman, from Abu basir, he said, ﴾“I heard Abu Jafar℗ say, ‘The parable of our matter in the holy Quran is the likes of the owner of the donkey, God caused him to die for a hundred years then resurrected him.’”﴿
And from him, from his father, from Jafar bin Muhammad al-Kufi, from Isaac bin Muhammad, from al-Qasim bin al-rabee, from Ali bin Khattab, from the muezzin of al-Ahmar mosque, he said, ﴾“i asked Abu Abdullah Imam Jafar al-sadiq℗, ‘is there in the holy Quran a parable about the riser℗?’ so he said, ‘Yes, the verse pertaining to the owner of the donkey. God caused him to die for a hundred years, then resurrected him.’”﴿
And al-Fathil bin shathan narrated from ibn Abi najran, from mu- hammad al-Fathil bin al-Fatheel, from hammad bin Abdul Kareem, he said, ﴾“Abu Abdullah℗ said, ‘Verily, when the riser rises, the people will say, “how can this happen, while his bones deteriorated a long time ago.”’”﴿}
Then sheikh al-Tousi, may the mercy of God be upon him, commented on it by saying, “in the interpretation of these narrations and those that resemble them, we say that they mean by it the death of his remembrance, and most of the people believe that his bones have deteriorated, then God will make him appear as he made the owner of the donkey appear after his true death. And this interpretation is likely concerning these narrations, as these narrations which have one chain of narrators do not refute what reasoning has already proven and what the correct understanding has led to and what is supported by the frequent narrations that we mentioned before. What should be done is to stop at the meaning of these and hold on to what is already known. And we interpreted them, after knowing they were correct, by the same method of interpreting their counterparts. And these narrations are opposed by what negates them.”[Al-Ghayba (The occultation) by al-Tousi page 423.]
And sheikh al-Tousi understood from what was apparent from these narrations, and their counterparts narrated in his time, that there is a person who enters this world and leaves it when killed and then returns to it by God giving him life in this world once again, making him the riser from the progeny of Muhammad (the Mahdi, the savior, the redeemer).
In the introduction to the narrations, sheikh al-Tousi, may the mercy of God be upon him, said, “And as for what was narrated from the narrations which include that Imam al-Mahdi dies and then lives or is killed and then lives.”
And since sheikh al-Tousi understood that the riser described by these narrations is Imam al-Mahdi, Muhammad bin Alhasan℗, and since he has no understanding which can reconcile this apparent meaning with the rest of the narrations, he resorted to interpreting them at one time, and at another time he resorted to the fact that they have one chain of narrators thus do not result in certitude, and eventually he resorted to refraining from their interpretation.
And in all cases, may God reward him with good, although his interpretation was not supported and cannot be accepted by the above narrations concerning this issue, as how can the riser’s rising from death be his mere appearance after the death of remembering him? Although the parable mentioned for him is the owner of the donkey whose death and revival were clearly mentioned by God in the Quran:
﴾Or as the one who passed by a village which had fallen into ruin. he said, “how will God bring this to life after its death?” so God caused him to die for a hundred years; then he revived him. he said, “how long have you remained?” The man said, “i have remained a day or part of a day.” he said, “rather, you have remained one hundred years. look at your food and your drink; it has not changed with time. And look at your donkey; and We will make you a sign for the people. And look at the bones, how We raise them and then We cover them with flesh.” And when it became clear to him, he said, “i know that God is over all things competent.”﴿ Quran chapter “The cow” 2:259.
Moreover, who are those who believe that Imam al-Mahdi, Muhammad bin Alhasan, is dead in the “Age of Appearance” as sh. al-Tousi stated, “And most of the people believe that his bones have deteriorated”?!! For the shia believe that he is alive and the sunnis do not believe that he is present in the first place so how can they believe in his death?!!!
The correct understanding of the previously mentioned narrations, which does not contradict what is narrated from them℗ is that the Mahdi, the riser who appears, says to the people that he himself is the look-alike who was crucified, so some people do not accept this matter. And consequently they will say to him that the look-alike was crucified and died upon the cross and his matter ended a long time ago. “Verily, when the riser rises, the people will say, ‘how can this happen, while his bones deteriorated a long time ago.’”
Note the timing in their speech, “when he rises”, and not before this; meaning that he, when he rises, says something to them so they respond to him, “how can this happen, while his bones deteriorated a long time ago.”
We now say, why resort to interpreting or rejecting the narrations, while it is possible to reconcile their apparent [meaning] with what has been narrated from them℗?! Especially if we find that there are other narrations and passages which state and support this understanding of the apparent as will follow.
The truth is that there is no no valid reason to separate these narrations from their apparent and from what they indicate, which is that there is an attribute of the riser, that he descended to this world and was killed before he was born, and he enters it again and he becomes the riser (the Mahdi, or the savior, or the redeemer).
And this matter and its clarification is similar to a secret code or a password, for it is a proof of the claim of the riser himself, as the texts exist like the existence of the numbers and letters, and are within the reach of everyone. however, who can extract from them the correct password other than its owner?! No one except he will grasp the code, because their words will not exceed possibilities and fallacies that are full of contradictions — nothing more and nothing less. As for the riser, he comes with this code or password and by it he reveals the secret in order for it to be known to one who wants knowledge in simplicity, clarity, and lucidity.
And i have clarified the matter of the crucified one and the look- alike in The Allegories Volume 4, [1] however, there is no problem that i clarify it here in another form.
Firstly: In the Quran:
The Almighty said: ﴾And their saying, “indeed, we have killed the Christ, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of God.” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who disagree upon it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.﴿ Quran chapter “The Women” 4:157.
Therefore, according to the Quran, verily Jesus℗ was not killed nor was he crucified; rather, there was someone who was made to resemble him and was crucified in his place. And also, the above verse responds with a clear answer to an important question: is there anyone who has knowledge concerning the secret of the case of the crucifixion and what happened therein?
As the answer to this question makes the fallacies of the people — and especially those who claim Islam — worthless, for the answer is from the Quran: ﴾And indeed, those who disagree upon it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption.﴿ Therefore, it is a case the knowledge of which is restricted to Almighty God and those who are in contact with God, and they are his proofs upon his creation considering that he teaches them the hidden truths and the unseen, if he the Almighty wills, like he clarified in the Quran. The Almighty said, ﴾26 [he is] the Knower of the unseen and he reveals his unseen unto none, 27except unto every messenger whom he has chosen and then he makes a guard to go before him and a guard behind him. 28That he may know that they have conveyed the messages of their lord; and he has encompassed whatever is with them and has enumerated all things in number.﴿ Quran chapter “The Jinn” 72:26-28.
And the verse is clear that the unseen, which God knows, he makes some of it known to his messengers. And all the vicegerents of God on his earth are messengers of Almighty God to his creation, whether the prophets and messengers before Muhammad℗, or Muhammad℗ and the Imams after him℗. Thus all of them are included in that God informs them with whatever he wishes from the unseen.
And the Almighty said, ﴾he knows what is between their hands and what is behind them, and they encompass not a thing of his knowledge except for what he wishes﴿ Quran chapter “The cow” 2:255, and “what is between their hands” does not mean what they grasp with their hands, nor does “what is behind them” mean what is placed behind their backs; otherwise, the knowledge of the Almighty would not be special. Rather, what is intended is between their hands, meaning the future, and what is behind them, meaning the past events. so what is meant by the saying of the Almighty, ﴾he knows what is between their hands and what is behind them﴿, is that he has knowledge of the unseen, of future and past events, which the people do not know. And with the completion of the verse, the meaning of his saying is clarified, ﴾and they encompass not a thing of his knowledge﴿, meaning from knowledge of the unseen which is between their hands and behind them; then the Almighty clarified that he teaches some of the knowledge of the unseen to whom he wills from his creation, by what he wills, ﴾except for what he wishes﴿.
The conclusion of the foregoing: The Quran determines that the one who was killed and crucified was not Jesus, ﴾And [for] their saying, “indeed, we have killed the Christ, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of God.” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them.﴿.
Determining the person who was crucified, what surrounds his resemblance to Jesus and how the event occurred is unknown to the Jews, the Christians, the muslims and others. [2] And those who engage in it will scramble in ignorance, no more and no less, ﴾And indeed, those who disagree upon it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption.﴿.
God knows the unseen and the future and past events, and shows some of them to his vicegerents on his earth.
Therefore, the event of the crucifixion and what surrounds it is a secret — not only to the muslims, but also to the Christians, and speech regarding this will come later on — and reaching the truth of it is not easy except for the one who is informed of it by God, and this matter is particular to the proofs of God. Therefore, the smooth and easy progression to this secret proves the authority of the one who progressed to it; because he has brought the password which is brought by no one unless he is in contact with Almighty God.
Secondly: In the Gospels:
1. Jesus requests that he not be crucified and that he not be the crucified one.
[39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me … ”] Matthew 26:39.
[35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. remove this cup from me … ”] Mark 14:35.
[41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me … ”] |Luke 22:41.
So how does God reject the prayer of Jesus and his plea that he not be crucified and that the crucifixion be pushed away from him? And is it that Jesus does not deserve having his prayer answered; or is it that, for instance, God does not have an alternate for Jesus℗ to be crucified?! Furthermore, the Christians believe that Jesus℗ is the absolute deity itself, and therefore they need a justification for the request of Jesus℗ mentioned above, a justification which does not put them in a contradictory position that negates his absolute divinity which they believe in; and this is far-fetched.
So if they say he requested the crucifixion be pushed away from him due to his ignorance of the inevitability of the event, then they negate his absolute divinity, because they attribute ignorance to him and it is a darkness, thus clarifying that he is light and darkness and not light without darkness within, and therefore his absolute divinity is invalidated. And if they say he requested the crucifixion be pushed away from him with his knowledge of the inevitability of the event, then they accuse him of foolishness. otherwise, what is the meaning of his request with his knowledge of the inevitability of the event?! And this saying of theirs denies him his absolute divinity, moreover it denies him what is beneath that which is the wisdom of the prophets, peace be upon them.
2. The crucified one refuses to say that he is the King of the children of Israel? So why would he refuse if he was Jesus℗ who came to inform the people that he is the King of the children of Israel?! Does this not prove clearly that the one who was arrested and crucified was another person other than Jesus℗, the King of the children of Israel, and for this reason he refused to say that he is the King of the children of Israel.
[ … 11now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” …] Matthew 27:11.
[ … 2And pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” … ] Mark 15:2.
[ … 33so pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35pi- late answered, “Am i a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus answered, “my kingdom is not of this world. if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that i might not be delivered over to the Jews. but my kingdom is not from the world.” 37Then pilate said to him, “so you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that i am a king. For this purpose i was born and for this purpose i have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth … ] John 18:33-37.
3. The crucified one’s address to Mary the mother of Jesus℗ proves that he is not her son; otherwise, is it appropriate for a son to address his mother as “Woman”? Yes, it is correct for the crucified one to address her with this word if he is not Jesus℗, and his addressing her with this word is to clarify that she is not his mother and that he is not Jesus, peace be upon him. [3] [4]
[25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!”] John 19:25-27.
4. Peter offers that he puts himself in the place of Jesus to be crucified, and Jesus clarifies to him his inability concerning this matter:
[31 “Simon, Simon, behold, satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32but i have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33peter said to him, “Lord, i am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” 34Jesus said, “I tell you, peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”] Luke 22:31-34.
[36 Simon peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where i am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37Peter said to him, “Lord, why can i not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, i say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.] John 13:36-38.
In the two above-mentioned passages of the Gospel we understand that Jesus, in one form or another, proposed to the disciples that they be sacrificed for him; or, at the very least, we find in the passage that Jesus℗ clarifies to peter, and he is the best of the disciples, that he is unable to sacrifice himself for Jesus℗, [Peter said to him, “Lord, why can i not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, i say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.]
Therefore this passage from the Gospel of John clearly shows that Jesus℗ requested from peter that peter be sacrificed for him, or that Jesus discussed peter’s offer, [Will you lay down your life for me?] And we find that Jesus answered this question, saying that peter was not capable of this matter, [The truth, the truth i say to you is that the cock shall not crow until you have denied me three times.] And this discussion did not come out of nowhere, so what would cause peter to make this offer if Jesus℗ had not proposed this matter to them?!
Moreover, how can the words of Peter, [“I will lay down my life for you”], be understood as anything other than referring to the matter of resemblance? Otherwise, how can Peter put himself in the place of Jesus℗ to be crucified if he was not made to resemble him beforehand in order for the Jews to take him and crucify him as if he was Jesus℗ himself since the people are requesting Jesus℗ and not Peter, and they will not take Peter unless he was made to resemble him.
Also, the response of Jesus℗ was not that it is not right that you, Peter, would be sacrificed for me; or that i must be sacrificed; or any answer other than that you, Peter, are incapable of this matter. And this brings us to the question: if Peter and the disciples were unable to put themselves in the place of Jesus℗ and tolerate the crucifixion, was there no one with God who could perform this task after Jesus℗ clearly requested that the crucifixion be pushed away from him, as previously mentioned?!
5. [11 So Jesus said to Peter, “put your sword into its sheath; shall i not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”] John 18:11.
These words came from the crucified one during his arrest, and they are the words of someone who accepts the matter of crucifixion and has no problem with it, rather considers the hesitation in drinking the cup of crucifixion an unacceptable matter, and not a consideration for him, and he cannot think about it, [“Shall i not drink the cup that the Father has given me?!!!”] he does not merely ask, but rather wonders with exclamation, [“shall i not drink”], so how can it be imagined that these words come from the same person who said before the arrest of the crucified one, [36 “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. remove this cup from me.”]?! Mark 14:36.
Therefore, they are two entirely different people, so the person who was arrested and crucified is a person other than Jesus℗ who requested not to be crucified.
6. What is present in the Gospel of Judah.
And it is an artifactual Gospel that was found and dates back to before Islam, thus it is not possible to undermine it by saying that it is fabricated by the muslims. Therefore, it is a Christian Gospel and it was circulating between the early Christians. And the reproduction and circulation of the Gospel of Judah between some of the early Christians indicates their disagreement during that period about the identity of the crucified one.
And this is a passage from the Gospel of Judah which clarifies that the crucified one is not Jesus℗; moreover, it specifies the name of the crucified one, his attributes and the attributes of his progeny,
Gospel of Judah, scene 3:
[Judah said, “master, could it be that my lineage is under the control of the rulers?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “come, that i [ … two lines miss- ing … ], but that you will grieve much when you see the kingdom and all its generation.”
When he heard this, Judah said to him, “What good is it that i have received it? For you have set me apart for that generation.”
Jesus answered and said, “You will become the thirteenth, and you will be cursed by the other generations — and you will come to rule over them. in the last days they will curse your ascent [47] to the holy [generation]”]
[“but you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.”]
[“Already your horn has been raised,
your wrath has been kindled,
your star has shown brightly,
and your heart has … [57]”]
Moreover, the passage shows clearly that the crucified one was not Jesus, [but you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.] Verily, he presents the name of the crucified one as being Judah, and verily Judah in this passage is not Judas Iscariot, the traitor who went to the Jewish clerics and brought the temple officers to arrest the crucified one. so the Judah who is crucified instead of Jesus as in the text of the Gospel of Judah is a righteous person and he sacrifices himself for the sake of Jesus. moreover, in the Gospel of Judah, Jesus describes him with an attribute that cannot be attributed to Judas Iscariot, which is that he will be the thirteenth; whereas the disciples, as everyone agreed, are only twelve. And after the treason of Judas Iscariot they brought an alternate for him to complete the number of twelve, and they were never thirteen. And this makes Judah who was addressed here definitely not Judas Iscariot. This is in addition to statements mentioned in the Gospel of Judah:
[“and you will come to rule over them”]: And this phrase makes the matter exclusive to the savior who comes in the end times to fill the earth with justice; so Judas Iscariot does not come in the end times because, in brief, he was a wicked person who was born and died in that time period.
[Judah said, “master, could it be that my lineage is under the con- trol of the rulers?” Jesus answered and said to him, “come, that i [… two lines missing…], but that you will grieve much when you see the kingdom and all its generation.” When he heard this, Judah said to him, “What good is it that i have received it? For you have set me apart for that generation.”]
[“master, could it be that my lineage is under the control of the rulers?”]: The rulers rule over all, so is there meaning and wisdom behind asking a person whether his lineage will be under the control of the rulers?! These words have no meaning except under one condition: that that lineage whom he asks about are the vicegerents of God on his earth, therefore he is asking whether they will be under the control of the tyrant rulers, or whether the people will empower them to rule. Therefore it is not only expected that “Judah” will come to rule, but rather his lineage as well. And he asks about the vicegerents of God from his lineage: despite their divine appointment, can they be under the authority and control of the tyrant rulers — as was the case for many of the vicegerents of God before them such as Abraham℗, Moses and Jesus himself — or will the people empower them to apply the supremacy of God on earth?
And in this question, and in the answer of Jesus to it, there are many matters which establish that Judah here is not the Iscariot. As Judas Iscariot is not even from the vicegerents of God on his earth, so there is no meaning to the question if the asker was Judas Iscariot. And Judas Iscariot does not have a lineage; rather, he died after the incident of the crucifixion, so there is no meaning to the question if it was him. [“but that you will grieve much when you see the kingdom and all
its generation”]: how could it be that the evil Judas Iscariot sees the Kingdom of heaven? Yes, it is possible for him to see the Kingdom of heaven if the Judah mentioned here is a divine person who came from the Kingdom of heaven and will return to the Kingdom of heaven after the completion of his task of crucifixion in the place of Jesus℗. Therefore, he is not Judas Iscariot.
[When he heard this, Judah said to him, “What good is it that i have received it? For you have set me apart for that generation.”]: What generation was Judas |Iscariot set apart from?!!! The truth is that these words would not be valid except under one condition, that the Judah here is not Judas Iscariot, rather he is a divine person from the Kingdom of heaven who came during the time and generation of Jesus℗, not his time nor his generation; rather, he came to perform a task and he is to return to wherever he came from.
Also, he came because of the prayer of Jesus℗ that the crucifixion be pushed away from him. because of this, it was valid that he would say to Jesus℗, [“For you have set me apart for that generation.”]
Therefore, the Judah who is mentioned in some of the passages of the Gospel of Judah, just as the previously mentioned passage, is not Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus and handed him over to the Jewish clerics, as at the end of the Gospel of Judah: [They approached Judas and said to him, “What are you doing here? You are Jesus’ disciple.” Judas answered them as they wished. And he received some money and handed him over to them.] Gospel of Judah scene 3.
Rather, this Judah, as described by the Gospel of Judah, is a righteous person and from the vicegerents of God on his earth; moreover, some of his descendants will be the vicegerents of God on his earth. And he was also not from the generation of Jesus, nor from his time, meaning that he descended from the Kingdom of heaven during the time of Jesus. And in addition to all of this, the text says that this Judah is the one who fills the earth with justice and rules in the end times.
Now, all of these attributes of Judah who was crucified instead of Jesus apply to the savior who comes in the end times. so finally, if we ask about the meaning of the word “Judah” to see who this person is, we find the word Judah means praising (al-hamd in Arabic), or Ahmed [i.e “the praised one”], and this meaning is confirmed by the Torah, as it came in the Torah, Genesis chapter 29, [35 she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time i will praise the Lord”; therefore she named him Judah; then she ceased bearing.]
Therefore, Judah means Ahmed, and it is the name of the Mahdi, or the savior, or the comforter promised in the end times; mentioned in the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran and the Will of Muhammad, the messenger of God, peace be upon him and his progeny.
Also, in the Torah and the Gospel, the actions of the crucified one were described, and words were narrated from him after his arrest which prove that he was a wise person and completely content with what was happening to him, and that he was other than Judas Iscariot, as Judas Iscariot was a person dominated by satan, thus no wisdom would come from him and it could not be that he was calm and com- posed while being led to the crucifixion instead of Jesus℗, in whom he disbelieved.
In the Torah, book of Isaiah, and in Acts, chapter 8, is this passage: [32 “like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth …” ].
Just like the reality which occurred, the passage proves that he went with all calmness and composure to the torture and the crucifixion. in addition, the passage proves another matter which is that he did not speak or appeal and he did not clarify his right and did not declare that he was a messenger; whereas, Jesus℗ convicted the clerics and the people, preached to them and clarified his right. so it would not be true that he went to the slaughter in silence.
And in the Gospel, the crucified one promised paradise to one of the two who were being crucified along with him because he defended him. so is it possible with this wisdom and this promise from the crucified one that he be Judas Iscariot?! And what does Judas Iscariot promise, if God had changed his appearance and he was led to the crucifixion instead of Jesus in whom he disbelieved? if this was his circum- stance, then he knows for certain that he is unjust and that he will be punished, so what paradise can he promise the one who defended him?! [39 one of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? save yourself and us!” 40but the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43And he said to him, “Truly, i say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”] Luke 23:39-43.
And also in the Gospel of Luke:
[33 And when they came to the place that is called The skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”] Luke 23:33-34.
The above-mentioned and the narrated wisdom and the firm and dignified actions of the crucified one under the most difficult conditions, cannot come from a fool or a satanic disbeliever, God forbid, such as Judas Iscariot; for some of them just like to portray the look- alike to be Judas Iscariot without any proof, only to have one who resembled Jesus crucified in his place. [5]
In addition to all the above, it must be noted that Judas Iscariot came and guided the temple officers to the crucified one, and they arrested the crucified look-alike. so how is it that Judas Iscariot came with the police and guided them to the look-alike while he himself is the look-alike? is it, for instance, that Judas Iscariot is two people?
The arguments should be more sensible, and not at this level of naiveté and inconsistency, for how can a person rationalize a circumstance in which Judas Iscariot stands with the police and guides them to the look-alike and he himself is the look-alike? This would make him existent in the same place as two people and two images, and in two completely opposite states!! What is this level of argumentation? And i wonder how some of them accept it when it is at this level of contradiction!!
In addition, what was previously mentioned negates what some muslims say (without proof) that the crucified one is Judas Iscariot, as there are narrations which clarified that the crucified look-alike is a righteous young man who was made to resemble the image of Jesus. rather, it was narrated from the prophet that he is specifically from the progeny of Ali, peace be upon him.
The conclusion of the Above:
In the Torah and the Gospels accepted by the Christians are passages which prove that Jesus was not crucified, and if each of these passages was not sufficient individually, then in their entirety they represent a proof that the crucified one is not Jesus, peace be upon him.
For Jesus requests from God that he not be crucified.
And the crucified one refuses to say with his tongue that he is the King of the children of Israel, even though Jesus is the King of the children of Israel.
And the crucified one addresses Mary, mother of Jesus℗, as “Woman”.
And Peter offers that he puts himself in the place of Jesus, meaning he requests that he be the look-alike, [37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can i not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”], and Jesus refuses because he knows that peter is unable to do so, and he gives him a sign of his inability: that he will deny the crucified one three times, and it is certainly the same as denying Jesus, peace be upon him.
And by comparing Jesus’℗ words before the soldiers come and arrest the crucified one with the words of the crucified one during his arrest, we know that they are two entirely different people, as they take two different stances concerning the acceptance of the crucifixion. so the person who says [“shall i not drink the cup that the Father has given me”] is not possibly the same one who a few hours prior said, [“Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. remove this cup from me.”].
And from the Gospel of Judah:
The crucified one is not Jesus himself, rather a look-alike who was made to resemble Jesus, peace be upon him.
The crucified one was described as the thirteenth.
The crucified one was described to come in the end times to rule. The name of the crucified one is Judah (Ahmed as was clarified),
But he is not Judas Iscariot.
The crucified one descended from the Kingdom of heaven and he is not from the generation of Jesus℗.
The crucified one has progeny and they are vicegerents for God on his earth.
Also, in the Torah, the Gospels and the Gospel of Judah are clear passages that show that the crucified one cannot be Judas Iscariot, and they contain a response to whoever says that the crucified one is Judas Iscariot.
Third: In the Narrations:
1. In the books of the shia:
In Tafsir al-Qummi (The interpretation of al-Qummi), Abu Jafar℗ said, ﴾“Jesus℗ called his companions to meet him the night God raised him to him, so they gathered in the evening and they were twelve men; and he made them enter a house and then appeared to them from a spring at the corner of the house, shaking the water off his head. so he said, ‘God is raising me to him in this hour and he is purifying me from the Jews. so upon which one of you will my resemblance be cast so he will be killed and crucified and join me in my rank?’ so a young man from among them said, ‘I, o spirit of God.’ he said, ‘Then it shall be you.’ The Jews then came searching for Jesus℗ … and they took the young man upon whom the resemblance of Jesus℗ was cast, and he was killed and crucified.”﴿ [Tafsir Al-Qummi (The interpretation of al-Qummi) Vol. 1 page 103.]
And this narration clarifies that there was one other than Judas Iscariot. And he was the one upon whom the similarity was cast, who was crucified and he was of the rank of Jesus. And Jesus is a vicegerent from the vicegerents of God on his earth, a prophet, an Imam and one of the “messengers of intense Ability”, so this crucified look-alike is therefore at least a vicegerent from the vicegerents of God on his earth. ﴾“so upon which one of you will my resemblance be cast, so he will be killed and crucified and join me in my rank?”﴿
And also in the narration, there were twelve present with Jesus at the time Judas was with the Jewish clerics to hand Jesus over to them. so who would the twelfth be other than the crucified one, who entered and exited without drawing attention to himself, or anyone even seeing him in the beginning other than Jesus℗, [ … “like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth” … ].
And this is in the Gospel which exists today even if not stated this clearly. And it was clarified by what was mentioned previously:
[31 “Simon, Simon, behold, satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32but i have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33peter said to him, “lord, i am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” 34Jesus said, “I tell you, peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”] Luke 22:31-34.
[36 Simon peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where i am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37peter said to him, “lord, why can i not follow you now? i will lay down my life for you.” 38Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, i say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.] John 13:36-38.
And there are narrations showing that the look-alike is a vicegerent from the vicegerents of God, and that those who rejected and killed him are disbelievers and that those who will accept him upon his return and defend him are good believers:
Abu al-Jaroud narrated that Abu Jafar℗ said, ﴾“﴾10 o you who have believed, shall i guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment?﴿,” so they said, “if we knew what it is, we would sacrifice our money, our selves and our children for it.” so God said, “﴾11 [it is that] you believe in God and his messenger and strive in the cause of God with your wealth and your lives. That is best for you, if you should know. 12 He will forgive for you your sins and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence. That is the great attainment. 13And another that you love — victory from God and an imminent conquest; and give good tidings to the believers.﴿,” he℗ said, “meaning in this world, by the opening of the riser.” He℗ also said, “The opening of mecca. As for the saying of the Almighty, ﴾14 o you who have believed, be supporters of God, as when Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the disciples, “Who are my supporters for God?” The disciples said, “We are supporters of God.” And a faction of the children of Israel believed and a faction disbelieved.﴿,” He℗ said, “The one that disbelieved is the one who killed the look-alike of Jesus℗ and crucified him, and the one that believed is the one who accepted the look-alike of Jesus in order that he not be killed. so they killed the faction that killed and crucified him, and that is His saying, ﴾14 so We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they became dominant.﴿”﴿ [Quran chapter “The ranks” 61:10-14] [Tafsir al-Qummi (The interpretation of al-Qummi) by Ali bin ibrahim al-Qummi Vol.2 page 365-366.]
Who are they, those who the people must believe in, other than the vicegerents of God on his earth? ﴾“And the one that believed is the one who accepted the look-alike of Jesus in order that he not be killed.”﴿ Therefore, the narration shows clearly that the crucified one is a vicegerent from the vicegerents of God on his earth and people must believe in him and support him upon his arrival to this world.
And this is mentioned in the Gospel and the crucified look-alike said it with complete clarity: [36 Jesus answered, “my kingdom is not of this world. if my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that i might not be delivered over to the Jews. but my kingdom is not from the world.”] John 18:36.
This means that he shows that upon his arrival to this physical world in his generation and time, that there will be those who defend him so that he will not be handed over to the Jews of his time and be crucified. [“my servants would have been fighting, that i might not be delivered over to the Jews. but my kingdom is not from the world.”],
﴾“and the one that believed is the one who accepted the look-alike of Jesus in order that he not be killed.”﴿
And it was narrated that the crucified look-alike is from the lineage of the messenger of God℗:
The messenger of God Muhammad℗ said in his supplication for Ali bin Abi Talib℗, ﴾“o God! Grant him the patience of Moses, and make among his descendants the look-alike of Jesus℗. o God! indeed, You are my vicegerent upon him and upon his progeny and his kind and purified lineage from whom You have removed uncleanliness and impurity.”﴿ [Al-Ghayba (The occultation) by al-numani page 144.]
2. In the books of the sunnis:
The sunnis narrated in their interpretations that the one crucified was not Judas Iscariot, but rather a young man who was among the disciples:
Saeed bin Jubair narrated that ibn Abbas said, “Jesus appeared to his companions when God wanted to raise him, so he said, ‘upon which one of you shall my resemblance be cast, so he will be killed in my place, and be with me in my rank?’ so a young man stood and said ‘i’. so Jesus℗ said, ‘sit down.’ he then repeated what he said, so the young man stood and Jesus℗ said, ‘sit down.’ he repeated what he said again, so the young man said ‘i’ and Jesus℗ said, ‘Yes, it is you.’ so the resemblance of Jesus was cast upon him, and Jesus was raised and the Jews came and so they took the man, and they killed him and then crucified him. The same was told by Wahab bin manbah, Qutada and al-saddi.”[Zad al-Maseer fi Ilm al-Tafsir (The provision in the knowledge of interpretation) by ibn al-Jawzi.]
Bashir bin maath narrated to us from Yazeed from saeed from Qutada that he said in regards to the saying of the Almighty, “﴾157And their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Christ, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of God.” And they did not kill him, nor did they cru- cify him﴿ … until his saying ﴾158And God is the mighty, the Wise.﴿ [Quran chapter “The Women” 4:157-158.] “Those are the enemies of God, the Jews; they were famous for killing Jesus son of Mary, the messenger of God, and they claimed that they killed and crucified him. And it was mentioned to us that the prophet of God, Jesus son of Mary, said to his companions, ‘Which of you will have my resemblance cast upon him thus he will be killed?’ so a man from his companions said, ‘I, o prophet of God.’ so that man was killed, and God protected his prophet and raised him to him.”
Alhasan bin Yahya narrated to us from Abd al-razzaq from mu- mar from Qutada concerning the saying of the Almighty, ﴾And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿, that he said, “his likeness was cast upon a man from the disciples and he was killed, and that was offered to them by Jesus son of Mary saying, ‘upon which one of you will my resemblance be cast and he will receive heaven?’ So a man said, ‘upon me.’” Al-mothanna narrated from Abu huthaifa from shabal from the son of Abu najeeh from al-Qasim bin Abu baza that Jesus son of Mary said, “‘upon which one of you shall my resemblance be cast in order that he will be killed in my place?’” so a man from his companions said, ‘i, o messenger of God.’ so his resemblance was cast upon him, so they killed him, for that God said, ﴾And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿.”
Al-Qasim narrated to us from al-husain from hajjaj from ibn Jareej, “We learned that Jesus son of Mary said to his companions, ‘Which one of you will be inflicted so that my resemblance will be cast upon him in order that he will be killed?’ so a man from his companions said, ‘I, o prophet of God.’ so his resemblance was cast upon him and thus he was killed, and God raised his prophet to him.”
Muhammad bin Amro narrated to us from Abu Asim from Yeshua from the son of Abu naheej from mujahid concerning the Almighty’s saying, ﴾but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿, that he said, “They crucified a man other than Jesus, thinking he was Jesus.” The same was narrated from al-muthanna from Abu huthaifa from shabal from the son of Abu najeeh from muhajid.
Al-Qasim narrated to us from al-husain from hajjaj from ibn Jareej from muhajid that he said, “They crucified a man whom they had mistaken for Jesus℗ thinking it was him, and God raised Jesus℗ to him alive.”[Jami al-Bayan fi Tafsir (The gatherer of clear statements of the interpretation of the Quran) by ibn Jareer al-Tabari.]
“Then Almighty God stated that the children of Israel did not kill Jesus, nor did they crucify him, but rather [another] was made to resemble him to them. And the narrators differed concerning this story, and that within which there is no doubt is that Jesus℗ used to travel in the earth and call to God, and the children of Israel were requesting him. And their king at the time would put a bounty on his head. And Jesus was joined by his disciples who travelled with him wherever he went. And at some point in time, the issue of Jesus became more apparent, so it was narrated that a man from the Jews put a bounty on his head, so he continued searching for him until he knew where he was. so when Jesus and his companions sensed that their pursuers were close to them, they entered a house within sight of the children of Israel, so it was narrated that their number was thirteen. And it was narrated that they were eighteen and they were surrounded at night. so it was narrated that Jesus separated himself from the disciples that night, and he directed them to [different] horizons, and he remained and a man was with him, so Jesus was raised and his resemblance was cast upon the man so that man was crucified.”[Al-Jawahir al-Hesan fi Tafsir al-Quran (Jewels of the interpretation of the Quran) by al-Tha’aliby.]
“So the Jews gathered to kill him, so God told him that he will raise him to the sky, and purify him from the company of the Jews, so he said to his companions, ‘Which one of you accepts having my resemblance cast upon him in order that he will be killed and crucified and enter heaven?’ so a man among them said ‘i’. so his resemblance was cast upon him and he was killed and crucified.”[Tafsir Madarik al-Tanzeel wa Haqaiq al-Taweel (The explanation of the stories of descent and facts of interpretation) by al-nasafi.]
“ … And the ruler of Jerusalem complied with that and he went with a group from the Jews to the house where Jesus℗ was with a group of his companions who were twelve or thirteen, and it was said they were seventeen and that was on Friday evening which was the eve of saturday. so they surrounded him there. And when he sensed their presence and that their entering the house or his exiting to them was inevitable, he said to his companions, ‘upon which one of you will my resemblance be cast and he will be my companion in heaven?’ so a young man from among them came forward but it was as if Jesus deemed him unworthy of the task, so he repeated it for a second and third time and none would come forward except that man, so he said, ‘You are the one.’ And God cast the resemblance of Jesus upon him so it was as if he was Jesus, and an opening was made in the ceiling of the house and sleep was cast upon Jesus℗ so he was raised to the sky while sleeping, as Almighty God said, ﴾o Jesus! indeed i will take you and raise you to myself﴿. so when he was raised that group came out and when they saw that young man they thought him to be Jesus℗, so they took him in the night and crucified him and placed the thorns on his head, ﴾And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [an- other] was made to resemble him to them﴿. so they thought he was Jesus.” [Tafsir Ibn Kathir (The book of interpretation of ibn Kathir).]
Therefore, the conclusion from the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran, reasoning and the narrations is that the crucified one is not Jesus, nor is he Judas Iscariot. And we found narrations saying that he is from the lineage of the messenger of God℗ and Ali℗, and indicating that he is a vicegerent from the vicegerents of God, so what do we do?
Do we continue arguing and rejecting these narrations, and projecting our illusions based upon desires and nothing else, and which contradict what is conveyed in the Torah, the Gospel and the narrations, as well as reasoning, and say that the crucified one is Judas Iscariot, and that it is a goat even if it flies?!!! Or do we say that our saying is that upon which the divine books agree: the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran, and which was stated by the messenger of God and the progeny of Muhammad℗, which is that the crucified one is not Jesus℗, and that the crucified one is a righteous human, and the crucified one is a vicegerent from the vicegerents of God on his earth, and the crucified one is from the progeny of Muhammad℗, and from the lineage of Ali℗. And all these facts are from the scriptures of the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran and the sayings of Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad℗, and there is no opposing proof that is worthy of consideration. now, after having proven that Jesus was not crucified, nor was he killed, and that there was a look-alike who was crucified, and we personified him from the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran and the sayings of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad℗, we go back to what al-Tousi narrated, which is that the people do not comprehend the matter of resemblance and the crucifixion, or they do not accept the person who faces them and that he is the one, so they begin with the argumentation like al-Tousi (may God have mercy upon him) narrated from Abu Abdullah℗, ﴾“Verily, when the riser rises, the people will say, ‘how can this happen, while his bones deteriorated a long time ago.’”﴿ or let us state their argument in another form: how is it that the crucified look-alike is a person who descended to earth in a miraculous way and was killed, and after that he is born as a baby and grows until he becomes the riser or the Mahdi?!!
And the truth is that people with this objection present it due to their lack of knowledge or attention that the spirits were created before this physical world, and this matter is proven by reasoning and the texts:
Reasoning does not accept that the spirit lower in rank was created before the spirit higher in rank because it is dependent upon the existence of the higher. And this is not a topic up for discussion and it is not a clarification of how the creation came from the Absolute Truth, but it is fine to mention a simple clarification: that which comes from the Absolute Truth or from the creation closest to the Absolute Truth cannot be repeated, otherwise it would be the same as the first and nothing different. Due to this, the creation after it is farther from the Absolute Truth than the first one, meaning it is lower in rank. consequently, the first creation mediates in the creation of the second, meaning as Almighty God said, “with my hands”: ﴾75 he said, “o Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which i created with my hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the high ones”﴿ Quran chapter “[Arabic letter] sad” 38:75. Therefore, the first creation in relation the second is the hand of God. Also, the second creation in relation to the third is the hand of God; meaning, it is not one hand or two, rather many hands, like the Almighty said, ﴾47 And the sky We constructed with hands, and indeed, We are [its] expander.﴿. Quran chapter “The Winnowing Winds” 51:47.
So reasoning says that the spirit of Muhammad℗, which is higher in rank, was created before the spirit of Adam℗, which is lower in rank, and there is no reasonable proof that refutes this truth. As for the fact that Adam was created before Muhammad in this physical world, it does not mean that the spirit of Adam℗ was first, as there is no concomitance between the creation of the body and the creation of the spirit while they are in two different worlds.
And the Quran supports this proof, which agrees with wisdom and reasoning, the Almighty said, ﴾75 he said, “O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which i created with my hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the high ones?”﴿ Quran chapter “Saad” 38:75. And God is far above having a hand, rather “i created with my hands” means with a created hand that represented his strength, his will and his ability to create in this rank. And this created hand or spirit created Adam or mediated in the creation of Adam℗; therefore, this spirit is before Adam℗. And this created hand or spirit is Muhammad℗ and whoever Almighty God willed to be a hand for him to perform what he wants from the creation and within the creation, ﴾47 And the sky We constructed with hands, and indeed, We are [its] expander.﴿ Quran chapter “The Winnowing Winds” 51:47. so those are the hands of God with which he creates, and they are the close ones and the first creation of God, ﴾56 This is a warner like the former warners.﴿ Quran chapter “The Star” 53:56. And they are the owners of the high rank who are not assigned to prostrate to Adam℗ because they are higher in rank than him, ﴾75 he said, “o iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which i created with my hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the high ones?”﴿ Quran chapter “Saad” 38:75. The high ones: meaning the spirits which created Adam, that is why they are not assigned to prostrate to Adam because they are above him and higher in rank than he is.
As for the texts: they contain a clear statement that the spirit of Muhammad℗, and the progeny of Muhammad℗, was created before the creation of Adam and the entire creation, and before the bodies or this physical world by a long period:
From the Quran:
Almighty God said: ﴾81 say, “if the Abundantly merciful had a son, then i am the first of worshippers.”﴿ Quran chapter “Ornaments” 43:81. The verse is in the context of a response to those who say that Jesus℗ is the son of God. And the summary of the response is that it denies this filiation, considering that Muhammad℗ is the first creation and he preceded Jesus in existence, and for this precedent there is a statement which is the precedent in the worshipping, ﴾“then i am the first of worshippers”﴿. And the conclusion is that the verse is clear in proving that the spirit of Muhammad℗ was created before the spirit of Jesus℗ and Adam℗; rather, before the spirits of the entire creation. otherwise, it would not be correct for him to be described as the first of worshippers in the sense of precedence by time or by action.
And from the narrations from the sunnis and the shia:
Al-mufathal said that Imam Abu Abdullah℗ said, ﴾“Almighty God created the spirits before the bodies by two thousand years, so he made their highest and their most noble to be the spirits of Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Alhasan, al-Husain and the Imams after them℗. he then presented them to the skies and the earth and the mountains so their light overwhelmed them … ”﴿ [Mujamma al-Nurain (The junction of the two lights) by al-marandi p. 272.]
Imam al-Sadiq℗ said, ﴾“God made the spirits brothers in the Kingdom of heaven two thousand years before he created the bodies, so if our riser of the progeny rises, he would bequeath to the brother whom God made for him in the Kingdom of heaven, and he would not be- queath the brother by birth.”﴿ [Bihar al-Anwar (Seas of Lights) Vol. 6 page 249.]
Ahmed bin Muhammad bin Abdul-rahman bin Abdullah bin Al- husain bin ibrahim bin Yahya bin Ajlan al-murouzi al-maqri narrated to us saying: Abu bakr Muhammad bin ibrahim al-Jarjani narrated to us saying: Abu bakr Abdul-samad bin Yahya al-Wasiti narrated to us saying: Alhasan bin Ali al-madani narrated to us from Abdullah bin al-mubarak, who narrated from sufyan al-Thouri, who narrated from Imam Jafar bin Muhammad al-sadiq℗, who narrated from his father, who narrated from his grandfather, who narrated from Ali bin Abi Talib℗ saying, ﴾“Almighty God created the light of Muhammad℗ before he created the skies and the earth and the Throne and the chair and the Tablet and the pen and heaven and hell, and before he created Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus, David, Solomon and all of those mentioned in the saying of the Almighty,
﴾And we gave him Isaac and Jacob﴿, until he says, ﴾Guide us to the straight path﴿, [6] and before he created all the prophets by four hundred and twenty-four thousand years, and Almighty God created with him twelve veils … ”﴿ [Al-Khisal (The ethics) by al-sadooq page 482.]
Abu saeed al-Khudari said, ﴾“We were sitting with the messenger of God℗ when a man approached him and said, ‘o messenger of God! Tell me about the saying of Almighty God to iblis, ﴾Were you arrogant or were you among the high ones?﴿. Who are they, o messenger of God, who are higher than the angels?’ so the messenger of God said, ‘I, Ali, Fatima, Alhasan and al-Husain. We were by “the surroundings of the Throne” praising God, and the angels would praise by our praises two thousand years before Almighty God created Adam. so when Almighty God created Adam he commanded the angels to prostrate to him, and he did not command us with prostration to Adam. so all of the angels prostrated except for iblis, for he refused to prostrate, so Almighty God said, ﴾Were you arrogant, or were you among the high ones?﴿, meaning from those five whose names are written on “the surroundings of the Throne”, for we are the door of God from which one would go to him. by us the guided ones are guided. so whoever loved us is loved by God and he would house him in his heaven, and who- ever despised us is despised by God and he would house him in his hellfire, and no one loves us except he of a fine birth.”﴿ [Bihar al-Anwar (Seas of Lights) Vol. 25 page 2.]
Al-Sadooq (may God have mercy upon him) narrated in his book The Ascension from his chain of narrators from ibn Abbas that he said,
﴾“i heard the messenger of God℗ addressing Ali℗ and saying, ‘O Ali! Almighty God was and there was nothing with him, so he created me and created you, two spirits from the light of his majesty. so we were in front of the throne of the lord of the worlds praising God, sanctifying him, thanking him and glorifying him. And that was before he created the skies and the earths, so when he wanted to create Adam, he created you and i from one mud, the mud of the higher rank, and kneaded us with that light and immersed us in all the lights and rivers of heaven. he then created Adam and bestowed within his backbone that mud and that light, so when he created him, he retrieved his lineage from his back and made them speak and acknowledge the divinity, so the first creation to acknowledge the divinity were you and i and the prophets to their own rank and nearness to Almighty God. so Almighty God said, “You believed and acknowledged, o Muhammad and o Ali, and you preceded my creation in obedience to me, and so you were as according to my previous knowledge of you, so you are my elite in my creation, and the Imams from your progeny and your followers and so i created you …”’”﴿ [Bihar al-Anwar (Seas of Lights) Vol. 25 page 3.]
Al-husain bin obaidallah informed us saying: Abu Muhammad informed us saying: Muhammad bin humam narrated to us saying: Ali bin al-husain al-hamadani narrated to us saying: Muhammad bin Khalid al-barqi narrated to us saying: Muhammad bin sinan nar- rated to us that bin al-mufathal bin omar narrated from Imam Abu Abdullah℗, who narrated from his forefathers℗, who narrated from the prince of the believers℗ that he said that one day he was sitting by the courtyard while the people gathered around him when a man came up to him and said, ﴾“o prince of believers! You are in the position which God bestowed upon you, while your father is being tortured in hell!” so he said to him, “Silence! may God break your teeth, i swear by the one who sent Muhammad as a prophet of truth, if my father were to intercede for every guilty one on the face of the earth, God would accept his intercession for them. my father would be tortured in hell while his son is the overseer of hell! I swear by the one who sent Muhammad as a prophet of truth, the light of Abu Talib on the day of resurrection would extinguish the lights of the creation except for five lights, the light of Muhammad℗, my light, the light of Fatima and the two lights of Alhasan and al-Hussain and from his children from the Imams, because his light is from our light which Almighty God created two thousand years before the creation of Adam.”﴿ [Al-Amali (The hopes) by al-Tousi page 305, Mi’at Manqaba (A hundred attributes) by ibn shathan al-Qummi page 174, Kanz al-Fawaid (Treasure of benefits) by al-Karajki page 80.]
Narrated from the prince of the believers Ali bin Abi Talib℗ that he said, ﴾“God was and there was nothing with him, so the first thing he created was the light of his beloved Muhammad℗ four hundred and twenty-four thousand years before creating the water, the Throne, the chair, the skies, the earth, the Tablet, the pen, heaven and hell, the angels and Adam and eve. so when Almighty God created the light of our prophet Muhammad℗ he remained for a thousand years standing between the hands of Almighty God praising and thanking him, and the Almighty Truth was looking at him …, so when the lights perfected, the light of Muhammad resided under the Throne for seventy- three thousand years, then his light moved to the heaven for seventy thousand years, it then moved to sidrat al-muntaha [A tree in paradise] and remained there for seventy thousand years, his light then moved to the seventh sky, then to sixth, then to the fifth, then to fourth, then to the third, then to the second, then to the lowest sky. so his light remained in the lowest sky until Almighty God wanted to create Adam℗ …”﴿ [Bihar al-Anwar (Seas of Lights) Vol. 15 page 27-31.]
Jabir bin Abdullah narrated, ﴾“i said to the prophet of God℗, ‘What was the first thing Almighty God created?’ so he said, ‘The light of your prophet, o Jabir, then from it he created every good. he then placed it between his hands in the place of nearness by what God willed, he then made it into parts. so he created the Throne from a part and the chair from a part, and the carriers of the Throne and the keepers of the chair from a part. And he placed the fourth part in the place of love by the will of God, then he made it into parts, so he created the pen from a part, and the Tablet from a part, and heaven from a part. And he placed the fourth part in the place of fear by the will of God, then he made it into parts, so he created the angels from a part, and the sun from a part, and the moon and the planets from a part. Then He placed the fourth part in the place of hope by the will of God, then he made it into parts, so he created reasoning from a part and knowledge and patience from a part, and infallibility and support from a part. Then he placed the fourth part in the place of modesty, so he looked at it with the eye of prestige so he filtered this light and from it were dropped one hundred and twenty-four thousand drops, so God created from each drop the spirit of a prophet and a messenger, then the spirits of the prophets breathed, so God created from their breaths the souls of the supporters, the witnesses and the righteous ones.”﴿ [Bihar al-Anwar (Seas of Lights) Vol. 25 page 22.]
Muhammad bin sinan narrated that ibn Abbas said, ﴾“We were with the messenger of God℗ when Ali bin Abi Talib℗ approached, so the prophet℗ said to him, ‘Welcome to whom God created prior to his father by forty thousand years.’ so we said, ‘o messenger of God! can it be the son before the father?’ so he℗ said, ‘Yes. Verily God created me and Ali from one light forty thousand years before creating Adam, he then divided it in half, then he created things from my light and the light of Ali℗, then placed us on the right of the Throne, so we said Subhan Allah [exalted is God], so the Angels said Subhan Allah, and we said La Ilah Illa Allah [There is no god but God] so they said La Ilah Illa Allah, and we said Allahu Akbar [God is greatest], so they said Allahu Akbar. so whoever praised God or glorified him, that is from the teaching of Ali, peace be upon him.”﴿ [Bihar al-Anwar (Seas of Lights) Vol. 25 page 24.]
Narrated Abdullah bin al-mubarak from Imam Jafar bin muham- mad who narrated from his father, who narrated from his grandfather, who narrated that the prince of the believers℗ that he said, ﴾“God created the light of Muhammad℗ prior to all creation by fourteen thousand years, and created with him℗ twelve veils and what is meant by the veils are the Imams, peace be upon them.”﴿ [Bihar al-Anwar (Seas of Lights) Vol. 25 page 21.]
Abu Alhasan Ali bin Muhammad known as ibn al-maghazli al- Wasiti al-shafie in his book of Al-manaqib (The attributes) narrated from salman al-Farsi that he said, ﴾“i heard my beloved Muhammad℗ saying, ‘Ali and i were one light between the hands of Almighty God, that light praised God and sanctified him prior to God having created Adam by fourteen thousand years. so when Adam was created that light was deposited within his backbone, so Ali and i were kept as one until we separated in the backbone of Abdul Muttalib, so within me is prophethood and within him is Imamate.”﴿ [7]
ibn al-maghazli also narrated that salim bin Abi al-Jad narrated that Abu Thar said, ﴾“i heard the messenger of God℗ saying, ‘Ali and i were one light between the hands of Almighty God, that light praised God and sanctified him prior to God having created Adam by four- teen thousand years, so Ali and i were kept as one until we separated in the backbone of Abdul Muttalib. so i was a part and Ali was a part.”﴿ [Yanabie al-Mawadda (springs of kindness) Vol. 1 page 447.]
And ibn Abbas said, ﴾“i heard the messenger of God℗ saying, ‘Ali and i were one light between the hands of God, prior to the creation of Adam by fourteen thousand years. so when God created Adam, that light settled in his backbone, and God continued to transmit it from one backbone to another until it settled in the backbone of Abdul mut- talib, then God took it out of Abdul muttalib and divided it into two parts, a part in the backbone of Abdullah and a part in the backbone of Abu Talib. so Ali is from me and i am from him. his flesh is my flesh and his blood is my blood. so whoever truly loved him is one whom i love, and whoever despised him despises me so i despise him.”﴿ [Nathum Dorar al-Simtayn (The gatherer of the pearls of praises) by al-Zarandi al-hanafi page 79, and it was also mentioned in his book of Maarij al-Wosool Ila Marifat Aal al-Rasool (The guide to knowing the progeny of the messenger) page 33.]
Abdul Wahab bin Ata informed us from saeed bin Abi Arouba, that Qatada said: and umar bin Asim al-Kilabi informed us that Abu hilal informed us from Qatada that he said, ﴾“The messenger of God℗ said, ‘I was the first of the people in the creation and the last of them in the dispatch.’”﴿ [Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra (The major ranks) Vol. 1 page 149.]
Abu humam al-Waleed bin shuja bin al-Waleed al-baghdadi told us that he was told by al-Waleed bin muslim from al-Awzai from Yahya bin Abi Kathir from Abu salama from Abu huraira that he said, ﴾“it was said, ‘o, messenger of God℗ when was prophethood obligatory upon you?’ he said, ‘While Adam was between the spirit and the body.’ This is a correct and authentic narration.”﴿ [Sinan al-Tirmithi Vol. 5 page 245.]
Abu al-nathir al-Faqih and Ahmed bin Muhammad bin salama al-Anzi told us: from othman bin saeed al-Darmi and Muhammad bin sinan al-Awfi, from ibrahim bin Tahman, from badil bin may- sara, from Abdullah bin shaqeeq, from maysara al-Fakhir, he said, ﴾“i asked the messenger of God about when he was a prophet and he said, ‘While Adam was between the spirit and the body.’ This is a narration of an authentic chain.”﴿ [Al-Mostadrak by al-hakim Vol. 2 page 608.]
Now it has been clarified from the Quran and the narrations that the spirits of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad℗ were existent during the time in which Jesus was dispatched; moreover, before Jesus was born. so as long as a spirit was already created, the possibility stands that a physical body can be created for the spirit. or in reality, he appears in the physical world in an image resembling Jesus℗ and this matter is by the will of God, his strength and his might, at least like the appearance of Gabriel — who is a spirit — to Muhammad℗ in this physical world in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi.[8] i say: is there a rational impediment now after the texts and reasoning proved this matter?
Moreover, he who rejects and says that this is unbelievable, does he have an alternative supported by the texts, reasoning, and wisdom as is the case concerning the aforementioned? or just stubbornness and argumentation and following of desires for the mere sake of rejecting the truth?!
Accepting the truth as it is perhaps is a little difficult, especially with the existence of the ignorance and satan and its soldiers who work hard to prevent people from listening to the truth and hearing the words of God and submitting to the proof and recognizing the truth; but when the proof is established, to show the truth, reasonable people must say, “Yes, this is the truth, we have seen it clearly.” otherwise, they are neither people nor reasonable.
Ahmed Alhasan
13th Disciple
[1] The book of The Allegories in its four volumes by Imam Ahmed Alhasan℗ clarified the confusion concerning the matters of ideology. And in Volume 4 of the book he mentions the matter of the look-alike. refer to Appendix 5.
[2] Concerning the Christians, it is sufficient, in spite of their differences and the lack of the clarity of truth to them, that there are groups from them that believe in the Gospel of Judah. And they are Christians, and the current church cannot deprive them of their identity. For more information, refer to Appendix 3. As for the muslims, i relate the sayings of two muslim clerics:
The first is the sunni cleric, al-Tabari (died 310 a.h.), he says, “And the interpreters differed concerning the attributes of the look-alike who was made to resemble Jesus to the Jews. so some of the interpreters said, “When the Jews surrounded him and his companions, they surrounded them and could not establish which one is Jesus himself, because they were all transformed into the image of Jesus. so those who wanted to kill Jesus were confused about which one of them was truly Jesus. And some of those who were inside the house with Jesus came out to them, so they killed one of them thinking he was Jesus.” And other interpreters said, “rather, Jesus asked those who were with him in the house that his resemblance would be cast on one of them, so a man stepped forward and the resemblance was cast upon him. so that man was killed and Jesus son of Mary℗ was raised.” Jami al-Bayan (The gatherer of clear statements).
And the second is sheikh al-Tousi [of the shia] (died 460 a.h.), he said, “And they dis- agreed about how the resemblance of the one who was made to resemble Jesus for the Jews occurred … ” he then related the sayings of the interpreters about this matter. refer to Al- Tibyan (The clarification) Vol. 3 page 382-385.
Thus the character of the crucified one and the details of what happened are unknown to the muslim clerics just as they are unknown to the clerics of the church. so even though most of them today believe that Jesus was the one crucified, the early Christians said something different. moreover, they are now incapable of reconciling their belief with passages of the Gospel that clarify that the crucified one was someone else, as Imam Ahmed Alhasan clarified for them in the best way in this book.
[3] Although this is quite clear, the clerics of the church once again resort to the matter of the hypostases to justify why Jesus℗ called his mother as “Woman”. Fr. Tadros Yacoub says in his interpretation, “he did not say ‘o mother’ and said ‘Woman’ because what he was practicing from transforming water into wine did not come from him being a human being who took his body from her, rather working by his divinity.’” it is as if this false ideology of the hypostases was a hanger upon which they can hang their delusions whenever they wished.
[4] see also Appendix 7. —Trans.
[5] For example, i relate two texts: The first one is for badr al-Deen al-Ayni, concerning ﴾And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿, he said, “When they set up a piece of wood for him to be crucified upon, Almighty God cast the resemblance of Jesus upon the one who showed them where he was. And his name is Judas. And they crucified him instead of Jesus, thinking that he was Jesus. And God raised Jesus to the sky.” Omdat al-Qari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari (The reference in explaining sahih al-bukhari) Vol. 12 page 35.
The second is for the interpreter from the shia, nasir makarim al-shirazi. he said, “it is concluded from the passages of all the Gospels that the one arrested chose to be silent in front of pilate, the roman Governor of the sacred house at the time, and he only said a few words in his defense. And it is very unlikely that Jesus would fall into similar danger and not defend himself the way he should, while he is known to be eloquent, fluent, brave and noble. is it not possible in this case, that another person, such as Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus Christ and reported him and looked very much like him, fell captive instead of Jesus and that due to the drama of the situation, he was taken by fear and horror and could not defend himself or say anything in front of the executioners?” Tafsir al-Amthal (The interpretation of the examples) Vol. 3 page 529.
And the center for ideological research of al-sistani responds to the issue of the look-alike by saying, “it is undisputed that the arrest of Jesus Christ happened due to the treachery of one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot. And the holy Quran proves that the one who was arrested and then crucified was made to resemble Jesus to them, meaning that God punished Judas the traitor and caused him to resemble Jesus and he was crucified instead of Jesus. ﴾And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿. by this, the biblical mystery and the strange contradiction concerning the end of Judas are clarified, as the Gospels differed about whether his repentance occurred or not; they even differed about how he died. moreover, they differed about whether he died or not. so we have the right to say, a traitor such as Judas, how did the Christians neglect him then even if for a while? how did they let go of him, of his news and of knowing his fate to which attention should be paid? And how did they let go of his recompense and disgrace in this world, making the people more believing and reassured of him?” http://www.aqaed.com/faq/2052/
[6] The Imam℗ is referring to the verses in which Almighty God says, ﴾And We gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — all [of them] We guided. And Noah, We guided before; and among his descendants, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do We reward the doers of good. And Zechariah and John and Jesus and Elias — and all were of the righteous. And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and lot — and all [of them] We preferred over the worlds. And [some] among their fathers and their descendants and their brothers — and We chose them and We guided them to a straight path.﴿ Quran chapter “The cattle” 6:84-87.
[7] Yanabie al-Mawadda (springs of kindness) Vol. 1 page 47, and the narration from salman is also included in Tarikh Madinat Dimashq (The history of Damascus) Vol. 42 page 67, Manaqib ibn al-Maghazli (The attributes by ibn al-maghazli) page 87, Fathail al-Sahaba (The favors of the companions) by ibn hanbal Vol. 2 page 662, Manaqib al-Khawarizmi (The attributes by al-Khawarizmi) page 145.
[8] The appearance of the spirit or the angel in a body is an established matter in the old Testament and the new Testament, such as its appearance to Hajar (Genesis 16:7), to Mary and to Jacob. concerning the interpretation of the appearance of the angel to Jacob, Antonios Fekry says, “The spiritual creation like the angels cannot be seen by us unless they take a physical form by which we can see them, and that is whenever God wants it and allows it.” The Interpretation of Luke 1.
As for the matter of the appearance of Gabriel℗ in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi, it is a mat- ter well-known to all the muslims. And i will mention brief examples: Muhammad bin Yahya al-Khathami narrated from Imam Abu Abdullah℗ that he said, ﴾“Abu Thar went to the messenger of God℗ and with him was Gabriel℗ in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi. And the messenger of God wanted to see him privately, so when he [Abu Thar] saw them, he walked away and did not interrupt them.”﴿ Al-Kafi (The sufficient) by al-Kulaini Vol. 2 page 587.
Sheikh al-mufeed said, “As for the narrations concerning seeing the angels in the form of humans in the previous nations and in this nation, they are countless, as some of the compan- ions narrated that they saw Gabriel in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi.” The First Sayings page 288. And in sunan al-nisai, ﴾“Muhammad bin Qadama narrated to us from Jurair, from Abu Farwa, from Abu Zara, from Abu huraira and Abu Thar … ‘And we were sitting in the presence of the messenger of God℗ in his house, and a man with a beautiful face approached us … And he was Gabriel, sent down in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi.”﴿ Sunan al-Nisai Vol. 8 pages 101-103.
First Mahdi : Yamani : Ahmed Alhasan 