Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (2/287)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

Section (1)
The Ascension of Jesus, peace be upon him, to the heavens under the Lord’s protection, and the exposure of the lie uttered by the Jews and the Christians—upon them be the curses of God—in their claim that he was crucified.

God the Exalted says:

“They plotted, and Allah plotted; and Allah is the best of plotters. 54. When Allah said, ‘O Jesus, I will cause you to sleep and will raise you up to Myself, purify you from those who disbelieve, and place those who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you regarding that over which you used to differ.’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:54–55)

He also says:

“Because of their breaking the covenant, their denial of the signs of Allah, and their killing of the prophets without right, and for their saying, ‘Our hearts are wrapped’—rather, Allah has set a seal upon them for their disbelief, so they believe only a few; 155. and for their disbelief and their monstrous slander against Mary; 156. and for their saying, ‘We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.’ They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but it was made to appear so to them. Those who differ about him are in doubt concerning it; they have no knowledge of it except the pursuit of conjecture; for a certainty they did not kill him. 157. Rather, Allah raised him up to Himself; and Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. 158. There is none of the People of the Book but will surely believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them.” (al-Nisāʾ 4:155–159)

Thus the Almighty has informed us that He raised him to heaven after causing him to die in sleep—this is the sound and incontrovertible position—and that He delivered him from the Jews who had intended to harm him, having denounced him to one of the idolatrous kings of that time.

Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq said: The king’s name was Dāwūd ibn Nūdā (2). He ordered that Jesus be killed and crucified, so they besieged him in a house in Jerusalem (3) on Friday evening, the night before the Sabbath. When the moment came for them to storm the house, the likeness of Jesus was cast upon one of his companions who was present, and Jesus was raised through an opening (4) in the roof of that house to the heavens while the household looked on. The guards entered, found the young man upon whom the likeness had been placed, seized him—thinking he was Jesus—crucified him, and placed a crown of thorns on his head to humiliate him. The majority of Christians, who had not witnessed what truly happened, accepted the Jews’ claim that Jesus had been crucified, and thereby fell into grave, manifest, and far-reaching error.

The Almighty also says: “There is none of the People of the Book but will surely believe in him before his death,” meaning that after his descent to earth in the last days, before the Hour is established, he will come down, kill the swine, break the cross, abolish the jizyah, and accept nothing but Islam, as we have explained when commenting on this noble verse in Sūrat al-Nisāʾ (5), and as we shall detail at length in the Book of Tribulations.

(1) Not found in ṭ. (2) In al-Mukhtasar fi Tarikh Dimashq under “Būdhā.” The account appears there (vol. 20, p. 135). (3) In B it reads “bilad fi bayt” (in a country in a house); in ṭ “bayt al-Maqdis” (Jerusalem). (4) Not found in ṭ. al-Rawzana denotes the kuwwa, that is, the opening at the top of the ceiling. (5) Tafsir Ibn Kathir.

ذكر (١) رفع عيسى (عليه السلام) إلى السماء في حفظ الربّ وبيانِ كذب اليهود والنصارى عليهم لعائن الله فى دعوى الصلب قال الله تعالى: ﴿وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ (٥٤) إِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَاعِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ فِيمَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ﴾ [آل عمران: ٥٤ - ٥٥] . وقال تعالى: ﴿فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِمْ مِيثَاقَهُمْ وَكُفْرِهِمْ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَقَتْلِهِمُ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ وَقَوْلِهِمْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ بَلْ طَبَعَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهَا بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا (١٥٥) وَبِكُفْرِهِمْ وَقَوْلِهِمْ عَلَى مَرْيَمَ بُهْتَانًا عَظِيمًا (١٥٦) وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَكِنْ شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِنْهُ مَا لَهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا (١٥٧) بَلْ رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا (١٥٨) وَإِنْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ إِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهِ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهِ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا﴾ [النساء: ١٥٥ - ١٥٩] فأخبر تعالى أنه رفعه إلى السماء بعدما توفاه بالنوم، على الصحيح المقطوع به، وخلّصه ممن كان أراد أذيَّته من اليهود الذين وشَوا به إلى بعض الملوك الكَفَرة في ذلك الزمان. قال الحسن البصري، ومحمد بن إسحاق: كان اسمه داود بن نودا (٢) ، فأمر بقتله وصلبه، فحصروه في دارٍ ببلد بيت (٣) المقدس، وذلك عشية الجمعة ليلة السبت، فلما حان وقت دخولهم، أُلقي شبهه على بعض أصحابه الحاضرين عنده، ورُفع عيسى من رَوْزَنة (٤) من ذلك البيت إلى السماء وأهل البيت ينظرون، ودخل الشُّرَط فوجدوا ذلك الشاب الذي أُلقي عليه الشبه، فأخذوه ظانّين أنّه عيسى، فصلبوه ووضعوا الشوك على رأسه إهانةً له، وسلَّم لليهود عامةُ النصارى الذين لم يشاهدوا ما كان من أمر عيسى أنه صُلب، وضَلوا بسبب ذلك ضلالًا مبينًا كثيرًا فاحشًا بعيدًا. وأخبر تعالى بقوله: ﴿وَإِنْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ إِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهِ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهِ﴾ أي بعد نزوله إلى الأرض في آخر الزمان قبل قيام الساعة، فإنه ينزل ويقتل الخنزير، ويكسر الصليب، ويضع الجزية، ولا يقبل إلا الإسلام كما بَيَّنا ذلك، بما ورد فيه من الأحاديث عند تفسير هذه الآية الكريمة من سورة النساء (٥) ، وكما سنورد ذلك مستقصًى في كتاب الفتن

(١) ليست في ط. (٢) في مختصر تاريخ دمشق: بوذا. الخبر ثمة (٢٠/ ١٣٥). (٣) في ب: ببلد في بيت. وفي ط: ببيت المقدس. (٤) ليست في ط. والروزنة: الكوة، أو الخرق في أعلى السقف. (٥) تفسير ابن كثير.