The ruling on one who denies the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him)
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The Shaykh, may Allah reward you, what is your opinion on the case of a man who denies the descent of 'Isa (peace and blessings be upon him) in the end times? He says that these are ahad (single-chain) hadiths, not like the mutawatir (mass-transmitted) ones. Are they ahad or mutawatir?
Answer:
The hadiths regarding the descent of the Messiah are said to be printed, and some of them have written a book titled "Al-Tasrih bi ma tawatara min nuzul al-Masih" (Clarification of what is mass-transmitted regarding the descent of the Messiah), and it is a printed book. If they are mutawatir, then the one who denies them is a disbeliever.
And the Qur'an indicates the descent of 'Isa in the end times, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Nisa 4:159] His position, and this is a reference to his descent in the end times, and that the Jews and Christians will believe in him before his death (peace and blessings be upon him) if he is saved.
And in His saying, the Exalted:[Az-Zukhruf 43:61] meaning a sign in the reading meaning a sign among the signs of the Hour. So among the signs of the Hour is the descent of the Messiah [Az-Zukhruf 43:61]. Thus, his descent is among the signs of the Hour, and this is by the explicit text of the great Qur'an.
As for the Sunnah, there are many hadiths that have reached the level of tawatur (mass transmission). The one who denies the descent of the Messiah is considered a disbeliever because he contradicted what the Qur'an indicated and what the Sunnah mass-transmitted, and upon which the Muslims have reached consensus regarding the descent of the Messiah in the end times.
So there is one who denied this, such as a person mentioned by Abu 'Ubaydah, and the scholars responded to him and refuted his doubts, and praise be to Allah. Among that is what Shaykh Hamud al-Suwajiri (may Allah have mercy on him) responded with in his book "Ishaq al-Jama'ah ila Ashrat al-Sa'ah" (The Promise of the Community to the Signs of the Hour), where he responded to this idea and specifically to Abu 'Ubaydah, refuting his statements, praise be to Allah, and others responded to him as well.
And the majority of those who deny the descent of the Messiah are from the rationalists. The rationalists do not believe in many of the Sunnahs, and they say, "Even if they were authentic, we would not believe in them as long as they contradict reason." We do not say that one of them... may Allah grant us assistance. He says, "I am not prepared to cancel my mind for the sake of a hadith that is authentic from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." The matter is very serious, and I seek refuge in Allah.
The Shaykh, may Allah reward you, what is your opinion on the case of a man who denies the descent of 'Isa (peace and blessings be upon him) in the end times? He says that these are ahad (single-chain) hadiths, not like the mutawatir (mass-transmitted) ones. Are they ahad or mutawatir?
Answer:
The hadiths regarding the descent of the Messiah are said to be printed, and some of them have written a book titled "Al-Tasrih bi ma tawatara min nuzul al-Masih" (Clarification of what is mass-transmitted regarding the descent of the Messiah), and it is a printed book. If they are mutawatir, then the one who denies them is a disbeliever.
And the Qur'an indicates the descent of 'Isa in the end times, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And there is none from the People of the Scripture but that he will surely believe in Jesus before
وَإِن مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ إِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهِ قَبْلَAnd in His saying, the Exalted:
And indeed, Jesus will be [a sign for] knowledge of the Hour
وَإِنَّهُ لَعِلْمٌ لِّلسَّاعَةِAnd it is indeed knowledge of the Hour
وإنه لعلم لعلم للساعةAnd indeed, Jesus will be [a sign for] knowledge of the Hour, so be not in doubt of it
وَإِنَّهُ لَعِلْمٌ لِّلسَّاعَةِ فَلَا تَمْتَرُنَّ بِهَاAs for the Sunnah, there are many hadiths that have reached the level of tawatur (mass transmission). The one who denies the descent of the Messiah is considered a disbeliever because he contradicted what the Qur'an indicated and what the Sunnah mass-transmitted, and upon which the Muslims have reached consensus regarding the descent of the Messiah in the end times.
So there is one who denied this, such as a person mentioned by Abu 'Ubaydah, and the scholars responded to him and refuted his doubts, and praise be to Allah. Among that is what Shaykh Hamud al-Suwajiri (may Allah have mercy on him) responded with in his book "Ishaq al-Jama'ah ila Ashrat al-Sa'ah" (The Promise of the Community to the Signs of the Hour), where he responded to this idea and specifically to Abu 'Ubaydah, refuting his statements, praise be to Allah, and others responded to him as well.
And the majority of those who deny the descent of the Messiah are from the rationalists. The rationalists do not believe in many of the Sunnahs, and they say, "Even if they were authentic, we would not believe in them as long as they contradict reason." We do not say that one of them... may Allah grant us assistance. He says, "I am not prepared to cancel my mind for the sake of a hadith that is authentic from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." The matter is very serious, and I seek refuge in Allah.
Source
نزول عيسى عليه السلام — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.