The Ruling on One Who Claims That 'Isa Was Not Raised Up or That He Will Not Descend
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Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and the final outcome is for the righteous, and may prayers and peace be upon His servant and messenger, and His choice
from among His creation, Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and whoever follows his path and is guided by his guidance until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
A question has reached me from Pakistan, signed by the brother in Allah, the Shaykh Munazir Ahmad, President of the Arab University in Jinnah, Western Pakistan. The text of the question is: “What do the honorable scholars say about the life of our master 'Isa (peace be upon him), his raising to the heavens with his noble physical body, and then his descent from the heavens to the earth near the Day of Judgment, and that this descent is among the signs of the Hour? What is the ruling on one who denies his descent near the Day of Judgment and claims that he was crucified and did not die thereby, but rather migrated to Kashmir (India) and lived there for a long time and died there a natural death, and that he will not descend before the Hour, but rather one like him will come? Please answer us, may Allah reward you?” End of the question.
Answer: We seek help from Allah, and upon Him we rely, and there is no power nor strength except with Allah. The evidence from the Book and the Sunnah has converged to establish that 'Isa ibn Maryam is the servant of Allah and His messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him), that he was raised to the heavens with his noble body and his soul, and that he did not die, was not killed, and was not crucified. And that he will descend at the end of time, where he will kill the Dajjal, break the cross, kill the pig, abolish the jizyah, and accept nothing but Islam. It is established that this descent is among the signs of the Hour.
The scholars of Islam upon whose opinions reliance is placed have agreed on what we have mentioned. They differed only on the meaning of the word “tawaffa” (taking away) mentioned in the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): [Al-Imran: 55]. There are several opinions on this, one of which is that the intended meaning is the death of dying, because this is the apparent meaning of the verse for one who does not consider the remaining evidence, and because this meaning has occurred repeatedly in the Noble Qur'an, such as the saying of the Exalted: [Al-Sajdah: 11], and His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): [Al-Anfal: 50], in other verses where “tawaffa” is mentioned in the sense of death. On this meaning, the verse contains a transposition of words (inversion).
The second opinion is that it means “taking hold” (seizing). Ibn Jarir transmitted this in his Tafsir from a group of the Salaf, and he chose it and preferred it over the others. On this view, the meaning of the verse is: “I am taking you from the world of the earth to the world of the heavens, while you are alive, and raising you to Me.”
From this meaning comes the saying of the Arabs: “I took my money from so-and-so,” meaning I seized it all, complete.
The third opinion is that the intended meaning is the death of sleep, because sleep is called “tawaffa,” and the evidence has indicated that he (peace be upon him) did not die. Therefore, the verse must be interpreted as the death of sleep, in order to reconcile the evidence, as in the saying of the Exalted (Blessed and Exalted is He): [Al-An'am: 60], and His saying (Mighty and Majestic): [Az-Zumar: 42].
The last two opinions are stronger than the first opinion. In any case, the truth indicated by the clear evidence and supported by the proofs is that he (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) was raised to the heavens alive, and that he did not die, but rather he (peace be upon him) has remained alive in the heavens until he descends at the end of time. He will then perform the task assigned to him, as explained in authentic hadiths from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). After that, he will die the death that Allah has decreed for him. From this, it is known that interpreting “tawaffa” as death is a weak and rejected opinion. And even if it were correct, the intended meaning would be the “tawaffa” that occurs after his descent at the end of time. Thus, its mention in the verse before the raising is a case of mentioning what comes later first, because the conjunction “wa” (and) does not imply order, as the scholars have pointed out. And Allah grants success.
As for one who claims that he was killed or crucified, the clear text of the Qur'an refutes his claim and invalidates it. Likewise, the claim of one who says that he was not raised to the heavens but rather migrated to Kashmir and lived there for a long time and died there a natural death, and that he will not descend before the Hour but rather one like him will come, is clearly invalid. In fact, it is one of the greatest lies against Allah the Exalted and a lie against Him and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
Indeed, the Messiah (peace be upon him) has not descended to our time, and he will descend in the future, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us. From what has preceded, the questioner and others will know that one who says that the Messiah was killed or crucified, or says that he migrated to Kashmir and died there a natural death and was not raised to the heavens, or says that one like him has come or will come, and that there is no Messiah who will descend from the heavens, has committed a great lie against Allah. In fact, he is a denier of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And one who denies Allah and His Messenger has committed disbelief. It is obligatory to ask such a person to repent, and to clarify the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah to him. If he repents and returns to the truth, well and good; otherwise, he is to be killed as a disbeliever.
The evidence for this is abundant and well-known. Among it is the saying of the Exalted regarding 'Isa (peace be upon him) in Surat al-Nisa: [Al-Nisa: 157-158]. And among it are the hadiths that have been transmitted abundantly from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) will descend at the end of time as a just ruler, where he will kill the Messiah of Misguidance, break the cross, kill the pig, abolish the jizyah, and accept nothing but Islam. These are hadiths that are mass-transmitted (mutawatir) and whose authenticity is certain from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The scholars of Islam have agreed to accept them and believe in what they indicate, and they have mentioned them in the books of creed. Therefore, one who denies them, claiming that they are reports from a limited chain (ahad) that do not provide certainty, or who interprets them to mean that people in the end of time will adhere to the morals of the Messiah (peace be upon him) such as mercy and compassion, and that people will take the spirit of the Shari'ah and its objectives and essence rather than their apparent meanings, his claim is clearly invalid and contrary to the position of the Imams of Islam. In fact, it is a clear rejection of the established, mass-transmitted texts, a crime against the green Shari'ah, a heinous arrogance against Islam, and against the reports of the Infallible (peace and blessings be upon him). It is a ruling by conjecture and desire, and a departure from the path of truth and guidance. No one with a firm footing in the knowledge of the Shari'ah and sincere faith in the One who brought it, and who holds its rulings and texts in high esteem, would dare to do this.
The claim that the hadiths of the Messiah are reports from a limited chain (ahad) that do not provide certainty is a claim that is clearly corrupt. Because these are many hadiths extracted in the authentic collections (Sahih), the Sunan, and the Musnads, with diverse chains and paths, and multiple points of origin. They have fulfilled the conditions of mass transmission (tawatur). How can it be permissible for one with the slightest insight into the Shari'ah to say that they should be discarded and not relied upon?
Even if we concede that they are reports from a limited chain (ahad), not all such reports fail to provide certainty. The correct view, held by the experts among the scholars, is that reports from a limited chain (ahad), when their paths are numerous, their chains are sound, and they are free from opposing evidence, do provide certainty. The hadiths in this matter are of this nature; they are hadiths whose authenticity is certain, with multiple paths and points of origin, and there is nothing in this chapter that opposes them. Therefore, they provide certainty, whether we say they are reports from a limited chain (ahad) or mass-transmitted (mutawatir). From this, the questioner and others will know the invalidity of this doubt and the deviation of its proponent from the path of truth and correctness. And more heinous and greater in invalidity and arrogance against Allah the Exalted and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the claim of one who interprets them other than what they indicate. For he has combined denying the texts and invalidating them, and not believing in what they indicate, namely the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him) and his ruling among people with justice, and his killing of the Dajjal, and other things mentioned in the hadiths. He has also attributed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the most sincere and knowledgeable of people regarding the Shari'ah of Allah, the act of deception and confusion, and intending something other than what appears in his words and what his wording indicates. This is the height of lying, fabrication, and deception of the Ummah, from which the station of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) must be kept pure. This claim resembles the claim of the materialists who attributed to the messengers (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon them) the act of illusion and deception for the benefit of the public, and that they did not intend the truth in what they said.
The people of knowledge and faith have refuted them and invalidated their claims with the utmost clarity and the most brilliant proof. We seek refuge in Allah from the deviation of hearts, the confusion of matters, the misleading trials, and the whispers of Satan. We ask Him, Mighty and Majestic, to protect us and the Muslims from obeying our desires and Satan, for He is capable of all things. There is no power and no strength except in Allah, the Most High, the Magnificent. We hope that what we have mentioned will be sufficient to satisfy the questioner and clarify the truth. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon His servant and messenger Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions.
from among His creation, Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and whoever follows his path and is guided by his guidance until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
A question has reached me from Pakistan, signed by the brother in Allah, the Shaykh Munazir Ahmad, President of the Arab University in Jinnah, Western Pakistan. The text of the question is: “What do the honorable scholars say about the life of our master 'Isa (peace be upon him), his raising to the heavens with his noble physical body, and then his descent from the heavens to the earth near the Day of Judgment, and that this descent is among the signs of the Hour? What is the ruling on one who denies his descent near the Day of Judgment and claims that he was crucified and did not die thereby, but rather migrated to Kashmir (India) and lived there for a long time and died there a natural death, and that he will not descend before the Hour, but rather one like him will come? Please answer us, may Allah reward you?” End of the question.
Answer: We seek help from Allah, and upon Him we rely, and there is no power nor strength except with Allah. The evidence from the Book and the Sunnah has converged to establish that 'Isa ibn Maryam is the servant of Allah and His messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him), that he was raised to the heavens with his noble body and his soul, and that he did not die, was not killed, and was not crucified. And that he will descend at the end of time, where he will kill the Dajjal, break the cross, kill the pig, abolish the jizyah, and accept nothing but Islam. It is established that this descent is among the signs of the Hour.
The scholars of Islam upon whose opinions reliance is placed have agreed on what we have mentioned. They differed only on the meaning of the word “tawaffa” (taking away) mentioned in the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic):
[Mention] when Allah said, "O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to
إِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَا عِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّSay, "The angel of death will take you who has been entrusted with you
قُلْ يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ الَّذِي وُكِّلَ بِكُمْAnd if you could but see when the angels take the souls of those who disbelieved
وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا الْمَلَائِكَةُThe second opinion is that it means “taking hold” (seizing). Ibn Jarir transmitted this in his Tafsir from a group of the Salaf, and he chose it and preferred it over the others. On this view, the meaning of the verse is: “I am taking you from the world of the earth to the world of the heavens, while you are alive, and raising you to Me.”
From this meaning comes the saying of the Arabs: “I took my money from so-and-so,” meaning I seized it all, complete.
The third opinion is that the intended meaning is the death of sleep, because sleep is called “tawaffa,” and the evidence has indicated that he (peace be upon him) did not die. Therefore, the verse must be interpreted as the death of sleep, in order to reconcile the evidence, as in the saying of the Exalted (Blessed and Exalted is He):
And it is He who takes your souls by night
وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ بِاللَّيْلِAllah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die [He takes] during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term
اللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنْفُسَ حِينََ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا فَيُمْسِكُ الَّتِي قَضَى عَلَيْهَا الْمَوْتَ وَيُرْسِلُ الْأُخْرَى إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّىThe last two opinions are stronger than the first opinion. In any case, the truth indicated by the clear evidence and supported by the proofs is that he (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) was raised to the heavens alive, and that he did not die, but rather he (peace be upon him) has remained alive in the heavens until he descends at the end of time. He will then perform the task assigned to him, as explained in authentic hadiths from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). After that, he will die the death that Allah has decreed for him. From this, it is known that interpreting “tawaffa” as death is a weak and rejected opinion. And even if it were correct, the intended meaning would be the “tawaffa” that occurs after his descent at the end of time. Thus, its mention in the verse before the raising is a case of mentioning what comes later first, because the conjunction “wa” (and) does not imply order, as the scholars have pointed out. And Allah grants success.
As for one who claims that he was killed or crucified, the clear text of the Qur'an refutes his claim and invalidates it. Likewise, the claim of one who says that he was not raised to the heavens but rather migrated to Kashmir and lived there for a long time and died there a natural death, and that he will not descend before the Hour but rather one like him will come, is clearly invalid. In fact, it is one of the greatest lies against Allah the Exalted and a lie against Him and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
Indeed, the Messiah (peace be upon him) has not descended to our time, and he will descend in the future, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us. From what has preceded, the questioner and others will know that one who says that the Messiah was killed or crucified, or says that he migrated to Kashmir and died there a natural death and was not raised to the heavens, or says that one like him has come or will come, and that there is no Messiah who will descend from the heavens, has committed a great lie against Allah. In fact, he is a denier of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And one who denies Allah and His Messenger has committed disbelief. It is obligatory to ask such a person to repent, and to clarify the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah to him. If he repents and returns to the truth, well and good; otherwise, he is to be killed as a disbeliever.
The evidence for this is abundant and well-known. Among it is the saying of the Exalted regarding 'Isa (peace be upon him) in Surat al-Nisa:
And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. (158) Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.
وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَكِنْ شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِنْهُ مَا لَهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا * بَلْ رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًاThe claim that the hadiths of the Messiah are reports from a limited chain (ahad) that do not provide certainty is a claim that is clearly corrupt. Because these are many hadiths extracted in the authentic collections (Sahih), the Sunan, and the Musnads, with diverse chains and paths, and multiple points of origin. They have fulfilled the conditions of mass transmission (tawatur). How can it be permissible for one with the slightest insight into the Shari'ah to say that they should be discarded and not relied upon?
Even if we concede that they are reports from a limited chain (ahad), not all such reports fail to provide certainty. The correct view, held by the experts among the scholars, is that reports from a limited chain (ahad), when their paths are numerous, their chains are sound, and they are free from opposing evidence, do provide certainty. The hadiths in this matter are of this nature; they are hadiths whose authenticity is certain, with multiple paths and points of origin, and there is nothing in this chapter that opposes them. Therefore, they provide certainty, whether we say they are reports from a limited chain (ahad) or mass-transmitted (mutawatir). From this, the questioner and others will know the invalidity of this doubt and the deviation of its proponent from the path of truth and correctness. And more heinous and greater in invalidity and arrogance against Allah the Exalted and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the claim of one who interprets them other than what they indicate. For he has combined denying the texts and invalidating them, and not believing in what they indicate, namely the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him) and his ruling among people with justice, and his killing of the Dajjal, and other things mentioned in the hadiths. He has also attributed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the most sincere and knowledgeable of people regarding the Shari'ah of Allah, the act of deception and confusion, and intending something other than what appears in his words and what his wording indicates. This is the height of lying, fabrication, and deception of the Ummah, from which the station of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) must be kept pure. This claim resembles the claim of the materialists who attributed to the messengers (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon them) the act of illusion and deception for the benefit of the public, and that they did not intend the truth in what they said.
The people of knowledge and faith have refuted them and invalidated their claims with the utmost clarity and the most brilliant proof. We seek refuge in Allah from the deviation of hearts, the confusion of matters, the misleading trials, and the whispers of Satan. We ask Him, Mighty and Majestic, to protect us and the Muslims from obeying our desires and Satan, for He is capable of all things. There is no power and no strength except in Allah, the Most High, the Magnificent. We hope that what we have mentioned will be sufficient to satisfy the questioner and clarify the truth. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon His servant and messenger Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.