Why does 21:34 not show that Jesus (as) has died?

Question

From this answer: https://islam.stackexchange.com/a/79270/54227

7. "We granted not everlasting life to any human being before thee. If then thou shouldst die, shall they live here for ever?" (21:34).

Everlasting life doesn't necessarily mean literally forever. It can also refer to extraordinarily long lives otherwise impossible. Here, the Prophet (sa) is addressed that you like every other human being will die but no one will remain forever. Jesus (as) is in clear violation of this rule. Compared to us a lifespan of 2000+ years is basically forever.

I want to know how do Muslims who believe Jesus (as) is alive can respond to this argument.

Answer 1

1. The verse means everlasting life i.e. without any end. Muslims believe that Jesus will descend, rule for some time, and then die. So, this verse is not relevant.

   فيمكث في الأرض أربعين سنة ثم يتوفى فيصلي عليه المسلمون

   After his descent Jesus will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him (funeral prayers).

   ^{— Abu Dawud}

2. The verse implicitly means eternity "on earth". Jesus only spent a few decades on earth before his ascent, and will only spend a few decades on earth after his descent. The bulk of his life is spent in heavens. The verse does not negate eternity in the sky, it is well known that the inhabitants of heavens live forever.

3. The verse does not a negate long life. The Quran itself says about Noah:

   ولقد أرسلنا نوحا إلى قومه فلبث فيهم ألف سنة إلا خمسين عاما فأخذهم الطوفان وهم ظالمون

   And We certainly sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them a thousand years minus fifty years, and the flood seized them while they were wrongdoers.

   ^{— Quran 29:14}

   Meaning that Noah lived for at least 950 years. And some of the salaf used to interpret that this was just the period he spent preaching before the flood, and that his total age was 1020 to 1700 years (counting his life before his mission and after the flood).

   Similarly the Quran says that the Ashab al-Kahf slept in the cave for over 300 years (18:25) meaning that they lived for even longer than this.

   The life of Jesus is less extraordinary than these examples since he is not staying on earth for such a long period but rather in heavens.

You are deriving irrational conclusions from the verse. It does not show that Jesus is dead.