Daawa al-Nasara fi Maji al-Masih
- Author died
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- Editions
- Umm Al-Qura University Press
Daawa al-Nasara fi Maji al-Masih (The Claims of the Christians Regarding the Coming of the Messiah) is an academic research monograph on comparative religion written by Saud bin Abdul Aziz al-Khalaf, an associate professor in the Department of Aqidah at the Islamic University of Madinah . It was published in the Journal of Umm Al-Qura University for Sharia Sciences and Arabic Language in Shawwal 1422 AH / December 2001 CE .
Purpose and Scope
The study examines Christian eschatological doctrines concerning the Second Coming of Jesus, analyzing internal Christian debates, biblical proof-texts, and their theological premises from an Islamic critical perspective . The author notes that early Christian communities—including figures like Paul—initially expected Jesus to return during their own lifetimes to relieve their persecution . Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire and the cessation of persecution, major churches shifted toward viewing his coming strictly as an event for the Day of Judgment, whereas other denominations maintained that he would return to establish a literal thousand-year earthly kingdom prior to the final judgment .
Structure and Content
The work is organized into an introduction, two main chapters, and a conclusion :
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Chapter One: Christian Claims Regarding the Coming of the Messiah (Daawa al-Nasara fi Maji al-Masih):
- Introduction: Outlines the textual proofs used by Christians for his return .
- Section One: Analyzes the early Christian belief in an imminent return shortly after Jesus's ascension .
- Section Two: Details the premillennialist claim that Jesus will return before the Day of Resurrection to establish an earthly rule lasting one thousand years, including the manner of his arrival, the accompanying signs, and the events following the millennium (such as the defeat of the Antichrist, Gog and Magog, and Satan) .
- Section Three: Examines the stance of Christian groups holding that his return is exclusively for the Day of Resurrection and accountability without establishing an earthly realm, discussing both agreed-upon and disputed signs .
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Chapter Two: Refutation of Christian Claims Regarding the Coming (al-Radd ala al-Nasara fi Daawa al-Maji):
- Section One: Challenges the general validity of Christian scriptures, addressing Jewish and Christian questioning of the sanctity of the Old Testament and the anonymity of New Testament authorship acknowledged by biblical scholars .
- Section Two: Critiques the specific scriptural citations in both transmission (sanad) and text (matn), focusing on the Book of Daniel, the Epistles of Paul, and the Book of Revelation .
Key Conclusions
The monograph concludes with several primary findings:
- Although both Christians and Muslims affirm the ascension and future descent of Jesus, their core doctrines diverge fundamentally: Muslims hold that he ascended as a prophet and will descend as a prophet, whereas Christians claim he ascended as God and will return as God .
- Christian views shifted chronologically from expecting an immediate return in early church history to projecting it into the end times in later eras .
- Christians remain divided over the nature of his reign—whether it is an earthly thousand-year rule or a heavenly post-resurrection kingdom, and whether textual descriptions represent literal historical entities or symbolic allegories .
- The scriptural sources relied upon by Christian groups lack authenticated transmission, and their interpretations rely on obscure symbolism subject to subjective speculation rather than definitive evidence .
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