Not all of the things that God creates on earth are the same. He creates some of them based on some causes and He creates others without any causes or means. For instance, almost all people are born out of a father and a mother but He created Adam (pbuh) without a father or mother, Jesus (pbuh) without a father and Eve without a mother. That is, He sometimes acts contrary to universal laws.
Fire burns; the moon cannot be split into two; a tree does not walk; a staff (walking stick) does not turn to snake; they are valid and true according to universal laws. However, the fire did not burn Abraham (pbuh); the moon was split into two; a tree walked upon the order of the Prophet (pbuh); the staff of Moses was turned to a snake. Some changes took place in them by the permission and will of God.
Some prophets were killed by the people to whom they were sent. However, God protected some of His prophets like Moses (pbuh), Abraham (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh).
The same situation is valid for Jesus (pbuh), too. While the laws imposed by God were in effect for the other prophets, He did not allow Jesus (pbuh) to be killed. God, who did not allow the fire to burn Abraham (pbuh) and protected him, did not allow Jesus (pbuh) to be killed; He raised him to the sky.
Jesus (pbuh) will return to the world not as a prophet but as a saint.
Jesus (pbuh) invited people to the truth, asked them to believe in the existence of God and to become slaves of God like all the other prophets. He never showed any hesitation, fear or worry while performing his duty. He was persistent and loyal to his duty. As Jesus continued to fulfill his duty without making any concessions, the envy and grudge of Jews increased. In the end, they made a plan and attempted to kill him; they started to apply the plan. They sent a hypocrite called Tatyanos to Jesus (pbuh). They surrounded his house with a group of four thousand people. When Tatyanos entered the house, he could not find Jesus (pbuh). When he went out to tell them about the situation, God Almighty made his face resemble the face of Jesus (pbuh). As soon as Jews saw him, they caught him thinking that he was Jesus (pbuh). Although he cried, "I am not Jesus", they did not heed him; in the end, they killed him by crucifying him.
Yes, Jesus (pbuh) is still alive. Many hadiths mention that he will come down to the earth at the end of time. The hadith reported by Jabir bin Abdullah in the Sahih of Muslim is as follows:
A section of my people will not cease fighting for the truth and will prevail till the Day of Resurrection. He said: Jesus son of Mary would then descend and the commander of Muslims would invite him to come and lead them in prayer, but he would say: No, some amongst you are commanders over some (amongst you). This is the honor from God for this ummah. (1)
Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, who interprets and explains this hadith and similar ones in his book called ‘Mektubat’ (Letters), attracts the attention to the following issues: At a time when the current of irreligiousness seems to be very strong, Christianity will approach its essence, that is, the oneness; it will be freed from superstitions and distortions and be united with Islam. In a sense, Christianity will be transformed into Islam somehow. When the real Christianity becomes subject to Islam, the true religion will be stronger; Islam and Christianity, which were defeated by the currents of irreligiousness when they were separate, will defeat it when they unite and have a great power. There is a great deal of praise about the Christians of the end of time that will realize this alliance in the sound hadith resources.
As for the issue of Jesus (pbuh) coming down to the earth bodily, let us read it from Mektubat:
...Then the person of Jesus (pbuh), who is present with his human body in the world of the heavens, will come to lead the current of true religion, as, relying on the promise of One Powerful Over All Things, the Bringer of Sure News has said. Since he has told of it, it is true, and since the One Powerful Over All Things has promised it, He will certainly bring it about. Indeed, it is not far from the wisdom of an All-Wise One of Glory Who all the time sends the angels to the earth from the heavens, sometimes sends them in human form (like Gabriel appearing in the form of Dihya), and sends spirit beings from the Spirit World making them appear in human form, and even sends the spirits of most of the dead saints to the world with similitudes of their bodies, it would not be far from His Wisdom - even if he was not alive and present with his body in the skies of the world, and had truly died and departed for the furthest corner of the Hereafter - to clothe Jesus (Upon whom be peace) in his body and send him to the world, so to bring the religion of Jesus to a good conclusion; for such a momentous result. Indeed He promised it because His wisdom required it to be thus, and since He promised it, He will most certainly send him. When Jesus (pbuh) comes, it is not necessary that everyone should know him to be the true Jesus. His elect and those close to him will recognize him through the light of belief. It will not be self-evident so that everyone will recognize him.
None of the divine books that had been revealed before the Qur’an and that are present today are the original copies that Allah revealed to His prophets. The original copies of those books had been lost in the course of time and had been rewritten by people. For this reason, some superstitions and wrong beliefs had been added to them. For example, it is among the historical facts that, the Torah, could not be protected by Jews, who had a captivity life along the centuries, and who also had fallen into idolatry by losing their faith after Hazrat Moses (peace be upon him); and the copy that is present today had been written by some clergymen long after Hazrat Moses; yet, it was accepted as a book of religion again as if it was the original copy of the Torah,. It is apparent that a book which had been appeared after such a long and complex era cannot be the original copy that had been revealed to Hazrat Moses. Therefore, the present copy includes some accusations and slanders to the prophets which are not suitable for a prophet and judgments which are contrary to the spirit of the religion of oneness (tawhid).
The Psalms (Zabur) which had been revealed to Hazrath Davud (peace be upon him), underwent the same process as the Torah, too.
As for the Gospel, Hazrat Eesa (Jesus) (peace be upon him) had not dictated the verses that had been revealed to him because he became a prophet when he was 30 years old, and his task of prophethood ended when he was 33. During that short period of time, he tried to guide the people by wandering from one village to another and from one city to another. And during his last days, he was constantly being followed by Roman rulers because of the provocations of the Jews. Under those circumstances, he could find neither enough time to dictate the Gospel, nor a possibility for it. Thus, the Gospels which are present today are called by their writers’ name (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and they look like siyar (a book in which the lives of prophets are told) books which include sermons and talks that Hazrat Eesa had given his apostles. Besides, those who had written them were not the first believers who were the apostles of Hazrat Eesa, but they were those who had seen the apostles and (from them) listened to the divine words that had been revealed to Hazrat Eesa.
There are some differences in terms of content and narration in the present Gospels. As a matter of fact, those Gospels had been accepted by a clerical consul, consisting of one thousand people, which had gathered in Iznik in 325 B.C. That consul had searched hundreds of Bibles, and with the agreement of 318 members, they accepted the 4 Gospels in which it is claimed that Hazrat Eesa has the aspect of godhead. And they annihilated others by burning them.
As it is seen, the principle that Hazrat Eesa was the son of God (God forbid) was accepted by a consul decision years after Hazrat Eesa died. Some Christian churches did not even obey that decision. So, from this point of view, it is not possible to say that the present 4 Gospels are in accordance with the original Gospel which was revealed to Hazrat Eesa.
The divine books which are divine verses are far away from any kind of contradiction and controversy. And the books which had been given to the messengers who had been sent are the words of God. The fact that the original Gospel had been distorted is understood clearly from the contradictions and different information given in the 4 Gospels.
The aim of the Gospel of Matthew is about the life, death and resurrection of Hazrat Eesa. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest one and he mentions about the interests that people had shown to Hazrat Eesa and mentions a lot about his life. And Luke sets forward his aim clearly at the beginning, that he will narrate the life of Eesa (peace be upon him) truly and comprehensively. The fact that Luke expresses that he addressed that book to Theophilos (Luke: 1/3) shows that this book does not belong to Hazrat Eesa. And John says that he has written that Gospel himself by expressing that “You will be attain life with his name.” (20/30-31).
The divine revelation is nothing but the remark, word and the declaration of God. It includes the laws, commands and the prohibitions that God arranged for the prophets and their communities. It informs about previous prophets and the hereafter.
As it will be seen, those mentioned Gospels were written after Hazrat Eesa and are about his life. The divine copies were mixed, and the original Gospel that had been revealed to Hazrat Eesa was distorted. When it is searched and when one thinks with good sense, that truth can be seen clearly.
The Gospels were written around a hundred years after Hazrat Eesa (peace be upon him), and they were been written in the language of Hazrat Eesa. According to the New Testament, the writers of the Gospel were nothing but the reporters of the first Christian community who had recorded the verbal rumors. Every one of the Gospel writers established a kind of bond between the rumors they got from their surroundings and the stories according to their own styles, their own personalities and religious concerns.
In the Gospel of Matthew, the names that are given as the fathers of Hazrat Eesa (peace be upon him), up to Hazrat Abraham (Hazrat Abraham (peace be upon him) is included) are totally 40 (1/1-17). And in the Gospel of Luke, the total number of the given names including Hazrat Abraham is 55.
When the Gospel of Luke, (for Hazrat Eesa) establishes a relationship with Matthat (3/23-38), the Gospel of Matthew establishes a relationship with carpenter Joseph (1/16).
When the Gospel of Matthew informs that Hazrat Yahya (John - peace be upon him) came without eating and drinking (11/18); the Gospel of Marcos says that Yahya ate a grasshopper and wild honey (1/6). As it is seen, these two pieces of information disprove each other.
According to Matthew (27/60), Mark (15/46), Luke (23/53); the corpse was taken and put in a grave which was carved in a rock. However, according to Johanna (John), the corpse of Hazrat Eesa was put in a grave which was in a garden (19/41). In the Gospel of Matthew, while it is stated that a man came to Hazrat Eesa in order to save his epilectic son (17/15); the Gospel of Mark says that he brought his dumb son to Hazrat Eesa (9/17). And Luke, when narrating the same story, says that the man says to Hazrat Eesa that “O Master, I beg you, cure my child.”
The Gospels were written in Greek. In the New Testament, some terms which were maimtained in their original forms are not written in Greek but in Hebrew language. It is also a proof that it had been distorted because the language that Hazrat Eesa spoke was Hebrew (Aramaic).
According to what the Gospel of Matthew informs us, Hazrat Eesa states that he did not come to break the shariah (religious law) of Hazrat Moses (peace be upon him), but to restore it (Matthew: 5/17-18).
However, today’s New Testament teaches that the shariah of Hazrat Moses (peace be upon him) was abolished completely by Hazrat Eesa (peace be upon him). So, it is a contradiction.
The verse which is about the trinity, the basis of Christianity, was as follows: The number of those who testify in the heaven is three: the Father, the word and the Holy Sprit and those three are one and those who testify are three. Sprit, water and blood are in agreement that it is one (John’s Letter: 5/7-8).
The first part was removed from the corrected copy published in 1881 and it is not present in today’s new impressions.
That example shows us that there had been distortions on the holy book of Christianity and those distortions went on.
There is a contradiction between the statements of Matthew “Do not counteract against an evil act; and whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other cheek, too; if one goes to a court to get your jacket, leave him your gabardine as well.” (5/39-40) and (Matthew: 10/34) “Do not think that I came to bring salvation to the earth; I came not for salvation but for sword.”
According to Matthew, the number of the blind people who came to Eesa of Jericho in order to get a cure is two; but according to Mark, the number is one.
According to the Gospel of Matthew (10/9), Hazrat Eesa does not let his Apostles even take a stick with them.
However, according to the statement of the Gospel of Mark, he advised them to take a stick with them (6/8).
When Matthew (25/15) shows the number of the servants as three, Luke shows this number as ten (19/33).
According to the Gospel of Matthew (18/1), the person who asked the question “Who is the greatest in the universe?” is the student of Hazrat Eesa (peace be upon him).
However, in the Gospel of Mark (9/33-34), it is Hazrat Eesa.
Somewhere in the Gospel of Mark (1/1) it is said that “It is the Gospel of Jesus.”, in another place (1/14) it is said that “It is the Gospel of God.”.
In the Gospel of Luke, in one place (Luke: 1: 47) it is said “My savior is God”; in another place it is said “My savior is Jesus.” (2: 11).
For Hazrat Eesa, the expressions of “the son of God”, “the son of Joseph”, “the son of David” and “the son of Adam” are often used.
Which of those is true? There can never be such big contradictions in a divine religion. Those expressions show that there are plenty distortions in the Gospel.
It is often said as an annotation in the Gospels (Matthew: 17/20-21, 18/10-11 - Mark: 7/15-16, 11/25-28, Luke: 8/45, 9-56) “Those statements are mentioned in many old texts.”
In Mark’s Gospel (16/20), it is said that the verses from 9 to 20 of this part are not mentioned in the old texts.
The openness that shows this distortion is present in the Gospel of John (7/53-8/11).
There cannot be such kind of contradiction and incoherence in a book that is attributed to God. On the other hand, a prophet who is a servant and messenger of God cannot put himself in place of God and make people worship him.
Thus, it is understood that the Gospel that was revealed to Hazrat Eesa (peace be upon him) was written, later on, by people and was distorted.
The Qur’an informs that the Gospel was distorted as follows:
“There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues: (As they read) you would think it is a part of the Book, but it is no part of the Book; and they say, "That is from God," but it is not from God. It is they who tell a lie against God, and (well) they know it!” (The Qur’an, Al-Imran, 3/78).
Since the divine books except for the Qur’an were distorted, how can one believe in them?
We, Muslims believe that divine books were revealed to Hazrat Moses, Hazrat David and Hazrat Eesa (peace be upon them) which are named as the Torah, the Psalms and (the Gospel); and those divine books did not have any judgment contrary to the truth and to the religion of oneness (tawhid). However, those books could be maintained and their original copies were distorted.
We cannot say that there are not any verses revealed to the prophets in the books that Jews and Christians have today. However, it is a fact that, there are superstitious beliefs included in them. For this reason, we deal with those books with caution. We regard the decrees suitable to the Qur’an as a revelation. We regard the decrees which are contrary to the Qur’an as verses that had been added later to those books. And we keep silent when there is no contrary or convenient information to the Qur’an. We neither accept nor deny them because they may just as well be a revelation or superstition.
Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him) said the following regarding the issue: “The People of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew (text) and interpret it in Arabic for Muslims. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said to his companions the following about it:
Say ye: "We believe in God, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we submit to God (in Islam).’” (the Qur’an, Al-Baqarah, 136)
Chapter an-Nisa, verse 157:
"That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";― but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not.
According to the Gospel of Barnabas and some Christians, Jesus was not killed by crucifixion. Allah made someone, probably Judas, who informed against him, resemble Jesus; and the Jews crucified him. (Najjar, Qisasu'l-Anbiya, p. 403,448 ff.; Ibn Ashur, V, 22)
The Gospel of Barnabas, which contains one of the most important resources containing the knowledge about the issue, belongs to Saint Barnabas, the cousin of Mark, one of the disciples of Jesus. This gospel was forbidden because it was contrary to the official Christianity formed by councils and affected by St Paul; it was kept secretly by some priests of high rank and was given to Vienna Library in 1738; then, it was translated into several languages.
According to the explicit and definite expression of the Quran, Jesus is a prophet (4/171); and he was not killed by crucifixion by his enemies. Allah protected His prophet from them; He removed Jesus and raised him to His presence. One of the meanings of the expression "so it was made to appear to them and those who differ therein are full of doubts" in verse 157 of the chapter of an-Nisa is to make them doubt.
According to the first meaning, the informer was made to appear to them as Jesus and was killed by crucifixion. According to the second meaning, they did not kill Jesus by crucifixion; they themselves disagreed about it and doubted whether they killed him or not. It is possible two understand the expression "for of a surety they killed him not" at the end of verse 157 of the chapter of an-Nisa in two ways:
1. "Those who claimed to have killed him do not have definite information regarding the issue." This meaning confirms the second meaning of the simile.
2,"It is certain that they could not kill him." This meaning confirms the meaning of the simile as"to resemble, to mistake somebody for somebody."
(See Diyanet Tefsiri, Kur’an Yolu, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı Yayınları: II/136-137)
Man has not seen his creation, which is the most interesting event in the history of mankind. Nobody saw the first man, who was created without a mother or father. When so many centuries passed after this event, the wisdom of God willed to display another extraordinary event with the creation of Jesus (pbuh) without a father. This birth is contrary to the rules of reproduction, which have been valid on earth since the creation of man.
The aim is to make man witness this wonder and to make it exist in the history of man as a remarkable event. God wanted to show man, who was not able to concentrate on the first miracle of creation, a miracle that would never be deleted from his memory.
According to the law of God that enables the maintenance of the species, all of the species, without any exceptions, reproduce through the insemination of the female by the male. In the living species in which the gender cannot be discerned clearly, we see that there are even cells of both masculinity and femininity together in the same individual. Due to the operation of this law for centuries, man believed that it was the only way of reproduction. Believing like that, man forgot the first creation, the creation out of nothing. For, this event was contrary to the rigid perceptions of the minds. Therefore, God wanted to show man the example of Jesus (pbuh). Through this example, God wanted to show the limitlessness of His power, the freedom of His will and that this power and will cannot be limited with the natural laws that operate based on His own reference.
Another example like the birth of Jesus (pbuh) was not seen after that because what is normal is the operation of the laws imposed by God and the natural laws preferred by God. This unique incident, whose aim is to prove actually that the freedom of the divine will is not restricted to the natural laws, was seen sufficient as a manifest example that will always be in front of the eyes of people. As a matter of fact, God states the following about the wisdom behind the creation of Jesus (pbuh) without a father:
He said: ‘So (it will be)’: thy Lord saith `That is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us': it is a matter (so) decreed. (Maryam, 19/21)
Since the incident was very astonishing and extraordinary, some people could not understand it as it was and could not perceive the wisdom behind it. Therefore, they attributed some qualities of divinity to Jesus and they invented various superstitions and tales regarding his death. Thus, they reversed the wisdom behind his incredible creation without a father. The wisdom behind his creation without a father was, as we have mentioned above, to prove the limitlessness of the divine power. The people who attributed divinity to him reversed this wisdom and damaged the belief in the oneness of God.
This striking and extraordinary incident is narrated in the verses 16-34 of the chapter of Maryam in the Quran.