IS THE SECOND COMING OF PROPHET JESUS (pbuh) SUPPORTED BY THE QURAN?

[Orange]

Dear Brother Joseph,

Salamun Alaikum,

I have read your article:

http://quransmessage.com/articles/is%20second%20coming%20attested%20by%20the%20quran%20FM3.htm

I did not find you including the following verse from Chapter 4:

4.159: And there is none from the People of the Scripture but that he will surely believe in Jesus before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection he will be against them a witness. (159)

This verse is quietly used to interpret second coming of Prophet Jesus (pbuh).

Kindly include the above verse in your article and/or let us know your views here.

Regards

[Joseph Islam]

Salamun Alaika Orange,

Thanks for your question and comments.

In evidence 4 of my article you have cited, you will have noted that the preceding verses 4:157-158 are discussed. The context of the discourse is a reference to a period of time during Prophet Jesus's ministry. Verse 4:159 is a continuation of verse 4:158 which is more than alluded to by the conjunction 'wa' (and). There is no break in the discourse or theme. (Not discussed in the article)

004:159
"AND (wa) there is not from the People of the Book ..."

From verse 4:159 it is clear that the reference is still to those who had been touched by Prophet Jesus's ministry and were given clear evidence of truth yet still denied him (4:157). They were not going to believe in him and what his ministry represented before his death. It is in this context that Prophet Jesus is also presented as a witness against them on the Day of Judgment 'yakuna alayhim shaidan'.

There would be no point of Prophet Jesus being presented as a witness against those who believed in the veracity of Prophet Jesus’s ministry. Therefore, the point of witness is against those who did not believe in the truth that was revealed to them and not those who did establish belief.

It is also important to remember in the context of the discourse that the People of the Book that are referred to are the Jews which is clear from verse 4:153 and not the Christians. These verses have nothing to do with the Christians (4:153ff).

The fact that Prophet Jesus will only be a witness against his people who witnessed his ministry is confirmed by another verse as well.

005:117
“…That worship God, my Lord and your Lord, and I was a witness over them as long as I was among them, but when you caused me to die (Arabic: Tawafaytani), you were the watcher over them, and you are witness of all things.”

The traditional position that makes use of verse 4:159 out of context to support Prophet Jesus’s second coming, arguably needs to provide unequivocal evidence from the Quran that:

• Verse 4:159 is a break in discourse and refers to another period of time.
• The audience of 4:159 has changed
• The audience includes Christians
• That this verse provides unequivocal support for Prophet Jesus's second coming.

I hope that helps, God willing.
Joseph.

[erwin.ariadi]

As-salaamu’alaykum
Brother Joseph,

In my humble opinion, I do believe that the 2nd coming of Prophet Jesus pbuh is somehow confirmed by Quran. Here are some points to be considered :
1. Quran clearly make a distinction between term “wafat” (w-f-y) and “mawt” (m-w-t) in 39:42.
    a. So far I haven’t found any ayat in Quran which addresses that Prophet
       Jesus pbuh had experienced “mawt”, while 3:185 clearly denotes that
       “every soul shall have a taste of death (al-maut).” It is unlikely with the
       case of the demise of Prophet Muhammad pbuh in 3:144 that use the term
       "mata" to emphasize that he pbuh is really died.
    b. The case of Ashabul Kahf could also be the example.

2. I also humbly believe that the context of “wa rafi’uka ilayya” (raise thee to Myself) in 3:55 is different with the case of Prophet Idris pbuh in 19:57 : “wa rafa’nahu makanan ‘aliyya” (And we raised him to a lofty station), with the consideration that the words “ilayya” (to Myself) – which is not used in the case of Prophet Idris -  perhaps is the key to differentiate the above 2 different cases.

3. Therefore the statement "before his death" in 4:159: “And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him before his death (qabla mautihi); and on the Day of Judgment he will be a witness against them”, could possibly referring to a point of time in the future (i.e. the 2nd coming of Prophet Jesus pbuh).

Only Allah knows best.

For further elaboration on this matter, I find it is useful to read the following article :
http://khurshidimam.blogspot.com/2012/06/jesus-dead-or-alive.html

Thank you.

Salam,

[good logic]

Peace erwin.ariadi.

Here are some facts about Jesus:

1- He was human, correct?

2- He was a Prophet,correct?

3-He is no longer with us-in this life- ,correct?

How then, can you expect him to come back to this life?

1- Any human is only allowed one go at the test in this life, correct? Jesus has had his test!!!

2-Mohammed was the last prophet,correct? If Jesus comes back that would not be true,correct?

3-Once we leave this life, Qoran says there is a " Barzakh" between those who departed and this life, correct?Until resurrection!!!

Then, I am afraid you will not see Jesus until the resurrection day.

GOD bless you.
Peace.

[Truth Seeker]

Salaam erwin.ariadi

Because of all the stories and ahadith people read regarding Prophet Jesus's return, they look to the Quran for confirmation.
If they were to read it without any bias there is not even a hint of a second coming.

The rule should always be to read the expicit verses first and any others that are not so direct should be read keeping the clear explicit verses in mind.

Prophet Jesus was special from the way he was concieved to the miracles that he had performed, but he died like all humans die and according to the verse that tells us that all souls shall taste death. The Quran confirms this:

19.33 "And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive."

Birth, Death, Resurrection. If the above verse was just used for Prophet Jesus then the people who believe in his second coming might try to use this to confirm their theory. But the beauty of the Quran is such that this same verse is also used for Prophet Yahyah:

19.15 :"And peace be upon him the day he was born and the day he dies and the day he is raised alive."

Birth, Death, Resurrection.

[Zack]

I would like to add another perspective on this discussion. Simply because the Quran is silent on the matter of the second coming of Jesus, it does not mean it is not a reality.

As I have mentioned in the past, I believe the Qur'an has a unified message with all of the previous scripture. I am surprised that people on this forum do not take that in to account, with this being the most open-minded of all forums in allowing the Quran to speak for itself. From what I understand, the Qur'an is consistently presenting itself as a reminder of the former books and a corrective to interpretation of the former Books at the time of Muhammad. I am not sure why an investigation of whether Jesus is returning is based on the Qur'an anyway, when that revelation is 550 years after Jesus. Clearly the Gospels need to be carefully examined. The same as if questions concerning Moses, the Torah is the primary source. The response of "We don't go there, it is corrupted" is simply an escape and robs the individual of an exciting journey of learning. Again I am surprised how regularly on this forum the easy escape of "The corruption of scripture" answer is given, when that is the most blatant post-Quranic doctrine that was formalised even long after most other traditions challenged by this site....

So with that in mind, the key question is what does the New Testament (I strongly dislike that term), say about end times and the second coming? This has caused thousands of books being written by Christians with all sorts of bizarre stories. However the key phrase that Jesus was asked and was repeatedly used was "When is The End Of the Age? I am one who is committed to understanding context. These were questions asked by Jews to Jews. The response by Jesus and his followers is that the "End Times / End of the Age" is imminent and in fact had arrived." It was the end of the Hebrew sacrificial / Priest / Temple system, this was "The End of the Age", and we know from history that occurred in 70AD with the destruction of the Jewish Temple. The system that became ethno-centric (Jewish) was constantly challenged by Jesus; and it came to the end.

In other words most of the Second Coming / Judgement / End Times discussion is actually a lesson of long gone history, not the future. I wonder whether traditional Islamic Eschatology (The study of End Times) has been influenced by Western Christianity thinking?

Wasalam
Zack

[Joseph Islam]

Dear Zack,

As-salamu alaykum

Thank you for your post and I do share in the main, what I understand to be the the gist of your sentiment.

I am sure you and other readers are aware of my continuous endeavour to ensure that the Bible is not dismissed, but viewed as an integral part of the wider Quranic message and context.

I have persistently countered suggestions of wholesale corruption of the Bible by many traditionalists [1], [2] and have even responded to Quranists that appear to dismiss the Biblical record as a necessary context establishing component to understanding many of the Quranic narratives [3]. I have also committed to many writings on various platforms insinuating the importance of both scriptures. [4], [5].

However, I would kindly add that as far as the Quran being a later document or a revelation ‘550 years after’ this does not by inference preclude the Quran as the primary authoritative source of interpretation for believers. For believers, the author of the Quran (God) is not subject to time.
 
As I trust that you will appreciate, in contrast to human writings that may suffer in authenticity and authority over the passage of time, a 'later' scripture by a timeless God would arguably be most authoritative and most authentic especially if Gods own commitment to protect its message is accepted (15:9).

Furthermore, it is within God' remit if it is His will, to dispense with certain directives from the previous scriptures (such as specific law) for subsequent communities (2:106) or to clarify those matters which ‘may’ have become obscure / misinterpreted over time. (5:15)

002.106
"Any verse / message (Arabic: ayatin) which, We cancel / abrogate or consign to oblivion We replace with a better or a similar one. Do you not know that God has the power to will anything?"

005:015
"O People of the Book, surely there has come to you our Messenger, making clear to you much of what you used to conceal (Arabic: tukh'funa) of the scripture and overlooking / forgiving much (Arabic: wa-ya'fu an kathiran). Surely has come to you from God a light and a clear book"
 
Please note: The Arabic word 'tukh'funa' comes from the root KHA-FA-YA which carries the meaning of what is unapparent / has become imperceptible / has become dim to the sight / or suppressed, or obscured to the mind. It also carries the meaning of something which has become 'concealed'.

I share my comments that you kindly noted in a related thread,

• "It remains an undisputable fact, that the Quran dedicates a plethora of verses to support Biblical narratives and identities (musaddiqan). It clearly expects its audience to be familiar with Biblical notions and goes out of its way to ratify the general integrity of the Torah and the Books of the prophets (Tanakh) (2:136). It is important to remember that the Quran's purpose is not to rewrite the Bible (5:15) but to confirm and also act as a 'furqan' (25:1). It protects the essence of the message of the previous scriptures, whilst also acting as a discerner of its truth (muhayminan).
  
  Thus the blanket rejection of any source ‘Biblical’ is wholly unsupportable from a Quran's perspective. It serves no other purpose but to precariously dismiss a large portion of the Quran’s verses which contain tremendous wisdom. Such an approach is not only intellectually and academically unwarranted, it can also be argued as disingenuous." [6]
  

Thank you for bringing this matter to the fore.

Regards,
Joseph


REFERENCES:

[1] LAMBASTING THE BIBLE
http://quransmessage.com/forum/index.php?topic=146.msg370
[2] 'BETWEEN HIS HANDS' OR 'BEFORE IT' (MA BAYNA YADAYHI)
http://quransmessage.com/articles/between%20hands%20or%20before%20it%20FM3.htm
[3] Critique of Br J Islam's article on Baca and Makka
http://quransmessage.com/forum/index.php?topic=1380.0
[4] Studying the Bible as Another Source for Guidance
Studying the Bible as Another Source for Guidance
[5] The Two Guides - The Quran and the Bible     
https://www.facebook.com/joseph.a.islam/posts/300599863410481
[6] TWO CRUCIAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE 'QURANIST' (ISM) AND 'QURAN-CENTRIC' APPROACH
https://www.facebook.com/joseph.a.islam/posts/542672849203180
[7] ABROGATION - A FALSE DOCTRINE
http://quransmessage.com/articles/abrogation%20FM3.htm

[Wakas]

peace Orange, all,

I recommend this thread as background reading also (including links). Brother Joseph also posted there:
http://salaatforum.com/index.php?id=325

[Sardar Miyan]

Bro ervin. The important point of Khurshid Imam is that Wafat means temporary death while Mauth is permanent
death but as per 19:33 Prophet Jesus had got Mauth. Therefor he met permanent death and there is no question of
Jesus second coming. He will be resurrected only on the Day of Judgement.