Islam's Jesus

3. Islamic Eschatology and Jesus as a Sign of the Hour

three Islamic Eschatology and Jesus as a Sign of the Hour Jesus is an important figure in Islam’s apocalyptic eschatology. This chapter situates the knowledge of future events in Islamic theology and the place of Jesus among these eschatological events as one of the signs of the Final Hour of human history foretold by the Prophet of Islam. It is important to examine the eschatological scenarios in which Jesus figures so prominently in order to understand the “eschatological Jesus” within Islam. The Final Hour From an Islamic theological perspective, there will eventually be an end to this worldly life. The Qur’an does not give a specific time for this end and is always clear that the knowledge of it belongs only to God: “The knowledge of the Hour is with Him” (31:34). But throughout the history of Islam, Muslims have been curious about the signs of the end, which include the signs of the day of resurrection when all people will face judgment. Humankind’s curiosity about the future has contributed to a proliferation of Islamic literature about the coming of the Final Hour and things related to it. According to the Hadith, the signs are numerous. Geological, moral, social, and cosmic signs are thought to mark the end. Hadith sources speak of the erosion of the earth, the spread of immorality, the loss of trust among people, and the administration of unjust rulers as some signs of the Hour. There are references to the emergence of the Antichrist and the rising of the sun from the west, the final sign. Collections of the sayings of the Prophet of Islam have dedicated chapters to these signs. The signs are categorized as “minor” and “major.” Minor signs include the loss of truthfulness and trust, the spread of adultery, and the emergence of many false messiahs or liars. The emergence of the Antichrist, the Islamic Eschatology and Jesus as a Sign of the Hour 39 descent of Jesus, and the rising of the sun in the west are among the major signs that indicate the imminence of the Final Hour. According to the Islamic eschatological scenario, after the occurrence of the final sign, the rising of the sun in the west, the archangel Israfil, or Seraphiel, will sound the great trumpet. Israfil is one of the four archangels in Islam, alongside Jabra’il (Gabriel), ‘Azra’il (the angel of death), and Micha’il. At the trumpet’s sound, according to the Qur’anic description, God will bring the order of this world to an end through a mighty earthquake.1 The celestial bodies will crash into one another, the earth will be replaced with a different plane, and every living creature will die. God’s final gift to believers will be a natural death that will spare them from witnessing this last horrible moment. According to the Islamic eschatological literature, for unbelievers, living and witnessing this last horrific moment will be their painful experience before death. After the destruction of earth, according to the divine plan and under the control of the divine, the archangel Seraphiel will sound the second blow. According to Islamic theology, in that moment all people, “good” and “bad,” will be resurrected both in body and spirit (Qur’an 18:99, 36:51). In Islamic cosmology, since God does everything through Divine fiat, the resurrection of all human beings is as easy as one individual’s resurrection: “Your creation and your resurrection are like a single soul,” (Qur’an 31:28). This verse refers to the great power demonstrated by God in this moment of resurrection Although the Qur’an and Hadith explicitly mention the afterlife and humanity ’s ultimate fates are known, the sequence of related events and the manner of their occurrences are ambiguous. However, both classical and contemporary Muslim theologians have deduced various visions of the end of time from verses of the Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet. Many verses of the Qur’an note the imminence of the Final Hour, and the Qur’an uses a variety of expressions to refer to it. From both the Qur’an and Hadith, it is clear that the Prophet of Islam was often asked to reveal the exact time of the Final Hour.2 The question was posed sometimes out of simple curiosity and sometimes as a challenge. The Prophet had a variety of responses to this question. On one occasion when a questioner asked about the time of the Final...