Al-Jawāb as-Sahīh li-man baddala dīn al-Masīh - Ibn Taimiya - (2/178)

Al-Jawāb as-Sahīh li-man baddala dīn al-MasīhIbn Taimiya

Section: A rebuttal of their claim to be superior to the Muslims, based on the Almighty’s word: “and I shall place those who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection.”

As for His—exalted be He—statement:
“O Jesus, I shall take you, raise you to Myself, purify you from those who disbelieve, and place those who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection” (Q 3:55),
this is exactly as Allah has declared. Whoever truly followed the Messiah—peace be upon him—Allah made him higher than the disbelievers until the Day of Resurrection. Those who adhered to his unaltered religion were therefore set above the Jews; in fact, the Christians as a whole stand above the Jews who rejected him up to the Day of Resurrection.

As for the Muslims, they believe in him and do not disbelieve in him. Yet once the Christians had corrupted his religion and Allah sent Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—with the very religion that He had entrusted to the Messiah and to the other prophets, Allah placed Muhammad and his community above the Christians until the Day of Resurrection. This accords with what is related in the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections from Abū Hurayrah, that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“We, the company of prophets, have a single religion, and the person most entitled to Jesus son of Mary is I myself, for there is no prophet between me and him.”

The Most High also says:
“He has ordained for you, as faith, what He enjoined upon Noah, what We have revealed to you, and what We enjoined upon Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Establish the religion and do not be divided concerning it.” (Q 42:13)

[فَصْلٌ: رَدُّ دَعْوَاهُمُ الْفَضْلَ لَهُمْ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ] وَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ - تَعَالَى -: {يَا عِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ} [آل عمران: ٥٥] فَهَذَا حَقٌّ كَمَا أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ الْمَسِيحَ - عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَكَانَ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ عَلَى دِينِهِ الَّذِي لَمْ يُبَدَّلْ قَدْ جَعَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ فَوْقَ الْيَهُودِ وَأَيْضًا فَالنَّصَارَى فَوْقَ الْيَهُودِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ. وَأَمَّا الْمُسْلِمُونَ فَهُمْ مُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ لَيْسُوا كَافِرِينَ بِهِ بَلْ لَمَّا بَدَّلَ النَّصَارَى دِينَهُ وَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدًا - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - بِدِينِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي بَعَثَ بِهِ الْمَسِيحَ وَغَيْرَهُ مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدًا وَأُمَّتَهُ فَوْقَ النَّصَارَى إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ كَمَا فِي الصَّحِيحَيْنِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «إِنَّا مَعَاشِرَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ دِينُنَا وَاحِدٌ وَإِنَّ أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِابْنِ مَرْيَمَ لَأَنَا إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ نَبِيٌّ» . وَقَالَ - تَعَالَى -: {شَرَعَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا وَصَّى بِهِ نُوحًا وَالَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ وَمَا وَصَّيْنَا بِهِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى أَنْ أَقِيمُوا الدِّينَ وَلَا تَتَفَرَّقُوا فِيهِ} [الشورى: ١٣]