Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 159

(Ayah 159) ➊ {وَ اِنْ مِّنْ اَهْلِ الْكِتٰبِ اِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهٖ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهٖ :} This verse has two meanings and both are correct. The first is that every Jew and Christian, before his death, will surely believe in the prophethood of ‘Isa (Jesus) عليه السلام and in his being raised alive, but this refers to the time when death becomes imminent, just as Pharaoh believed at the time of his death, but at that time, believing will be of no benefit. The second meaning is that when ‘Isa عليه السلام will descend near the Day of Judgment as a just ruler and will fight against Dajjal and all other disbelievers, then before his death, Islam will prevail throughout the world. The Jews and Christians will either be killed in confrontation or will accept Islam. ‘Isa عليه السلام will break the cross, abolish the jizyah, and kill the swine. Thus, when ‘Isa عليه السلام passes away, before his death, every Jew and Christian present will have believed in his prophethood, his being raised alive to the heavens, and his descent again. Thus, at the end of the hadith mentioned in Bukhari and Muslim, Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه, after narrating this hadith, says: “If you wish, recite this verse: « وَ اِنْ مِّنْ اَهْلِ الْكِتٰبِ اِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهٖ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهٖ » ‘And there is none from the People of the Book but that he will surely believe in him before his death.’”
➋ {وَ يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ يَكُوْنُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيْدًا:} For the explanation of this phrase, see Surah Al-Ma’idah (117).

159. 1. In "قبل موتہ", according to some commentators, the pronoun refers to the People of the Book (نصاریٰ), and the meaning is that every Christian, at the time of death, comes to believe in Jesus (peace be upon him). Although faith at the time of death is not beneficial. But according to the predecessors and most commentators, its reference is to Jesus (peace be upon him), and the meaning is that when he will descend again in the world and will kill the Dajjal and establish the dominance of Islam, then all the Jews and Christians present at that time will also be killed, and no one except Muslims will remain on the face of the earth. In this way, all the People of the Book in the world who are to believe in Jesus (peace be upon him) will have believed in him before his death and will have passed from this world, regardless of the manner of their faith. This is also established from Sahih ahadith. Thus, the Prophet ﷺ said: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul! Surely a time will come when 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 become so abundant that no one will accept it." That is, there will be no one to take charity or alms. "So much so that a single prostration will be better than the world and whatever is in it." Then Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "If you wish, recite this verse of the Quran: 'وان من اھل الکتب الا لیؤمنن بہ قبل موتہ'" (Sahih Bukhari, Book of Prophets). These ahadith have come in such abundance that they have reached the level of tawatur, and on the basis of these mutawatir Sahih narrations, it is the unanimous belief of all schools of Ahl al-Sunnah that Jesus (peace be upon him) is alive in the heavens and near the Day of Judgment he will descend to the world, and after ending the Dajjal and all religions, he will make Islam dominant. The emergence of Gog and Magog will also occur during the presence of Jesus (peace be upon him), and by the blessing of his supplication, this tribulation will also be ended, as is clear from the ahadith.

159. 2. This testimony will be related to the circumstances of his first life, as is clarified at the end of Surah Al-Ma'idah (وَكُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيْدًا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيْهِمْ) 5. Al-Ma'idah:117) "As long as I was present among them, I was aware of their circumstances."

159. And there is none among the People of the Book but will surely believe in him [208] before his (natural) death, and on the Day of Resurrection, he will be a witness against them.

[208] That is, when near the Day of Judgment, ‘Isa (Jesus) ؑ will descend from the heavens to this world, then all the People of the Book (both Jews and Christians) will certainly believe in him before the natural death of Sayyiduna ‘Isa ؑ. In this regard, the following hadiths shed considerable light:

1. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "By Him in Whose hand is my soul! Soon the son of Mary will descend among you as a just ruler. He will break the cross, abolish the jizyah. At that time, wealth will be so abundant that no one will accept it, and a single prostration will be better in his sight than the world and all that is in it. If you wish, recite:
«وان من اهل الكتٰب الا ليومنن به قبل موته»
[ بخاري، كتاب الانبياء، باب نزول عيسيٰ بن مريم۔۔ مسلم، كتاب الايمان، باب نزول عيسيٰ بن مريم]

2. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "What will be your condition when the son of Mary will descend among you and your leader will be from among yourselves (i.e., he too will follow the Shari‘ah of Muhammad ﷺ)."
[بخاری، کتاب الانبیاء، باب نزول عیسیٰ بن مریم]

3. ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "At night, I saw myself in a dream as if I were at the Ka‘bah. I saw a handsome man, wheat-colored, with hair reaching his shoulders and golden, and water was dripping from his head. He was circumambulating the Ka‘bah, placing his hands on the shoulders of two men. I asked, 'Who is this?' The people said, 'This is the Messiah, son of Mary.' Behind him, I saw another man with very curly hair, reddish complexion, blind in the right eye, and his eye looked like a swollen grape. Of those I have seen, he most resembled ‘Abd al-‘Uzza bin Qatan, who died in the time of ignorance, and he was circumambulating with his hands on the shoulders of a man. I asked, 'Who is this?' The people said, 'This is the Messiah, the Dajjal.'"
[حواله ايضاً]

4. The Prophet ﷺ said: "A group from my Ummah will always fight for the truth and will remain dominant until the Day of Judgment. Then ‘Isa, son of Mary, will descend, and the leader of this group will say, 'Come, lead us in prayer.' He will say, 'No! This honor has been given by Allah to this Ummah that their leader should be from among themselves.'"
[مسلم، کتاب الایمان۔ باب نزول عیسیٰ بن مریم]

5.
The Descent of the Messiah and the Trial of the Dajjal:

The Prophet ﷺ said: "The Dajjal will be in this state when Allah will send the Messiah, son of Mary, who will descend near the white minaret in the east of Damascus, wearing two yellow garments, and his hands will be placed on the arms of two angels. When he lowers his head, drops will fall, and when he raises it, drops like pearls will fall. Every disbeliever who smells his breath will die, and his breath will reach as far as his sight. Then he will search for the Dajjal and find him at the gate of Ludd, and then he will kill him."
[مسلم، کتاب الفتن، باب ذکر الدجال]

6. ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "The Dajjal will emerge among my Ummah and will remain for forty... I do not know whether forty days, forty months, or forty years. (In the narration of Nawwas bin Sam‘an, it is forty days.) Then Allah will send ‘Isa, son of Mary. He will be like ‘Urwah bin Mas‘ud. ‘Isa will search for the Dajjal and then kill him. Then for seven years, people will live in such a way that there will be no enmity between two persons."
[مسلم، کتاب الفتن، باب ذکر الدجال]

The People of the Book Believing in Sayyiduna ‘Isa:

Among the People of the Book, the Christians already believe in the ascension of ‘Isa ؑ, but the Jews, according to their own belief, certainly think that they killed Sayyiduna ‘Isa ؑ by crucifying him. Near the Day of Judgment, when Sayyiduna ‘Isa will descend, seeing his majesty and glory, even the Jews will have to admit that Sayyiduna ‘Isa ؑ was indeed a Messenger of Allah, and the accusation they made regarding his illegitimate birth was utterly false. Also, their false belief that they killed Sayyiduna ‘Isa ؑ will be proven wrong.

The Interpretation of the Deniers of the Descent of ‘Isa:

Some deniers of miracles say that:
﴿وَاِنْ مِّنْ اَهْلِ الْكِتٰبِ اِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهٖ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهٖ﴾
The pronoun refers to the People of the Book. Accordingly, they interpret it to mean that the People of the Book, at the time of their death, when all veils of the unseen are lifted, will certainly believe in the prophethood and messengership of ‘Isa ؑ before dying. After this interpretation, they declare the above-mentioned hadiths unreliable and deny the descent of the Messiah. This interpretation is incorrect because, when the veils of the unseen are lifted at the time of death, countless realities become manifest, and the Jews will also come to know that all the prophets whom they considered false and killed were all true. Then what distinction remains for Sayyiduna ‘Isa, and what special status and superiority is established for him as mentioned in this verse? Moreover, we do not find even the weakest narration supporting the view of these people, whereas there are so many hadiths regarding the descent of ‘Isa that they have reached the level of tawatur (mass transmission) in the books of hadith.