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Chapter 11 -- Prophet Isa, Victor over Death
Prophet Isa is known as "the sign of qiyamat". This
literally means that he is the "sign of the rising of the
dead". But why should he have this special distinction?
The most obvious reason is that he is coming to earth again in
qiyamat, when the resurrection will occur. But there are other
possible reasons why he should be called the "sign"
of qiyamat.
Prophet Isa, He Who Raised the Dead
One time Prophet Isa arrived at the home of friends only to
find that his sick friend Lazarus had died. The body of his friend
had been in the tomb for four days already and many people were
gathered mourning for the loss of this man. The dead man Lazarus,
had two sisters, Martha and Mary:
When Martha heard that Isa was coming, she went out to meet
him, but Mary stayed at home. "Lord," Martha said to Isa, "if you had been here, my brother would not have
died. But I know that even now that Allah will give you whatever
you ask." Isa said to her, "Your brother will rise
again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again
in the resurrection at the last day." Isa said to her,
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in
me will live, even though he dies."-- Holy , John 11:21-25
Prophet Isa made an astounding claim for himself in this passage.
He claimed to be "the resurrection and the life". Not
only that, but those who believed in him, would be raised from
death. Then to prove that he was not making a wild claim he told
the people to remove the stone from the mouth of the tomb, then
prayed and called out to the dead man in a loud voice, "Lazarus,
come out!" What happened?
The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips
of linen, and a cloth around his face. Isa said to them, "Take
off the grave clothes and let him go." -- Holy , John
11:44
Who better to be the "sign of qiyamat"--the sign
of the rising of the dead--than the one who can raise the dead?
Prophet Isa, He Whom Death Did Not Defeat
Allah has sent many prophets to mankind down through the centuries.
But among all the prophets who have lived and died, Isa stands
out as unique, because he is the prophet whom death did not defeat.
Followers of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and followers of
both believe that Prophet Isa was not defeated by death. The main
difference is that the followers of Isa believe that he died
first but then rose again from death victoriously the third day.
They believe that Isa willingly gave his life according to Allah's
preconceived plan. Also, they believe that by God-given power
he rose again from the dead. Just as Isa said,
No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. -- Holy
, John 10:18
Isa 's disciples, including this author, believe that in this
way he was victorious over death. He faced death, and finally
defeated death. He faced death for a reason though. He died so
that men could be freed from death, and so that death and Satan
could be destroyed:
He too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might
destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, Iblis--and
free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their
fear of death. -- Holy , Hebrews 2:14,15
Are you afraid of dying? If so, then Prophet Isa died to free
you from your fear. You can believe that his death for you has
infinite value. But how did his death take place? What were the
circumstances? In order to find out, we must look into the holy
, one of the books sent by Allah:
So the soldiers took charge of Isa. Carrying his own cross,
he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called
Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others-one
on each side and Isa in the middle.
Near the cross of Isa stood his mother, his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Isa saw his
mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby,
he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son,"
and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that
time on, the disciple took her into his home. Later, knowing
that all was now completed, and so that would be
fulfilled, Isa said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine
vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge
on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Isa's lips.
When he had received the drink, Isa said, "It is finished."
With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. -- Holy ,
John 19:17-18, 25-30
Prophet Isa 's words from the cross, "It is finished",
refer not merely to finishing the drink, but to finishing his
work of dying so that death would be destroyed. It is as though
he was saying, "Death is finished! I have conquered it!"
Afterward, we read not that his spirit was taken from him, but
that Prophet Isa willingly gave up his spirit. If Prophet Isa of
his own free will died so that death could be destroyed, then
his death was not in vain. His death means he was victorious.
The proof of his victory is that he did not stay dead. He arose
from the grave:
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came
down from heaven, and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone
and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes
were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they
shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women,
"Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Isa,
who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell
his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead
of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told
you." So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet
filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Isa
met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped
his feet and worshipped. Then Isa said to them, "Do not
be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they
will see me.
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Isa had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped
him; but some doubted. Then Isa came to them and said, "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations." -- Holy , Matthew
28:1-10, 16-19
Is it not interesting that the one who rose again from death,
would be known as the sign of qiyamat, that is, the sign of the
day of resurrection? All the other notable prophets lie in their
graves awaiting qiyamat so that they, like us, may be raised
from the dead. But Isa, having once died, is now alive and will
come back to earth to raise the dead to life. This is why he
said:
I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever
and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave. -- Holy ,
Revelation 1:18
Prophet Isa, He Who Will Raise the Dead in Qiyamat
When Prophet Isa walked this earth, he proved his power and
authority to give life to others by healing the sick and raising
the dead. He will prove it again in the day of qiyamat by raising
the dead to immortality. Listen to these words spoken about Isa:
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all
that are in the graves shall hear his (i.e. Isa's) voice, and shall come forth;
they that have done good, to the resurrection of life; and they
that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation. -- Holy ,
John 5:28,29
According to this, at the shout of Prophet Isa the dead will
rise. After this, each person will be judged according to his
works.
Prophet Isa, He Who Will Judge All Men
Did you know that in the day of qiyamat, your judge will be
Prophet ? Although it is widely believed that when Isa
returns he will administer some sort of judgment, few people
think about what that really means. It means that he is the one
to whom we must answer for our sins and wrongdoing. He is also
the one who will reward us for work well done. He is the one
who will intercede for his own people. One time when Apostle
Paul was speaking to idolaters about the foolishness of worshipping
idols, he spoke this message from the Lord:
In the past Allah overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands
all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he
will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the
dead. -- Holy , Acts 17:30,31
Prophet Isa is the one who has been raised from the dead. He
is also the one Allah has appointed to judge all men, both those
who are his disciples and those who are not. Listen to his words:
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and
I will give to everyone according to what he has done." -- Holy , Revelation 22:12
Isa is keeping a book called the "Book of Life".
In this Book of Life the names of all his true disciples are
recorded. In the day of judgment that book will be brought forward
and opened. Those whose names are in the Book, will receive a
place in Allah's eternal kingdom. Those whose names are absent,
will be cast away from Allah's presence forever:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on
it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place
for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before
the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which
is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they
had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that
were in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead that were in
them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake
of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written
in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. -- Holy
, Revelation 20:11-15
Prophet Isa, He Who Saves Men from Death and Hell
Prophet Isa claimed to be the "resurrection and the life".
He proved it by raising the dead and by rising from death himself.
He will also cause all men to rise from their graves in qiyamat
and then either accuse them or defend them. How will it be with
you, friend? Are you his disciple? Have you believed that he
gave his life so that you could receive salvation? Do you depend
on him to save you in the day of judgment?
...if you confess with your mouth, "Isa is Lord,"
and believe in your heart that Allah raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe
and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess
and are saved. As al-Kitab says, "Anyone who trusts
in him will never be put to shame." -- Holy , Romans 10:9-11
Right now, you should accept him as your Lord and Saviour.
He wants to save you. As Isa said,
...whoever comes to me I will never drive away. -- Holy ,
John 6:37
Seek out others who believe in him as well, and tell them
of your faith. Then together you can look forward to the day
when Prophet will come again. Together you can look
forward to the day when death will die.
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QUESTIONS:
-- Choose the most correct answers
1. Prophet Isa was able to raise dead people back to life,
a.
only if they were
dead less than 20 minutes
b. never
c.
by merely
speaking a word
2. Both Muslims and Christians believe that
a.
Prophet Isa is still
dead in the grave
b. Prophet Isa never died
c.
Death
did not utterly defeat Prophet Isa
3. The Holy teaches that Prophet Isa died on a cross
a. true
b. false
4. The death of Prophet Isa on the cross was
a.
a mistake which
took Allah by surprise
b. a terrible tragedy
c.
Allah's
plan to free men from Satan and the fear of dying
5. After Prophet Isa died on the cross
a.
he stayed dead
and is in his grave to this day
b.
he rose from the dead
the third day and is alive today
c.
he soon
woke up and lived for many years before dying again
6. Among the prophets, Prophet Isa is unique because
a.
he rose again from
the dead, but they are still in their graves
b.
he alone was born
of a virgin
c.
he is coming back
to earth
d. all of
the above
7. According to the , when Prophet Isa returns to earth
he will
a. raise the dead
b.
slaughter pigs and
break the crosses
c. die a
second time
8. Allah has chosen Prophet Isa to judge
a. only the Christians
b. all people
c.
only the
idol-worshippers
9. If anyone confesses that Prophet Isa is "Lord"
and believes that Allah raised him from the dead
a. he will be saved
b. he is mistaken
c.
he might
be saved if he is faithful in prayers
10. You believe that Prophet Isa is Allah's chosen Messiah,
sent to save people from their sins
a. true
b. false
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