Hidāyat al-Ḥayārā - Ibn al-Qayyim - (الكتاب/253)

Hidāyat al-ḤayārāIbn al-Qayyim

the one who was slapped by the Jews (1), yet whom they nonetheless regard as the Lord of the worlds and the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

By contrast, the Messiah whom the Muslims await is Allah’s servant and messenger, His spirit, and His word that He cast into the chaste virgin Mary—Jesus son of Mary, the brother of Allah’s servant and messenger Muhammad son of ʿAbd Allah. He will make Allah’s religion and His oneness prevail and will slay His enemies: the worshipers of the cross who have taken him and his mother as two deities besides Allah, as well as His enemies the Jews who hurled monstrous accusations against him and his mother (2).

This, then, is the figure awaited by the Muslims. He will descend upon the eastern minaret of Damascus with his hands resting on the shoulders of two angels; people will behold him with their very eyes as he comes down from heaven. He will judge by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ, restoring whatever the tyrants, libertines, and traitors allowed to perish of the Messenger’s religion and reviving what they had caused to die.

In his time all religious communities will revert to a single faith—his faith, the faith of his brother Muhammad, the faith of their forefather Abraham, and the faith of all the prophets: Islam. Whoever seeks a religion other than it will never have it accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ charged anyone of his community who meets Jesus to convey his greeting of peace and instructed Jesus to return it. He specified the land and the exact spot where Jesus will descend, his state at the time, and the clothing he will be wearing—two dyed garments. He even described in detail what Jesus will do upon his descent, so thoroughly that it is as though Muslims can see him with their own eyes before he actually appears (3).

(1) The copies labelled “Ṣ” and “Gh” read: “slap.” (2) The copies labelled “Ṣ” and “Gh” read: “enemies.” (3) For an array of hadiths on this question, with extensive analysis, consult: Muhammad Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri, At-Tasrih bima Tawatar fi Nuzul al-Masih, edited by Shaykh Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah.

هو مصفعة (١) اليهود، وهو عندهم ربُّ العالمين وخالق السماوات والأرضين. ومسيحُ المسلمينَ الذي ينتظرونه: هو عبد الله ورسولُه ورُوحُه، وكلمتُه ألقاها إلى مريم العذراء البَتُول، عيسى ابنُ مريم، أخو عبدِ الله ورسولِه محمدِ بن عبد الله، فيظهر دين الله وتوحيده، ويقتل أعداءَه عبَّاد الصليب الذين اتخذوه وأمه إلهين من دون الله، وأعداءَه (٢) اليهودَ الذين رموه وأُمَّه بالعظائم. فهذا هو الذي ينتظره المسلمون، وهو نازل على المنارة الشرقيَّة بدمشق، واضعًا يديه على منكبي مَلَكَيْن، يراه الناس عِيَانًا بأبصارهم نازلًا من السماء، فيحكم بكتاب الله وسنة رسول الله ﷺ، وينفذ ما أضاعه الظَّلَمَةُ والفجرة والخَوَنَةُ من دين رسول الله ﷺ، ويحيي ما أماتوه. وتَعُود الملل كلُّها في زمانه ملةً واحدةً، وهي مِلَّتُه ومِلَّة أخيه محمد ومِلَّة أبيهما إبراهيم ومِلَّة سائر الأنبياء، وهي الإسلام الذي من يبتغي غيره دينًا فلن يُقْبَلَ منه وهو في الآخرة من الخاسرين. وقد حَمَّل رسولُ الله ﷺ مَنْ أدركه من أمته السَّلامَ، وأمره أن يقرئه إيَّاه منه، فأخبر عن موضع نزوله بأيِّ بلدٍ وبأي مكانٍ منه، وبحالِهِ وقتَ نزوله، ومَلْبَسِه الذي كان عليه، وأنه ممصَّرتان. أي: ثوبان. وأخبر بما يفعل عند نزوله مفصَّلًا حتى كأنَّ المسلمين يشاهدونه عيانًا قبل أن يروه (٣).

(١) في "ص، غ": "صفعة". (٢) في "ص، غ": "أعداء". (٣) انظر طائفة من الأحاديث في هذا الموضوع مع دراسات موسعة في "التصريح بما تواتر في نزول المسيح" للكشميري، تحقيق الشيخ عبد الفتاح أبو غدة.