Ibn Jarīr al-Tabarī said—after mentioning the disagreement over what was meant by Jesus being taken—“In our view, the soundest of these opinions is that of those who said, ‘It means: I shall take you from the earth and raise you to Me,’ because reports have been mass-transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stating that he said, ‘Jesus son of Mary will descend and kill the Dajjal.’” (1)

He then cited some of the hadiths concerning his descent.

Ibn Kathīr said, “Hadiths have been mass-transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stating that he foretold the descent of Jesus (peace be upon him) before the Day of Resurrection as a just leader and an equitable judge.” (2)

He then mentioned more than eighteen hadiths concerning his descent.

Siddīq Hasan said, “The hadiths concerning his descent (peace be upon him) are numerous. Al-Shawkānī cited twenty-nine of them, comprising authentic and sound hadiths, as well as weak hadiths strengthened by corroboration. Some appear among the hadiths concerning the Dajjal ... and others among the hadiths concerning the Awaited Mahdi. In addition, there are reports transmitted from the Companions, which are deemed to be traced back to the Prophet, since this is not a matter in which personal reasoning has any scope.”

He then cited them and said, “Everything we have cited has attained the level of mass transmission, as is evident to anyone with a breadth of knowledge.” (3)

Al-Ghumārī (4) said, “The affirmation that Jesus (peace be upon him) will descend has been established on the authority of more than