Imām Ahmad narrated through a chain of transmission reaching Ibn Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, regarding the interpretation of the verse, “And indeed, he is surely a means of knowing the Hour.” He said: “It refers to the coming forth of Jesus son of Mary, peace be upon him, before the Day of Resurrection.” (1)

The hadith master Ibn Kathīr said: “The correct view is that it—that is, the pronoun—refers back to Jesus, for the context concerns him.” (2)

He considered it unlikely that the verse referred to the signs with which Jesus, peace be upon him, was sent, such as raising the dead, healing those born blind and lepers, and curing others afflicted with disease.

Even more far-fetched is what has been related from some scholars: that the pronoun in “And indeed, he” refers to the Noble Quran. (3)

2 — Allah Most High says: “And for their saying, ‘We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.’ Yet they neither killed nor crucified him; rather, it was made to appear so to them,” through His words, “There is none among the People of the Book who will not surely believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them” [al-Nisā: 157–159].

Thus, just as these verses indicate that the Jews neither killed Jesus, peace be upon him, nor crucified him, but that Allah raised him to heaven—as Allah Most High says: “When Allah said, ‘O Jesus, I shall take you and raise you to Myself’” [Āl Imrān: 55]—