The Life of Isa ibn Maryam (as)

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

May the peace and blessings of Allah SWT be upon you brothers and sisters in Islam.

According to the Zaydi Madhhab and the sayings (if mentioned) of the Zaydi Imams (upon them all be peace):

1) Was Isa ibn Maryam (as) crucified by the Romans?

2) Are there any hadiths about the life of the Spirit and Word of Allah (SWT)?

3) Why does there seem to be a commonly held belief amongst Twelvers and Sunnis that Isa ibn Maryam (as) will come back at the end of times to assist al-Mahdi (as)?

وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته

1. There is difference of opinion regarding this, some hold to the position that Nabī ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) will return while others maintain otherwise.

For instance, al-Sayyid al-ʿAllāma Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh ʿawaḍ maintains that there won’t be a second coming, and his life was indeed taken. However, he does not say that he was crucified on the cross.

Rather, it was someone else who was in place of him. Sayyid Badr al-Dīn also mentions the same position that Nabī ʿĪsā was not crucified, but was instead “raised” and this being raised isn't him being raised to the heavens.

Rather, he was raised from that land. Meaning, he was saved, and he was replaced by Jesus Barabas.

As you may know when Pilot declared that ʿĪsā is to be brought forth - as the Bible entails - there were two ʿĪsā’s.

They were ʿĪsā b. Maryam, and ʿĪsā bar Aba’ (Barabbas). So, Pilot said that one ʿĪsā is to be freed, and another is to be crucified. From here we can see that ʿĪsā b. Maryam was the one who was freed (chiming with what Sayyid Muḥammad, and Sayyid Badr al-Dīn maintain) and Barabbas was the one that was crucified.

This reading does not contradict the Qurʾān, and it is also consistent with history, as well as the Bible itself. For, there is no disagreement that there were two ʿĪsā’s in custody.

ESV: 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” NIV 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas.

So, this ظن that Allāh is referring to is that they presumed the ʿĪsā they had crucified was ʿĪsā b. Maryam, when in reality it was not.

Thereafter, Nabī ʿĪsā died, and his body was hidden. Again, this is a main point brought by Christians as to why his grave was empty. They say that it was the resurrection, we can say that it was Allāh hiding his body from the people after his death.

This chimes in beautifully with any historical record, New Testament reading, and Qurʾān centric understanding.

By this we don’t deny that there was someone who died on the cross, it just wasn’t ʿĪsā b. Maryam, and we also don’t deny that ʿĪsā died. Rather, he did die (just not on the cross) and his empty coffin is Allāh raising his body elsewhere.

Therefore, common Christian contentions are nullified. Thereafter, one can get into the heart of the matter by addressing the LPT.

2. Yes, there are many beautiful Ḥadīths about Nabī ʿĪsā (upon him be peace) that are filled with wisdom, and guidance. These can be found in our Amālī works, as well as the works of our Imāms when dealing with the purification of the self.

3. I can speculate that for Sunnīs it is their influence from Isrāʾīlīyāt, and for Twelvers it is to do with their Messianic Mahdism.

You can still hold to the belief that he will return, however, it does not seem to be convincing. I recommend checking out this post wherein the Sayyid relays his respective ijtihād on the matter:

www.facebook.com/100075942141076/posts/p...pxKNTrqUyiDp2rl/?d=n

~ Muḥammad al-Sharīfī