Third Objection: Imam Bukhari Accepted Only a Few Narratives Concerning the Second Coming of Jesus

The number of Marfu‘^[56] hadiths regarding the Second Coming of Jesus is more than 80. These are recorded in almost all the books of hadith with the exception of Muwatta Imam Malik.

These narrations are reported from the following Companions (may Allah be pleased with all of them):

1. Abu Huraira

2. Jabir bin Abd Allah

3. Al-Nawwas bin Sam‘an

4. Abd Allah bin Amar

5. Hudhayfah bin Usaid al-Ghiffari

6. Thauban

7. Mujammi‘ bin Jariyah

8. Abu Umamah al-Bahili

9. Abd Allah bin Mas‘ud

10. Usman bin al-Aas

11. Samurah bin Jundub

12. Abd Allah bin Umar

13. Anas

14. Wathilah bin al-Asqa‘

15. Abd Allah bin Salam

16. Abd Allah bin Abbas

17. Aws bin Aws al-Thaqafi

18. Imran bin Husayn

19. Ummul Mu’minin Aishah bint Abu Bakr

20. Safinah, the freed slave of the Prophet

21. Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman

22. Abd Allah bin Mughaffal

23. Abdul-Rahman bin Samurah

24. Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri

25. Ammar bin Yasir

26. Kaysan bin Abd Allah bin Tariq

27. Salamah bin Nufayl al-Sakuni

28. Ummul Mu’minin Safiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her)

29. Nafi’ bin Kaysan

30. Abu Darda

31. Amr bin Awf al-Muzani

Out of the various and diverse narratives of the descent of Jesus, Imam Bukhari has selected the following three narrations:^[57]

1. حدثنا إسحاق، أخبرنا يعقوب بن إبراهيم، حدثنا أبي، عن صالح، عنِ ابنِ شهاب أن سعيد بن المسيب، سمع أبا هريرة رضي اللّٰه عنه، قال: قال رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم : والذي نفسي بيده، ليوشكن أن ينزل فيكم ابن مريم حكماً عدلاً، فيكسر الصليب، ويقتل الخنزير، ويضع الجزية، ويفيض المال حتى لا يقبله أحد، حتى تكون السجدة الواحدة خيرًا من الدنيا وما فيها، ثم يقول أبو هريرة : واقرءوا إن شئتم : وإن من أهل الكتاب إلا ليؤمنن به قبل موته، ويوم القيامة يكون عليهم شهيدًا.

1. Ishaq narrated to us: Ya‘qub ibn Ibrahim informed us, who narrated from his father, from Salih, from Ibn Shihab, that Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib heard Abu Huraira (RA) say: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, it is soon that the son of Mary will descend among you as a just ruler. He will break the cross, kill the swine, abolish the jizya, and wealth will flow in abundance until no one will accept it. A single prostration (sajda) will then be better than the entire world and everything in it.’ Then Abu Huraira said: Recite if you wish: ‘And there is none among the People of the Book but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection, he will be a witness against them.’ (Sahih Bukhari No. 3448)

2.حدثنا قتيبة بن سعيد، حدثنا الليث، عن ابن شهاب، عن ابن المسيب أنه سمع أبا هريرة رضي اللّٰه عنه، يقول : قال رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم : والذي نفسي بيده، ليوشكن أن ينزل فيكم ابن مريم حكماً مقسطاً، فيكسر الصليب، ويقتل الخنزير، ويضع الجزية، ويفيض المال حتى لا يقبله أحد.

2. Qutaybah ibn Sa‘id narrated to us: Al-Layth narrated from Ibn Shihab, from Ibn al-Musayyib, who heard Abu Huraira (RA) say: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, it is soon that the son of Mary will descend among you as a just ruler. He will break the cross, kill the swine, abolish the jizya, and wealth will flow in abundance until no one will accept it.’ (Bukhari, 2222)

3. حدثنا ابن بكير، حدثنا الليث، عن يونس، عن ابن شهاب، عن نافع، مولى أبي قتادة الأنصاري، أن أبا هريرة، قال : قال رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم : كيف أنتم إذا نزل ابن مريم فيكم، وإمامكم منكم.

3. Ibn Bukayr narrated to us: Al-Layth narrated from Yunus, from Ibn Shihab, from Nafi‘, the freed slave of Abu Qatadah al-Ansari, that Abu Huraira said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘What will your condition be when the son of Mary descends among you, and your leader (imam) will be from among you?’ (Bukhari, 3449)

From the study of these narrations, the following facts become clear:

1. Imam Bukhari has chosen only three narrations out of more than 80 Marfu narratives.
2. Two of these three narratives are essentially two different chains of the same hadith. This means the context and the meaning are the same, but they reached Imam Bukhari through two separate chains of narrators.
3. There are detailed as well as concise narrations about the Second Coming of Jesus, and Imam Bukhari has chosen to rely on the concise ones.
4. The Marfu narratives are reported from almost 30 distinguished Companions. Imam Bukhari has selected narratives only from one Companion, Abu Huraira (RA).
5. Similarly, the central narrator in all three narrations is Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, meaning Imam Bukhari only considered the narrations from al-Zuhri significant in this context.

This approach of Imam Bukhari gives the impression of his hesitation about all the narrations regarding the Second Coming of Jesus.