سُوْرَةُ النِّسَآءِ
Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 159
وَإِن مِّنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ إِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهِۦ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهِۦ ۖ وَيَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا ﴿159﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) but must believe in him [‘Îsâ (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), as only a Messenger of Allâh and a human being] before his [‘Îsâ (Jesus) عليه السلام) or a Jew’s or a Christian’s] death (at the time of the appearance of the angel of death). And on the Day of Resurrection, he [‘Îsâ (Jesus)] will be a witness against them.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَإِن
wa-in
And (there is) not
مِّنْ
min
from
أَهْلِ
ahli
(the) People
ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ
l-kitābi
(of) the Book
إِلَّا
illā
but
لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ
layu'minanna
surely he believes
بِهِۦ
bihi
in him
قَبْلَ
qabla
before
مَوْتِهِۦ ۖ
mawtihi
his death
وَيَوْمَ
wayawma
And (on the) Day
ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ
l-qiyāmati
(of) the Resurrection
يَكُونُ
yakūnu
he will be
عَلَيْهِمْ
ʿalayhim
against them
شَهِيدًۭا
shahīdan
a witness
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
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.
[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.
