Topic: Rabwah
View Aspects
وَمَثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَٰلَهُمُ ٱبْتِغَآءَ مَرْضَاتِ ٱللَّهِ وَتَثْبِيتًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ كَمَثَلِ جَنَّةٍۭ بِرَبْوَةٍ أَصَابَهَا وَابِلٌ فَـَٔاتَتْ أُكُلَهَا ضِعْفَيْنِ فَإِن لَّمْ يُصِبْهَا وَابِلٌ فَطَلٌّ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
اصل میں حال ہے مگر ترجمہ صفت کے مشابہ ہو گیا ہے جس کے بغیر چارہ نہ تھا مگر مفہوم میں کوئی فرق نہیں پڑا اور نہ عربی کے استعمال میں فرق پڑا ہے۔
اَلطَّلُّ: اَضْعَفُ الْمَطَرِ (اقرب) طَلَّ نہایت خفیف بارش کو کہتے ہیں۔
See 2:262.
Spending money in the cause of Allah strengthens the soul of a person because by spending his hard-earned wealth he voluntarily imposes a burden on himself which makes him firmer and more steadfast in faith.
The hearts of believers who spend freely in the cause of God are like an elevated piece of ground to which heavy rain, which sometimes proves harmful for low-lying tracts, can do no harm. On the other hand, it is benefitted by rain, whether it is heavy or light.
See 2:262.
Important Words:
تثبیتا (strengthen) is derived from ثبت which means, he or it subsisted or lasted; he or it became fixed or stationary at a place; he was firm, stable, steadfast and unwavering. ثبت الامر means, the matter became proved and determined. اثبته means, he made a person or thing fixed and stationary, rendering him or it unable to move; he imprisoned him or inflicted on him a crippling injury. اثبت الحق means, he strengthened or reinforced the truth with clear arguments. ثبته (thabbatahu) means, he made a person or thing firm, steadfast, unwavering and fixed; he strengthened him or it so as to make him or it fit to endure all trials and shakings (Aqrab & Lane).
ربوة (elevated ground) is derived from ربا. They say ربا المال i.e. the money increased and became augmented. رباالولد means, the child grew up. رباالرابیة means, he climbed the height. ربوة or رابیة means, a hill or elevated ground (Aqrab). ربا (interest) is also from the same root and is so called because it is looked upon as a sure and unfailing means of increasing and multiplying wealth.
Commentary:
Spending money in the cause of Allah leads to the strengthening of the soul. The man who strives in the cause of God by spending his wealth, imposes a burden on himself which makes him still more firm and steadfast in his faith. Besides, as he helps others with his money, God helps him and protects him from harm.
The hearts of the believers who spend freely in the cause of God are like elevated ground to which heavy rain, which sometimes proves harmful for low-lying grounds, can do no harm. On the other hand, it is benefited by rain, whether it is heavy or light.
In the verse under comment, rain represents charity. Those who spend large amounts are referred to in the words "heavy rain", while those who can afford to spend only small amounts in the cause of Allah are referred to in the words "light rain" (see also 9:79).
Both classes of men are benefited, inasmuch as they are granted more and more power to do good deeds and receive an ample reward from God, Who does not look to the amount of the money spent in His cause but to the proportion it bears to the money retained by the spender for his worldly needs. The word طل (light rain), besides including the lightest of rains, also means "dew" (Lane) and has been used to point out that even the smallest amounts spent in the cause of Allah has its reward.
b
4:39; 8:48.
204
为了安拉的事业而花钱, 可以增强一个人的精神力量, 因为他花掉了辛苦赚来的钱, 自愿增加自己的负担, 这就使他的信念更坚定、更牢固。
1
اصل میں حال ہے مگر ترجمہ صفت کے مشابہ ہو گیا ہے جس کے بغیر چارہ نہ تھا مگر مفہوم میں کوئی فرق نہیں پڑا اور نہ عربی کے استعمال میں فرق پڑا ہے۔
2
اَلطَّلُّ: اَضْعَفُ الْمَطَرِ (اقرب) طَلَّ نہایت خفیف بارش کو کہتے ہیں۔
a
See 2:262.
272
Important Words:
تثبیتا (strengthen) is derived from ثبت which means, he or it subsisted or lasted; he or it became fixed or stationary at a place; he was firm, stable, steadfast and unwavering. ثبت الامر means, the matter became proved and determined. اثبته means, he made a person or thing fixed and stationary, rendering him or it unable to move; he imprisoned him or inflicted on him a crippling injury. اثبت الحق means, he strengthened or reinforced the truth with clear arguments. ثبته (thabbatahu) means, he made a person or thing firm, steadfast, unwavering and fixed; he strengthened him or it so as to make him or it fit to endure all trials and shakings (Aqrab & Lane).
ربوة (elevated ground) is derived from ربا. They say ربا المال i.e. the money increased and became augmented. رباالولد means, the child grew up. رباالرابیة means, he climbed the height. ربوة or رابیة means, a hill or elevated ground (Aqrab). ربا (interest) is also from the same root and is so called because it is looked upon as a sure and unfailing means of increasing and multiplying wealth.
Commentary:
Spending money in the cause of Allah leads to the strengthening of the soul. The man who strives in the cause of God by spending his wealth, imposes a burden on himself which makes him still more firm and steadfast in his faith. Besides, as he helps others with his money, God helps him and protects him from harm.
The hearts of the believers who spend freely in the cause of God are like elevated ground to which heavy rain, which sometimes proves harmful for low-lying grounds, can do no harm. On the other hand, it is benefited by rain, whether it is heavy or light.
In the verse under comment, rain represents charity. Those who spend large amounts are referred to in the words "heavy rain", while those who can afford to spend only small amounts in the cause of Allah are referred to in the words "light rain" (see also 9:79).
Both classes of men are benefited, inasmuch as they are granted more and more power to do good deeds and receive an ample reward from God, Who does not look to the amount of the money spent in His cause but to the proportion it bears to the money retained by the spender for his worldly needs. The word طل (light rain), besides including the lightest of rains, also means "dew" (Lane) and has been used to point out that even the smallest amounts spent in the cause of Allah has its reward.
d
See 2:262.
334
Spending money in the cause of Allah strengthens the soul of a person because by spending his hard-earned wealth he voluntarily imposes a burden on himself which makes him firmer and more steadfast in faith.
335
The hearts of believers who spend freely in the cause of God are like an elevated piece of ground to which heavy rain, which sometimes proves harmful for low-lying tracts, can do no harm. On the other hand, it is benefitted by rain, whether it is heavy or light.
وَجَعَلْنَا ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَأُمَّهُۥٓ ءَايَةً وَءَاوَيْنَٰهُمَآ إِلَىٰ رَبْوَةٍ ذَاتِ قَرَارٍ وَمَعِينٍ
由于伊撒的死, 犹如他的出生一样, 成为一个引起极大争论的问题, 对于他如何以及在哪里度过他经历丰富的一生的最后几天, 仍旧存在着某种混乱和怀疑的情况, 而且由于死的情况 (问题) 在基督教方面也是一个主要问题, 就需要对这个虽然是一个令人迷惑的, 但又非常重要的宗教问题作一些详尽的注释。«古兰经» 和 «圣经» 以已证实了的历史事实为基础, 强有力地支持伊撒并没有死在十字架上的这一看法。以下的论证证实并支持这一论点: (1) 俄国旅行家尼古拉斯•诺托维奇 (Nicholas Notovitch) 大约在1877年到过远东。他在 «伊撒未知的一生» 一书中告诉我们, 伊撒来过克什米和阿富汗。弗朗西斯•杨•黑斯本德爵士在尼古拉斯•诺托维奇访问克什米尔时是克什米尔土邦主 (مَهَارَاجَه, Maharajah) 法院的英国驻扎官员, 在佐吉拉要隘 (Zojila Pass) 附近碰到过他。关于伊撒在东方旅行的最近研究, 有力地证实了诺托维奇书中所述的情况。尼科勒斯教授 (Nichqus Roerich) 在他所著 ‘Heart of Asia’ 一书中叙述道: “在斯利那加 (Srinagar), 我们首先意外地听到了伊撒到过那里的离奇传说。后来我们看到在印度、拉达和 (Laddakh)、中亚、西亚到处都传播着伊撒到过这些地区的传说……整个中亚、西亚, 在克什米尔、拉达和及西藏, 甚至更远的北方, 仍然存在着坚强的信念, 认为伊撒(或基督)在那里旅行过” (贾瓦哈拉尔•尼赫鲁 (Jawahar Lal Nehru) 著Glimpses of World History)。
有些学者利用诺托维奇那本书中的一些含糊不清的章节作掩护, 声称伊撒是在被任命为安拉所派遣的先知之前而不是在这之后来到东方的。可是, 这样说来, 伊撒来到印度的时候只是一个十三四岁的孩子, 他不可能抱有走上如此漫长而艰难的路程到一个遥远的地方去, 因而在路上会遇到生命危险的这种想法。总之, 伊撒在这样小的年纪来到印度, 有什么东西吸引着他? 或者他的动机是什么? 而且即使那时他真的来到了印度, 印度和克什米尔的民众又有什么兴趣来对一个十三四岁的孩子的活动、作为和闲逛而作出记录? 根据历史资料所得的事实是, 伊撒被犹太人排斥后, 他在巴勒斯坦生命有危险, 他抛弃了那个国家, 为实现古老的 «圣经» 上的那些预言而寻找 “那失踪了的十个以色列部族,” 他走了漫长而危险的路程到印度和克什米尔并且度过经历丰富的一生, 活到一百二十岁高龄 (كَنْزُ الْعُمَّالْ, Kanzul-‘Ummal, Vol.6)。在那时才开始记录他的活动。这些 “失踪了的以色列部族” 被亚述人和巴比伦人击溃后散居在伊拉克和伊朗;并在后来伊朗人在大流士和塞鲁士统治下把他们的领土向东继续扩充到阿富汗和印度时, 这些部族也跟着他们移居在这些国家。
(2) 克什米尔人和阿富汗人是 “失踪了的以色列部族” 的后裔。这一事实从这两种民族的传统习惯、历史和文字记录方面来看都是十分明显的。他们城镇和部族的名字、风俗习惯、生活方式、方法、服装、身体特征等, 都和犹太人相似。他们古老的遗迹和铭刻文也证实了这一看法。他们的民间传说充满着犹太人的故事。克什米尔 (Kashmir) 这一名字本身实际上就是克希尔 (Kashir), 意思是 “像叙利亚” (或者, 它看来是以努哈的一个孙子 Kash 即 Cush 命名的)。所有这些事实都肯定了这样的看法: 阿富汗人和克什米尔人基本上是 “那失踪了的十个以色列部族” 的后裔。
(3) 这些证明足以证实这样一个事实, 伊撒确实到过克什米尔, 而克什米尔人是 “失踪了的十个以色列部族” 的后裔。但是最重要、最好的证明伊撒来到克什米尔而且生活并死在那儿的是在克什米尔, 斯利那加城卡奈亚尔 (Khanyar) 街上的他的坟墓。这一坟墓叫做劳扎巴尔 (رَوْضَة بَلْ, Raudahbal), 人们对它有各种叫法: 尤兹•阿撒夫 (Yuz Asaf) 坟、先知先生 (Nabi Sahib) 坟、王子先知 (Shahzadah Nabi) 坟、甚至有人叫它伊撒先生 (عِيْسٰی صَاحِبْ, ‘Isa Sahib) 坟。根据非常可靠的历史记载, 这个尤兹•阿撒夫来到克什米尔大约是在1900多年以前, 他用寓言来讲道, 并用了记载在 «圣经•新约» («引吉勒»)内的许多寓言。有些历史书籍称他为先知 نَبِیّ (Nabi,)。而且, 尤兹•阿撒夫是 «圣经» 中的一个名字, 意为 “聚集人, 耶稣 (يَسُوْع, Yasu‘),” 这是对伊撒的一个描写性的称呼之一, 因为他的使命是把失踪了的以色列部族聚集到主宰和羊栏中来, 正如他自己所说: “而且我也必须把不是这一羊栏中的其他的羊带进来, 它们一定要听我的声音, 只能有一个羊栏和一个牧羊人” («约翰» 10:16)。
以下的一些历史上的摘录对这一论题也可作些说明:
“这个坟墓大家称它为一个先知的坟墓。他是一个王子, 从国外到克什米尔来对克什米尔人进行传教工作。他的名字叫尤兹•阿撒夫 (تَارِيْخِ اَعْظَمِی, Tarikh-e-A‘zami, pp.82-85)……“尤兹•阿撒夫在好几个国家内漫游各地直到他来到克什米尔这个国家。他在这个国家到处旅行并在那里生活居住到他老死为止。” (اِكْمَالُ الدِّيْن, Ikmalud-Din, pp.358-359)……“有人对我说, 克什米尔传说中有对一位先知的叙述, 他生活在这儿并且像伊撒那样用寓言和小故事来教导。这些寓言和小故事直到现在还被人们不断地讲着。” (John Noel’s article in Asia, Oct, 1930)……“因此伊撒外逃到印度以及死在斯里奈加, 不论在理性和历史方面都是与事实符合的 تَفْسِيْر اَلْمَنَارْ (Tafsir al-Manar, Vol.6)。
然而, 为了更好和更充分地论述这一课题, 请看主许迈喜合, 阿哈默德所著的《迈喜合在印度》 (مسيح هندوستان ميں--------Masih Hindustan Main) 一书。也请看众所周知的那本 ‘Nazarene Gospel Restored’。那本书的作者认为, 虽然伊撒正式地讲来是在公元三十年钉死在十字架上的, 但他在死后复生又活了大约二十年。
伊撒从十字架上那不幸的死亡中解救出来后, 和他的母亲在一个地方宁静平安地生活并得到了永恒的安息。那个地方要数 «古兰经» 上的话描绘得最好, 即 “绿色山谷中的高地, 下有诸溪川流”。这对克什米尔美丽的山谷是十分恰当的写照。尼古拉斯•诺托维奇把克什米尔叫做 “永久的极乐山谷。”
تاریخ سے ثابت ہے کہ یہ اونچی جگہ کشمیر تھی۔ بائبل اور یہودیوں اور ہندوؤں کی تاریخ سے بھی بہت سے حوالے اس کی تائید میں ملتے ہیں۔
As Jesus’s death, like his birth, has become a subject of great controversy, and some confusion and doubt still persist as to how and where he passed the last days of his crowded life, and as the question of the manner of his death also forms a vital question with the Christian Faith, a somewhat exhaustive note on this very important, albeit baffling religious question is called for. The Qur’an and the Bible, reinforced by authenticated facts of history, lend powerful support to the view that Jesus did not die on the Cross. The following arguments substantiate and support this contention:
(1) In his book "The Unknown Life of Jesus" Nicholas Notovitch, a Russian traveller, who visited the Far East in about 1877 tells us that Jesus came to Kashmir and Afghanistan. Sir Francis Younghusband, who at the time when Nicholas Notovitch visited Kashmir, was a British resident at the court of the Maharaja of Kashmir, met him near the Zojila Pass. Recent research about Jesus’s travels in the East le
Important Words:
آویناھما (We gave them refuge) is derived from أوی. They say أوی البیت اوالی البیت i.e. he lodged in the house and found rest and satisfaction therein. آواہ البیت اوالی البیت (awa) means, he lodged him in the house, he gave him shelter, refuge or asylum in the house. أوی is used when a person finds protection, asylum, satisfaction and comfort in a place after he has been through hardships and privations (Lane & Arqab). See also 8:73; 11:44; 12:70 & 93:7.
ربوة (elevated land) is derived from ربی which means, it increased; it became high; he grew up. ربوة means, a hill or elevated ground or an elevated place (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:266; 22:6.
قرار (meadows) is inf. noun from قر. They say قر بالمکان i.e. he settled or became established; rested; resided in the place. قرار means, a state or place or time of rest, permanence or continuance; a secure dwelling; a place where water rests in a meadow. It is also a plural (or rather a coll. gen. n.,) of which the singular is قرارة. The word is also applied to low and fertile grounds (Lane & Aqrab).
معین (springs of running water) may be taken as derived from معن or عان. They say, معن الماء i.e. the water flowed. معن المطر الارض means, the rain constantly fell upon the ground and its thirst was satisfied. معن النبات means, the plant had plentiful irrigation. عان الماء اوالدمع means, the water or the tear flowed. عانت البئر means, the water of the well became plentiful. معینmeans, flowing water, a spring. ماء معین means, flowing water or the water which the eye sees flowing upon the surface of the earth (Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse constitutes a befitting sequel to the subject dealt with in the few preceding verses, viz. that it is an invariable divine law that God’s Messengers are at first rejected and persecuted but eventually they succeed and their rejecters come to grief and that in consonance with this divine law, Jesus, the last Israelite Prophet also met with severe persecution at the hands of his opponents. They got him hung on the cross. But true to His law and promise God delivered him from the accursed death by crucifixion, and to offset his seeming failure in the early stages of his mission gave him shelter along with his mother in a land full of green meadows and running springs, where his mission prospered and where he lived to a ripe old age. As Jesus’ death, like his birth, has become a subject of great controversy, and some confusion and doubt still persist as to how and where he passed the last days of his crowded life, and as the question of the manner of his death forms a vital question with the Christian Faith, a somewhat exhaustive note on this very important, albeit baffling religious question is called for.
The Quran and the Bible, reinforced by authenticated facts of history, lend powerful support to our view that Jesus did not die on the cross. The following arguments substantiate and support this contention:
1. Jesus could not have died on the cross because he was a Divine Prophet and a righteous servant of God and according to the Bible "he that is hanged is accursed of God" (Deut. 21:23).
2. On the night before Jesus was nailed to the cross he had prayed to God in great agony to "take away this cup (of death on the cross) from me" (Mark 14: 36; Matt. 26:39; Luke, 22: 42); and his prayer was heard (Heb. 5:7).
3. Jesus had predicted that like Jonah who had gone into the belly of the whale alive and had come out of it alive (Matt. 12:40) he would remain in an excavated sepulchre for three days and would come out of it alive.
4. He had also foretold that after having delivered his message to the Israelites in Palestine he would go to seek out the lost ten tribes of Israel and would bring them back into the Master’s fold (John 10: 16). Even Jews themselves in Jesus’ time believed that the lost tribes of Israel had become dispersed in different lands (John 7: 34, 35).
5. Jesus had remained hung on the cross only for about three hours (John 9: 14) while persons of normal constitutions, had remained on the cross for as many as three to six days and then died from exhaustion, hunger and exposure
6. Immediately after he had been taken down from the cross Jesus’ side was pierced and blood and water flowed out of it which was a certain sign of life (John 19: 34).
7. The Jews themselves were not sure of Jesus’ death because they had asked Pilate to have a guard posted at his sepulchre "lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say unto the people, 'He is risen from the dead' (Matt. 27:64).
8. There is not to be found in all the Gospels a single recorded statement of an eye-witness to the effect that Jesus had died on the cross or that he was dead when he was taken down from the cross or when he was placed in the tomb. The Jews had their own doubts and none of the disciples was present at the scene of crucifixion, all having fled when Jesus was taken to Calvary.
The fact of the case seems to be that, presumably due to the dream of his wife "to have nothing to do with that just man," Pilate had believed Jesus to be innocent and had therefore conspired with Joseph of Arimaethia, a respectable member of the Essene Order to which Jesus himself belonged before he was commissioned as a Prophet, to save his life. The trial of Jesus took place on Friday, Pilate having purposely prolonged it knowing that the next day being the Sabbath Day the condemned persons would not be left on the cross after sunset.
When at last he found himself compelled to condemn Jesus, Pilate gave his judgement only three hours before sunset, thus making himself sure that no person of normal health could die in such a short time by remaining on the cross. He took additional care to see that Jesus was given wine or vinegar mingled with myrrh to render him less sensitive to pain. When after three hours’ suspension Jesus was taken down from the cross in an unconscious state (probably under the influence of vinegar which was administered to him) Pilate readily granted Joseph of Arimaethia’s request and handed over Jesus’s body to him. Unlike those of the two malefactors who were hung along with him, his bones were not broken and Joseph had him placed in a spacious room hewn in the side of a rock. There was no medical autopsy, no stethoscopic test, no inquest with the aid of the evidence of those who were last with him ("Mystical life of Jesus" by H. Spencer Lewis).
9. "The Crucifixion by an Eye-Witness," a book which was at first published in 1873 in U.S.A. and which is an English translation of an ancient Latin copy of a letter written seven years after the Crucifixion by an Essene brother in Jerusalem to a member of this brotherhood in Alexandria lends further support to the view of Jesus having been taken down from the cross alive. The book narrates in detail all the events leading to the Crucifixion, the scenes at the Calvary and also the incidents that took place afterwards.
10. An ointment, the famous Marham-i-‘Isa, (the ointment of Jesus) was prepared and applied to Jesus’s wounds and he was tended and looked after by Joseph of Arimaethia and Nicodemus, a very learned and highly respected member of the Essene brotherhood.
11. After the wounds of Jesus had been sufficiently healed he left the tomb in which he was placed and met some of his disciples who "were horrified and affrighted and supposed that they had seen a spirit." He assured them that he was no spirit but a man of flesh and bones and had his food with them and walked the whole distance from Jerusalem to Galilee on foot (Luke 24: 37-43).
All these authentic facts of history show that Jesus did not die on the cross. The story of his death on the cross and his having risen from the dead after three days and having bodily gone to heaven may deceive a gullible people holding fantastic beliefs, it cannot satisfy any reasonable person (Enc. Brit. article on "Ascension").
The fact having been established that Jesus survived Crucifixion, the question still remains, if Jesus did not die on the cross and there being no trace of his tomb in Palestine, the scene of his early missionary activities, where did he go and live and die after the great event? It is now a known fact established by reliable historical data that after the event of Crucifixion, Jesus, finding life unsafe in Palestine, forsook that country forever and went to seek the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel and to preach his Message to them. For this purpose he took a long and arduous journey to the East, where those Ten Tribes had lived after their great dispersion by the Assyrians and Babylonians, first to Assyria, Mesopotamia and Media and then to further East––Afghanistan, Kashmir and India. While yet in Palestine, Jesus had given sufficient indications, though in parables and proverbs, as was his wont, that in some future time he would have to leave Palestine for another country (John 8: 21; 10: 16; 13: 33).
After Crucifixion Jesus felt that he was a hunted man and that if he remained in his native place he would be arrested again and probably killed. He, therefore, went into hiding. The news having reached him of the cruel persecution of his disciples he was sorely distressed, and in extreme agony of spirit exclaimed; "the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matt. 8: 20). He decided to leave Palestine for all time. From Jerusalem he went to Nazareth and from Nazareth to Damascus where he stayed for some time at a place which is known to this day as Maqam-i-‘Isa. Finding himself insecure even in Damascus he left for Nisibin (Raudatus-Safa and Jami‘ut-Tawarikh). He did not feel safe even at Nisibin (Tabari) and left for far-off Kashmir. Finding it unsafe to travel under his real name he henceforward, travelled under the assumed name of Yuz Asaf (Yuz in Hebrew being the same as Yasu‘ and Asaf meaning the gatherer). Henceforward Jesus becomes Yuz Asaf and is known by this name till his death. On his way from Nisibin to Kashmir he passed through Iran and Afghanistan. At last he reached his destination.
The last vestiges of doubt as to Jesus’ travel to Afghanistan and Kashmir are dispelled by that very useful book "The Unknown Life of Jesus" written by Nicholas Notovitch, a Russian traveller, who visited the Far East in about 1877. He calls Kashmir "the valley of eternal bliss" which may be regarded as an apt rendering in English of the Quranic words ذات قرار و معین.
In this book Notovitch tells us that Jesus came to India, while he was only 14 years of age, lived there for some time, learnt the use of herbs, medicine and mathematics and studied also the Hindu religion and held religious discussions with the Brahmans who ultimately became his enemies. The fact having come to his knowledge that the Brahmans were seeking to kill him, he left India for Nepal and then went to Kashmir and Afghanistan and stopping on the way in Persia he went back to Judea. Sir Francis Young husband, who was at the time when Nicholas Notovitch visited Kashmir, British resident at the court of the Maharaja of Kashmir, met him near the Zojila Pass.
Recent research about Jesus’ travels in the East lends powerful support to Notovitch’s book. The following quotations are very significant:
In Srinagar we first encountered the curious legend about Christ’s visit to the place. Afterwards we saw how widely spread in India, in Laddakh and in Central Asia, was the legend of the visit of Christ to those parts ("Heart of Asia," by Professor Nicholus Roerich). All over Central Asia, in Kashmir and Laddakh and Tibet and even further north, there still exists a strong belief that Jesus or Issa travelled about there ("Glimpses of World History," by Jawaharlal Nehru).
One day Raja Shalewahin went to a country in the Himalayas. There he saw a Raja of Sakas (foreigners) at Wein, who was fair of colour and wore white clothes. The Raja asked him who he was. He replied that he was Yusashaphat(Yuz Asaf) and was born of a woman (according to another report, "born of a virgin"…) The Raja asked him about his religion. He replied, 'it is love, truth and purity of heart and on account of this I am called ‘Isa Masih’: (Sutta. Bhavishya Maha Purana, P. 282, translated by Dr. Shiv Nath Shastri and quoted by Robert Graves and Joshua Podro in "Jesus in Rome").
Finding it impossible to deny the fact of Jesus’ having been taken down alive from the cross and of his journey to the East, some scholars have taken refuge behind some obscure passages in Notovitch’s book to claim that Jesus came to East before and not after he was commissioned as a Divine Prophet. But this inference appears manifestly to be ill-founded. A mere boy of 13 or 14 years of age as Jesus is stated to have been when he came to India, he could not have conceived of undertaking so long and arduous a journey to a far-off land, and thus of exposing himself to mortal danger on the way. After all what attraction or motives Jesus had, at such an early age, in coming over to India and studying the Hindu religion and in having discussion with the Brahmans so as to make them his enemies, as we are told in Notovitch’s book. And if at all he came to India, what interest the people of India and Kashmir had in keeping a record of the activities, doings and wanderings of a boy of 13 or 14. It is only God’s great Prophets who in the discharge of their divine mission regard no sacrifice too great to suffer. It is, therefore, after Jesus had been entrusted with his divine mission and had been rejected by the Jews in Palestine, that he forsook that country to seek, in fulfilment of the old Biblical prophecies, the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel and undertook the long and dangerous journey to India and Kashmir. It is after he had come to Afghanistan and Kashmir and had preached his message to the Israelites living there and after hundreds of thousands of people had accepted him and he had lived an eventful life to the very ripe age of 120 (Kanzul-‘Ummal, vol. 6) that records came to be kept of his doings. Early Christian writers and dignitaries of the Church were forced to admit that Jesus had lived up to old age and died full of years. In his "An Introduction to the Literature of the New Testament" (p.610) the famous Biblical scholar, Dr. James Moffatt writes: "Irenaeas quotes from the presbyters who are claimed to have been in touch with the apostle John,... that Jesus died when he was in his aetasSenior, i.e. over forty or fifty."…"According to tales current in the days of Papies the Lord lived to a great age...aetas Senior [Early History of the Christian Church by Monsignor Louis Duchesne, vol. I, p. 105] "In the later he also includes the fact that Jesus must have passed through and been subjected to all the conditions of a complete human life from birth to old age and death" (History of Dogma by Dr. Adolf Harnack, vol. 11, pp. 277-278).
It is also in keeping with the time-honoured practice of God’s Messengers that they have to do migrate after and not before they are entrusted with a divine mission and Jesus too was true to this prophetic tradition. Other facts of unimpeachable historical evidence, to which we will presently refer, also prove and establish this event of outstanding historical importance. Jesus came to Afghanistan and Kashmir because "other sheep which are not of this fold" (John 10:16) lived there. His mission could not have become complete unless he should have brought those sheep into the Master’s fold. Here are some of the arguments to show that the lost ten tribes of Israel lived in Afghanistan and Kashmir, after the Israelites were dispersed by the Assyrians and Babylonian kings:
After the death of Solomon and in the reign of his cruel and worthless son whom the Quran calls "the worm of the earth" (34:15) a revolt headed by Jeroboam split the Jews into two perpetually hostile camps. The major section, the Ten Tribes assumed the name of Israel and the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin came to be known as Judah. At the invitation of the King of Judah, the Assyrians, under Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser and Sargon invaded Samaria, the capital of the Ten Tribes, destroyed it and carried the Ten Tribes as captives to Assyria, Mesopotamia and Media. Later on the Assyrian Kingdom was destroyed by the combined armies of Babylonia and Media. When Zedekiah, the King of Judah, revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, the latter, laid siege to Jerusalem, completely destroyed the Temple and carried almost all the inhabitants into captivity. The ten tribes were forever lost to the Palestinian Jewry because when the Assyrians and the Babylonians extended their territories to the east, they carried their captives, the ten tribes of Israel, to Iraq and Persia for the purpose of colonization and later when the Persians under Darius and Cyrus extended their territories still further east, to Afghanistan and India, these Jewish tribes migrated with them to these countries and thus they became settled in the East—in Afghanistan and Kashmir and even in Samarkand and Bukhara, and were forever lost to western Jewry.
Thus as a result of their conquest first by the Assyrians and the Babylonians and then by the Persians the Jews became dispersed to Persia, Afghanistan and Kashmir and even to Khurasan, Samarkand and Bukhara. The Kashmiris and Afghans of today are the descendants of those 'Lost Tribes of Israel.' This fact is quite evident from the traditions, history and written records of these two peoples. The names of their towns and tribes, their physical features, their customs, habits, mode and manner of living, their dress, etc., all point in the same direction. Their ancient monuments and old inscriptions also support this view.
The fact that there are many places, persons and tribes in Afghanistan and particularly in Kashmir which are named after Israelite names, and that the customs, habits, manners, mode of life, form of dress of the Kashmiris, and their physical features resemble those of the Jews, coupled with the fact that their folklore is full of Jewish stories and that their language possesses hundreds of words which in pronunciation and meaning are identical with Hebrew words and that the name Kashmir is in reality Kashir meaning "like Syria" (or it seems to have been named after Kash or Cush, a grandson of Noah), impart a certainty to the view that the Afghans and Kashmiris are largely the descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel which is incapable of being assailed.
When it is established that Jesus did not die on the cross and that after having recovered from his wounds and being afraid of his life he left Jerusalem for the East, and when it is also established that the Afghans and the Kashmiris are descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel and that in fulfilment of the prophecies of the Prophets of yore, Jesus had to search for these tribes to reclaim them, there remains no manner of doubt about the fact that he did come to Afghanistan and Kashmir. But the greatest and best proof of his having come to Kashmir and of having lived and died there is the presence of his tomb in Khanyar street, Srinagar, Kashmir. There is a tomb in this street which is called Rauzabal and is variously known as the tomb of Yuz Asaf, of Nabi Sahib, of Shahzadah Nabi and even of ‘Isa Sahib. According to well-established historical accounts this Yuz Asaf came to Kashmir more than 1900 years ago and preached in parables and used many of the same parables as Jesus did. In certain books of history he is described as a Nabi (Prophet). Moreover, Yuz Asaf is a Biblical name meaning "Yasu‘, the gatherer," which is one of the descriptive names of Jesus as his mission was to gather the lost tribes of Israel into the Master’s fold as he himself says: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd" (John 10:16).
The following historical quotations shed some light on this subject:
The tomb next to that of Sayyid Nasirud-Din is generally known as that of a Prophet who was sent to the inhabitants of Kashmir, and the place is known as the shrine of a Prophet. He was a Prince who came to Kashmir from a foreign land. He was perfect in piety, righteousness and devotion; he was made a Prophet by God and was engaged in preaching to the Kashmiris. His name was Yuz Asaf and he was a descendant of Moses (Tarikh A‘zami pp. 82-85)... Yuz Asaf wandered about in several lands till he reached a country called Kashmir. He travelled in it far and wide and lived and stayed there till death overtook him (Ikmalud-Din... pp. 358-359).
Kashmir legend, I have been told, contains reference to a Prophet who lived here and taught as Jesus did by parables little stories that are repeated in Kashmir to the present day (John Noel’s article in Asia, Oct. 1930).
The flight of Jesus, therefore to India and his death in Srinagar is not foreign to the truth rationally or historically (Tafsirul-Manar, vol. 6).
The following facts clearly emerge from the above quotations and historical references:
1. The tomb in Khanyar street in Srinagar is variously described as that of Nabi Sahib, ‘Isa Sahib, Shahzadah Nabiand that of Yuz Asaf.
2. This Yuz Asaf was a Prophet of the People of the Book, being a spiritual descendant of Moses.
3. He came to Kashmir from a far-off land.
4. He was called a Prince (Jesus was also known as Prince of Peace).
5. He talked in proverbs and parables (so did Jesus).
6. He was not a follower of Islam as no prophet, according to Muslim belief, had appeared after the Holy Prophet.
7. He was a Jew, because the name Yuz Asaf is a Hebrew name.
In view of the above-mentioned facts it is not possible to deny that Jesus did come to the East to preach to the lost tribes of Israel, and that Yuz Asaf is Jesus and that the tomb in Khanyar street is that of Jesus. For a better and fuller treatment, however, of this subject see "Masih Hindustan Main" by Ahmad, the Promised Messiah. See also the well-known book, "Nazarene Gospel Restored," whose authors maintain that though officially crucified in A.D. 30, Jesus was still alive some twenty years after the Resurrection.
There could be no better description of the place, where Jesus and his mother, after his deliverance from accursed death on the cross, lived in peace and tranquillity and then went to their eternal rest, than in the Quranic words, viz. ذات قرار و معین (having meadows and springs of running water), which is quite an apt description of the beautiful valley of Kashmir which is full of green meadows and of springs and streams running with fresh, sweet water.
889A
由于伊撒的死, 犹如他的出生一样, 成为一个引起极大争论的问题, 对于他如何以及在哪里度过他经历丰富的一生的最后几天, 仍旧存在着某种混乱和怀疑的情况, 而且由于死的情况 (问题) 在基督教方面也是一个主要问题, 就需要对这个虽然是一个令人迷惑的, 但又非常重要的宗教问题作一些详尽的注释。«古兰经» 和 «圣经» 以已证实了的历史事实为基础, 强有力地支持伊撒并没有死在十字架上的这一看法。以下的论证证实并支持这一论点: (1) 俄国旅行家尼古拉斯•诺托维奇 (Nicholas Notovitch) 大约在1877年到过远东。他在 «伊撒未知的一生» 一书中告诉我们, 伊撒来过克什米和阿富汗。弗朗西斯•杨•黑斯本德爵士在尼古拉斯•诺托维奇访问克什米尔时是克什米尔土邦主 (مَهَارَاجَه, Maharajah) 法院的英国驻扎官员, 在佐吉拉要隘 (Zojila Pass) 附近碰到过他。关于伊撒在东方旅行的最近研究, 有力地证实了诺托维奇书中所述的情况。尼科勒斯教授 (Nichqus Roerich) 在他所著 ‘Heart of Asia’ 一书中叙述道: “在斯利那加 (Srinagar), 我们首先意外地听到了伊撒到过那里的离奇传说。后来我们看到在印度、拉达和 (Laddakh)、中亚、西亚到处都传播着伊撒到过这些地区的传说……整个中亚、西亚, 在克什米尔、拉达和及西藏, 甚至更远的北方, 仍然存在着坚强的信念, 认为伊撒(或基督)在那里旅行过” (贾瓦哈拉尔•尼赫鲁 (Jawahar Lal Nehru) 著Glimpses of World History)。
有些学者利用诺托维奇那本书中的一些含糊不清的章节作掩护, 声称伊撒是在被任命为安拉所派遣的先知之前而不是在这之后来到东方的。可是, 这样说来, 伊撒来到印度的时候只是一个十三四岁的孩子, 他不可能抱有走上如此漫长而艰难的路程到一个遥远的地方去, 因而在路上会遇到生命危险的这种想法。总之, 伊撒在这样小的年纪来到印度, 有什么东西吸引着他? 或者他的动机是什么? 而且即使那时他真的来到了印度, 印度和克什米尔的民众又有什么兴趣来对一个十三四岁的孩子的活动、作为和闲逛而作出记录? 根据历史资料所得的事实是, 伊撒被犹太人排斥后, 他在巴勒斯坦生命有危险, 他抛弃了那个国家, 为实现古老的 «圣经» 上的那些预言而寻找 “那失踪了的十个以色列部族,” 他走了漫长而危险的路程到印度和克什米尔并且度过经历丰富的一生, 活到一百二十岁高龄 (كَنْزُ الْعُمَّالْ, Kanzul-‘Ummal, Vol.6)。在那时才开始记录他的活动。这些 “失踪了的以色列部族” 被亚述人和巴比伦人击溃后散居在伊拉克和伊朗;并在后来伊朗人在大流士和塞鲁士统治下把他们的领土向东继续扩充到阿富汗和印度时, 这些部族也跟着他们移居在这些国家。
(2) 克什米尔人和阿富汗人是 “失踪了的以色列部族” 的后裔。这一事实从这两种民族的传统习惯、历史和文字记录方面来看都是十分明显的。他们城镇和部族的名字、风俗习惯、生活方式、方法、服装、身体特征等, 都和犹太人相似。他们古老的遗迹和铭刻文也证实了这一看法。他们的民间传说充满着犹太人的故事。克什米尔 (Kashmir) 这一名字本身实际上就是克希尔 (Kashir), 意思是 “像叙利亚” (或者, 它看来是以努哈的一个孙子 Kash 即 Cush 命名的)。所有这些事实都肯定了这样的看法: 阿富汗人和克什米尔人基本上是 “那失踪了的十个以色列部族” 的后裔。
(3) 这些证明足以证实这样一个事实, 伊撒确实到过克什米尔, 而克什米尔人是 “失踪了的十个以色列部族” 的后裔。但是最重要、最好的证明伊撒来到克什米尔而且生活并死在那儿的是在克什米尔, 斯利那加城卡奈亚尔 (Khanyar) 街上的他的坟墓。这一坟墓叫做劳扎巴尔 (رَوْضَة بَلْ, Raudahbal), 人们对它有各种叫法: 尤兹•阿撒夫 (Yuz Asaf) 坟、先知先生 (Nabi Sahib) 坟、王子先知 (Shahzadah Nabi) 坟、甚至有人叫它伊撒先生 (عِيْسٰی صَاحِبْ, ‘Isa Sahib) 坟。根据非常可靠的历史记载, 这个尤兹•阿撒夫来到克什米尔大约是在1900多年以前, 他用寓言来讲道, 并用了记载在 «圣经•新约» («引吉勒»)内的许多寓言。有些历史书籍称他为先知 نَبِیّ (Nabi,)。而且, 尤兹•阿撒夫是 «圣经» 中的一个名字, 意为 “聚集人, 耶稣 (يَسُوْع, Yasu‘),” 这是对伊撒的一个描写性的称呼之一, 因为他的使命是把失踪了的以色列部族聚集到主宰和羊栏中来, 正如他自己所说: “而且我也必须把不是这一羊栏中的其他的羊带进来, 它们一定要听我的声音, 只能有一个羊栏和一个牧羊人” («约翰» 10:16)。
以下的一些历史上的摘录对这一论题也可作些说明:
“这个坟墓大家称它为一个先知的坟墓。他是一个王子, 从国外到克什米尔来对克什米尔人进行传教工作。他的名字叫尤兹•阿撒夫 (تَارِيْخِ اَعْظَمِی, Tarikh-e-A‘zami, pp.82-85)……“尤兹•阿撒夫在好几个国家内漫游各地直到他来到克什米尔这个国家。他在这个国家到处旅行并在那里生活居住到他老死为止。” (اِكْمَالُ الدِّيْن, Ikmalud-Din, pp.358-359)……“有人对我说, 克什米尔传说中有对一位先知的叙述, 他生活在这儿并且像伊撒那样用寓言和小故事来教导。这些寓言和小故事直到现在还被人们不断地讲着。” (John Noel’s article in Asia, Oct, 1930)……“因此伊撒外逃到印度以及死在斯里奈加, 不论在理性和历史方面都是与事实符合的 تَفْسِيْر اَلْمَنَارْ (Tafsir al-Manar, Vol.6)。
然而, 为了更好和更充分地论述这一课题, 请看主许迈喜合, 阿哈默德所著的《迈喜合在印度》 (مسيح هندوستان ميں--------Masih Hindustan Main) 一书。也请看众所周知的那本 ‘Nazarene Gospel Restored’。那本书的作者认为, 虽然伊撒正式地讲来是在公元三十年钉死在十字架上的, 但他在死后复生又活了大约二十年。
伊撒从十字架上那不幸的死亡中解救出来后, 和他的母亲在一个地方宁静平安地生活并得到了永恒的安息。那个地方要数 «古兰经» 上的话描绘得最好, 即 “绿色山谷中的高地, 下有诸溪川流”。这对克什米尔美丽的山谷是十分恰当的写照。尼古拉斯•诺托维奇把克什米尔叫做 “永久的极乐山谷。”
2
تاریخ سے ثابت ہے کہ یہ اونچی جگہ کشمیر تھی۔ بائبل اور یہودیوں اور ہندوؤں کی تاریخ سے بھی بہت سے حوالے اس کی تائید میں ملتے ہیں۔
2544
Important Words:
آویناھما (We gave them refuge) is derived from أوی. They say أوی البیت اوالی البیت i.e. he lodged in the house and found rest and satisfaction therein. آواہ البیت اوالی البیت (awa) means, he lodged him in the house, he gave him shelter, refuge or asylum in the house. أوی is used when a person finds protection, asylum, satisfaction and comfort in a place after he has been through hardships and privations (Lane & Arqab). See also 8:73; 11:44; 12:70 & 93:7.
ربوة (elevated land) is derived from ربی which means, it increased; it became high; he grew up. ربوة means, a hill or elevated ground or an elevated place (Lane & Aqrab). See also 2:266; 22:6.
قرار (meadows) is inf. noun from قر. They say قر بالمکان i.e. he settled or became established; rested; resided in the place. قرار means, a state or place or time of rest, permanence or continuance; a secure dwelling; a place where water rests in a meadow. It is also a plural (or rather a coll. gen. n.,) of which the singular is قرارة. The word is also applied to low and fertile grounds (Lane & Aqrab).
معین (springs of running water) may be taken as derived from معن or عان. They say, معن الماء i.e. the water flowed. معن المطر الارض means, the rain constantly fell upon the ground and its thirst was satisfied. معن النبات means, the plant had plentiful irrigation. عان الماء اوالدمع means, the water or the tear flowed. عانت البئر means, the water of the well became plentiful. معینmeans, flowing water, a spring. ماء معین means, flowing water or the water which the eye sees flowing upon the surface of the earth (Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse constitutes a befitting sequel to the subject dealt with in the few preceding verses, viz. that it is an invariable divine law that God’s Messengers are at first rejected and persecuted but eventually they succeed and their rejecters come to grief and that in consonance with this divine law, Jesus, the last Israelite Prophet also met with severe persecution at the hands of his opponents. They got him hung on the cross. But true to His law and promise God delivered him from the accursed death by crucifixion, and to offset his seeming failure in the early stages of his mission gave him shelter along with his mother in a land full of green meadows and running springs, where his mission prospered and where he lived to a ripe old age. As Jesus’ death, like his birth, has become a subject of great controversy, and some confusion and doubt still persist as to how and where he passed the last days of his crowded life, and as the question of the manner of his death forms a vital question with the Christian Faith, a somewhat exhaustive note on this very important, albeit baffling religious question is called for.
The Quran and the Bible, reinforced by authenticated facts of history, lend powerful support to our view that Jesus did not die on the cross. The following arguments substantiate and support this contention:
1. Jesus could not have died on the cross because he was a Divine Prophet and a righteous servant of God and according to the Bible "he that is hanged is accursed of God" (Deut. 21:23).
2. On the night before Jesus was nailed to the cross he had prayed to God in great agony to "take away this cup (of death on the cross) from me" (Mark 14: 36; Matt. 26:39; Luke, 22: 42); and his prayer was heard (Heb. 5:7).
3. Jesus had predicted that like Jonah who had gone into the belly of the whale alive and had come out of it alive (Matt. 12:40) he would remain in an excavated sepulchre for three days and would come out of it alive.
4. He had also foretold that after having delivered his message to the Israelites in Palestine he would go to seek out the lost ten tribes of Israel and would bring them back into the Master’s fold (John 10: 16). Even Jews themselves in Jesus’ time believed that the lost tribes of Israel had become dispersed in different lands (John 7: 34, 35).
5. Jesus had remained hung on the cross only for about three hours (John 9: 14) while persons of normal constitutions, had remained on the cross for as many as three to six days and then died from exhaustion, hunger and exposure
6. Immediately after he had been taken down from the cross Jesus’ side was pierced and blood and water flowed out of it which was a certain sign of life (John 19: 34).
7. The Jews themselves were not sure of Jesus’ death because they had asked Pilate to have a guard posted at his sepulchre "lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say unto the people, 'He is risen from the dead' (Matt. 27:64).
8. There is not to be found in all the Gospels a single recorded statement of an eye-witness to the effect that Jesus had died on the cross or that he was dead when he was taken down from the cross or when he was placed in the tomb. The Jews had their own doubts and none of the disciples was present at the scene of crucifixion, all having fled when Jesus was taken to Calvary.
The fact of the case seems to be that, presumably due to the dream of his wife "to have nothing to do with that just man," Pilate had believed Jesus to be innocent and had therefore conspired with Joseph of Arimaethia, a respectable member of the Essene Order to which Jesus himself belonged before he was commissioned as a Prophet, to save his life. The trial of Jesus took place on Friday, Pilate having purposely prolonged it knowing that the next day being the Sabbath Day the condemned persons would not be left on the cross after sunset.
When at last he found himself compelled to condemn Jesus, Pilate gave his judgement only three hours before sunset, thus making himself sure that no person of normal health could die in such a short time by remaining on the cross. He took additional care to see that Jesus was given wine or vinegar mingled with myrrh to render him less sensitive to pain. When after three hours’ suspension Jesus was taken down from the cross in an unconscious state (probably under the influence of vinegar which was administered to him) Pilate readily granted Joseph of Arimaethia’s request and handed over Jesus’s body to him. Unlike those of the two malefactors who were hung along with him, his bones were not broken and Joseph had him placed in a spacious room hewn in the side of a rock. There was no medical autopsy, no stethoscopic test, no inquest with the aid of the evidence of those who were last with him ("Mystical life of Jesus" by H. Spencer Lewis).
9. "The Crucifixion by an Eye-Witness," a book which was at first published in 1873 in U.S.A. and which is an English translation of an ancient Latin copy of a letter written seven years after the Crucifixion by an Essene brother in Jerusalem to a member of this brotherhood in Alexandria lends further support to the view of Jesus having been taken down from the cross alive. The book narrates in detail all the events leading to the Crucifixion, the scenes at the Calvary and also the incidents that took place afterwards.
10. An ointment, the famous Marham-i-‘Isa, (the ointment of Jesus) was prepared and applied to Jesus’s wounds and he was tended and looked after by Joseph of Arimaethia and Nicodemus, a very learned and highly respected member of the Essene brotherhood.
11. After the wounds of Jesus had been sufficiently healed he left the tomb in which he was placed and met some of his disciples who "were horrified and affrighted and supposed that they had seen a spirit." He assured them that he was no spirit but a man of flesh and bones and had his food with them and walked the whole distance from Jerusalem to Galilee on foot (Luke 24: 37-43).
All these authentic facts of history show that Jesus did not die on the cross. The story of his death on the cross and his having risen from the dead after three days and having bodily gone to heaven may deceive a gullible people holding fantastic beliefs, it cannot satisfy any reasonable person (Enc. Brit. article on "Ascension").
The fact having been established that Jesus survived Crucifixion, the question still remains, if Jesus did not die on the cross and there being no trace of his tomb in Palestine, the scene of his early missionary activities, where did he go and live and die after the great event? It is now a known fact established by reliable historical data that after the event of Crucifixion, Jesus, finding life unsafe in Palestine, forsook that country forever and went to seek the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel and to preach his Message to them. For this purpose he took a long and arduous journey to the East, where those Ten Tribes had lived after their great dispersion by the Assyrians and Babylonians, first to Assyria, Mesopotamia and Media and then to further East––Afghanistan, Kashmir and India. While yet in Palestine, Jesus had given sufficient indications, though in parables and proverbs, as was his wont, that in some future time he would have to leave Palestine for another country (John 8: 21; 10: 16; 13: 33).
After Crucifixion Jesus felt that he was a hunted man and that if he remained in his native place he would be arrested again and probably killed. He, therefore, went into hiding. The news having reached him of the cruel persecution of his disciples he was sorely distressed, and in extreme agony of spirit exclaimed; "the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matt. 8: 20). He decided to leave Palestine for all time. From Jerusalem he went to Nazareth and from Nazareth to Damascus where he stayed for some time at a place which is known to this day as Maqam-i-‘Isa. Finding himself insecure even in Damascus he left for Nisibin (Raudatus-Safa and Jami‘ut-Tawarikh). He did not feel safe even at Nisibin (Tabari) and left for far-off Kashmir. Finding it unsafe to travel under his real name he henceforward, travelled under the assumed name of Yuz Asaf (Yuz in Hebrew being the same as Yasu‘ and Asaf meaning the gatherer). Henceforward Jesus becomes Yuz Asaf and is known by this name till his death. On his way from Nisibin to Kashmir he passed through Iran and Afghanistan. At last he reached his destination.
The last vestiges of doubt as to Jesus’ travel to Afghanistan and Kashmir are dispelled by that very useful book "The Unknown Life of Jesus" written by Nicholas Notovitch, a Russian traveller, who visited the Far East in about 1877. He calls Kashmir "the valley of eternal bliss" which may be regarded as an apt rendering in English of the Quranic words ذات قرار و معین.
In this book Notovitch tells us that Jesus came to India, while he was only 14 years of age, lived there for some time, learnt the use of herbs, medicine and mathematics and studied also the Hindu religion and held religious discussions with the Brahmans who ultimately became his enemies. The fact having come to his knowledge that the Brahmans were seeking to kill him, he left India for Nepal and then went to Kashmir and Afghanistan and stopping on the way in Persia he went back to Judea. Sir Francis Young husband, who was at the time when Nicholas Notovitch visited Kashmir, British resident at the court of the Maharaja of Kashmir, met him near the Zojila Pass.
Recent research about Jesus’ travels in the East lends powerful support to Notovitch’s book. The following quotations are very significant:
In Srinagar we first encountered the curious legend about Christ’s visit to the place. Afterwards we saw how widely spread in India, in Laddakh and in Central Asia, was the legend of the visit of Christ to those parts ("Heart of Asia," by Professor Nicholus Roerich). All over Central Asia, in Kashmir and Laddakh and Tibet and even further north, there still exists a strong belief that Jesus or Issa travelled about there ("Glimpses of World History," by Jawaharlal Nehru).
One day Raja Shalewahin went to a country in the Himalayas. There he saw a Raja of Sakas (foreigners) at Wein, who was fair of colour and wore white clothes. The Raja asked him who he was. He replied that he was Yusashaphat(Yuz Asaf) and was born of a woman (according to another report, "born of a virgin"…) The Raja asked him about his religion. He replied, 'it is love, truth and purity of heart and on account of this I am called ‘Isa Masih’: (Sutta. Bhavishya Maha Purana, P. 282, translated by Dr. Shiv Nath Shastri and quoted by Robert Graves and Joshua Podro in "Jesus in Rome").
Finding it impossible to deny the fact of Jesus’ having been taken down alive from the cross and of his journey to the East, some scholars have taken refuge behind some obscure passages in Notovitch’s book to claim that Jesus came to East before and not after he was commissioned as a Divine Prophet. But this inference appears manifestly to be ill-founded. A mere boy of 13 or 14 years of age as Jesus is stated to have been when he came to India, he could not have conceived of undertaking so long and arduous a journey to a far-off land, and thus of exposing himself to mortal danger on the way. After all what attraction or motives Jesus had, at such an early age, in coming over to India and studying the Hindu religion and in having discussion with the Brahmans so as to make them his enemies, as we are told in Notovitch’s book. And if at all he came to India, what interest the people of India and Kashmir had in keeping a record of the activities, doings and wanderings of a boy of 13 or 14. It is only God’s great Prophets who in the discharge of their divine mission regard no sacrifice too great to suffer. It is, therefore, after Jesus had been entrusted with his divine mission and had been rejected by the Jews in Palestine, that he forsook that country to seek, in fulfilment of the old Biblical prophecies, the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel and undertook the long and dangerous journey to India and Kashmir. It is after he had come to Afghanistan and Kashmir and had preached his message to the Israelites living there and after hundreds of thousands of people had accepted him and he had lived an eventful life to the very ripe age of 120 (Kanzul-‘Ummal, vol. 6) that records came to be kept of his doings. Early Christian writers and dignitaries of the Church were forced to admit that Jesus had lived up to old age and died full of years. In his "An Introduction to the Literature of the New Testament" (p.610) the famous Biblical scholar, Dr. James Moffatt writes: "Irenaeas quotes from the presbyters who are claimed to have been in touch with the apostle John,... that Jesus died when he was in his aetasSenior, i.e. over forty or fifty."…"According to tales current in the days of Papies the Lord lived to a great age...aetas Senior [Early History of the Christian Church by Monsignor Louis Duchesne, vol. I, p. 105] "In the later he also includes the fact that Jesus must have passed through and been subjected to all the conditions of a complete human life from birth to old age and death" (History of Dogma by Dr. Adolf Harnack, vol. 11, pp. 277-278).
It is also in keeping with the time-honoured practice of God’s Messengers that they have to do migrate after and not before they are entrusted with a divine mission and Jesus too was true to this prophetic tradition. Other facts of unimpeachable historical evidence, to which we will presently refer, also prove and establish this event of outstanding historical importance. Jesus came to Afghanistan and Kashmir because "other sheep which are not of this fold" (John 10:16) lived there. His mission could not have become complete unless he should have brought those sheep into the Master’s fold. Here are some of the arguments to show that the lost ten tribes of Israel lived in Afghanistan and Kashmir, after the Israelites were dispersed by the Assyrians and Babylonian kings:
After the death of Solomon and in the reign of his cruel and worthless son whom the Quran calls "the worm of the earth" (34:15) a revolt headed by Jeroboam split the Jews into two perpetually hostile camps. The major section, the Ten Tribes assumed the name of Israel and the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin came to be known as Judah. At the invitation of the King of Judah, the Assyrians, under Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser and Sargon invaded Samaria, the capital of the Ten Tribes, destroyed it and carried the Ten Tribes as captives to Assyria, Mesopotamia and Media. Later on the Assyrian Kingdom was destroyed by the combined armies of Babylonia and Media. When Zedekiah, the King of Judah, revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, the latter, laid siege to Jerusalem, completely destroyed the Temple and carried almost all the inhabitants into captivity. The ten tribes were forever lost to the Palestinian Jewry because when the Assyrians and the Babylonians extended their territories to the east, they carried their captives, the ten tribes of Israel, to Iraq and Persia for the purpose of colonization and later when the Persians under Darius and Cyrus extended their territories still further east, to Afghanistan and India, these Jewish tribes migrated with them to these countries and thus they became settled in the East—in Afghanistan and Kashmir and even in Samarkand and Bukhara, and were forever lost to western Jewry.
Thus as a result of their conquest first by the Assyrians and the Babylonians and then by the Persians the Jews became dispersed to Persia, Afghanistan and Kashmir and even to Khurasan, Samarkand and Bukhara. The Kashmiris and Afghans of today are the descendants of those 'Lost Tribes of Israel.' This fact is quite evident from the traditions, history and written records of these two peoples. The names of their towns and tribes, their physical features, their customs, habits, mode and manner of living, their dress, etc., all point in the same direction. Their ancient monuments and old inscriptions also support this view.
The fact that there are many places, persons and tribes in Afghanistan and particularly in Kashmir which are named after Israelite names, and that the customs, habits, manners, mode of life, form of dress of the Kashmiris, and their physical features resemble those of the Jews, coupled with the fact that their folklore is full of Jewish stories and that their language possesses hundreds of words which in pronunciation and meaning are identical with Hebrew words and that the name Kashmir is in reality Kashir meaning "like Syria" (or it seems to have been named after Kash or Cush, a grandson of Noah), impart a certainty to the view that the Afghans and Kashmiris are largely the descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel which is incapable of being assailed.
When it is established that Jesus did not die on the cross and that after having recovered from his wounds and being afraid of his life he left Jerusalem for the East, and when it is also established that the Afghans and the Kashmiris are descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel and that in fulfilment of the prophecies of the Prophets of yore, Jesus had to search for these tribes to reclaim them, there remains no manner of doubt about the fact that he did come to Afghanistan and Kashmir. But the greatest and best proof of his having come to Kashmir and of having lived and died there is the presence of his tomb in Khanyar street, Srinagar, Kashmir. There is a tomb in this street which is called Rauzabal and is variously known as the tomb of Yuz Asaf, of Nabi Sahib, of Shahzadah Nabi and even of ‘Isa Sahib. According to well-established historical accounts this Yuz Asaf came to Kashmir more than 1900 years ago and preached in parables and used many of the same parables as Jesus did. In certain books of history he is described as a Nabi (Prophet). Moreover, Yuz Asaf is a Biblical name meaning "Yasu‘, the gatherer," which is one of the descriptive names of Jesus as his mission was to gather the lost tribes of Israel into the Master’s fold as he himself says: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd" (John 10:16).
The following historical quotations shed some light on this subject:
The tomb next to that of Sayyid Nasirud-Din is generally known as that of a Prophet who was sent to the inhabitants of Kashmir, and the place is known as the shrine of a Prophet. He was a Prince who came to Kashmir from a foreign land. He was perfect in piety, righteousness and devotion; he was made a Prophet by God and was engaged in preaching to the Kashmiris. His name was Yuz Asaf and he was a descendant of Moses (Tarikh A‘zami pp. 82-85)... Yuz Asaf wandered about in several lands till he reached a country called Kashmir. He travelled in it far and wide and lived and stayed there till death overtook him (Ikmalud-Din... pp. 358-359).
Kashmir legend, I have been told, contains reference to a Prophet who lived here and taught as Jesus did by parables little stories that are repeated in Kashmir to the present day (John Noel’s article in Asia, Oct. 1930).
The flight of Jesus, therefore to India and his death in Srinagar is not foreign to the truth rationally or historically (Tafsirul-Manar, vol. 6).
The following facts clearly emerge from the above quotations and historical references:
1. The tomb in Khanyar street in Srinagar is variously described as that of Nabi Sahib, ‘Isa Sahib, Shahzadah Nabiand that of Yuz Asaf.
2. This Yuz Asaf was a Prophet of the People of the Book, being a spiritual descendant of Moses.
3. He came to Kashmir from a far-off land.
4. He was called a Prince (Jesus was also known as Prince of Peace).
5. He talked in proverbs and parables (so did Jesus).
6. He was not a follower of Islam as no prophet, according to Muslim belief, had appeared after the Holy Prophet.
7. He was a Jew, because the name Yuz Asaf is a Hebrew name.
In view of the above-mentioned facts it is not possible to deny that Jesus did come to the East to preach to the lost tribes of Israel, and that Yuz Asaf is Jesus and that the tomb in Khanyar street is that of Jesus. For a better and fuller treatment, however, of this subject see "Masih Hindustan Main" by Ahmad, the Promised Messiah. See also the well-known book, "Nazarene Gospel Restored," whose authors maintain that though officially crucified in A.D. 30, Jesus was still alive some twenty years after the Resurrection.
There could be no better description of the place, where Jesus and his mother, after his deliverance from accursed death on the cross, lived in peace and tranquillity and then went to their eternal rest, than in the Quranic words, viz. ذات قرار و معین (having meadows and springs of running water), which is quite an apt description of the beautiful valley of Kashmir which is full of green meadows and of springs and streams running with fresh, sweet water.
2000
As Jesus’s death, like his birth, has become a subject of great controversy, and some confusion and doubt still persist as to how and where he passed the last days of his crowded life, and as the question of the manner of his death also forms a vital question with the Christian Faith, a somewhat exhaustive note on this very important, albeit baffling religious question is called for. The Qur’an and the Bible, reinforced by authenticated facts of history, lend powerful support to the view that Jesus did not die on the Cross. The following arguments substantiate and support this contention:
(1) In his book "The Unknown Life of Jesus" Nicholas Notovitch, a Russian traveller, who visited the Far East in about 1877 tells us that Jesus came to Kashmir and Afghanistan. Sir Francis Younghusband, who at the time when Nicholas Notovitch visited Kashmir, was a British resident at the court of the Maharaja of Kashmir, met him near the Zojila Pass. Recent research about Jesus’s travels in the East le