Yuz Asaf
Encyclopedia
Similar to mainstream Islamic views, the Ahmadiyya Movement consider that Jesus was a mortal man, but go a step further to describe Jesus as a mortal man who died a natural death in India - as opposed to having been raised up alive to Heaven. They also believe that the Turin Shroud was of Jesus Christ.

Although the view of Jesus having migrated to India had also been researched in the literature of independent historians predating the foundation of the movement, the Ahmadiyya Movement is the only religious organization to adopt these views as a tenet of their faith, although independently of the early historians. The general notion of Jesus in India has also been discussed at length by modern western historians Grönbold and Klatt and publicized in several documentaries.

Overview

According to the late 19th Century writings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days...

, the founder of the Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious revivalist movement founded in India near the end of the 19th century, originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times, who was to herald the Eschaton as...

 movement,
the theological basis of the Ahmadi belief is that Jesus was only “in a swoon” when he was taken down from the cross. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad interpreted the phrase in Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...

 21:31: kī qilelat Elohim taluy, “… for a hanged man is the curse of God”, as suggesting that "God would never allow one of His true prophets to be brutally killed in such a degrading manner as crucifixion". Following his ordeal, Jesus was cured of his wounds with a special ointment known as the 'ointment of Jesus' (marham-i ʿIsā).

After his Resurrection from the tomb, Jesus fled Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

 to avoid recapture and journeyed towards India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. He later settled in (what is now) Kashmir where he died a natural death of old age, and was laid to rest in Srinagar
Srinagar
Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...

, Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

. The prophet Yuz Asaf
Yuz Asaf
Similar to mainstream Islamic views, the Ahmadiyya Movement consider that Jesus was a mortal man, but go a step further to describe Jesus as a mortal man who died a natural death in India - as opposed to having been raised up alive to Heaven...

 said to be entombed there (at what is today known as the Roza Bal
Roza Bal
Roza Bal is the name of a shrine located in the Khanyar area of district Srinagar, in Kashmir, India, venerated by some Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. Some people identify the sage buried there with one Yuz Asaf, that is Jesus of Nazareth, whom they allege to have arrived in Kashmir after...

) is believed by some to be that of Jesus of Nazareth.

According to ancient manuscripts and Kashmiri tradition, Yuz Asaf is said to have been a Prophet who possessed miraculous healing powers and had travelled from Palestine during the 1st century.

The Encyclopedia of Islam states that this aspect of Ahmadi belief is one of three primary tenets that distinguish Ahmadi teachings from general Islamic ones, and that it has provoked a fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...

against the movement.

Biblical accounts

Ahmadis also illustrate the notion of Jesus having survived the Cross through various Biblical scriptures.
  1. Jesus had prophesied that his fate would be like that of Jonah
    Jonah
    Jonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...

     (the story of Jonah is one of survival). (Matt. 12:40)
  2. Jesus was placed on the cross for only a few hours. Death by crucifixion usually takes several days. While he was on the cross his legs were left intact, and not broken as was the normal procedure. This would have prevented death by respiratory distress. As blood and water were reported to have 'gushed' from the spear wound, this was sign of a beating heart.
  3. Jesus prayed to be rescued from death on the cross (Matthew 21:22)
  4. Pilate, having sympathy for Jesus, secretly devised to save him by setting his Crucifixion shortly before Sabbath day
    Shabbat
    Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

  5. The Gospel of John records that Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes (John 19:39). These healing plants, particularly aloe plants, are considered medicinal and applied to wounds.
  6. After he had awoken from his swoon (resurrection), Jesus bared his wounds to Thomas (John 20:25-7), showing he did not have a supernatural, resurrected body, but a patient's body. He was also seen in the flesh by a large number of his followers, baring the same wounds that he had suffered from his ordeal on the Cross.(Luke 24:38,39)
  7. After his wounds had sufficiently healed Jesus left the tomb and met some of his disciples and had his food with them and walked on foot from Jerusalem to Galilee (Luke 24:50)
  8. Jesus had prophesied that he would go to seek out the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel (John 10:16). The Jews of Jesus's time believed that the Lost tribes of Israel had become dispersed in different lands (John 7:34-35)
  9. Being a Divine Prophet Jesus could not have died on the Cross because according to the Bible “He that is hanged is accursed of God” (Deut. 21:23)
  10. When Joseph requested Jesus' body from the cross(mark 15:43), Pilate asked a centurion if Jesus was already dead(mark 15:44). The centurion confirmed that Jesus was already dead (15:45). This centurion was a believer that Jesus was the son of God (Mark 15:39).
  11. There are no accounts in the gospel of Jesus ascending into the heavens, aside from accounts that were absent from the earliest written gospels. (source: biblical footnotes)


After surviving crucifixion, Jesus fled to Galilee. Jesus (along with several disciples) later left Palestine to further preach the Gospel to the Lost tribes of Israel (John 10:16) - that had scattered as far as Afghanistan and northern India. He eventually settled in Kashmir where he was given the name Yuz Asaf
Yuz Asaf
Similar to mainstream Islamic views, the Ahmadiyya Movement consider that Jesus was a mortal man, but go a step further to describe Jesus as a mortal man who died a natural death in India - as opposed to having been raised up alive to Heaven...

 (meaning “Leader of the Healed”/"Son of Joseph").

Quranic accounts

Furthermore, Ahmadi theologians highlight passages from the Qur'an to suggest that Jesus did not ascend to Heaven but died a natural death on Earth. The verses in Chapter Al-Nisa (4:157-158) for example describe that Jesus did not die on the Cross and that God had “raised” Jesus unto himself
As the Quran speaks of God being omnipresent in the Earth and in the Hearts of mankind, God's existence should not be misconstrued as being confined to the Heavens alone.

Thus Ahmadis interpret the Arabic word for "raised" in these verses to mean “exalted”. In other words, Jesus' spiritual rank and status was elevated to become closer to God.

To further support the view of Jesus having died a mortal death, Ahmadis interpret the verse in Quran 5:76:
In this verse Jesus is compared to the previous Messengers, all of whom had died a natural death and none of whom had ascended bodily to Heaven.

Second Coming of Jesus

The Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) and the Bible indicate that Jesus will return during the latter days. Islamic Hadith commonly depicts that Jesus, upon his second coming, would be an Ummati (Muslim) and a follower of the Prophet Muhammad and that he would revive the truth of Islam rather than fostering a new religion.

The movement interprets the prophecised Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...

 of Jesus as being that of a person "similar to Jesus" (mathīl-i ʿIsā), and not Jesus himself. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad professed that the prophecy in Muslim and Christian religious texts were traditionally misunderstood to say that Jesus of Nazareth himself would return. Ahmadis consider that the founder of the movement
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days...

, in both his character and teachings was representative of Jesus, and in consequence, he attained the same spiritual rank of Prophethood as Jesus.

Henceforth, Ahmadis believe this prediction - the Second Coming - was fulfilled by Ahmad and continued by his movement.

The expected arrival of a Latter Day Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...

 is historically represented across all major faiths. Although the original prophecy refers only to one single Messiah, this diverged into separate distinct theories and misinterpretations. As such, Ahmadis declare that the Messiah concerning all world faiths has been unified by the advent of the Promised Messiah (Mirza Ghulam Ahmad). Finally, Ahmadis believe that eventually all world faiths will gradually move towards Ahmadiyyat; and that such a process will follow a correlative pattern of circumstances and take a similar amount of time to what it took for Christianity to rise to dominance (roughly 300 years).

Breaking of the Cross

The Islamic Hadith describe that Jesus would, upon his second coming, "Break the Cross". Ahmadis interpret this to mean that he will make plain the "error of the creed of the cross" and that the teachings of Jesus, being a mortal man who survived crucifixion and died a natural death upon earth, is a testimony of this prophecy being fulfilled, as it would eventually render the traditional Christian worship of the Cross and doctrine of the immortality of Jesus meaningless.

Ijmah of Companions of Prophet Muhammad on Jesus Death

Ahmadi scholars also present this event. When the Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

 died, the Sahaba
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...

 were grieved and sad. Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....

, angered and upset, took out a sword, and said that he would kill anyone who said Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

 is dead. At this instance Abu Bakar quoted:
And Muhammad is but a messenger; the messengers have come before him; if then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels, he will by no means do harm to Allah in the least and Allah will reward the grateful." (3.144)
No companion
Companion
Companion may refer to:* A friend or acquaintance you associate yourself with* Companion , a nurse assistant or similar professional who assists a patient one-on-one* Companion , an architectural feature of ships...

 said Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 is alive in heaven and he would come physically in Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...

. This means that they knew Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 was dead. This is extensively discussed in Ahmadi books.

Family of Prophet Muhammad on Jesus Death

Hazrat Hassan had quoted from events of Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...

 but did not say that Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 was not raised to heaven alive because Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...

 had died a natural death.

Islamics scholars had view of Jesus's Death

Many early scholars of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 believed that Jesus Christ including Imam Malik.

Jesus in India

See also: Jesus in India (book)
Jesus in India (book)
thumb|leftJesus in India is a treatise written by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement. It discusses at length Jesus’ possible survival from crucifixion and his subsequent migration towards Kashmir in order to preach to the 'Lost Tribes of Israel'...



As discussed above, the notion of the Jesus having travelled India was not exclusive to the Ahmadiyya Movement. Numerous articles and books have been written and several documentaries discuss the topic in depth. Prior to the Ahmadiyya claim Nicolas Notovitch
Nicolas Notovitch
Nicolas Notovitch was a Russian aristocrat, Cossack officer, spy and journalist known for his contention that during the years of Jesus Christ's life missing from the Bible, he followed travelling merchants abroad into India and the Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, India, where he studied Buddhism.-Life...

 had also researched and studied the evidence of Jesus in India. However unlike Notovitch, who proposed that Jesus spent his early life in India before his crucifixion, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed that Jesus travelled to India post-crucifixion.

Yuz Asaf

"Yus Asaf" is the traditional Kashmiri name for Isa (Jesus).

Many of the local people in Kashmir also traditionally hold a belief that Yuz Asaf
Yuz Asaf
Similar to mainstream Islamic views, the Ahmadiyya Movement consider that Jesus was a mortal man, but go a step further to describe Jesus as a mortal man who died a natural death in India - as opposed to having been raised up alive to Heaven...

 was a Prophet who had travelled from Palestine and who had miraculous healing powers.

Tomb of Jesus (Roza Bal)

During his research into Jesus' death, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad initially suggested that Jesus may have been buried in either Galilee or Syria, until eventually uncovering evidence to conclude that the tomb of Jesus was located in Srinagar, Kashmir. Thus, based upon this evidence, Ahmadis today believe the tomb of Jesus is located in the Srinagar
Srinagar
Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...

 region of Kashmir.

Jesus Meets King Shalewhin

Accoring to a sacred hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 scripture named Bhavishya Purana
Bhavishya Purana
The Bhavishya Purana is one of the eighteen major Hindu Puranas. It is written in Sanskrit and attributed to Rishi Vyasa, the compiler of the Vedas. The title Bhavishya Purana signifies a work that contains prophecies regarding the future...

, it is written that Jesus Christ meet a hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 king named as King Shalewhin. It is written that the king along with his companions went to the peak of Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

 to meet a man who was a dignified person of fair complexion in white clothes sitting in the mountain. When the king asked who he was then he replied
"I am the Messiah, born of a virgin."
He told the king he had come from a far off place where he has suffered at the hands of his people. When the king asked his religion then he said the his religion was of peace, love and purity of heart. The king was impressed from him so left after paying homage to him.

Tomb of Jesus

Ancient literary works in Kashmir testify to the view that Yuz Asaf and Jesus are the same person. One ancient manuscript for instance describes the shrine of Yuz Asaf as the grave of Issa Rooh-Allah (Jesus the Spirit of God). The importance of the shrine has been preserved in the memory of the descendants of the ancient Israelites to this day. They call the shrine "The tomb of Hazrat Issa Sahib", "The Tomb of Lord Jesus".

The building constructed is named "Roza Bal" or "Rauza Bal". "Rauza" is generally a term used to denote the tomb of a celebrated personality, i.e. noble, wealthy, or saintly.
In accordance with Jewish tradition, the tomb is arranged with the feet pointing in the direction of Jerusalem.

Ahmadis give the Yuz Asaf enshrined in the tomb the epithet Shahzada Nabi, “Prophet Prince”. However, given the strong influence of hardline clerics and militancy in the Kashmiri region, many of the Srinagar residents distance themselves from the Ahmadiyya claims of Prophet Yuz Asaf as being the Prophet Jesus.

Tomb of Mary

The Ahmadis also believe that Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...

 had accompanied her son on the journey to Kashmir.

Numerous Muslim and Persian documents — the Tafir-Ibn-I-Jarir, the Kanz-al-Ummal, and the Rauzat-us-Safa — have references that contribute to the theory of Jesus' escape. Some of these also mention that Jesus was accompanied by Mary, and there is another burial place in Pakistan, along his theoretical route to Kashmir, known as Mai Mari da Ashtan, or "resting place of Mother Mary."

External links

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