Islam and the Descension of Jesus
Nuzul-i-Isa: The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
Chapters
« The Return of Jesus in the Bible
It is universally accepted in the world of Islam that Jesus Christ will eventually return to earth. It generally agreed that he will descend in the Middle East where he will destroy the Dajjal (Antichrist), that he will lead the whole world to embrace Islam, that he will marry and have children, and that he will die after forty years and be buried in Medina alongside the tombs of Muhammad, Abu Bakr and Umar. The Qur'anic text invariably referred to in support of the doctrine that Jesus will return to earth towards the end of human history this one:
And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): Therefore have no doubt about the (Hour) but follow ye Me: this is a Straight Way. Quran 43.61
The context of this verse does indeed appear to support the interpretation that the ilm (knowledge) of the Hour will be determined by the return of Jesus to earth. The whole passage, from verse 57 to verse 67, centres on Jesus and there can be little doubt that he is the focal point of the sign of the coming Hour of Judgment. Yusuf Ali has the following comment appended to Quran 43.61:
This is understood to refer to the second coming Jesus in the Last Days just before the Resurrection when he will destroy the false doctrines that pass under his name, and prepare the way for the universal acceptance of Islam, the Gospel of Unity and Peace, the Straight way of the Qur'an. (Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, p.1337).
Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi also has a similar comment on this verse in his translation, saying "The reference is to the second advent of Jesus" (The Holy Qur'an, Vol.2, p.493B). Indeed the vast majority of Muslin commentators take Quran 43.61 to be a prophecy of the descension of Jesus to earth, an interpretation sustained for centuries in Muslim writings. The anticipated event has become known as the nuzul-i-Isa, the "descension of Jesus".
The Hadith teach unambiguously that Jesus will return towards the end of the world. There are no less than seventy accredited traditions supporting this doctrine and they are regarded as mutawatir, "universally-attested" traditions of unquestioned reliability. One of these traditions reads:
Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: 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 Jizya, and the wealth will pour forth to such an extent that no one will accept it. (Sahih Muslim, Vol.1, p.92).
Another tradition states that "spite, mutual hatred and jealousy against one another will certainly disappear" during his reign when returns (Sahih Muslim, Vol.1, p.93) and in yet another tradition we read that Quran 4.159, which teaches that "there is none of the People of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) but must believe in him before his death", is also a proof that Jesus will return to earth to receive the homage of all to whom the Scriptures have been given (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol.4, p.437). Such are the testimonies to the return of Jesus to earth in Islam.
There are obviously key differences between Christian and Muslim beliefs regarding the return of Jesus from heaven but the fact of the event is universally agreed. Christians do not accept that he will come to live again as an ordinary human being on earth, least of all that he will die and be buried. He has been alive in the glory of heaven for nearly two thousand years and we find it very hard to seriously consider the suggestion that he must return to complete a life that was interrupted on earth at the age of thirty-three and live out a further forty years before dying and being buried like any other man. It is our firm belief that he is already alive for ever more in the glory of the kingdom of God and that an earthly demise at a time yet to come would be an unfortunate anti-climax and a strange anachronism. Nevertheless there are principles in the Muslim beliefs about his earthly reign that Christians can accept as symbolic of his heavenly rule yet to be revealed.
Islam teaches that he will return from heaven, that he will destroy the Antichrist and all his host, that he will lead all true believers into an era of unprecedented bliss and prosperity, that he will rule over all earth, and that he will establish a universal faith in God during his reign. To the extent that these beliefs can be transferred to a heavenly rule in an eternal kingdom, Christians can agree with Muslims.