Is Jesus (as) alive in heaven, or did he die according to the Holy Qur’an?

According to the Holy Qur’an, Jesus (as) died a natural death, like all the messengers before the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). What was raised to heaven was his spiritual rank with God, not his body.

Many Muslims have grown up with the idea that Jesus (as) was lifted alive in his body to heaven and is waiting there for his return. This idea comes from later centuries. It is not in the Holy Qur’an, and no hadith says that Jesus (as) ascended bodily and alive to heaven.

On the contrary, the Holy Qur’an speaks of the death of Jesus (as) in many places, more clearly than of almost any other prophet. The second verse above places him alongside the messengers who passed away before him, and mentions that he and his mother ate food like every human being. In the third verse Jesus (as) himself says that he was a witness over his people as long as he lived among them, and that God then caused him to die. What the Holy Qur’an says about his being raised refers to his honour and nearness to God, not to a journey of the body.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) believed nothing other than what the Holy Qur’an teaches. His companions understood it the same way. When the Holy Prophet (saw) died, many could not grasp it. Umar was so shaken that he would not let anyone say the Prophet had died. Then Abu Bakr stood before the people and recited the first verse above. All the messengers before him have passed away. Umar later said it was as if he were hearing that verse for the first time.

This event matters. Had even one of the companions believed that Jesus (as) was still alive in heaven, he could have objected. No one did. They all understood the verse to mean that every messenger before the Holy Prophet (saw) had died, Jesus (as) included.