Jesus (PBUH) was the last Messenger sent to the Israelites. He was commissioned approximately five hundred years before the last prophet, Muhammad (PBUH). Allah Almighty sent him not only as the Prophet (nabī) but also as the Messenger (rasūl). The purpose of his prophetic mission was to complete God’s argument (itmām-e-hujjat) against the Israelites. For this completion of the argument, God made him a living and observable sign. The manner in which he came into the world, the way he lived here, and the way he departed, are a combination of miraculous and extremely rare events. The Qur’an thus refers to him as Kalimatullah (the Word of God) and Rūhullah (the Spirit of Allah) and declares him to be a sign for all the world, stating:
...وَجَعَلْنٰهَا وَابْنَهَا٘ اٰيَةً لِّلْعٰلَمِيْنَ.
… and made her [Mary] and her son [Jesus] a sign for the people of the world. (21:91)
Certain concepts about the ascent, the second coming of Jesus, and his life and death are prevalent among the Muslims. They hold that when the Israelites intended to crucify Jesus, God took him into His protection and raised him towards the heavens. He is alive and well in the heavens. Near the Day of Judgment, he will descend directly from the heavens to Earth, perform certain predetermined tasks, and then die a natural death. The Qur’anic verses and hadiths used to support these notions are presented in the following pages.