13th Disciple

The Thirteenth Disciple

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THE THIRTEENTH DISCIPLE 1st Edition by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh The successor and messenger of Imam al-Mahdi pbuh

Certified accurate by the English Translation Committee of Ansar Imam al-Mahdi pbuh For more information and works by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh please visit either www.saviorofmankind.com (English) or www.almahdyoon.org (Arabic) Copyright © 2012 by Ahmad al-Hassan ISBN 978-1-61061-825-0

‫:‪Translated from the original Arabic Al-Hawwari al-Thalith Ashar‬‬ ‫إصدارات أنصار اإلمام املهدي ‪ / ‬العدد (٤٥١)‬

‫احلواري الثالث عرش‬ ‫َ ّ ُّ‬
‫السيد أمحد احلسن ‪‬‬ ‫تعليق‬ ‫عالء السامل‬

Contents
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Commentator’s Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii The Lion and Lamb in the Vision of John, who is he? . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Branch from the Stump of Jesse: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Woman Clothed with the Sun and the Moon: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 How the Glad Tidings of Jesus pbuh and Muhammad pbuhap: . . . 13 The Number of the Antichrist or the Beast: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Islam, Violence and Women’s Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 An Advice to every Christian who wants to know the Truth: . . . . . 37 The Matter of Crucifixion and the Gospel of Judah: . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Who is the Crucified Lookalike? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Appendix 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Appendix 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 The Word: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Emmanuel or God with us: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 God Manifested in the Flesh: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 The Son: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Appendix 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Appendix 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Appendix 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 Appendix 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Appendix 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Abbreviations pbuh pbut pbuhap swt (m) ﴾ ﴿ [ ] ﴾﴿ «» —Trans . .lit Peace be upon him/her (‫ ~ هيلع/علهيا السالم‬alaihi/alaiha assalam) Peace be upon them (‫ ~ علهيم السالم‬alaihom assalam) Peace upon him and progeny (‫ ~ ىلص اهلل هيلع وآله ملسو‬salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam) Praise Him and Exalt Him (‫ ~ سبحانه وتعاىل‬sobhanahu wa ta’ala) The Mighty and the Majestic (‫ ~ عز وجل‬azza wa jal) Indicate narrations from Ahlulbayt pbut Indicate passages from the Bible Indicate verses from the Quran Indicate explanations by Sayeed Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh within narrations, Bible passages or Quran verses not in the original arabic but added by the translators literal translation note added by the translators

In the Name of Allah the Abundantly Merciful, the Intensely Merciful Praise be to Allah (God), Lord of the worlds, and may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad and his progeny, the Imams and the Mahdis .

Commentator’s Forward
An introduction to the writer of the book and his divine call: Imam Ahmad al-Hassan is Ahmad son of Ismail son of Salih son of Hussain son of Salman son of Muhammad son of al-Hassan son of Ali son of Muhammad son of Ali son of Musa son of Jafar son of Muhammad son of Ali son of al-Hussain son of Ali son of Abi Talib, peace be upon them all . He is the successor (wasi) and messenger of Imam al-Mahdi Muhammad bin al-Hassan pbuh to all people, the promised Yamani to the Shia Muslims, and the Mahdi [lit . rightly-guided] whose birth at the end times was promised by the Messenger of Allah pbuhap to the Sunni Muslims, the Comforter to the prophets of Allah and His messengers promised by the prophet of Allah Jesus pbuh as mentioned in the Gospel, the Savior whom the prophet of Allah Elijah pbuh promised to send to the Jews . He set out with his great divine call in 1999 in Iraq (the East), the capital of the State of Divine Justice, and from there it spread to the world . He came to the people using the proofs which the prophets of Allah and His messengers used for their people: the text (which he has made clear to the followers of religions according to the books in which they believe) and the knowledge with which he challenged the major clerics of all religions, and the call to the supremacy of Allah, in addition to Allah swt supporting him in the Kingdom of Heaven by thousands of honest visions of the prophets and the messengers that testify for him . And he has written a collection of books containing great aspects of the divine knowledge which he has started to transmit to the people, including: The Book of Monotheism, The Allegories, Enlightenments from the Calls of the Messengers, The Journey of Moses to the Junction of the Two

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Seas, The Sealing Prophethood, The Calf, Jihad the Doorway to Heaven, The Supremacy of Allah not the Supremacy of People and many others . As for the purpose of his call, it is the same as the purpose of the call of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, may the prayers of Allah be upon them all . The purpose of the prophets and the messengers is for monotheism to spread on every spot of this earth, and it is his purpose, as is the clarification of the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran and that upon which was disagreed, and for the earth to be filled with justice and fairness, just as it has been filled with tyranny and oppression; for the hungry to be fed and for the poor to not remain without shelter; for the orphans to find joy after their prolonged sadness, for the widows to find what fulfills their financial need with dignity and integrity; for … for … and for the most important matter in the jurisprudence to be applied: justice, mercy and honesty . And this blessed call was believed in by people from all over the world, and for more details you can refer to the official website of the supporters of Imam al-Mahdi pbuh . Ahmad is the thirteenth from among the twenty-four elders in the texts of the religions: [1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this .” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne . 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald . 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads . 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God .] Revelation Chapter 4 . As for the one sitting on the throne, the texts of the Shia Muslims confirm that the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap is the one sitting on the throne . As for the twenty-four elders, they are his pure vicegerents (twelve Imams + twelve Mahdis) just as his sacred will stated: ﴾ … the Messenger of Allah pbuhap said to Ali bin Abi Talib on the

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night of his death, “O father of al-Hassan, bring me a leaf and a paper,” and he dictated his will until he came to a position where he said, “O Ali, there will be twelve Imams after me and after them there will be twelve Mahdis . You, O Ali, are the first of the twelve Imams, Allah has named you in his heavens “Ali al-Mortatha”, “the Prince of the Believers”, “the Grand Truthful”, “the Bright Differentiator between Truth and Falsehood”, “the Trusted”, and “the Mahdi” . These names may not to be truly attributed to other than you . O Ali, you are my successor over my family (Ahlulbayt), their living and their deceased, and over my women . Whomever you affirm shall find me tomorrow, and whomever you reject I am innocent of her . I will not see her and she will not see me on the Day of Resurrection . And you are the vicegerent (khalifa) upon my nation after me . If death approaches you, hand it over to my son al-Hassan “the Very Beneficial” . Then if death approaches him, let him hand it over to my son al-Hussain “the Martyr”, “the Pure”, “the Assassinated” . Then if death approaches him, let him hand it over to his son “the Master of the Worshippers” Ali . Then if death approaches him, let him hand it over to his son, Muhammad al-Baqir . Then if death approaches him, let him hand it over to his son, Jafar al-Sadiq . Then if death approaches him, let him hand it over to his son, Musa al-Kathum . Then if death approaches him, let him hand it over to his son, Ali al-Retha . Then if death approaches him, let him hand it over to his son Muhammad, “the Trustworthy”, “the Pious” . Then if death approaches him, let him hand it over to his son Ali “the Advisor” . Then if death approaches him, let him hand it over to his son al-Hassan “the Virtuous” . Then if death approaches him, let him hand it over to his son Muhammad “the Entrusted of the Holy Family of Muhammad”, peace be upon them . So these are the twelve Imams . Then after him, there will be twelve Mahdis . So if death approaches him, let him hand it over to his son, the first of the close ones, he has three names, one like mine and my father’s: Abdullah (servant of Allah), Ahmad, and the third name is al-Mahdi . He is the first of the believers .”﴿* And these twenty-four Imams were mentioned by the Sunni Muslims as well: Kab al-Ahbar said, “They are twelve, so at the time they
* . Al-Ghayba by Sheikh al-Tousi, narration 111 .

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pass away, in the place of the twelve there will be twelve like them, and that is what Allah promised for this nation, ﴾Allah has promised those who have believed among you and have done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them vicegerency in the earth just as He granted it to those before them .﴿ Surat an-Noor (The Light) 24:55 . And likewise He has done with the Children of Israel .”* The Book of The Thirteenth Disciple: The writer of this book is the thirteenth successor just as the Messenger of Allah Muhammad stated in his sacred will, and he is the Thirteenth Disciple† whose return was promised by Jesus at the time when the minor resurrection is near as is mentioned in the Gospel, and he is the one who returns again and raises the banner for the nations like the Torah states . Therefore, he is the Comforter and the promised Savior whom all the followers of religions are waiting for . And given that the plan of Allah swt for the Man of Salvation of His promised day is very discreet, as Father Paul Feghali says concerning the seals in the Book of Revelation, “And the seven seals are the number of perfection, they indicate that the plan of God is very discreet and that nothing replaces it,”‡ and given that the Muslims, or at least their Shia, are in agreement that the plan of Allah is discreet, just like the Imams of guidance clarified, Malik al-Jahni said, ﴾“I said to Imam Abu Jafar pbuh that we recognize the man of this matter by the attribute which none of the people possess, so he said, ‘No, I swear by Allah that never occurs until he is the one who presents it as a proof for you and calls you to it .’”﴿ .§ I say, if this is the case, then the revealing of the secret by this man (the Savior) will certainly be a sign that leads and guides us to him, and thus our salvation and our survival are by believing in him and joining his ark before the calamity of the second flood, which is drawn near if Allah wills to implement his command . The statements of the knowledgeable one and the virtuous servant as the Quran described him, and the entrusted and wise servant as the
* . Tafseer Ibn Abu Hatam, Vol . 8 page 2628, narration 14769 . † . Al-Hawwari translated as disciple means one who is spoken to in particular . ‡ . Studies in the Holy Book, the Revelation of St. John . § . Al-Ghayba by al-Numani page 220 .

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Gospel described him, Imam Ahmad al-Hassan, which this book contains from revealing the sealed secrets which none would have reached if not for the relation with Allah, are a clear proof for his righteousness and the honesty of his blessed call . And although his words pbuh are clear and his proof in this book is evident, for further clarification there are some brief and necessary comments throughout the book . Some of them mention the sayings of the clerics of both the Catholic and the Orthodox Church because these sayings oblige their owners and their followers . Moreover, presenting and comparing these sayings with what Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh has clarified demonstrates their falsehood and invalidity and that their owners attempted to interpret these secrets with ignorance . And in commenting on this book, I benefited greatly from the comments of brother Tawfiq Muhammad al-Maghribi which he made on the same answers that I compiled in this book, so may Allah reward him with good and seal our lives and his with good . Lastly, we ask Allah to empower the Riser (al-Qaim) of the progeny of Muhammad and grant him a great victory, and that He by His favor guides to him whoever of His creation that He wishes, and that He forgives our shortcomings toward him . And praise is to Allah Lord of the worlds . Alaa al-Salim 15th of April 2012 23rd Jamadi al-Awwal 1433 a .h

The Lion and Lamb in the Vision of John, who is he?
Question 1: In some of his books, Imam Ahmad al-Hassan interprets the twenty-four elders in the vision of John to be the twelve Imams and the twelve Mahdis pbut, mentioned in the Will of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap . And the question is, who is the crucified lamb who was centered among them and whom they addressed? Answer: Book of Revelation, Chapter 4: [2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne . 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald . 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads . 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder … ] And in Chapter 5: [1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals . 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it . 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals .” 6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth . 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne . 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints . 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

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from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth .” 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped .] In Chapter 14: [1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads … ]* From these passages, it is made clear to you that the one who was once symbolized as a lion and once as a slaughtered lamb is one of the twenty-four elders, as the one sitting on the throne is the one dominating the vision, and it is clear in the vision that he is the best of everyone in rank and superiority . And the twenty-four elders sitting on the thrones are the closest ones in rank to the one sitting on the throne, from among those present in the vision, as it is clear in the vision . Therefore, the slaughtered lamb is not better than the one sitting on the throne, nor is he better than the twenty-four, although we see in the vision that he earned taking the scroll and opening the seals; so how did he earn taking the scroll without them, while they are closer than him and better than him?! Therefore, the slaughtered lamb must be a symbol of one of the twenty-four elders . As for the fact that they submitted to him and spoke to him … etc, they submitted in the meaning that they prepared and paved the way,
* . Concerning the mentioned number of 144,000, whose foreheads are sealed by the name of the lamb and his Father’s name, some of the clerics of the Church have said, “We, before the Church, are the people of God . It includes a very large number . It also includes a great audience from every nation and every tribe and every people and every tongue . They are four words, and this is what is meant by the world with its four ends .” And when the number mentioned in the vision was too little to be concerning their interpretation, they said, “The number is a symbolic number” only and it is not really intended . They said that with all coldness, as the interpretation with no proof is easily provided by them . Refer to Studies in The Holy Book, the Revelation of St.John by Paul Feghali

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and they are believers in the result, which is applying the supremacy of Allah on His earth . As for your saying that there is a problem with the fact that one of the twenty-four elders is the same one symbolized by the lamb and the lion, thus how would he address himself; and, in reality, this is hardly a problem, because we are talking about a vision; so, there is no problem that one of the twenty-four elders would address a side of his symbolized by the lamb, and another side symbolized by the lion, etc . And if this problem was valid, it would have been valid to negate the vision, because it symbolized he who has overcome and earned opening the scroll by the lion, and then clarified that the one who took the scroll is the slaughtered lamb . [5 behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals .” 6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth . 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne .] Therefore, the slaughtered lamb and the lion are symbols of who has overcome and earned taking the scroll and opening its seals, and he is one of the twenty-four elders . So in the rank of overcoming, which requires strength, bravery and dedication, he was symbolized by the lion .And in the rank of taking the seals, which requires sacrifice, he was symbolized by a lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered . And both sides belong to the same person .* And there is no inconsistency

* . The fact that the different symbols of the vision indicate the same person from different sides is a matter also believed in by the Christian clerics, and as an example, I mention two texts . One of them is by Father Antonios Fekry, saying, “He is a lion in his strength and his sovereignty is over us and over all the creation, but he is a lamb in how he presented himself for slaughter on the cross and his bearing of our sins .” The Explanation of the Holy Book, the New Testament, the Interpretation of Revelation 5 . And the other text is by Dr . William MacDonald, he says, “In the Book of Revelation, our Lord is represented as a lamb and a lion together . So from one side, the fact that he is the lamb of God thus he is the slaughtered lamb that lifts the sins of the world, and as the lion as he is the judge punishing his enemies . At his first coming he was the lamb (the sheep), and at his second coming he will be the lion .” Emmaus Bible College . And Father Paul Feghali says, “We waited for a lion so here we are before a lamb, why was Jesus called a lamb? There are three reasons … ” Studies in The Holy Book, the Revelation of St. John .

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between them, as the strength of the spirit is a result of the sacrifice, sincerity and patience upon receiving injustice . As for their interpretation of the slaughtered lamb in the vision to be Jesus pbuh, it is negated by the fact that according to them the one sitting on the throne is Allah, He is far above that .* And it is not hidden that this interpretation of theirs restricts Allah swt and negates His absolute divinity . And for further details, you can read The Book of Monotheism .† While to us the one sitting on the throne is Muhammad pbuhap, and around him are twenty-four elders also on thrones, and they are the vicegerents of Allah on His earth, the Imams and the Mahdis mentioned by the Messenger of Allah pbuhap in his sacred will .‡ •

* . Concerning the one sitting on the throne, Dr . William MacDonald says, “God is seen holding a scroll with seven seals that protect it .” Emmaus Bible College . Likewise, Father Paul Feghali says, “And there was a throne established in the sky, this entire book is overseen by the word ‘throne’ . It is mentioned fourteen times, twice of which are in plural form as we see other thrones (the twelve) surrounding the first throne, the throne of God .” Studies in The Holy Book, the Revelation of St. John † . The Book of Monotheism by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan, in which he clarified the true belief in the divinity and he debated the false ideologies which many people believe in today, whether Muslims, Christians or otherwise . ‡ . The sacred will that mentioned the twelve Imams and twelve Mahdis has been mentioned earlier in this book .

The Branch from the Stump of Jesse:
Question 2: Priests and the Church interpret the branch which grows from the stump of Jesse to be Christ pbuh, is this correct? Answer: Your question about the branch mentioned in Isaiah: Isaiah Chapter 11: [1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit . 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord . 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord . He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked . 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins . 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them . 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox . 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den . 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea . 10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peo-

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ples — of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious . 11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea . 12 He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth .] Their interpretation of the branch to be Jesus pbuh is incorrect, and the text rejects their interpretation and conflicts with their ideology .* As Jesus pbuh, according to their belief, is the absolute Lord himself, so how does he fear the Lord, and have his pleasure be the fear of the Lord?!! And they might explain this by resorting to the false and contradictory belief of the three hypostases, and I clarified its falsehood with proof in The Book of Monotheism .† And Jesus pbuh did not rule and was not a judge among the people,
* . The clerics of the Church interpret the verse, [There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit] to be Jesus pbuh, and they see that the shoot and branch mean the same thing, and it is certainly unreasonable . And as an example of their interpretation, I mention what Fr . Tadros Yacoub said concerning how the text applies to Jesus: “He did not say the son of David although it is lawfully the son of David, but he wanted to present him in a very humble manner, like a stump and branch of Jesse who lived and died having little regard .” The interpretation of the Book of Isaiah . And they refuse to accept that the Jews apply the text to Hezekiah without proof because he was born before Isaiah’s speech about him, yet we see that they apply the text to Jesus pbuh without proof as well, and it is clear that this verse and that which follows it are far from their interpretation for the reasons which Imam Ahmad al-Hassan clarified, and he gave the meaning of the text in another book saying, “As for Jesse, he is known in the Torah as the father of David pbuh, the prophet of Allah . And the mother of Imam al-Mahdi pbuh is from the lineage of David pbuh . Therefore, Imam al-Mahdi Muhammad bin Hassan al-Askari pbuh is from the lineage of Israel (Jacob pbuh) on the mother’s side, and from the lineage of Muhammad pbuhap on the father’s side . Thus he confirms that he is a shoot from the stump of Jesse, just as the first Mahdi from the twelve Mahdis confirms that he is a branch that comes from that shoot from the stump of Jesse, because he is from the lineage of Imam al-Mahdi .” The Successor and Messenger of Imam al-Mahdi in the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran . † . As for their justification concerning the pleasure of Jesus that overwhelms him when fearing the Lord, Fr . Tadros Yacoub says in his interpretation, “The settling of the Holy Spirit over Jesus is different from its settling over us . To him, it is a hypostatic settling; one with him in the essence . With the Father, it is a limitless settling .” And he says, “Thus the settling of the Spirit is not a timely settling, it is rather an eternal union between the three hypostases .” As

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so he was not able to establish justice or fairness to the oppressed ones, so how can the text above apply to him?!* And what the text portrayed was not achieved in the time of Jesus pbuh, that the earth would fill with the knowledge of the Lord like water covers the sea, and this knowledge would have an impact that the rich would comfort the poor and that the strong would support the weak and that the earth would be almost free of injustice, etc . By all means, almost the entire text is far from Jesus pbuh and his call; so for example, did Jesus assemble the banished of Israel (Jacob to them)?? And did he gather the dispersed ones of Judah (son of Jacob to them) from the ends of the earth?? And if they say that he assembled and gathered them by their faith in him, it is also incorrect, because the call of Jesus pbuh, until his ascension, did not go past the boundaries of a few cities . Whereas, we find the text saying that this person gathers the dispersed ones of Judah from the ends of the earth, and the meaning of the text is that in this person’s time of dispatch people from almost all the countries of the world believe in him; rather, from countries far from his place of dispatch in particular (the ends of the earth) .† [12 He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth .] And the word Judah means “praise” or Ahmad [in Arabic] . According to the Torah in Genesis Chapter Twenty-nine: [35 And for concerning refuting the ideology of the three hypostases, read the words of Imam Ahmad al-Hassan in Appendix 1 . * . Fr . Tadros Yacoub comments about the verse saying, “Jesus Christ takes a stance opposing that which happened in the days of Isaiah, when the judges would rule according to the faces . This very biased strike usually afflicts those committed to responsibilities of leadership . And the Lord stood firm against this plague, so he would scold the religious leaderships which were inflicted with bias and hypocrisy like the Pharisees and the writers, whereas he would call the children to him with kindness and be gentle to the sinners and the tax collectors .” And it is clear that this twisting of passages is far from the scientific approach, as the passage speaks of a man who rules and is a judge and fills the earth with knowledge and justice and not one who scolds and is gentle . † . The clerics of the Church acknowledge that what was mentioned in the text did not occur at the time of Jesus pbuh, but they claim that it occurred later at the hands of the Church . They easily made that claim with no proof . Fr . Antonios Fekry says, “And in that day, meaning the Biblical age … and this occurred on the day of the Pentecost and then by the preaching of the messengers and then through the Church, It will also happen through the believing of the

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The Thirteenth Disciple

she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord .” Therefore she called his name Judah . Then she ceased bearing .]* And the word Israel means Abdullah [servant of Allah in Arabic] .† So the passage would be: (He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel (Abdullah) and gather the dispersed of Judah (Ahmad) from the four corners of the earth) . And the dispersed ones who gather like the cumulus of autumn from the corners of the earth to support the Riser (the first Mahdi Ahmad) are the supporters of Imam al-Mahdi pbuh at the end times; and this is known from the narrations of Muhammad and his progeny pbut .‡ •
Jews at the end of days . [He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth .] Isaiah 11:12 . The Church will include all the nations along with the Jews who are dispersed .” The Interpretation of the Old Testament, Isaiah 11 . And maybe he means the Church of the Orthodox, about which Pope Shenouda III said, “The Coptic Orthodox is the only Church of Christ,” whereas the Pope of the Vatican, Benedict XVI, sees that according to the Dominus Iesus Declaration, “This [the Catholic Church] is the single Church of Christ,” and that it alone owns all paths of salvation . And this aroused responses, including that of Fr . Marcos Aziz the priest of the Orthodox Church, where he recommended the Pope of the Vatican to stop the mockery and wake from the coma and not be a toy in the hand of Satan . And surely, the Church which gathers diaspora, in the eyes of Martin Luther (who is dissenting from the Catholic Church) is a Church of benefit, and so on . * . The explanation of the words (Judah son of Jacob) in The Dictionary of the Holy Book: “It is a Hebrew name meaning ‘praise’ [Hamad in Arabic —Trans .] and he is the fourth of the children of Jacob from Leah, and he was born between the two rivers (Genesis 29:35) and he was given this name because of his mother’s thankfulness at his birth .” † . And that is a clear issue, and the narrations clarified it as well, such as the narration from al-Ayashi, ﴾“Abu Dawood narrated from those who heard the Messenger of Allah pbuhap say, ‘I am Abdullah, my name is Ahmad, and I am Abdullah, my name is Israel . What He [Allah] has commanded him then He has commanded me, and what is intended for him is intended for me .’”﴿ Tafsir al-Ayashi Vol . 1 page 44 . ‡ . The narrations concerning this issue are many, such as: Abu Khalid narrated that Imam al-Baqir pbuh said concerning this saying of Allah (m), ﴾So race to good . Wherever you may be, Allah will bring you forth all together .﴿ Surat al-Baqara (The Cow) 2:148 . ﴾“The good is the allegiance, and His saying swt, ﴾Allah will bring you forth all together﴿, means the companions of the Riser, the three hundred and few more men, and by Allah, they are the counted nation . By Allah, they gather in one hour, cumulus like the cumulus of the fall .”﴿ Al-Kafi by al-Kulaini Vol . 8 page 313 . And this is what is happening today, as different types of people from different countries have believed in Imam Ahmad al-Hassan, and his supporters are in many regions of the world such as the middle east, East Asia, Russia and many European and non-European countries such as the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Argentina and others .

The Woman Clothed with the Sun and the Moon:
Question 3: Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh clarified that the woman clothed with the Sun and the Moon in the vision of John is the mother of Imam al-Mahdi pbuh, and the priests and the Church say otherwise, so how does he prove the authenticity of his words against theirs? Answer: As for your question concerning the woman in the vision of John: In the Book of Revelation Chapter 12: [1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the Sun, with the Moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars . 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth … 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne … 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death . 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” 13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child … 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God … ] First: Interpreting the woman to be the Church, as the Christians usually do, is clearly false; it is enough for it that they interpret the son of the Church to be Jesus pbuh, whereas the reality is that Jesus had been born, dispatched, and raised before the Church was born and before it existed!!* Also attempting to interpret it as Mary pbuh is incorrect . And whoever requests the truth, let him note that: If the woman was Mary pbuh, then who is her son? And who are
* . In his explanation, the interpretor Fr . Antonios Fekry says, “And the woman is the Church, and there are those who say it is the Virgin … [She was pregnant] = the Church is a bearing mother, but her bearing of her children is difficult = [was crying out in birth pains and

10

The Thirteenth Disciple

the twelve planets, the Sun and the Moon? So if they said that the woman in the vision was Mary pbuh, they would need fifteen other characters to interpret the vision correctly .* And did Jesus pbuh shepherd, or will he shepherd, all the nations by a staff of iron?!!!† And does Mary have a lineage besides Jesus pbuh known to be assigned from Allah to protect the commandments of Allah, meaning that they are messengers or vicegerents of Allah on His earth and leaders to good and the path of Allah, so much so that the preoccupation of the leaders of evil from the satans of mankind and jinn, is only to confront them like they do in the vision?‡ Moreover, when the vision clarifies events, it is clarifying matters of the unseen which usually happen in the future; otherwise, what the agony of giving birth] … . [She gave birth to a male child] = Christ and he was mentioned because he is the groom of the Church .” Father Paul Feghali sees the same thing and says, “The woman is the Church who is rooted in the history of Israel, the Church that in its heavenly dimension is coated with glory and it wears the crown as a sign of overcoming .” Studies in the Holy Book, the Revelation of St.John . But according to the common belief in Christianity, the birth of the Church was on the fiftieth day . In The Journal of the History of the Church by Fr . Michael Grace, “And on the fiftieth day of the resurrection of Christ, and on the third hour by Hebrew timing (9 in the morning by our timing) and during the celebrations of the Jews in Jerusalem of one of their major festivals which is the festival of the fifty … The Lord has chosen this occasion of the Jews to be a time for the birth of His Church .” * . Whoever revises the words of the interpreters notices the confusion and the great embarrassment in clarifying it, Father Paul Feghali says, “The woman who gave birth to the child is the people that radiates in the glory of the divine blessing (the Sun) and the covenant (twelve) . And at the same time, the writer considers the people of the Old Testament and the people of the New Testament .” Studies in The Holy Book, the Revelation of St.John . As for Fr . Tadros Yacoub, he says, “And Father Hippolytus says, ‘It is very clear that by the woman covered in the Sun, he meant the Church which God bestowed with the Word of the Father, as its glow is greater than the Sun .’ And by his saying, [The Moon under her feet], he is referring to that it has manifested with divine glory that exceeds the Moon . Moreover, the phrase, [And on her head a crown of twelve stars], refers to the twelve messengers who established the Church . † . It is quite obvious that Jesus pbuh did not shepherd all the nations by a staff of iron in the past . Also, many of them deny his second return, so when will he shepherd them?! In his explanation, Antonios Fekry says, “There is no meaning behind what is said by those who believe that Christ will come again to the earth to rule for a period of a thousand years, in which he will chain Satan and peace will prevail so that the wolf lives with the sheep, etc . These similitudes are symbolic and they indicate the peace that will prevail over the hearts of the believers, which Christ, the King of Peace has brought .” ‡ . And some of them even said, “The remaining of the lineage of the woman are the Christians who engaged with the crucified one, so this engagement caused them to announce their belief .” Studies in The Holy Book, the Revelation of St.John by Paul Feghali . And the refutation of this is clear, which is that the lineage of the woman who are mentioned are assigned by Allah to protect His commandments meaning that they are the vicegerents of Allah and messengers from Him and commanders of good, and not believers in general .

The Woman Clothed with the Sun and the Moon

11

would it mean if we would see in a vision what happened yesterday for example, so that we would tell people about it although we already know it? And what benefit would come from telling people about it? And the vision of John happened long after Mary pbuh gave birth to Jesus, rather even after Jesus was dispatched, and after he completed his message and was raised . Therefore, the vision of John talks about an unseen matter which will occur, and not about a historical matter which occurred and ended, as interpreted by whoever says the woman is Mary pbuh .* What was stated previously are clear matters that refute the issue of the woman being Mary pbuh . Second: the clarification of the correct meaning: And before clarifying the meaning of the text in the vision, it must be noted that visions are the words of Allah; therefore they, like the Quran, the Torah and the Gospel, take their course in different situations, just like the Sun and the Moon in terms of renewal and applying to more than one representation at different times, and in terms of being symbols which have numerous meanings, as the Sun and the Moon in the vision can be the messenger and the successor, or the physical mother and father, or the spiritual mother and father, and also at times you can see a person in a vision and what is intended is not he himself, rather only his name, and perhaps you see a city and it is not the one intended, rather what is intended is a city which is similar to it in some of its attributes, or perhaps its name . So visions are the words of Allah, and perhaps they come with symbols, indications, and divine wisdom

* . Fr . Paul Feghali says about the passages of the vision, “ … So they let us experience the things that occurred or they announce things that will occur . They direct our sights forward and not backward .” He adds, “There is no doubt that there is a historical order (before and after) but the ending lies within the beginning and what is told in the past shall come in the future . We are at an ‘eternity’ where everything is modernized .” Studies in The Holy Book, the Revelation of St.John by Paul Feghali . And by this, the invalidity of the sayings of some of the interpreters of the Holy Book is made clear, those who interpreted the twelve planets to be the tribes of the Old Testament and the messengers of the New Testament . Moreover, many verses from the Book of Revelation are clear in indicating that they talk about an unseen matter of the future . In Chapter 1, [19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this .] And in Chapter 4, [1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this .”]

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The Thirteenth Disciple

exactly as is the inspiration, the words of the prophets and the words of Allah in His descended books . If this is made clear, I say: The woman in the vision of John symbolizes the mother of Imam al-Mahdi at a certain time, as she is clothed with and surrounded by the Sun and the Moon and the twelve, meaning Muhammad, Ali, Fatima and the Imams from the children of Fatima pbuh until Imam alMahdi, meaning fourteen . And the son to whom she gives birth in the vision is the first Mahdi, mentioned in the Will of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap, so the number becomes fifteen as is in the vision, and the satans of mankind and jinn fight her lineage, because they are the vicegerents of Allah on His earth . As for the son not being directly from her, what does it mean that she was in labor and gave birth to him?! So the answer is that she gave birth to his father or the origin from which he came . It must be noted that there is nothing preventing that there will be another personification of the woman at a different time* considering that she gave birth to the same son, the axis of the vision, so the woman will be Fatima pbuh and the fifteen are her father, her mother, her husband and the eleven Imams from her children, and the secret entrusted within her, or the twelfth son from her children, the axis of the vision . •

* . The matter of the multiplicity of personification of prophecy is a matter acknowledged by the Church as well . And here is an example concerning the personification of “The son called Emmanuel and his mother the Virgin” in the Old Testament, The Dictionary of the Holy Book states, “The prophecy has a dual goal, like many of the prophecies of the Old Testament, thus Emmanuel and the Virgin are symbols . The Virgin, in the near goal, symbolizes the woman of Isaiah or the woman of Ahaz . And in the distant goal, it symbolizes the Virgin Mary . And Emmanuel, in the near goal, symbolizes ‘Maher-shalal-hash-baz’ or Hezekiah . As for the distant goal, it symbolizes the Lord Jesus . And in the distant goal, there is no doubt that the prophecy concerns the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ from the Virgin Mary .”

How the Glad Tidings of Jesus pbuh and Muhammad pbuhap were:
Question 4: The prophets of the Old Testament promised the coming of Jesus pbuh, so where is the promise concerning Muhammad pbuhap in it, if he is the possessor of the eternal religion? Answer: Is it required that there be a promise with the direct name or the symbol?! I believe that the issue of the absence of Jesus or Yeshua’s name in the Old Testament, as a promised one, is a concluded matter . Thus nothing remains but the symbol . And we have clarified symbolic passages from the Old Testament whose interpretation refers to the Messenger Muhammad pbuhap, just as they have interpreted symbolic passages as referring to Jesus pbuh .* And before showing some of these passages, I say: We clarified the evidence for the Proof or Vicegerent of Allah on His earth or the sent prophet and we proved it through (or with if through is incorrect) reasoning, wisdom, and the passages from the Torah, Gospel and Quran .† So whoever requests the truth from among the People of the Book,
* . For instance, one of the main passages mentioned by the Christians that promises Jesus pbuh in the Old Testament is Isaiah 7:14, but it is eventually a symbol and does not include the pronouncement of a name . Concerning the pronouncement of Jesus’ name, interpreter Dr . William MacDonald said, “At that time, the angel announced the sex of the child who will be born, his name and his mission, and that is that Mary was to give birth to a son and she will name him Jesus (Yeshua) which means ‘Yahweh (the Lord) is the salvation’ or ‘Yahweh (the Lord) is the Savior’, as he will save his people from their sins just like his name will be announced .” And concerning the prophecy of Isaiah, he says, “The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 included the prophecy of a unique birth: ﴾The virgin shall conceive﴿ and the sex of the child: ﴾and bear a son﴿, and the name of the child: ﴾and shall call his name Emmanuel﴿ . And Matthew added and said, ﴾Emmanuel (which means ‘God with us’)﴿ . And there is no proof that indicates that the Lord Jesus was called Emmanuel during his time on the earth, as he was always called Jesus .” Emmaus Bible College . Thus it is made clear that “Emmanuel” is a symbol interpreted to be “Jesus” . However, his name was not directly pronounced in the Old Testament . † . Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh clarified the Law of recognizing the vicegerents of Allah on His earth in many of his published books, and in this book he indicated some of the passages from the Torah and the Gospel as well . And concerning the Quran he pbuh said, “The requisite of divine wisdom is to place a law to recognize the vicegerent of Allah on His earth in every time . And it must be that this law was made from the first day on which Allah swt placed a vicegerent for Him on His earth . So it cannot be that this law came in one of the messages of the sky that came after the first day, because there were people tested on the first day . And I do not mention that the fact certain to everyone is the existence of Iblis as a tested one since

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The Thirteenth Disciple

like the Jews and the Christians, should observe the law of recognizing the vicegerent which we clarified, and its three clauses: the will or text, knowledge and wisdom, and the banner or the supremacy of Allah; and let him observe whether reasoning or wisdom say otherwise .* Also, let him turn the pages of the Torah and see, have the messengers left wills mentioning those who succeed them or have they not? And these are some passages as an example of the wills of the prophets mentioning the one who succeeds them:† Deuteronomy Chapter 31: [14 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die . Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him .” And Moses and Joshua went and the first day . And the tested one needs this law to recognize the carrier of the divine truth, otherwise, and as an excuse for why he did not follow the carrier of the divine truth, he would say that he could not recognize and that he does not have a divine law to recognize this vicgerent appointed by Allah swt . And the fact certain for everyone concerning the history of the first day on which Allah made a vicegerent for Him on His earth is: 1 . Allah pronounced Adam and that he is His vicegerent on His earth in the presence of the angels and Iblis . 2 . After Allah created Adam, he taught him all the names . 3 . Allah then commanded those who worshipped him at the time, the angels and Iblis, to prostrate to Adam .” He pbuh then mentioned the verses from Surat al-Baqara (verse 30 and onwards) which clarify this . Refer to Enlightenments from the Calls of the Messengers, Vol . 3 by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan . * . Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh says concerning the law of recognizing the vicegerent, from the perspective of reasoning and wisdom, “Moreover, simply, any human being who owns a factory or a farm or a ship or anything with workers who work in it for him, he must appoint for them a person from among them who leads them, and he must declare him by name otherwise chaos would spread . And he must be their most knowledgeable and best one, and he must command them to obey him in order to achieve what he hopes for . Otherwise, if this person falls short on any of these three matters he would be siding wisdom with foolishness, so how do the people make it acceptable that Allah would disregard any of these three matters, while He is the Absolute Wise?” Ibid . † . One would notice that the mentioned texts are of two types: The first type is the direct statement from the vicegerent of Allah directly mentioning the one who succeeds him, such as the first, third and fourth example in the statement of Moses mentioning his successor Joshua, and the statement of David mentioning his vicegerent Solomon . And the second type is the indirect statement, meaning the statement from the divine vicegerent mentioning the one who comes after him even if after a period of time, such as the second example . And it is obvious that either of the two types is sufficient in proving the righteousness of the vicegernt of Allah when the vicegerent clarifies his righteousness to the people, and we saw the statements of the clerics of the Church concerning how the text of Isaiah and his glad tidings of the child of Mary are sufficient in proving the righteousness of Jesus pbuh . And the Quran confirms this is well, the Almighty said, ﴾And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, “O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing glad tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad .”﴿ Surat as-Saff (The Ranks) 61:6, although Ahmad pbuhap is not the direct vicegerent of Jesus pbuh .

How the Glad Tidings of Muhammad pbuhap and Jesus pbuh were

15

presented themselves in the tent of meeting . 15 And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud . And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent . Deuteronomy Chapter 33: [1 This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the Children of Israel before his death . 2 He said, “The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran (Faran); he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand . 3 Yes, he loved his people, all his holy ones were in his hand; so they followed in your steps, receiving direction from you”]* And 1 Kings Chapter 1: [32 King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada .” So they came before the king . 33 And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon . 34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel . Then blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35 You shall then come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, for he shall be king in my place . And
* . The text mentioned the Lord’s coming, dawning and shining in specific places (Sinai, Seir and Paran) and the Absolute God is far above the acts of coming and going which obligate being created, so it can only be said that this is through His manifestation and appearance through particular ones from His creation . And now, if we move past Sinai which was the place of appearance of the glory of the Lord to Moses pbuh, let us learn about His dawning and appearance in Seir (which is Jerusalem and its surroundings), so the truth is that this never happened at the time of Moses pbuh, and the clerics of the Church consider the prophecy which mentions Seir to be a matter of the future and a symbolic text of Jesus pbuh . As for Paran (which is Mecca and its surroundings), Ishmael pbuh grew up there and built the Holy Kaaba with his father, which was where he and his children lived . And from Paran was the appearance of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap, and this will be clarified further once the latter text is clarified . Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh said, “In the ‘Dua of Semat’ narrated from the Imams pbut, ‘ … And I ask you my Lord … by Your glory that appeared on Mount Sinai, that You spoke through to Your servant and messenger Moses son of Imran pbuh, by the rise of You in Mount Seir, and the appearance of You in the Mount of Faran .” The rise of Allah in Mount Seir is through Jesus pbuh, and the appearance of Allah in Mount Paran is through Muhammad pbuhap . It is essential to notice that the phrases of the dua are ranked in an ascending order, from a prophet whom Allah spoke to that is Moses pbuh, to a prophet exemplifying the rise of Allah that is Jesus pbuh, to a prophet exemplifying the appearance of Allah that is Muhammad pbuhap .” The Sealing Prophethood, Imam Ahmad al-Hassan .

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The Thirteenth Disciple

I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah .” 36 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so . 37 As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David .”] And 1 Kings Chapter 2: [1 When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth . Be strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel .’”]* And let them also consider: Have the sent prophets used their knowledge as proof, and the fact that they speak with wisdom, or have they not?†
* . This divine way (the wills of the vicegerents of Allah pronouncing those who come after them) is clear in the mentioned passages which the Jews and Christians believe in; it has indeed been confirmed by the Quran as well . The Almighty said, ﴾And Abraham instructed his sons [to do the same] and [so did] Jacob, [saying], “O my sons, indeed Allah has chosen this religion for you, so do not die except while you are Muslims .”﴿ Surat al-Baqara (The Cow) 2:132 . And He swt said, ﴾Prescribed upon you when death approaches one of you that he leaves a will, a bequest for the parents and near relatives according to what is acceptable — a duty upon the pious .﴿ Surat al-Baqara (The Cow) 2:180 . And Muhammad pbuhap practiced it; at the time of his death, he made clear in his will who the vicegerents of Allah after him are, and he mentioned all of them by name . † . Here, we mention some passages from the Holy Quran and the Bible as proof, Joseph pbuh using knowledge and wisdom as proof in interpreting the vision of the Pharaoh of Egypt, [And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it . I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it .” Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer .”] Genesis 41:15-16 . He then said, [Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt .] Genesis 41:33 . And likewise was the vision of Nebuchadnezzar which the claimants of knowledge were incapable of interpreting, so he became very upset and angry . And after Daniel pbuh interpreted it for him, he said to him, [The Great God has made known to the king what shall be after this . The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure .” Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him .] Daniel 2:45-46 . The knowledge and wisdom of Jesus pbuh, [and coming to his hometown he taught them

How the Glad Tidings of Muhammad pbuhap and Jesus pbuh were

17

And have the prophets demanded the supremacy of Allah in the Torah or have they not?* And let them look at what Moses did with those who believed in him and accepted him, it was only to have them migrate from the land of the tyrant in order to apply the supremacy of Allah upon them in another land .† Therefore, the issue is settled for every intellectual one who seeks in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary?”] Matthew 13:54-55 . And the passages in the Bible are numerous . As for in the Quran, there are numerous verses as well, as Abraham pbuh was recognized due to his knowledge and wisdom, ﴾“O my father, indeed there has come to me of knowledge which has not come to you, so follow me; I will guide you to an even path .”﴿ Surat Maryam (Mary) 19:43 . And Moses pbuh, ﴾And when he attained his full strength and was mature, We bestowed upon him judgement and knowledge . And thus do We reward the doers of good .﴿ Surat al-Qasas (The Story) 28:14 . And Jesus pbuh, ﴾And when Jesus brought clear proofs, he said, “I have come to you with wisdom and to make clear to you some of that over which you differ, so fear Allah and obey me .﴿ Surat az-Zukhruf (Ornaments of Gold) 43:63 . And Muhammad pbuhap, ﴾It is He who has sent among the Ummiyeen [i .e people of Umm al-Qura] a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and Wisdom, although they were before in clear misguidance .﴿ Surat al-Jumua (Friday) 62:2 . * . A brief definition of the supremacy of Allah is: that legislation is in the hands of Allah swt and also assigning the one who implements it, and for this reason, the vicegerents of Allah were all assigned from Allah and the people were never allowed to interfere, and the obligation of the people toward these vicegerents is obedience and submission, and the following are examples from the Old Testament to indicate this, Moses pbuh said, [14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose . One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you . You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother .”] Deuteronomy Chapter 17 . And for Joshua pbuh, [1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Noon, Moses’ assistant … 10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people … 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land .’” … 16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go . 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you . Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death . Only be strong and courageous .”] Joshua Chapter 1 . And similar to that was stated by the Quran in many verses, the Almighty said, ﴾Say, “O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will . You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will . In Your hand is [all] good . Indeed, You are over all things competent .”﴿ Surat Aal-e-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:26, and he said, ﴾“Indeed, I am making upon the earth a vicegerent .”﴿ Surat al-Baqara (The Cow) 2:30, ﴾Or do they envy people for what Allah has given them of His bounty? But we had already given the family of Abraham the Scripture and wisdom and conferred upon them a great kingdom .﴿ Surat an-Nisa (The Women) 4:54 . † . And he promised them that if they were to obey him, they would be a holy nation, [“5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my

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The Thirteenth Disciple

the truth, and it does not go beyond the law which we have clarified and proved through reasoning and texts from the three divine religions . And Muhammad pbuhap came with the will and the text from those before him, as in the Torah and the Gospel, and he came with knowledge and wisdom, and with the banner of allegiance to Allah or the supremacy of Allah which he demanded . And Allah wished for him to apply it on a spot of this earth . And this is an example of the text that mentions the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap in the Old Testament: Genesis Chapter 21: [14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away . And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba . 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes . 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child .” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept . 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is . 18 Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation .” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water . And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink . 20 And God was with the boy, and treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation .”] Exodus Chapter 19 . But they rebelled against him and refused his commands, and the result of this disobedience was that Allah punished them with the wilderness, for forty years . [11 “Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, 12 none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord .” 13 And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone .] Numbers Chapter 32 . Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh said, “And the result of this punishment and reformatory wilderness was the emergence of a good lordly nation, and they are the children of these corrupt ones and their grandchildren, and they carried the word of ‘There is no god but Allah’ with Joshua son of Noon the successor of Moses pbuh, and they fought the oppressors and tyrants and they supported the religion of Allah on His earth .” The Calf Vol . 1, Imam Ahmad al-Hassan .

How the Glad Tidings of Muhammad pbuhap and Jesus pbuh were

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he grew up . He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow . 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran] . And I do not believe a rational person would say that according to Allah the disbelievers, polytheists and idol worshippers are a great nation, or that Allah considers the multitudes to be a great nation . So what is intended by a great nation — and the greatness belongs to Allah swt — is the prophets and successors pbut, meaning that what is intended by the great nation of Ishmael pbuh is prophets and successors pbut from his lineage, and those are Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad pbut in particular, the vicegerents of Allah on His earth .* This is an example of the text that mentions the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap in the Old and New Testament (the Torah and the Gospel): Habakkuk Chapter 3: [1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth . 2 O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear . In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy . 3 God came from Teman,† and the Holy One from Mount Paran . Selah His splendor covered the heavens,
* . And no one could imagine that it was the entire nation of the Children of Israel who was intended by the “Great Nation”, because it is mentioned in Numbers 14, [And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they .”] Numbers 14:11-12 . And from the Bible, we mention an example of whom Allah swt considered great, [And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God . And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus . He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High . And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David .”] Luke 1:30-32 . And such greatness was mentioned for John the Baptist pbuh as well, so they are both great because they are vicegerents of Allah . Therefore, the great nation from the progeny of Ishmael pbuh are Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad pbut . The Almighty said, ﴾Or do they envy people for what Allah has given them of His bounty? But we had already given the family of Abraham the Scripture and wisdom and conferred upon them a great kingdom .﴿ Surat an-Nisa (The Women) 4:54 . † . According to http://bibleatlas.org/teman.htm and author W . Ewing, Teman or te’man (‫ )תמין‬means “on the right” i .e . “south” . —Trans .

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The Thirteenth Disciple

and the earth was full of his praise . His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power . 5 Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels .] The meaning: [God came from Teman]: meaning God (Allah) came from Yemen . And [the Holy One from Mount Paran]: meaning the Holy One came from Mecca .*
* . It was mentioned in Genesis 21:21 about the home of Ishmael, [He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt .] and in 25:18, [They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria . He settled over against all his kinsmen .] And as mentioned in The Dictionary of The Holy Book, Havilah is “A province in the land of the Arabs, and the connection between Havilah and Hadramout and other places indicates the location in the center of the Arab lands or in the Southern region .” And there is no doubt that Hadramout is in Yemen . As for Shur, it is in the south of Palestine by Egypt . Therefore the area is restricted between the boundaries of the current state of Yemen and the south of Palestine, which was well known by the Jews . For this reason, you find that they took that area as their home and they built Khaybar in al-Madina, north of Mecca, which at the time was geographically a part of Mecca . They did this in anticipation of the awaited prophet described to be a Yamani . The Catholic Jesuit translation of the Holy Book comments on Genesis 25:18 saying, “The children of Ishmael are the Arabs of the desert, and their life is the life of travel and independence, which reminds us of the era prior to Islam [al-jahiliyya] and its poetry) . And this is the condition of the Arabian Peninsula from which the most favored messenger Muhammad pbuhap appeared . Moreover, determining the wilderness of Paran is an inconclusive matter for the interpreters of the Holy Book . And whoever of them insists that it is in the south of Sinai must tell us about an important event that appeared there after Moses and Jesus pbut, an event that changed the face of mankind to the extent that its subject deserved to have his appearance and coming described as the appearance and the coming of God . And he must answer what was mentioned in Genesis 17:20, [As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly . He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation] . So where are the signs of that great nation in the south of Sinai, or do they see that Allah swt has broken His promise to them?!! And He swt is far above that . Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh said, “The matter of the Yamani is not new, moreover, Muhammad pbuhap was also known to the People of the Book and promised as the Yamani . This is why the Jews left the Promised Land, which is very important to them, and lived in the land of Yemen, meaning the land historically named as Yemen and not just the land which is currently known as Yemen . And al-Madina is also from Yemen . And the Jews in Yemen still take it as their home today, because they are also promised the Yamani and they wait for him, meaning Muhammad pbuhap and the Yamani from his progeny, exactly as the promise mentioning Ahmad, and it applies to more than one personification in different times . So the first Yamani, Muhammad, was dispatched in Yemen meaning in Mecca because it is from Yemen . And the second Yamani from the progeny of the first Yamani is dispatched in the East in the journey of the return of the Abrahamic [religion] to its original home, Iraq . This is why most of the graves of the Imams were in Iraq although they were not born in Iraq . This is the will of Allah,

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And Allah is far above coming from the sky, let alone from the earth, because coming and going require movement and therefore occurrence, and thus negating the absolute divinity, so it cannot be considered that the one who comes from Teman or Yemen is Allah swt, or that the one who comes from Paran is the Holy One swt; for this as well as the other attributes such as the hand, which Allah is far above . [His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power . Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels .] Rather the one who comes is the Servant of Allah Muhammad pbuhap and his progeny pbut after him, as they are from Mecca, and Muhammad and his progeny pbut are Yamanis as well . So the coming of Muhammad pbuhap is the coming of Allah because Muhammad is Allah among the creation, and Muhammad is the appearance of Allah in Paran as I previously clarified in more than one place . And the fact that Teman is Yemen has been mentioned even in the Gospel in the words of Jesus pbuh when he described the Queen of Yemen as the Queen of the South (or Teman) .* Matthew Chapter 12: [42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here .] Luke Chapter 11: [31 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon .] And the knowledge and the wisdom brought by Muhammad pbu-

that they may prove the return of the Abrahamic religion to Iraq by the Yamani promised in the three religions .” Source: A Letter Proving the Unity of Personalities of the First Mahdi, the Riser and the Yamani by Alaa al-Salim . * . In The Dictionary of the Holy Book: “Taymen: The Southern desert . Refer to: Teman” . And in the explanation of Teman: “Taymen: A Hebrew name meaning the Yemeni or the Southern” .

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hap in the Quran, every just person would still say that it is overwhelming wisdom that cannot come except from Him swt .* Also, Muhammad pbuhap demanded the supremacy of Allah . Moreover, when he had the opportunity, he applied the supremacy of Allah and clearly stated that the truth exists within the supremacy of Allah and that all Muslim sects which leave the supremacy of Allah are misguided sects . And the narration of the saved sect is more famous than fire on a flag, and it is well-known in the Sunni books: ﴾This nation will divide into 73 sects, all of them will be in the hellfire save one .” They said, “O Messenger of Allah! And which one will that be?” He replied, “The one which is upon what I and my companions are upon today .”﴿† Therefore, the description of the saved sect is that it consists of a leader appointed by Allah, as was the Messenger of Allah pbuhap, and believers in this divine leadership, as were the companions of the Messenger of Allah pbuhap . What remains is the issue of specious arguments and controversy, as one says why did Muhammad do this, and why did he say that, and if he was a messenger he would not have said this and he would not have done that, and the Quran contradicts the Arabic grammar, and [other] specious arguments which can direct themselves toward any

* . As an example: French writer Maurice Bucaille says, “The Quranic Revelation appeared six centuries after Jesus . It resumes numerous data found in the Hebraic Bible and the Gospels since it quotes very frequently from the ‘Torah’ [What is meant by Torah are the first five books of the Bible, in other words the Pentateuch of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy .] and the ‘Gospels .’ The Quran directs all Muslims to believe in the Scriptures that precede it (Sura 4, verse 136) . It stresses the important position occupied in the Revelation by God’s emissaries, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, the prophets and Jesus, to whom they allocate a special position . His birth is described in the Quran, and likewise in the Gospels, as a supernatural event . Mary is also given a special place, as indicated by the fact that Sura 19 bears her name . The above facts concerning Islam are not generally known in the West . This is hardly surprising, when we consider the way so many generations in the West were instructed in the religious problems facing humanity and the ignorance in which they were kept about anything related to Islam .” Reference: The Bible, the Quran and Science. The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge . Translated from French by Alastair D . Pannell and the Author . † . The narration of the saved sect is well known and authentic to all Muslims (Shia and Sunni) . And it was mentioned in Sunan Abi Dawood, Ibn Majah, Al-Bahiqi, Al-Tirmidhi, Sahih Ibn Habban, Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal and many other references .

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other messenger or any other book or any other divine religion, and they are refuted arguments .* Whereas we must note that the one who shifts to such arguments before he responds to the proof, refutes it and shows that it is not a proof, he in reality acknowledges the proof and the ideology which he argues upon and he validates it . Moreover, by his specious argument, he is in the process of clarifying the ideology and manifesting it . This is because the specious arguments do not go beyond being specious arguments that are refuted and of no real value except to be a disparaging tyrannical tool used by the clerics of misguidance and tyrants to disparage their followers and maintain them upon the path of blindly following and imitating them, in order to maintain their positions and worldly life . And after their false ideology is demolished and all their specious arguments fall, they return to the most petty specious argument, with the goal of stirring the emotions of their followers toward their fathers and ancestors . And it is the specious argument of Pharaoh against Moses, the prophet of Allah pbuh, where Pharaoh said: ﴾“Then what is the case of the former generations?”﴿ Surat Ta Ha (‫ ,15:02 )هه‬so the answer of Moses pbuh was: ﴾“The knowledge thereof is with my Lord in a record . My Lord neither errs nor forgets .”﴿ . Surat Ta Ha (‫†. 25:02 )هه‬ •

* . “Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh and the Ansar responded to many of the arguments in their books published in the official websites . And the specious arguments, no matter what they may be, are not proofs in order to oppose the proofs of the messengers of Allah . Refer to www.saviorofmankind.com † . “What is the case of the former generations, were our fathers in error?!” That is the question always asked by those who object to the prophets of Allah, so instead of the elders and their followers submitting to the proofs of the messengers, they make the people confront the messengers with these words, since they cannot face the clear proofs of the messengers and their signs or establish a proof for their belief except that it is a legacy of the fathers and grandfathers .

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The Thirteenth Disciple

The Number of the Antichrist or the Beast:
Question 5: Some people narrate the saying of Father Zakaria Botros, as he calculated the number 666 from the Book of Revelation, so he found the following, “Satan comes from Mecca .” And his intention is clear . So how does Imam Ahmad al-Hassan respond? Answer: Your saying that a person calculated that Satan comes from Mecca, and that it equals the number of the Antichrist or the Beast, as in the vision of John; these are false and worthless words, as the passage says that the number of the name of the beast equals this number, so is the sentence “Satan comes from Mecca” a name of a person or is it just an assembly of words for the purpose of a blind satanic prejudice against the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap? This is without consideration of the fact that this claimed calculation is denied and incorrect . And this is the complete text, to be contemplated by every just person who knows the truth: [1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads . 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth . And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority . 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast . 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” 5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months . 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven . 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them . And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the

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The Thirteenth Disciple

book of life of the Lamb who was slain . 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear: 10 If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain . Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints . 11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth . It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon . 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed . 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived . 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain . 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name . 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666 .] Revelation Chapter 13 . Note that the number is disagreed upon, because there are two versions: in one of them the number is 666, and in the other the number is 616 .* So the just person who wants the truth will see clearly that this is a method of a person prejudiced against the Messenger of Allah Mu* . Scientists at Oxford University were able to read fragments of one of the oldest manuscripts of Revelation by using advanced imaging technology . The manuscript, called Papyrus 115 (P115) and (P115) was discovered in Oxyrhynchus (Al-Bahnasa, Egypt) . Dating back to the 3rd century, it states the number of the beast as 616 (Greek: χις) with the use of (ι) instead of (ξ) like most manuscripts . David Parker, a Professor of New Testament Textual Criticism and Palaeography at the University of Birmingham, believes that the number 616 is the original one despite the fact that the number (666) is easier to remember . He says, “Scientists have discussed the issue considerably and there is disagreement . Currently, it seems that 616 is the original number for the Beast . And it is the most likely one since the manuscript precedes the other version by almost 100 years .”

The Number of the AntiChrist or the Beast

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hammad pbuhap, who only wants to insult [him pbuhap] . And we rise above this, may Allah grant you success . Also, he will see clearly that this is a person who follows the path of Satan, so by their fruits you shall recognize them . And these are their fruits: insults and foul and obscene words . So from these you recognize them, and you will recognize that they are satans provoked by satans, and they speak for Satan . Moreover, everyone must note that it is not fair for Muhammad pbuhap to be burdened with the acts of the Wahhabis from some of the Arabs of the peninsula and their followers, although the Quran criticizes them and criticizes their criminal acts . The one who burdens Muhammad pbuhap and Islam with the acts of the Wahhabis is more emphatically blaming Jesus pbuh, Christianity, the Torah and the Gospel for all the actions of Constantine and the likes of him, or at least for the crimes of the Church in the past centuries such as murdering, torturing, and burning alive those who disagree with them under the slogans of blasphemy, heresy and fighting Christianity and the Church, which are no less ugly than the crimes of the Wahhabis . •

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Islam, Violence and Women’s Rights
Question 6: There are those who say that violence is not a modern issue in Islam, rather it has been used since the time of the Prophet pbuhap, and they say that Islam spread by the sword, so how do you interpret these Quranic verses which promote killing, extermination and alienation: Surat Aal-e-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:85, 91, 83, Surat at-Taubah (Repentance) 9:29, Surat an-Nisa (The Women) 4:91, Surat Muhammad 47:4? And how do you interpret the verses concerning inheritance and testimony, which violate the civil rights of women? Answer: The matter of jihad in the divine religion, as a whole and not just in Islam, is a matter I have clarified in the book of Jihad, the Doorway to Heaven .* As for the verses in the Quran which they consider to promote violence or marginalization of others: First: Surat Aal-e-Imran (The Family of Imran), ﴾19 Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam . And those who were given the
* . A text from the book of Jihad, the Doorway to Heaven by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh: “Jihad in the Divine Religions: Jihad or fighting to raise the word of Allah and to spread monotheism and the religion with which Allah swt is satisfied is a cause decided by Allah swt, and He urged the believers toward it and made it obligatory upon them and he promised heaven to whoever fights in His way, and promised hellfire to whoever turns away from jihad . And the prophets and the messengers pbut are the bearers of the word of Allah swt and they are the bearers of the banner of jihad and fighting for the way of Allah swt, and this is the history of the prophets and the messengers pbut between your hands, browse through it in the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran so that you may find Moses pbuh carrying his sword and preparing to enter the Holy Land, and Joshua son of Noon pbuh carrying his sword and entering the Holy Land, and David pbuh spending his days fighting to raise the word of Allah and spread monotheism, and then Jesus pbuh saying to his followers, [“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me .”] [Matthew 16:24] meaning that he calls to rebel against tyranny and corruption and he commands his followers with jihad and fighting in the way of Allah, as the wood at that time is the match for the shroud with us today, meaning it is as if he is saying to his followers, ‘Whoever wants to follow me, let him carry his shroud with him … ’ It was mentioned in the Torah (The Old Testament, Joshua Chapter 10): [34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon . And they laid siege to it and fought against it . 35 And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword . And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish . 36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron . And they fought against it 37 and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it . He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction and every person in it . 38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to Debir and fought

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Book did not differ except after knowledge had come to them — out of animosity between themselves . And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah, then indeed, Allah is swift in account .﴿ . ﴾83 So is it other than the religion of Allah they desire, while to Him have submitted those within the heavens and earth, willingly or by compulsion, and to Him they will be returned?﴿ . ﴾85 And whoever desires other than Islam as a religion — never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers .﴿ . The meaning: Aal-e-Imran (The Family of Imran), ﴾83 So is it other than the religion of Allah they desire, while to Him have submitted those within the heavens and earth, willingly or by compulsion, and to Him they will be returned? 84 Say, “We have believed in Allah and in what was sent down to us and what was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Descendants, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord . We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [submitting] to Him .” 85 And whoever desires other than Islam as a religion — never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers .﴿ Verse 84 of Surat Aal-e-Imran shows clearly that the meaning of Islam in the verses is submission to Allah and to the vicegerent of Allah on His earth in all times, who is appointed according to the law of the vicegerency of Allah on His earth, which has been since the first day of the first human on this earth, who is the prophet of Allah Adam pbuh, whom Allah appointed as His vicegerent on His earth . So these verses are not for the purpose of marginalizing any one or judging anyone, rather they are for the purpose of clarifying the law of belief that is acceptable to Allah, which is the submission to Him and to His vicegerent on His earth . But if you consider that placing a law of belief is marginalization of others who do not accept it, then the against it and 39 he captured it with its king and all its towns . And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining . Just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king . 40 So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings . He left none remaining, but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded . 41 And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon . 42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel . 43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal .] … This is an image of one of the days which Joshua son of Noon spent in jihad and fighting to raise the world of Allah and spread the religion of Allah and monotheism on this earth .”

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meaning of your words is that all people of religion, considering that they possess a law of belief, marginalize others . Moreover, the matter extends to every group which has a certain ideology .* Second: At-Taubah (Repentance), ﴾29 Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Book — [fight] until they give the tribute willingly while they are humbled .﴿ The meaning: The Quran is an integral unit, and what the Wahhabis do to pass their false ideologies and their verdicts of killing people, and what the Christians and others do nowadays to slander the Quran is a process of taking out verses from a book which is an integral unit, of which no part can be taken in isolation from the whole or the remaining parts .† And Allah has clarified in the Quran that it is an integral unit and it is invalid to segregate, and whoever segregates it is a tendentious person who either wants to slander in a random and absurd manner, such as the one who says that whoever says “There is no god but Allah” is a disbeliever in Allah because he said “There is no god”, or that he is a person who wants to pass an ideology or a corrupt
* . For example, in the introduction of The Book Of Faith by Pope Shenouda, “And the importance of the Nicene Creed is that all the Churches of the Christian world believe in one creed and it is a law acknowledged by all Churches . That is why it must be placed by an ecumenical society that encompasses the representatives of all ecumenical Churches . The law between our hands was formatted in the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 a .d, and it was the first ecumenical council . And that was in response to the Arian Controversy which denied the divinity of Christ . All the Churches of the world, even if they disagree on some ideologies, believe in all the clauses of this law . And any sect that does not believe in anything in the Nicene Creed is not considered Christian, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Adventists who believe in the Holy Book and its two testaments ‘according to their own translations’ but they do not believe in all the Christian ideologies that came in the Nicene Creed .” † . Referring to a single verse in isolation from the rest of the book is a matter warned against by the Christians as well, and their clerics reject it . For this reason, for example, we find that Pope Shenouda III devoted a particular chapter in his book Salvation in the Orthodox Understanding, and he named it “The Danger of Using the Single Verse” . Also Bishop Bishoy of Damietta has done the same in the book A Collection of Lectures of Simplifying Faith, passage 115 also carries the same title, “The Danger of Using the Single Verse” . And this is the text of Pope Shenouda III’s words, “In the topic of salvation, O brothers, and as in any other topic, be very careful concerning the danger of using one [verse] of the Holy Book . The Holy Book is not just a verse or verses, it is rather a particular spirit that walks through the entire book . The ignorant person places before himself one verse or a part of a verse, separating it from its circumstances and situation and from the general meaning as a whole . As for the wise searcher who is intent upon the truth, he collects all the texts that are related to his topic of research, and sees what they indicate .”

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verdict for a purpose within himself, like the Wahhabis have done (or those who are called Salafis) . And these are Quranic verses which forbid this tendentious and deviated behavior of segregating the Quran: ﴾ … 85 So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will return to the severest of punishment . And Allah is not unaware of what you do .﴿ Surat al-Baqara (The Cow) 2:85 . ﴾91 Who have made the Quran into portions . 92 So by your Lord, We will surely question them all 93 About what they used to do .﴿ Surat al-Hijr (Rock City) 15:91-93 . As for verse twenty-nine of Surat at-Taubah (Repentance), we need to read the verses after it to see clearly why Allah urged the believers to fight here, ﴾29 Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Book — [fight] until they give the tribute willingly while they are humbled . 30 The Jews say, “Ezra is the son of Allah”; and the Christians say, “The Christ is the son of Allah .” That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved from before . May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded? 31 They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and the Christ, the son of Mary . And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him . Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him . 32 They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it . 33 It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although they who associate others with Allah dislike it .﴿ Therefore, Allah promotes fighting them because they were the ones to initiate the war, ﴾32 They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it﴿, and I do not believe that the encouragement to kill another or preparation to kill another or that equipping to

Islam, Violence and Women’s Rights

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kill another is other than war, and I believe that the wish to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths bears these things and more .* And if the previous verses tolerate giving and taking and are allegorical, then there is a clear and explicit verse which clarifies that Allah urges the believers to fight those who fight them; and Allah forbids the believers to assault others, and the allegorical is referred to the explicit . The Almighty said, ﴾Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress . Indeed . Allah does not like transgressors .﴿ Surat alBaqara (The Cow) 2:190 . Moreover, the action of the Messenger Muhammad pbuhap is clear, as the Jews, who are the People of a Book, used to live with him in alMadina in safety and he did not harm them until they started fighting him and supporting those who fought him pbuhap . Attention must also be paid to the fact that Islam and the divine religion does not consider religion separate from politics; rather, that governance and politics are a component of religion, therefore many verses of the Quran are military laws clarifying the rights of a soldier in battlefield and what he is permitted to do toward whoever fights him; as the believer does not kill, even one who fights him, except by the command of Allah in order for him to be rewarded . For this reason, Allah allowed the believers on the battlefield to kill whoever fights them, and He clarified this matter in Quranic verses; just as the countries, now and before now, enact laws for their armies and in them they clarify the rights of their soldiers in the battlefield and what is permissible and what is not, etc . Third: ﴾You will find others who wish to obtain security from you and obtain security from their people . Every time they are returned to trial, they fall back into it . So if they do not withdraw from you or offer you peace or restrain their hands, then seize them and kill them wherever
* . In The Dictionary of the Holy Book, there is the definition of the word “kill”: “The permissible killing: and killing is permitted or obligatory in the following situations as mentioned from the events of the book … and the jurisprudence obligates to kill the enemies at war without hesitation . And some of the prophets recommended forbidding some of the enemies of God who are evil, meaning they recommend eliminating them and their cattle .” Moreover, the clerics of the Church considered jihad and fighting the occupier and defending the countries to be established and fundamental values . Pope Shenouda III said, “And one of the established and firm values that are obligatory for every human: the love of the country and defending it, and sacrificing blood for its sake, if necessary .” Article: “The Values and Principles between Titles and Concepts”, published in Al-Ahram newspaper, 6th of August, 2006 .

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you overtake them . And those — We have made for you against them a clear authorization .﴿ Surat an-Nisa (The Women) 4:91 . Where is the problem in this verse? It promotes fighting the disbeliever who fights [Muslims] and whose hand does not cease fighting the believers . In addition, the verse before it from the same sura also states that it is permitted to make truces with whoever requests peace and does not fight the believers or seek their harm: ﴾Except for those who take refuge with a people between yourselves and whom is a treaty or those who come to you, their hearts strained at [the prospect of] fighting you or fighting their own people . And if Allah had willed, He could have given them power over you, and they would have fought you . So if they remove themselves from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allah has not made for you a cause [for fighting] against them .﴿ Surat an-Nisa (The Women) 4:90 . Fourth: ﴾So when you meet those who disbelieve [in battle], strike [their] necks until, when you have inflicted slaughter upon them, then secure their bonds, and either [confer] favor afterwards or ransom [them] until the war lays down its burdens . That [is the command] . And if Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them [Himself], but [He ordered armed struggle] to test some of you by means of others . And those who are killed in the cause of Allah — never will He waste their deeds .﴿ Surat Muhammad (Muhammad) 47:4 . The meaning: This verse clarifies some of the rights of the believing soldiers, in the Islamic army, during war and in battlefield, and it is that they have the right to kill the disbeliever who fights them,* and it clarifies that they also have the right to take prisoners and it gives them liberty in handling the prisoners, so they either release them without exchange or exchange them or ask for their ransom, etc . So where is the problem in this verse? And we have said that the Quran is a divine law not only for worshipping; rather, it also clarifies

* . And this is a matter acknowledged by human nature and all divine books, and we mentioned some of the passages of the Old Testament that the Jews and the Christians believe in; moreover, it is a matter acknowledged by all societies whether religious or not religious .

Islam, Violence and Women’s Rights

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the divine politics and governance and the rights of the believers and their obligations, etc . Fifth: Whoever says that the woman is oppressed by a specific legislation such as the inheritance* or testimony must clarify for us his scale and gold standard upon which he determines justice and oppression, and thus decided and concluded that the woman must be made equal to the man in everything, although we all see that the woman does not equal the man in everything .† Also: whoever wants to direct criticism toward a certain legislation
* . In the Old Testament, [1 Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph . The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah . 2 And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness . He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin . And he had no sons . 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers .” 5 Moses brought their case before the Lord . 6 And the Lord said to Moses, 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad are right . You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them . 8 And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter . 9 And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers . 10 And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers . 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it . And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the Lord commanded Moses .’”] Numbers Chapter 27 . This is the law of inheritance mentioned in the Torah which the Jews and Christians believe in . In this law, there is no equality between man and woman . Rather, the woman does not inherit if there is a son . Fr . Antonios Fekry says, “And there was a new law that if the deceased had no son, his daughter is to inherit from him and if he had no daughter, his brothers or uncles or those closest to him among his family .” The Explanation of the Holy Book, Interpretation of Numbers . † . Although this matter is obvious, I relate a passage from Pope Shenouda III, “If we search in the Holy Book and the old traditions of the Church we find that 1 . The woman does not teach in the Church, and concerning this, St . Paul the messenger says, ‘Let the woman learn in silence and with complete submission; however, I do not permit the woman to teach or to be dominant over the man but she should remain silent . Because Adam was created first and then Eve . And Adam was not tempted but the woman was, so she committed the transgression . But she would be saved by bearing children if she was firm upon belief, love, and sanctity along with reasoning .’ And we notice that the teaching of St . Paul the messenger in this field presented a justification for this restriction that has nothing to do with the common social conditions of that time or with the particular conditions of the Church that was looked after by his student, Timothy . Rather, he relied upon matters that concerned man and woman since the beginning of creation … 11 . Practical Obstacles: There are practical obstacles for the woman during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding . Because of these matters, working women take a long leave of absence from their jobs . And perhaps the preoccupation with the work of the

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within a lawful and legislative system, must observe this legislation as a part of this system, and not take this portion out and treat it in isolation of the system as a whole . He should at least consider both the rights of a woman and her responsibilities in the Divine Law and not just consider her rights and say that the woman was given less rights than the man in the Divine Law . Why does he not consider the responsibilities, and say that the man was burdened with more responsibilities than the woman in the Divine Law? And as an example: for two people, you gave one of them an assignment to build five stories and the other ten stories; would it be fair if I gave them the same amount of building material and money for the building? And if I were to give the one assigned ten stories double the one assigned five stories, would it be valid for a person to come and say, “You are unjust, because while they both work for you, you did not give to them equally”? I believe that whoever says that the woman is oppressed by such legislation, his words and decision are impulsive and far from accurate scientific research . •

priesthood results in completely neglecting the work of the housewife, including the raising of children .” The Opinion of the Orthodox Church in the Priesthood of the Woman .

An Advice to every Christian who wants to know the Truth:
Question 7: What is your advice to the Christians, in order to know the truth and believe in the prophethood of Muhammad pbuhap through the Gospel? Answer: My advice to every free Christian to know the truth is to make the words of Jesus pbuh his standard: [14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute . When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled . 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” 16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven . 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls . 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”] Luke Chapter Eleven . So those who believe in the Gospel, let them read some passages of the Quran and contemplate them justly . Then, in the light of the previous Gospel text, can you consider these passages to be satanic the way those who have no concern except insulting Muhammad pbuhap? And these are examples from the Quranic passages: ﴾Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best . Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is guided .﴿ Surat an-Nahl (The Bee) 16:125 . ﴾Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess . Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful .﴿ Surat an-Nisa (The Women) 4:36 . ﴾And do not turn your cheek toward people and do not walk through the earth exultantly . Indeed, Allah does not like everyone selfdeluded and boastful .﴿ Surat Luqman (Luqman) 31:18 . ﴾In order that you not despair over what has eluded you and not

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exult over what He has given you . And Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful .﴿ Surat al-Hadid (The Iron) 57:23 . Let them read these verses from Surat al-Isra (The Night Journey) and ask themselves: Does Satan call for the worship of Allah alone? Does Satan call for good manners and kindness to parents and to the poor and spending money and helping those in need of help; and does he forbid murder and adultery and violating the money of the orphan; and does he command fulfilment of the promise and full measure? And if Satan commands these kind ethics, then what does Allah swt command from their point of view? Are these not the commandments of all the prophets and the wisdom which they brought from Allah: ﴾22 Do not make with Allah another deity and become censured and forsaken . 23 And your Lord has decreed that you do not worship except Him, and to treat the parents well . Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, do not say to them so much as “uff ” and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word . 24 And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, “My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small .” 25 Your Lord is most knowing of what is within yourselves . If you should be righteous — then indeed He is Forgiving toward those who return to Him . 26 And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor and the traveler, and do not spend wastefully . 27 Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the satans, and ever has Satan been to his Lord ungrateful . 28 And if you turn away from the needy in anticipation of your Lord’s mercy, then say to them a kind word . 29 And do not make your hand as chained to your neck or extend it completely and thereby become blamed and insolvent . 30 Indeed, your Lord extends provision for whom He wills and restricts it . Indeed He is ever Knowing and Seeing concerning His servants . 31 And do not kill your children for fear of poverty . We provide for them and for you . Indeed, their killing is great sin . 32 And do not approach adultery . Indeed, it is ever an immorality and is evil as a way 33 And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right . And whoever is killed unjustly — We have given his guardian authority, but let him not exceed limits in taking life . Indeed, he has been

An Advice to every Christian who wants to know the Truth

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supported . 34 And do not approach the money of an orphan, except in the way that is best, until he reaches maturity . And fulfill the covenant . Indeed, the covenant is ever questioned . 35 And give full measure when you measure, and weigh with an even balance . That is the best and best in result . 36 And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge . Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart — about all those one will be questioned . 37 And do not walk upon the earth exultantly . Indeed, you will never tear the earth, and you will never reach the mountains in height . 38 The evil of all that is dested in the sight of your Lord . 39 That is from what your Lord has revealed to you of wisdom . And do not make with Allah another deity, lest you be thrown into Hell, blamed and banished .﴿ Surat al-Isra (The Night Journey) 17:22-39 . Shame on the Christians and what a shame and a disgrace to neglect the words of Jesus: [“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls . And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”], and not make them a standard by which they measure what came in the Quran so that they would know that it is from Allah . Is this not the standard of Jesus pbuh, so why turn away from it?! Do you believe in parts of your book and disbelieve in others? Look at the Quran and contemplate the wisdom it contains, the calling to good and to the possession of kind and honored ethics, so how can it be from the foolish Satan who calls to evil and to the dispraised ethics; is Satan divided against himself? Is the kingdom of Satan divided against itself? Is this not how Jesus pbuh taught you to distinguish truth from falsehood? Are you incapable of distinguishing between wisdom and foolishness, between good and evil, between kind ethics and dispraised ethics? And do you believe that Satan and his kingdom is divided against itself, so at one time it calls for good and at another time for evil? At one time for honored ethics and at other times for dispraised ethics? [“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls . And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?”] . So I advise every Christian who fears the evil consequence to pay attention to the fact that what their Churches are presenting today,

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which is that Jesus is an absolute deity, was previously denied by many of the Christians including Arius, and they are among the major Christian clerics . There were and still are many Christians such as Jehovah’s witnesses who do not believe in this false and foolish ideology which is rejected by the Gospel and reasoning . And I have clarified its falsehood in The Book of Monotheism using a Gospel passage that does not allow for interpretation and confusion, and with the clear evident intellectual proof .* •

* . Refer to Appendices 1 and 2 . As for the passage, in The Book of Monotheism he pbuh said, “The clear statement from the Gospel, 'Jesus pbuh does not know the Hour': Jesus says about himself that he does not know the Hour in which the Minor Resurrection occurs: [32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father .”] Mark Chapter 13 . And ignorance is an imperfection while the absolute deity is perfect and absolute and He is not defected by imperfection or ignorance, because He is light within which there is no darkness, as ignorance defects the creation due to the existence of darkness in the page of his existence; therefore, Jesus pbuh is light and darkness and this proves the point that Jesus is not an absolute deity; but, rather a worshipper created from darkness and light, and he is not light within which there is no darkness, Allah is far above that . And in this there is the clear statement and a clarification and a preaching to those of reasoning .”

The Matter of Crucifixion and the Gospel of Judah:
Question 8: As for the matter of crucifixion, to what does Imam Ahmad al-Hassan call the Christians? Answer: Let the Christians pay attention to the matter that the crucifixion of Jesus is false, and I clarified its falsehood from the Gospel and the words of Jesus therein and his request to Allah to take the crucifixion and its torture away from him .* So it is either that Allah answered the prayer of Jesus pbuh and lifted him and sent down his look-alike, and this is the truth, or that Allah did not answer the prayer of Jesus pbuh . And the meaning of this saying of theirs is that Allah does not care for the prayer of Jesus pbuh . And they also accuse Jesus pbuh of foolishness, weak perception and lack of knowledge, otherwise what does it mean that Jesus would ask Allah to take the crucifixion away from him if he was capable of having patience over the torment of crucifixion without complaining, while he knew that the matter of crucifixion is important in the march of the divine religion?† Let them also pay attention to the historical document, the Gospel of Judah,‡ presented by the International Historical Society, and it is one of the ancient manuscripts found in Egypt, dating back to the beginning of the third century a .d, meaning before Islam and before the dispatch of Muhammad pbuhap . This document mentions that Jesus was not crucified; rather, someone else who is his look-alike was crucified . What concerns us is that the issue of the look-alike in general, re* . And these are some of his sayings, [And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will .”] Matthew 26:39 . [And going a little farther, he 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 for you . Remove this cup from me . Yet not what I will, but what you will .”] Mark 14:35-36 . [And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me . Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done .”] Luke 22:41-42 . † . Further clarification concerning the issue of the look-alike will come in the next topic, as for the importance of crucifixion and sacrifice, refer to Appendix 4 . ‡ . Refer to Appendix 3 .

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gardless of the personification, has been present among Christians for more than 1700 years . As the saying goes, “Where there is smoke there is fire .” So if the issue did not have a trace, it would not have appeared among the former Christians and in their ideologies .* The question that the Christians must pay attention to and ask themselves: From where did this sect of ancient Christians bring the thought that Jesus was not crucified and who was crucified was his look-alike? Is it just thoughts? Is this an intellectual matter or a reported historical one? Could it be said, for example, that this sect believed that Jesus pbuh was not crucified, and that who was crucified was his look-alike, without a historical report that was delivered to them from some of those who lived at the time of the crucifixion?!!! I advise every free Christian to not pay attention to the saying of the Church today — that those who wrote this gospel or this text of the early Christians are a heretical group — because if you had asked this group too at that time about the tenets of the Church today, they would say it is a heresy; and if we had asked Arius and his followers about the Church today, they would have said it is heretical . So the act of the Church of considering all its Christian opposers heretical, as they do today with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, does not make any difference and it does not hide the truth that manifested clearly now, that what the Church says today is a controversial matter among the early Christians . Rather, it is still controversial till today, and the Christian sect of Jehovah’s Witnesses is the best proof today of this controversy . The established truth now — concerning the crucifixion — is that there is a historical document which has been analyzed by the international authorities specialized in artifacts and by using the latest scientific methods and it proved to date back to the beginning of the third century a .d . It mentions that Jesus was not crucified, but there was a look-alike who was crucified instead . So will the Christians settle for
* . In his book The Gospel of Judah, Does its Discovery affect Christianity?, Fr . Abdul Maseeh Bassit acknowledges that this Gospel existed in the year of 180 a .d, and although he rejects the Gospel, what matters to me now is that he acknowledges the age of the document . Concerning the Christian group that believes in the Gospel of Judah, he says, “The first to mention this group and its ideologies from the fathers of the first Church, and who wrote about their compilation of the Gospel of Judah was St . Irenaeus the Bishop of Lugdunum (currently France) in 180 a .d . And this man was a student of St . Polycareous who was a student of St . John, the student of Jesus Christ .” And the date which the Father presents means that what the Christians believe in from what is mentioned in the Gospel of Judah was before Islam and before the Council of Nicaea held in 325 a .d . Refer to appendix 2 .

The Matter of Crucifixion and the Gospel of Judah

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the statement of the Church: That this document belongs to an ancient heretical Christian sect?!!! Is this response from the Church scientific?! For example, is it not possible for any disagreer to say to them, “Why is it not you who are committing heresy??!” Is it not proper now after the manifestation of these facts that the issue of the crucifixion be researched objectively and scientifically away from fanaticism and blind imitation? And this is a passage from the Gospel of Judah (and according to a translation which the Church verified with the Coptic text) stating clearly that Jesus was not crucified; rather, there was one who was made to resemble him and was crucified instead of him . Gospel of Judah Scene 3: [Judah said, “Master, could it be that my lineage is under the control of the rulers?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Come, that I [ … two lines missing … ], but that you will grieve much when you see the kingdom and all its generation .” When he heard this, Judah said to him, “What good is it that I have received it? For you have set me apart for that generation .” Jesus answered and said, “You will become the thirteenth, and you will be cursed by the other generations — and you will come to rule over them . In the last days they will curse your ascent [47] to the holy [generation]”] [“But you will exceed all of them . For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me .”] [“Already your horn has been raised, your wrath has been kindled, your star has shown brightly, and your heart has … [57]”] And in the previous passage: First: Judah is made to resemble Jesus and is crucified instead of him, and he sacrifices himself . Second: Judah will come at the end times to prevail . So Judah who is mentioned in some passages of the Gospel such as

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the previous one must be other than Judas Iscariot*† who turned Jesus in as in the end of the Gospel of Judah, [They approached Judas and said to him, “What are you doing here? You are Jesus’ disciple .” Judas answered them as they wished . And he received some money and handed him over to them .] Gospel of Judah Scene 3 . Turning to the fact that the word Judah means “praise” (al-hamd ~ ‫ )امحلد‬or Ahmad (‫ )أمحد‬in Arabic, meaning the name of the Mahdi or the Savior or the Comforter promised at the end times; it is thus clarified that the intended one by the other Judah who was made to resemble Jesus, and was crucified instead of him, and who Jesus pbuh spoke to, saying that he will return and rule at the end times, is the Savior and the Comforter and the Mahdi, Ahmad, mentioned in the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran and the Will of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap .‡ •

* . Judas (Greek: Ιούδας) is the anglicized Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Yehudah (Hebrew: ‫ . )יְ הּודה‬Judah is the anglicized rendering of the same name . —Trans . ָ † . It is worthy of mentioning that what caused the clerics of the Church to denounce the Gospel of Judah was their belief that Judah mentioned in it was Judas Iscariot . Metropolitan Bishoy says, “How Could Judas Iscariot be the Author? If Judas committed suicide after betraying the Lord Christ, then when did he write it? Especially since it writes of the final hours before Crucifixion .” Reference: Simplifying Faith Lectures, “Lecture 16: The Gospel of Judas” . And a simiar saying is by Father Thomas D . Williams, Dean of Theology at the Regina Apostolorum University in Rome, “The document [Gospel of Judah] paints Judas Iscariot in a positive light .” And the least one can say about such an understanding is that it is scientific treachery of making the matter ambiguous to people, because the Gospel of Judah does not have a statement mentioning its author to be Judas Iscariot; rather, this is only the understanding of the clerics of the Church . So certainty in the treachery of Judas Iscariot requires to not refer the name Judah in this document to him, and to search for another person named Judah who was present at the time of crucifixion, and who was the crucified one instead of Jesus pbuh after Allah answered his prayer and passed the cup of crucifixion from him, as is clear in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke . And the passages were mentioned earlier . ‡ . For further information, refer to the book The Successor and Messenger of Imam al-Mahdi in the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran and The Letter of Guidance, both by Imam Ahmad alHassan pbuh, and his other books as well which revealed many divine truths that are unknown to the clerics of all religions .

Who is the Crucified Lookalike?
Question 9: When reading about the matter of crucifixion and sacrifice in the statements of the religious clerics, one finds obvious contradictions, so is it possible to provide a conclusive statement from the texts in which they believe? And what is the interpretation of this narration: ﴾It was said to Imam Abu Abdullah Jafar al-Sadiq pbuh, “For what reason was he named the Riser?” He pbuh answered, “Verily, he rises after his death, he rises with a great matter, he rises with the matter of Allah swt .”﴿? Answer: Sheikh al-Tousi in his book Al-Ghayba said, {And as for what was narrated of the narrations which include that the “Man of Time”* dies and then lives, or is killed and then lives, such as: Al-Fathel bin Shathan said that Musa bin Sadan, that Abdullah bin Qasm al-Hathrami that Abi Saeed al-Khurasani said, ﴾“I said to Imam Abu Abdullah pbuh, ‘For what reason was he named the Riser?’ He pbuh answered, ‘Verily, he rises after his death, he rises with a great matter, he rises with the matter of Allah swt .’”﴿ And Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Jafar al-Humairi narrated from his father, from Yaqoub bin Yazid, from Ali bin al-Hakam, from Hammad bin Uthman, from Abu Basir, he said, ﴾“I heard Abu Jafar pbuh say, ‘The parable of our matter in the Book of Allah is the likes of the owner of the donkey, Allah caused him to die for a hundred years then resurrected him .’”﴿ And from him, from his father, from Jafar bin Muhammad al-Kufi, from Isaac bin Muhammad, from al-Qasim bin al-Rabee, from Ali bin Khattab, from the muezzin of al-Ahmar mosque, he said, ﴾“I asked Abu Abdullah Imam Jafar al-Sadiq pbuh, ‘Is there in the Book of Allah a parable about the Riser pbuh?’ So he said, ‘Yes, the verse pertaining to the owner of the donkey . Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then resurrected him .’”﴿ And al-Fathil bin Shathan narrated from Ibn Abi Najran, from Muhammad al-Fathil bin al-Fatheel, from Hammad bin Abdul Kareem, he said, ﴾“Abu Abdullah pbuh said, ‘Verily, when the Riser rises, the
* . Imam al-Mahdi pbuh .

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people will say, “How can this happen, while his bones deteriorated a long time ago .”’”﴿} Then Sheikh al-Tousi, may the mercy of Allah be upon him, commented on it by saying, “In the interpretation of these narrations and those that resemble them, we say that they mean by it the death of his remembrance, and most of the people believe that his bones have deteriorated, then Allah will make him appear as He made the owner of the donkey appear after his true death . And this interpretation is likely concerning these narrations, as these narrations which have one chain of narrators do not refute what reasoning has already proven and what the correct understanding has led to and what is supported by the frequent narrations that we mentioned before . What should be done is to stop at the meaning of these and hold on to what is already known . And we interpreted them, after knowing they were correct, by the same method of interpreting their counterparts . And these narrations are opposed by what negates them .”* And Sheikh al-Tousi understood from what was apparent from these narrations, and their counterparts narrated in his time, that there is a person who enters this world and leaves it when killed and then returns to it by Allah giving him life in this world once again, making him the Riser from the progeny of Muhammad (the Mahdi, the Savior, the Redeemer) . In the introduction to the narrations, Sheikh al-Tousi, may the mercy of Allah be upon him, said, “And as for what was narrated from the narrations which include that Imam al-Mahdi dies and then lives or is killed and then lives .” And since Sheikh al-Tousi understood that the Riser described by these narrations is Imam al-Mahdi, Muhammad bin al-Hassan pbuh, and since he has no understanding which can reconcile this apparent meaning with the rest of the narrations, he resorted to interpreting them at one time, and at another time he resorted to the fact that they have one chain of narrators thus do not result in certitude, and eventually he resorted to refraining from their interpretation . And in all cases, may Allah reward him with good, although his interpretation was not supported and cannot be accepted by the above narrations concerning this issue, as how can the Riser’s rising from
* . Al-Ghayba by al-Tousi page 423 .

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death be his mere appearance after the death of remembering him? Although the parable mentioned for him is the owner of the donkey whose death and revival were clearly mentioned by Allah in the Quran: ﴾Or as the one who passed by a village which had fallen into ruin . He said, “How will Allah bring this to life after its death?” So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years; then He revived him . He said, “How long have you remained?” The man said, “I have remained a day or part of a day .” He said, “Rather, you have remained one hundred years . Look at your food and your drink; it has not changed with time . And look at your donkey; and We will make you a sign for the people . And look at the bones, how We raise them and then We cover them with flesh .” And when it became clear to him, he said, “I know that Allah is over all things competent .”﴿ Surat al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:259 . Moreover, who are those who believe that Imam al-Mahdi, Muhammad bin al-Hassan, is dead in the “Age of Appearance” as Sheikh al-Tousi stated, “And most of the people believe that his bones have deteriorated”?!! For the Shia believe that he is alive and the Sunnis do not believe that he is present in the first place so how can they believe in his death?!!! The correct understanding of the previously mentioned narrations, which does not contradict what is narrated from them pbut is that the Mahdi, the Riser who appears, says to the people that he himself is the look-alike who was crucified, so some people do not accept this matter . And consequently they will say to him that the look-alike was crucified and died upon the cross and his matter ended a long time ago . “Verily, when the Riser rises, the people will say, ‘How can this happen, while his bones deteriorated a long time ago .’” Note the timing in their speech, “when he rises”, and not before this; meaning that he, when he rises, says something to them so they respond to him, “How can this happen, while his bones deteriorated a long time ago .” We now say, why resort to interpreting or rejecting the narrations, while it is possible to reconcile their apparent [meaning] with what has been narrated from them pbut?! Especially if we find that there are other narrations and passages which state and support this understanding of the apparent as will follow . The truth is that there is no no valid reason to separate these nar-

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rations from their apparent and from what they indicate, which is that there is an attribute of the Riser, that he descended to this world and was killed before he was born, and he enters it again and he becomes the Riser (the Mahdi, or the Savior, or the Redeemer) . And this matter and its clarification is similar to a secret code or a password, for it is a proof of the claim of the Riser himself, as the texts exist like the existence of the numbers and letters, and are within the reach of everyone . However, who can extract from them the correct password other than its owner?! No one except he will grasp the code, because their words will not exceed possibilities and fallacies that are full of contradictions — nothing more and nothing less . As for the Riser, he comes with this code or password and by it he reveals the secret in order for it to be known to one who wants knowledge in simplicity, clarity, and lucidity . And I have clarified the matter of the crucified one and the lookalike in The Allegories Volume 4,* however, there is no problem that I clarify it here in another form . Firstly: In the Quran: The Almighty said: ﴾And their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Christ, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them . And indeed, those who disagree upon it are in doubt about it . They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption . And they did not kill him, for certain .﴿ Surat an-Nisa (The Women) 4:157 . Therefore, according to the Quran, verily Jesus pbuh was not killed nor was he crucified; rather, there was someone who was made to resemble him and was crucified in his place . And also, the above verse responds with a clear answer to an important question: Is there anyone who has knowledge concerning the secret of the case of the crucifixion and what happened therein? As the answer to this question makes the fallacies of the people — and especially those who claim Islam — worthless, for the answer is from the Quran: ﴾And indeed, those who disagree upon it are
* . The book of The Allegories in its four volumes by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh clarified the confusion concerning the matters of ideology . And in Volume 4 of the book he mentions the matter of the look-alike . Refer to Appendix 5 .

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in doubt about it . They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption .﴿ Therefore, it is a case the knowledge of which is restricted to Allah swt and those who contact Allah, and they are His proofs upon His creation considering that He teaches them the hidden truths and the unseen, if He swt wills, like He swt clarified in the Quran . The Almighty said, ﴾26 [He is] the Knower of the Unseen and He reveals His unseen unto none, 27 except unto every messenger whom He has chosen and then He makes a guard to go before him and a guard behind him . 28 That He may know that they have conveyed the messages of their Lord; and He has encompassed whatever is with them and has enumerated all things in number .﴿ Surat al-Jinn (The Jinn) 72:26-28 . And the verse is clear that the unseen, which Allah knows, He makes some of it known to His messengers . And all the vicegerents of Allah on His earth are messengers of Allah swt to His creation, whether the prophets and messengers before Muhammad pbuhap, or Muhammad pbuhap and the Imams after him pbut . Thus all of them are included in that Allah informs them with whatever He wishes from the unseen . And the Almighty said, ﴾He knows what is between their hands and what is behind them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wishes﴿ Surat al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:255, and “what is between their hands” does not mean what they grasp with their hands, nor does “what is behind them” mean what is placed behind their backs; otherwise, His knowledge swt would not be special . Rather, what is intended is between their hands, meaning the future, and what is behind them, meaning the past events . So what is meant by His saying swt, ﴾He knows what is between their hands and what is behind them﴿, is that He has knowledge of the unseen, of future and past events, which the people do not know . And with the completion of the verse, the meaning of His saying is clarified, ﴾and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge﴿, meaning from knowledge of the unseen which is between their hands and behind them; then He swt clarified that He teaches some of the knowledge of the unseen to whom He wills from His creation, by what He wills swt, ﴾except for what He wishes﴿ . The conclusion of the foregoing: The Quran determines that the one who was killed and crucified was not Jesus, ﴾And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Christ, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messen-

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ger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them .﴿ . Determining the person who was crucified, what surrounds his resemblance to Jesus and how the event occurred is unknown to the Jews, the Christians, the Muslims and others .* And those who engage in it will scramble in ignorance, no more and no less, ﴾And indeed, those who disagree upon it are in doubt about it . They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption .﴿ . Allah knows the unseen and the future and past events, and shows some of them to His vicegerents on His earth . Therefore, the event of the crucifixion and what surrounds it is a secret — not only to the Muslims, but also to the Christians, and speech regarding this will come later on — and reaching the truth of it is not easy except for the one who is informed of it by Allah, and this matter is particular to the Proofs of Allah . Therefore, the smooth and easy progression to this secret proves the authority of the one who

* . Concerning the Christians, it is sufficient, in spite of their differences and the lack of the clarity of truth to them, that there are groups from them that believe in the Gospel of Judah . And they are Christians, and the current Church cannot deprive them of their identity . For more information, refer to Appendix 3 . As for the Muslims, I relate the sayings of two Muslim clerics: The first is the Sunni cleric, al-Tabari (died 310 a .h .), he says, “And the interpreters differed concerning the attributes of the look-alike who was made to resemble Jesus to the Jews . So some of the interpreters said, “When the Jews surrounded him and his companions, they surrounded them and could not establish which one is Jesus himself, because they were all transformed into the image of Jesus . So those who wanted to kill Jesus were confused about which one of them was truly Jesus . And some of those who were inside the house with Jesus came out to them, so they killed one of them thinking he was Jesus .” And other interpreters said, “Rather, Jesus asked those who were with him in the house that his resemblance would be cast on one of them, so a man stepped forward and the resemblance was cast upon him . So that man was killed and Jesus son of Mary pbuh was raised .” Jami al-Bayan . And the second is Sheikh al-Tousi [of the Shia] (died 460 a .h .), he said, “And they disagreed about how the resemblance of the one who was made to resemble Jesus for the Jews occurred … ” He then related the sayings of the interpreters about this matter . Refer to AlTibyan Vol . 3 page 382-385 . Thus the character of the crucified one and the details of what happened are unknown to the Muslim clerics just as they are unknown to the clerics of the Church . So even though most of them today believe that Jesus was the one crucified, the early Christians said something different . Moreover, they are now incapable of reconciling their belief with passages of the Gospel that clarify that the crucified one was someone else, as Imam Ahmad al-Hassan clarified for them in the best way in this book .

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progressed to it; because he has brought the password which is brought by no one unless he is connected to Allah swt . Secondly: In the Gospels: 1 . Jesus requests that he not be crucified and that he not be the crucified one . [39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me … ”] Matthew Chapter 26 . [35 And going a little farther, he 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 for you . Remove this cup from me … ”] Mark Chapter 14 . [41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me … ”] Luke Chapter 22 . So how does Allah reject the prayer of Jesus and his plea that he not be crucified and that the crucifixion be pushed away from him? And is it that Jesus does not deserve having his prayer answered; or is it that, for instance, Allah does not have an alternate for Jesus pbuh to be crucified?! Furthermore, the Christians believe that Jesus pbuh is the absolute deity itself, and therefore they need a justification for the request of Jesus pbuh mentioned above, a justification which does not put them in a contradictory position that negates his absolute divinity which they believe in; and this is far-fetched . So if they say he requested the crucifixion be pushed away from him due to his ignorance of the inevitability of the event, then they negate his absolute divinity, because they attribute ignorance to him and it is a darkness, thus clarifying that he is light and darkness and not light without darkness within, and therefore his absolute divinity is invalidated . And if they say he requested the crucifixion be pushed away from him with his knowledge of the inevitability of the event, then they accuse him of foolishness . Otherwise, what is the meaning of his request with his knowledge of the inevitability of the event?! And this

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saying of theirs denies him his absolute divinity, moreover it denies him what is beneath that which is the wisdom of the prophets pbut . 2 . The crucified one refuses to say that he is the King of the Children of Israel? So why would he refuse if he was Jesus pbuh who came to inform the people that he is the King of the Children of Israel?! Does this not prove clearly that the one who was arrested and crucified was another person other than Jesus pbuh, the King of the Children of Israel, and for this reason he refused to say that he is the King of the Children of Israel . [ … 11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so .” …] Matthew Chapter 27 . [ … 2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so .” … ] Mark Chapter 15 . [ … 33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me . What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world . If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews . But my kingdom is not from the world .” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king . For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth … ] John Chapter 18 . 3 . The crucified one’s address to Mary the mother of Jesus pbuh proves that he is not her son; otherwise, is it appropriate for a son to address his mother as “Woman”? Yes, it is correct for the crucified one to address her with this word if he is not Jesus pbuh, and his address-

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ing her with this word is to clarify that she is not his mother and that he is not Jesus pbuh .*† [25 But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene . 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!”] John Chapter 19 . 4 . Peter offers that he puts himself in the place of Jesus to be crucified, and Jesus clarifies to him his inability concerning this matter: [31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail . And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers .” 33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death .” 34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me .”] Luke Chapter 22 . [36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward .” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you .” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times .] John Chapter 13 . In the two above-mentioned passages of the Gospel we understand that Jesus, in one form or another, proposed to the disciples that they be sacrificed for him; or, at the very least, we find in the passage that Jesus pbuh clarifies to Peter, and he is the best of the disciples, that he is unable to sacrifice himself for Jesus pbuh, [Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you .” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times .] Therefore this passage from the Gospel of John clearly shows that
* . Although this is quite clear, the clerics of the Church once again resort to the matter of the hypostases to justify why Jesus pbuh called his mother as “Woman” . Fr . Tadros Yacoub says in his interpretation, “He did not say ‘O Mother’ and said ‘Woman’ because what he was practicing from transforming water into wine did not come from him being a human being who took his body from her, rather working by his divinity .’” It is as if this false ideology of the hypostases was a hanger upon which they can hang their delusions whenever they wished . † . see also Appendix 7 . —Trans .

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Jesus pbuh requested from Peter that Peter be sacrificed for him, or that Jesus discussed Peter’s offer, [Will you lay down your life for me?] And we find that Jesus answered this question, saying that Peter was not capable of this matter, [The truth, the truth I say to you is that the cock shall not crow until you have denied me three times .] And this discussion did not come out of nowhere, so what would cause Peter to make this offer if Jesus pbuh had not proposed this matter to them?! Moreover, how can the words of Peter, [“I will lay down my life for you”], be understood as anything other than referring to the matter of resemblance? Otherwise, how can Peter put himself in the place of Jesus pbuh to be crucified if he was not made to resemble him beforehand in order for the Jews to take him and crucify him as if he was Jesus pbuh himself since the people are requesting Jesus pbuh and not Peter, and they will not take Peter unless he was made to resemble him . Also, the response of Jesus pbuh was not that it is not right that you, Peter, would be sacrificed for me; or that I must be sacrificed; or any answer other than that you, Peter, are incapable of this matter . And this brings us to the question: If Peter and the disciples were unable to put themselves in the place of Jesus pbuh and tolerate the crucifixion, was there no one with Allah who could perform this task after Jesus pbuh clearly requested that the crucifixion be pushed away from him, as previously mentioned?! 5 . [11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”] John Chapter 18 . These words came from the crucified one during his arrest, and they are the words of someone who accepts the matter of crucifixion and has no problem with it, rather considers the hesitation in drinking the cup of crucifixion an unacceptable matter, and not a consideration for him, and he cannot think about it, [“shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?!!!”] He does not merely ask, but rather wonders with exclamation, [“Shall I not drink”], so how can it be imagined that these words come from the same person who said before the arrest of the crucified one, [36 “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you . Remove this cup from me .”]?! Mark Chapter 14 . Therefore, they are two entirely different people, so the person who

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was arrested and crucified is a person other than Jesus pbuh who requested not to be crucified 6 . What is present in the Gospel of Judah . And it is an artifactual Gospel that was found and dates back to before Islam, thus it is not possible to undermine it by saying that it is fabricated by the Muslims . Therefore, it is a Christian Gospel and it was circulating between the early Christians . And the reproduction and circulation of the Gospel of Judah between some of the early Christians indicates their disagreement during that period about the identity of the crucified one . And this is a passage from the Gospel of Judah which clarifies that the crucified one is not Jesus pbuh; moreover, it specifies the name of the crucified one, his attributes and the attributes of his progeny, Gospel of Judah Scene 3: [Judah said, “Master, could it be that my lineage is under the control of the rulers?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Come, that I [ … two lines missing … ], but that you will grieve much when you see the kingdom and all its generation .” When he heard this, Judah said to him, “What good is it that I have received it? For you have set me apart for that generation .” Jesus answered and said, “You will become the thirteenth, and you will be cursed by the other generations — and you will come to rule over them . In the last days they will curse your ascent [47] to the holy [generation]”] [“But you will exceed all of them . For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me .”] [“Already your horn has been raised, your wrath has been kindled, your star has shown brightly, and your heart has … [57]”] Moreover, the passage shows clearly that the crucified one was not Jesus, [But you will exceed all of them . For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me .] Verily, he presents the name of the crucified one as being Judah, and verily Judah in this passage is not Judas Iscariot, the

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traitor who went to the Jewish clerics and brought the temple officers to arrest the crucified one . So the Judah, who is crucified instead of Jesus as in the text of the Gospel of Judah is a righteous person and he sacrifices himself for the sake of Jesus . Moreover, in the Gospel of Judah, Jesus describes him with an attribute that cannot be attributed to Judas Iscariot, which is that he will be the thirteenth; whereas the disciples, as everyone agreed, are only twelve . And after the treason of Judas Iscariot they brought an alternate for him to complete the number of twelve, and they were never thirteen . And this makes Judah who was addressed here definitely not Judas Iscariot . This is in addition to statements mentioned in the Gospel of Judah: [“and you will come to rule over them”]: And this phrase makes the matter exclusive to the Savior who comes in the end times to fill the earth with justice; so Judas Iscariot does not come in the end times because, in brief, he was a wicked person who was born and died in that time period . [Judah said, “Master, could it be that my lineage is under the control of the rulers?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Come, that I [ . . . two lines missing . . .], but that you will grieve much when you see the kingdom and all its generation .” When he heard this, Judah said to him, “What good is it that I have received it? For you have set me apart for that generation .”] [“Master, could it be that my lineage is under the control of the rulers?”]: The rulers rule over all, so is there meaning and wisdom behind asking a person whether his lineage will be under the control of the rulers?! These words have no meaning except under one condition: that that lineage whom he asks about are the vicegerents of Allah on His earth, therefore he is asking whether they will be under the control of the tyrant rulers, or whether the people will empower them to rule . Therefore it is not only expected that “Judah” will come to rule, but rather his lineage as well . And he asks about the vicegerents of Allah from his lineage: despite their divine appointment, can they be under the authority and control of the tyrant rulers — as was the case for many of the vicegerents of Allah before them such as Abraham pbuh, Moses and Jesus himself — or will the people empower them to apply the supremacy of Allah on earth? And in this question, and in the answer of Jesus to it, there are

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many matters which establish that Judah here is not the Iscariot . As Judas Iscariot is not even from the vicegerents of Allah on His earth, so there is no meaning to the question if the asker was Judas Iscariot . And Judas Iscariot does not have a lineage; rather, he died after the incident of the crucifixion, so there is no meaning to the question if it was him . [“but that you will grieve much when you see the Kingdom and all its generation”]: How could it be that the evil Judas Iscariot sees the Kingdom of Heaven? Yes, it is possible for him to see the Kingdom of Heaven if the Judah mentioned here is a divine person who came from the Kingdom of Heaven and will return to the Kingdom of Heaven after the completion of his task of crucifixion in the place of Jesus pbuh . Therefore, he is not Judas Iscariot . [When he heard this, Judah said to him, “What good is it that I have received it? For you have set me apart for that generation .”]: What generation was Judas Iscariot set apart from?!!! The truth is that these words would not be valid except under one condition, that the Judah here is not Judas Iscariot, rather he is a divine person from the Kingdom of Heaven who came during the time and generation of Jesus pbuh, not his time nor his generation; rather, he came to perform a task and he is to return to wherever he came from . Also, he came because of the prayer of Jesus pbuh that the crucifixion be pushed away from him . Because of this, it was valid that he would say to Jesus pbuh, [“For you have set me apart for that generation .”] Therefore, the Judah who is mentioned in some of the passages of the Gospel of Judah, just as the previously mentioned passage, is not Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus and handed him over to the Jewish clerics, as at the end of the Gospel of Judah: [They approached Judas and said to him, “What are you doing here? You are Jesus’ disciple .” Judas answered them as they wished . And he received some money and handed him over to them .] Gospel of Judah Scene 3 . Rather, this Judah, as described by the Gospel of Judah, is a righteous person and from the vicegerents of Allah on His earth; moreover, some of his descendants will be the vicegerents of Allah on His earth . And he was also not from the generation of Jesus, nor from his time, meaning that he descended from the Kingdom of Heaven during the

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time of Jesus . And in addition to all of this, the text says that this Judah is the one who fills the earth with justice and rules in the end times . Now, all of these attributes of Judah who was crucified instead of Jesus apply to the Savior who comes in the end times . So finally, if we ask about the meaning of the word “Judah” to see who this person is, we find the word Judah means “Praising” (Al-hamd in Arabic), or Ahmad [i .e “the Praised One”], and this meaning is confirmed by the Torah, as it came in the Torah, Genesis Chapter 29, [35 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord”; therefore she named him Judah; then she ceased bearing .] Therefore, Judah means Ahmad, and it is the name of the Mahdi, or the Savior, or the Comforter promised in the end times; mentioned in the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran and the Will of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah pbuhap . Also, in the Torah and the Gospel, the actions of the crucified one were described, and words were narrated from him after his arrest which prove that he was a wise person and completely content with what was happening to him, and that he was other than Judas Iscariot, as Judas Iscariot was a person dominated by Satan, thus no wisdom would come from him and it could not be that he was calm and composed while being led to the crucifixion instead of Jesus pbuh, in whom he disbelieved . In the Torah, Book of Isaiah, and in Acts Chapter 8 is this passage: 32 “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its [ shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth … ] . Just like the reality which occurred, the passage proves that he went with all calmness and composure to the torture and the crucifixion . In addition, the passage proves another matter which is that he did not speak or appeal and he did not clarify his right and did not declare that he was a messenger; whereas, Jesus pbuh convicted the clerics and the people, preached to them and clarified his right . So it would not be true that he went to the slaughter in silence . And in the Gospel, the crucified one promised paradise to one of the two who were being crucified along with him because he defended him . So is it possible with this wisdom and this promise from the crucified one that he be Judas Iscariot?! And what does Judas Iscariot promise, if Allah had changed his appearance and he was led to the cru-

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cifixion instead of Jesus in whom he disbelieved? If this was his circumstance, then he knows for certain that he is unjust and that he will be punished, so what paradise can he promise the one who defended him?! [39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong .” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom .” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise .”] Luke Chapter 23 . And also in the Gospel of Luke: [33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left . 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do .”] Luke Chapter 23 . The above mentioned and the narrated wisdom and the firm and dignified actions of the crucified one under the most difficult conditions, cannot come from a fool or a satanic disbeliever, Allah forbid, such as Judas Iscariot; for some of them just like to portray the lookalike to be Judas Iscariot without any proof, only to have one who resembled Jesus crucified in his place .* In addition to all the above, it must be noted that Judas Iscariot
* . For example, I relate two texts: The first one is for Badr al-Deen al-Ayni, concerning ﴾And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿, he said, “When they set up a piece of wood for him to be crucified upon, Allah swt cast the resemblance of Jesus upon the one who showed them where he was . And his name is Judas . And they crucified him instead of Jesus, thinking that he was Jesus . And Allah raised Jesus to the sky .” Omdat al-Qari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari Vol . 12 page 35 . The second is for the interpreter from the Shia, Nasir Makarim al-Shirazi . He said, “It is concluded from the passages of all the Gospels that the one arrested chose to be silent in front of Pilate, the Roman Emperor of the Sacred House at the time, and he only said a few words in his defense . And it is very unlikely that Jesus would fall into similar danger and not defend himself the way he should, while he is known to be eloquent, fluent, brave and noble . Is it not possible in this case, that another person, such as Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus Christ and reported him and looked very much like him, fell captive instead of Jesus and that due to the drama of the situation, he was taken by fear and horror and could not defend himself or say anything in front of the executioners?” Tafsir al-Amthal Vol . 3 page 529 . And the Center for Ideological Research of al-Sistani responds to the issue of the lookalike by saying, “It is undisputed that the arrest of Jesus Christ happened due to the treachery of one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot . And the Holy Quran proves that the one who was arrested and then crucified was made to resemble Jesus to them, meaning that Allah punished

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came and guided the temple officers to the crucified one, and they arrested the crucified look-alike . So how is it that Judas Iscariot came with the police and guided them to the look-alike while he himself is the look-alike? Is it, for instance, that Judas Iscariot is two people? The arguments should be more sensible, and not at this level of naiveté and inconsistency, for how can a person rationalize a circumstance in which Judas Iscariot stands with the police and guides them to the look-alike and he himself is the look-alike? This would make him existent in the same place as two people and two images, and in two completely opposite states!! What is this level of argumentation? And I wonder how some of them accept it when it is at this level of contradiction!! In addition, what was previously mentioned negates what some Muslims say (without proof) that the crucified one is Judas Iscariot, as there are narrations which clarified that the crucified look-alike is a righteous young man who was made to resemble the image of Jesus . Rather, it was narrated from the Prophet that he is specifically from the progeny of Ali pbuh . The Conclusion of the Above: In the Torah and the Gospels accepted by the Christians are passages which prove that Jesus was not crucified, and if each of these passages was not sufficient individually, then in their entirety they represent a proof that the crucified one is not Jesus pbuh . For Jesus requests from Allah that he not be crucified . And the crucified one refuses to say with his tongue that he is the King of the Children of Israel, even though Jesus is the King of the Children of Israel . And the crucified one addresses Mary, mother of Jesus pbuh, as “Woman” . And Peter offers that he puts himself in the place of Jesus, meaning
Judas the traitor and caused him to resemble Jesus and he was crucified instead of Jesus . ﴾And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿ . By this, the Biblical mystery and the strange contradiction concerning the end of Judas are clarified, as the Gospels differed about whether his repentance occurred or not; they even differed about how he died . Moreover, they differed about whether he died or not . So we have the right to say, a traitor such as Judas, how did the Christians neglect him then even if after a while? How did they let go of him, of his news and of knowing his fate to which attention should be paid? And how did they let go of his recompense and disgrace in this world, making the people more believing and reassured of him?” http://www.aqaed.com/faq/2052/

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he requests that he be the look-alike, [37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you .”], and Jesus refuses because he knows that Peter is unable to do so, and he gives him a sign of his inability: that he will deny the crucified one three times, and it is certainly the same as denying Jesus pbuh . And by comparing Jesus’ pbuh words before the soldiers come and arrest the crucified one with the words of the crucified one during his arrest, we know that they are two entirely different people, as they take two different stances concerning the acceptance of the crucifixion . So the person who says [“Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me”] is not possibly the same one who a few hours prior said, [“Abba, Father, all things are possible for you . Remove this cup from me .”] . And from the Gospel of Judah: The crucified one is not Jesus himself, rather a look-alike who was made to resemble Jesus pbuh . The crucified one was described as the thirteenth . The crucified one was described to come in the end times to rule . The name of the crucified one is Judah (Ahmad as was clarified), but he is not Judas Iscariot . The crucified one descended from the Kingdom of Heaven and he is not from the generation of Jesus pbuh . The crucified one has progeny and they are vicegerents for Allah on His earth . Also, in the Torah, the Gospels and the Gospel of Judah are clear passages that show that the crucified one cannot be Judas Iscariot, and they contain a response to whoever says that the crucified one is Judas Iscariot . Third: In the Narrations: 1 . In the Books of the Shia: In the interpretation of Ali bin Ibrahim, Abu Jafar pbuh said, ﴾“Jesus pbuh called his companions to meet him the night Allah raised him to Him, so they gathered in the evening, and they were twelve men; and he made them enter a house and then appeared to them from a spring at the corner of the house, shaking the water off his head . So he said, ‘Allah is raising me to him in this hour and he is purifying me

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from the Jews . So upon which one of you will my resemblance be cast so he will be killed and crucified and join me in my rank?’ So a young man from among them said, ‘I, O Spirit of Allah .’ He said, ‘Then it shall be you .’ The Jews then came searching for Jesus pbuh … and they took the young man upon whom the resemblance of Jesus pbuh was cast, and he was killed and crucified .”﴿* And this narration clarifies that there was one other than Judas Iscariot . And he was the one upon whom the similarity was cast, who was crucified and he was of the rank of Jesus . And Jesus is a vicegerent from the vicegerents of Allah on His earth, a prophet, an Imam and one of the “Messengers of Intense Ability”, so this crucified look-alike is therefore at least a vicegerent from the vicegerents of Allah on His earth . ﴾“So upon which one of you will my resemblance be cast, so he will be killed and crucified and join me in my rank?”﴿ And also in the narration, there were twelve present with Jesus at the time Judas was with the Jewish clerics to hand Jesus over to them . So who would the twelfth be other than the crucified one, who entered and exited without drawing attention to himself, or anyone even seeing him in the beginning other than Jesus pbuh, [ … “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth … ] . And this is in the Gospel which exists today even if not stated this clearly . And it was clarified by what was mentioned previously: [31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail . And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers .” 33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death .” 34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me .”] Luke Chapter 22 . [36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward .” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you .” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you

* . Tafseer A-Qummi Vol . 1 page 103 .

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lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times .] John Chapter 13 . And there are narrations showing that the look-alike is a vicegerent from the vicegerents of Allah, and that those who rejected and killed him are disbelievers and that those who will accept him upon his return and defend him are good believers: Abu al-Jaroud narrated that Abu Jafar pbuh said, ﴾“﴾10 O you who have believed, shall I guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment?﴿,” so they said, “If we knew what it is, we would sacrifice our money, our selves and our children for it .” So Allah said, “﴾11 [It is that] you believe in Allah and His Messenger and strive in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives . That is best for you, if you should know . 12 He will forgive for you your sins and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence . That is the great attainment . 13 And another that you love — victory from Allah and an imminent conquest; and give good tidings to the believers .﴿,” he pbuh said, “Meaning in this world, by the opening of the Riser .” He pbuh also said, “The opening of Mecca . As for His saying swt, ﴾14 O you who have believed, be supporters of Allah, as when Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the disciples, “Who are my supporters for Allah?” The disciples said, “We are supporters of Allah .” And a faction of the Children of Israel believed and a faction disbelieved .﴿,” he pbuh said, “The one that disbelieved is the one who killed the look-alike of Jesus pbuh and crucified him, and the one that believed is the one who accepted the look-alike of Jesus in order that he not be killed . So they killed the faction that killed and crucified him, and that is His saying, ﴾14 So We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they became dominant .﴿”﴿*† Who are they, those who the people must believe in, other than the vicegerents of Allah on His earth? ﴾“And the one that believed is the one who accepted the look-alike of Jesus in order that he not be killed .”﴿ Therefore, the narration shows clearly that the crucified one is a vicegerent from the vicegerents of Allah on His earth and people must believe in him and support him upon his arrival to this world . And this is mentioned in the Gospel and the crucified look-alike
* . Surat as-Saff (The Ranks) 61:10-14 . † . Tafsir al-Qummi by Ali bin Ibrahim al-Qummi Vol . 2 page 365-366 .

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said it with complete clarity: [36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world . If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews . But my kingdom is not from the world .”] John Chapter 18 . This means that he shows that upon his arrival to this physical world in his generation and time, that there will be those who defend him so that he will not be handed over to the Jews of his time and be crucified . [“my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews . But my kingdom is not from the world .”], ﴾“and the one that believed is the one who accepted the look-alike of Jesus in order that he not be killed .”﴿ And it was narrated that the crucified look-alike is from the lineage of the Messenger of Allah pbuhap: The Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuh said in his supplication for Ali bin Abi Talib pbuh, ﴾“O Allah! Grant him the patience of Moses, and make among his descendants the look-alike of Jesus pbuh . O Allah! Indeed, You are my vicegerent upon him and upon his progeny and his kind and purified lineage from whom You have removed uncleanliness and impurity .”﴿* 2 . In the Books of the Sunnis: The Sunnis narrated in their interpretations that the one crucified was not Judas Iscariot, but rather a young man who was among the disciples: Saeed bin Jubair narrated that Ibn Abbas said, “Jesus appeared to his companions when Allah wanted to raise him, so he said, ‘Upon which one of you shall my resemblance be cast, so he will be killed in my place, and be with me in my rank?’ So a young man stood and said ‘I’ . So Jesus pbuh said, ‘Sit down .’ He then repeated what he said, so the young man stood and Jesus pbuh said, ‘Sit down .’ He repeated what he said again, so the young man said ‘I’ and Jesus pbuh said, ‘Yes, it is you .’ So the resemblance of Jesus was cast upon him, and Jesus was raised and the Jews came and so they took the man, and they killed

* . Al-Ghaibah by al-Numani page 144 .

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him and then crucified him . The same was told by Wahab bin Manbah, Qutada and al-Saddi .”* Bashir bin Maath narrated to us from Yazeed from Saeed from Qutada that he said in regards to the saying of the Almighty, “﴾157 And their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Christ, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him﴿ … until His saying ﴾158 And Allah is the Mighty, the Wise .﴿† “Those are the enemies of Allah, the Jews; they were famous for killing Jesus son of Mary, the messenger of Allah, and they claimed that they killed and crucified him . And it was mentioned to us that the prophet of Allah, Jesus son of Mary, said to his companions, ‘Which of you will have my resemblance cast upon him thus he will be killed?’ So a man from his companions said, ‘I, O prophet of Allah .’ So that man was killed, and Allah protected His prophet and raised him to Him .” Al-Hassan bin Yahya narrated to us from Abd al-Razzaq from Mumar from Qutada concerning the saying of the Almighty, ﴾And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿, that he said, “His likeness was cast upon a man from the disciples and he was killed, and that was offered to them by Jesus son of Mary saying, ‘Upon which one of you will my resemblance be cast and he will receive heaven?’ So a man said, ‘Upon me .’” Al-Mothanna narrated from Abu Huthaifa from Shabal from the son of Abu Najeeh from al-Qasim bin Abu Baza that Jesus son of Mary said, “Upon which one of you shall my resemblance be cast in order that he will be killed in my place?” So a man from his companions said, “I, O messenger of Allah .” So his resemblance was cast upon him, so they killed him, for that Allah said, ﴾And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿ . Al-Qasim narrated to us from al-Hussain from Hajjaj from Ibn Jareej, “We learned that Jesus son of Mary said to his companions, ‘Which one of you will be inflicted so that my resemblance will be cast upon him in order that he will be killed?’ So a man from his companions said, ‘I, O prophet of Allah .’ So his resemblance was cast upon him and thus he was killed, and Allah raised His prophet to Him .” Muhammad bin Amro narrated to us from Abu Asim from Yeshua
* . Zad al-Maseer fi Ilm al-Tafseer, Ibn al-Jawzi . † . Surat an-Nisa (The Women) 4:157-158 .

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from the son of Abu Naheej from Mujahid concerning the Almighty’s saying, ﴾but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿, that he said, “They crucified a man other than Jesus, thinking he was Jesus .” The same was narrated from al-Muthanna from Abu Huthaifa from Shabal from the son of Abu Najeeh from Muhajid . Al-Qasim narrated to us from al-Hussain from Hajjaj from Ibn Jareej from Muhajid that he said, “They crucified a man whom they had mistaken for Jesus pbuh thinking it was him, and Allah raised Jesus pbuh to Him alive .”* “Then Allah swt stated that the Children of Israel did not kill Jesus, nor did they crucify him, but rather [another] was made to resemble him to them . And the narrators differed concerning this story, and that within which there is no doubt is that Jesus pbuh used to travel in the earth and call to Allah, and the Children of Israel were requesting him . And their king at the time would put a bounty on his head . And Jesus was joined by his disciples who travelled with him wherever he went . And at some point in time, the issue of Jesus became more apparent, so it was narrated that a man from the Jews put a bounty on his head, so he continued searching for him until he knew where he was . So when Jesus and his companions sensed that their pursuers were close to them, they entered a house within sight of the Children of Israel, so it was narrated that their number was thirteen . And it was narrated that they were eighteen and they were surrounded at night . So it was narrated that Jesus separated himself from the disciples that night, and he directed them to [different] horizons, and he remained and a man was with him, so Jesus was raised and his resemblance was cast upon the man so that man was crucified .”† “So the Jews gathered to kill him, so Allah told him that He will raise him to the sky, and purify him from the company of the Jews, so he said to his companions, ‘Which one of you accepts having my resemblance cast upon him in order that he will be killed and crucified and enter heaven?’ So a man among them said ‘I’ . So his resemblance was cast upon him and he was killed and crucified .”‡ “ … And the ruler of Jerusalem complied with that and he went with a group from the Jews to the house where Jesus pbuh was with a
* . Jami al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Quran by Ibn Jareer al-Tabari . † . Al-Jawahir al-Hesan fi Tafsir al-Quran by al-Tha’aliby . ‡ . Tafsir Madarik al-Tanzeel wa Haqaiq al-Taweel by al-Nasafi .

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group of his companions who were twelve or thirteen, and it was said they were seventeen and that was on Friday evening which was the eve of Saturday . So they surrounded him there . And when he sensed their presence and that their entering the house or his exiting to them was inevitable, he said to his companions, ‘Upon which one of you will my resemblance be cast and he will be my companion in heaven?’ So a young man from among them came forward but it was as if Jesus deemed him unworthy of the task, so he repeated it for a second and third time and none would come forward except that man, so he said, ‘You are the one .’ And Allah cast the resemblance of Jesus upon him so it was as if he was Jesus, and an opening was made in the ceiling of the house and sleep was cast upon Jesus pbuh so he was raised to the sky while sleeping, as Allah swt said, ﴾O Jesus! Indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself﴿ . So when he was raised that group came out and when they saw that young man they thought him to be Jesus pbuh, so they took him in the night and crucified him and placed the thorns on his head, ﴾And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them﴿ . So they thought he was Jesus .”* Therefore, the conclusion from the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran, reasoning and the narrations is that the crucified one is not Jesus, nor is he Judas Iscariot . And we found narrations saying that he is from the lineage of the Messenger of Allah pbuhap and Ali pbuh, and indicating that he is a vicegerent from the vicegerents of Allah, so what do we do? Do we continue arguing and rejecting these narrations, and projecting our illusions based upon desires and nothing else, and which contradict what is conveyed in the Torah, the Gospel and the narrations, as well as reasoning, and say that the crucified one is Judas Iscariot, and that it is a goat even if it flies?!!! Or do we say that our saying is that upon which the divine books agree: the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran, and which was stated by the Messenger of Allah and the progeny of Muhammad pbut, which is that the crucified one is not Jesus pbuh, and that the crucified one is a righteous human, and the crucified one is a vicegerent from the vicegerents of Allah on His earth, and the crucified one is from the progeny of Muhammad pbut, and from
* . Tafsir Ibn Kathir .

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the lineage of Ali pbuh . And all these facts are from the scriptures of the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran and the sayings of Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad pbut, and there is no opposing proof that is worthy of consideration . Now, after having proven that Jesus was not crucified, nor was he killed, and that there was a look-alike who was crucified, and we personified him from the Torah, the Gospel, the Quran and the sayings of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad pbut, we go back to what al-Tousi narrated, which is that the people do not comprehend the matter of resemblance and the crucifixion, or they do not accept the person who faces them and that he is the one, so they begin with the argumentation like al-Tousi (may Allah have mercy upon him) narrated from Abu Abdullah pbuh, ﴾“Verily, when the Riser rises, the people will say, ‘How can this happen, while his bones deteriorated a long time ago .’”﴿ Or let us state their argument in another form: How is it that the crucified look-alike is a person who descended to earth in a miraculous way and was killed, and after that he is born as a baby and grows until he becomes the Riser or the Mahdi?!! And the truth is that people with this objection present it due to their lack of knowledge or attention that the spirits were created before this physical world, and this matter is proven by reasoning and the texts: Reasoning does not accept that the spirit lower in rank was created before the spirit higher in rank because it is dependent upon the existence of the higher . And this is not a topic up for discussion and it is not a clarification of how the creation came from the absolute truth, but it is fine to mention a simple clarification: that which comes from the absolute truth or from the creation closest to the absolute truth cannot be repeated, otherwise it would be the same as the first and nothing different . Due to this, the creation after it is farther from the absolute truth than the first one, meaning it is lower in rank . Consequently, the first creation mediates in the creation of the second, meaning as Allah swt said, “with My hands”: ﴾75 He said, “O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the high ones”﴿ Surat Sad (‫ . )ه‬Therefore, the first creation in relation the second is the hand of Allah . Also, the second creation in relation to the third is the hand of Allah; meaning,

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it is not one hand or two, rather many hands, like the Almighty said, ﴾47 And the sky We constructed with hands, and indeed, We are [its] expander .﴿ . Surat adh-Dhariyat (The Winnowing Winds) . So reasoning says that the spirit of Muhammad pbuhap, which is higher in rank, was created before the spirit of Adam pbuh, which is lower in rank, and there is no intellectual proof that refutes this truth . As for the fact that Adam was created before Muhammad in this physical world, it does not mean that the spirit of Adam pbuh was first, as there is no concomitance between the creation of the body and the creation of the spirit while they are in two different worlds . And the Quran supports this proof, which agrees with wisdom and reasoning, the Almighty said, ﴾75 He said, “O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the high ones?”﴿ Surat Sad (‫ . )ه‬And Allah is far above having a hand, rather “I created with My hands” means with a created hand that represented His strength, His will and His ability to create in this rank . And this created hand or spirit created Adam or mediated in the creation of Adam pbuh; therefore, this spirit is before Adam pbuh . And this created hand or spirit is Muhammad pbuhap and whoever Allah willed to be a hand for Him swt to perform what He wants from the creation and within the creation, ﴾47 And the sky We constructed with hands, and indeed, We are [its] expander .﴿ Surat adhDhariyat (The Winnowing Winds) . So those are the hands of Allah with which He creates, and they are the close ones and the first creation of Allah, ﴾56 This is a warner like the former warners .﴿ Surat an-Najm (The Star) . And they are the owners of the high rank who are not assigned to prostrate to Adam pbuh because they are higher in rank than him, ﴾75 He said, “O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the high ones?”﴿ Surat Sad (‫ . )ه‬The high ones: meaning the spirits which created Adam, that is why they are not assigned to prostrate to Adam because they are above him and higher in rank than he is . As for the texts: they contain a clear statement that the spirit of Muhammad pbuhap, and the progeny of Muhammad pbut, was cre-

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ated before the creation of Adam and the entire creation, and before the bodies or this physical world by a long period: From the Quran: Allah swt said: ﴾81 Say, “If the Abundantly Merciful had a son, then I am the first of worshippers .”﴿ Surat az-Zukhruf (Ornaments of Gold) . The verse is in the context of a response to those who say that Jesus pbuh is the Son of God . And the summary of the response is that it denies this filiation, considering that Muhammad pbuhap is the first creation and he preceded Jesus in existence, and for this precedent there is a statement which is the precedent in the worshipping, ﴾“then I am the first of worshippers”﴿ . And the conclusion is that the verse is clear in proving that the spirit of Muhammad pbuhap was created before the spirit of Jesus pbuh and Adam pbuh; rather, before the spirits of the entire creation . Otherwise, it would not be correct for him to be described as the first of worshippers in the sense of precedence by time or by action . And from the narrations from the Sunnis and the Shia: Al-Mufathal said that Imam Abu Abdullah pbuh said, ﴾“Allah swt created the spirits before the bodies by two thousand years, so He made their highest and their most noble to be the spirits of Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, al-Hassan, al-Hussain and the Imams after them pbut . He then presented them to the skies and the earth and the mountains so their light overwhelmed them … ”﴿* Imam al-Sadiq pbuh said, ﴾“Allah made the spirits brothers in the Kingdom of Heaven two thousand years before He created the bodies, so if our Riser of the progeny rises, he would bequeath to the brother whom Allah made for him in the Kingdom of Heaven, and he would not bequeath the brother by birth .”﴿† Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Abdul-Rahman bin Abdullah bin AlHussain bin Ibrahim bin Yahya bin Ajlan al-Murouzi Al-Maqri narrated to us saying: Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Jarjani narrated to us saying: Abu Bakr Abdul-Samad bin Yahya al-Wasiti narrated to us saying: al-Hassan bin Ali al-Madani narrated to us from Abullah bin al-Mubarak, who narrated from Sufyan al-Thouri, who narrated from Imam Jafar bin Muhammad Al-Sadiq pbuh, who narrated from his father, who narrated from his grandfather, who narrated from Ali Ibn
* . Mujamma al-Nurain by al-Marandi p . 272 . † . Bihar al-Anwar Vol . 6 page 249 .

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Abi Talib pbuh saying, ﴾“Allah swt created the light of Muhammad pbuh before He created the skies and the earth and the Throne and the Chair and the Tablet and the Pen and heaven and hell, and before He created Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus, David, Solomon and all of those mentioned in the saying of the Almighty, ﴾And we gave him Isaac and Jacob﴿, until He says, ﴾Guide us to the Straight Path﴿,* and before he created all the prophets by four hundred and twenty-four thousand years, and Allah swt created with him twelve veils … ”﴿† Abu Saeed al-Khudari said, ﴾“We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah pbuhap when a man approached him and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about the saying of Allah swt to Iblis, ﴾Were you arrogant or were you among the high ones?﴿ . Who are they, O Messenger of Allah, who are higher than the angels?’ So the Messenger of Allah said, ‘I, Ali, Fatima, al-Hassan and al-Hussain . We were by “the surroundings of the Throne” praising Allah, and the angels would praise by our praises two thousand years before Allah (m) created Adam . So when Allah (m) created Adam He commanded the angels to prostrate to him, and He did not command us with prostration to Adam . So all of the angels prostrated except for Iblis, for he refused to prostrate, so Allah swt said, ﴾Were you arrogant, or were you among the high ones?﴿, meaning from those five whose names are written on “the surroundings of the Throne”, for we are the door of Allah from which one would go to Him . By us the guided ones are guided . So whoever loved us is loved by Allah and He would house him in His heaven, and whoever despised us is despised by Allah and He would house him in His hellfire, and no one loves us except he of a fine birth .”﴿‡ Al-Sadooq (may Allah have mercy upon him) narrated in his book Al-Muraj from his chain of narrators from Ibn Abbas that he said, ﴾“I heard the Messenger of Allah pbuhap addressing Ali pbuh and say* . The Imam pbuh is referring to the verses in which Allah swt says, ﴾And We gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — all [of them] We guided . And Noah, We guided before; and among his descendants, David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron . Thus do We reward the doers of good . And Zechariah and John and Jesus and Elias — and all were of the righteous . And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot — and all [of them] We preferred over the worlds . And [some] among their fathers and their descendants and their brothers — and We chose them and We guided them to a straight path .﴿ Surat al-Anaam (The Cattle) 6:84-87 . † . Al-Khisal by al-Sadooq page 482 . ‡ . Bihar al-Anwar Vol . 25 page 2 .

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ing, ‘O Ali! Allah swt was and there was nothing with Him, so He created me and created you, two spirits from the light of His majesty . So we were in front of the throne of the Lord of the worlds praising Allah, sanctifying Him, thanking Him and glorifying Him . And that was before He created the skies and the earths, so when He wanted to create Adam, He created you and I from one mud, the mud of the higher rank, and kneaded us with that light and immersed us in all the lights and rivers of heaven . He then created Adam and bestowed within his backbone that mud and that light, so when He created him, He retrieved his lineage from his back and made them speak and acknowledge the divinity, so the first creation to acknowledge the divinity were you and I and the prophets to their own rank and nearness to Allah (m) . So Allah swt said, “You believed and acknowledged, O Muhammad and O Ali, and you preceded My creation in obedience to Me, and so you were as according to My previous knowledge of you, so you are My elite in My creation, and the Imams from your progeny and your followers and so I created you …”’”)* Al-Hussain bin Obaid Allah informed us saying: Abu Muhammad informed us saying: Muhammad bin Humam narrated to us saying: Ali bin al-Hussain al-Hamadani narrated to us saying: Muhammad bin Khalid al-Barqi narrated to us saying: Muhammad bin Sinan narrated to us that bin al-Mufathal bin Omar narrated from Imam Abu Abdullah pbuh, who narrated from his forefathers pbut, who narrated from the Prince of the Believers pbuh that he said that one day, he was sitting by the courtyard while the people gathered around him, when a man came up to him and said, ﴾“O Prince of Believers! You are in the position which Allah bestowed upon you, while your father is being tortured in hell!” So he said to him, “Silence! May Allah break your teeth, I swear by the One who sent Muhammad as a prophet of truth, if my father were to intercede for every guilty one on the face of the earth, Allah would accept his intercession for them . My father would be tortured in hell while his son is the overseer of hell! I swear by the One who sent Muhammad as a prophet of truth, the light of Abu Talib on the day of resurrection would extinguish the lights of the creation except for five lights, the light of Muhammad pbuhap, my light, the light of Fatima and the two lights of al-Hassan and al-Hussain and from his children
* . Bihar al-Anwar Vol . 25 page 3 .

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from the Imams, because his light is from our light which Allah (m) created two thousand years before the creation of Adam .”﴿* Narrated from the Prince of the Believers Ali ibn Abi Talib pbuh that he said, ﴾“Allah was and there was nothing with Him, so the first thing He created was the light of His beloved Muhammad pbuhap four hundred and twenty-four thousand years before creating the water, the Throne, the Chair, the Skies, the Earth, the Tablet, the Pen, heaven and hell, the angels and Adam and Eve . So when Allah swt created the light of our prophet Muhammad pbuhap he remained for a thousand years standing between the hands of Allah (m) praising and thanking Him, and the Truth swt was looking at him … , so when the lights perfected, the light of Muhammad resided under the Throne for seventy-three thousand years, then his light moved to the heaven for seventy thousand years, it then moved to Sidrat al-Muntaha† and remained there for seventy thousand years, his light then moved to the seventh sky, then to sixth, then to the fifth, then to fourth, then to the third, then to the second, then to the lowest sky . So his light remained in the lowest sky until Allah swt wanted to create Adam pbuh … ”﴿‡ Jabir bin Abdullah narrated, ﴾“I said to the Prophet of Allah pbuhap, ‘What was the first thing Allah swt created?’ So he said, ‘The light of your Prophet, O Jabir, then from it He created every good . He then placed it between His hands in the place of nearness by what Allah willed, He then made it into parts . So He created the Throne from a part and the Chair from a part, and the carriers of the Throne and the keepers of the Chair from a part . And He placed the fourth part in the place of love by the will of Allah, then he made it into parts, so He created the Pen from a part, and the Tablet from a part, and heaven from a part . And He placed the fourth part in the place of fear by the will of Allah, then He made it into parts, so He created the angels from a part, and the Sun from a part, and the Moon and the planets from a part . Then He placed the fourth part in the place of hope by the will of Allah, then He made it into parts, so He created reasoning from a part and knowledge and patience from a part, and infallibility and support from a part . Then He placed the fourth part in the place of modesty,
* . Al-Amali by al-Tousi page 305, Mi’at Manqaba by Ibn Shathan al-Qummi page 174, Kanz al-Fawaid by al-Karajki page 80 . † . A tree in paradise . ‡ . Bihar al-Anwar Vol . 15 pages 27-31 .

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so He looked at it with the eye of prestige so He filtered this light and from it were dropped one hundred and twenty-four thousand drops, so Allah created from each drop the spirit of a prophet and a messenger, then the spirits of the prophets breathed, so Allah created from their breaths the souls of the supporters, the witnesses and the righteous ones .”﴿* Muhammad bin Sinan narrated that Ibn Abbas said, ﴾“We were with the Messenger of Allah pbuhap when Ali ibn Abi Talib pbuh approached, so the Prophet pbuhap said to him, ‘Welcome to whom Allah created prior to his father by forty thousand years .’ So we said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Can it be the son before the father?’ So he pbuhap said, ‘Yes . Verily Allah created me and Ali from one light forty thousand years before creating Adam, He then divided it in half, then He created things from my light and the light of Ali pbuh, then placed us on the right of the Throne, so we said Subhan Allah [Exalted is Allah], so the Angels said Subhan Allah, and we said La Ilah Illa Allah [There is no god but Allah] so they said La Ilah Illa Allah, and we said Allahu Akbar [Allah is greatest], so they said Allahu Akbar . So whoever praised Allah or glorified Him, that is from the teaching of Ali pbuh .”﴿† Narrated Abdullah bin al-Mubarak from Imam Jafar bin Muhammad who narrated from his father, who narrated from his grandfather, who narrated that the Prince of the Believers pbuh that he said, ﴾“Allah created the light of Muhammad pbuhap prior to all creation by fourteen thousand years, and created with him pbuh twelve veils and what is meant by the veils are the Imams pbut .”﴿‡ Abu al-Hasssan Ali bin Muhammad known as ibn al-Maghazli alWasiti al-Shafie in his book of al-Manaqib narrated from Salman alFarsi that he said, ﴾“I heard my beloved Muhammad pbuhap saying, ‘Ali and I were one light between the hands of Allah swt, that light praised Allah and sanctified Him prior to Allah having created Adam by fourteen thousand years . So when Adam was created that light was deposited within his backbone, so Ali and I were kept as one until we

* . Bihar al-Anwar Vol . 25 page 22 . † . Bihar al-Anwar Vol . 25 page 24 . ‡ . Bihar al-Anwar Vol . 25 page 21 .

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separated in the backbone of Abdul Muttalib, so within me is prophethood and within him is imamate .”﴿* Ibn al-Maghazli also narrated that Salim bin Abi al-Jad narrated that Abu Thar said, ﴾“I heard the Messenger of Allah pbuhap saying, ‘Ali and I were one light between the hands of Allah swt, that light praised Allah and sanctified Him prior to Allah having created Adam by fourteen thousand years, so Ali and I were kept as one until we separated in the backbone of Abdul Muttalib . So I was a part and Ali was a part .”﴿† And Ibn Abbas said, ﴾“I heard the Messenger of Allah pbuhap saying, ‘Ali and I were one light between the hands of Allah, prior to the creation of Adam by fourteen thousand years . So when Allah created Adam, that light settled in his backbone, and Allah continued to transmit it from one backbone to another until it settled in the backbone of Abdul Muttalib, then Allah took it out of Abdul Muttalib and divided it into two parts, a part in the backbone of Abdullah and a part in the backbone of Abu Talib . So Ali is from me and I am from him . His flesh is my flesh and his blood is my blood . So whoever truly loved him is one whom I love, and whoever despised him despises me so I despise him .”﴿‡ Abdul Wahab bin Ata informed us from Saeed bin Abi Arouba, that Qatada said: and Umar bin Asim al-Kilabi informed us that Abu Hilal informed us from Qatada that he said, ﴾“The Messenger of Allah pbuh said, ‘I was the first of the people in the creation and the last of them in the dispatch .’”﴿§ Abu Humam al-Waleed bin Shuja bin al-Waleed al-Baghdadi told us that he was told by al-Waleed bin Muslim from al-Awzai from Yahya bin Abi Kathir from Abu Salama from Abu Huraira that he said, ﴾“It was said, ‘O, Messenger of Allah pbuh when was the prophethood

* . Yanabie al-Mawadda Vol . 1 page 47, and the narration from Salman is also included in Tarikh Madinat Dimashq Vol . 42 page 67, Manaqib ibn al-Maghazli page 87, Fathail al-Sahaba by ibn Hanbal Vol . 2 page 662, Manaqib al-Khawarizmi page 145 . † . Yanabie al-Mawadda Vol . 1 page 447 . ‡ . Nathum Dorar al-Simtayn by al-Zarandi al-Hanafi page 79, and it was also mentioned in his book of Maarij al-Wosool Ila Marifat Aal al-Rasool page 33 . § . Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra Vol . 1 page 149 .

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obligatory upon you?’ He said, ‘While Adam was between the spirit and the body .’ This is a correct and authentic narration .”﴿* Abu al-Nathir al-Faqih and Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Salama al-Anzi told us: from Othman bin Saeed al-Darmi and Muhammad bin Sinan al-Awfi, from Ibrahim bin Tahman, from Badil bin Maysara, from Abdullah bin Shaqeeq, from Maysara al-Fakhir, he said, ﴾“I asked the Messenger of Allah about when he was a prophet and He said, ‘While Adam was between the spirit and the body .’ This is a narration of an authentic chain .”﴿† Now it has been clarified from the Quran and the narrations that the spirits of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad pbut were existent during the time in which Jesus was dispatched; moreover, before Jesus was born . So as long as a spirit was already created, the possibility stands that a physical body can be created for the spirit . Or in reality, he appears in the physical world in an image resembling Jesus pbuh and this matter is by the will of Allah, His strength and His might, at least like the appearance of Gabriel — who is a spirit — to Muhammad pbuhap in this physical world in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi .‡ I say: is there a rational prevention now after the texts and reasoning proved this matter? Moreover, he who rejects and says that this is unbelievable, does he
* . Sinan al-Tirmithi Vol . 5 page 245 . † . Al-Mostadrak by al-Hakim Vol . 2 page 608 . ‡ . The appearance of the spirit or the angel in a body is an established matter in the Old Testament and the New Testament, such as its appearance to Hajar (Genesis 16:7), to Mary and to Jacob . Concerning the interpretation of the appearance of the angel to Jacob, Antonios Fekry says, “The spiritual creation like the angels cannot be seen by us unless they take a physical form by which we can see them, and that is whenever God wants it and allows it .” The Interpretation of Luke 1 . As for the matter of the appearance of Gabriel pbuh in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi, it is a matter well-known to all the Muslims . And I will mention brief examples: Muhammad bin Yahya al-Khathami narrated from Imam Abu Abdullah pbuh that he said, ﴾“Abu Thar went to the Messenger of Allah pbuhap and with him was Gabriel pbuh in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi . And the Messenger of Allah wanted to see him privately, so when he [Abu Thar] saw them, he walked away and did not interrupt them .”﴿ Al-Kafi by al-Kulaini Vol . 2 page 587 . Sheikh al-Mufeed said, “As for the narrations concerning seeing the angels in the form of humans in the previous nations and in this nation, they are countless, as some of the companions narrated that they saw Gabriel in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi .” Awael al-Maqalat page 288 . And in Sunan al-Nisai, ﴾“Muhamad bin Qadama narrated to us from Jurair, from Abu Farwa, from Abu Zara, from Abu Huraira and Abu Thar … ‘And we were sitting in the presence of the Messenger of Allah pbuh in his house, and a man with a beautiful face approached us … And he was Gabriel, sent down in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi .”﴿ Sunan al-Nisai Vol . 8 pages 101-103 .

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have an alternative supported by the texts, reasoning, and wisdom as is the case concerning the aforementioned? Or just stubbornness and argumentation and following of desires for the mere sake of rejecting the truth?! Accepting the truth as it is perhaps has some difficulty in it, especially with the existence of ignorance and Satan and their soldiers who work hard to prevent the people from listening to the truth and hearing the words of Allah and submitting to the proof and recognizing the truth; but when the proof is established, to show the truth, intellectual people must say, “Yes this is the truth, we have seen it clearly .” Otherwise, they are neither people nor intellectual . •

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Appendices

Appendix 1
*This appendix is an excerpt from The Book of Monotheism by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh, and all comments in this Appendix are by him pbuh . He is Allah, the Exalted, the One, the Alone, and all other than Him are His creation . Allah swt responded in the Holy Quran to those who said that Allah swt has a son who became separate from Allah, or was born from Allah, or came from Allah, meaning that he is an absolute deity who came from an absolute deity; meaning that the reality of this human is absolute divinity, because he united with the absolute deity . Therefore, according to their thinking, the absolute deity descended among the humans and in the body, or among the humans within a human from them, and this human is the Son of God . And the truth is that even though this ideological belief adopted by the non-working clerics is false, Allah swt due to His mercy addressed them and spoke to them, even concerning the details about the opposition to this belief . So you find Him swt detailing and clarifying for them the flawed places in their ideology . The Almighty said, ﴾[He is] Originator of the heavens and the earth . How could He have a son when He does not have a companion and He created all things? And He is, of all things, Knowing .﴿ Surat alAnaam (The Cattle) 6:101 .

﴾How could He have a son when He does not have a companion﴿: And this complete refutation with which Allah spoke to them, they cannot refute it in any form or image; as it means: You say that there is a son of His swt, and this son is an absolute deity (meaning that he is an absolute perfect and absolute rich one who needs no one besides himself), so if you say that he came from Him swt alone, this means that the son is completely identical to the father, and regardless of the fact that the simple absolute truth can never be multiple, what meaning and wisdom is there from this being [of the son], with no imaginable differentiation or difference or contrast?! So do you say that the Father

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is unwise such that He makes or begets a son of His whose being is of no benefit to Him swt, or to any other than Him?! And if you say there is a difference or a differentiation or a contrast, like the Christians say today that the hypostases are differentiated, this necessitates the existence of another divinity, ﴾ … a companion …﴿, in order for the son to be coming from both of them, and thus he is not identical to either of them, because he came from both of them together . So do you speak of the existence of the other divinity, the companion, who preceded the Son??!!!* So know that if you speak of the existence of the Son, you must speak of the existence of the other divinity (the companion) before him, otherwise how do you speak of the existence of the Son (the absolute deity who came from the Father) without the initial existence of the other absolute deity (the companion) with Him swt? And the initial existence of the other absolute god (the companion) with Him swt is impossible because the Absolute Deity is an absolute simple truth and it cannot be multiple, ﴾How could He have a son when He does not have a companion﴿ . And the Almighty said, ﴾Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity . [If there had been], then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others . Exalted is Allah above what they describe [concerning Him] .﴿ Surat al-Mumenoon (The Believers) 23:91 . This means if you were to arrange what you imagined from the existence of the three hypostasis (or the three origins) in this image — thus you speak of the existence of the Father (Allah swt) and the other absolute deity the companion (the Son) and from them came a third absolute deity (the third hypostasis ) the Holy Spirit — the speech would be concerning the initial existence of the other absolute deity with Allah swt, so is there differentiation between them or not? Meaning are they both one? So whoever chooses to believe they are one is faced with the previ* . And this is also a natural and intellectual matter, that the simple truth cannot have something different or distinct that separates from it . And it cannot contain divisions or parts or origins or hypostases, as they call them, that are differentiated because this means that it is a compound truth and not a simple one, and composition indicates deficiency and it nullifies the richness of the truth, and therefore, in order for a distinct thing to separate from the absolute simple truth, there must be another absolute simple truth, and this is impossible because the absolute simple truth is one and it cannot be multiple .

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ous refutation, because the one coming from both of them is identical to each one of them . And whoever chooses to believe in differentiation between them will have the absolute divinity of the other one refuted due to his deficiency, because the differentiation is only in absolute perfection, ﴾ … and some of them would have sought to overcome others . Exalted is Allah above what they describe .﴿ . And the non-working clerics, because they overturned their human nature and turned upside down, said that Allah has a son, exalted is He above what they describe, ﴾151 Unquestionably, it is out of their invented falsehood that they say, 152 “Allah has begotten,” and indeed, they are liars .﴿ Surat as-Saaffat (Those Who set the Ranks) . So if they had returned to the nature of Allah and contemplated the signs of Allah, they would have saved themselves from this clear perishing and avoided to speak concerning that which they do not know . And the words of a person concerning that which he does not know are lies ﴾they are liars﴿ . The Almighty said, ﴾4 And to warn those who say, “Allah has taken a son .” 5 They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers . Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak not except a lie .﴿ . Surat al-Kahf (The Cave) 18:4-5 . Moreover, Allah swt refuted for them the concept of multiplicity of the absolute deity from its foundation, regardless of the form of the belief: ﴾They have said, “Allah has taken a son .” Exalted is He; He is the [one] Free of need . To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth . You have no authority for this [claim] . Do you say about Allah that which you do not know?﴿ Surat Yunus (Jonah) 10:68 . ﴾They have said, “Allah has taken a son .” Exalted is He; He is the [one] Free of need﴿: and the principle of this refutation for whoever spoke of multiplicity of the absolute deity, whether by prophecy or by another form imagined by whoever strayed from the straight path, is that Allah swt deposited within the human nature that with which the human can distinguish wisdom from foolishness, ﴾And inspired it its wickedness and its righteousness, ﴿ Surat ash-Shams (The Sun) 91:8 . So whoever uses this scale will judge that speaking of the multiplicity of divinity with no differentiator is foolishness within which there is no wisdom . Therefore, nothing is left except speaking of the differentiation, and this is refuted by one word: ﴾Exalted is He; He is the [one]

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Free of need .﴿ . So differentiation in divinity is only in perfection, necessitating the deficiency and imperfection of the other; so the saying that other than Him is an absolute deity is refuted . As for the issue of the progression of the human being, Allah has created the human and bestowed within him the nature which qualifies him to progress so that he becomes the names of Allah and the image of Allah and the manifestation of Allah and Allah among the creation, but no matter how much he progresses, he will not be an absolute divinity or an absolute rich one, he rather remains a creation and remains in need of Allah swt . ﴾Whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire . Light upon light . Allah guides to His light whom He wills .﴿ Surat an-Noor (The Light) 24:35 . Almost, and does not glow from itself such that it is an absolute deity . Therefore, everyone other than Him are His creation and in need of Him swt, ﴾It is not [befitting] for Allah to take a son; exalted is He! When He decrees an affair, He only says to it, “Be,” and it is .﴿ Surat Maryam (Mary) 19:35 . And this preceding refutation, which came in the Holy Quran, is sufficient to whoever listens while having presence of mind . As for their speech that he is one and alone in addition to their speech of three differentiated and independent hypostases which according to their belief dispatch each other and their speech of the existence of a relationship between them like the relationship of sonship and fatherhood, etc, it is a speech that they know to be foolish;* otherwise, how can the oneness and the aloneness be reconciled with its multiplicity and division and the differentiation of its divisions, even if they do not name them divisions? And if we turned away from all the above, this statement is sufficient to clarify their falsehood, if they were to use their reason, and it is: Allah is light within which there is no darkness and all the worlds of the creation are light mixed with darkness and they are existences that appeared by the manifestation of His light swt into the darkness; this is why it cannot be considered that Allah has settled in a creation or appeared in a creation by a complete appearance in the worlds of creation, like they claim for Jesus and the Holy Spirit, because the meaning of this is that they do not remain; rather, they disappear and
* . And for this reason you find them to always say that the Trinity is not rational and it is not realized by using reason, but it must be believed in .

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nothing remains but light within which there is no darkness . For this reason, we said and repeated that Muhammad oscillates between divinity and the I and humanity, and I emphasized this so that no one would imagine that Allah, who is light within which there is no darkness, settles in the worlds of creation, Allah is greatly above that . And the matter is clear and evident, as the appearance of the light within which there is no darkness in the worlds of creation by a complete appearance means the disappearance of these worlds and their extinction, and no name remains for them nor a shape nor a meaning; rather, nothing remains except Allah the light within which there is no darkness, Allah is greatly above that . •

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Appendix 2
*This appendix is an excerpt from The Book of Monotheism by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh, and comments here are from him pbuh . Some words in the Torah and the Bible, which some people assumed that they mean that the absolute Divinity settles in the worlds of creation by a man, and the clarification of their truth . The Word: In the book of The Divinity of Christ by Shenouda III (The Pope of the Orthodox), Shenouda III said: “‘Chapter One: His divinity in relationship to his position in the Holy Trinity — he is the Logos (the Word) .’ (John 1:1) [In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God], the talk about his divinity is absolutely clear here .” Response: I have clarified in this book* that Jesus pbuh is a worshipper, not an absolute deity . The unmistakable conclusion will be mentioned and from a firm explicit verse of the Gospel .† Hence, this passage and others cannot be interpreted and explained with exaggeration that Jesus pbuh is an absolute divinity as it is proven from the aforementioned that Yeshua pbuh or Jesus pbuh cannot be light without darkness, but he is light and darkness . Thus, he is a creation that is needy and poor to the Absolute Deity swt . The explanation of this passage: [In the beginning was the Word]: the Absolute Deity swt has no beginning in order to say “In the beginning”; rather, the one that was in the beginning was the creation . So, Jesus (Yeshua pbuh) is a creation and this verse shows clearly that he is a creation . Yes, it can be said that the intended here is the first creation or the first intellect and so this matter can be discussed, was Jesus (Yeshua pbuh) the first Word? Or
* . Meaning The Book of Monotheism —Commentator . † . “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father .” Mark 13:32 .

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was Jesus (Yeshua pbuh) one of the words of God that came later after the first Word? [And the Word was with God]: the absolute deity is not a compound reality, and saying it is compound or saying that which necessitates its composition is invalid . Believing that the intended from saying, [And the Word was with God], is that the Word is the absolute deity itself means that the absolute deity is compound . Whereas, believing that the Word is God* — He is it and it is He without differentiation — along with saying that He is not compound, makes this statement foolish and devoid of any wisdom, as there is no sense in saying that the thing is with itself . [And the Word was God]: Here is the object of confusion, and here is the allegory that Shenouda has fallen into just as those before him . And the truth is that after it has been clarified that the Word is a creation and cannot be the absolute deity himself, nothing is left except that God used here is not the absolute deity, but the intended is “God among the creation”, meaning the image of God as mentioned in the Torah or the Old Testament, [26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness .”], [27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him] . Genesis Chapter 1 . Emmanuel or God with us: [7 Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory . And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Emmanuel .” 9 Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered . 10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us .] Isaiah Chapter 8 . Yes, as Allah is with the believing people who support the vicegerent of Allah in every time . [22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the
* . In truth, they do not believe in this . Rather, they believe in the differentiation but due to the greatness of their confusions, sayings and disagreements in attempt to patch the defect in their ideology of the divinity, I had to respond to what they had already said and as well as to what they could possibly say .

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prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel” (which means, God with us) .] Matthew Chapter 1 . The vicegerent of Allah on His earth is the representative of Allah, and if he is the hand of Allah and the face of Allah, then he is Allah among the creation . But he is not an absolute deity, rather a poor and needy creation . And he is not light within which there is no darkness; rather, he is light and darkness . And even if all that was added to the New Testament of letters and acts was accepted, the non-working clerics would still not be able to prove that a human is an absolute deity, except by following what confused them in meaning and by interpreting it according to their desires . Otherwise, it is negated in these letters and acts themselves with that which is explicit and accepts no doubt . And it is clear that Jesus pbuh or Yeshua pbuh is a created worshipper . Moreover, it is negated in the Old Testament that they believe in and in the sayings of all the previous prophets that they claim to believe in . Jesus pbuh (Yeshua) did not claim that he was an absolute deity and neither did the earlier ones . Rather, the matter is new and it came after hundreds of years and was established in the Council of Nicaea on 325 a .d .* And many people opposed it at the time . And since its acknowl* . (The opening of the Council was attended by Emperor Constantine I and the Council of Nicaea held its sessions on the 20th of May, 325 a .d . The Council was held based on instructions from Emperor Constantine I in order to study the differences between Arius and his followers from one side and the Church of Alexandria, represented by Alexander I (the Pope of Alexandria) and his followers from the other side, about the nature of Jesus and whether it is the same nature as the Lord or the humans . Arius denied the divinity of Jesus and believed that there was a time in which Jesus did not exist, and he considered him of high rank among the creation of Allah and from the creation of Allah . He also considered the Holy Spirit to be from the creation of Allah, whereas Pope Alexander of Alexandria emphasized that the nature of Christ is the same nature as Allah and the latter opinion prevailed by the poll which was under the authority of Emperor Constantine who was a supporter of the Pope of Alexandria . And Arius and two of the priests persistently refused to sign . They were then exiled to Illyricum (currently the Balkans) and the books of Arius were burned and his creed was called the “Innovation of Arius” and his followers have been stamped by the title “Enemies of Christianity” until today . And what resulted from the Council of Nicaea was the first presentation of the law of belief in the divinity of Christ by an absolute divinity . And the relationship of the Church and the authority began to form after the Church was a religious entity . And after three centuries of progress in the thinking of the Church and its mixing with surrounding ideas and religions in all directions, including Roman Paganism which was the former religion of Constantine, the Church supported by the Roman emperor became the authority and reference in determining who enters the spectrum of faith and who does not .) These words are almost identical to everything that has been published by the Church and

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historically published about this council . So I do not believe that a fair researcher would ignore that Constantine supported Alexander and established his pagan ideology in Christianity . And after half the Christian priests were supporting Arius, their fear of the anger of Constantine caused them to withdraw . And whoever does not know who Constantine was and how mighty he was and that he killed whoever disagreed with him, even the closest person to him, let him refer to the history of this tyrant who spread the distorted form of Christianity in Europe, and who did not hesitate to kill his family and the people closest to him once they disagreed with him . Whereas you find the priests today overlooking the bloody history of Constantine and portraying him as a meek lamb who held the Council and gave freedom to all who agreed and disagreed with him . Although exiling and oppressing Arius and forbidding his ideology after the Council [was held] is enough to recognize the purpose and goal of holding this council: eradicating Arius and the belief that Christ is a mere creation, and spreading the paganist belief about Christ, and that he is Allah . And this is what was acknowledged in the Council of Nicaea: (Translation of the Greek text: We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father, that is, of the substance [ek tes ousias] of the Father, God of God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten not made, of the same substance with the Father [homoousion to patri], through whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth; who for us men and our salvation descended, was incarnate, and was made man, suffered and rose again the third day, ascended into heaven and cometh to judge the living and the dead . And in the Holy Ghost . Those who say: There was a time when He was not, and He was not before He was begotten; and that He was made out of nothing (ex ouk onton); or who maintain that He is of another hypostasis or another substance [than the Father], or that the Son of God is created, or mutable, or subject to change, [them] the Catholic Church anathematizes . And all of the bishops present signed this creed except for two of them — and perhaps more — in addition of course to Arius and his group .) The Pope of the Orthodox Church in Egypt, Shenouda III, says in his book The Nature of Christ, “Arius used to deny the divinity of Christ and saw that he was less than the Father in essence and that he was a creation . And the roots of Arianism remain established until today even after being denounced by the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea on 325 a .d . After that, Arius and the Arians remained a reason of fatigue, hardship and doubt for the holy Church .” Of course, Shenouda III here criticizes Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Christian creed that started spreading widely in the Christian world and especially in the West . And Jehovah’s Witnesses do not acknowledge many of the deviations of the Church such as the Trinity, and that the Word is God, and other innovations . This proves that speaking of the divinity of Christ is an innovation established in the Council of Nicaea and that half of the attendants in the Council of Nicaea were supporting Arius or they were neutral, and that the belief that Jesus pbuh (Yeshua) was a mere creation was the prevailing and common belief in the time of Arius . And this is a matter acknowledged by the priests in their books and until today: In the book by Bishop Bishoy titled Researches in The Christian Ecumenical Council, (… 4-The Council of Nicaea: 1 . The reasons it was held … B . As for the direct reason why the council was held, it was the innovation of Arius, because the empire almost divided due to that innovation … The Ecumenical Council was held by the command of King Constantine fearing strong division in the empire because of the innovation of Arius . And it was held on 325 a .d in Nicaea with 318 bishops . St . Athanasius, who was a witness and a member of the council, mentioned at the beginning of his speech that sixteen bishops were supporting Arius and twenty-two bishops were supporting Pope Alexander . And the rest of them had not yet determined their position . But at the end of the Council meeting, only two bishops remained supportive of Arius: Secundus and Theonas, who refused to sign the [law of] belief of the council along with the priests who followed them . And in the days of St . Epiphanius, the signatures of the 318

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edgement in the Council of Nicaea until today, there have been Christians who reject it and do not acknowledge this deviation in ideology . God Manifested in the Flesh: This is one of the letters that the non-working clerics use as proof for the deviation they reached and the claim that the absolute deity manifested in the flesh, [1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord .] 1 Timothy Chapter 1 . [16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory .] 1 Timothy Chapter 3 . First: Chapter 1 of 1 Timothy did not give Jesus pbuh except the attribute of lordliness, and there is no problem in giving this attribute to a prophet and a messenger, as they pbut are the lords of people and more worthy of this attribute than a father, who has this attribute, and in relation to his family is called a lord . Moreover, the chapter clarified that the sending does not occur except by the command of Allah swt, and that Jesus is commanded (by Allah) . Therefore, Jesus pbuh is commanded and works by the command of Allah . This means that Allah is higher and more knowledgeable and more capable than him, proving that Jesus pbuh needs one present in Nicaea still existed . This is thanks to St . Athanasius’s explanation of the belief and his refutation of the fabrications of Arius . Here, we see the greatness of the Alexandrian defense in the council . And reaching the decision of the council was not an easy matter, it rather took tremendous effort … 5- The Council of Nicaea: 2 . Arius and his heresies … A time had passed in which almost the entire world was about to be Arian except for Athanasius . At one time, the Emperor deposed the Roman Pope and assigned another in his position to sign the Arian Creed . And when the Pope returned after imprisonment to his throne, he signed the Arian Creed which he had refused to sign before . This is the stage in which only Athanasius and his bishops in Egypt remained firm upon the correct belief . This is why it is not strange that Isaiah the prophet said, “Blessed be Egypt my people .” Isaiah 19:25 . But in many other times, the throne of Rome supported the Alexandrian Pope, like the Popes who lived in the time of Pope Athanasius who supported him . Christianity collapsed throughout the entire world and submitted to the Arian tyranny and only the throne of Alexandria remained, represented by the exiled Alexandrian Pope and his Egyptian priests . And we must follow in the footsteps of our fathers … ) The Ecumenical Christian Councils — “The Ecumenical Councils and Heresies” by Bishop Bishoy .

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other than him and the page of his existence is tainted with imperfection . Otherwise, there is no sense in him being commanded while he is an Absolute and a Perfect, this goes against wisdom . As how can the Absolute and the Perfect benefit from one other than him?! As for what was mentioned in this same letter in Chapter 3, it is supposed to be — after I started with what we have already seen — understood from the manifestation of God in the flesh to be exactly as his manifestation in all the created worlds and His appearance in them and their appearance by Him swt . Yes, there is a uniqueness for this saying here because it means that Jesus represented “the rise of Allah in Mount Seir”, meaning that he is the hand of Allah and the face of Allah and the image of Allah . But he is a created worshipper and not Allah swt . There is a major difference between the truth and the image, exactly like the difference between something and nothing . So Allah, as I clarified previously, manifested in the worlds of creation and appeared in them and caused them to appear . And this does not mean that he settled in them, or that they became an absolute deity, or that some of them can be an absolute deity no matter how great their light is, because they remain a creation and remain a light mixed with darkness . So the highest rank that a human can ascend to is to be Allah among the creation, ﴾whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire . Light upon light .﴿ Surat an-Noor (The Light) 24:35 . It almost glows independently . This is why Abraham pbuh was confused in the beginning, until Allah made him know the truth .* But it never glows independently . And the narration from Allah swt is, ﴾“My sky and my earth did not encompass me, and the heart of my believing servant encompassed me .”﴿† This means that he is the face of Allah and the hand of Allah as mentioned in the Quran, ﴾Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you, [O Muhammad] — they are actually pledging allegiance to Allah . The hand of Allah is over their hands .﴿ Surat al-Fath (The Victory) 48:10, ﴾And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and

* . Read the details in the book of The Allegories . † . Bihar al-Anwar Vol . 55 page 39 .

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Honor .﴿ Surat al-Rahman (The Abundantly Merciful) 55:27, and this is also clear in the aforementioned passages of the Torah and the Gospel . The Son: In the Torah and the Gospel: (My Father, your Father, the Son, the Father, the sons of God) . [4 … the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever .’” 5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!” 6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master . If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name . But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’”] Malachi Chapter 1 . [21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will . 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him .” 23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it .”] Luke Chapter 10 . [1 Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of God, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength . 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness .] Psalms 29 . [1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him . 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted . 5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth . 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied . 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy . 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God . 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God . 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of

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heaven . 11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account . 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you .”] Matthew Chapter 5 . These are the words mentioned in the Torah or the Gospel and they were confusing in some places to the one ignorant of their truth, and they were interpreted by the non-working clerics in order for them to claim that a human was a son of Allah swt or to claim absolute divinity for a human, and they do not in any sense indicate the divinity of a human being an absolute deity . Rather, they all negate the true sonship of any human .* And if a person were to turn to these passages with an open heart, requesting to know the truth like Allah swt Who created him wants, he would see that Jesus pbuh praises Allah and glorifies Him before saying these words . And if the human were to look with the eye of justice, he would know that these words apply to all the prophets and the messengers and successors who were the proofs of Allah upon His creation and His vicegerents on His earth, for each proof from the proofs of Allah is the most knowledgeable of Allah from among the people of his time, thus it is true that he is the one who knows Allah from among the people of his time . It is also true that no one knows the vicegerent of Allah and the proof of Allah like he should be known except Allah who created him, [“and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him .”] This is what you find in the saying of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap to his successor Ali bin Abi Talib pbuh, ﴾“O Ali, no one knew Allah except for me and you . And no one knew me except Allah and you . And no one knew you except Allah and I .”﴿† Also, the human would know the truth that all the creation are the children of Allah swt, as He is merciful toward them like the father is merciful toward his children . Moreover, He is more merciful toward the creation than the mother toward her only child . And, certainly, the sincere ones from the prophets, successors and supporters pbut
* . Just because some of the passages call a group the sons of God, does that make them true sons of God and Gods themselves, like those who consider that the mentioning of Jesus in the Gospel as the Son of God indicates his divinity and true sonship to God? Allah is far above that . † . Mokhtasar Basair al-Darajat page 125 .

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are the most beloved of the creation to Allah swt . Thus they are more worthy of Allah swt being their father in this sense . And because they obeyed Him and did not go against Him swt, like the good son obeys his father and is kind toward him, it is true that they are the children of Allah in this sense . And they are not an absolute deity, but honored worshippers, because they are thankful . ﴾And they say, “The Abundantly Merciful has taken a son .” Exalted is He! Rather, they are honored servants .﴿ Surat al-Anbiya (The Prophets) 21:26 . ﴾If Allah had intended to take a son, He could have chosen from what He creates whatever He willed . Exalted is He; He is Allah , the One, the Conqueror .﴿ Surat azZumar (The Troops) 39:4 . And the Quran clarified that they pbut ﴾whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire . Light upon light .﴿ Surat an-Noor (The Light) 24:35 . This means that they are Allah among the creation, meaning a manifestation of Allah and an image of Allah as mentioned in the narration from them pbut, ﴾“Allah created Adam upon His image .”﴿* [26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness .] Genesis Chapter 1 . And they are not Allah swt . Therefore, looking at them is looking at Allah, and seeing them is seeing Allah, and in the Gospel, [“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God . “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God .”] And in the Quran, you find the same words, ﴾Faces, that Day, will be radiant, Looking at their Lord .﴿ Surat al-Qiyama (The Rising) 75:22-23 . Abu al-Salt al-Harawi narrated from Imam al-Retha pbuh that he said, ﴾“The Prophet pbuhap said, ‘Whoever visited me in my lifetime or after my death has visited Allah swt .’ And the rank of the Prophet pbuhap in heaven is the highest rank, so whoever visited him in his rank in heaven from his own house has visited Allah swt .” Abu al-Salt said, “So I asked him, ‘O son of the Messenger of Allah, what is the meaning of the narration that “the reward of ‘there is no god except Allah’ is looking at the face of Allah swt”?’” He pbuh said, “O Abu al-Salt, whoever describes Allah swt to have a face like the faces commits disbelief . Rather, the face of Allah swt is His prophets and messengers and proofs, may the prayers of Allah be upon them . They are the ones with which one directs to Allah (m) and to His religion and knowledge . And Allah swt said, ﴾Everyone upon the earth will perish,
* . Al-Kafi Vol . 1 page 134 . Al-Tawhid by al-Sadooq page 103 .

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And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor .﴿ Surat al-Rahman (The Abundantly Merciful) 55:26-27, and the Almighty said, ﴾Everything will be destroyed except His Face﴿ .﴿ Surat al-Qasas (The Story) 28:88 .”* The Almighty said, ﴾Say, [O Muhammad], “If the Abundantly Merciful had a son, then I would be the first of worshippers .”﴿ Surat az-Zukhruf (Ornaments of Gold) 43:81 . ﴾Say, [O Muhammad], “If the Abundantly Merciful had a son, then I would be the first of worshippers .”﴿: This means that Muhammad pbuhap is the closest thing to Allah swt, and the first creation that Allah swt created, and the first to worship Allah swt . So if Allah swt were to have a son (Allah is far above that), it would have been Muhammad pbuhap, because they say that the closest of creation to Allah swt is the Son or the Word, so Muhammad pbuhap who says that he is the closest of creation to Allah swt did not say that he was a son who separated from Allah swt, he did not say that he was an absolute deity, he said that he is the servant of Allah and the son of the servant of Allah . ﴾And they say, “The Abundantly Merciful has taken a son .” Exalted is He! Rather, they are honored servants .﴿ Surat al-Anbiya (The Prophets) 21:26 . So whoever searches for the truth must research with accuracy and sincerity in order to reach the truth and save himself from the anger of Allah swt . ﴾88 And they say, “The Abundantly Merciful has taken a son .” 89 You have done an atrocious thing . 90 The heavens almost rupture therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation 91 That they attribute to the Most Merciful a son . 92 And it is not meet for the Most Merciful that He should take a son .﴿ Surat Maryam (Mary) 19:88-92 . The words of Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh end here . And these are passages from The Book of Monotheism under the title “Passages from the Torah and the Gospel proving that Allah is One and Alone and not compound” that I convey to complete the benefit: He pbuh says, “These passages are clear, explicit and evident . It is meaningless to interpret them so that they coincide with passages whose meaning confused the non-working clerics, and they misguided
* . Oyoon Akhbar al-Retha Vol . 2 page 106 .

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the creation of Allah by interpreting them falsely and according to their desires, 1 . Some passages of the Torah (The Old Testament): [Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other .] Deuteronomy 4:39 . [“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one .”] Deuteronomy 6:4 . [“‘See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me”] Deuteronomy 32:39 . [“I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god .”] Isaiah 44:6 . [“I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself”] Isaiah 44:24 . [Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me .] Isaiah 45:21 . [Has not one God created us?] Malachi 2:10 . [“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery . You shall have no other gods before me .”] Exodus 20:2-3 . 2 . Some passages of the Gospel (The New Testament): [And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher . You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him .”] Mark 12:32 . [“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”] John 5:44 . Passages from the letters attached to the Gospel, [Since God is one] Romans 3:30 . [And that “there is no God but one .”] 1 Corinthians 8:4 . [But God is one .] Galatians 3:20 . [For there is one God] 1 Timothy 2:5 . [You believe that God is one; you do well .] James 2:19 . •

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Appendix 3
The Gospel of Judah In the early 1970s in a village in the al-Monya province approximately 300 kilometers south of Cairo, some Egyptian farmers discovered the manuscript of the Gospel of Judah, written in the Coptic language on papyrus paper as a codex . Then the manuscript was exchanged between different hands of merchants of artifacts until it reached the hands of scientists, who worked at compiling it until they came to know what is now called the Gospel of Judah . The document was translated from Coptic to English at the end of 2005, and this translation was released on the 6th of April, 2006, as the Washington Times newspaper announced in its April 7th, 2006 issue that the National Geographic Association unveiled one of the archaeological manuscripts or gospels which dates back to the beginning of the 3rd century a .d . And for the purpose of documenting, maintaining and translating the manuscript, the National Geographic Society cooperated with the Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art and Waitt Institute for Historical Discovery, and contracted with the Swiss scientist Rodolphe Kasser, who is one of the greatest scientists in Coptic studies, to restore, write, copy and translate the text in the manuscript . And indeed, the scientific committees and the experts documented the manuscript and confirmed its age by using the most modern methods and tools of inspection such as: Carbon test to determine the age of Papyrus paper: Samples of the papyrus paper were taken and put through tests of radiocarbon (Carbon-14) at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and the results confirmed that the manuscript dates between 220 and 340 a .d . This was also stated by Tim Jull, the manager of the Arizona Radiocarbon Dating lab, and also by the expert of scientific research, Greg Hodings . Ink Analysis: The McCrone Associates Incorporated, which specializes in ink analysis, performed a test of ink permeability on samples of the ink

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used for writing the Gospel of Judah . This was done by using Transmission Electron Microscopy tem, and in its report, the corporation announced that the ink’s elements and components were identical to the elements used to manufacture ink used in the 3rd and 4rd centuries a .d . Moreover, other analyses using Raman Spectroscopy revealed that the ink which was used contained a yellow mineral substance similar to the substance used in the ink of the 3rd century a .d . Spectral Imaging: Samples of the document were put through multispectral imaging at the Brigham Young University of Switzerland multispectral imaging laboratory . And the analyses conducted on the papyrus plant, upon which the Gospel of Judah was written, revealed that the papyrus had the same result from these tests as ancient papyrus . Moreover, samples of the ink were submitted to multispectral imaging, and the results were identical to those of the ink with the yellow mineral substance and the carbonic inks used in the 3rd and 4th centuries a .d . And as clarified from the results of the other tests, whether physical or of text, the results of the multispectral imaging revealed that this document is a genuine Egyptian document, which dates back to the 3rd or 4th century . Analysis of the textual content and semantics of the Gospel of Judah: Three of the major scientists (historian Rodolphe Kasser, former professor at the University of Geneva and the Head of the Translation Committee of the manuscripts found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945; Marvin Mayer, the scientist specialized in Gospel studies at Chapman University in Orange California; and Stephen Emmel, professor of Coptology at Munster University in Germany) analyzed the textual context and semantics of the Gospel of Judah, and these scientists agreed that the divine concepts and lingual structures in the Gospel of Judah are similar to what the manuscripts of Nag Hammadi contain, thus these large collections of manuscripts and texts which have been discovered at Nag Hammadi go back to the same time period in which the Gospel of Judah was written . And Stephen Emmel made a statement regarding the possibility of innovating such a document by saying, “I do not have the smallest doubt that this manuscript is an authentic Egyptian work and an ancient artifact which contains

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original and ancient facts that date back to the era of the ancient original apocryphal writings .” Paleography and Analysis of the Handwriting of the Manuscript: Stephen Emmel, professor of Coptic studies at Germany’s University of Munster, analyzed the Gospel of Judah and submitted the following assessment: “The kind of writing reminds me very much of the Nag Hammadi codices,” he wrote, referring to a famed collection of ancient manuscripts . “It is not identical script with any of them, but it is a similar type of script, and since we date the Nag Hammadi codices to roughly the second half of the fourth century or the first part of the fifth century, my immediate inclination would be to say that the Gospel of Judah was written by a scribe in that same period, let’s say around the year 400 .” Emmel says a modern forger would not be able to duplicate such a document . “One would not only have to have genuine material — papyrus — and not simply any papyrus, but ancient papyrus,” he said, “one would also have to know how to imitate Coptic script from a very early period . The number of specialists in Coptic that know that in the world is very small .” “You would also have to compose a passage in Coptic that is grammatically correct and convincing . The number of people who could do that is even smaller than the number who could read Coptic,” Emmel added .* And these are some of the statements of Christian clerics about the Gospel of Judah,† Terry Garcia, an executive vice president of the National Geographic Society, said that religious historians consider the gospel to be the most significant ancient, non-biblical manuscript to be found in the past 60 years . It has been given a battery of tests to prove its authenticity, including radiocarbon dating, analysis of the ink used, multispectral imaging, and analysis of the script and linguistic style . Garcia

* . For more information http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2006/05/judasgospel/cockburn-text † . Reference: http://www.religioustolerance.org/gospj4.htm

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said, “The codex has been authenticated as a genuine work of ancient Christian apocryphal literature .” Elaine Pagels, a professor at Princeton University and well-known author of a number of books on Gnostic Christianity, wrote in a statement, “These discoveries are exploding the myth of a monolithic religion, and demonstrating how diverse — and fascinating — the early Christian movement really was .” The Waitt Institute for Historical Discovery, gave a grant of over one million dollars to the National Geographic Society to restore, preserve, and make the manuscript available to the public . Ted Waitt said, “I didn’t know a whole lot, until I got into this, about the early days of Christianity . It was just extremely fascinating to me … You can potentially question the translation and the interpretation, he said, but you can’t fake something like this . It would be impossible .” Karen L . King, a professor at Harvard Divinity School and author of other books on Gnostic Christianity said, “You can see how early Christians could say if Jesus’s death was all part of God’s plan, then Judas’s betrayal was part of God’s plan . So what does that make Judas? Is he the betrayer, or the facilitator of salvation, the guy who makes the crucifixion possible?” And the clerics of the Church should have done as Karen L . King has done and not less, and maintain at least the possibility that the Judah crucified in the Gospel of Judah is another person and not Judas Iscariot, so that this possibility would invite them to research the issue scientifically instead of making their delusions a justification for rejecting the Gospel of Judah . And it is clear that this is a method far from credibility and scientific integrity . •

Appendix 4
*This appendix is the text of an answer by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh mentioned in The Book of Monotheism, and was mentioned here briefly . In clarifying the sacrifice and the cornerstone The entire religion of Allah is almost one matter by which the creation of the earthly human was initiated; Allah swt mentioned it in His saying: ﴾I am making upon the earth a vicegerent﴿ Surat al-Baqara (The Cow) 2:30, and the entire Quran is in al-Fatiha and al-Fatiha is in the Basmalah [Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem] and the Basmalah is in the Ba (‫ )ه‬and the Ba (‫ )ه‬is in the dot and the dot is Ali pbuh . The Prince of Believers said, “I am the dot .” And what was the Prince of Believers Ali pbuh besides the vicegerent of Allah on His earth?! Therefore the dot, the Basmalah, al-Fatiha, the Quran and the entire religion is the vicegerent of Allah on His earth . And the Quran and the entire religion are the pledge and the covenant taken from the worshippers to obey the vicegerents of Allah, and Allah placed it in the foundation stone or the black stone or the cornerstone or the stone taken from Muhammad pbuhap to demolish the reign of Satan and tyranny, and this stone was mentioned in the divine books and the narrations . And when Quraysh disagreed about who would carry the stone they knew that this stone was indicative of a great matter and for this reason they disagreed about who would carry it, and the will of Allah was for Muhammad pbuhap to be the one to carry the stone and place it in its position in order for the sign of Allah to be complete, and His indication swt that the Riser of truth and the servant, the one in whom Allah placed the pledge and the allegiance, the Riser who is indicated by the stone, will come from Muhammad pbuhap who carried the stone . Saeed bin Abdullah al-Araj said that Imam Abu Abdullah pbuh said, ﴾“Quraysh at the days of ignorance [al-Jahiliyya]* demolished the House, so when they wanted to build it, something prevented them and horror was cast upon them until one from among them said, ‘Let
* . The Days of Ignorance are the time which preceded Islam, especially as it refers to the pagan culture present in the Middle East prior to the rise of Islam . —Trans .

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each man from you bring his finest money and do not bring money which you earned by haram or by severing family ties .’ So they did so and the way for building it was made clear so they built it until they reached the place of the black stone, and they quarrelled about it and about which one of them shall put the black stone in its place until evil had almost spread among them, so they decided that the first one to enter the door of the mosque would be the judge, and the Messenger of Allah pbuhap entered . So when he came to them he requested a robe, he laid it flat and then placed the stone in its center, and the tribes took the sides of the robe and lifted it and then he pbuhap took it and put it in its place, thus Allah made it specifically for him .”﴿ Al-Kafi Vol . 4 page 217 . So Muhammad pbuhap carried the black stone, and this is an indication that the “Riser” and the “Bearer of Sin” and the “Bearer of the Black Banner” which indicates sin will come from Muhammad pbuhap . Moreover, Muhammad pbuhap is the one who carries him in his back because he is bestowed within Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad pbuhap; and for such the real “Bearer of Sin” is the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap . As for the black color with which Allah wanted to cover this stone, it indicates the guilts of the servants and it reminds them of their sins so they would perhaps repent and ask forgiveness while they are in the House of Allah, and it is the same color as the black banners of the Riser of Truth . Thus, the black banners indicate the stone and the stone indicates them . And they both, by their black color, indicate the sin of breaking the pledge and the covenant taken from the creation in al-Thar . Also, they indicate the trouble that the Bearer of this Sin tolerates, and the Bearer of the Black Banner which indicates the sin, the servant who was entrusted with the Book of the Pledge and the Covenant, and he is the black stone and he is the Riser of the progeny of Muhammad . And the stone is connected to the issue of sacrifice existent in the divine religion and along the blessed journey of this religion, as the religion of Allah is one because it is from One . And sacrifice appeared in Islam in the most clear form through al-Hussein pbuh, and before Islam you find the sacrifice in the Hanafi religion of Abraham pbuh through Ishmael, and you also find it through Abdullah, the father of the Messenger Muhammad pbuhap . You also find it in Judaism, the

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religion of Moses pbuh, through John son of Zachariah, and you find it in Christianity through the crucified one . And regardless of the fact that the Christians imagine that the crucified one is Jesus pbuh himself, they believe that the crucified one is the bearer of sin, and it does not mean that their beliefs come from complete nothingness, even if there is distortion within them, neither does it mean that they they have no origin in the religion of Allah swt from which they were distorted; rather, many of the distorted beliefs are in fact based on a religious origin taken by the non-working clerics of misguidance who distorted it and built upon it a corrupt belief . So the issue that the messengers bear some of the sins of their nations in order to take the nation as a whole to Allah is existent in the religion of Allah, and it did not come from nothing . And you can refer to the passages of the Torah for instance to see that Moses pbuh bore extra trouble due to the sins his people committed . And the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap bore the sins of the believers . The Almighty said, ﴾That Allah may forgive for you what preceded of your guilt and what will follow and complete His favor upon you and guide you to a straight path﴿ . Surat al-Fath (The Victory) 48:2 . And its interpretation by the apparent: that he bore the sins of his nation and Allah forgave them for him . Omar bin Yazeed Biyaa alSabiri said, ﴾“I asked Abu Abdullah pbuh about the saying of Allah in His book, ﴾That Allah may forgive for you what preceded of your guilt and what will follow﴿, and he said, “He did not have a sin, nor a concern about a sin, but Allah caused him to bear the sins of his followers and then forgave them for him .”﴿* And the messengers’ bearing of the sins of their nations does not mean that they bear the sin of breaking the pledge and the covenant on behalf of the rejectors of the vicegerents of Allah who die upon this rejection . They rather bear the sin of he who neglected remembering the pledge and the allegiance and broke it for a period of time in this worldly life . Also, their bearing of the sins of their nations does not mean that they become people of sin on behalf of their nations, it rather means that they bear additional weight and trouble in conveying their messages to the people in this world . And this of course is by their own desire because they are the ones
* . Tafseer al-Qummi Vol . 2 page 314 .

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who request this, as the father who is merciful to his children bears the results of their mistakes in many instances, even if they caused him trouble and hardship and perhaps pains and to be killed for the sake of Allah, as is the case for al-Hussain pbuh . And this is because the father hopes for the righteousness of his children in the end, and perhaps many do not remember the pledge until the blood of their father, the supporter of Allah, is spilled; so it causes them to remember the pledge and the covenant . For this reason, you find that al-Hussein pbuh, whom Allah wished to make a reason for a great number of the creation to remember, had left the pilgrimage and was pressing forward with his footsteps to the place of his slaughter pbuh . As for the relation of the stone to the sin of Adam pbuh, the Imams pbut provided clarification of this matter, even if it was previously hidden from the people due to a reason Allah swt wished for; rather, the relation of the stone to the sins of the creation, as well, is something they have clarified . And the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap clarified this matter most clearly by action when he kissed the stone, but it is a clarification for those who have hearts and recognize the actions of Muhammad pbuhap the wise who applies wisdom, unlike Omar bin al-Khattab who states that he does not understand why the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap kissed the stone . And he states that his soul and his truth does not accept kissing the stone, but he only does it because he saw the Messenger of Allah pbuhap do it in front of thousands of Muslims, and he cannot go against Muhammad pbuhap because he claims that he is Muhammad’s vicegerent, so he stultifies the act of Muhammad pbuhap and does it forcefully . So what kind of deceit is this?! Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad narrated that Omar came to the stone and kissed it and said, “I verily know that you are a stone which does not harm nor benefit, and if I had not seen the Messenger of Allah pbuh kiss you, I would not have kissed you .” And Ahmad narrated from Suwaid bin Ghafla that he said, “I saw Omar kissing the stone and saying, “I know that you are a stone that does not harm nor benefit, but I saw Muhammad pbuh handle you with sincere care .” So when Omar bin al-Khattab kissed the stone, he stated that he hates this act and that he denies it and that he underestimates this stone and the fact that it is the witness over the worshippers to fulfill

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the pledge and the covenant taken from them in al-Thar . ﴾And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam — from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], “Am I not your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we have testified .” [This] — lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, “Indeed, we were of this unaware .”﴿ Surat al-Araf (The Heights) 7:172 . And this is a clear sign to those who have hearts with which they realize, that Omar bin al-Khattab is a denier of the pledge and the allegiance taken . Therefore, his soul abhors the witnessing stone, consequently Omar tries to deny that the stone is a real witness, so Omar bin al-Khattab addresses the witnessing stone and the stone of foundation and the black stone by saying, “I know that you are a stone that does not harm nor benefit .” And since the people who surrounded Omar in this situation saw that the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap showed sincere caring for this stone and was very concerned about it and he kissed this stone and prostrated on it, rather they themselves inherited from the Hanafi religion of Abraham pbuh sanctification of this stone and care for it, for this reason Omar rectified his saying with his action, so he kissed the stone, but after what?! After Omar stultified kissing the black stone saying it is a stone that does not harm nor benefit, thus there is no wisdom in kissing it . Therefore, by his saying and action Omar wanted to marginalize the black stone and negate that it is a witness, and make Muhammad’s kissing of the stone and his prostration on it an ambiguous matter which is not understood and is devoid of wisdom . The truth is that if the black stone did not harm nor benefit, the act of the Messenger of Allah pbuhap would be devoid of wisdom, and he is far above that . And the act of the Messenger of Allah pbuhap cannot have meaning or be wise if this stone did not harm or benefit by the permission of Allah, His strength and might swt . Therefore, the will of Allah is to show the stance that Omar withholds toward the stone or the servant assigned with the pledge and the covenant or the Riser of the progeny of Muhammad . And exalted is Allah, no human being withholds evil without Allah showing it with the slips of his tongue . And the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap clarified the importance of the black stone and its virtue by his sayings and actions,

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and it is enough for you to know that the Messenger of Allah pbuhap kissed it and prostrated upon it, and the Messenger of Allah pbuhap did not prostrate upon any part of the Kaaba besides the black stone, and the greatness of this matter and its importance reached to the point that the Messenger of Allah pbuhap said, ﴾“Receive the corner, as it is the right hand of Allah within His creation, with it He shakes hands with His creation, the handshake of a servant or a foreigner and it testifies that those who receive it fulfill the pledge .”﴿* And the intended by the corner is the black stone because it is placed within the corner . And the Imams pbut followed the way of the Messenger of Allah pbuhap in clarifying the importance of the stone by their sayings and actions, so they clarified that the stone is the “Bearer of the Book of the Pledge and the Covenant”, and that Adam cried for forty days and formed an assembly for crying by the stone to atone for his sin of breaking the pledge . ﴾And We had already taken a pledge from Adam before, but he forgot; and We found not in him intense ability .﴿ Surat Ta Ha (‫ . 511:02 )هه‬And the stone was an illuminating white pearl but it turned black on the earth due to the sins of the servants . So these blessed words and actions which they have repeated several times in front of their companions are all an emphasis and a clarification of the importance of the black stone and of the relation of the stone to the first sin, rather to the sins throughout the journey of mankind on this earth … And the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap entered the House of Allah so he started with the stone and sealed with the stone . And he commanded his companions to make receiving the stone their last act at the House . Moreover, it is favored that the stone is received in every circumambulation . And touching the stone causes forgiveness of sins and guilt . Also, the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap prostrated on the black stone and put his forehead on it after he kissed it . So what would you understand from this other than that this stone is the most important thing about the House? Abdullah bin Sinan said that Imam Abu Abdullah pbuh said, ﴾“So when the Messenger of Allah pbuhap reached the door of the mosque he received the Kaaba and praised Allah and prayed upon his father Abraham then went to the stone and received it, so when he circumam* . Al-Mahasin Vol . 1 page 65 .

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bulated the House he prayed two rakats behind the station of Abraham pbuh and he entered Zamzam and drank from it then said, “O Allah I ask you for beneficial knowledge and extensive provision and healing from every disease and illness .” He continued saying this while facing the Kaaba, and then said to his companions, “Let the last of your acts in the Kaaba be receiving the stone,” so he received it and then went to al-Safa .”﴿ .* And al-Bahiqi narrated that Ibn Abbas said, “I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah be satisfied with him) prostrate upon the stone .” And a very important matter must be noted which is that Messenger of Allah pbuhap made a sunna the two rakats of circumambulation at the station of Abraham, and the Messenger of Allah pbuhap and the Imams pbut used to pray at the station of Abraham pbuh, and he who stands at the station of Abraham pbuh during his prayer will have the black stone between his hands and in his direction of prayer, and this shows with complete clarity that this verse applies to the Riser of the progeny of Muhammad or the Joseph of the progeny of Muhammad or the black stone . ﴾When Joseph said to his father, “O my father, indeed I have seen eleven stars and the Sun and the Moon; I saw them prostrating to me .”﴿ Surat Yusuf (Joseph) 12:4 . And I have previously clarified the meaning of this prostration when I clarified the interpretation of this verse in reference to Imam al-Mahdi pbuh; but the prostration here, when interpreted in reference to the Riser, is to both Fatima and the secret bestowed within her, exactly as that the prostration is to the Kaaba and the black stone bestowed within it, so here the Sun would be Muhammad pbuhap and the Moon would be Ali pbuh and the eleven planets would be the Imams pbut from the children of Ali pbuh and Fatima pbuh, and they are al-Hassan, al-Hussain, Ali, Muhammad, Jafar, Musa, Ali, Muhammad, Ali, al-Hassan and Muhammad, and their prostration means that they pave the way for the Riser and for establishing justice and being just toward the oppressed, and specifically taking the right of the woman who suffered the first and greatest injustice since Allah created the creation and until the Hour rises . As for the prostration of the rest of the creation from among those who were obligated to prostrate to the Kaaba and therefore to the black
* . Al-Kafi Vol . 4 page 249 .

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stone, it is like a clear sign and a clarification that they all pave the way for the Riser whether they wish to or not . The Almighty said, ﴾Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, and the Sun, the Moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the moving creations and many of the people? But upon many the punishment has been justified . And he whom Allah humiliates — for him there is no bestower of honor . Indeed, Allah does what He wills .﴿ Surat al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage) 22:18 . So everyone paves the way for the Inheritor or the Riser whether they wish to or not, so the Sun and the Moon and the stars pave the way for the Riser, as well as those upon whom the punishment is justified, and each to his own extent . So the movement of the creation and their general journey is a paving for the Riser who gives justice to the oppressed ones, although most of the creation do not know this . This is just like their circumambulation around the Kaaba and the black stone bestowed within it; they barely know anything about their circumambulation . As for the previous religions, the stone was also mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel: [42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits . 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him .”] Matthew Chapter 21 . So the stone that Jesus pbuh talked about is in a nation other than the one he was addressing, so the Kingdom of Heaven is taken from the nation which Jesus pbuh addressed, who are the Children of Israel and those who believed in Jesus pbuh, because by his words he was addressing his students who believed in him and other people as well, and it is given to the nation that is connected to the stone which applies the fruits of the Kingdom of Heaven; so the words of Jesus pbuh are absolutely clear, showing the virtue of the cornerstone and that the Kingdom of Heaven will eventually be taken from those who claim to follow Jesus and be given to the nation of the stone and they are the nation of Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, so Jesus pbuh

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wisely connected the stone to the nation that is in the end given the Kingdom of Heaven . Moreover: he countered this nation by the Children of Israel and those who claim to follow him and he showed them that they will not have the Kingdom of Heaven in the end, so Jesus pbuh made the stone the reason why the Kingdom of Heaven is given to a nation other than the one claiming to follow Moses pbuh and Jesus pbuh; meaning that the one who testifies that they fulfilled the pledge and the allegiance is the stone, and those who support him are those who inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, whether in this earth by establishing the supremacy of Allah or in the skies when Allah reveals His kingdom to them and lets them see it, or in the end when Allah houses them in the paradises in the Kingdom of Heavens . And whoever wants to interpret these words in another form and say that Jesus pbuh meant himself by these words and insists on this interpretation, then he is being fallacious and is not requesting to know the truth, otherwise let him read the origin of the saying and it is from David pbuh in the Psalms, so the Jews can also say that David meant himself, and so on, the argumentation does not end . But the truth is that David pbuh and Jesus pbuh meant the Savior who comes in the name of the Lord in the end times, and Jesus pbuh promised of him in other places of the Gospel and named him the Comforter and the Wise Worshipper, and here he has named him the cornerstone . So the question is: Who was known or can be known as the cornerstone? Were David or Jesus pbut known to be the cornerstone in the house of the Lord? Or were they mentioned in another place to be the cornerstone in the house of the Lord? And is there a stone placed in the corner of the house of the Lord or the Temple that indicates David or Jesus pbut? The truth is that there is no such thing, but there is such a thing in the other nation from the children of Abraham pbuh and in the house of the Lord built by Abraham pbuh and his son Ishmael pbuh, and it exists in the corner, and in particular the corner named the Iraqi corner; and all these matters indicate one thing, which is the Savior who comes at the end times or the one who was referred to by David in the Psalms to be the cornerstone and the one who comes in the name of the Lord . [19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through

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them and give thanks to the Lord . 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it . 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation . 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone . 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes . 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it . 25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord .] Psalms 118 . And to emphasize further that the one intended by the cornerstone in the Torah and the Gospel is the Savior who comes in the end times and in Iraq and is the Riser of truth, I mention this vision seen by the King of Iraq at the time of prophet Daniel pbuh, and it was interpreted by prophet Daniel pbuh and it almost needs no clarification: And this is the saying of Daniel pbuh to the king of Iraq, and he is telling him his vision and its interpretation as it is in the present Torah: [31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image . This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening . 32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay . 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces . 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found . But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth . 36 “This was the dream . Now we will tell the king its interpretation . 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all — you are the head of gold . 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth . 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things . And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these . 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided

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kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay . 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle . 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay . 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people . It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold . A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this . The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure .”] Daniel Chapter 2 . Therefore, the stone or the Savior, who demolishes the structure of falsehood and the rule of the tyranny and Satan upon this earth, and in whose sovereignty there is spreading of truth and justice in the earth, comes in the end times and comes in Iraq as is clear from the vision of Daniel, and he is the stone who destroys the idol or the rule of the tyrant and the “I”; whereas, neither Jesus pbuh or David pbuh were sent in Iraq and in the end times, so neither of them can be the cornerstone mentioned; rather, it is shown clearly from all the above that the cornerstone in Judaism and Christianity is the same as the black stone placed in the corner of the sacred House of Allah in Mecca . And the black stone placed in the corner of the House of Allah, which is a manifestation and a symbol of the one assigned to the pledge and the covenant, is the same cornerstone which David and Jesus pbut mentioned, and it is the same stone which demolishes the government of tyranny in the Book of Daniel pbuh, and it is the same Riser of the progeny of Muhammad or the first Mahdi who comes in the end times like narrated by the Messenger of Allah pbuhap and his progeny pbut . •

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Appendix 5
*This appendix is an excerpt from the book of The Allegories Vol . 4, by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh . The story of Jesus and how another was made to resemble him to them . Question 179: What is the story of Jesus pbuh? And how was another made to resemble him to them? The Almighty said: ﴾And their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Christ, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them . And indeed, those who disagree upon it are in doubt about it . They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption . And they did not kill him, for certain﴿ . Surat an-Nisa (The Women) 4:157 . Answer: In the name of Allah, the Abundantly Merciful, the Intensely Merciful . Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may the prayers and blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad and his progeny, the Imams and the Mahdis . Jesus pbuh in the night in which he was raised arranged to meet his disciples, so they were all present with him except for Judas who guided the Jews’ clerics to Jesus pbuh, for he went to the highest cleric of the Jews and traded Jesus pbuh in to him . And it was after midnight that the disciples slept and Jesus pbuh remained so Allah raised him and sent down his look-alike who was crucified and killed, so he was an armor and a sacrifice to him, and this look-alike is from the successors from the progeny of Muhammad pbut; he was crucified and killed and he tolerated the torment for the cause of Imam al-Mahdi pbuh . And Jesus pbuh was not crucified or killed; rather, he was raised so Allah saved him from the hands of the Jews and their misguided and misguiding clerics (may Allah curse them) . The Almighty said, ﴾and their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Christ, Jesus, the son of Mary,

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the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them .﴿ In the interpretation of Ali bin Ibrahim, Abu Jafar pbuh said, ﴾“Jesus pbuh called his companions to meet him the night Allah raised him to Him, so they gathered in the evening, and they were twelve men; and he made them enter a house and then appeared to them from a spring at the corner of the house, shaking the water off his head . So he said, “Allah is raising me to him in this hour and he is purifying me from the Jews . So upon which one of you will my resemblance be cast so he will be killed and crucified and join me in my rank?” So a young man from among them said, “I, O Spirit of Allah .” He said, “Then it shall be you .” The Jews then came searching for Jesus pbuh … and they took the young man upon whom the ghost of Jesus pbuh was cast, and he was killed and crucified .”﴿ .* So Imam al-Baqir pbuh is saying “twelve men had gathered,” whereas the ones who came from the disciples were eleven, as Judas did not come, he rather went to the clerics of the Jews to turn in Jesus pbuh, and this is from the frequently mentioned matters that are not denied, so the twelfth one who came, or say was sent down from the sky, is the successor from the progeny of Muhammad pbut who was crucified and killed after he was made similar to the image of Jesus pbuh . And the last words of this successor at his crucifixion were, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” And in the Gospel of Matthew: [46 Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah” … 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him .” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit . 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom . And the earth shook, and the rocks were split .] Matthew Chapter 27 . And the truth is that the translation of the words he said are: “O Ali, O Ali, why did you send me down” and the Christians translate it as “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” as it is clear for you from the previous passage from the Gospel . And descent and casting down onto the earth from the sky is close to forsaking . And this successor did not say these words due to his ig* . Tafseer A-Qummi Vol . 1 page 103 .

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norance of the reason of the descent or due to his objection to the command of Allah swt, rather they are a question that holds its answer; he addressed this question to the people meaning: Understand and know why I came down and why I was crucified and why I was killed so that you may not fail the test once again if the same question is repeated . So if you see the Romans (or their likes) occupying the earth, and the clerics of the Jews (or their likes) making truces with them, then I shall be on that earth, for this is the way of Allah that repeats itself, so learn your lesson and support me if I came and do not participate once again in my crucifixion and my killing . He wanted to say in answer to the question that is clear for every intelligent one of pure nature: I was crucified and I tolerated the torment and the insults of the clerics of the Jews and I was killed for the sake of the Minor Resurrection, the resurrection of Imam al-Mahdi pbuh and the State of Divine Justice and Truth upon this earth . And when the clerics of the Jews and the Roman ruler asked this successor, “Are you the king of the Jews?” he would answer, “You have said so” or “They say” or “You say”, and he did not say yes, a strange answer for the one who does not know the truth, but it is now clarified . So he did not say “yes” because he is not the king of the Jews rather Jesus pbuh is, he whom Allah raised . And he is is the look-alike who came down to be crucified and be killed instead of Jesus pbuh . And this is the passage of his answer from the Gospel after he had been arrested: [63 The high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God .” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so … ”] Matthew Chapter 26 . [11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so .”] Matthew Chapter 27 . [2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so .”] Mark Chapter 15 . [70 So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am .”] Luke Chapter 22 . [33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pi-

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late answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me . What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world . If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews . But my kingdom is not from the world .” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king . For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth . Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice .”] John Chapter 18 . And in this last passage the successor clarified that he was not from the people of the earth at that time, he rather descended to it to accomplish a task, which is to be sacrificed for Jesus pbuh, as you find that this successor says, “My kingdom is not of this world”, “But my kingdom is not from the world”, and “I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth .” The Messenger of Allah pbuhap said, ﴾“Jesus son of Mary pbuh descends at the early morning between two yellow robes of saffron, he is of a white body, blonde and parted hair, it is as if his head drips with oil, in his hand is a spear, he breaks the cross and kills the pig and destroys the dajjal and collects the money of the Riser and the People of the Cave walk behind him, and he is the right-hand minister of the Riser, his trustee and his deputy, and he spreads security in the West and in the East due to the favor of the Proof Muhammad bin AlHassan pbuh .”﴿ .* And the Prince of Believers Ali bin Abi Talib pbuh said, ﴾“And the home of sovereignty returns to Iraq and things become matters of elections, he who prevails in order to do something will do it . At that time will be the emergence of the Sufyani, so he rides on the earth for nine months, spreading the worst torments . So woe to Egypt and woe to Iraq and woe to al-Kufa and woe to Wasit,† it is as if I am looking at it and no one in it is alive to tell about what happened, and then will be the emergence of the Sufyani, and food and rain lessen and the people suffer from drought, so no soil is fertile and no sky gives rain, and then

* . Ghayat al-Maram by Hashim al-Bahrani Vol . 7 page 93 . † . A province in Eastern Iraq .

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the guided and guiding Mahdi emerges who takes the banner from the hand of Jesus son of Mary .”﴿ .* And there are many narrations that prove that Jesus pbuh was not crucified or killed; rather, the one crucified and killed was the one resembling Jesus pbuh . Abu Abdullah pbuh said, ﴾“Jesus son of Mary pbuh was raised with an armor of wool woven by Mary and sewn by Mary, so when he reached the sky it was called, ‘O Jesus son of Mary, cast away the ornaments of the worldly life .’”﴿ .† Imam al-Retha pbuh said, ﴾“No matter of the prophets of Allah and His proofs pbut was made allegorical to the people other than the matter of Jesus son of Mary pbuh alone, because he was raised from the earth alive and his spirit was ceased between the sky and the earth, then he was lifted to the sky and his spirit was returned to him and that is the saying of the Almighty, ﴾when Allah said, “O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself .”﴿﴿ Surat Aal-e-Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:55 . And the Prophet pbuhap said, ﴾“Jesus pbuh did not die and he will return to you before the Day of Resurrection .”﴿ .‡ And note that Jesus is a sent prophet, and he requested from Allah swt that he be spared and have the crucifixion, the torment, and the killing be taken away from him . And Allah swt does not reject the supplication of a sent prophet, so Allah answered him and raised him, and the successor was sent down, he who was crucified and killed on his behalf . And in the Gospel there are many passages which mention the supplication of Jesus pbuh that the crucifixion and the killing be taken away from him . [39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will .”] Matthew Chapter 26 . [35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him . 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you . Remove this cup from me . Yet not what I will, but what you will .”] Mark Chapter 14 . [41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt
* . Al-Malahim wal Fitan by bin Tawoos al-Hassani page 134 . † . Qisas al-Anbiya by al-Jazairi, page 474 . ‡ . Bihar al-Anwar Vol . 14 page 344 .

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down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me . Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done .”] Luke Chapter 22 . And in the Torah in Isaiah, and in the Gospel in Acts Chapter 8, there is this passage: [32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth .] And all the sent prophets and the successors spoke, none of them went to the slaughter in silence; they were rather sent in order to speak, convict and preach to the people, and how very much has Jesus pbuh in particular convicted the clerics and the people, and how very much has he preached to them, so that he went to the slaughter in silence would not apply to him . Rather, this one who went to the slaughter in silence is the successor (the look-alike of Jesus pbuh) who was crucified and killed without speaking or requesting from Allah that the torment and the crucifixion and the killing be taken away from him, and without speaking to the people . Rather, if they had persisted on him and asked him persistently who are you, are you the Christ, he would not answer them except with one word, “You have said so .” So he went to the torment, crucifixion and killing silent and content with the command of Allah, carrying out what he was sent down for, which is to be crucified and killed instead of Jesus pbuh . And because it was originally not his time to be sent and to inform the people and speak with them, he went like that, like a sheep led to slaughter, like a lamb silent before the one butchering him . As it was, he did not open his mouth . I hope that every believer who wants to know the truth benefits from this situation, as this human came down to the earth and was crucified and killed while no one knows . He did not request that he be remembered or that he be known . He came down in silence, was crucified in silence and was killed in silence, and he went up to his Lord in silence . So if you wish to be like this, be like this . •

Appendix 6
*This is an appendix that I prepared with what I had learned from the words of the 13th Disciple and Successor, Imam Ahmad al-Hassan . (Commentator) The Friday on which the 13th Disciple was crucified (Friday the 13th) . Friday the 13th of April, 2012 occurred a few months ago, and it is called Black Friday by a great number of Christians, namely the Orthodox . And in general, whoever views the journey of millions of humans today and of previous times shall find that the Friday that occurs on the 13th of the month is considered a bad omen, and on this day they behave in an unusual manner in that they do not travel or shop, so what is the story of the people concerning this international phenomenon? And before exploring the answer from the words of the disciple Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh, we should consider the outlook of the people concerning it: For Westerners, they generally consider a Friday that occurs on the 13th to be a bad omen, and their fear of the day is quite strange . According to Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute of Asheville, North Carolina, this phobia affects up to twenty-one million people in the United States . Symptoms range from mild anxiety to panic attacks, and people may reshuffle schedules or miss an entire day of work due to their fear of this day .* And according to Dossey, it has been estimated that over USD 800 million is lost is business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do . Moreover, a great percentage of skyscrapers and hotels in the United States skip the 13th floor and jump from 12 to 14 . And sometimes the number 13 is replaced with 12A . And in hospitals, there commonly is no room that carries the number 13 . As for airports, many of them skip the 13th gate . So what is the truth concerning this phenomenon (the sadness of

* . http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/07/120713-friday-the-13th-superstitions-triskaidekaphobia-third-maximum/

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people on Friday the 13th) and what is the reason behind the deep sorrow and grief on this day? First, let us consider examples of the days of sadness to the Muslims; for instance, we mention the 10th of Muharram, which is the day of the martyrdom of al-Hussain pbuh, the vicegerent of Allah on His earth and the beloved of His chosen prophet pbuhap, and it has been narrated from the progeny of Muhammad that it is a day of sadness and on that they advised the people not to be preoccupied with the matters of this world . A similar sadness is found upon remembering the killing of John son of Zachariah, the prophet of Allah pbuh, and the detachment of his head from his noble body . So what happened on Friday the 13th that was similar to what happened on the 10th of Muharram and similar to the killing of John son of Zachariah? And was that day also covered with the blood of a vicegerent from the vicegerents of Allah, so that it would cause sadness to prevail within the heart of a person, as the blood of his father was spilled on the earth of corruption and disobedience? I do not believe that the answer remains hidden from the reader, as the number 13 became a clear matter in all religions . In regards to the Muslims, we find it connected to the 13th Successor from among the successors of Muhammad pbuhap mentioned in his sacred will, and he is the successor Ahmad . And in regards to the Christians, it is connected to the 13th Disciple, to the slaughtered sheep who was centered among the twenty-four elders and the one on the throne as in the visions of John the Divine, so their total is twenty-five elders (the Messenger of Allah Muhammad pbuhap + the twelve Imams and the twelve Mahdis) and the one who is centered among them is the 13th Successor . And in the words of Jesus pbuh addressing the crucified one in the Gospel of Judah, [“But you will exceed all of them . For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me .”] And it has been clarified within this book that Judah the crucified one is not the same as the Iscariot traitor, and whoever says that the Iscariot traitor’s number was 13 is mistaken because Judas was not the 13th . It is clear that the disciples were 12 and after Judas left and committed his betrayal, and after the crucifixion occurred, a new disciple was chosen to complete the number of 12, and

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this means that there is no such thing as a Judas Iscariot being the 13th in the first place, and such a saying would be incorrect . Thus the 13th is the righteous Judah (Judah = Ahmad in Arabic) . Thus he is the 13th Successor and the thirteenth disciple Ahmad, as this book has made clear . This is in regards to the number 13, but what about the Friday? The Friday is the Friday of sadness or pains, and it is the one in which the crucifixion occurred . It is known by many names such as Black Friday or Good Friday or the Friday of Sacrifice, and it is a prominent religious occasion in Christianity and it is a public holiday in most countries around the world . On this day the crucified one, his death, and his burial are remembered as most Christians believe that the crucifixion occurred on a Friday, according to the texts they believe in . And because Friday is the day on which the look-alike of Jesus pbuh was crucified, and because the look-alike is the 13th Successor and the Riser of the progeny of Muhammad and the first Mahdi Ahmad as this book has clarified, the day of Friday is therefore connected to the call of Imam al-Mahdi pbuh and connected to the rising of the Riser as known among the Shia . In order to know the truth behind the matter of Friday the 13th, I had asked Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh so his answer was, ﴾“Today nearly millions of humans consider the Friday that falls on the 13th to be a bad omen; as known, most people are experiential, meaning if they had experienced something and found truth in it they would believe in it . Thus, as a result of their experiences they found that on the Friday that falls on the 13th perhaps sometimes their tasks would go strikingly unaccomplished, so they believed in this . And this is a matter narrated even from the Imams pbut concerning the day of Ashura, and that a believer should not go out to perform a task or something similar . And in spite of the people’s sadness on Friday the 13th or their considering it a bad omen, they might be unaware of the reason . For people do many things while they are negligent of their truth and their origin; for instance: when people want to take refuge from envy they knock on wood, and the origin of this matter is taking refuge in the

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cross upon which the look-alike to Jesus pbuh was crucified because it was made of wood . And concerning what we are speaking about (Friday the 13th), I believe that the number 13 has become clear in Islam and Christianity . As for Friday, there is the Black Friday on which the crucifixion occurred, so for the 13th Successor to be crucified on Friday, is this not a sensible reason for people to consider this day to be a disturbing day given that it is a sad day? And we do not take this matter as proof, but it is a statement that we clarify for those who believe in it without understanding the origin of their belief and discomfort for Friday the 13th . Of course, there are those who went too far and considered that the number 13 was a bad omen, and this is a matter irrelevant to us, for we are speaking about a belief that millions of humans believe in which is that the Friday that falls on the 13th is an uncomfortable day for them, or they fear it or consider it a bad omen, and the reason has been now clarified: that it is a day on which the crucifixion of the 13th Successor occurred, meaning exactly like how the day of the 10th of Muharram is a day of sadness because it is the day in which the third successor was killed (al-Hussein pbuh) and the only difference is that Friday the 13th took a wider scope and both the religious and the non-religious believed in it .”﴿ And therefore it has been shown that Friday the 13th means the Friday of the crucifixion of the 13th Disciple and Successor, as it is the day of his killing and the spilling of his pure blood, and verily the son’s heart is overwhelmed with sadness and grief due to the spilling of his father’s blood . And here is the father (the 13th Successor) and (the 13th Disciple), he has returned to prevail and raise the banner to the nations and fill the earth with justice and peace like the prophets of Allah and His messengers promised, and to call out to his children on this earth to wake up before it is too late, so is there anyone to remember? And praise be to Allah Lord of the Worlds . •

Appendix 7
*This is an answer from the Scientific Committee of Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh and has been added by the English Translation Committee: [1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there . 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples . 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine .” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come .”] John Chapter 2 . [25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene . 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home .] John Chapter 19 . In both passages, it is incorrect for Jesus pbuh to address his mother Mary pbuh as “Woman” because a son addressing his mother in this manner is inappropriate, let alone a prophet from those of “Intense Ability” such as Jesus pbuh . And the fact that this way of addressing her is inappropriate is a matter acknowledged by the Christians and the clerics of the Church from different sects, which is why they try to interpret this speech by either the ideology of the absolute divinity that they attribute to Jesus Christ pbuh and the matter of the hypostasis, and its falsehood was clarified by Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh, or by justifications that do not hold in the face of scientific criticism . So the addressing by “Woman” shows that the speaker is not her son, and that is what Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh said, ﴾“The crucified one’s addressing of Mary the mother of Jesus pbuh shows that he is not her son, otherwise would it be appropriate for a man to address his mother by ‘woman’ .”﴿ As a result, the two passages which they insisted upon attributing to Jesus pbuh meaning the son of Mary are 100% false . And now it is correct to say that the second text in John 19 comes from one besides the son of Mary pbuh, who is the look-alike of Jesus pbuh and was crucified on his behalf, and this is a matter proven by

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Imam Ahmad al-Hassan pbuh by proofs and by connecting the passages, reasoning and reality . Thus the passage is valid, and that is the saying of the Imam pbuh, ﴾“Yes, it is correct for the crucified one to address her with this word if he is not Jesus pbuh .”﴿ Moreover, this passage is an addition to the proofs and that is his saying pbuh, ﴾“And his addressing her with this word is to clarify that she is not his mother and that he is not Jesus pbuh .”﴿ And it is a possibility to say the least, and it cannot be refuted except by proving that the crucified one is Jesus pbuh himself, and there is no proof of that, rather the proof is now established that the lookalike exists . From another aspect, there is the incident in which Mary pbuh was addressed as “Woman” at the wedding in Cana, unless it is possible to attribute it to anyone other than Jesus pbuh, it is 100% false . And most probably, this passage was thrown in by those who wanted to negate the possibility presented by the crucified one’s addressing of Mary pbuh, that he was not Jesus pbuh, meaning that the passage of the Cana wedding was added to the Gospel after the one who wrote the Gospel of John in its present form found himself in a dilemma due to the crucified one’s addressing of Mary pbuh with “Woman” . Therefore, the possibility is rather strong that the writer resorted to placing the same word of address at the beginning of the dispatch of Jesus pbuh; also, adding this phrase in an attempt to connect the two incidents, [My hour has not yet come], which makes the contradiction appear even more clearly . So what Mary pbuh requested, assuming that the wine mentioned in the passage was not an intoxicant, was to only show a sign or a miracle of transforming water into another drink, and the hour has nothing to do with the request of transforming the water, except as a failed attempt to connect this incident and the incident in which the crucified one addressed Mary pbuh with “Woman” . Moreover, Jesus pbuh has shown other miracles and responded to

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the request of some of those who requested healing or reviving the dead . So did Jesus pbuh address them with the phrase, [“My hour has not yet come”]? Or did he scold them by saying, [“What does this have to do with me?”]? And the latter phrase is also very inappropriate to come from a son while addressing his mother, and it is no less harsh than the word “Woman” . Anyhow, the incident is one of great confusion to say the least, as some of its passages contain great contradictions that are invalid, as has been made clear from the above . And you, may Allah support you, for the sake of argument, it is sufficient for you to clarify that the text is not obligatory for us as we do not believe that the present forms of the Gospel and the Torah are entirely correct, especially since there are clear contradictions concerning the manners of the prophets pbut and the messengers, rather the manners of people in general . Consequently, the discussion shifts to clarifying the invalidity of such a word coming from a son to his mother, let alone from Jesus pbuh to Mary pbut, as the matter is not particular to Jesus pbuh or to Mary pbuh, it is rather a general matter that is entirely unacceptable . Yes, what is morally incorrect to come from a normal person is incorrect to come from a prophet pbuh . So the discussion can be restricted to this question: Is it appropriate for a son to address his mother as “Woman”? If they say yes, then they have stumbled in their own stubbornness . And if they say that this is a specific matter, then why would it be? [19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah . And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her . Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right . 20 Then she said, “I have one small request to make of you; do not refuse me .” And the king said to her, “Make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you .”] 1 Kings Chapter 2 . And if they said that the matter was specific to Jesus pbuh because he is an absolute deity, then the discussion would be in order to clarify the invalidity of their ideology . As for the remaining claims, such as the fulfilment of the prophe-

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cies or the texts of Jesus pbuh and his mother by this addressing and so on, they are not of a scientific value in order to be discussed or turned to . So nothing makes the addressing correct except that it would come from a man to a woman who is a stranger to him, as is the reality in Jesus’ addressing of women who are strangers to him in the Gospel . And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds . Answered by the committee Dr . Tawfiq al-Maghribi Ramadan 1433 •

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