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From what has been related so far, it is clear that Jesus (as) did not die but was raised to the presence of Allah. However, there is one more point that is underlined by the Qur'an: Jesus (as) will come back to earth.

The Qur'an explicitly declares the return of Jesus (as) to earth. Many verses contain explicit statement regarding this matter. The proofs revealed in the Qur'an take this form:

(1) Surah Al 'Imran 55 is one of the verses indicating that Jesus (as) will come back:

When Allah said, "'Isa, I will take you back and raise you up to Me and purify you of those who are disbelievers. And I will place the people who follow you above those who are disbelievers until the Day of Rising. Then you will all return to Me, and I will judge between you regarding the things about which you differed. (Surah Al 'Imran: 55)

The statement in the verse, "And I will place the people who follow you above those who are disbelievers until the Day of Rising" is important. Here, there is reference to a group strictly adhering to Jesus (as) and who will be kept above the disbelievers until the Day of Judgement. Well, who are these adherents, then? Are they the disciples who lived in the time of Jesus or are they the Christians of today?

During his lifetime the followers of Jesus (as) were few. After his death, the essence of the religion degenerated rapidly. Furthermore, the people known as the disciples faced serious pressure throughout their lives. During the succeeding two centuries, having no political power, those Christians having faith in Jesus (as) were also oppressed. In this case, it is not possible to say that early Christians or their successors during these periods were physically superior to the disbelievers in the world. We might logically think that this verse does not refer to them.

When we look at the Christians of today, on the other hand, we notice that the essence of Christianity has changed a lot and it is quite different from what Jesus (as) originally brought to mankind. Christians embraced the perverted belief that suggests that Jesus (as) is the son of God and similarly held the doctrine of the trinity (The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit). In this case, it is flawed to accept the Christians of today as the adherents of Jesus (as). In many verses of the Qur'an Allah states that those having faith in the trinity certainly are disbelievers:

Those who say that the Messiah, son of Maryam, is the third of three are disbelievers. There is no god but One God. (Surat al-Ma'idah: 73)

In this case, the commentary of the statement, "And I will place the people who follow you above those who are disbelievers until the Day of Rising" is as follows: first, it is said that these people are the Muslims who are the only true followers of the authentic teachings of Jesus (as); second, it is said that these people are the Christians, whether or not they hold idolatrous beliefs, and that could be seen to be confirmed by the dominant position that nominal Christians hold on the earth today. However, both positions will be unified by the arrival of Jesus (as), since he will abolish the jizyah, meaning that he will not accept that Christians and Jews live with any other religion than Islam, and so will unite all the believers as Muslims.

The Prophet and last Messenger of Allah (saas), has also given the glad tidings of the return of Jesus (as). The scholars of ahadith (reports on the sayings and the traditions of Prophet Mohammad) say that the ahadith on this subject, in which Allah's Messenger (saas) said that the Prophet Jesus (as) will descend amongst people as a leader before the Day of Judgement have reached the status of mutawatir. That means that they have been narrated by so many people from each generation from such a large group of the Companions that there can be no possible doubt of their authenticity. For example:

(2) Earlier in this section, we analysed the verses 157-158 of Surat an-Nisa'. Just after these verses Allah states the following in Surat an Nisa 159:

There is not one of the People of the Book who will not believe in him before he dies; and on the Day of Rising he will be a witness against them. (Surat an Nisa: 159)

The statement above "who will not believe in him before he dies" is important. The Arabic equivalent of this sentence reads: 've in min ehlil kitabi illa leyüminenne bihi kable mevtihi'

Some scholars stated that the "him" in this verse is used for the Qur'an and thus made the following interpretation: There will be no one from the people of the Book who will not have faith in the Qur'an before he (a person from the people of the Book) dies.

Nevertheless, in verses 157 and 158, which are the two verses preceding this verse, the same "him" is undoubtedly used for Jesus (as).

And (on account of) their saying, "We killed the Messiah, Jesusson of Maryam, Messenger of Allah." They did not kill him and they did not crucify him but it was made to seem so to them. Those who argue about him are in doubt about it. They have no real knowledge of it, just conjecture. But they certainly did not kill him.

Just after these verses in Surat an-Nisa 159, there is no evidence indicating that "him" is used to imply someone other than Jesus (as).

There is not one of the People of the Book who will not believe in him before he dies; and on the Day of Rising he will be a witness against them.

In the Qur'an, Allah informs us that on the Day of Judgement, the "tongues and hands and feet will testify against them about what they were doing" (Surat an-Nur: 24 and Surah Yasin: 65). From Surah Fussilat 20-23, we learn that "hearing, sight and skin will testify against us." In none of the verses however, is there reference to "the Qur'an as a witness". If we accept that the "him" or "it" in the first sentence refers to the Qur'an - though grammatically or logically we have no evidence whatsoever - then we should also accept that the "he" in the second statement also refers to the Qur'an. To accept this however, there should be an explicit verse confirming this view. However, the commentator Ibn Juzayy does not mention the possibility of the Qur'an being the "him" referred to, and Ibn Juzayy transmitted the views of all the major commentators in his work.

When we refer to the Qur'an, we see that when the same personal pronoun is used for the Qur'an, there is generally mention of the Qur'an before and after that specific verse as in the cases of Surat an-Naml: 77 and Surat ash-Shu'ara: 192-196. The verse straightforwardly defines that People of the Book will have faith in Jesus (as) and that he (Jesus (as)) will be a witness against them.

The second point is about the interpretation of the expression "before he dies." Some think this is "having faith in Jesus (as) before their own death." According to this interpretation everyone from the people of the Book will definitely believe in Jesus (as) before he/she faces their own death. In Jesus' time however, Jews who are defined as the people of the Book not only did not have faith in Jesus but also attempted to kill him. On the other hand, it would be unreasonable to say that Jews and Christians who lived and died after the time of Jesus had faith - the type of faith described in the Qur'an - in him.

To conclude, when we make a sound evaluation of the verse, we arrive to the following conclusion: Before Jesus' (as) death, all the People of the Book will have faith in him.

Firstly, it is evident that the verse refers to the future because there is mention of the death of Jesus (as). Yet, Jesus (as) did not die but was raised up to the presence of Allah. Jesus (as) will come to earth again, he will live for a specified time and then die. Secondly, all the people of the Book will have faith in him. This is an event which has yet not occurred, but which will definitely happen in the future.

Consequently, by the expression "before he dies", there is a reference to Jesus (as). The People of the Book will see him, know him and obey him while he is alive. Meanwhile, Jesus (as) will bear witness against them on the Last Day. Allah surely knows best.

(3) That Jesus (as) will come back to earth towards the end of time is related in another verse in Surat az-Zukhruf 61.

When an example is made of the son of Maryam ('Isa) your people laugh uproariously. They retort, "Who is better then, our gods or him?" They only say this to you for argument's sake. They are indeed a disputatious people.

He is only a slave on whom We bestowed Our blessing and whom We made an example for the tribe of Israel.

If We wished, We could appoint angels in exchange for you to succeed you on the earth. (Surat az-Zukhruf: 57-60)

Just after these verses, Allah declares that Jesus (as) is a sign of the Day of Judgement.

He is a Sign of the Hour. Have no doubt about it. But follow me. This is a straight path. (Surat az-Zukhruf: 61)

Ibn Juzayy says that the first meaning of this verse is that Jesus (as) is a sign or a precondition of the Last Hour. We can say that this verse is a clear indication that Jesus (as) will come back to earth at the end times. That is because Jesus (as) lived six centuries before the revelation of the Qur'an. Consequently, we cannot interpret his first coming as a sign of the Day of Judgement. What this verse actually indicates is that Jesus (as) will come back to earth towards the end of time, that is to say, during the last period of time before the Day of Judgement and this will be a sign for the Day of Judgement. Allah surely knows the best.

The Arabic of the verse "He is a Sign of the Hour" is "Innahu la 'ilmun li's-sa'ati…" Some people interpret the pronoun "hu" (he) in this verse as the Qur'an. However, the preceding verses explicitly indicate that Jesus (as) is mentioned in the verse: "He is only a slave on whom We bestowed Our blessing and whom We made an example for the tribe of Israel"

Those who cite this pronoun as referring to the Qur'an go on to quote the next part of the verse "Have no doubt about it. But follow me." as evidence. However, the verses preceding this one refer totally to Jesus. For this reason, it appears that the pronoun 'hu' is linked to those preceding verses and also refers to Jesus. In fact, great Islamic scholars, declare that to be the case, based on the use of the pronoun both in the Qur'an and in the hadiths. Elmali Hamdi Yazir offers the following explanation in his commentary:

"Surely he is a sign of the hour -he is a sign and an indication that the Hour will come and the dead will be resurrected and stand up. Jesus, both with his return to earth and his miracle of resurrecting the dead and also with his prophecizing the rise of the dead is a sign of the Hour. It is also reported in the hadith that he is a sign of the last day. (http://www.kuranikerim.com/telmalili/zuhruf.htm )

In Sahih Muslim, it is also stated that the ahadith in which it is said that the Prophet Jesus (as) will descend amongst people at the end of time have reached the degree of being mutawatir, i.e. narrated by so many people in each generation that it is not possible to have any doubt of their authenticity, and that it is counted as one of the major signs of the Day of Rising. (Muslim)

Hudhayfah ibn Usayd al-Ghifari said, "The Messenger of Allah (saas) came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy in a discussion). He said: 'What are you discussing?' We said: 'We are discussing the Last Hour.' Thereupon he said: 'It will not come until you see ten signs before it' - and (in this connection) he made mention of the smoke, the Dajjal, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesusthe son of Maryam (as), Yajuj and Majuj, and landslides in three places, one in the east, one in the west and one in Arabia at the end of which fire will burn forth from the Yemen, and drive people to the place of their assembly." (Muslim)

(4) Other verse indicating the second coming of the Jesus (as) is the following;

When the angels said, "Maryam, your Lord gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, 'Isa, son of Maryam of high esteem in this world and the hereafter, and one of those brought near. He will speak to people in the cradle, and also when fully grown, and will be one of the righteous," she said, "My Lord! How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me?"

He said, "It will be so. Allah creates whatever He wills. When He decides on something He just says to it, 'Be!' and it is. He will teach him the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah and the Injil…" (Surah Al 'Imran: 45-48)

In the verse, it is heralded that Allah would instruct Jesus (as) about the Injil, the Torah and the "Book." No doubt, this book in question is very important. We come across the same expression in the Surat al-Ma'ida 110:

Remember when Allah said: "'Isa, son of Maryam, remember My blessing to you and to your mother when I reinforced you with the Purest Spirit so that you could speak to people in the cradle and when you were fully grown; and when I taught you the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah and the Injil; and when you created a bird-shape out of clay by My permission…" (Surat al-Ma'ida: 110)

When we analyse the "Book" in both of the verses, we see that it may indicate the Qur'an. Primarily, there is only one known divine book on the earth apart from the Torah, the Zabur and the Injil. Besides, in another verse in the Qur'an, next to the Torah and the Injil, the word "Book" is used to indicate the Qur'an.

Allah, there is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He has sent down the Book to you with truth, confirming what has there before it. And He sent down the Torah and the Injil, previously, as guidance for mankind, and He has sent down the Furqan (the Criterion of judgement between right and wrong). (Surah Al 'Imran: 2-4)

When a Book does come to them from Allah, confirming what is with them - even though before that they were praying for victory over the kafirun - yet when what they recognise does come to them, they reject it. Allah's curse is on the kafirun. (Surat al-Baqara: 89)

For this We sent a Messenger to you from among you to recite Our Signs to you and purify you and teach you the Book and Wisdom and teach you things you did not know before. (Surat al-Baqara: 151)

In this case, we may well consider that the third book which will be taught to Jesus (as) will be the Qur'an and we could assume that this will be possible only if he comes to earth at the end of time. Jesus (as) lived 600 years before the revelation of the Qur'an and it is unlikely that he knew the Qur'an before it was revealed. In this case, that he will learn the Qur'an during his second sojourn on earth could be a reasonable explanation.

Abu Hurairah (ra) narrated that Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, said, "By the One in Whose hand is my self, definitely the son of Maryam will soon descend among you as a just judge, and he will break the cross, kill the pig and abolish the jizyah, and wealth will be so abundant that no one will accept it, until a single prostration will be better than the world and everything in it. (Bukhari)

The 'ulama (Islamic scholars) say that the meaning in this hadith of his acting as a just judge/ruler is that he will judge by the shari'ah of Islam, i.e. by the judgements in the Book of Allah, the Qur'an, and in the Sunnah of the Last Messenger of Allah, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah surely knows best.

(5) As seen, verses on Jesus' (as) return to the earth are very explicit and remarkable. No similar statements are made for any other prophet mentioned in the Qur'an. Furthermore, no other prophet is referred to as "a Sign of the Hour" and no statement used for any other prophet in the Qur'an includes any connotation implying their return to the earth. However, all these statements are used for Jesus (as). The meaning of this is very clear.

Another verse that refers to the death of Jesus is this revelation from Surah Maryam:Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die and the day I am raised up again alive.' (Surah Maryam: 33)

When we consider this verse together with Al'Imran 55, it is indicating a very important truth. In the verse in Surah Al 'Imran it is stated that Jesus was raised up to the sight of Allah. No information is given in this verse about death or killing. Yet in Surah Maryam 33 information is given about the day when Jesus will die. That second death can only be possible if Jesus dies after returning to and living on earth. (Only Allah knows for certain)

Another piece of evidence about Jesus returning to earth appears in the verse Surat al-Maida 110 and Surah Al 'Imran 46 in the form of the word 'kehlen.' The verses say:

Remember when Allah said, ''Isa, son of Maryam, remember My blessing to you and to your mother when I reinforced you with the Purest Ruh so that you could speak to people in the cradle and when you were fully grown (kehlen)... (Surat al-Ma'ida: 110)

He will speak to people in the cradle, and also when fully grown (kehlen), and will be one of the salihun (Surah Al 'Imran: 46)

This word appears only in the above two verses in the Qur'an, and only in reference to Jesus. The meaning of the word‚ kehlen' used to refer to Jesus' adult state is along the lines of‚ between 30 and 50 years old, who is no longer young and is about to enter old age, someone who has reached the perfect age.' Islamic scholars agree on translating this word as‚ indicating the period after 35 years of age.'

Based on a hadith reported by Ibni Abbas to the effect that Jesus rose to the sky in his early 30s, a young age, and will stay another 40 years when he returns, Islamic scholars say that Jesus' old age will be after he returns to earth, for which reason this verse is proof that Jesus suffered a stroke. (Muhammed Halil Herras, Faslu'l-Makal fi Ref'I Isa Hayyen ve Nüzulihi ve Katlihi'd-Deccal, Mektebetü's Sünne, Cairo, 1990, page 20)

Close study of the verses in question easily reveals how right Islamic scholars are on this question.In looking at the verses of the Qur'an, we see that this statement is only used for Jesus. All the prophets spoke to people and called them to the true path. They all communicated their message in adulthood. Yet there is no such statement in the Qur'an about any other prophet. The statement is only used to refer to Jesus and his miraculous situation. That is because the words‚ in the cradle' and‚ as an adult' that follow each other in the verses are stressing two miraculous periods.

Jesus' speaking while still in the crade is a miracle. Nothing like it has ever been seen, and the incident is reported as a miracle several times in verses. That being so, the immediate use afterwards of the expression‚ speaking to people as an adult' is in all probability also a miracle. If the expression ‚as an adult' were referring to Jesus' life before he was raised to the sight of Allah, then his speaking would not have been miraculous at all. Since it was not miraculous it would not follow his speaking in the cradle and would not be expressed in a way equivalent to that miraculous event. An expression such as‚ from the cradle to adulthood' would have been used, and Jesus' revelation before he was raised to the sky would have been recounted. (Only Allah knows for certain). However, attention is being drawn in the Qur'an to two miraculous times. The first is his speaking in the cradle, and the second is his speech as an adult. For this reason, this expression of a miraculous time refers to the time after Jesus returns to earth, when he speaks to people as an adult. (Only Allah knows for certain).

In fact, in his work The Commentary of Taberi, Iman Taberi makes the following explanation of these verses:

These statements (Surat al-Ma'ida, 110) indicate that in order to complete his lifespan and speak to people in his old age Jesus will come down from the sky. That is because he was raised to the sky when still young.'In this verse (Surah Al 'Imran, 46) there is evidence that Jesus is living, and the People of the Sunna share that view. That is because in this verse it is stated that he will speak to people in his old age. He will only be able to grow old when he returns to earth from the sky.' (Imam Taberi, The Commentary of Taberi, Vol. 2, page 528, Vol. 1, page 247).

Some people however, interpret the word 'adult' in a manner far removed from its true meaning and do not analyse it in the context of the general logic of the Qur'an. These people maintain that prophets have always been mature adults, for which reason the expression refers to all the lives of the prophets. Of course the prophets were mature adults raised by Allah. Yet in Surah Ahqaf Allah reveals that the age of maturity is 40. It is revealed in this verse that:

We have instructed man to be good to his parents.His mother bore him with difficulty and with difficulty gave birth to him; and his bearing and weaning take thirty months.Then when he achieves his full strength and reaches forty, he says, 'My Lord, keep me thankful for the blessing You bestowed on me and on my parents, and keep me acting rightly, pleasing You. And make my descendants salihun.I have made tawba to You and I am truly one of the Muslims.' (Surat al-Ahqaf: 15)

The word ‚kehlen,' therefore, bears the meaning that emerges in those verses that point to Jesus' return to earth. (Only Allah knows for certain).

There are other examples in the Qur'an of people leaving earth for hundreds of years while they are still alive and then returning.

One of these people is a man who remained dead for a century. This is related in Surat al-Baqarah:

Or the one who passed by a town which had fallen into ruin? He asked, "How can Allah restore this to life when it has died?" Allah caused him to die a hundred years then brought him back to life. Then He asked, "How long have you been here?" He replied, "I have been here a day or part of a day." He said, "Not so! You have been here a hundred years. Look at your food and drink - it has not gone bad - and look at your donkey so We can make you a Sign for all mankind. Look at the bones - how We raise them up and clothe them in flesh." When it had become clear to him, he said, "Now I know that Allah has power over all things." (Surat al-Baqarah: 259)

Another example is related in the story of the "Companions of the Cave" related in Surat al-Kahf.

Allah relates the story of young men who were compelled to take refuge from the cruel tyranny of the emperor of the time in a cave. It is related that they fell asleep and were woken up after years of sleep. The related verses follow:

When the young men took refuge in the cave and said, "Our Lord, give us mercy directly from You and open the way for us to right guidance in our situation." So We sealed their ears with sleep in the cave for a number of years. (Surat al-Kahf: 10-11)

You would have supposed them to be awake whereas in fact they were asleep. We moved them to the right and to the left, and at the entrance, their dog stretched out its paws. If you had looked down and seen them, you would have turned from them and run and have been filled with terror at the sight of them.

That was the situation when we woke them up so they could question one another. One of them asked, "How long have you been here?" They replied "We have been here for a day or part of a day." They said, "Your Lord knows best how long have you been here. Send one of your number into the city with this silver you have, so he can see which food is purest and bring you some of it to eat. But he should go about with caution so that no one is aware of you." (Surat al-Kahf: 18-19)

The Qur'an does not explain exactly how much time the young men spent in the cave. Instead, the duration of this period is implied by the words "for a number of years." People's guess at this period however was rather high: 309 years. Allah says:

They stayed in their Cave for three hundred years and added nine.

Say: "Allah knows best how long they stayed. The Unseen of the heavens and the earth belongs to Him. How perfectly He sees, how well He hears! They have no protector apart from Him. Nor does He share His rule with anyone." (Surat al-Kahf: 25-26)

Surely, what matters here is not whether this period is short or long. The point is, Allah takes some people back, either by making them sleep, or simply making them die from this life for a particular period and then revives them. Just like people waking from a dream, Allah gives them life again. Jesus (as) is one of these people and, at due time, he will live again in this world. After fulfilling his task, he will die just like any other human being in accordance with the commandment of the verse in which Allah said: "On it you will live and on it you will die and from it you will be brought forth." (Surat al-A'raf: 25)