|
_-_The_Return_of_Jesus_001.jpg) Another one of the amazing signs shortly before the Day
of Judgment is the return and descending of Jesus (peace and blessings of God
be upon him) to this earth again. God says in the Quran:
“And because of their saying (in
boast), ‘We killed Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God,’ - but
they did not kill him and nor did they crucify him, but the resemblance of
Jesus was put over another man (and they killed that man), and those who differ
therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow
nothing but conjecture. Surely, they did not kill him. But God raised him
(Jesus) up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he is in the heavens). And
God is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise. And there is none of the people of the
Scripture (Jews and Christians), but must believe in him (Jesus) before his
death. And on the Day of Resurrection, he (Jesus) will be a witness against
them.” (Quran 4:157-159)
The words, “And there is
none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), but must believe in
him (Jesus) before his death,” refer to Jesus’ worldly death after he
returns to earth. At that time, the Jews and Christians will finally believe
in him as a Messenger of God and a human being only, as that will be the only
option possible at that time. In fact, some scholars state that part of the
wisdom in Jesus’ return is the final and undeniable refutation of the Jews’
claim that they had crucified him and to bring an end to the false claim that
he was the Son of God.
There are numerous hadeeth which speak about the coming
of Jesus during the last days of this world. They give a description of many
of the acts of Jesus after his return.
As is clear from the last hadeeth presented under the
section concerning the Dajjaal, Jesus’ return will occur while the false
messiah is upon the earth. The following is the continuation of the above hadeeth:
“He [the Dajjaal] would
then call a person brimming with youth and strike him with the sword and cut
him into two pieces and (make these pieces lie at a distance which is
generally) between the archer and his target. He would then call (that young
man) and he will come forward laughing with his face gleaming (with happiness)
and it would be at this very time that God would send Christ, son of Mary, and
he will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damascus wearing
two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of
two Angels. When he would lower his head, there would fall beads of
perspiration from his head, and when he would raise it up, beads like pearls
would scatter from it. Every unbeliever who would smell the odor of his being
would die and his breath would reach as far as he would be able to see. He
would then search for him (the Dajjaal) until he would catch hold of him at the
gate of Ludd and would kill him.”
Al-Bukhari and Muslim record that the Prophet, may the
mercy and blessings of God be upon him, stated:
“By Him in Whose hand is my
life, the son of Mary (may peace be upon him) will soon descend among you as a
just judge. He will break crosses, kill swine and abolish Jizyah
and the wealth will pour forth to such an extent that no one will accept it.”
At the time of his appearance, he will bring an end to
all of the false beliefs which crept into Christianity. Thus, he will break
all of the crosses, as they signify a worship of him. Similarly, at his time,
he will not accept the jizyah because there will be no excuse for any
Jew or Christian not to believe in him and follow him. In another narration of
the same hadeeth, there is a mention of the state of the followers of Jesus at
that time. The Prophet said:
“He would leave the young
she-camel and no one would endeavor to (collect Zakat on it). Spite, mutual
hatred and jealousy against one another will certainly disappear and when he
summons people to accept wealth, not even one would accept it.” In other hadeeth,
the following is described, “Peace will prevail and people will use their
swords as sickles. Every harmful beast will be made harmless; the sky will
send down rain in abundance, and the earth will bring forth its blessings. A child
will play with a fox and not come to any harm; a wolf will graze with sheep and
a lion with cattle, without harming them.”
At the time of Jesus’ return, the Muslims will be lead
by the Mahdi (A guided leader), as is mentioned in various hadeeth, such
as the Prophet’s words:
“What will be your state
when the son of Mary descends among you and there will be an Imam among you?” (Al-Bukhari,
Muslim)
In another hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim, it reads:
“A section of my people
will not cease fighting for the Truth and will prevail till the Day of
Resurrection.” He then said, “Jesus son of Mary would then descend and their
(Muslims’) commander would invite him to come and lead them in prayer, but he
would say, ‘No, some among you are commanders over some (among you). This is
the honor from God for this Nation.’”
This hadeeth is evidence that when Jesus returns, he
will not return in the role of being a new messenger with a new law. Instead,
he will return as a follower of the Prophet Muhammad and submitting to the laws
of Islam. In fact, another hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim describes Jesus as
performing the Islamic ritual of Hajj (pilgrimage).
A hadeeth in Saheeh Muslim further describes that
Jesus will remain ruling among the people for seven years. The Prophet said:
“Then people would live for
seven years that there would be no rancor between two persons. Then God would
send cold wind from the side of Syria that none would survive upon the earth
having a speck of good in him or faith in him but he would die, so much so that
even if some amongst you were to enter the innermost part of the mountain, this
wind would reach that place also and that would cause his death.” He further
said, “Only the wicked people would survive and they would be as careless as
birds with the characteristics of beasts. They would never appreciate the good
nor condemn evil.”
As stated earlier, when one of these great signs appear,
the others are soon to follow. It is in the context of Jesus’ return that the
Prophet also spoke about Gog and Magog.
|
