In t he Name of Allah, t he Merciful, t he Compassionat e

"Resurrect ion or Resuscit at ion?"

By Ahmed Deedat

In one of my books - "Who Moved t he St one?" I had promised t o deal wit h t he anomaly,
where believers were reading simple English, yet were so condit ioned t hat t hey were
underst anding exact ly t he opposit e of what t hey were reading. The following st ory
from real life will not only illust rat e t he point but will also elucidat e our present case
-

"Resurrection or Resuscitation"

I was about t o leave for t he Transvaal (Sout h Africa) on a lect ure t our, so I phoned my
friend Hafiz Yusuf Dadoo of St andert on, informing him of my impending visit , as well
as t o inquire whet her he needed anyt hing from Durban. He said t hat as he was t aking
up Hebrew, I should t ry and obt ain a Bible in t he Hebrew language wit h a t ranslat ion
in English side by side.

I went t o t he "Bible House" in Durban. Wit hout any difficult y I found t he appropriat e
Bible for my friend, t he "Aut horized Version," also known as t he King James Version,
looking for one wit h t he best print and at t he cheapest price, I not iced t he lady
behind t he count er had lift ed up t he t elephone t o speak t o someone. I was out of
hearing dist ance, nor was I int erest ed, but aft er an exchange wit h t he person on t he
ot her side of t he line she put her hand on t he mout hpiece and addressed me: "Excuse
me, sir, are you Mr. Deedat ?" I said: "Yes." She said: "The Supervisor of t he Bible
Societ y would like t o meet you," I agreed. She spoke a few more words int o t he
t elephone and replaced t he receiver. I said wit h a smile: "I t hought t hat you were
ringing t he police." (Perhaps because of t he number of Bibles I was handling!). - She
laughed and said: "No, it was t he Rev. Robert s, t he Supervisor, who wishes t o speak t o
you."

Winning a Convert

Present ly, Rev. Robert s approached me and aft er int roducing himself he gest ured t o
me t o hand over t o him t he Bible which I was holding in my hand. I handed t he book.
He opened it and began reading t o me: "And t his is life et ernal t hat t hey should know
Thee t he only True God and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent ." (John 17:3).
(Subsequent ly, I checked up t he Gospel references of his quot at ions).
Aft er having list ened t o his reading of t his script ure, I responded wit h t he words: "I
accept !" - meaning t he implicat ion of t he Message he was t rying t o convey t o me. I
did not t ell him t hen t hat what he was t rying t o convey t o me was t he same as t he
Holy Qur’ ân was t elling mankind for t he past fourt een hundred years - t hat all must
believe in t he One and Only God Almight y, and Jesus Christ is only a Messenger of
God. The words of t he Holy Qur’ ân are as follows: -

"Most Cert ainly t he Messiah, Jesus t he son of Mary, was an apost le of Allah and His
Word, which He best owed on Mary and a Spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in
Allah and His Apost les" (The Holy Qur’ ân 4:171)

Love One Another

Rev. Robert s must have been elat ed t o hear my words "I Accept ," t o his first
quot at ion. He quickly opened t he Bible in anot her place and began reading t hese
words at t ribut ed t o Jesus:-

"A new commandment I give unt o you. That ye love one anot her; as I have loved you,
t hat ye also love one anot her." "By t his shall all men know t hat ye are my disciples, if
ye have love for one anot her." (John 13:34-35)

A New Convert?

When he had finished reading t hese verses, I remarked: "Very good!" He was great ly
encouraged wit h my comment . I sincerely meant what I said and t here was no
pret ense. The Reverend found yet anot her quot at ion t o clinch a convert for Christ . He
began:-

"Judge not t hat ye be not j udged." "For wit h what j udgment ye j udge, ye shall be
j udged; and wit h what measure ye met e, it shall be measured t o you again." (Mat t hew
7:1-2)

To t his quot at ion I responded wit h t he words, "I agree!" My only reason for agreeing
and accept ing everyt hing t hat t he Reverend was reading t o me was not of t he "special
discount " I was get t ing from t he Bible Societ y on my purchases, but because t hese
part icular quot at ions were conveying t he same message and ideals which Allah
subhanahoo wa t a’aala was commanding t he Muslims t o preach and pract ice. I would
be spirit ually j aundiced t o t ake except ions t o what was common t o bot h of us - t he
Muslim and t he Christ ian. For me t o say t hat an ident ical message from my Book (t he
Holy Qur’ ân) was very good, but t he same message in his Book (t he Holy Bible) was
very bad would be hypocrit ical in t he ext reme. It would be soul shaming unt rut h.

The Purpose

What was t he real purpose of t he Reverend' s reading t he Script ure t o me? Indeed, I
was get t ing a special discount on all my purchases from t he Bible Societ y and I was
perhaps t he only non-Christ ian t o get such a discount , t hough it was depending purely
on a business t ransact ion, and t his informat ion must have been passed on t he
Reverend as t he Head of t he Bible Societ y; t hat I was a Muslim t here was no mist aking
my ident it y, for my beard and my headgear were t he badges of my Fait h, easily
recognized as such in t his part of t he world; and t hat , despit e my numerous purchases
of t he Bibles in English (various versions), in Zulu, Afrikaans, Urdu, Arabic and ot her
languages, I was not yet convert ed. Perhaps, what I really needed was a gent le push,
t he Supervisor must have been t old. Hence t he recit at ion of t he preceding quot at ions
t o me. The implicat ion of t his reading was t hat I had probably not read t hose
beaut iful passages; how else was it possible, t hen, t hat I had not yet embraced
Christ ianit y?

A Problem

The Reverend gent leman had t aken t he role of a t eacher who want ed t o t each, who
want ed t o impart new knowledge t o his pupil.

Since I am commanded by my Prophet , peace be upon him, t o seek knowledge I

want ed t o learn. I said: "I agree wit h all t hat you have read t o me, but I have a
problem wit h your Bible." "What problem have you got ?" he asked. I said: "Please open
t he Gospel of St . Luke, chapt er 3 verse 23." This he did. I said: "Please read." He
read:-

"And Jesus himself began t o be about t hirt y years of age, being (as was supposed) t he
son of Joseph, which was t he son of Heli," (Luke 3:23)

I drew t he Reverend’s at t ent ion t o t he words - "(As was supposed)." I said: "Do you see
t hat t he words ’As was supposed’ are writ t en wit hin bracket s?" He said t hat he saw
t hat . I asked him: "Why are t he bracket s t here?" He acknowledged, "I don’t know, but I
could find out for you from some Bible scholars." I admired his humilit y. Though I
knew t hat all Supervisors of Bible Houses in Sout h Africa are ret ired reverends, it was
possible t hat t his aspect of Bible knowledge was beyond t heir sphere. I said: "If you do
not know, t hen let me t ell you what t he bracket s are doing t here in t his verse. You do
not have t o t ake t he t rouble of looking for a Bible scholar."

I explained t hat in t he "most ancient " manuscript s of Luke, t he words "As was
supposed" are not t here. Your t ranslat ors felt t hat wit hout t his int erpolat ion t he,
ordinary Christ ians, not well grounded in fait h, might slip and fall int o t he error of
believing t hat Joseph t he Carpent er was t he act ual physical fat her of Jesus. So t hey
t ook t he precaut ion of adding t heir own comment in bracket s t o avoid any
misunderst anding. I said: "I am not t rying t o find fault wit h your syst em of adding
words in bracket s t o assist t he reader, but what int rigues me is t hat in all t ranslat ions
of t he Bible in t he African and East ern languages you have ret ained t he words "as was
supposed" but have removed the brackets! Couldn’t t he nat ions of t he Eart h besides
t he English underst and t he meaning and purpose of t he bracket s?

What is wrong wit h t he Afrikaner? Why have you eliminat ed t he bracket s from t he
Afrikaans Bible? The Supervisor prot est ed: "I didn’t do it ." I said: "I know t hat you
personally did not do it but why have t he Bible Societ y t hat you represent and your
Bible scholars been playing wit h t he ’Word of God?’ If God Almight y did not see fit t o
preserve Luke from error what right has anybody t o add t o or delet e from words in
t he ’Book of God?’ What right have you t o manufact ure ’God’s Words?’

Interpolations

The t ranslat or’s own addit ion of words in bracket s can easily be put int o t he mout h of
St . Luke by merely removing t he bracket s, and by implicat ion, if Luke was inspired by
God t o writ e what he did, t hen t he int erpolat ions aut omat ically become t he Word of
God, which really is not t he case. (More will be said on t his subj ect in t he fort hcoming
publicat ion Is t he Bible God’s Word?) I concluded my explanat ion wit h t he words -
’Your t heologians of t he day have succeeded where t he alchemist s of yore failed - of
t urning baser met al int o shining gold.’"

The English Language

At t his st age t he Reverend int roduced irrelevancies int o t he discussion and t he

subj ect changed. He made some claims which made me say: "You see, sir, you English
people do not know your own language." (Wit h apologies t o my readers whose mot her
t ongue is English). He quickly ret ort ed: "You mean t o say t hat you know my language
bet t er t han I do?" I said: "It would be presumpt uous on my part t o t ell - an Englishman
- t hat I underst and your language bet t er t han you do." "Then what do you mean t hat
we English people do not know our own language?" he demanded. I said again: "You
see, sir, you read your Holy Script ure in your mot her t ongue, like every Christ ian
belonging t o a t housand different language groups, and yet each and every Christ ian
language group underst ands t he fact s, opposit e t o what he is reading." "What are you
referring t o?" he asked.

A Ghost

I cont inued: "Do you remember t he occasion when Jesus ret urned t o t hat upper room
aft er his alleged crucifixion: ’And sait h unt o t hem, (his disciples), ’Peace be unt o you’’
(Luke 24:36), and his disciples were t errified on recognizing him?" He answered t hat
he remembered t hat incident . I inquired: "Why should t hey be t errified?" When one
recognizes one’s long-lost friend or one’s beloved, t he nat ural react ion is t o feel
overj oyed, elat ed and one want s t o embrace and kiss t he hands and feet of t he
beloved. Why did t hey get t errified?" The Reverend replied t hat t hey (t he disciples)
t hought t hat t hey were seeing a ghost ." I asked: "Did Jesus look like a ghost ?" He said:
"No." "Then why did t hey t hink t hat t hey were seeing a ghost when he did not look like
a ghost ?" I queried. The Reverend was clearly puzzled. I said: "Please allow me t o
explain."

Disciples Not Eye Witnesses

"You see, sir, t he disciples of Jesus were not eye-wit nesses or ear-wit nesses t o t he
act ual happenings of t he previous t hree days, as vouched for by St . Mark who says
t hat at t he most crit ical j unct ure in t he life of Jesus: "t hey all forsook him and fled."
(Mark 14:50). All t he knowledge of t he disciples regarding t heir Mast er was from
hearsay. They had heard t hat t heir mast er was hanged on t he Cross; t hey had heard
t hat he had given up t he Ghost ; t hey had heard t hat he was dead and buried for t hree
days. If one is confront ed by a person wit h such a reput at ion t hen t he conclusion is
inescapable; t hey must be seeing a ghost . Lit t le wonder t hese t en brave men were
pet rified."

"To disabuse t heir minds from t he fear t hat gripped t hem, Jesus reasoned wit h t hem.
He said: ’Behold my hands and my feet , t hat it is I myself’ To put it in colloquial
English, t his is how he t old t hem: ’What is wrong wit h you fellows, can’t you see t hat I
am t he same person - who walked and t alked wit h you, broke bread wit h you - flesh
and blood in all respect s.’

Why do doubt s ent er your minds? ’Handle me and see, for a spirit has no flesh and
bones as you see me have.’ (Luke 24:39). In ot her words he is t elling t hem: ’If I have
flesh and bones, t hen I am not a ghost , not a spook and not a spirit !’" "Is t hat right ?" I
asked. "Yes," he replied. I cont inued t hat , Jesus is t elling t hem, as recorded in t his
verse, in basic English, t hat what t he disciples were asked t o "handle and see" was not
a t ranslat ed body, not a met amorphosed body and not a resurrect ed body, because a
resurrect ed body is a spirit ualised body. He is t elling t hem in t he clearest language
humanly possible t hat he is not what t hey were t hinking. They were t hinking t hat he
was a spirit , a resurrect ed body, one having been brought back from t he dead. He is
most emphat ic t hat he is not!"

Spiritualization

"But how can you be so sure t hat t he resurrect ed body cannot mat erialize physically
as Jesus had obviously done?" murmured t he Reverend. I replied: "Because Jesus had
himself pronounced t hat t he resurrect ed bodies get spirit ualised." When did he say
any such t hing?" inquired t he Reverend. I answered: "Do you remember t he incident as
recorded in t he Gospel of St . Luke, chapt er 20, where t he learned men of t he Jews-
"t he chief priest s and t he scribes wit h t he elders"- had come t o him wit h a number of
posers, and among t hem was one about a Jewess who had seven husbands in t urn, one
aft er anot her according t o a Jewish cust om, and in t ime all seven husbands and t he
woman t oo died?" The Reverend said t hat he did remember t he occasion. I cont inued:
"The t rap t hat t he religious hierarchy was t rying t o spring on him was; which one of
t he seven husbands was going t o possess t he woman on t he ’Ot her side’- at t he
resurrect ion?- since t hey reasoned wit h Jesus t hat t he seven brot hers had her.

There was no problem while t hey fulfilled t heir obligat ion of t rying t o give her a
child, because t hey had possessed her one by one in t urn, and it was aft er t he deat h
of one t hat t he ot her had t aken her t o wife. But since at t he resurrect ion all seven
will be brought t o life simult aneously, t here will be st rife in heaven because all seven
would want t o get at her at t he same t ime, specially if t hey had pleasure wit h her."
"Jesus debunked t heir false not ion of t he resurrect ion, by saying t hat at t he
resurrect ion: ’neit her shall t hey die any more’ (Luke 20:36) meaning t hat t he
resurrect ed persons will be Immort alised. They will not be subj ect t o deat h any more,
no more hanger or t hirst , no more fat igue. In short , all t he inst rument s of deat h will
be powerless against t he resurrect ed body. Jesus cont inues t o explain: ’for t hey (t he
resurrect ed bodies) are equal unt o t he angles,’ t hat is, t hat t hey will be Angelised -
spirit ualised, t hat t hey will become spirit -creat ures, i.e. Spirit s;’and t he children of
God, for such are t he children of t he resurrect ion." (Luke 20:36).

Jesus Not Spiritualised

I was t aken off from t he t heme I was expounding t wo paragraphs above by t he

Reverend wit h t he challenge: "But how can you be so sure..?" To cont inue from where
I had deviat ed above - He is Not what t hey were t hinking, t hat he was not a Spirit , not
a Ghost , not a Spook. To assure t hem furt her aft er having offered his hands and feet
for inspect ion and verificat ion t hat his was a mat erial, physical body, and t hat all
t heir bewilderment and disbelief was unj ust ified, he asked his disciples: "Have you
here any meat ?" (Meaning somet hing t o eat ). "And t hey gave him a piece of broiled
fish and of a honeycomb, and he t ook it , and did eat before t hem." (Luke 24:41-43)

A Drama?

What was Jesus t rying t o prove by all his demonst rat ions of want ing his hands and
feet t o be handled and chewing and mast icat ing broiled fish and honeycomb? Was all
t his a pret ense, make-belief, an act or drama? "No!" Said Schleliermacher in 1819, a
hundred years before I was born. Albert Schweizer records him saying: "If Christ had
only eat en t o show t hat he could eat , while he really had no need of nourishment , if
would have been a pret ense, somet hing docet ic."( In Quest of t he Hist orical Jesus,
page 64).

I had not know of Schleliermacher and ot her Christ ian scholars who over a hundred
years ago doubt ed t he deat h of Jesus on t he cross as recorded by Albert Schweizer,
when I was discussing t his subj ect wit h t he head of t he Bible Societ y.

No Resurrection

"What is wrong wit h you (Christ ian) folk?" Jesus is t elling you in t he most unambiguous
language t hat he is not a spirit - not spirit ualised, not a resurrect ed person, and yet
t he whole Christ ian world believes t hat he was resurrect ed, i.e. spirit ualised. Who is
lying, you or him? How is it possible t hat you, each and every Christ ian, are reading
your Bible in your own mot her t ongue and yet each and every groups is made t o
underst and t he exact opposit e of what t hey are reading? If you read t he Bible, say, in
Hebrew, and pleaded t hat you did not underst and what you were reading, I can
appreciat e t his fact . If you read it in Greek and pleaded t hat you did not really
underst and t he implicat ions of what was writ t en; I can appreciat e t his fact also. But
t he anomaly is t hat you are reading t he Book, each and every one, in his own mot her
t ongue, and are t rained t o underst and t he opposit e of what is writ t en. How have you
been brainwashed, or rat her, how have you been "Programmed," as t he Americans
would put it ?

"Please t ell me as t o who is lying? Is it Jesus or a t housand million Christ ians of t he

world? Jesus says: "No!" t o his being resurrect ed, and all of you say: "Yes!" Whom are
we Muslims t o believe, Jesus or his so called disciples? We Muslims would rat her
believe t he Mast er. Did he not say: "The disciple is not great er t han t he Mast er."?
(Mat t hew 10:24)

This was more t han t he Reverend had bargained for. He polit ely excused himself by
saying t hat as he had t o get ready t o close his office, he would look forward t o
meet ing me again. This was sheer evasive polit eness!

Wit h t he Bible Societ y, I won t he debat e but lost t he discount ! No more discount for
me from t he Bible Societ y. But let my loss be your gain. If you dear reader, can
remove a few cobwebs from your t hinking on t he subj ect of t he Crucif ixion, I will be
amply rewarded.

Now here are t he verses discussed put t oget her :

"..Jesus himself st ood in t heir midst , and said unt o t hem, Peace be unt o you...But
t hey were t errified, and supposing t hat t hey were seeing a spirit ... And he said unt o
t hem,.. ’Behold my hands and my feet , t hat it is I myself: handle me and see; for a
spirit has no flesh and bones, as you see me have’... And showed t hem his hands and
feet ... And while t hey yet believed not for j oy and wondered, he said unt o t hem,
’Have ye here any meat ?’.. And t hey gave him a piece of broiled fish, and of a
honeycomb... And he t ook it , and did eat before t hem." (Luke 24:36-43)