The Essence of Islam – Volume III — Page 207
The Messiah and his Second Coming 207 clearly establishes that Jesus (peace be on him) died. Șahih Bukhārī furnishes proof on the authority of Ibn-e'Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) that, in this verse, the expression Tawaffi connotes death. It is utterly wrong to suggest that the expression Tawaffaitani, which is in the past tense, should be construed to indicate the future, that is to say, that Jesusas had not yet died but would die in the latter days. The purport of the verse is that Jesus as would submit that his people did not go astray in his lifetime but were led astray after his death. . If it is assumed that Jesus (peace be on him) is not dead, it will also have to be acknowledged that the Christians have not yet gone astray, because the verse clearly states that they went astray after the death of Jesus as. Only those who are utterly bereft of faith can deny such express authority. . Seeing that the Holy Qur'ān affirms the death of Jesus (peace be on him) and designates the Holy Prophets as the Seal of Prophets, and Ḥadīth confirms both these verities and also states that the Messiah who is to come will be one of the Muslims, the question arises as to how such a consensus could have reached that Jesus as would descend bodily from heaven in the latter days? The answer is that there never was such a consensus, and anyone who claims to the contrary must either be extremely stupid or dishonest. The companions of the Holy Prophets were in no need of looking into the details of this affair. According to the verse: 179 179 فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيتَنِي 'But when Thou didst cause me to die. '-Al-Ma'idah, 5:118 [Publisher]