BismillahirRahmanirRahim

"The Ascension of Jesus (as)"

Sohbet given by Sheykh Abdul Kerim el-Kibrisi

July 2004

Manhattan Dergah
New York City

[Q: There is a lot of talk going on about the movie The Passion of Christ that just came out. I was wondering what is the true version of the story of Isa (as)? What really happened?]

Selamun aleykum. Meded Ya Sayiddi, Ya Sultan Evliya, Mevlana Sheykh Nazim al-Hakkani. Meded.

What really happened to Jesus (alayhi salam). For the last 2,000 years foolish people, the people who are supporting ego and Sheytan and someway somehow the ignorant ones, the blind ones, they are running after them and for the last 2000 years they are believing in something that did not happen. And they are not coming around to use their own heads and their own intelligence to find anything out. Just by using intelligence it can be known. Intelligence is telling you something other than what they are showing to the whole world. But then the question that comes is, why all these millions of people are following it? Because it is easy to the ego. It fits to the ego. Whatever is easy for ego, mankind runs after it.

Why was Jesus (alayhi salam) sent down to earth? The first thing we have to understand is that since the beginning from Adam (alayhi salam) maybe until Judgment Day, no man, no man! If we say Allah created Adam (alayhi salam), there are two ideas there. Either people believe or they don't believe. That Darwin-monkey, sheytan- Darwin, he really believed that man came from monkeys. We say, "We are not monkeys, we are humans and we are the children of Adam." Adam (as) was created by the Creator. Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) created Adam (as). So there is a division there too among people. One group believes in evolution and the other believes in creation.

When it comes to Jesus (alayhi salam), since the beginning from Adam (as) until Judgment Day, they are fighting about his birth and they are fighting about his death. He didn't die yet, but they are fighting nonstop saying this is what had happened. Then how are we going to know what had happened? When we sit down and we think clearly and intelligently we say, "It is impossible for such a thing to happen." But for us saying impossible and for them saying possible is also someway somehow needs support. So we look to the Book of Allah. We look to the Quran. What did Quran say about Jesus (as)?

You have to understand the secret there, why we are holding so tightly to the Quran. We are not stupid people. We are intelligent people. What does the Quran say? Who said the Quran? Who talked about the Quran? Quran did not rain down from the sky as a book. Prophet (saw) was sitting and he was saying, "This is the revelation that came where Allah is saying this, this, this and this. This is Ayat. These are verses." People were keeping notes, writing down. But the Quran was coming to Holy Prophet (saw). Angel was coming and telling him and he was saying it to the people.

So now when we search the life of the Prophet (alayhi salatu wa salam) we find that the Prophet (saw) was an illiterate man. At the same time, it was not like New York City where there are libraries that you just go and find out in the books what happened one thousand years ago. Or in these days it's put in the computers to be found. There were no computers and there were no books. The Prophet (saw) was an illiterate man and it was known by everyone that the activities of the Prophet (saw) were only in that area. He didn't go to any other place. He didn't speak to the people who knew Jesus (as) or who were claiming to follow Jesus' (as) religion. The Prophet (saw) is saying, "Allah is sending me Message, sending Ayats, and saying this is how it happened with Jesus."

So when we go to the Ayat we find that Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) is saying to us that Judas betrayed Jesus (as). In every time there are traitors around leaders. Judas was one of the persons following Jesus (as) but for materialistic values and worldly values, he betrayed Jesus (as). And those ones who wanted Jesus (as) to die, to kill him because what Jesus (as) was saying didn't fit to their ideas, they went to the Romans. They were those ones among the Children of Israel who were following Samiri, not those who were following Moses (as). They were the Sheytans who did not believe in anything, did not believe in the hereafter life and only believed in the golden cow and worshipped the cow.

So what Jesus (as) is saying to them they found to be not good for them. They could not accept it. If they accepted it then their kingdom would come down. So they thought Jesus (as) must go because he is a brave man and he is speaking words that are spreading everywhere and everyone is accepting it, intelligence is accepting it. Intelligence is not accepting what they are doing but they have the power. They did not want to loose that power so they went to the Romans and they tried to go to the Roman King saying, "Look, this one is declaring a Kingdom. So he is going to bring your kingdom down."

The Roman King knew how powerful he was at that time and how Jesus was. He said, "How is this one going to bring my power down with ten people around him? You foolish ones, get out of here." But they said, "This one is like this and that." They were high authorities inside the Roman Empire and they formed some foundation where they put themselves into (big) figures. Then the Roman King says to them, "Whatever you want to do, don't involve me into this. I am not believing what you are saying but he is one of you." Jesus (as) was Bani Israil. "Because he is one of you do whatever you want, I don't care."

So what did they do? Those Jews wanted to know where Jesus (as) was. It's like America today who wants to know where Usama bin Laden is and they need somebody to show them. Jesus (as) was not hiding like this mouse Usama bin Laden. He was openly walking around, but protection was coming to him. So that one, Judas, he went and betrayed him saying, "You are looking for him? I know where he is. I know where they gather. I will bring you to him."

And those Jews came with him. But before that, Jesus (as) had people around him and he sent them away. He knew what was going to happen. He didn't want to put any burden on them. So he gave the last supper and he sent them away saying to them, "Now I will see you on the other side." So those people who followed Jesus (as) accepted the order and left. So Jesus (as) was alone in the room.

Those ones came and they said to Judas, "Now you go inside. He is your friend. Look if he's there and then we will come and take him." So the soldiers were waiting. He entered into the room. Jesus (as) had enough time to tell him that he betrayed him and he will be punished for it. So instantly, Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) changed the head part, his (Jesus) face turning into him (Judas) and his (Judas) face turning into him (Jesus). Only the figure outside changed, not the inside. So that one (Judas) was in shock and instantly the angels took Jesus (as) up and they brought him to Paradise.

Now that one is alone inside the room and there's nobody else. The Jews who were waiting outside said, "It is taking him too long. Maybe Jesus killed him. Let's go inside and look." They came inside and found that one (Judas) in front of them. So they said, "This is Jesus." They grabbed him right away and he was screaming,"It's not me, it's not me." They said, "It's you. Your face is showing." So when they took him they didn't think, "Where is our man?" Because sometimes when you are doing something and you know that it is wrong, you do it with that quick way of running, so they didn't think, "This is Jesus. Where is our man?" So they took him over there quickly saying, "Before the King changes his mind we must put him on the cross."

What is the cross? This foolish Christianity today is running after it and putting it around their necks. What is the cross? The cross was the way of punishment in the time of the Roman Empire. If somebody was going to be punished they had to nail him to the cross. It was not some new invention they made for Jesus (as) that they are saying, "Jesus was on the cross." Jesus was not on the cross. The one that they took and put on the cross was Judas. They nailed him to the cross and he stayed up there. When word spread around saying, "They hanged Jesus", some of the followers of Jesus (as) and some of those people whom Jesus (as) took out of hell, they came. There were some women who were doing prostitution and this and that and Jesus (as) took them out from that hell and they loved Jesus (as) and Jesus (as) took them to the river to wash themselves. And those people who knew Jesus' (as) figure, his body, they looked and said, "Tsk, this looks like his head but the body is not the same body."

We know that `X' is a 300-pound man and we know that `Y' is 100 pounds. If his head moves to that one and that one's head moves to this one then we say, "There's something wrong. This is not his body. This is not similar to that one." You understand?

So when that incident happened, now they have to support their lies about whatever happened because after they put Judas to the cross, now they realized it and they were saying, "How did this happen?" They knew something had happened. They knew this face is a different face. It is not Judas' face but the body is Judas' body. They looked and they said, "If this is Judas, where is Jesus? If this is Jesus then where is Judas?" They were looking for Judas but he was nowhere to be found. He disappeared. Judas was on the cross and Jesus (as) was in Paradise already. So now they have to support their lies.

So what did they do? Good Friday. Today is Good Friday [For Muslims every Friday is Good and this Sohbet was given on a Friday night]. They say, "Today they put Jesus to the cross, later they took him down, they put him in a grave, they put a stone on it, and three days later they came and opened the stone and they found that he was not inside that hole." Allah, Allah. How did that happen? If you are not believing in any miracles [by denying Jesus's ascension to Paradise] then how are you believing that the stone moved by itself from there and it came out? So that's another foolishness that they are claiming.

Anyway, one lie that they came up with, they had to support it with another lie. Check it with yourself. I don't suggest it to you. It's not good to lie. But if you lie once and you remember that lie, and if you are going to speak to those people again (whom you lied to) then you are going to say, "Oh, I have to say this here." So you have to support that lie with another lie, another lie and another lie, continuously. But as a spear cannot be kept in a bag and it is going to come out from somewhere, also those lies are going to come out somewhere.

So Jesus (as) was in Paradise, Judas was on the cross because his time was up, and now they have to support their lies, and they continue for 2,000 years. But no Jews, no Jewish organizations, no Jewish rabbis, real rabbis, if you go and ask them, until now, no official mouth will say that the one who was on the cross was Jesus. They don't say it because they know that it wasn't so and they don't want to put themselves in more trouble. So they stay quiet. They say, "These foolish Christians accept that, let's support them, let them accept it." But they don't say it themselves. Go and ask. Say to them, "Is this what you did to Jesus?" Go and ask the Jewish rabbis. Tell them, "Did you hang Jesus?" They have no time then. They don't speak that time. So it's lies, one lie supported by another, one lie by another, one lie by another continuing for 2,000 years.

Who is going to fix and clean that matter again? Jesus (alayhi salam). He is coming down to say to them, "Foolish ones, how are you believing that?" Christians are saying, "Allah put him to the cross to clean the sins of the people." What kind of foolishness is this? Allah cannot clean the sins Himself? He needs someone to put on the cross to clean your sins? Allah, Allah. They say, "He is the son of Allah." Hasha Astaghfirullah! "Son of God" they say. The God is going to put His son on the cross to forgive you and me? What kind of a foolish God is this? If I was living in the time of Jesus, I will tell you the truth, I always say this, I would have asked him, "Are you the son of God?" If he would have said, "Yes" I would have grabbed him by the neck taking him hostage saying, "Give me your powers, otherwise I am going to kill you." (Sheykh laughing). How stupid is that?

Foolish! Blindly running after foolishness. But it is not our matter. They can believe any way they want. The doors of Paradise are open and the doors of hell are open. People are going to enter willingly, not by force. If you want to enter Paradise, the doors of Paradise are open. You have to do this, this and this to enter. If you want to enter into hell, it's very easy. Live with your ego and at the end of the ego you will see the Fire.

Time is up for Maghrib. Now we pray.

Wa min Allahu taufiq

Bihurmatil Habib

Bihurmatil Fatiha. Amin.