The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 169
6. THE MESSIAH AND HIS. SECOND COMING. I solemnly believe that Jesus (peace be upon him) is dead and is in the company of the departed ones. And why should I not believe this, when God Almighty has declared him dead in His Mighty Book, the Holy Qur'ān. . There is no mention anywhere in the Qur'an of his extraordinarily long life or of his second advent. Rather the. Holy Qur'ān declares him to be dead and says nothing more. I consider it an utterly false and vain notion that he is alive in his physical body and will appear in this world a second time. I believe this, not only on the basis of the revelations vouchsafed to me, but also because I know that it is opposed to the clear, conclusive and certain testimony of the Holy Qur'ān. [Āsmānī Faişlah, Rūḥānī Khazā'in, vol. 4, p. 315]. Popular Beliefs about the Ascension. It is clear that Christians and the bulk of Muslims entertain the belief that Jesus (peace be upon him) ascended bodily to heaven. Both imagine that he is physically alive in heaven and will descend upon the earth sometime in the latter days. But there is one difference between the two doctrines. Christians believe that Jesus as died on the cross, came back to life, then ascended bodily to heaven and took his seat on the right hand of his Father and will descend to the earth to judge mankind in the latter days. . They allege that Jesus is the God, the Creator and Master of the world, and that he will descend in glory at the end