Question
Peace,
In chapter 4, verse 159 of the Qur’an, it is said that the people of the book would believe in Jesus before his death and that Jesus would be a witness against them on the day of Judgement. But Ustaz Ghamidi maintains that Jesus is already dead. We know that all people in the book do not believe in Jesus i.e. the Jews. So, if Jesus has died and will not come back, as claimed by Ustaz Ghamidi, then how come Allah says that all people of the book will believe him before death? I think this proves that Jesus is not dead and may, therefore, come back to defeat the antichrist before the Day of Judgment.
Please, I also want to know whether the answers I get from Al-Mawrid’s Query Service are vetted by him or not.
Answer
Peace.
The Aayah in question is as follows:
وَإِن مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ إِلاَّ لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهِ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهِ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا
Ghamidi translated this Aayah, according to the context, as follows:
[This is a list of their crimes; so if they are now demanding that a book other than the Qur’ān be directly revealed to them, just ignore them. O Prophet!] There is none among these People of the Book but will believe in [this Qur’ān] before his death; and on the Day of Judgement, it will bear witness against them.
Please note that Muslim exegetes have interpreted this Aayah in many different ways as they differed on who the pronouns refer to. Ibn Jarir Tabari himself has mentioned three possible interpretations of the verse; firstly, all the People of the Book will believe in Jesus (pbuh) before his death; secondly, all the People of the Book will believe in Jesus (pbuh) before their death and thirdly, all the People of the Book will believe in Muhammad (pbuh) before their death. There is also another possible interpretation according to which everyone from among the People of the Book, before the Prophet Muhammad’s death, will believe in the Qur’an. Ibn ‘Abdu’l Barr in his book Al-Tamhid has said that Imam Tabari opined that the verse is specific for the People of the Book of the times of Jesus (pbuh) and not for the People of the Book of all times. Therefore, this verse cannot be presented as definitive proof of the fact that Jesus will descend on earth before the Last Day.
For a detailed explanation of this Aayah and other contextual Aayaat, by Ghamidi, please refer to this video of his
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0RLyCE1EE0
Note: The answers provided through the Query Service are mostly based on the works and videos of Ustaz Ghamidi, especially if a person specifically asks for his understanding but we also try to present the opinions of other scholars. Ustaz Ghamidi does not answer these queries himself.
Regards,
Answered by: Mushfiq Sultan
Date: 2017-03-24
