ISA THE "MUSLIM JESUS" ALSO KNOWN AS MASHIACH BEN YOSEF BY THE JEWS
The Muslim Jesus
After the “rising” of the Mahdi, the return of Jesus Christ (Isa) will take place. Christians who love Jesus get excited by the idea that even Muslims are looking for and longing for His return. Unfortunately, the Islamic belief of who this Jesus is that is coming, and what he does once he arrives, is very different than what Christians believe about Jesus Christ.
What Christians need to understand regarding the Islamic belief about Jesus is that Muslims reject the idea that Jesus is the Son of God. According to Islam, Jesus is not God in the flesh. In Islamic belief, Jesus never died on the cross for our sins. The Quran denies that Jesus was ever crucified or that He ever experienced death, they believe another man took his place at the Cross. Muslims believe that after Allah miraculously delivered Jesus from death, he was raptured into heaven alive in a similar way of the Prophet Elijah. Muslims believe, Jesus has remained with Allah and has been waiting for an opportunity to return to Earth to finish his ministry and complete his life. To the Islamic belief, Jesus was not in any way a “Savior”. To Muslims, Jesus was just another Prophet in the long list of prophets that Allah has sent to mankind. According to the texts of Islam, as we are about to see, when Jesus returns, will not be to restore the Nation of Israel to the Jewish people. Neither will Jesus’ purpose will be to save and deliver his children from the persecution of the Antichrist. To understand the Islamic belief of Jesus’ return, the first thing that needs to be understood is that when Jesus (Isa) comes back, he comes back as a RADICAL MUSLIM !
This chapter will outline the Islamic traditions regarding the return of Jesus. Many of the Hadiths below that refer to Jesus do not call him by the name Jesus, but rather Isa , the name that the Quran gives him, and which most Muslims use is Isa (or Eesa) al-Maseeh (the Messiah). Other titles that Islam uses when referring to Jesus are Hazrat Isa (Honorable Jesus), Isa bin Maryam (Jesus son of Mary) or Nabi Isa (Prophet Jesus).
The Return Of The Muslim Jesus
According to Islam’s traditions, Jesus’ return is described as taking place just outside Damascus:
"At this very time Allah would send Christ, son of Mary, and he will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damascus wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he would lower his head, there would fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he would raise it up, beads like pearls would scatter from it. "
The Subordinate Of The Mahdi
At this time, "Jesus descends to meet the Army of the Mahdi which will be preparing for battle. It will be just before the time of prayer. "
"Muslims will still be preparing themselves for the battle drawing up the ranks. Certainly, the time of prayer shall come and then Jesus, son of Mary would descend. "
Based on the Hadith, Islamic scholars seem to be in agreement that the Mahdi will ask Jesus to lead the prayers. Jesus will then refuse this request and will defer instead to the Mahdi to lead the prayer.
"The Messenger of Allah said: A section of my people will not cease fighting for the truth and will prevail until the Day of resurrection. He said: Jesus son of Mary would then descend and their [Muslims’] commander [the Mahdi] would invite him to come and lead them in prayer, but he would say: No, some amongst you are commanders over some. "
The important thing here , is that Jesus will then pray behind the Mahdi as a direct statement regarding Jesus’ inferiority of rank to the Mahdi.
"Jesus Christ will decline the offer and invitation of Imam Mahdi to come and lead the Muslims in prayer, and say his prayer behind Imam Mahdi. 4
Jesus (peace be upon him) will come and will perform the obligatory prayers behind the Mahdi and follow him. 5
(Jesus) will be following the Mahdi, the master of the time, and that is why he will be offering his prayers behind him. 6"
Jesus (Isa) The Faithful Muslim
"After Jesus returns, he will perform the ritual pilgrimage to Mecca called hajj:
"The Prophet said: Verily Isa ibn Maryam shall descend as an equitable judge and fair ruler. He shall tread his path on the way to hajj (pilgrimage) and come to my grave to greet me, and I shall certainly answer him! "
Jesus Will Institute Islamic Law
While the Mahdi, as the Caliph (vice-regent) and Imam (leader) of the Muslims is clearly seen as being a superior to Jesus, Jesus is still said to be a leader of the Muslim Community. According to the Islamic traditions, Jesus’ primary purpose will be to oversee the institution and the enforcement of the Islamic Shariah law all over the world.
Ibn Qayyim mentioned in Manar al-munif that the leader…" is the Mahdi who will request Jesus to lead the Muslims in prayer. Jesus will remain on the earth, not as a prophet, but as one of the Community (ummah) of Prophet Muhammad. Muslims will follow him as their leader. According to Shalabi, the Mahdi will lead the Muslims in prayer, and Jesus will rule the Muslims according to the Divine Law (Shari’ah). "
"Jesus, the son of Mary will descend and will lead them judging amongst them according to the holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad."
Jesus: The Greatest Muslim Evangelist
Islamic tradition teaches that Jesus will declare himself to be a Muslim, he will lead many Christians to convert to Islam. Regarding those who do not convert to Islam, the Quran states that Jesus will be a witness against them on the Day of Judgment:
There is not one of the People of the Scripture (Christians and Jews) but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them. (Surah 4:159)
Commenting on the above verse, Mufti Muhammad Shafi and Mufti Mohammad Rafi Usmani in their book, Signs of the Qiyama [the final judgement] and the Arrival of the Maseeh [the Messiah] explain that the phrase “will believe in him before his death” means that Christians and Jews will:
…confirm that he is alive and has not died and he is not God or the Son of God but (merely) His (Allah’s) slave and Messenger, and Isa (Jesus) will testify against those who had called him son of God, the Christians, and those who had belied him, the Jews.
Sheikh Kabbani, Chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America clearly states the Islamic view regarding Jesus’ evangelistic role when He returns.
"Like all prophets, Prophet Jesus came with the divine message of surrender to God Almighty, which is Islam. This verse shows that when Jesus returns he will personally correct the misrepresentations and misinterpretations about himself. He will affirm the true message that he brought in his time as a prophet, and that he never claimed to be the Son of God. Furthermore, he will reaffirm in his second coming what he prophesied in his first coming bearing witness to the seal of the Messengers, Prophet Muhammad. In his second coming many non-Muslims will accept Jesus as a servant of Allah Almighty, as a Muslim and a member of the Community of Muhammad. "
Al-Sadr and Mutahhari, likewise articulate this same expectation:
"Jesus will descend from heaven and espouse the cause of the Mahdi. The Christians and the Jews will see him and recognize his true status. The Christians will abandon their faith in his godhead (sic). "
Jesus Will Abolish Christianity
It is important to understand that according to Islamic traditions, when Jesus returns, he does not come to convert most Christians to Islam but to abolish Christianity entirely. This fact is understood when we read a tradition that refers to four specific things that Jesus will do when he returns. Jesus (Isa) is said to:
"The Prophet said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus. He will descent (sic) (to the earth)… He will break the cross, kill swine, and abolish jizyah. Allah will perish all religions except Islam. "
The three actions of breaking “the cross”, killing pigs and abolishing the jizyah tax are based on the notion that Jesus will eliminate all other religions on the earth other than Islam. Shafi and Usmani explain that to “break the cross” means to “abolish worship of the cross”. Jesus will break or remove all crosses from the rooftops and steeples of churches on Earth. Jesus will be making a clear statement regarding his disapproval of the false notion that he was ever crucified on a cross. The killing of the swine is so that the “Christian belief of its lawfulness is belied.” 14 The reason for abolishing the jizyah tax (the compulsory poll-tax that non-Muslims must pay in order to live in a Muslim land) is based on the idea that when Jesus returns, the jizyah tax will no longer be accepted. The only choice that Christians will have is to accept Islam or die. As Sideeque M.A. Veliankode states inDoomsday Portents and Prophecies:
"Jesus, the son of Mary will soon descend among the Muslims as a just judge… Jesus will, therefore, judge according to the law of Islam… all people will be required to embrace Islam and there will be no other alternative. "
Even Harun Yahya, affirms this belief in his book, "Jesus Will Return when he says,”Jesus will remove all systems of disbelief in that period.”
Muslim jurists also confirm these interpretations:
"... the time and the place for [the poll tax] is before the final descent of Jesus (upon whom be peace). After his final coming, nothing but Islam will be accepted from them, for taking the poll tax is only effective until Jesus' descent (upon him and our Prophet be peace) ..."
Jesus: A Muslim Family Man
One final aspect of the Muslim Jesus’ return must be pointed out. After converting the world to Islam and killing unbelievers, the Dajjal and his followers, Jesus is said to marry, have children and eventually die:
"The Prophet said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus… He will destroy the Antichrist and will live on the Earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him. "
"After his descention (sic) on earth, Jesus will marry. He will have children, and he will remain on the earth 19 years after marriage. He will pass away and Muslims will perform his Funeral Prayer and bury him next to the Prophet Muhammad. "
Summary
1. Jesus is said to return to the earth in the last-days near a mosque in Damascus.
2. He will arrive at a time when the Mahdi and his army will be preparing to pray.
3. He will be offered to lead the prayer by the Mahdi, but will decline in direct deference to the Mahdi who Jesus declares to be the leader of the Muslims.
4. He will then pray behind the Mahdi as a subordinate.
5. He will be a faithful Muslim
6. He will make pilgrimage to Mecca.
7. He will visit Muhammad’s grave, and salute Muhammad, whereby Muhammad will return the salute from the grave.
8. He will destroy Christianity.
9. He will repeal the jizyah tax thus causing the only option for Jews and Christians to convert to Islam or die.
10. He will establish Islamic Shari’ah (Law) throughout the entire earth.
11. He will kill the Antichrist and his followers made up largely of Jews and women.
12. He will remain on the earth for roughly forty years, during which time he will marry, have children and then die.
As we have clearly seen, the Muslim Jesus, in both his nature and actions is far different than the biblical Jesus. Rather than coming to reign as King and Messiah over all the earth from Jerusalem, Jesus instead comes to convert the world to Islam or kill those who refuse to do so.
After the “rising” of the Mahdi, the return of Jesus Christ (Isa) will take place. Christians who love Jesus get excited by the idea that even Muslims are looking for and longing for His return. Unfortunately, the Islamic belief of who this Jesus is that is coming, and what he does once he arrives, is very different than what Christians believe about Jesus Christ.
What Christians need to understand regarding the Islamic belief about Jesus is that Muslims reject the idea that Jesus is the Son of God. According to Islam, Jesus is not God in the flesh. In Islamic belief, Jesus never died on the cross for our sins. The Quran denies that Jesus was ever crucified or that He ever experienced death, they believe another man took his place at the Cross. Muslims believe that after Allah miraculously delivered Jesus from death, he was raptured into heaven alive in a similar way of the Prophet Elijah. Muslims believe, Jesus has remained with Allah and has been waiting for an opportunity to return to Earth to finish his ministry and complete his life. To the Islamic belief, Jesus was not in any way a “Savior”. To Muslims, Jesus was just another Prophet in the long list of prophets that Allah has sent to mankind. According to the texts of Islam, as we are about to see, when Jesus returns, will not be to restore the Nation of Israel to the Jewish people. Neither will Jesus’ purpose will be to save and deliver his children from the persecution of the Antichrist. To understand the Islamic belief of Jesus’ return, the first thing that needs to be understood is that when Jesus (Isa) comes back, he comes back as a RADICAL MUSLIM !
This chapter will outline the Islamic traditions regarding the return of Jesus. Many of the Hadiths below that refer to Jesus do not call him by the name Jesus, but rather Isa , the name that the Quran gives him, and which most Muslims use is Isa (or Eesa) al-Maseeh (the Messiah). Other titles that Islam uses when referring to Jesus are Hazrat Isa (Honorable Jesus), Isa bin Maryam (Jesus son of Mary) or Nabi Isa (Prophet Jesus).
The Return Of The Muslim Jesus
According to Islam’s traditions, Jesus’ return is described as taking place just outside Damascus:
"At this very time Allah would send Christ, son of Mary, and he will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damascus wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he would lower his head, there would fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he would raise it up, beads like pearls would scatter from it. "
The Subordinate Of The Mahdi
At this time, "Jesus descends to meet the Army of the Mahdi which will be preparing for battle. It will be just before the time of prayer. "
"Muslims will still be preparing themselves for the battle drawing up the ranks. Certainly, the time of prayer shall come and then Jesus, son of Mary would descend. "
Based on the Hadith, Islamic scholars seem to be in agreement that the Mahdi will ask Jesus to lead the prayers. Jesus will then refuse this request and will defer instead to the Mahdi to lead the prayer.
"The Messenger of Allah said: A section of my people will not cease fighting for the truth and will prevail until the Day of resurrection. He said: Jesus son of Mary would then descend and their [Muslims’] commander [the Mahdi] would invite him to come and lead them in prayer, but he would say: No, some amongst you are commanders over some. "
The important thing here , is that Jesus will then pray behind the Mahdi as a direct statement regarding Jesus’ inferiority of rank to the Mahdi.
"Jesus Christ will decline the offer and invitation of Imam Mahdi to come and lead the Muslims in prayer, and say his prayer behind Imam Mahdi. 4
Jesus (peace be upon him) will come and will perform the obligatory prayers behind the Mahdi and follow him. 5
(Jesus) will be following the Mahdi, the master of the time, and that is why he will be offering his prayers behind him. 6"
Jesus (Isa) The Faithful Muslim
"After Jesus returns, he will perform the ritual pilgrimage to Mecca called hajj:
"The Prophet said: Verily Isa ibn Maryam shall descend as an equitable judge and fair ruler. He shall tread his path on the way to hajj (pilgrimage) and come to my grave to greet me, and I shall certainly answer him! "
Jesus Will Institute Islamic Law
While the Mahdi, as the Caliph (vice-regent) and Imam (leader) of the Muslims is clearly seen as being a superior to Jesus, Jesus is still said to be a leader of the Muslim Community. According to the Islamic traditions, Jesus’ primary purpose will be to oversee the institution and the enforcement of the Islamic Shariah law all over the world.
Ibn Qayyim mentioned in Manar al-munif that the leader…" is the Mahdi who will request Jesus to lead the Muslims in prayer. Jesus will remain on the earth, not as a prophet, but as one of the Community (ummah) of Prophet Muhammad. Muslims will follow him as their leader. According to Shalabi, the Mahdi will lead the Muslims in prayer, and Jesus will rule the Muslims according to the Divine Law (Shari’ah). "
"Jesus, the son of Mary will descend and will lead them judging amongst them according to the holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad."
Jesus: The Greatest Muslim Evangelist
Islamic tradition teaches that Jesus will declare himself to be a Muslim, he will lead many Christians to convert to Islam. Regarding those who do not convert to Islam, the Quran states that Jesus will be a witness against them on the Day of Judgment:
There is not one of the People of the Scripture (Christians and Jews) but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them. (Surah 4:159)
Commenting on the above verse, Mufti Muhammad Shafi and Mufti Mohammad Rafi Usmani in their book, Signs of the Qiyama [the final judgement] and the Arrival of the Maseeh [the Messiah] explain that the phrase “will believe in him before his death” means that Christians and Jews will:
…confirm that he is alive and has not died and he is not God or the Son of God but (merely) His (Allah’s) slave and Messenger, and Isa (Jesus) will testify against those who had called him son of God, the Christians, and those who had belied him, the Jews.
Sheikh Kabbani, Chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America clearly states the Islamic view regarding Jesus’ evangelistic role when He returns.
"Like all prophets, Prophet Jesus came with the divine message of surrender to God Almighty, which is Islam. This verse shows that when Jesus returns he will personally correct the misrepresentations and misinterpretations about himself. He will affirm the true message that he brought in his time as a prophet, and that he never claimed to be the Son of God. Furthermore, he will reaffirm in his second coming what he prophesied in his first coming bearing witness to the seal of the Messengers, Prophet Muhammad. In his second coming many non-Muslims will accept Jesus as a servant of Allah Almighty, as a Muslim and a member of the Community of Muhammad. "
Al-Sadr and Mutahhari, likewise articulate this same expectation:
"Jesus will descend from heaven and espouse the cause of the Mahdi. The Christians and the Jews will see him and recognize his true status. The Christians will abandon their faith in his godhead (sic). "
Jesus Will Abolish Christianity
It is important to understand that according to Islamic traditions, when Jesus returns, he does not come to convert most Christians to Islam but to abolish Christianity entirely. This fact is understood when we read a tradition that refers to four specific things that Jesus will do when he returns. Jesus (Isa) is said to:
- Break crosses.
- Kill all swine.
- Abolish the jizyah tax (a Muslim tax on non-Muslims)
- Kill the Muslim antichrist and his followers.
"The Prophet said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus. He will descent (sic) (to the earth)… He will break the cross, kill swine, and abolish jizyah. Allah will perish all religions except Islam. "
The three actions of breaking “the cross”, killing pigs and abolishing the jizyah tax are based on the notion that Jesus will eliminate all other religions on the earth other than Islam. Shafi and Usmani explain that to “break the cross” means to “abolish worship of the cross”. Jesus will break or remove all crosses from the rooftops and steeples of churches on Earth. Jesus will be making a clear statement regarding his disapproval of the false notion that he was ever crucified on a cross. The killing of the swine is so that the “Christian belief of its lawfulness is belied.” 14 The reason for abolishing the jizyah tax (the compulsory poll-tax that non-Muslims must pay in order to live in a Muslim land) is based on the idea that when Jesus returns, the jizyah tax will no longer be accepted. The only choice that Christians will have is to accept Islam or die. As Sideeque M.A. Veliankode states inDoomsday Portents and Prophecies:
"Jesus, the son of Mary will soon descend among the Muslims as a just judge… Jesus will, therefore, judge according to the law of Islam… all people will be required to embrace Islam and there will be no other alternative. "
Even Harun Yahya, affirms this belief in his book, "Jesus Will Return when he says,”Jesus will remove all systems of disbelief in that period.”
Muslim jurists also confirm these interpretations:
"... the time and the place for [the poll tax] is before the final descent of Jesus (upon whom be peace). After his final coming, nothing but Islam will be accepted from them, for taking the poll tax is only effective until Jesus' descent (upon him and our Prophet be peace) ..."
Jesus: A Muslim Family Man
One final aspect of the Muslim Jesus’ return must be pointed out. After converting the world to Islam and killing unbelievers, the Dajjal and his followers, Jesus is said to marry, have children and eventually die:
"The Prophet said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus… He will destroy the Antichrist and will live on the Earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him. "
"After his descention (sic) on earth, Jesus will marry. He will have children, and he will remain on the earth 19 years after marriage. He will pass away and Muslims will perform his Funeral Prayer and bury him next to the Prophet Muhammad. "
Summary
1. Jesus is said to return to the earth in the last-days near a mosque in Damascus.
2. He will arrive at a time when the Mahdi and his army will be preparing to pray.
3. He will be offered to lead the prayer by the Mahdi, but will decline in direct deference to the Mahdi who Jesus declares to be the leader of the Muslims.
4. He will then pray behind the Mahdi as a subordinate.
5. He will be a faithful Muslim
6. He will make pilgrimage to Mecca.
7. He will visit Muhammad’s grave, and salute Muhammad, whereby Muhammad will return the salute from the grave.
8. He will destroy Christianity.
9. He will repeal the jizyah tax thus causing the only option for Jews and Christians to convert to Islam or die.
10. He will establish Islamic Shari’ah (Law) throughout the entire earth.
11. He will kill the Antichrist and his followers made up largely of Jews and women.
12. He will remain on the earth for roughly forty years, during which time he will marry, have children and then die.
As we have clearly seen, the Muslim Jesus, in both his nature and actions is far different than the biblical Jesus. Rather than coming to reign as King and Messiah over all the earth from Jerusalem, Jesus instead comes to convert the world to Islam or kill those who refuse to do so.