Hadith: Jesus is My Successor in My Ummah After Me

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على خاتم النبيين

Those who have a literal and rigid understanding of the finality of Prophesy when faced with the problem of Jesus’s second coming [Jesus is a Prophet] contend that since Jesus was made a Prophet prior to our master Muhammad [sall Allahu alaihi wasallam] therefore his return to this world does not conflict with the finality of Prophet Muhammad’s Prophesy. However, this argument has many flaws, among them is the fact that the Prophet Muhammad [sall Allahu alaihi wasallam] himself declared that Jesus should be considered as being after him chronologically in a Hadith reported by Imam at-Tabarani:

إِنَّ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ لَيْسَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ نَبِيُّ، أَلَا ‌خَلِيفَتِي ‌فِي ‌أُمَّتِي ‌مِنْ ‌بَعْدِي

Jesus son of Mary—there is no prophet between me and him—is my successor in my Umma after me (Mu’jam al-Awsat, v.5, p.142, #4898; Mu’jam al-Saghir, v.2, p.30, #725):