By Hassan El-Najjar

Al-Jazeerah, August 14, 2005

The famous caller to Islam, Shaikh Ahmed Deedat passed away at 87, at his home in the KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, on August 8, 2005. He left behind a legacy of encouragement and enthusiasm to the callers of Islam everywhere to be persistent in their efforts to explain Islam and educate both Muslims and non-Muslims about it all over the world.

Shaikh Ahmed Deedat was famous for his debates with evangelical Christians known for their attacks on Islam. He was also famous for his unique lectures, which address specific topics of difference between Islam and Christianity. Some of them have been published in one book, titled, "The Choice: Islam and Christianity ", printed 14 times since 1993 by Islamic Book Service. He published over 20 other books, which can be found in Islamic libraries and on the internet.

Among the topics that he discussed in these lectures were Muhammed in the Bible, the miracle of the Qur'an, and the crucifixtion:

I had the honor of meeting with Shaikh Ahmed Deedat in Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in 1985. In that year, he received the Saudi King Faisal Award, in recognition to his efforts and works. He toured the Arabian Gulf states, including the UAE after that.

He gave a lecture in Dubai but an official in Ras Al-Khaimah invited him to visit the city and give another lecture. He came and was celebrated by an unexpectedly (due to the short-notice announcement) large audience.

When Ahmed Deedat stood and started his lecture in English, it was clear that his hosts didn't know that he didn't know Arabic. There was no interpreter known to them and the audience was predominantly Arabic-speaking. At that moment, I stood, introduced myself to the hosts as the teacher of English in the Sai'd Bin Jubair High School, in Ras Al-Khaimah. I told them that it would be an honor to translate Ahmed Deedat's lecture. They were very happy and so was Shaikh Ahmed Deedat.

Before he started, I asked him to stop after each paragraph, so I can read what I translated. He did not agree and ask me just to summarize the main argument of the lecture instead of a more detailed translation. It was a great pleasure and turned to be one of his favorite topics, when I started to read for him after that.

The lecture was titled, "The Crucifixion: Is it Reality or Imagination?" It was about one verse of the Holy Qur'an, which supported by evidence from the New Testament about the Crucifixion. "That they said (in boast): "We killed Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, the apostle of God, ", But they killed him not, nor crucified him. But so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow. For a surety, they killed him not." (Chapter IV, Verse 157).

I still have the Arabic translation of the lecture but I didn't record the lecture itself in English. I hope that one day I have the time to translate it into English for the benefit of people everywhere. But it is the topic of Part IV of Volume II of his above-mentioned book, Pp. 146-240.

Deedat basically argued that there is no real difference between the Bible and the Qur'an on this most important issue despite the claimed difference: That Christians say he was crucified and killed but the Qur'an says he was neither crucified nor killed. He demonstrated that Jesus Christ was not killed. He used verses from the Bible to support his argument.

For example, he mentions the Mary Magdalene visit to Jesus to "anoint" him (message him with oil) three days after the crucifixion (Mark 16: 1) saying that messaging was and is done to the living, not to the dead. She found the stone removed and the shrouds folded. Again he points to the fact that only a living being can do that, not a dead person. Then, he mentions how Jesus "sat eating with them, he took bread and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to them (Luke 24: 30). How can he be dead, a spirit, then break bread and eat with them? Ahmed Deedat continues in a bout 94 pages demonstrating through verses from the Bible that Jesus was not killed.

May Allah accept Ahmed Deedat's work and may his soul rest in peace for his efforts to educate people about Islam with wisdom.