DEATH OF JESUS OF NAZARETH
(Wafaat Masih Naasri – an Urdu poem written by the Promised Messiahas)
Azalae Auhaam, part 2, page 764, 1891
O people! Why don’t you care for the truth?
My heart gets so terribly agitated.
Son of Mary has passed away, by God,
That noble one has entered the Paradise.
The Quran fully asserts to his death;
It informs of his passing away.
He has not remained outside of mortality;
It has been proved by the thirty verses1.
No one comes back from the dead;
Even the Quran does not pronounce it. (5)
It has been promised by God-Without-Equal;
Pray ponder over: “Those who depart, never return”.
O dear ones! Pray consider it for a while:
Have you ever seen anyone escaping death?
This place is not meant for staying behind,
All prophets and righteous ones have passed away
No one ever escapes from it,
These are just simply absurd tales.
Why do you persist on denying this?
Is this faith or traits of disbelievers? (10)
What is all this excitement against the obvious?
Think about it if you have any sense.
Why did you make the Son of Mary into God?
Why did he stay outside of God’s Tradition2?
Why did you accord him such high position:
“Knower of Unseen”, “Creator”, “Living” and “Mighty”?
All passed away but he escaped from death;
Until now mortality has touched him not;
He is the God of many a birds;
Bravo! On such knowledge of God! (15)
O Muslim cleric! Is this God’s Unity?
Pray tell the truth – which genie do you follow?
Was this the secret of God’s Unity
On which you prided for so many years?
Does man carry signs of Godhood?
Mercy for such supposition! Mercy!
We are surprised at this zeal of yours,
At your insight and intellect and common sense.
Why can’t you see the way to righteousness?
What sort of veils have fallen on your eyes? (20)
Is this the teaching of the Quran, really?
At least there should be some fear of God!
To think that righteous ones are disbelievers3,
Is this the trait of those possessing faith?
We follow the religion of the Muslim people
We are truly the servant of the Seal of Messengers4.
We are weary of partnership and innovation;
We are the dust on the path of Ahmad5 the mighty;
We believe in all the commandments;
We offer our heart and soul on this path. (25)
We lost our heart-just the mortal body is now left;
The only wish is that it, too, may be sacrificed.
You bestow upon us the title of kafir6,
Why don’t you, O people, fear the Hereafter?
A great clamour is raging on the earth;
O Giver of Life! Pray take mercy on the people.
Pray show a Sign of Thy might;
Thou art Almighty, O Lord of the worlds!
1 Thirty verses of the Holy Quran.
2 Referring to God’s Tradition to cause everyone to die.
3 Alluding to frequent edicts by the Muslim clergy of the time against Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
that denounced him as a kafir or disbeliever.
4 “Seal of the Prophets” is a title of the Prophet Muhammad.
5 “Ahmad” is a name of the Prophet Muhammad.
6 “Kafir” means a disbeliever or denier of the truth brought by the Prophet Muhammad.