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Do
the Muslims Believe in Jesus (pbuh) and
his Second Coming?
“Islam is the only non-Christian faith, which makes it an article
of faith to believe in Jesus Christ (pbuh). No Muslim is a Muslim if
he does not believe in Jesus Christ (pbuh). We believe that he was one
of the mightiest Messengers of Allah (swt). We believe that he was the
Messiah, translated ‘Christ’. We believe that he was born
miraculously, without any male intervention, which many modern day
Christians do not believe. We believe that he gave life to the dead
with God’s permission. We believe that he healed those born blind
and the lepers with God’s permission.
Allah
says in the Qur'an regarding Jesus Christ (pbuh):
And
remember Jesus the son of Mary said: "O Children of Israel! I am
the Messenger of Allah (sent) to you…” (Surah Saff 61:6)
Infact
Islam makes it an article of faith to believe not only in Jesus Christ
(pbuh) but all the Messengers that preceded and followed him. By name
only twenty-five Messengers are mentioned in the Qur'an. Allah
instructs us in the Qur'an:
“O
you who believe! believe in Allah and his Messenger and the scripture
which He has sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to
those before (him). And who denies Allah, His angels, His Books, His
Messengers and the Day of Judgment have gone far far astray.” (Al-Qur'an
4:136)
Thus
belief in the Messengers, including Jesus (pbuh) is an important
belief of Islam. Though Jesus (pbuh) is mentioned by name twenty-five
times in the Qur'an, he is also referred with other respectable terms
such as ‘Ibne Maryam’ - son of Mary; as ‘Masih’ – translated
Christ, as ‘Rasulullah’ - Messenger of Allah, as ‘Abdullah’
– servant of Allah, as ‘a word of Allah’, as ‘a spirit
proceeding from Allah’, as ‘a sign of Allah’ and numerous other
epithets spread over fifteen different chapters of the Qur'an.
(b)
It is also true that the Muslims, on the authority of the Qur'an and
the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) believe in the second coming of
Jesus Christ (pbuh). He was the only Prophet of Allah who was raised
up alive. Allah says:
‘…They
said (in boast) "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary the
Messenger of Allah"; but they killed him not, nor crucified him,
but so it was made to appear to them; and those who differ therein are
full of doubts with no (certain) knowledge but only conjecture to
follow, for of a surety they killed him not. Nay Allah raised him up
unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.’(Al-Qur'an
4:157-158)
Allah
mentions the second coming of Jesus Christ (pbuh) in the following
verse of the Qur'an:
“And
indeed, he (i.e. Jesus) will be (a sign for) knowledge of the Hour, so
be not in doubt of it, and follow Me. This is a straight path.” (Al-Qur'an
43:61)
The
reason why Jesus (pbuh) is the only Prophet of Allah who was raised up
alive by Allah is because he was the only Prophet whose
“followers” mistook him as God. They wrongly say that he claimed
divinity. Thus he will come back again to this world to clarify all
such misconceptions. Says Allah in the Qur'an:
‘And
behold! Allah will say "O Jesus the son of Mary! did you say unto
men worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah"? He
will say: "Glory to You! never could I say what I had no right
(to say). Had I said such a thing you would indeed have known it. You
know what is in my heart though I know not what is in yours. For You
know in full all that is hidden.’ (Al-Qur'an 5:116)
There
are no less than seventy Ahadith that speak of the second coming of
Jesus Christ (pbuh). In one of the Ahadith, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is
reported to have said:
"By
Him in Whose Hands my soul is, son of Mary (Jesus) will shortly
descend amongst you people (Muslims) as a just ruler and will break
the cross and kill the pig and abolish the Jizya (a tax taken from the
non-Muslims who are in the protection of the Muslim government). Then
there will be abundance of money and nobody will accept charitable
gifts.” (Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 3. Hadith no. 425)
It
should also be borne in mind that Jesus Christ (pbuh), in his second
coming will not be coming with any new message or revelation. Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) is reported to have said:
"How
will you be when the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you and
he will judge people by the Law of the Qur'an and not by the law of
the Gospel”. (Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 4. Hadith No. 658)
Let’s
now analyse the following words attributed to Jesus Christ (pbuh) in
the Bible:
"Many
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy
name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” [The Bible, Mathew
7:22-24]
In
the verses quoted above, Jesus (pbuh) said that in his second coming,
he would ask the people to depart from him, to get away from him
because he wouldn’t know them. Who are these people? The Muslims or
the Hindus? The answer is neither Hindus nor Muslims but the
Christians, because Muslims or Hindus do not claim to do
“Miracles” in the name of Jesus Christ (pbuh) nor do they cast out
devils in his name.
Thus
Muslims believe in Jesus Christ (pbuh) to be one of the mightiest
Messengers of Allah and also believe in his second coming.”
Abdulla Kunhi, Kasargod district, Kerala
http://www.irf.net/irf/dtp/dawah_tech/ques23.htm
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