Q.1. What are the actions that ensure receiving reward from God after one’s death?
Q.2. Do all people face punishment in the grave? Is it true that reciting Surah 67 regularly makes one exempt from such punishment?
Q.3. Who was the first Prophet and to whom was he sent? How many prophets did God send altogether?
Mydeen, Riyadh
A.1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us in a highly authentic Hadith that “when a person dies, his actions come to an end except in one of three ways: a continuous act of charity, a useful contribution to knowledge, and a dutiful child who prays for him.” The first of these has been the basis for the countless number of endowments made by Muslims in every generation. The other two are too clear to require any comment.
A.2. The Prophet says that the grave could be either “a piece of the garden of heaven or a pit of the fire of hell.” This means that only those who deserve punishment, on account of their misdeeds in life, will face this punishment. People who truly believe in God and the Last Day of Judgment and do good deeds in life need not fear any of it. It is not the reading of a particular surah that ensures exemption from it; it is faith and good action.
A.3. The first Prophet was Adam, and he was sent to mankind. We do not know the exact number of prophets and messengers God sent to people because He says in the Qur’an that some of His messengers have not been mentioned by Him. We know only about those mentioned in the Qur’an, and they number 25 only. But there were many more.
Jesus and the Crucifixion
Q. I have a question about Jesus. I do know that he ascended to heaven before crucifixion, and that God replaced him with a look-alike. The Christians believe that he was raised to heaven three days after the crucifixion. They speak about his meeting people and disappearing after the crucifixion. I have no doubt that Jesus himself was not crucified, but I cannot explain the disappearance of a body from the grave and that people saw him later. Is it all made up? Why would people lie about something like this? May I ask who is to blame for the crucifixion: the Jews, the Romans, or both?
Susan A.
A. The Islamic and Christian versions of how Jesus’s term on earth came to its end are widely different. Whereas Christians believe that he was crucified and remained on the cross for sometime, buried and then rose from the dead, the Qur’an denies that the crucifixion ever took place. When we have reports that are in conflict with what is clearly stated in the Qur’an, we disregard such reports and confine ourselves to the Qur’anic statement, without moving beyond it even by a hairbreadth.
Another basic point is that when a Qur’anic statement refers to something that is beyond our perception, we accept such a statement as it is, without giving it a definitive interpretation unless we have proper support for it in an authentic Hadith. In this connection, we do not try to go into any details about how Jesus was raised, and what this raising mean.
On the point of Jesus, the Qur’an makes the following statement: “They boast: ‘We have killed the Christ Jesus, son of Mary, God’s Messenger.’ They did not kill him, and neither did they crucify him, but it only seemed to them (as if it had been) so... For, of a certainty, they did not kill him. No! God raised him up to Himself. God is indeed almighty, wise.” (4: 157-8)
There is a definitive statement in these verses that Jesus was neither crucified, nor killed in any different way. Hence any suggestion about his meeting a violent end resulting in his death is unacceptable on grounds of its being in conflict with the Qur’anic statement that denies this altogether. Since the crucifixion did not take place we cannot apportion blame for it, holding anyone responsible. But we know from history that the Jews and the Romans were partners in plotting against Jesus, and God will make both account for their deeds.
There is a further statement that it was made to appear to them that they did so. This statement does not specify how this happened, and what form it took. Many people suggest that a look-alike was shown to them and this other person was crucified or killed in Jesus’ place. Some people go further than this and suggest that Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the one who was made to appear like him. It may be so, because the Qur’anic statement admits such an interpretation, but this is only one way of interpreting this statement. It could be understood in different ways, such as the whole episode of Jesus’ enemies taking him and killing him was a mere illusion. Indeed, it could have several plausible interpretations. Since we do not have any clear statement by the Prophet explaining how this happened, we do not go into it, because whatever we say will remain no more than conjecture. We accept the Qur’anic statement as it is, because it is sufficient for us to have a clear idea that Jesus was not killed, but saved by God who raised him to Himself.
When we accept this, the whole point about the absence of a body becomes of little importance. Whether Jesus truly appeared to some people and ate with them is something that Islamic sources are silent on. Hence, we do not engage in any discussion of it. We confine ourselves to the import of the true Qur’anic statement.
