*"That they say (in boast): 'We killed the Messiah Isa, son of Maryam, the Messenger of Allah, but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of Isa was put over another man (and they killed that man), and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no certain knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely, they killed him not, but Allah raised him up unto Himself. And Allah is ever All-Powerful, All-Wise. And there is none of the people of the scripture but must believe in him before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection, he (Isa) will be a witness against them." *
Allah raised Him up unto Himself. The word here used is 'rafa' which u literally take it as 'raised up to heavens". One need to keep in mind that heaven is not a physical thing. It is where people go after their death. I said that earlier too. By climbing the highest mountain, one doesnt come closer to God.
If i may ask , do you or any school of thought you are familiar with pray in between sajoods? Because we as Ahmadis say this prayer which is " allahumagh firni warhamni wa'aadni warafaani wajburni warhamni ". We never take the meaning of warafaani as to take us up to heaven but to raise our spiritual status.
They killed Him not nor crucify him, the other option is that He AS died a natural death.
Another point I want to raise is that Allah is everywhere. If He AS was raised to heaven, that means Allah is only in heavens? How can that be when Allah Himself says that he is everywhere? He is despite being close very far, and despite being far , very close.
It is against the sunnah of Allah to take someone up to skies bodily. He has never done that before and he never will do that. People are born as a child and then raised up to adulthood. We will never see a change to this sunnah of Allah, even in the prophets case. To raise oneself in the spiritual sense is very much possible.
Someone above mentioned this verse :
[quote]
"And for their saying, We did slay the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah; whereas they slew him not, nor did they bring about his death upon the cross, but he was made to appear to them like one crucified; and those who differ therein are certainly in a state of doubt about it; they have no certain knowledge thereof, but pursue only a conjecture; and they did not arrive at a certainty concerning it. On the contrary, Allah exalted him to himself. And Allah is Mighty, Wise."
[/quote]
The argument of the Jews was that because Hadhrat Jesusas died on the cross, considered an accursed death according to the law of the Torah, Hadhrat Jesusas could not be a true prophet. The Quran rejects the slaying of Hadhrat Jesusas in any form, including killing by nailing to the cross. Nothing in the verse suggests Hadhrat Jesusas was NOT nailed to the cross: the verse only denies DEATH by nailing to the cross.... and ofcourse Allah exalted Him to himself refers only the spiritual elevation, and not bodily. As I said earlier, heaven is not a physical place but spiritual.
according to the Quran, humans live and die in the physical universe. Prophets are human beings. Prophets, like all humans, are subject to hunger, pain, death, etc. The Quran is clear that Hadhrat Jesusas was a human being like the Holy Prophet Muhammadsaw. To say that Hadhrat Jesusas is alive today, 2000 years after he was born, is to make him more than a human. The Laws of God do not change. In fact, the Quran makes a general statement: "But you will never find any change in the way of Allah, nor will you find any alteration in the way of Allah." (35:44)