A Reason to Rejoice for All Muslims and Those Who Seek the Truth

The beliefs in Jesus’ supernatural life, his bodily ascension to the heavens and the idea that his spirit resided with the souls of departed Prophets who had already entered paradise, directly contradict with the Quranic teaching and are a fallacy and a stain on Islam. [The persistence of these doctrines] has meant that for far too long, Muslims monotheists have been in the figurative debt of the idolaters of the West. As a consequence of their acceptance of these doctrines, ignorant Muslims have allowed their debt to swell with interest. In India, hundreds of thousands have turned their backs on Islam and been seized by the clasping hand of Christianity. They have no apparent way of repaying this debt. The Christians [have long taunted the Muslims] by saying that their Lord, Jesus Christ, manifested his divine power by ascending to the heavens with his physical body, whereas the Holy Prophet(sa) of Islam could not even take flight to reach Medina and was forced to hide for three days in the cave of Thaur before reaching his destination with great difficulty. Thereafter, he was to live for only another ten years before death and the grave beckoned. Now his remains lie [forever] buried beneath the earth. Jesus Christ, however, is alive in the heavens and will live for eternity. It is he who will return to earth and re-establish justice in the world. All those who do not accept him as God will be seized and cast into the fire of hell.

The situation seemed hopeless and the Muslims had little or no response to these gibes. They were continually shamed and humiliated. But today, the [falseness] of Jesus Christ’s divinity has been exposed, and the myth of his ascension shattered. Firstly, there has been the discovery of numerous ancient medical texts written by the Romans, Greeks, Zoroastrians and Christians and later translated by the Muslims which contain the formula for the ‘the Ointment of Jesus’. It is reported that this ointment was prepared for his crucifixion wounds. Also, there is the discovery of the tomb of Jesus(as) in Kashmir. Furthermore, a number of Persian and Arabic texts have come to light, some over a 1000 years old, that provide evidence of Jesus’ death and his burial in Kashmir. However the latest news I have received in this regard has brought with it a day of jubilation for all Muslims. I am alluding to the discovery in Jerusalem of an old Hebraic document which bears the signature of Jesus’ disciple Peter (the content of which I have already reproduced in my book Noah’s Ark). This document contains evidence that Jesus died on this very earth almost fifty years after he was put on the cross.

It has been purchased by a Christian company for 250,000 rupees and has been verified as having been written by Peter. It would be naïve to cling to the idea that Jesus is still alive in the face of such clear and overwhelming evidence. One cannot deny the facts. Muslims! I congratulate you, for this is a day of triumph. Abandon your false beliefs and fashion your faith in accordance with the Holy Quran.

Let me reiterate that this final testimony is that of Jesus’ closest disciple. In this document, he identifies himself as Peter; a servant of the son of Mary. He tells his age as 90 and is writing 3 years after the death of Jesus. Historically, both Jesus and Peter are understood to have been of similar ages and that at the time of the crucifixion Jesus was approximately 33 years old and Peter somewhere between 30 and 40. Both these facts have been accepted by renowned Christian scholars (see Smith’s Dictionary, Vol. 3, p. 2446, 1 New Testament History, and other historical works on the subject). A number of notable experts on Christianity have examined this letter and declared it authentic. This discovery has brought with it a great deal of joy. As I have already mentioned, the letter has been valued so highly that the heirs of the holy man from whose library it was found were paid a handsome amount for it.

To my mind further evidence of the authenticity of this letter lies in the fact that it emerged from the library of a Roman Catholic who believed not only in the divinity of Christ but also of Mary. He had kept it only as an ancient relic. Because it is written in Ancient Hebraic and uses archaic terms he was unaware of its actual import. This too is evidence [of the document’s authenticity]. Besides the testimony found in Peter’s letter, [we already know that] there were particular sects among the early Christians who believed that Jesus was taken off the cross in a state of unconsciousness which resembled death and brought to a sepulchre, where for three days he was nursed back to health. Afterwards he left for another land where he lived for many years. Details of these beliefs can be found in certain European books. Among them are New Life of Jesus by Strauss, Modern Doubt and Christian Belief and Supernatural Religion. I have quoted excerpts from these works in Tuhfah-e-Golarhwiyyah.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian
6th October, 1902