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Return to Earth
 Isa'
(Jesus)(as) is a prophet chosen by Allah. He is one of the most talked-about
prophets in the history of the world. Thank Allah that there is a source
in which we can verify what is true and false out of that which has
been said of him. That source is the Qur'an, the only revelation of
Allah that exists unaltered and undistorted.
When we refer to the Qur'an to discover the real truth about the Prophet
'Isa (as), we see that:
Isa' (as) is the Messenger of Allah and His
Word. (Surat an-Nisa': 171)
Allah gave his name as the Messiah, 'Isa (as),
son of Maryam (as). (Surah Al 'Imran: 45)
He was made a sign for all the worlds. (Surat
al-Anbiya': 91)
'Isa (as) spoke to people in the cradle (Surah
Al 'Imran: 46), and that he performed several miracles. Another miracle
is that he will come back to earth at a later time and speak to people.
(Surah Al 'Imran: 46; Surat al-Ma'ida: 110)
'Isa (as) was given the Gospel. (Surat al-Hadid:
27)
Those who divinized him have committed an error
and fallen into blasphemy. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 72)
The disbelievers plotted against him in order
to kill him, but Allah nullified their plot. (Surah Al 'Imran: 54)
Allah did not allow the disbelievers to kill 'Isa (as), but took him
up into His own presence, and announced the good news to humanity that
he will come back again one day. The Qur'an provides information about
'Isa (as)'s return in several instances:
One verse says that the disbelievers who set a trap to kill 'Isa (as)
did not succeed;
 (And
We cursed them) for their saying, "We killed the Messiah, 'Isa son of
Maryam, Messenger of Allah." They did not kill him and they did not
crucify him but it was made to seem so to them. Those who argue about
him are in doubt about it. They have no real knowledge of it, just conjecture.
But they certainly did not kill him. (Surat an-Nisa': 157)
Another verse says that 'Isa (as) did not die, but was taken from
the human sphere into the presence of Allah.
Allah raised him up to Himself. Allah is Almighty,
All-Wise. (Surat an-Nisa': 158)
In the 55th verse of Surah Al 'Imran, we learn that Allah will place
the people who follow 'Isa (as) above those who disbelieve until the
Day of Rising. It is an historical fact that, 2000 years ago, 'Isa (as)'s
disciples had no political power. Christians who lived between that
period and our own have believed a number of false doctrines, the chief
of which is the doctrine of the Trinity. Therefore, as is evident, that
they will not be able to be referred to as followers of 'Isa (as), because,
as it says in several places in the Qur'an, those who believe in the
Trinity have slipped into denial. In such a case, in the time before
the Hour, the true followers of 'Isa (as) will overcome the deniers
and become the manifestation of the divine promise contained in Surah
Al 'Imran. Surely, this blessed group will be made known when 'Isa (as)
returns again to earth.
Again, the Qur'an states that all the People of the Book will believe
in 'Isa (as) before he dies.
There is not one of the People of the Book who
will not believe in him ('Isa) before he dies; and on the Day of Rising
he will be a witness against them. (Surat an-Nisa': 159)
We learn clearly from this verse that there are still three unfilled
promises concerning 'Isa (as). First, like every other human being,
the Prophet 'Isa (as) will die. Second, all the People of the Book will
see him in bodily form and will obey him while he is alive. There is
no doubt that these two predictions will be fulfilled when 'Isa (as)
comes again before the Last Day. The third prediction about 'Isa (as)'s
bearing witness against the People of the Book will be fulfilled on
the Last Day.
Another verse in Surah Maryam discusses the death of 'Isa (as).
Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the
day I die and the day I am raised up again alive. (Surah Maryam: 33)
When we compare this verse with the 55th verse of Surah Al 'Imran,
we can recognize a very important fact. The verse in Surah Al 'Imran
speaks about 'Isa (as)'s being raised to the presence of Allah. In this
verse, no information is given as to whether 'Isa (as) died or not.
But in the 33rd verse of Surah Maryam, 'Isa (as)'s death is referred
to. This second death is possible only if 'Isa (as) came to earth again
and died after living here for some time. (Allah surely knows best)
Another verse that alludes to 'Isa (as)'s return to earth reads:
He will teach him ('Isa) the Book and Wisdom,
and the Torah and the Gospel. (Surah Al 'Imran: 48)
To understand the reference to the "Book" mentioned in this verse,
we must look at other verses in the Qur'an that are relevant to this
subject: if the Book is stated in one verse together with the Torah
and the Gospel, then it must mean the Qur'an. The third verse of Surah
Al 'Imran serves as such an example:
Allah, there is no god but Him, the Living,
the Self-Sustaining. He has sent down the Book to you with truth, confirming
what has there before it. And He sent down the Torah and the Gospel,
previously, as guidance for mankind, and He has sent down the Furqan
(the Criterion of judgement between right and wrong). (Surah Al 'Imran:
2-4)
In that case, the book referred to in verse 48, that 'Isa
(as) is to learn, can only be the Qur'an. We know that 'Isa (as) knew
the Torah and the Gospel during his lifetime, that is, approximately
2000 years ago. Clearly, it will be the Qur'an that he will learn when
he comes to earth again.
What verse 59 of Surah Al 'Imran offers is very interesting: "The
likeness of 'Isa in Allah's sight is the same as Adam…" In this
verse we can see there must be a number of similarities between the
two prophets. As we know, both Adam and 'Isa (as) had no father, but
we may draw a further similarity from the above verse, between Adam's
descending to earth from Paradise and 'Isa (as)'s descent from Allah's
presence in the End Times.
The Qur'an says this about 'Isa (as):
He ('Isa) is a Sign of the Hour. Have no doubt
about it. But follow me. This is a straight path. (Surat az-Zukhruf:
61)
We know that 'Isa (as) lived six centuries before the Qur'an was revealed.
Therefore, this verse must refer, not to his first life, but to his
coming again during the End Times. Both the Christian and the Islamic
world are eagerly awaiting 'Isa (as)'s second coming. This blessed guest's
honored presence on the earth will be the important sign of the Last
Day.
ś Further evidence of the second coming of 'Isa (as) can be found
in the use of the word wakahlan in Surah Maida, 110 and Surah Al 'Imran
46. In these verses, we are revealed these commands:
Remember when Allah said, "'Isa, son of Maryam,
remember My blessing to you and to your mother when I reinforced you
with the Purest Spirit so that you could speak to people in the cradle
and when you were fully grown (wakahlan) …" (Surat al-Ma'ida: 110)
He will speak to people in the cradle, and also
when fully grown (wakahlan), and will be one of the righteous. (Surah
Al 'Imran: 46)
This word occurs only in these two verses and only in
reference to 'Isa (as). The word is used to describe 'Isa (as)'s more
mature age. The word refers to the age between 30 and 50, that is, to
the end of youth and the beginning of old age. Islamic scholars are
agreed in translating this word to refer to a period after the age of
35.
Islamic scholars rely on a tradition related by Ibn
Abbas to the effect that 'Isa (as) was raised to the presence of Allah
when he was young, that is, at the beginning of his 30's, and that when
he comes to earth again, he will have 40 years left to live. 'Isa (as)
will progress into his old age after he has returned to earth, so this
verse may be said to be a proof of 'Isa (as)'s second coming to earth.2
 As
mentioned, when we closely examine the Qur'an, we see that this word
is used only in reference to 'Isa (as). All prophets have spoken to
people and invited them to accept religion. All of them communicated
their message when they were of mature age. But, the Qur'an says nothing
similar about any other prophet. This word is used only for 'Isa (as),
and is a miracle. The phrases "in the cradle" and "having grown older"
refer to two great miracles.
It is a miracle that 'Isa (as) spoke while he was in the cradle. This
was something that had never been seen before, and the Qur'an speaks
several times of this miraculous event. Immediately after these words
comes the phrase "and speaking to people when fully grown." These words
also refer to a miracle. If the words "when fully grown" referred to
his former life before he was taken up into the presence of Allah, 'Isa
(as)'s speaking would not have been a miracle. And since it was not
a miracle, it would not have been used after the speaking in the cradle
or in the same way as this miraculous situation. In that case, an expression
such as "from the cradle to when fully grown" would have been used and
would have expressed communication lasting from the time 'Isa (as) began
to speak in the cradle to time he was raised up to Allah. But, the verse
draws our attention to two great miraculous events. The first is the
speaking in the cradle; the other, 'Isa (as)'s speaking in his mature
years. Therefore, the expression "when fully grown" refers to a time
that would be a miracle. It is the time when 'Isa (as) will speak to
people in his mature age after he has returned again to earth. (Allah
surely knows best)
In the hadiths of the Prophet (saas) there is information about 'Isa
(as)'s second coming. In a few hadiths, this information is given along
with other information about what 'Isa (as) will do while he is in the
world. You may read the hadiths relevant to this subject in the chapter
of this book entitled, "The Return of 'Isa (as) After the Emergence
of False Prophets." (For more detailed information, please see Harun
Yahya, Jesus Will Return, Ta-Ha Publishers, February 2001.)
It will be beneficial to remind the reader here of a very important
matter: Allah sent the Prophet Muhammad (saas) to humanity as the last
prophet. Allah revealed the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad (saas), and
holds all people responsible for obeying the Qur'an until the Day of
Judgment. 'Isa (as) will miraculously return to the world in the End
Times but, as the Prophet (saas) has said, he will not bring a new religion.
The true religion that the Prophet (saas) taught to humanity is Islam,
to which 'Isa (as) will be subject when he comes to the earth again.
The Splitting of the Moon
The 54th Surah of the Qur'an is called "Surat al-Qamar." In English
qamar means moon. In several instances, this Surah tells about the destruction
that befell the people of Nuh, Ad, Thamud, Lut and Pharaoh, because
they rejected the warnings of the prophets. At the same time, there
is a very important message stated in the first verse, concerning the
Last Day.
The Hour has drawn near and the moon has split.
(Surat al-Qamar: 1)
The word "split" used in this verse is the Arabic shaqqa, which in
Arabic it has various meanings. In some commentaries on the Qur'an,
the meaning "split" is preferred. But shaqqa in Arabic can also mean
"ploughing" or "digging" the earth.
As an example of the first usage, we can refer to the 26th verse of
Surat al-Abasa:
We pour down plentiful water, then split the
earth into furrows. Then We make grain grow in it, and grapes and herbs
and olives and dates. (Surah 'Abasa: 25-29)
It can be clearly seen that the meaning of shaqqa here is not to "split."
It means to plough the earth in order to grow various plants.
 If
we went back to the year 1969, we would see one of the great wonders
of the Qur'an. The experiments carried out on the surface of the moon
on July 20, 1969, may be hinting at the fulfilment of news given 1,400
years ago in Surat al-Qamar. On that date, American astronauts set foot
on the moon. Digging at the lunar soil they carried out scientific experiments
and collected samples of stones and soil. It is surely very interesting
that these developments are in complete agreement with the statements
in the verse.
While the astronauts were working on the moon's
surface, they collected 15.4 kilograms of rock and soil samples. These
samples later received a lot of attention. According to the NASA report,
the interest shown by the people in these samples probably surpassed
their interest in all other forms of space exploration of the twentieth
century.3
The exploration of the moon is identified with the slogan: "One small
step for man; one giant leap for mankind." This was an historic moment
in space research; it was an event documented by cameras, and everyone
from that time to this has witnessed it. As it is stated in the first
verse of Surat al-Qamar, this great event may also be a sign of the
Last Day. It may be a sign that the world is in the End Times before
the Judgment. (Allah surely knows best)
Finally, let us point out that there is a very important warning following
these verses. There is a reminder that these signs are an important
opportunity for people to turn from error, and that those who do not
heed these warnings will be disappointed when they will be brought back
to life on that Day of Judgment which is described in the Qur'an as
"something unspeakably terrible":
The Hour has drawn near and the moon has split.
If they see a Sign they turn away, saying "There is no end to this witchcraft!"
They have denied the truth and followed their whims and desires, but
everything has its time. News has come to them which contains a threat:
consummate wisdom - but warnings are profitless. Turn away from them
then. On the Day the Summoner summons them to something unspeakably
terrible, they will emerge from their graves with downcast eyes, like
swarming locusts, necks outstretched, eyes transfixed, rushing headlong
to the Summoner. The disbelievers will say, "This is a pitiless day!"
(Surat al-Qamar: 1-8)
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Introduction
