Will Jesus Return? The Second Coming According to Zaydis
The question of the famed return of Jesus within Muslim eschatological thought is one that has long attracted scholarly interest. Major theological schools, such as Ahl al-Sunnah and the Ithnā ʿAshariyyah, affirm the return of Jesus as a doctrinal requirement within their theology. In contrast, other schools, including the Ibāḍiyyah and the Muʿtazilah, reject this position and do not regard it as an established matter of ʿaqīdah.
The Zaydiyyah likewise do not consider belief in the return of Jesus to be among the essential articles of faith. Rather, it is viewed as a discretionary matter, the acceptance or rejection of which does not remove a person from the fold of Islam.
Although some narrations addressing this issue are preserved within the Zaydi tradition, the subject is rarely treated by the early authorities (al-mutaqaddimīn). Nevertheless, some insight may be drawn from reports attributed to Imām al-Najm al-Qāsim b. Ibrāhīm, transmitted through his son, Imām Muḥammad, which will be examined below.
Imam Muhammad, son of Imam al-Najm al-Qasim ibn Ibrahim — may Allah send peace upon him and his Father — said, in his own words:
I asked him (that is, he asked his father, Imam al-Qasim) about Jesus, peace be upon him.
(And you already know — may God guide you — that many who denied him died before Jesus, and many died after him. So how can one believe in him who did not witness his return, peace be upon him, nor live in his era? As for the report of his return, what has come in the narrations is that he, peace be upon him, will return to the world, descending from heaven. Then God, Exalted and Glorious, will establish His proof against His creation with what He had first conveyed to them, and with the truth of His Messenger Muhammad. And He will establish proof for Muhammad, peace be upon him, by what he conveyed to his people regarding belief in what Muhammad, peace be upon him, brought — from the signs of God and His Book. He will command them to follow Muhammad, peace be upon him, and will clarify to them what they altered from the Books of God concerning Muhammad, peace be upon him. Authority will belong to the family of Muhammad, peace be upon him and upon them, and peace.)
The Muʿtazila said: He will not return to the world; rather, God caused him to die. They interpreted the saying of God — He has no partner — “When You took me, You were the Watcher over them” [al-Māʾidah 5:117], and His saying: “Indeed, I will take you and raise you to Me and purify you from those who disbelieve” [Āl ʿImrān 3:55].
He said: Whoever opposes them interprets “Indeed, I will take you” as God taking him in surrender (or peaceful taking), without injury, wounding, or crucifixion — contrary to what the unbelievers claim, that he was crucified and killed. God, Blessed and Exalted, declared them liars when He said: “They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them” [al-Nisāʾ 4:157].
Whichever of the two interpretations is held and argued for, there is — praise be to God — no harm, no embarrassment, and no serious difficulty in it. Do not deem either of them too great for God, Blessed and Exalted, for God is Possessor of wisdom and clear explanation.
As is evident, Imām al-Qāsim held the view that belief in the second coming of Jesus is optional rather than obligatory. This methodological stance is broadly representative of how the early authorities approached the issue.
We now turn to a more contemporary Zaydi perspective, articulated by the scholars Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Isma‘il Jahaf & Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh ʿAwaḍ al-Muʾayyidī—may Allah reward them with goodness.
“The Merits of the Reports and the Jewels of the Narrations in the Biography of the Pure Imams of the Prophet’s Household,”
By Shaykh Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Isma‘il Jahaf
As for his mention of the descent of Jesus and the killing of the Antichrist (al-Dajjāl), these are among the narrations of the literalists (al-Hashwiyyah), which have no foundation according to the Ahl al-Bayt. The Imams of guidance do not believe in the “absent one” of the Twelvers, nor in the absent Dajjāl of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘ah. As for Imam al-Mahdi, all the Imams of guidance from the descendants of the two grandsons (al-Hasan and al-Husayn) are guided (mahdi), but time will conclude with the best and most excellent of them, apart from the five of the People of the Cloak (Ahl al-Kisā’). This is a promise from God, in which there is no doubt. The Messenger of God said: “The Mahdi is from us, the People of the House; God will set him aright in a single night.”
“Ramadan Lectures on Bringing the Meanings of the Qur’anic Verses Closer (Clarifying Their Meanings)”
by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdullah Awad al-Mu’ayyidi
Question: Does this mean that Jesus truly died? Where did his body go? Does this contradict the view of some of our scholars who say that he will descend at the end of time, and how is that understood?
Answer: What appears most correct — and Allah knows best — is that the death was real, and this is the apparent meaning of “I will take you”.
Allah concealed the body of His Prophet Jesus as an honour to him and a distinction for his body. He had already conveyed the message of his Lord to his people, the Children of Israel, and established Allah’s proof against them.
“It is reported that no prophet lives except half the lifespan of the one before him,” except that there is no prophet after me: “the Seal of the Prophets” (33:40).
And [Allah says]:
“When You caused me to die, You were the Watcher over them, and You are Witness over all things.” (5:117)
“Indeed, I will take you.” (3:55)
Accordingly, the opinion that Jesus will descend to the earth at the end of time is considered weak.
From the statements of Scholars , one can also discern a critical stance toward the notion of a second coming. As our examination of the tradition has shown in greater depth, there is a strong basis for arguing that the concept entered the Islamic ḥadīth corpus through Isrāʾīliyyāt material.
Moreover, there are no mutawātir reports establishing a second coming, nor does the Qurʾān provide explicit support for such a belief. On the contrary, the Qurʾānic evidence appears more consistent with denying any form of a second coming.
Summary
- The Zaydiyyah do not regard belief in the second coming of Jesus as part of Uṣūl al-Dīn.
- Zaydi scholarship generally maintains that reports affirming a second coming originate from Isrāʾīliyyāt material that entered the Islamic ḥadīth corpus.
- While the Zaydiyyah do not object to individuals who accept these reports as a permissible or optional belief, they reject any claim that such belief constitutes a doctrinal obligation within Uṣūl al-Dīn.
Allah knows best.