The Return Of Jesus Isa سيدنا عيسى (Peace Be Upon Him)

This is the true account on the return of Jesus (pbuh).  The following is the view of the Sunni Muslims and is indeed the belief of the mainstream muslims.

The Quran States the following verses:
004.157
YUSUFALI: That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-

004.158
YUSUFALI: Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;-

004.159
YUSUFALI: And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Judgment he will be a witness against them;-

Note:  "before his death", meaning he hasn't died yet and every person only dies once in this life, "for of a surety they killed him not", therefore "Allah raised him up unto Himself" (Alive).  This is just simple and clear logic.  Then Jesus PBUH descends for his second coming (Alive as he already was).  

Imam Mahdi will know about the return of Jesus but he himself will not have the power against the Dajaal (Anti Christ) this will be reserved for the return of Jesus (pbuh).  Eventually Imam Mahdi will be in Jerusalem with a Muslim army behind him, then the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) will suddenly descend Fajr or Asr time (differences as to when exactly) on the eastern minaret of mosque, great mosque of Damascus.  The mosque did not exist in the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, at the time Damascus was not even conquered by the muslims, Romans were in rule.  He said:  The Prophet Jesus will descend and when he will bow his head it will be as if he has just taken a bath, drops of water will fall from his forehead, he will have clothing of yellowish colour and will come to the eastern minaret of the mosque in Damascus.

At present this eastern minaret in the mosque of Damascus is closed to the public.  When the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) descends, the Muslims, Christians and Jews will gather for his arrival.  When the prayer time for Salaat Asr comes, each religious group will use their call to prayer - Azaan by Muslims, Bells by Christians and the Horn by Jews.  It will be the Muslims who will be chosen, the Christians will immediately recognise Jesus (pbuh), he will come as a ummati of the Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh).  The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) will destroy the cross, kill the swine (pig) and when the Christians see this and recognise him and he will tell them the truth and they will all convert to his religion - ISLAM.

The Jews however will fight alongside with the Dajaal (Anti Christ), but after Dajaal has been killed they will then too follow Jesus (Pbuh).   Before this, Jesus (pbuh) will go to Jerusalem  in pursuit of the Dajaal as he will be told of his arrival.  He will follow him up to Lud, when he will come to Masjid Al-Aqsa - Imam Mahdi will be getting ready for prayer, after ikahmat, he will be told that the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) is here and he asks him to lead the prayer, and would want to move back himself but Jesus (pbuh) will say no the call to prayer has been given for you to lead it, so you lead it.  After prayers, Jesus (pbuh) will continue his pursuit for Dajaal, when he sees him for the first time he will try to confuse Jesus (pbuh) by telling him to get ready for prayer but he will see everything he is saying is a lie from a distant and eventually KILL him.

Another fitna that will begin which is Yajooj and Majooj, they will come from everywhere.  Jesus (pbuh) will not be given powers to deal with this directly, he will make a Dua with Muslims at Mount Toour - Allah will then send down destruction to them.  One of the mains reasons for this will be so those who would think Jesus is god himself for killing Dajaal, will see he himself is making Dua to the Lord of the worlds, Allah swt for help and success.

References:
Volume 4, Book 55, Number 657:

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (Jesus,) the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler); he will break the Cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya (i.e. taxation taken from non Muslims). Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it, and a single prostration to Allah (in prayer) will be better than the whole world and whatever is in it." Abu Huraira added "If you wish, you can recite (this verse of the Holy Book): -- 'And there is none Of the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) But must believe in him (i.e Jesus as an Apostle of Allah and a human being) Before his death. And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness Against them." (4.159) (See Fateh Al Bari, Page 302 Vol 7)

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Volume 4, Book 55, Number 658:

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said "How will you be when the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you and he will judge people by the Law of the Quran and not by the law of Gospel (Fateh-ul Bari page 304 and 305 Vol 7

Jesus, the son of Mary, peace be upon him, said, "Do not speak much without remembering God, for by doing so, you harden your hearts. Surely a hard heart is distant from God though you are unaware. Do not, like lords, look at the faults of others. Rather, like servants, look at your own faults. In truth, humanity is comprised of only two types, the afflicted and the sound. So show mercy to the afflicted, and praise God for well-being." - excerpted from Walk on Water, a forthcoming book by Hamza Yusuf

"We know that Moses and Jesus are Prophets only because our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) told us so. Had he told us otherwise,
we would have had to believe him." - Shaykh al-Yaqoubi 


RECOMMENDED READING: 

Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources (Martin Lings)