The Descent of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam (ʿalayhimā al-salām)
They said: Will ʿĪsā ibn Maryam (ʿalayhimā al-salām) descend as a just ruler before the Day of Judgement?
I replied: Why concern yourselves with such a question? Do you not know that I dislike these speculative and theological inquiries which bring no benefit in religion or worldly life, are not necessary for īmān, islām or the worship of the Lord of all the worlds, and serve no purpose save to provoke sterile argument and fruitless debate?
They said: We are well aware of your firm and dignified Sunnī stance on such matters, and we respect its wisdom, seriousness and noble reasoning. We do not diverge from it in the slightest, nor do we seek an alternative. However, there are those among us who, driven by the dryness of knowledge and curiosity, have raised this question and denied the descent of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam (ʿalayhimā al-salām), thereby distracting the simple-minded, the idle and the heedless—those marked by naivety and confusion—from the worship of Allah and the matters that truly concern them, engaging them instead in the kind of fruitless disputation you have described.
I said: Ignore those who have made estrangement from tradition their custom. Leave them be, pay them no attention and do not preoccupy yourselves with them, for such people fall into one of three categories:
1. Either he is a mujtahid who has erred in his ijtihād. If he is sincere to Allah, and wishes well for this dīn and for the Muslims, then he is rewarded, and thus you should neither refute nor condemn him.
2. Or he is ignorant. In that case, teach him—clarify the truth to him and remove the confusion that clouds his understanding. Perhaps Allah will guide him to what is right, and he may learn and benefit, abandoning his ignorance and correcting himself.
3. Or he is stubborn and defiant. Then turn away from him and do not engage him. This is more effective in extinguishing his fire, silencing his fitnah, and shielding the Muslims from the harm of his obstinacy.
They said: Now that this question has been raised, we would like to know your view.
I said: My view—upon which I have settled without doubt or hesitation—is that ʿĪsā ibn Maryam (ʿalayhimā al-salām) will indeed descend before the Day of Judgement. He will kill the Dajjāl, lead the Muslims in prayer, and live among them as a just ruler. On that day, the religion will belong wholly to Allah. He will then die, just as other people die.
They said: What is your evidence for this?
I said: The Noble Qurʾān, authentic ḥadīth, and the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.
As for the Qurʾān, consider His statement relating the words of ʿĪsā (ʿalayhi al-salām):
“And peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised to life again.” (Sūrat Maryam 19:33)
And His statement:
“And [for] their saying, ‘We killed the Messiah, ʿĪsā ibn Maryam, the Messenger of Allah.’ But they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them… rather, Allah raised him up to Himself.”
“And there is none of the People of the Book except that he will surely believe in him before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them.”
(Sūrat al-Nisāʾ 4:157–159)
The verse in al-Nisāʾ indicates that he was raised alive, and the verse in Maryam indicates that he will die, which necessitates that he must descend and then die. This meaning is affirmed by verse 159 in Sūrat al-Nisāʾ. Many among the Salaf have also drawn upon other verses of the Qurʾān in support of this.
As for the authentic ḥadīth, among them is the narration recorded by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim from Abū Hurayrah (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
“By the One in Whose hand is my soul, soon the son of Maryam will descend among you as a just judge. He will break the cross, kill the swine, abolish the jizyah, and wealth will become so abundant that no one will accept it. A single prostration will be better than the world and all it contains.”
And Muslim narrated from Ḥudhayfah ibn Asīd (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came upon them while they were discussing the Hour and said:
“What are you discussing?”
They said: “We are discussing the Hour.”
He said: “Indeed, it will not come until you see ten signs before it: the smoke, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam, Gog and Magog, three landslides—one in the east, one in the west, and one in the Arabian Peninsula—and a fire which will emerge from the region of ʿAdan and drive the people to their gathering place.”
And there are many more authentic narrations of this meaning.
As for ijmāʿ, Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (raḥimahu Allāh) said:
“The foundations of the Sunnah, according to us, include adherence to what the Companions of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم were upon, following them… and belief that the Dajjāl shall emerge, and written between his eyes will be ‘kāfir,’ as the ḥadīths describe; and belief that this will certainly happen, and that ʿĪsā ibn Maryam (ʿalayhi al-salām) will descend and kill him at the gate of Ludd.”
(Uṣūl al-Sunnah, 11)
Ibn Baṭṭah al-ʿUkbarī (raḥimahu Allāh) said:
“We shall now explain the Sunnah and describe it, clarifying its reality, and identifying those who adhere to it and deserve to be counted among its people. Whoever departs from it in any matter joins the ranks of those whom we have criticised and warned against among the people of innovation and deviation—this being the view unanimously agreed upon by the Muslims from the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم until now… including belief in the descent of ʿĪsā (ʿalayhi al-salām), and that he will descend from the heavens to the earth, break the cross, kill the swine, and unify the call to Allah.”
(Sharḥ al-Sharḥ wa-l-Ibānah 2/57)
Ibn ʿAṭiyyah said:
“The ummah is unanimous upon what is established in the mutawātir ḥadīths—that ʿĪsā is alive in heaven and that he will descend at the end of time.”
(Al-Muḥarrar al-Wajīz 3/143)
Al-Saffārīnī said:
“The ummah has unanimously agreed on his descent. None among the adherents of the Sharīʿah disagreed, and those who denied it were only the philosophers and heretics whose dissent holds no weight. The consensus of the ummah is that he will descend and rule according to the Sharīʿah of Muḥammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, not a separate Sharīʿah, though it remains preserved in him and he is characterised by it.”
(Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār al-Bahiyyah 1/94–95)
They said: Then why did the Qurʾān not mention it explicitly?
I replied: So that people are not diverted from the true purpose of their lives—worship—to the discussion of secondary matters. This approach is consistent throughout the Qurʾān; an indication suffices, understood by those of knowledge, while others are not led into needless debate.
They said: Why, then, do you not state—as others do—that the ḥadīths concerning this are mutawātir, widespread and well-known?
I replied: Because the sound position passed down from the Companions, the Tābiʿūn, and those who came after them is that when a command from the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم reaches them through an authentic chain, they submit to it in obedience, without concern for the number of transmitters. The classification of reports into mutawātir and āḥād is a later theological innovation, the product of polemics. Once a report is authentic and narrated by trustworthy narrators, it constitutes proof from Allah for those to whom it reaches. Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr al-Mālikī (raḥimahu Allāh) said:
“Ahl al-Sunnah affirm the descent of ʿĪsā based on the authentic narrations from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, even if conveyed by solitary narrators of sound integrity.”
(Al-Istidhkār, Bāb mā jāʾ fī ṣifat ʿĪsā ibn Maryam ʿalayhi al-salām)
They said: If the matter is as clear as you have described, then why do you not debate this transgressor, to silence his innovation and shield people from his harm?
I said: I detest disputation with utmost aversion, for it breeds enmity and hatred, provokes confusion and chaos among the general public, diverts people from remembrance and worship, and exposes the truths revealed by Allah and His Messengers to mockery, laughter and rejection.
They said: Then what do you advise us?
I said: I advise you to worship your Lord in humility and submission, to return to Him in repentance, to root faith deeply in your hearts, and to increase it through knowledge and recitation of His Book. Avoid disputation and argumentation in religion—for it will shave your dīn, strip the blessing from your souls and deeds. Know that a single tasbīḥah, or taḥmīdah, or tahlīlah, is more beloved to Allah than months and years of debate. Fear Allah if you are believers—supplicate to Him for tawfīq, seek refuge in Him, rely upon Him, cling to the rope of His Book, and hold firmly to the Sunnah of His Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Disclaimer: This article was translated by AI. Original post: https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/6568
