kill the swine, and abolish the jizyah.” It is likewise affirmed in the Ṣaḥīḥ that he will descend upon the white minaret to the east of Damascus and will slay the Dajjāl. Now, when a person’s soul has left his body, that body is never sent down from heaven; if he is revived, he rises from his grave. Concerning the Almighty’s words, “Indeed, I will take you fully, raise you to Myself, and purify you from those who disbelieve,” ⦗1⦘ this proves that what is meant is not death. Had death been intended, Jesus would in that respect be like every other believer, for Allah seizes their souls and carries them up to heaven; there would be nothing distinctive about him. The same applies to His words, “and purify you from those who disbelieve.” If his soul had in fact departed from his body, that body would lie on earth like the bodies of the other prophets. Yet the Exalted has also said: “They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; rather, it was made to appear so to them. Those who disagree about it are in doubt, having no knowledge of it beyond conjecture; they certainly did not kill him. Rather, Allah raised him to Himself.” ⦗2⦘ His statement here—“Rather, Allah raised him to Himself”—makes clear that both his body and soul were raised, just as the authentic reports state that both body and soul will descend. Had the verse meant death, it would have said: “They did not kill him nor crucify him; rather, he died.” For this reason some scholars explained His words “Indeed, I will take you fully” as meaning “I will take hold of you,” that is, seize both your soul and your body. The Arabs say tawaffaytu al-ḥisāba and istawfaytuhu (“I collected the account in full”). The word tawaffī by itself does not require taking the soul alone, nor taking both soul and body together, unless an external clue indicates one of the two meanings. It may even refer to the taking that occurs during sleep, as in His saying, “Allah takes the souls at the time of their death and those that do not die during their sleep,” ⦗3⦘ and His saying, “It is He who takes you by night and knows what you do by day.” ⦗4⦘ End of citation.

Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ said: “The descent of Jesus—peace be upon him—and his killing of the Dajjāl are established and sound according to Ahl al-Sunnah, on account of the authentic ḥadiths on the matter. Nothing in reason or in the Law invalidates them; therefore they must be affirmed. Some of the Muʿtazilah, Jahmiyyah, and those who agreed with them denied this, claiming that these ḥadiths are contradicted by the Almighty’s words, ‘and the seal of the prophets,’ ⦗5⦘ and by his statement, “There will be no prophet after me,” and by the consensus of the Muslims that there is no prophet