The Mahdi Times October 2011 | Page 44

woven and sewn by Mary. And, when he reached Heaven he was called upon: O Isa, son of Mary, cast off from yourself the finery of the world.][17] Imam Reza (A.S) also said: [None of the prophets and Hujjats (A.S) (proofs and authorities) of Allah were substituted by lookalikes before the people, except for Isa the son of Mary (A.S), alone. Indeed he was lifted off the Earth alive, his soul was taken between the sky and the earth, then he was lifted to Heaven and given his soul back. The Almighty said: ‘Behold, Allah said, ‘O Isa! I will take you and raise you to Myself’.][18] This hadith needs no interpretations from anyone, and it is by far one of the most important concerning the fact that Jesus (as) was lifted off the earth alive. The Prophet (PBUH & His House Hold) was also reported saying: [Isa (A.S) did not die and he will come back to you before the Day of Resurrection.][19]. So here we need to make note and ask a very important question...here the hadith says Jesus did not die and that he will come back to you before the day of Resurrection.  So the Messiah Jesus (as), the one both Christians and Muslims are waiting for, is he the one who was lifted up to heaven and to return, or is he the look-alike who was crucified in his place and who is the first Mahdi, the chamberlain and deputy to Imam al Mahdi (as)? Jesus (as) is a prophet sent to the people by Allah Almighty. He asked the Almighty to exempt him and spare him the crucifixion, agony and murder. Since Allah Almighty does not reject the supplication of a prophet sent by Him, He answered his prayers, lifted him unto Him and brought down the guardian who was crucified and killed in his stead. In this concern, there are many texts in the Gospel as mentioned earlier in the presentation,  which report the supplication of Isa (A.S) to be spared the crucifixion and murder. They are as follows: […And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me…][20] […And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him * And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me…][21] […And then he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down and prayed * Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me…][22] Furthermore, the following text appears in the Torah, in the Book of Isaiah and in Chapter eight of the Book of Acts in the Bible: […He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth…] All the prophets and guardians who been sent unto us have spoken, and none of them was led silent to the slaughter.They were sent to talk, reprimand and preach people, and O how much Isa, in particular, has done that to them and the scholars.Thus, one cannot believe that he went to the slaughter silently. In fact, the one who was led to the slaughter silently is the guardian: (the look-alike of Isa) who was crucified and killed without uttering a word or asking Allah to spare him agony, crucifixion and murder, and without addressing people. Even when he had been questioned insistently: “Who are you?” “Are you the Messiah?” His only answer to their questions had been “You said it”. Hence, he went towards agony, crucifixion and death in silence and content with the will of Allah, accomplishing the purpose of his descent to Earth, and which was to be crucified and killed in the stead of Isa (A.S). Since his time had not come yet to be sent to inform and talk to the people, in the first place, he went towards his fate like the following, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.” *Right here is the last point