Nine Ahadith Used to Prove Jesus is Alive REFUTED

In a recent entry I discussed the Hadith attributed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ wherein he allegedly stated to the Jews that the Messiah Jesus son of Mary did not die but would return to them before Judgment Day. The Hadith is weak due to being Maqtu, as the narrator between Hasan al-Basri^RA and the Prophet ﷺ is missing. That Hadith is usually repeated by those who wish to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is alive. In this entry I shall examine nine additional Ahadith which are cited to that effect:

Hadith 1

عن ابن عباس قال … وإن الله رفعه بجسده، وانه حي الآن، وسيرجع إلى الدنيا فيكون فيها ملكاً، ثم يموت كما يموت الناس

Narrated from Ibn Abbas, he said: “…and verily Allah raised him [Eisa ibn Maryam] with his body while he was alive and he will soon return to this world and will be a ruler therein. Then he will die as other people die.” (Ibn S’ad’ Tabaqat Al-Kubra 1/53)

Answer:

The sanad of this Hadith Mawquf (*Note it is an alleged saying of a Sahabi and not a Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ) is as follows:

أخبرنا هشام بن محمد بن السائب عن أبيه عن أبي صالح عن بن عباس

This Sanad contains the narrator Muhammad b. Saa'ib al-Kalbi, a known fabricator. Imam al-Dhahabi has clarified this in his Mizan al-I’tidal:

أما الكلبي : فهو محمد بن السائب الكلبي ، أبو النضر الكوفى المفسر ، وهو وضاع مشهور

قال سفيان : قال لى الكلبي : كل ما حدثتك عن أبي صالح فهو كذب .

وقال أحمد بن زهير: قلت لأحمد بن حنبل: يحل النظر في تفسير الكلبى ؟ قال: لا

وقال ابن حبان: مذهبه في الدين ووضوح الكذب فيه أظهر من أن يحتاج إلى الإغراق في وصفه ، يروى عن أبي صالح عن ابن عباس التفسير ، وأبو صالح لم ير ابن عباس ، ولا سمع الكلبى من أبي صالح إلا الحرف بعد الحرف ، لا يحل ذكره في الكتب، فكيف الاحتجاج به

"ميزان الاعتدال" (3 /557-559)

Hadith 2

عن صفية أم المؤمنين رضي الله عنها أنها كانت إذا زارت بيت المقدس ، وفرغت من الصلاة في المسجد الأقصى صعدت على جبل زيتا فصلت عليه وقالت : هذا الجبل هو الذي رفع منه عيسى عليه السلام إلى السماء

It is narrated from Ummul Momineen Safiya, may Allah be pleased with her, that when she visited Bait Al-Maqdis (i.e. Jerusalem) and finished prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque she climbed up to Mt. Olives and prayed there as well and said: ‘This is the mountain from where ‘Eisa, may Allah bless him, was raised up to the Heavens.’ (Al-Tasrih bima Tawatar fi Nuzul Al-Masih Hadith 74 cf. Tafsir Fath Al-Aziz Surah 95)

Answer:

Note this is another Hadith Mawquf attributed allegedly to a Sahabiya and not the Prophet ﷺ himself. Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Delhawi mentioned this narration in his Tafsir for Surat at-Tin but did not bring a sanad for it. So it is rejected as being a baseless report without even a Sanad!

Hadith 3

عن ابن عباس { إن تعذبهم فإنهم عبادك } يقول : عبيدك قد استوجبوا العذاب بمقالتهم { وإن تغفر لهم } أي من تركت منهم ومد في عمره حتى أهبط من السماء إلى الأرض يقتل الدجال ، فنزلوا عن مقالتهم ووحدوك

About the verse, ‘If you punish them they are your servants’ Ibn Abbas  said, he [‘Eisa] will say: ‘These slaves of yours have invited your chastisement by what they said [and believed]’. ‘And if you forgive them’ i.e. ‘those whom I left behind me and those who were there when I came down from the Heavens to Earth to kill al-Dajjal and they turned back from what they said [i.e. Trinity] and believed in your Oneness…’ (Durr Manthur 4/27 Under Surah 5 Ayah 118)

Answer:

Yet another Hadith Mawquf attributed to Ibn Abbas^RA but even so it is baseless as it doesn’t have a complete Sanad. Imam Suyuti^RA narrated it thus: 

وأخرج أبو الشيخ عن ابن عباس { إن تعذبهم فإنهم عبادك } يقول: عبيدك قد استوجبوا العذاب بمقالتهم { وإن تغفر لهم } أي من تركت منهم ومد في عمره حتى أهبط من السماء إلى الأرض يقتل الدجال، فنزلوا عن مقالتهم ووحدوك، وأقروا إنا عبيد { وإن تغفر لهم } حيث رجعوا عن مقالتهم { فإنك أنت العزيز الحكيم }

As the reader can see, the narration is Maqtu as the chain between Abul Shaykh al-Isfahani and Ibn Abbas is missing.

Hadith 4 

حدثنا الأستاذ أبو الوليد الهيثم بن خلف الدوري ، ثنا سوار بن عبد الله العنبري ، ثنا المعتمر قال : قال أبي : حدثنا الحريث بن مخشي ، أن عليا قتل صبيحة إحدى وعشرين من رمضان ، قال : فسمعت الحسن بن علي يقول ، وهو يخطب وذكر مناقب علي ، فقال : « قتل ليلة أنزل القرآن ، وليلة أسري  بعيسى ، وليلة قبض موسى »

Abu Al-Waleed Al-Haitham narrated from Sawar bin ‘Abdullah Al-Anbari; he said, Mu’tamar narrated to us; he said: ‘My father said’; Harith bin Makhshi narrated: ‘Ali (RA) was murdered the morning of 21st Ramadan. He said; I heard Hassan bin ‘Ali (RA) speaking. He was making an address and talking of the virtues of ‘Ali (RA); he said: ‘He has been killed the night Qur’an was revealed, the night ‘Eisa (AS) was moved and the night Musa (AS) died.’ (Mustadrak Hakim, Hadith 4671. Hakim said it is Sahih).

Answer:

Another Hadith Mawquf allegedly attributed to Imam al-Hassan^AS. This sanad contains the narrator al-Huraith b. Makhshi He is Majhul (unknown), no one authenticated him. Imam Muqbil رحمه الله brought this out in his checking of the Mustadrak:

There is another version of this narration with different wording which mentions that the Ruh (spirit) of Jesus was raised on the same night Amir-al-Mu’minin Ali b. Abi TalibAS was martyred. That narration is authentic and actually proves the death of Jesus of Nazareth, rather than the mythological belief in his physical/bodily ascension into Heaven without having died.

Hadith 5

قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ يَنْزِلُ أَخِي عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ عَلَى جَبَلِ أَفِيقٍ , إِمَامًا هَادِيًا وَحَكَمًا عَادِلا

Ibn Abbas narrated: the Messenger of Allah, on whom be the blessings of Allah, said: ‘And near it (Bait al-Maqdis) will descend from the Heavens my brother ‘Eisa ibn Maryam upon the Mount Afiq, as an Imam, Guide and Just Ruler.’ (Kanzul Ummal 14/619 Hadith 39726)

Answer:

The primary source of this Hadith is Tarikh Dimashq of Ibn Asakir and it is weak. Furthermore, this Hadith actually contradicts the more authentic narration which states that Jesus will descend near the White Minaret in the east of Damascus. Afiq is an area west of Damascus in al-Quneitra governorate of Syria:

Hadith 6

عن أبي سلمة بن عبد الرحمن قال: اقتحم الناس على النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، في بيت عائشة ينظرون إليه فقالوا: كيف يموت وهو شهيد علينا ونحن شهداء على الناس؟ … لا والله ما مات ولكنه رفع كما رفع عيسى بن مريم، صلى الله عليه وسلم

Narrated Abu Salamah bin ‘Abd al-Rahman: The people rushed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him, in the apartment of ‘Aisha to look at him. They said: “How can he die since he is a witness to us and we are witnesses to other people? … No! by Allah! He has not died; but he has been raised as ‘Eisa ibn Maryam was made to ascend.” (Tabaqat al-Kubra 2/271).

Answer:

The sanad of this Hadith contains the narrator Muhammad b. Umar al-Waqidi, he is severely weak. Hypothetically, if this Hadith were authentic it would still not prove that Jesus of Nazareth was raised to Heaven in his corporal body, since the people allegedly said, while looking at the lifeless body of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ before them that he had ascended like how Jesus of Nazareth had ascended, therefore, they necessarily had to be speaking of a spiritual ascension and not a bodily one.

Hadith 7

Al-Tabari and Ibn Abi Hatim quote hadeeth, notice word يأتي (future tense): “When a delegation of sixty men from (the Christian) people of Najran came to the Holy Prophet, their chief priest discussed with him the status of Jesus and asked him as to who Jesus’ father was. The Holy Prophet said…:

ألستم تعلمون أن ربَّنا حيّ لا يموت، وأنّ عيسى يأتي عليه الفناء؟

“Do you not know that Our Lord (Allah) is ever living but death will come to Jesus?” (Tafsir Al-Tabari 6/154 Narration. 6544, Ibn Abi Hatim 9/408. Both have brought it under verse 1 of Surah 3)

Answer:

This Hadith from Ibn Abi Hatim is weak as its Sanad contains Ahmad b. Abdir Rahman and the one from Tabari contains Muthanna b. Ibrahim who is Majhul.

Hadith 8

عن ابن عباس قال: لما أراد الله أن يرفع عيسى إلى السماء خرج على أصحابه ورفع عيسى من رَوْزَنَة في البيت إلى السماء

Ibn Abbas said, “When Allah intended to raise ‘Eisa to the heavens, he went to his companions…and ‘Eisa ascended to the Heavens through an opening in the top of the house.” (Ibn Abi Hatim 4/431 Hadith 6266, Ibn Kathir 2/449. Ibn Kathir graded it Sahih)

Answer:

The following is the Sanad of this Hadith Mawquf (it is not a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ):

قال ابن أبي حاتم : حدثنا أحمد بن سنان ، حدثنا أبو معاوية ، عن الأعمش ، عن المنهال بن عمرو ، عن سعيد بن جبير ، عن ابن عباس قال : لما أراد الله أن يرفع عيسى إلى السماء ، خرج على أصحابه

The Sanad contains al-'Amash who is Mudallis narrating 'an'an from al-Minhal b. Amru, therefore the narration is weak.

Hadith 9

وَعَنْ أَبِي أُسَامَةَ قَالَ قَالَ هِشَامُ بْنُ عُرْوَةَ فَأَخْبَرَنِي أَبِي قَالَ لَمَّا قُتِلَ الَّذِينَ بِبِئْرِ مَعُونَةَ وَأُسِرَ عَمْرُو بْنُ أُمَيَّةَ الضَّمْرِيُّ قَالَ لَهُ عَامِرُ بْنُ الطُّفَيْلِ مَنْ هَذَا فَأَشَارَ إِلَى قَتِيلٍ، فَقَالَ لَهُ عَمْرُو بْنُ أُمَيَّةَ هَذَا عَامِرُ بْنُ فُهَيْرَةَ‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَقَدْ رَأَيْتُهُ بَعْدَ مَا قُتِلَ رُفِعَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ حَتَّى إِنِّي لأَنْظُرُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الأَرْضِ، ثُمَّ وُضِعَ

Urwa b. az-Zubair said: "When those (Muslims) at Bir Ma'una were martyred and `Amr bin Umaiya Ad-Damri was taken prisoner, 'Amir bin at-Tufail, pointing at a killed person, asked `Amr, "Who is this?" `Amr bin Umaiya said to him, "He is 'Amir bin Fuhaira." 'Amir bin at-Tufail said, "I saw him lifted to the sky after he was killed till I saw the sky between him and the earth, and then he was brought down upon the earth." (Bukhari)

 

Answer:

 

This Hadith reported in Sahih al-Bukhari is not concerning the alleged physical/corporal ascension of Jesus into Heaven alive without dying. Furthermore, this narration is weak as it is Mursal, we do not know through whom this information was conveyed to Urwa b. az-Zubair^RA.

In conclusion, there isn’t a single authentic Hadith established from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ which states that Jesus of Nazareth is alive or was physically raised in his corporal body to Heaven without having died. And Allah knows best.