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Jesus
Will Return
Jesus
(peace be upon him) will return as a savior of the believers
Jesus (I'sa) (peace by upon him), just as all the
other prophets, is a chosen slave of Allah whom Allah assigned to
summon people to the true path. However, there are some attributes
of Jesus distinguishing him from other prophets, the most important
one being that he was raised up to Allah and that he will come back
to earth again.
Contrary to what most people believe, Jesus was
not crucified and killed nor did he die for any other reason. The
Quran tells us that they did not kill him and they did not crucify
him and that Allah raised him up to Him. In none of the verses, is
there an actual reference to his murder or that he was killed, apart
from the verse (ayah) which denies that it happened. Furthermore,
the Quran acquaints us with some events from the life of Jesus which
have not yet happened. Thus, his second coming to earth is a
prerequisite for these events to happen. There is no doubt that the
Quran's revelations will surely happen.
Despite this, however, many people assume that
Jesus passed away some thousands of years ago and that thus it is
unlikely that he will return. This is a misconception arising from
lack of knowledge about the Quran and the Sunnah. A careful scrutiny
of the Quran will render an accurate understanding of the verses
about Jesus possible.
Our Prophet also told us that Jesus will be sent
back to earth and related that in that time, which is called "the
end of time", there may be a period in which the earth will attain
unprecedented peace, justice and welfare. The "end times" refers to
the period of time close to the end of the world. According to
Islam, in this time, there will be the terrible trials of the Dajjal
(Anti-Christ), many earthquakes and the emergence of Yajuj and Majuj
(Gog and Magog) after which the ways of the Quran will prevail and
people will extensively adhere to the values it introduces.
In their dreams, people always long for better. A
more beautiful landscape, a more delicious food, a more socially
promising society .. The later period of "the end of time" expresses
a period which entirely embraces all these favorable concepts, "the
better", "the more beautiful" etc. It is a blessed period people
have been longing for ages. It is the glorious time of welfare and
abundance, of justice and peace. It is the time when all these
blessings will supersede injustice, immorality, conflict and wars.
It is surely the blessed time when Islamic morals will penetrate to
every aspect of life.
THE EXPECTED SAVIOR
In every age, Allah answered the call of His slaves who desperately
needed His help. This also holds true for this age and for the
future. As it was the case with the earlier ages, in our day, too,
it is expected that Allah will save people from the injustice of the
system of disbelief and present them with the beauties of Islam.
It is especially expected that the Islamic world
will find a way out of the corruption it experiences today and the
sincere believers will communicate the values of Islam to the whole
world. Surely, as in every age, today people hope that a savior will
appear. This savior, who will take mankind from the "darkness to the
light," is the religion of Islam. The people leading the way to live
by these superior values will defeat all the systems that deny
Allah, and they will render corrupted ideologies invalid.
In brief, Allah will help each people as He did in
previous ages. Allah promises this to His slaves who sincerely turn
to Him and have deep fear of Him.
THE RETURN OF JESUS TO EARTH
An examination of the verses about Jesus in the Quran indicates that
Jesus neither died nor was killed, but he was raised to the presence
of Allah. In Surat an-Nisa, it is related that Jesus was not killed
but raised to the presence of Allah. The related verse follows:
And (on account of) their saying, "We killed the
Messiah, 'Isa son of Maryam, Messenger of Allah." They did not kill
him and they did not crucify him but it was made to seem so to them.
Those who argue about him are in doubt about it. They have no real
knowledge of it, just conjecture. But they certainly did not kill
him. Allah raised him up to Himself. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.
(Surat an-Nisa: 157-158)
From what has been related so far, it is clear
that Jesus did not die but was raised to the presence of Allah.
However, there is one more point that is underlined by the Quran:
Jesus will come back to earth. That Jesus will come back to earth
towards the end of time is related in another verse 43:61. [detailed
references are available in the book related to other verses:
3:45-48; 3:55; 4:157-159].
Starting from Surat az-Zukhruf: 57, there is
reference to Jesus :
"When an example is made of the son of Maryam
('Isa) your people laugh uproariously. They retort, 'Who is better
then, our gods or him?' They only say this to you for argument's
sake. They are indeed a disputatious people. He is only a slave on
whom We bestowed Our blessing and whom We made an example for the
tribe of Israel." (Surat az-Zukhruf: 43-59)
If We wished, We could appoint angels in exchange
for you to succeed you on the earth. (Surat az-Zukhruf: 43-60) Just
after these verses, Allah declares that Jesus is a sign of the Day
of Judgment. He is a Sign of the Hour. Have no doubt about it. But
follow me. This is a straight path. (Surat az-Zukhruf: 43:61)
Ibn Juzayy says that the first meaning of this
verse is that Jesus is a sign or a precondition of the Last Hour. We
can say that this verse is a clear indication that Jesus will come
back to earth at the end times. That is because Jesus lived six
centuries before the revelation of the Quran. Consequently, we
cannot interpret his first coming as a sign of the Day of Judgment.
What this verse actually indicates is that Jesus will come back to
earth towards the end of time, that is to say, during the last
period of time before the Day of Judgment and this will be a sign
for the Day of Judgment. Allah surely knows the best.
The Arabic of the verse "He is a Sign of the Hour"
is "Innahu la 'ilmun li's-sa'atiÉ" Some people interpret the pronoun
"hu" (he) in this verse as the Quran. However, the preceding verses
explicitly indicate that Jesus is mentioned in the verse: "He is
only a slave on whom We bestowed Our blessing and whom We made an
example for the tribe of Israel" [1]
In Sahih Muslim, it is also stated that the Hadith
in which it is said that the Prophet Jesus will descend amongst
people at the end of time have reached the degree of being
mutawatir, i.e. narrated by so many people in each generation that
it is not possible to have any doubt of their authenticity, and that
it is counted as one of the major signs of the Day of Rising. (Sahih
Muslim, 2/58)
Source:www.islamicity.com/articles/articles.asp?ref=IC0303-1906&p=1 |