Texts of Islam

The Prophets, Their Lives and Their Stories: Jesus The Son of Mary: The Uplift of Jesus The Son of Mary Into Heaven

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This is a religious text from the Islamic tradition, specifically drawing on Shia sources, presenting narrations (hadiths) attributed to several Imams — Al-Bâqir, Al-Sâdiq, and Al-Ridhâ — about the ascension of Jesus into heaven. Its central argument is that Jesus was not crucified but was physically lifted alive into heaven by God, with a volunteer disciple taking his appearance and being crucified in his place, consistent with the Quranic verse from Al-Nisâ' (4:157). The text works through competing interpretations of Quran 3:55 ("I am gathering thee and causing thee to ascend unto Me"), ranging from Jesus dying briefly and being revived, to ascending without death, to ascending while asleep — ultimately favoring a middle position without fully resolving the debate. A distinctive claim is the cosmic significance of the night of Jesus's ascension, which is linked to the deaths of Joshua ben Nun and Ali ibn Abi Talib, and to the night of Al-Husain's death, with a physical sign (blood under every stone) marking all these occasions. The text closes with an eschatological assertion: Jesus remains alive, will return before the Day of Judgment, and will pray behind Al-Mahdi, at which point all Jews, Christians, and others will believe in him — an interpretation sourced to Imam Al-Bâqir and validated even by the notoriously harsh Umayyad governor Al-Hajjâj.

The Prophets, Their Lives and Their Stories: Jesus The Son of Mary: The Uplift of Jesus The Son of Mary Into Heaven

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