All praise to Allah and may peace and blessings be upon His Messenger and upon his family and Companions. As for what follows:

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Investigations and Legal Rulings read the following questions from one of the questioners, regarding the Messiah, and they answered each question as follows:

Is He Alive or Dead, and where is He now?

Q: Is 'Isa, the son of Mary alive or dead? What is the evidence from the Book (of Allah) and the Sunnah? If he is alive or dead, then where is he now? What is the evidence from the Book (of Allah) and the Sunnah?

A: Isa' the son of Mary is alive, and did not die until now. The Jews did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear to them that it was so. In fact, Allah raised him up - body and soul - to the heaven and he is in the heaven until now. The evidence for this is in the Words of Allah, the Most High responding to the lies of the Jews: “Because of their breaking the covenant and their rejecting the Ay at (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations etc.) of Allah, and their killing the Prophets unjustly “ (An-Nisa' 4: 155).

up to His Words: “And because of their saying (in boast): "We killed the Messiah, 'Isa, the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah," -but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared that way to them (the resemblance of 'Isa was put over another man and they killed that man), and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not (i.e. 'Isa, the son of Mary): But Allah raised him ('Isa) up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he is in the heavens). And Allah is All-Powerful, Most Wise” (An-Nisa' 4: 157-158).

So Allah, the Most Glorified has rejected the claims of the Jews that they killed or crucified him and informs us that He raised him up to Himself; and this was truly a mercy and an honor for him; and it is a Sign from among His Signs, which He gives to those among His Messengers whom He wills. How many Signs of Allah were given to 'Isa, the son of Mary from first to last! It is necessarily understood from His Words: “But Allah raised him ('Isa) up unto Himself. ..”

that He, the Most Glorified, Most High raised him up by body and soul, in order to reject the Jews' claim to have crucified and killed him. This is because crucifixion and killing are necessarily of the body, and raising of just the soul would not be a rejection of their claim to have killed and crucified him, and hence would not be a reply to them. Also the name of ‘Isa refers to his body and soul together, never to just one of them, unless there is some evidence to prove it - and there is none here. Also, the raising of him, by body and soul is a requisite part of the perfection of Allah's Power, Wisdom, Generosity and Help towards whomsoever He wills among His Messengers, in accordance with His Ordainment at the end of the Verse: “And Allah is All-Powerful, Most Wise.”

'Isa will Descend at the End of Time

Q: If 'Isa is alive, will he descend at the end of time and rule among the people and in doing so, follow the religion of Muhammad (Salallahou ‘aleyhi wa salam)? And what is the evidence for this, and how should we reply to the claim that 'Isa will not return at the end of time and will not judge between mankind?

A: Yes, the Prophet of Allah, 'Isa, the son of Mary will descend at the end of time and he will rule among mankind with justice, according to the Law of our Prophet Muhammad (Salallahou ‘aleyhi wa salam); he will break the crosses and kill the pigs and he will abolish the Jizyah (Jizyah: The tax imposed upon Jews and Christians living in a Muslim State) and he will not accept any religion except Islam. All of the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians will believe in him before his death, when he descends at the end of time. Allah, the Most High says: “And there is none among the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but will believe in him ('Isa, son of Mary, as only a Messenger of Allah and a human being) before his death (at the time of the appearance of the angel of death). And on the Day of Resurrection, he ('Isa) will be a witness against them” (An-Nisa' 4: 159).

So Allah, the Most High informs us that all of the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians will believe in 'Isa, the son of Mary before his death - that is, the death of 'Isa - which will be after his descent at the end of time, ruling and spreading justice, calling the people to Islam, as will be made clear in the Hadiths which prove that he will descend.

This meaning is the obvious one, since the wording clearly shows the position of the Jews regarding 'Isa and what they did to him. Thus, it is clear that Allah rescued him and defeated the plot of his enemies; and therefore it is clear to whom the pronouns "he" and "his" refer in Allah's Words: “And there is none among the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but will believe in him before his death” (An-Nisa 4: 159).

- it is 'Isa, upon him be peace, according to the wording and the fact that both pronouns must be understood as referring to the same person; and it has been confirmed in many authentic Hadiths, from many different sources - reaching to the level of Mutawatir (Mutawatir: A Hadith which is reported from so many different sources, that its authenticity is unquestionable) - that Allah, the Most High raised 'Isa up to the heaven and that he will descend at the end of time and judge fairly (between the people) and he will kill Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal (Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal: The False Messiah).

Shaikhul-Islam, Ibn Taimiyah said, after mentioning the Hadiths from many sources concerning the raising up of 'Isa and his descent at the end of time: “These Hadiths are Mutawatir from the Messenger of Allah (Salallahou ‘aleyhi wa salam), on the authority of Abu Hurairah, Ibn Mas'ud, 'Uthman bin Abi Al-'As, Abu Umamah, An-Nawas bin Sam'an, 'Abdullah bin 'Amr Ibn Al-'As and Huthaifah bin Usayd, may Allah be pleased with them - and in them is evidence of the description of his descent and its location... etc."

Among these Hadiths is that which Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet (Salallahou ‘aleyhi wa salam) said: “By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, 'Isa, the son of Mary will soon descend among you, ruling with justice, and he will break the crosses and kill the pigs and cancel the Jizyah and wealth will be so abundant, that no one will accept it” (Al-Bukhari no 3448, Muslim no.155, At-Tirmithi  no. 2233 and Ahmad 2 :538) Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Recite, if you will: “And there is none among the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but will believe in him ('Isa, son of Mary, as only a Messenger of Allah and a human being) before his death (at the time of the appearance of the angel of death).”

In another narration from him, may Allah be pleased with him, (it is reported) that the Prophet (Salallahou ‘aleyhi wa salam) said: “What will you do if the son of Mary descends among you and your Imam is one of you” (Muslim no. 155).

It has also been authentically reported on the authority of Jabir bin 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he heard the Prophet (Salallahou ‘aleyhi wa salam) saying: “A group of my people will continue to fight for truth victoriously until the Day of 'Resurrection” (Muslim no. 156).

He said: “Then 'Isa, the son of Mary, peace be upon him, will descend and their 'Amir will say: "Come, lead us in prayer." He will say: "No, some of you are in authority over others and this is a mercy from Allah for this community" (Muslim no. 156).

These Hadiths prove that he will descend at the end of time and that he will rule according to the Law of our Prophet, Muhammad (Salallahou ‘aleyhi wa salam), and that the 'Amir of this community (i.e. the Muslims) in prayers and other matters at the time of his descent will be from this community, of which fact, there is no shadow of doubt.

There is no contradiction between his descent and the fact that our Prophet, Muhammad (Salallahou ‘aleyhi wa salam), is the Last of the Prophets, since 'Isa will not bring a new Law - and the Judgement belongs to Allah, from first to last; He does as He wills and He judges as He wishes, and there is no appeal against His Judgement, for He is the All-Powerful, Most Wise.

Why was 'Isa specially chosen to be raised up?

Q: Since Muhammad (Salallahou ‘aleyhi wa salam) is the best of the Prophets, why was he not raised up to the heavens instead of 'Isa?

And if 'Isa's ascent was true, then why was he, alone among the Prophets, chosen to be raised up?

A: Everything   is   surrounded   by  Allah's Mercy  and Knowledge,  and he encompasses all things with His Strength and Power - Most Glorified and Most High be He -His is the complete wisdom, will, and power. He chooses from among mankind whom He wills as Prophets and Messengers, bearers of glad tidings and warners, and He raised some of them in rank above others. He blessed all of them with special virtues as a grace and mercy from Him. He chose Ibrahim and Muhammad as His Friends - may peace and blessings of Allah be upon both of them. He gave each Prophet the signs and miracles that He wanted. He gave them what was suitable for each time and through which the evidence would be established against the people. This is His Wisdom and Justice and there is no appeal against His Judgement, for He is the All-Powerful, Most Wise, the Most Subtle and Courteous, Well-Acquainted with all things.

But not every one of these special virtues necessarily indicates superiority. Choosing 'Isa to be raised up to the heaven while he was alive was in accordance with Allah's Will and His Wisdom. It was not because he is superior to his brother Messengers, such as Ibrahim, Muhammad, Musa and Nuh -may peace and blessings of Allah be upon all of them. They were all given special virtues and signs, which do not necessitate their superiority over him. In short, the complete authority in the matter belongs to Allah, He arranges it as He wills and He is not asked about what He does, due to His Perfect Knowledge and Wisdom. Also, this question is not in line with firm belief; indeed, it may lead the one who concentrates on such matters to confusion, and he may be overcome with doubts. The believer is obliged to accept all matters that the decision of which belong to Allah, and to be diligent in those matters which pertain to the worshippers, both in beliefs and deeds - this is the way of the Prophets and the Messengers, the path of the noble caliphs, and the rightly-guided early generations of this community.