Where is the tomb of Jesus (as): Galilee or Kashmir?

The old city of Srinagar. Narrow lanes, wooden balconies, and in the Khanyar quarter a small tomb. The local people call it “Rozabal”. Lying inside is a foreign prophet, whom they know by the name “Yuz Asaf”.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) announced that this is the real tomb of Hazrat Jesus, son of Mary (as). But his opponents bring up another passage of his, in which Galilee is mentioned. So which is right?

What is the objection?

The objection goes like this: in his book Izala-e-Auham he wrote, “It is true that the Messiah went to his own land, Galilee, and died there” (Ruhani Khazain vol. 3, p. 353). Then later he wrote that the Messiah came to Kashmir and died there, and that his tomb is in the Khanyar quarter of Srinagar. And in one place a tomb in Bilad ash-Sham (the region of Syria and Palestine) is also mentioned. The opponents ask: how can one man have a tomb in three places?

That is a fair question. To find the answer, we have to read the sentence together with what comes before and after it.

In what context was the Galilee sentence written?

That section of Izala-e-Auham is actually a reply to a Christian newspaper. The paper had claimed that eleven disciples saw Jesus go up into heaven with their own eyes. The Promised Messiah (as) was testing that very claim against the accounts in the Bible.

He showed that the account of the ascension is from Luke, who never saw Jesus. Then he said that even if these accounts are accepted, they do not prove a bodily ascension to heaven; rather, what they suggest is that the Messiah went to his own land, Galilee, and died a natural death.

And at the end of this discussion, he himself gave a warning:

“Remember, all this analysis is on the assumption that we accept these quotations as correct and free from tampering; but accepting these quotations is a difficult matter.” (Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khazain vol. 3, pp. 353–356)

In other words, the Galilee statement was an argument built on the Christians’ own books: “Even if we accept your books, your claim does not stand.” It was not written as the result of his final research.

In the same place he also made clear that the Messiah did not die on the cross; Allah saved his life. This core point is the same in all his writings.

He cleared it up himself

Most importantly, he himself answered this “contradiction”. In his book Sat Bachan he wrote:

“Yes, I did write in one book that the tomb of the Messiah is in Bilad ash-Sham; but now correct research compels us to write that the real tomb is in Kashmir, and that the tomb in Bilad ash-Sham is the place where he was laid while alive and from which he came out.” (Sat Bachan, Ruhani Khazain vol. 10, p. 307)

Now the picture is clear. Two different things are being called a “tomb”.

The first is that rock-cut chamber in Palestine where Jesus (as), unconscious, was laid after being taken down from the cross. Christians still honour it today as “the tomb of Jesus”. But he came out of it alive. He was taken down from the cross unconscious, laid in the tomb, and there he recovered.

The second is his real grave, where he was buried after a natural death: the Rozabal in the Khanyar quarter of Srinagar.

From one “tomb” he walked out; in the other he lies at rest for ever. There is no contradiction here.

What does the Quran point to?

The Holy Quran speaks of a special refuge given to Jesus (as) and his mother:

“Giving refuge” usually means safety after passing through danger. And a high land of valleys, ringed by mountains and full of springs: what could describe Kashmir more beautifully? The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community sees this verse as pointing to the migration of Jesus (as) eastwards after the events of the cross.

Questions people ask

Is changing one’s view fitting for the rank of a prophet?

Some ask: how can a fact change in the writings of someone who claims to come from Allah? Let us see what he himself said. In Haqiqatul Wahi he wrote frankly that until revelation makes a matter clear, he holds to the common view; when knowledge comes later, he changes what he says. In his words: “I am only a man; I do not claim to know the unseen.” (Haqiqatul Wahi, pp. 148–150; quoted in the book Truth Prevails)

Prophets are human too. They know what Allah tells them. To correct an earlier view after receiving new knowledge is a sign of honesty, not a contradiction.

So was the Galilee statement wrong?

The sentence was conditional: “if we accept your accounts as correct.” He wrote clearly that accepting those accounts is itself difficult. It is not fair to present a conditional argument as a final claim. If someone says, “Even by your own figures, you lose,” it does not mean he agrees your figures are right.

What is the basis for saying the tomb in Kashmir belongs to Jesus (as)?

The basis has several layers. The Quran says Jesus (as) did not die on the cross, and that Allah gave him and his mother refuge on a high land of springs. He travelled eastwards to take his message to the ten lost tribes of the Children of Israel, who had settled in Afghanistan and Kashmir. And the tomb in Khanyar has been known locally for many centuries as the grave of a foreign prophet.