The Descent of Jesus: Emphasizing Faith Over Debate

By Shaykh Mohammad Akram Nadwi, Oxford
📜 Translated by Abu-Huraira Rahman
🖋️ Edited by Tariq Pandor

❓ Question:
Will Jesus the son of Mary, peace be upon them both, descend as a just ruler before the Day of Judgement?

🗣 Shaykh’s Response:
Why do you ask this question? Do you not know that I dislike these theological dogmatic questions that neither benefit religion nor worldly life, and have no bearing in matters of faith, Islam, and the worship of the Lord of the worlds? Such questions only lead to pointless discussion and futile debates devoid of blessing.

👥 They Said:
We know that about you, and we are convinced of your noble, dignified, and excellent stance.

We highly value it for its soundness, importance, and loftiness. We are not turning away from it in the slightest, nor do we want it to be any other way.

However, there has emerged, amongst us, one who delves excessively into secondary matters of knowledge. He has raised this question and denied the descent of Jesus, the son of Mary, peace be upon them both. In doing so, he diverts the idle, unoccupied, simple-souls who are gullible, unsophisticated, and heedless away from the worship of Allah, busying them with the useless debate you have mentioned, which is devoid of any blessing.

📝 Shaykh’s Advice:
Leave the one who has made heterodox issues his norm, turning yourselves away from him and ignoring him. Do not give him attention nor pay him any importance, for he is one of three:

1️⃣ An Independent Expert (Mujtahid):
If he is sincere unto Allah, Islam, and the Muslims but makes a mistake, then he will have a single reward. Do not preoccupy yourselves with refuting or rejecting him.

2️⃣ One Who is Ignorant:
Teach him, showing him the truth and removing his confusion. Perhaps Allah will guide him to what is correct, and he will learn, benefit, and be prevented from his ignorance.

3️⃣ One Who is Obstinate:
Turn away from him completely. That is the most effective way of extinguishing his fire, ending his allure, and protecting Muslims from his stubbornness.

🔍 Shaykh’s Opinion:
My opinion that I am content with, without doubt or skepticism, is that Jesus the son of Mary, peace be upon them both, will descend before the Day of Judgement, kill the Dajjal, lead the Muslims, and live amongst them as a just ruler. Religion will be for Allah entirely during that period. He will then die as all people die.

📖 Proofs:
From the Quran:

1. “Peace was on me the day I was born, and will be on me the day I die and the day I am raised to life again.” (Maryam: 33)

2. “They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, though it was made to appear like that to them.” (Al-Nisa: 157-159)

These verses indicate his ascension to Allah and that he will die after descending.
From Authentic Hadith:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Jesus the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you as a just ruler, he will break the Cross and kill the pigs…” (Bukhari, Muslim)

Many other hadiths affirm the same.
From Consensus (Ijma):
Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal and others affirmed that the Dajjal will emerge, and Jesus will descend and kill him.

👥 Consensus of Scholars:
Imams such as Ibn Battah and Al-Safarini confirmed that the Ummah agreed on the descent of Jesus, peace be upon him.

❓ Why Does the Quran Not State the Matter Clearly?
So that people are not distracted from the purpose of their lives, i.e., worship. The Quran gives indications, and those with knowledge understand, while others debate.

👥 Why Not State That the Hadiths Are Mass-Transmitted?
Because the companions of the Prophet ﷺ accepted any matter from an established chain without concern for numbers. The focus is on the reliability of narrators.

📚 Statements from the Scholars:

Hafidh Ibn Abd al-Barr: The Ahl al-Sunnah affirm the descent of Jesus based on authentic hadiths from solitary narrators. Ibn Battah al-‘Akbari and Imam Ahmad: The descent of Jesus is a well-established matter.

Al-Safarini: The Ummah agrees on this, and no learned scholars differ.

❓ Why Not Debate Those Who Differ?
Debating leads to enmity, foolishness, and turns people away from the remembrance of Allah.

📢 Final Advice:
Worship your Lord, avoid arguing, and hold fast to the Quran and the way of the Prophet ﷺ.
One utterance of “SubhanAllah” or “Alhamdulillah” is more virtuous than months of debate.

✊ Focus on Worship and Humility.