Is There Any Room for Muslims to Believe in the Resurrection of Prophet ’Isa (Peace Be upon Him)?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
We don’t believe Prophet ‘Isa (peace be upon him) was killed or crucified, but what about the Christian records of his appearances after they thought he had passed? They call this the resurrection. Is there room in our theology to believe Allah allowed Prophet Isa (peace be upon him) to return for some time as an explanation for these appearances? Or would this be disbelief? Do we believe the Christian records are fabricated?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are well.
The Islamic belief is that Prophet ‘Isa (peace be upon him) was taken and raised by the angels and will descend and return before the end of time. Christian belief is based on their sources, and our source is the Quran and Sunna.
Allah Most High says, Remember) when Allah said, “O Jesus! I will take you and raise you up to Myself. I will deliver you from those who disbelieve and elevate your followers above the disbelievers until the Day of Judgment. Then to Me you will (all) return, and I will settle all your disputes.” [Quran, 3:55]
Muslims believe Prophet ‘Isa’s (peace be upon him) return to be during the end of times and did not take place as understood by the Christians.
In summary, our belief in Prophet ‘Isa (peace be upon him) is that He was raised to the heavens by Allah Most High after a failed assassination attempt. He was not killed or crucified, contrary to Christian belief as the Quran says:
“(…) but they killed him not, nor crucified him, (…).” [Quran, 4: 157]
He did not atone for the sins of mankind.
“He is alive in the heavens and will descend before the end of time in Damascus.” [Muslim]
He will establish a just and prosperous rule [Bukhari} and follow the teachings of our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). He is the only Prophet who will have the honor of being a member of our Ummah. [Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri, al-Tasrih Bima Tawatara Fi Nuzul al-Masih]
Please read up on the shared links to thoroughly understand our belief in Prophet ‘Isa (peace be upon him):
Jesus Archives
Will Jesus (Isa) Come Back as a Prophet?
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
