JESUS (PBUH) IN THE HADITH

he facts that Jesus (pbuh) is alive in God's presence and that he will return to Earth in the End Times appears in some detail in the hadith collections, among them al-Shaybani's Taysir al-Usul ila Jami' al-Usul; Imam Maliki's Al-Muwatta'; the Sahihs of Ibn Khuzayma and Ibn Hibban; and the Musnads of Ibn Hanbal and al-Tayalisi, regarded as the greatest sources of the most reliable hadith. Furthermore, many Islamic scholars have carried out research and studies on these facts and have written books and treatises on them. These are also invaluable sources.

Heading the list of these great Islamic scholars is Abu Hanifa, the founder of the Hanafi legal school. Some of the other Islamic scholars who hold these views are listed below:

- Imam Abu Mansur Muhammad al-Maturidi, who, while studying the hadith regarding Jesus (pbuh), stated that Jesus (pbuh) would return to Earth and slay the Antichrist.80

- Al-Ajuri, regarded as one of the first experts on the Qur'an, stated that Jesus (pbuh) will return to Earth in the End Times, for which reason the report must be believed.81

- Ibn Hazm stated that the report that Jesus (pbuh) would return is reliable.82

- Al-Pazdavi drew attention to the fact that reports of Jesus' (pbuh) second coming are openly revealed in many verses and hadith.83

- An-Nasafi stated that this event was one of the major signs of the Day of Judgment.84

- Saduddin al-Taftazani stated that the hadith about this event are completely trustworthy.85

- Ibn al-'Arabi reported that even though more than a thousand years has passed since Jesus' (pbuh) birth, he is alive in body and soul in God's presence.86

- Al-Qurtubi wrote that he believes in the second coming of Jesus (pbuh) and indicated many trustworthy hadith to back up this belief.87

- Imam Rabbani wrote: "Jesus (pbuh) will descend from the sky and will be a member of Prophet Muhammad's (may God bless him and grant him peace) community. In other words, he will be one of his people and will abide by the Divine law."88

- Imam Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi, regarded as one of the most important Egyptian Hanafi scholars of his time, opined that the return of Jesus (pbuh) is a major sign of the End Times and stated the need to believe in this truth.89

- 'Ali al-Qari said that Jesus' (pbuh) second coming is a sign of the Day of Judgment and that when he returns, he will slay the Antichrist. According to al-Qari, belief in this report is obligatory, for the subject is fixed by a number of reports from the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) and his followers.90

- In his book Maqalat al-Islamiyyin wa Ikhtilfa' al-Musallin (The Discourses of the Proponents of Islam and the Differences among the Worshippers), Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari said: "It is a requirement to believe in these elements on which the people of the hadith and the people of the Sunnah are agreed: in God, angels, the books, the prophets, the revelations received from God, and in the words of the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) … that the Antichrist will appear and that Jesus (pbuh) will slay him."91

- Al-Bayadi draws attention to the fact that the second coming is one of the signs that the Day of Judgment is approaching, and that reliable hadith fully support this information.92

- Al-Suyuti reported that Jesus (pbuh) will come and rule with the law of Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace).93

- Al-Alusi said that when Jesus (pbuh) returns, he will rule with the law of Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) and the Muslims will be his helpers.94

- Abu Munteha, an Islamic scholar from the Ottoman period, said it was right to believe in the return of Jesus (pbuh).95

- Al-Shinqiti, a modern commentator, wrote: "Both the Qur'an and the generally accepted Sunnah are proofs that Jesus (pbuh) is at this moment alive, that he will descend in the End Times, and that his coming is regarded as one of the signs of the Day of Judgment."96

Taken all together, these and many other hadith clearly show the full agreement among all Islamic scholars that Jesus (pbuh) will come again. For example, in his Lawami, Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Saffarini states that Islamic scholars are in agreement on the issue:

The community of the faithful agrees that Jesus (pbuh), the son of Mary, will return. No member of the people of the Divine law has opposed this element.97

In his commentary, Ruh al-Ma'ani fi Tafsir al-Qur'an, the great Islamic scholar Sayyid al-Alusi cited examples of the views of other Islamic scholars and said that the community is agreed on the return of Jesus (pbuh), and that these statements were so well known as to attain the level of consensus. He also stated that belief in the coming of Jesus (pbuh) was obligatory.98

The Hadith on Jesus (pbuh) Are "Tawatur"

The hadith relating Jesus' (pbuh) second coming are tawatur, a specialized term defined as "a tradition that has been handed down by a number of different channels of transmitters or authorities, hence supposedly ruling out the possibility of its having been forged."99 Generally reliable hadith are those which are reported by so many hadith experts that there is no room left for error. The Islamic scholar Sayyid al-Jurjani expounded on this concept as follows:

Generally reliable reports are those that attain such a level [of agreement] among the majority of narrators that, according to custom, it is [considered] impossible for so many reporters to agree on a falsehood. In that event, if the report's words and meaning are consistent, then this is known as the "reliability of the word." If there is agreement among all of them in both sense and meaning, but a conflict in words, then this is known as "conceptual reliability."100

In his Al-Tasrih fi ma Tawatara fi Nuzul al-Masih, the great hadith scholar Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri wrote that the hadith about Jesus' (pbuh) second coming are all reliable, and quotes 75 hadith and 25 works by the Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) Companions and their disciples (Tabi'un).

The following explanation appears in 'Awn al-Ma`bud, one of the important texts in Sunan Abu Dawud:

The hadith reported from the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) that Jesus (pbuh) will return from the sky in body and soul are trustworthy… This is the doctrine of the people of the Sunnah.101

Imam Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari stated that the hadith about Jesus' (pbuh) descent are trustworthy:

The hadith regarding Jesus' (pbuh) descent are "conceptually reliable." Each sound and beautiful hadith indicates a different meaning, yet all agree that Jesus (pbuh) will return. Nobody who has scented the odor of the knowledge contained within the hadith can possibly deny this truth… The hadith dealing with the appearance of the Mahdi and the Antichrist, as well as with the second coming, have achieved such a high degree of trustworthiness that their truth is beyond all doubt. The fact that some scholastic theologians deem it obligatory to believe in hadith about the signs of the Day of Judgment, while they still have doubts as to whether a part of these hadith are reliable or not, stems from their insufficient knowledge of the hadith.102

We saw earlier that the great Islamic scholar Imam al-Suyuti stated that Jesus (pbuh) is alive in God's presence and will return in the End Times, at which time religious moral values will prevail over Earth. In his book Al-Hawi li al-Fatawa and the collection Nuzul 'Isa ibn Maryam Akhir al-Zaman, he considered all of the relevant hadith, after which he stated that these were trustworthy:

It cannot remain concealed from those who have studied the hadith at great length that all of the relevant hadith have achieved the level of trustworthiness. Therefore, just as the hadith about the awaited Mahdi are trustworthy and those concerning the Antichrist have attained the level of trustworthiness, the hadith about the coming of Jesus (pbuh) are also trustworthy.103

After analyzing and explaining these hadith, the scholar Ibn Kathir outlined his thoughts:

The prophetic hadith reliably report when and where Jesus (pbuh) will return … The reliable and trustworthy hadith about when Jesus (pbuh) will return to Earth in his physical body cannot be interpreted in any other manner. Therefore, everyone who has the slightest faith and conscience must believe that Jesus (pbuh) will return to Earth…104

Furthermore, many great Islamic commentators and scholars share the view that the hadith dealing with Jesus (pbuh) being alive in God's presence and his return, as well as those dealing with the Antichrist and the Mahdi, are trustworthy. Among them are Ibn 'Atiyya, author of Al-Bahr al-Muhit; Imam al-Hafiz ibn Hajar, author of Fath al-Bari; Imam Ibn Rushd, author of Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari; Sheikh al-Ghumari, author of 'Aqidat Ahl al-Islam fi Nuzul 'Isa 'alayhi al-Salam; and Ja'far al-Kattani, author of Nazm al-Mutanathir fi al-Hadith al-Mutawatir.

Accounts in the Hadith about Jesus (pbuh)

Our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) received news of the Unseen directly from God:

He [God] is the Knower of the Unseen and does not divulge His secrets to anyone - except a messenger with whom He is well pleased, and then He posts sentinels before him and behind him. (Qur'an, 72:26-27)

Our Lord reveals that He sent knowledge to Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) in his dreams:

God has confirmed His messenger's vision with truth: "You will enter the Sacred Mosque [Masjid al-Haram] in safety, God willing, shaving your heads and cutting your hair without any fear." He knew what you did not know and ordained, in place of this, an imminent victory. (Qur'an, 48:27)

As can be seen, our Lord imparted pieces of concealed knowledge to our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) in order to provide him and his Companions with His support and help. Some of his Companions witnessed some of these concealed things. They reported how he conveyed these concealed things to them. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, reported from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and Hudhayfa, and Imam Ahmad and Imam Muslim reported from Ibn Zayd al-Ansari, that:

The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) … gave us news of all the past and future events in this address, taught them to us, and had us learn them by heart.105

Hudhayfa al-Yamani said:

I swear to God that the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) gave us news of the wickedness that would come until the end of the world, as well as the names of more than three hundred leaders who would produce that wickedness, with their fathers' names and those of their tribes.106

A large part of our Prophet's (may God bless him and grant him peace) reports about the future contains information about the second coming. When these hadith about Jesus (pbuh) are examined, we notice that despite their large numbers, all of them agree with each other. When their information is examined, we see that they all contain similar reports that Jesus (pbuh) will return to Earth, rule the people with the Qur'an, fight and overcome the Antichrist, cause true religious moral values to prevail on Earth, and usher in an era of peace and abundance for the whole world. Another noteworthy feature of these hadith is that they have been reported by a large number of witnesses. Indeed, this is why they are considered mutawatir, for so many people have reported them that they cannot possibly be false. The number of witnesses relating hadith regarding Jesus (pbuh) is greater than fifty. These include:

Anas Ibn Malik, Qatada, 'A'isha, Abu Hurayra, 'Imran ibn Husayn, Nafi' ibn 'Utba, Abu Barza, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Qaysan, 'Uthman ibn al-'As, Jabir ibn 'Abdullah, Abu Umama, Ibn Mas'ud, 'Abdulla ibn Amr, Samura ibn Jundub, Nawwas ibn Sam'an, Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf, Hudhayfa ibn al-Yamani, Abu al-Asas as-Sanani, Abu Umama al Bahili, Abu al-Darda', Abu Rafi', Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, Al-Hakam ibn 'Amr al-Ghifari, Rabi' ibn Anas, and 'Ammar ibn Yasir, may God be pleased with all of them.

Statements from the Companions and the Later Generations

The Companions are very valuable believers who attained the honors of being alongside and being taught by the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace). Thus, their statements regarding the verses about Jesus (pbuh) contain information of what the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) taught them about this unique prophet. When we examine their statements about the relevant verses, we notice that all of them believed that Jesus (pbuh) was not dead and would return to Earth. Some of these statements are as follows:

-Referring to Qur'an 3:46, Ibn Zayd said: "Jesus (pbuh) spoke to people while he was still in the cradle. When he kills the Antichrist, he will speak to people as an adult."107

-'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas said about Qur'an 4:159: "This verse is proof that Jesus (pbuh), son of Mary, will appear … All of the People of the Book will believe in him before his death."108

-Muhammad ibn 'Ali Abi Talib (also known as Ibn Hanafiyya), explained Qur'an 4:159 in these terms: "He will descend before the Day of Judgment. All Jews and Christians will believe in him."109

-Qatada expounded on the same verse, as follows: "When Jesus (pbuh) descends, all religions will believe in him and he will bear witness for them on the Day of Judgment."110 He stated about Qur'an 43:61 thus: "The appearance of Jesus (pbuh) is an indication of the Day of Judgment."111

-In explaining Qur'an 4:159, Abu Muhammad al-Madani said: "When Jesus (pbuh) descends to Earth, he will slay the Antichrist, and no Jew who does not believe in him will be left on Earth."112

-Al-Hakam ibn 'Amr al-Ghifari explained Qur'an 4:159 in the following words: "At the moment when Jesus (pbuh) son of Mary descends, all of the People of the Book will believe in him."113

-Al-Hasan al-Basri made the following comment: "I swear to God that Jesus (pbuh) is at this moment alive in God's presence, and that everyone will believe in him when he returns." With regard to Qur'an 4:159, he said: "God raised Jesus (pbuh) to His presence. He will send him before the Day of Judgment as a holder of rank. Good and bad, all will believe in him."114 He also made a similar comment regarding Qur'an 43:61, saying that the meaning of the verse was that Jesus (pbuh) would return to Earth.115

-On the same subject, Ibn 'Abbas said: "In Qur'an 43:61, God indicates that Jesus (pbuh) will appear before the Day of Judgment."116

Islamic Scholars Regard the Coming of Jesus (pbuh) as an Article of Faith

Almost all the works that elucidate articles of faith among the People of the Sunnah agree that Jesus (pbuh) will return to Earth before the Day of Judgment, fight and slay the Antichrist, and cause true religious moral values to prevail on Earth. In their analysis of the proofs presented in the Qur'an and the hadith, Islamic scholars inform us that Jesus' (pbuh) second coming is an important article of faith. They explain the matter thus:

1. God has revealed that: "They did not kill him and they did not crucify him, but it was made to seem so to them" (Qur'an, 4:157). In addition, many other verses reveal that Jesus (pbuh) is alive in God's presence and that he will come again. Islamic scholars agree that it is impossible to maintain any other position. For instance, Ibn Hazm emphasized that: "Anyone who says that Jesus (pbuh) was killed will either be someone who leaves the just religion or an unbeliever."117

2. The fact that the hadith on this subject are completely tawatur (trustworthy) and so clear is important evidence for Muslims. Furthermore, there is no hadith that asserts that Jesus (pbuh) will not return.

3. The hadith reported by Jabir ibn 'Abdullah: "He who denies the appearance of the Mahdi is inevitably blaspheming against what was revealed to the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace). He who denies the appearance of Jesus (pbuh), the son of Mary, has become an unbeliever. Someone who denies that the Antichrist will appear is also inevitably an unbeliever," is another important piece of evidence. This hadith appears in such important Islamic sources as Sheikh Muhammad Parisa's Fusul-i Sitta, Ibn Ishaq's Kitab al-Ta`aruf li Madhhab Ahl al-Tasawwuf, Imam Suhayli's al-Rawd al-Unuf, and Imam Suyuti's Alamat al-Mahdi. Moreover, Abu Bakr explained the hadith in these terms: "It was revealed to us from Muhammad ibn Hasan, to him from Abu 'Abdullah al-Husayn ibn Muhammad, to him from Ibn Uways, to him from Malik ibn Abas, to him from Muhammad ibn Munkadir, and to him from Ibn Jabir."118

4. Another factor is the number and reliability of the hadith narrators regarding the second coming. Among these people are Abu al-Asas al-Sanani, Abu Rafi', Abu al-Aliya, Abu Umama al Bahili, Abu al-Darda', Abu Hurayra, Abu Malik al-Khudri, Jabir ibn 'Abdullah, Hudhayfa ibn Adis, Safina, Qatada, 'Uthman ibn al-'As, Nafi' ibn Kaysani, Al Walid ibn Muslim, 'Ammar ibn Yathir, and 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, may God be pleased with all of them.

Given this, Islamic scholars regard belief in Jesus' (pbuh) second coming and his causing true religious moral values to prevail as major articles of faith.

The information considered thus far shows that the relevant hadith are sahih (reliable) and mutawatur (trustworthy). The information that they contain, as well as the accounts narrated by the Companions and analyses of Islamic scholars, leave no doubt that Jesus (pbuh) will return to Earth. By God's will, this great miracle will occur and all people will, as a direct result, experience a most miraculous and beautiful period. (God knows best.)