Re: No mention of Prophet Isa's return or appearence of Imam Mahdi in Quran&earlyhade
Not true. He will come down as establised by the Quran and the Hadith and the opinions of the Ulema.
THE FIRST REFERENCE: is in Surah Nisaa’, verses (156-159). As for the context of these verses, Allah, the Exalted, mentions the fabrications of the Jews, their slander of Mary, their rejection of Faith, and claim that they killed Jesus son of Mary - the Messenger of Allah. Thereupon Allah, the Exalted, declares the falsity of these claims and says,
"And because of their saying (boasting), ‘We killed Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah,’ - but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it was made to appear to them so." [an-Nisaa’ 4:157]
"But Allah raised him up (with his body and soul) unto Himself; and Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All-Wise." [an-Nisaa’ 4:158]
So, if anyone claims that only the soul was raised, it would be incorrect, as is shown from the two following perspectives.
FIRSTLY, Allah made a mention of this raise in the context of refutation of the claim of the Jews that they killed the Christ. So, if it were that only the soul was raised, then that would actually mean an acknowledgment of the claim of the Jews that they killed the Christ - which is to remove his soul!
SECONDLY, if it were true that only his soul was raised, there would remain no distinction for Jesus above the rest. For all Prophets (peace be upon them), and in fact all believing Muslims, have their souls raised to the sky upon their death. So, does there remain anything that distinguishes Jesus, for which Allah makes a special marked mention in the Quran that He raised him?
After establishing this point, another Quranic verse follows in the same context of the ones that preceded. This one clearly bears evidence on another return of the Christ (peace be upon him) to the earth and that he will descend from the sky. The purpose of this is the crucial role he will play upon his return to the earth. Allah, the Exalted, says,
"And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but must believe in him (Jesus son of Mary as a Messenger of Allah and a human being) before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection, he will be a witness against them." [an-Nisaa’ 4:159]
The verse presents the message in a future tense, so it is with regards to the events to come after the raising of the Christ. It informs that some of the People of the Book will believe in the Christ. But when will that be? It will be upon his descent, his return and coming onto the earth once again. Imam Tabari, the renowned scholar of the Quranic exegesis (may Allah cover him in mercy), explained this. He said, “The meaning of the verse
‘And there is none of the people of the Scripture but must believe in him’, that is: in Jesus,
‘before his death’, that is: before the death of Jesus. It is explained as follows: that all of them will affirm and acknowledge him when he descends to kill the Antichrist, thereafter, all the religion will give way to only the one, which is the pure upright religion of Islam - the religion of Abraham (may the peace be him)." [See Tafsir at-Tabari 4:356-357].
THE SECOND REFERENCE in the Noble Quran to the imperative nature of the descent of Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, in order to complete the task that must be done on the earth, is found in Surah Zukhruf in the Quran. Allah, the Exalted, says in it,
"And when the son of Mary is quoted as an example (i.e. Jesus worshipped like their idols), behold, your people cry aloud (laugh out at the example). And say: Are our gods better or is he (i.e. Jesus)? They quoted not the above example except for argument. Nay! But they are a quarrelsome people. He (i.e. Jesus) was not more than a slave. We granted Our Favor to him, and We made him an example for the Children of Israel (i.e. his creation without a father). And if it were Our Will, We would have (destroyed you all, and) made angels to replace you on the earth. And he (i.e. Jesus) shall be a known sign for (the coming of) the Hour (i.e. Day of Resurrection). Therefore have no doubt concerning it. And follow Me (i.e. Allah)! This is the Straight Path." [az-Zukhruf 43:57-61].
In another recitation, it is recited as "And he shall be a mark". It means, a symbol, a portent, a sign of the Hour. [See Fat
hu-l Qadeer of Shawkaani, (4/562) for references of those who read it so.]
How can Jesus son Mary, be a sign of the Hour (Doomsday)? It cannot be except with his descent being in the last stage and period. His descent would then be a great sign and one of the major portents of the Hour - a sign that announces the closeness of its occurrence. This is how the verse has commonly been explained by the scholars of Tafsir (exegesis of the Quran). Amongst them are Mujahid, Suddee, Qatada, Hasan al-Basri, Dahhaak and Ibn Zayd. It is also the saying of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). They all have stated this explicitly, that Jesus son of Mary is one of the signs of the Hour in the sense that he will descend and rule the earth and dwell therein for forty years, as is mentioned in the authentic hadith, that will be mentioned shortly. And his descent will be one of the great signs of Allah and one of the supreme portents of the Hour.
THE THIRD REFERENCE TO IT IN THE QURAN The deduction from this text is indeed remarkable. One notes that there is hardly ever a mention of the story of Jesus (in the Quran) except that it is mentioned along with it that,
"He will speak to the people in the cradle and in manhood" [Aal `Imraan 3: 46, and al-Maa’ida 5:110]. In this, Allah mentioned two remarkable and rare events, that are also two dazzling signs (proofs) of Allah found in the character of Jesus Christ.
THE FIRST MATTER is that he spoke in the cradle while still an infant. This does not occur except as a miracle from Allah, the Mighty, and the Magnificent. That is why it has never occurred except with three people as has been established in the authentic hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him). [See Saheeh Bukhari (4/201-202)]. So the speaking of Jesus (peace be on him) in the cradle was indeed a sign, and there was a need, and the circumstance called for it as the mother of Jesus came to be held in suspicion due to the birth, `how can a woman give birth without a husband?' They even voiced this explicitly, as reported in the Quran,
"Your father was not a man who used to commit adultery, nor your mother was an unchaste woman." [Maryam 19:28]
So, a miracle was required to prove her innocence and to prove that the birth was another such a miracle. Thus the infant spoke in the cradle, an extraordinary, unaccustomed event. But the verse couples this miraculous event, with the mention of another event - of him speaking as a middle-aged adult. But every one speaks at that age. So where is the miracle in that? The Arabic word used in the verse that refers to that stage of his life, is
Kuhoola, which is used for a person past the age of forty and up to the age of fifty or sixty years. Is it at all remarkable that one speaks at the age of sixty or even seventy?! So where is the miracle that is alluded to in this section of the verse which mentions that Jesus speaks as a middle aged man?
This shows that just as his speech in the cradle as an infant was a miracle, likewise he will descend and speak to the people as a middle aged man in the last stages of this world, making his descent and speech thereupon, also a miracle. Otherwise, there is no miracle in a sixty or seventy year old communicating by speech!
So the evidence from this section of the verse in the Quran that he will speak to the people as a middle-aged adult is from the following two perspectives.
FIRSTLY, some of the scholars of Islam, amongst them is ibn Musayyab, stated that Jesus son of Mary, was raised to the sky while he was at an age of thirty three years, in the prime of his youth (referred to in Arabic as
Shabaab, which is a stage prior to the one mentioned in the Quran,
Kuhoola). So he had not yet reached the stage of
Kuhoola.
SECONDLY, here comes the aspect of amazement, marvel and the miracle. The aspect, which bears evidence on the point, is that he speaks to the people as a middle-aged man (in
Kuhoola) after having been raised, and his being raised is indeed an astonishing event. And he will descend, and his descent is also another astonishing, remarkable event. He will then speak to the people and will live after his descent for forty years. This forty added to the thirty years makes him someone who would have reached the age of
Kuhoola, and having spoken at that age. He will then have spoken to the people as he spoke to them in the cradle. This is a clear and unambiguous indication that he (peace be upon him) will certainly complete his role and his part, and will descend towards the last stages and speak to the people as a middle-aged man, just as he spoke miraculously as an infant. Imam Tabari related from Abdurahman ibn Zayd that he said, ‘Jesus did indeed speak to them in the cradle, and he will speak to them when he kills the Antichrist, he will then be a
kahl (middle-aged person)." [Tafsir Tabari 3/271]
http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=610
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that it is established from the Quran, lets turn to the Hadiths:
Abd Allah ibn 'Amr said, "The Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) said,
'The Dajjal will appear in my Ummah, and will remain for forty - "I cannot
say whether he meant forty days, forty months or forty years." Then Allah
will send Jesus (alayhe salam), the son of Mary, who will resemble 'Urwah
ibn Mas'ud. He will chase the Dajjal and kill him. Then the people will
live for seven years during which there will be no enmity between any two
persons. Then Allah will send a cold wind from the direction of Syria,
which will take the soul of everyone who has the slightest speck of good
or faith in his heart. Even if one of you were to enter the heart of a
mountain, the wind would reach him there and take his soul.
"Only the most wicked people will be left; they will be as careless as
birds, with the characteristics of beasts, and will have no concern for
right and wrong. Satan will come to them in the form of man and will say,
"Don't you respond?" They will say, "What do you order us to do?" He will
order them to worship idols, and in spite of that they will have
sustenance in abundance, and lead comfortable lives.
"Then the Trumpet will be blown, and everyone will tilt their heads to
hear it. The first one to hear it will be a man busy repairing a trough
for his camels. He and everyone else will be struck down. Then Allah will
send (or send down) rain like dew, and the bodies of the people (ie the
dead) will grow out of it. Then the trumpet will be sounded again, and the
people will get up and look around. Then it will be said, "O people, go to
your Lord and account for yourselves." It will be said, "Bring out the
people of Hell," and it will be asked, "How many are there?" - the answer
will come: "Nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand." On that
day a child will grow old and the shin will be laid bare." (Al-Qalam
68:42) (Muslim)
Abu Hurairah said, "The Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) said, 'The
son of Mary will come down as a just leader. He will break the cross, and
kill the pigs. Peace will prevail and people will use their swords as
sickles. Every harmful beast will be made harmless; the sky will send down
rain in abundance, and the earth will bring forth its blessings. A child
will play with a fox and not come to any harm; a wolf will graze with
sheep and a lion with cattle, without harming them." (Ahmad)
Abu Hurairah said, "The Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) said, 'By
Him in Whose hand is my soul, surely the son of Mary will come down among
you as a just ruler. He will break the cross, kill the pigs and abolish
the Jizyah. Wealth will be in such abundance that no-one will care about
it, and a single prostration in prayer will be better than the world and
all that is in it." Abu Hurairah said, 'If you wish, recite the Ayah:
"And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him
before his death; and on the Day of Judgment he will be a witness against
them ..." (Al-Nisa 4:159) (Bukhari, Muslim)
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) said,
"The Prophets are like brothers; they have different mothers but their
religion is one. Iam the closest of all the people to Jesus son of Mary,
because there is no other Prophet between him and myself. He will come
again, and when you see him, you will recognise him. He is of medium
height and his colouring is reddish-white. He will be wearing two
garments, and his hair will look wet. He will break the cross, kill the
pigs, abolish the Jizyah and call the people to Islam. During his time,
Allah will end every religion and sect other than Islam, and will destroy
the Dajjal. Then peace and security will prevail on earth, so that lions
will graze with camels, tigers with cattle, and wolves with sheep;
children will be able to play with snakes without coming to any harm.
Jesus will remain for forty years, then die, and the Muslims will pray for
him." (Ahmad)
Ibn Masud reported that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) said,
"On the night of the Isra (night journey), I met my father Abraham, Moses
and Jesus, and they discussed the Hour. The matter was referred first to
Abraham, then to Moses, and both said, 'I have no knowledge of it. Then it
was referred to Jesus, who said, 'No-one knows about its timing except
Allah; what my Lord told me was that the Dajjal will appear, and when he
sees me he will begin to melt like lead. Allah will destroy him when he
sees me. The Muslims will fight against the Kafirs, and even the trees and
rocks will say, "O Muslim, there is a Kafir hiding beneath me - come and
kill him!" Allah will destroy the Kafirs, and the people will return to
their own lands. Then Gog and Magog will appear from all directions,
eating and drinking everything they find. The people will complain to me,
so I will pray to Allah and He will destroy them, so that the earth will
be filled with their stench. Allah will send rain which will wash their
bodies into the sea. My Lord has told me that when that happens, the Hour
will be very close, like a pregnant woman whose time is due, but her
family do not know exactly when she will deliver'" (Ahma, Ibn Majah)
DESCRIPTION OF THE MESSIAH JESUS SON OF MARY, MESSENGER OF ALLAH
Abu Hurairah said, "The Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) said, 'On
the night of the Isra' (miraculous journey to Jerusalem) I met Moses - he
was a slim man with wavy hair, and looked like a man from the Shanu'ah
tribe. I also met Jesus - he was of medium height and of a red complexion,
as if he had just come out of the bath'" (Bukhari, Muslim)
The Prophet (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam) said, "Whilst I was asleep, I
saw myself (in a dream) making Tawaf around the Ka'bah. I saw a
brown-skinned man, with straight hair, being supported by two men, and
with water dripping from his head. I said, 'Who is this?' They said, 'The
son of Mary'I turned around and saw a fat, ruddy man, with curly hair, who
was blind in his right eye; his eye looked like a floating grape. I asked,
'Who is this?' They said, 'The Dajjal' The one who most resembles him is
Ibn Qatan." Al-Zuhri explained: Ibn Qatan was a man from Khuzaah who died
during the Jahiliyyah (before the coming of Islam). (Bukhari)
I think that the proofs are too many to reject sister. This was the belief of the Prophet (SAW) himself. There is no reason to reject it because some "scholors" today reject it.
