Islam's Jesus

5. Speculations about Jesus’s Return

five Speculations about Jesus’s Return The examples from the Hadith genre of Jesus’s eschatological descent presented in the previous chapter now lead us to an examination of the details Muslim scholars and theologians have elaborated on. These elaborations have brought out important and common themes in the Hadith that have played important roles in shaping the Muslim understanding of Jesus and his place in Islam. Themes include the time and place of Jesus’s return, his physical appearance, his prayer behind the Muslim leader, his relation to Islamic law, his followers, and his death. All references to Jesus in the body of the Hadith, be they sound or weak, are indicative of the importance of Jesus for Muslims as a helper, a rescuer, and a bringer of justice. How and when Jesus returns is left to the interpretation of Muslim commentators, although the primary purpose of the sayings of the Prophet about Jesus was to create awareness so that people would do their best in this life to prepare for the afterlife. The exact time of Jesus’s return has occupied the minds of Muslims since the beginning of Islam. Theologically speaking, the most important thing for individuals is not the time of the return of Jesus, which signals the nearness of the Final Hour, but what they do to prepare for the afterlife. The Prophet Muhammad responds to someone who asks “When is the Hour?” by saying “What did you prepare for it?” The Prophet suggests that the most essential question is how to prepare for the afterlife, the coming of which is certain. Muslims believe that without the coming of the afterlife—the place of eternal bliss—this worldly life is incomplete. The analogy compares this world to a farm and the afterlife to the harvest. Without an afterlife, this world would be like a farm with no harvest. The certainty of the coming afterlife is a major principle in Islam. The theological argument is that if we know when Jesus returns, we can then anticipate the coming of the afterlife, the greatest event in human history. Yet the exact knowledge of this transformation belongs only to God. Islam’s Jesus 72 The Prophet’s mission was to both warn people and to give good news. Jesus ’s return is a sign of the afterlife, the good news for the Islamic community. In other words, the Prophetic promise of Jesus’s return is a reminder that the Islamic community will never be abandoned by God. In the time of the most difficult calamities when they are almost hopeless, a messenger of God such as Jesus will come to their aid. This hope has played a vital role throughout history. The Time Predicting the time of Jesus’s return is of importance to Muslims because Jesus’s descent is one of the most significant events in Islamic eschatological literature, despite the opposition of some Muslim intellectuals who doubt the reliability of the textual references of the descent of Jesus.1 Knowledge of the future belongs only to God. Even prophets of God cannot know the exact contours of the future . Prophets and saints who have spoken about the future were referring to revelations or inspirations that were given to them by God. Anyone who claims to know the specific time for the descent of Jesus is considered a charlatan, because this is a future event that only God knows. Considering the rich body of Hadith sources, the event of Jesus’s return is a very important occurrence. The Prophet emphasizes Jesus’s coming and some sources indicate that it might be near. In the geologic history of the earth, however , “near” is a relative term. The Prophet wanted to make sure that his companions knew about the descent of Jesus, and he seems to expect Jesus’s descent in his own lifetime. He says: “I hope I may live long enough to meet Jesus, the son of Mary. But if I have a short life any of those among you who meets him should convey my greetings of peace.”2 One can see a parallel between this saying of the Prophet and a well-known verse in the book of Acts: “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Other hadith make a connection between the emergence of al-Dajjal, the Antichrist, and the descent of...