—namely Jesus son of Mary, peace be upon him—for he was raised up to heaven and will yet descend to earth. In this the Christians and the Muslims are in agreement, for they likewise affirm that the Messiah ascended to heaven with both body and soul, exactly as the Muslims hold, and they state that he will return to earth again, just as the Muslims say and as the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—has reported in authentic hadiths.

Many Christians, however, contend that he ascended only after being crucified and that he rose from the grave, whereas many Jews maintain that he was crucified, never ascended, and never rose from his tomb. Muslims, together with a considerable number of Christians, declare that he was not crucified at all but was taken up to heaven without crucifixion. Those Muslims—and the Christians who concur with them—further assert that he will come down to earth before the Resurrection and that his descent is one of the portents of the Hour, as both Scripture and Sunnah indicate.

A large group of Christians, on the other hand, say that his descent will occur on the Day of Judgment itself, and that he is God who will judge all creatures. Likewise, Enoch was taken up bodily to heaven, and, according to the People of the Book, Elijah too was taken up bodily to heaven.

As for the philosophers who deny the ascent of any body to the heavens, their case rests on two arguments. The first is their claim that a heavy body cannot rise upward—an argument that is exceedingly weak,