Rebuttal Against Those Who Deny The Appearance Of The Mahdi, The Dajjaal, And The Descent Of The Messiah
Imaam Ahmad transmits with a authentic chain which meets the conditions of the two shaykhs[40]: from Samura ibn Jundub (radiallahu 'anhu) that the Prophet of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said “Verily the Dajjaal will appear - he then mentioned in his speech the following - then will come 'Eesa ibn Maryam ('alaihi salaam) confirming that which was with Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and he will be upon his (Muhammad's) law. He ('Eesa) will subsequently kill the Dajjaal, after that shall occur the Final Hour.” At-Tabaraani also transmitted the hadeeth and Haithimi said its men (i.e. transmitters) are of those found in the saheeh.

At-Tabaraani also transmits in both Al-Kabeer and Al-Awsat from Abdullah ibn Mughaffal (radiallahu anhu) that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said “From the creation of Aadam till the establishment of the Hour, Allah has not sent to the earth a greater fitnah[41] than Ad-Dajjaal.” He then related the previous hadeeth and it contains the following, “...then 'Eesa ibn Maryam will descend confirming Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) upon his law as a guiding Imaam and a just ruler and he shall slay the Dajjaal.”

Al-Haithimi said its transmitters are trustworthy and some of them have weakness that is harmless. I say: the hadeeth before it (from Samura Ibn Jundub) verifies it and strengthens it.

Regarding what is said in one of the headings: If one of the fundamentals of faith was the belief in the return of the Messiah or the appearance of the Dajjaal or the Mahdi it would have come in the Qur'aan in an obvious and distinct manner.
The answer: All that is confirmed from the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) in which he informs us of its occurrence; belief therein becomes obligatory. This is of the essentials to fulfillment of the declaration that Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) is the Messenger of Allah, and its fulfillment is a fundamental of faith. No one is a believer, inviolable of blood and property, until they fulfill their declaration of the Messengership (of Muhammad) as proven in the words of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) “I have been commanded to fight the people until they declare that there is no true deity except Allah and to believe in me and in what I have brought. If they do so then their blood and property are inviolable to me except with just cause and their reckoning is with Allah.” Related by Muslim from the hadeeth transmitted by Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu).

It is a confirmed transmission from the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) that he informed about the appearance of the Mahdi at the end of time and the coming of the Dajjaal along with the descent of 'Eesa the son of Mary ('alaihi salaam). Therefore, belief in this is obligatory as a confirmation of the statement of Allah Most High “He does not speak of his whim, it is naught but revelation revealed to him.” [42] and acting by Allah's statement "And what the Messenger gives you, take it.” [43] It is in accord with many verses that command belief in the Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam).

Belief in him is incomplete except through obedience to his orders and avoidance of what he forbade with affirmation of what he informed about and adhering to his sunnah and acting upon what was related in the previously mentioned hadeeth from Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu).

Rebuttal Against Those Who Deny There Will Be An Abundance Of Wealth And A Filling Of The Earth With Justice In The Time Of The Messiah
Regarding the statement “Then how will the Messiah fill the world with justice after being filled with tyranny? Is this part of the sunnah of Allah in the life of humanity? How is it there will be abundant wealth at the time of the Messiah's return and no one will accept it?”

The answer: Anyone who knows that Allah is in utter control over all things and that what He wills shall be and knows also that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) cannot utter but the truth and gives no information other than what is trustworthy, has no doubt in anything which the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has related. It is therefore obligatory for the Muslim to believe in all that comes from Allah and from the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Nor does he raise objection to the information of the most trusted of the trustworthy by questioning how and why or otherwise of the types of questions that point to doubt in what has been related by the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and the lack of faith therein. Allah Most High says "And by your Lord they do not believe until they seek your judgment in disputes and they find no resistance in themselves with what you have decided and submit to it with complete submission.” [44]

Notification Of The Distortion Of The Wording Of An Authentic Hadeeth
Regarding the statement: Al-Bukhaari and Muslim transmit from Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu) that Allah's Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said “By one in whose hand is my soul it will come soon when the son of Mary ('alaihi salaam) shall descend amongst you and he will break the cross, slaughter the pig, and abolish war.”
The response to this is: The writer has distorted the wording of the hadeeth where he said “abolish war”. The words of the hadeeth are “abolish the jizyah”[45] and anyone who intentionally distorts the words of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) falls amongst the numbers of liars upon Allah's Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam). In a widely reported hadeeth of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam), he said: [color=blue]“Whoever purposely lies on me has prepared his seat in the Hellfire.”[46]

Perhaps the writer did not intend this distortion and may have done so out of negligence or he may have found this narration in some books that had not been corrected from misprints.

Rebuttal On Al-Khateeb's Claim That The Ahadeeth On The Descent Of 'Eesa ('Alaihi Salaam) And The Coming Out Of The Mahdi And The Dajjaal Have No Relationship With Belief (Al-‘Aqeedah)
Regarding his statement: “That which has been related from the hadeeth and reports in the matter of the return of the Messiah ('alaihi salaam) or in the matter of the appearance of the Dajjaal or the Mahdi, there is no connection in them with belief, whether authentic or not. Islamic belief is built upon faith in Allah, His angels, His prophets, His books, the Hereafter, the Reckoning and the reward of the Paradise and the Hellfire.” [47]

The reply is from two standpoints. One would be to say that having eemaan in all that Allah's Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has informed us about is certainly tied to beliefs. Faith in Allah's Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) is incomplete without total faith in what he has informed us about. One who does not believe in the accounts is of corrupted belief. Again, the hadeeth of Abu Hurairah has been presented that contains the statements about the inviolability of the blood and wealth at such time as one believes in all which the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has brought.

The second standpoint would be to say that Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa’ah [48] fully accept what has come from the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) regarding the ascendance of the Mahdi and the appearance of the Dajjaal and the descent of 'Eesa son of Maryam ('alaihi salaam). They have compiled this in the books of sihaah [49], sunan [50], and masaaneed [51]. They related its explanation in the books of beliefs. Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal, the Imaam of Ahlus-Sunnah, said (may Allah's mercy be upon him) in The Beliefs of Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah that was transmitted by Abdoos ibn Malik Al-'Ataar, "One must have Eemaan[52] that the Maseeh Al-Dajjaal will come out and written between his eyes (will be the word) kaafir and believe in the ahadeeth that speak of it. And eemaan (faith) that it shall happen and that 'Eesa ibn Maryam ('alaihi salaam) will descend and kill him at the gate of Lud.”[53]

What Is Mentioned By Consensus [Of The Sahaabah] On The Descent Of 'Eesa ('Alaihi Salaam) And The Words Of The Major Scholars
Abu Muhammad Al-Barbahaari (May Allah have mercy upon him) said in his Sharhus-Sunnah: "And having Eemaan is that 'Eesa ibn Maryam will descend and he will kill the Dajjaal and he will marry and pray behind an Imaam from the family of Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and he will die and be buried by the Muslims.” And the Imaam from the family of Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) is the Mahdi as related in the hadeeth of Jaabir (radiallahu 'anhu) that the Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said “‘Eesa ibn Maryam will descend and the leader of the Muslims will say ‘Lead us in prayer’ and he (‘Eesa) will say ‘No. That one from them should be the leader of others is an honor which Allah has given this nation.”

Related by Haarith ibn Abu Usaamah in his musnad[54]with a good chain of transmission (isnaad jayyid) and Ibn Qayyim has mentioned it in his book Al-Manaar Al-Muneef and has classified it with isnaad jayyid. At-Tahaawi (may Allah have mercy upon him) has said in his famous book on 'aqeedah, “We believe in the signs of the Hour of the appearance of the Dajjaal and the descent of 'Eesa ibn Maryam ('alaihi salaam) from the heavens.”

Abul Hasan Al-'Ashari said in his book Maqaalaat Al-lslaamiyeen “As a whole, the people of the hadeeth and the sunnah are upon that which affirms Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers, and all that has come from Allah and what has been reliably transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and they reject none of it.” ... “They fully accept the appearance of the Dajjaal and that 'Eesa ibn Maryam will kill him.” This is the report of the consensus of the people of the hadeeth and the sunnah regarding acceptance of the return of the Dajjaal and the descent of 'Eesa ibn Maryam ('alaihi salaam) and his killing the Dajjaal. Consideration is given to the people of the hadeeth and the sunnah and no consideration is given to the people of innovation and error and ignorance who oppose the people of the sunnah.

Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Abi Zaid Al-Qayrawaani Al-Maliki (may Allah have mercy upon him) said in his famous treatise “We must have Eemaan in whatever is confirmed regarding the appearance of the Dajjaal and the descent of ‘Eesa ('alaihi salaam) as a just ruler who kills the Dajjaal.”

Abu Ahmad ibn Al-Hussein Ash-Shaafi', known as Ibn Hadaad, said in his work on 'aqeedah “All the signs that will appear at the approach of the Hour such as the Dajjaal, the descent of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam), the Smoke, the Beast, the rising of the sun from the west and other such signs that are related in the authentic reports, are true.”[55]
Al-Muwaffaq Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Ahmed ibn Qudaamah Al-Maqdisi in his famous work on 'aqeedah said “It is obligatory to believe in all that the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) related and what is authenticated from transmissions from him, whether we have witnessed it or from the unseen. Be aware that it is correct and true. “He went on to say, “Amongst them (these things) are the signs of the Hour such as the coming out of the Dajjaal, the descent of 'Eesa ibn Maryam ('alaihi salaam) and his killing him (of the Dajjaal), the coming out of Gog and Magog, the sun rising from the west, the appearance of the Beast, and other similar events that have authentic transmission.”

Shaykhul-Islam Abu 'Abbaas ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah Most High have mercy upon him) said on this issue “'Eesa the son of Mary (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) is living - as Allah has raised him unto Himself body and soul. Allah says 'Innee mutawaffeek' [56] meaning 'to seize hold of you' (qabiduka). Likewise it is confirmed that he will descend at the white minaret in eastern Damascus and he shall kill the Dajjaal, and break the cross, and slaughter the swine, and abolish the Jizyah as a fair and just ruler. At-tuwuffi can mean al-isteefaa = fulfilling something, it can mean mawt = death, and it can mean nawm = sleep. Each one of these meanings would be indicated by the way it is used in the sentence.”

Al-Qaadi 'Ayaad in his explanation of Saheeh Muslim said “The descent of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam) and his killing the Dajjaal is true and authentic among Ahlus-Sunnah according to the saheeh hadeeth in the subject. There is no rationale nor anything in the shariah that invalidates it (this belief). Therefore, it is obligatory to affirm it's truth. This is rejected by some of the Mu'tazilah and the Jahmiyyah and those who agree with them. They claim that these ahadeeth are rejected by the words of Allah Most High "He is the seal of the Prophets” [57] and the words of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) “There will be no Prophet after me” [58] and by the consensus of the Muslims that there will be no prophet after our Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and that his law is everlasting and un-abrogated until the Day of Resurrection. These are unsound [to cite] as evidence because it is not intended by the descent of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam) that he will be a prophet with a shariah that abrogates our shariah and there is nothing in the ahadeeth to that effect. On the contrary, the hadeeth confirms that he ('Eesa) will descend as a just ruler who shall judge according to our shariah and who shall revive the matters of deen that the people had abandoned.” This quotation has been transmitted by An-Nawawi in his commentary on Muslim and he affirmed it (as being the truth).

Al-Manaawi said in his explanation of Al-Jaami' Al-Sagheer: “There is consensus on the descent of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam) as a prophet however he will be upon the shariah of our Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam).” Al-Manaawi has also said: “It is related in Al-Mutamih the consensus of the ummah on the descent of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam) and none of the people of the shariah differ on that point. It is only rejected by the philosophers and the apostates.”

Al-Safaareeni said in the explanation of his 'aqeedah: “The descent of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam) is confirmed in the Kitaab[59] and the sunnah and the consensus of the ummah and no one of the people of shariah differ on it and the only deniers of it are the philosophers and the apostates whose divergence is not considered. The consensus has been reached that he shall descend and rule according to this shariah of Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam).”

This is what has been mentioned by the scholars of Islam on the appearance of the Dajjaal and the descent of 'Eesa at the end of time. In them is a comprehensive refutation of the words of the writer that what is related in the ahadeeth and the reports concerning ‘Eesa's return or on the appearance of the Dajjaal have no relation to 'aqeedah. From what I have mentioned from the scholars it becomes clear that the writer has strayed from the 'aqeedah of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah and their consensus on the matter of the coming out of the Dajjaal and the descent of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam) and he agrees with the enemies of Islam and the Muslims including the philosophers and the heretics who deny both the appearance of the Dajjaal and the descent of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam).


Notes:

[40] Al-Bukhaari and Muslim

[41] Trial

[42] Q. An-Najm 53:4

[43] Q. Al-Hashr 59:8

[44] Q. An-Nisaa 4:65

[45] Amount of money paid to the Islamic government by Jewish and Christian subjects living under Muslim rule.

[46] Al-Bukhaari, Kitaab Al-Ilm. p. 83-84 Nos. 106 - 108.

[47] It should be noted here that Al-Khateeb does not mention belief in Allah's Measure or Pre-Ordainment and Foreknowledge [Qadar]. This, along with others of his beliefs, is consistent with those of the Qadiani sect who believe in Ghulam Ahmed as a prophet and they have thereby been categorically condemned as disbelievers by the scholars of Islam.

[48] The people of the sunnah who are in agreement that the sunnah and the way of the first generations are the sources of correct
practice and understanding of Islam.

[49] Collections of authentic hadeeth referring to the six most authentic collections of Al-Bukhaari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasaa’i, and Ibn Maajah

[50] A collection of ahaadeeth containing rulings and law and arranged accordingly, to the exclusion of hadeeth about historical matters or beliefs (although a single hadeeth may contain matters overlapping into these areas). Examples Sunan Abi Dawood and An-Nasaa’i

[51] Originally referred to hadeeth supported by a complete uninterrupted chain of authorities going back to the companion who related it from the Prophet (sallallalhu ‘alaihi wa sallam). Used for those collections of ahaadeeeth arranged according to the names of the final authorities by whom they are related irrespective of subject matter.

[52] Belief

[53] Muslim - Vol. 4, Kitaab Al-Fitan wa Asharat As-Saa'ah, p. 1517, No. 7015

[54] Collection of the hadeeth arranged according to the sahaabi who narrated it from the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa salam).

[55] Muslim- Vol. 4, p. 1503 -1504, Nos. 6931 - 6934.

[56] Q. Aali ‘Imraan 3:155

[57] Q. Al-Ahzaab 33:40

[58] At-Tirmidhi, in Al-Fitan C. 4:498 # 2219, Abu Dawud #4252, Ahmed 5/278

[59] The Qur’aan