The descent of Jesus before the end of the time


Question:

Supposing that Prophet ‘Isa (Jesus) (peace be upon him) is alive now, will he descend at the end of time and rule over people according to the religion of Muhammad (peace be upon him)? If so, what is your proof and how can we refute those who claim this statement is invalid?

Answer:

Yes, Prophet ‘Isa, the Son of Maryam (Mary), will come down to the earth again at the end of time. He will rule according to the Shari`ah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), break the cross, kill the pigs, abolish Jizyah (poll tax required from non-Muslims living in an Islamic state) and will not accept any religion except Islam. Moreover, before his death, all the people of the Book (the Jews and Christians) will believe in him after his descent at the end of time. Allah (Exalted be He) says, “And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but must believe in him [‘Isâ (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), as only a Messenger of Allâh and a human being] before his [‘Isâ (Jesus) عليه السلام) or a Jew’s or a Christian’s] death (at the time of the appearance of the angel of death). And on the Day of Resurrection, he [‘Isâ (Jesus)] will be a witness against them.” [al-Nisa: 159]

Allah (Exalted be He) states that all the People of the Book (the Jews and Christians) will believe in ‘Isa, the son of Maryam, before his death and after coming down to justly rule over people and call to Islam as will be shown in the Hadith of his descent. This Ayah and the previous one are to show the attitude of the Jews towards ‘Isa (peace be upon him) and the established way of Allah (Exalted be He) to save him and to spoil the evil plots of his enemies (the Jews). Moreover, it was authentically reported through many chains of narrators that reach the degree of Tawatur (reporting by a significant number of narrators throughout the chain of narration, whose agreement upon a lie is impossible) that Allah (Exalted be He) raised `Isa to heaven and that he will descend at the end of time to rule justly and kill Al-Masih-ul-Dajjal (the Antichrist).

Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned the Hadiths related to the descent of ‘Isa at the end of time through many chains of narrators and then said, “These are Mutawatir Hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) related by Abu Hurayrah, Ibn Mas’ud, ‘Uthman ibn Abu Al-‘As, Abu Umamah, Al-Nawwas ibn Sam’an, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn Al-‘As, Mujammi` ibn Jariyah, and Hudhayfah ibn Usayd (may Allah be pleased with them) and they provide evidence of how and where he will descend.”

Among these Hadiths is a report related by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, By the One in Whose hand is my soul, soon the Son of Maryam will descend among you as a just judge. He will break the cross, kill the pigs and abolish the Jizyah, and money will become abundant until no one will accept it. Abu Hurayrah said, ‘If you wish, recite the following Ayah: “And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but must believe in him [‘Isâ (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), as only a Messenger of Allâh and a human being] before his [‘Isâ (Jesus) عليه السلام) or a Jew’s or a Christian’s] death (at the time of the appearance of the angel of death).” (Surah Al-Nisa’, 4:159)

Also, he reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “How will you be when the Son of Maryam descends amongst you and your Imam is amongst you (i.e. your are led by the legislation of Allah and the Qur’an) or ( he (‘Isa) will judge people by the law of the Qur’an and not by the law of Gospel.)” 1

It was also authentically narrated that Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them) heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying, “A group of my Ummah will not cease fighting for the Truth and will prevail until the Day of Resurrection. He said: ‘Isa, the Son of Maryam, (peace be upon him) would then descend and their (Muslims’) commander would invite him to come and lead them in Salah, but he would say, ‘No, some amongst you are commanders over the others.’ This is an honor that Allah shows to this Ummah.” 2

Therefore, these Hadiths prove that ‘Isa will undoubtedly come down at the end of time, rule according to the Shari’ah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and lead this Ummah in Salah. His descent does not contradict the fact that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last prophet; for `Isa will not come with a new Shari’ah. The decision is only for Allah Who does what He wills and ordains what He intends. No one can overrule His Judgment; He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.

May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.

  1. Muslim, Sahih, Book on faith, no. 155; and Ahmad, Musnad, vol. 2, p. 336. ↩

  2. Muslim, Sahih, Book on faith, no. 156; and Ahmad, Musnad, vol. 3, p. 384. ↩

Muftis
  • Shaykh Abdul-'Aziz ibn 'Abdullah ibn Baz , Shaykh Abdul-Razzaq al-Afify , Shaykh Abdullah ibn Ghudayyan , Shaykh Abdullah ibn Qa'ud
  • Estimated reading time :
    5 Min read
  • Source:
    Fatawa Al-Lajnah Ad-Da'imah no. 1621-3
  • Prophets
  • Updated :
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