Return of Isa (as): Quranic?

Reposted

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Does the Qur'an support the doctrine of the Return of Isa (as)? Allah says in al-Quran, "And he (son of Mary) shall be a known sign for (the coming of) the hour." (Surah Zukhruf).

In terms of what Muhammad (SAW) said, he taught that he (Rasoolillah) is the Final Prophet. And he said that no Prophet will come after him. For some reason I feel that Rasoolillah (SAW) means that no new Prophet will come after him. Since Isa ibn Maryam (as) is a Prophet and came before Muhammad (SAW), it does not contradict what the Prophet (SAW) said. Isa (as) is the spirit and word of Allah SWT and was a Prophet before Muhammad (SAW) became a Prophet. Isa (as) would then not return as a new Prophet but an old prophet.

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As for the verse you referenced (Q. 43:61), those who argue against the return of Isa (as) could say that the original Arabic of the ayat simply uses an unspecific pronoun and can be rendered many ways. The Picktall translation is: {And lo! verily there is knowledge of the Hour. So doubt ye not concerning it}. The Yusuf Ali translation is: {And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour)}. The Muhammad Asad translation is: {AND, BEHOLD, this [divine writ] is indeed a means to know [that] the Last Hour [is bound to come];hence, have no doubt whatever about it}. Therefore, they would argue, the verse itself is not decisive enough in proving the return of Isa (as). Although some early commentators identify this verse to refer to the return of Isa (as) as in the Yusuf Ali interpretation, there are also other early authorities that identify the pronoun to refer to the Qur'an as in the Muhammad Asad interpretation. That is, the Qur'an is a sign to know of the Hour.

Interestingly enough, when I checked Zaydi sources for the tafsir of this verse, I found that Imam Zayd (as) himself said in Tafsir al-Ghareeb that the verse refers to "the departure of Isa (as)" being the sign; that is, his departure from this world, not hıs return.

As for your point about the meaning of ((...there will be no Prophet after me)), it can be argued that Rasulullah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa salam, meant that there will be no new Prophet after him. However, those who deny the return of Isa (as) can similarly say that since the Rasulullah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa salam, did not specify that there won't be a new prophet, the statement is general and does not lend itself to specificity. That is to say that the statement is general and since there is nothing that indicates that it should be specific, the statement is considered as is. The fact remains--they would argue--that if Isa (as) returns, he would basically function as a prophet. He will receive wahi and act upon it. Therefore, he will be a prophet after Rasulullah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa salam.

Regardless of the individual Zaydi's belief, my point is that according to our scholars, there is insufficient evidence to establish the return of Isa (as) as a point of belief. The Qur'anic ayats that seemingly prove it can be interpreted in another way and the reports that prove it are all solitary reports (akhbaar al-ahad). According to Zaydism, a belief must be proven by a decisive verse of Qur'an and/or mass-transmitted (mutawaatir) ahadith which are free of scrutiny. That withstanding, a Zaydi is free to believe in the Return of Isa (as); however, the lack of belief in that is not and cannot be considered deficient or kufr.

And Allah knows best!

IRS