What is the refutation to the specious argument of one who denies the descent of Jesus, peace be upon him, citing Allah’s saying: "And [mention] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah'?" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within my soul, and I do not know what is within Your Soul. Indeed, You are the Knower of the unseen. I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me, You were the Observer over them, and You are over all things a Witness" (Quran 5:116-117), and citing the Hadith of the Hawd (Basin), and that Jesus would not know what the Christians innovated after him, so if he were to return, he would not be surprised by their worship of him?
In the noble verses, Allah Almighty's question to Jesus (peace be upon him) was: "Did you tell them to worship you and your mother?" and not about the occurrence of polytheism (shirk) among his nation. Exegetes (mufassirun) differed on the timing of this question: did it happen in this world after his ascension, or will it happen on the Day of Resurrection? Al-Tabari favored that it occurred at the time of his ascension, based on the linguistic implication of "idh" (when) in Arabic and on the fact that prophets do not doubt the unforgivability of shirk. As for the word "tawaffaytani" (You took me up) in the verse, the majority of exegetes believe it means ascension to heaven, not death. Al-Kashmiri mentioned that the descent of Jesus (peace be upon him) at the End of Time is agreed upon by scholars and is established by the Quran, Sunnah, and the consensus of the Ummah.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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