Your offering two rak'ahs as greetings to the Prophet's Mosque is commendable. The best place in the [Prophet's] mosque to offer prayers is, of course, the area between what used to be the Prophet's home, where he is buried, and the place where his pulpit used to be. The Prophet describes this area in an authentic Hadith as "garden of heaven." Following that, the proper procedure is to walk to visit the grave of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the graves of his two companions, Abu Bakr and Umar, who are buried next to him. One should stand at a short distance from the grave of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and address him politely, in a low voice, in these words: "Peace be to you, messenger of Allah, with Allah's mercy and blessings." A Hadith classified as "good" related by Abu Dawood on the authority of Abu Hurairah quotes the Prophet as saying: "When anyone greets me, Allah gives me back my spirit so that I am able to reply to his greetings."

Every Muslim knows that Allah has mentioned in the Qur'an that Muhammad, His Messenger, is only a human being who has been chosen by Allah to convey His message to mankind. Everything applicable to human beings was applicable to Muhammad in his lifetime. Allah states in the Qur'an addressing the Prophet: You are certainly going to die, and they are also going to die. He also says: Muhammad is only a messenger before whom other messengers of Allah have passed away. Should he die or be slain would you turn back on your heels? We also know that the Prophet has died and has been buried in his grave. This does not conflict with the Hadith quoted above and related by Abu Dawood. The fact that Allah gives the Prophet his spirit back does not mean that he returns to life in the same way as he was before his death. Otherwise, he would be living like us but confined in his grave. This is not a position which Allah gives to His messenger.

As Muslims, we entertain no doubt that Jesus, peace be upon him, was a great and noble prophet. He was born to his pure, virgin mother, Mary, may Allah be pleased with her. We do not know of her having been married to anyone. In fact, a Muslim will immediately deny that because he believes that Mary was a virgin when she conceived. Everyone in her community knew her to be a virgin. They were surprised when she was delivered of her baby and went back to her people holding her newborn on her arm. They were shocked and asked for an explanation. At that moment, the baby himself answered them, explaining that he was created by Allah's will, without a father. That he talked to them when he was so young provided the clearest proof to them that his mother was not a sinner.

Furthermore, we believe in all prophets and messengers. Allah has chosen to give us a brief or a detailed account of 23 prophets and the noble line of Prophethood ends with Muhammad, peace be upon him, who is the last of all prophets. Allah also tells us in the Qur’an that He has sent other prophets and messengers to other nations and He has chosen not to tell us anything about them. He, however, says that He has sent a messenger to every nation. Muhammad, peace be upon him, was sent to all mankind.

Five among the prophets Allah has named in the Qur'an are distinguished by their being men of "very strong resolve and determination." According to chronological order of their respective missions, these five are Noah, Ibrahim, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them and all the other prophets and messengers.

As Muslims, we believe in all these prophets, respect and revere them as men who dedicated their lives to convey Allah's message and to provide a perfect, practical example for people to follow. We accept nothing of the stories which people of other religions relate about any of them, accusing them of committing any sort of sin. It is sufficient to remember here that the Jews reduced the position of prophets Dawood and Suleman to that of kings. If they were impudent enough to deprive these two noble prophets of that status, then it is not surprising that they could spread any sort of fabricated stories about them. We believe in no such stories. We declare that we believe in all these prophets, drawing no distinction between them. We should remember that Allah describes as disbelievers those who try to draw a line of distinction between prophets and declare that they are ready to believe in some while they deny others.

"The Messenger has believed in the guidance which has been sent down to him from his Lord, and those who believe in the Messenger have also sincerely accepted the same. They all believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books and His Messengers. And they say: We do not discriminate against any of His Messengers. We have heard the Message and submitted to it. Our Lord, we look up to Thee for forgiveness, for to Thee we shall all return." [Baqarah - The Cow - 2 :285)]

Allah does not accept of us any attempt to elevate any group of prophets over others on any basis. I hope that I have made this very clear. May I now ask: how can anyone imagine that he could judge prophets and put some of them on a level which is higher or lower than that of others? Such a judgment can only be done by a superior. If human beings assume such a task, they are actually making a claim of being superior to prophets. That is totally unacceptable. The only one who is superior to prophets is their Maker, Allah, who is the only God in the universe. If one tries to draw distinction between prophets, his attitude is akin to that of the Jews who have declared at one stage that they were not ready to accept Islam because the Qur'anic revelations were brought to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, by Angel Gabriel, who was their enemy. Had the Qur'anic revelations been conveyed to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, by Michael or some other angel, they would have accepted Islam. Such ludicrous and impudent claims can be accepted from no one. Allah has denounced the Jews for making such a statement.

There is no such thing as "immaculate conception." It is true that Mary became pregnant without having had intercourse with any man. It was Allah's will to create Jesus without a father. However, Adam was created without either a father or a mother. Although Adam was a prophet, nobody has suggested that he was superior to all other prophets and all mankind because of the way he was created. Indeed, the creation of man gives him a superior position on earth and that is the reason for putting man in charge of this planet. He is entrusted with building and establishing the proper human life on earth, which is achievable through the implementation of Allah's law revealed to us through the prophets.

Moreover, what sin are we talking about in the normal conception which comes as a result of intercourse between husband and wife? Allah has given us the sexual desire and has directed us how to fulfill it in a legitimate way, i.e. through marriage, and to make use of it for ensuring the survival of human kind. When people deviate from that clean way and indulge in promiscuity, they commit sins. But there is no sin in the act itself, as such. If sex is practiced only within the bonds of marriage, between a man and his wife, there is nothing to feel ashamed of that, nor is any blame attached to any one as a result of it. Therefore, to suggest that Jesus did no sin because he was not conceived as a result of intercourse infers that all other human beings are sinners because they fulfill their sexual desires. Marriage, which is a legitimate way of fulfilling it, becomes sinful. That is not only absurd, it runs contrary to what Allah states in the Qur'an. He describes the believers as people who maintain their chastity and indulge in sexual fulfillment only with their wives, when no blame is attached to them. Whoever makes claims of the sort you have mentioned suggests that they should be blamed for that. That is ludicrous.

The verse to which you have referred is translated by Yousuf Ali as follows:

"Peace be to me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I should be raised up to life again."

This is a pretty accurate translation, but it does not signify that Jesus has actually died. The verse quotes a supplication by Jesus when he was a young baby, speaking to people about his miraculous birth.

Note how the fact of his birth is expressed in the past tense, because it is an event that had already happened. The other two events of his death and resurrection are expressed in the present tense which signifies the future. So the reference to Jesus' death here is a reference to a future event with regard to the point in time when he was speaking. It could then mean his death after his second coming, as is the view of the overwhelming majority of scholars. It may also be taken as a reference to a death occurring much sooner, at the end of the time allowed to Jesus in this life.

There are a number of scholars who believe that the Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, died naturally like all people. They accept without question the fact expressed clearly in the Qur'an that Jesus was neither killed nor crucified by his enemies. God had rescued him and allowed him to complete his life. He later died and was buried normally as all dead people. To these scholars, the Hadiths which speak of Jesus' second coming are lacking in authenticity. They also interpret the reference in the Qur'an to him being raised by God as meaning giving him a high position among human beings and other creations, which he certainly had as one of the messengers endowed with strong resolve. These scholars do not find any strong evidence supporting the concept of Jesus being raised physically, alive, to stay for a period of time in heaven before coming back again. Hence they conclude that he must have died like all human beings.

Other scholars take the Qur'anic statements literally, particularly when they refer to Jesus being raised to a high place. They also accept the Hadiths speaking of his second coming as authentic. Since nothing is impossible for God to accomplish, they take the meaning of all relevant statements together and conclude that Jesus was raised to heaven after God saved him from his enemies, and that he will come back to complete his appointed time of life on earth, at the end of which he would die like all human beings.

A Muslim may take either view, provided he makes a proper study of the evidence given in support of each. He may hold whichever conclusion he may come to at the end. On the other hand, a Muslim may prefer not to concern himself with this issue, believing instead that it is within God's power to raise anyone to heaven where he may stay alive for any length of time and then He may bring him back when He chooses.

The concept of whether Jesus is still alive or whether he died is not central to Islamic faith. A Muslim may choose either view honestly or choose not to have a view in this matter, considering that there are scholars supporting each view. Since neither view is essential to Islamic faith, we may accept either without fear of encroaching on basic Islamic beliefs.

What a Muslim may not accept is the concept of crucifixion, which is categorically denied in the Qur'an, as God says: "They have neither killed nor crucified him, although it was made to appear so to them." God is certainly able to accomplish His purpose with ease, no matter what people may assert.