What is the Messianic Mission of Jesus Christ toward the End of Time in Islamic Sources?
By Ali Unal
We see in the reliable books of Hadith many sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, that the Prophet Jesus will come back to the world before the end of time and practice the law of Islam. Although those Traditions have so far been interpreted in different ways, it cannot be wrong to interpret them as meaning that, before the end of time, Islam must manifest itself mostly in that dimension of it represented by Jesus. That is, the main aspects of the Messengership of Jesus must be given prominence in preaching Islam. These aspects are:
Jesus always traveled. He never stayed in one place, he preached his message on the move. Therefore, in order to preach Islam, the ‘missionaries’ of Islam must travel or emigrate from place to place. They must be ‘the repenters, the worshippers, the travelers (in devotion to the cause of Islam and to convey it), the bowers, the prostraters, the commanders of good and the forbidders of evil, and the observers of God’s limits.’ For them there is good news (Qur’an, 9.112).
Second, mercy, love, and forgiveness had the first place in Jesus’ mission. He was a bringer of good news. Therefore, those who have dedicated themselves to the cause of Islam must give prominence to mercy, love, and forgiveness and, never forgetting that the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, was sent as a mercy for all the worlds, for the whole of existence, they must convey good news to every place and call people to the way of God with wisdom and fair exhortation. They must never be repelling. The world today needs peace more than at any time in history, and most of the problems of the modern world arise from excessive worldliness, scientific materialism and the ruthless exploitation of nature. Everyone talks so much today of the danger of war and the pollution of air and water that peace and ecology are the most fashionable words on people’s tongues. But the same people wish to remove those problems through further conquest and domination of nature. The problem lies in rebelling against Heaven and in the destruction of the equilibrium between man and nature as a result of the modern materialistic conception of, and corrupt attitude toward, man and nature. Most people are reluctant to perceive that peace within human societies and with nature is possible through peace with the spiritual order. To be at peace with the earth one must be at peace with the spiritual dimension of one’s existence and this is possible by being at peace with Heaven.
In the Qur’an, Jesus introduces himself as follows:
I am indeed a servant of God. . . He has commanded me to pray and to give alms as long as l live. And He has made me dutiful to my mother and has not made me oppressive, wicked. (79.31-2)
This means, from the viewpoint of Jesus’ promised mission toward the end of time, children will not be dutiful to their parents. Therefore, the ‘missionaries’ of Islam in our age must, besides performing their prayers accurately and helping the poor and needy, be very careful about showing due respect to their parents and elders. The Qur’an enjoins: Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you show kindness to your parents. If either or both of them attain old age with you, (show no sign of impatience, and) do not even say ‘uff’ to them; nor rebuke them, but speak kind words to them (17.23).
One of Jesus’ miracles was healing diseases and reviving the dead by leave of God, that is, respect for life was very important in his message. The Qur’an attaches the same degree of importance to life and regards one who kills a man wrongly as if he had killed all mankind, while, on the other hand, one who saves a life is as if he had saved the life of all mankind. So, those who have dedicated themselves to the cause of Islam must attach the utmost importance to life and therefore try to prevent wars, find cures for illnesses and know that reviving a person spiritually is more important than healing diseases. The Qur’an declares:
O you who believe! Respond to God and the Messenger, when the Messenger calls you to that which will give you life. (8.24)