JESUS
(pbuh) DID NOT DIE
Introduction
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Qur'an and the hadith contain many signs indicating that the period
of the End Times is approaching. Some of these signs are clearly
revealed in those two sources, while others are referred to in a
more indirect manner. This is part of God's testing of humanity.
The great Islamic scholar Bediuzzaman Said Nursi
stressed this fact while explaining the signs of the End Times:
Religion is a test, an experience
that separates the superior from the inferior. Therefore, an event
that will be seen by everyone in the future will be debated in
such a way that it will neither be completely obscure, nor so
evident that it will inevitably be accepted by everyone. It will
open the door to reason, but it will not do away with the possibility
of choice. That is because if a sign of the Day of Judgment is
seen in such a completely evident form that everyone is obliged
to accept it, then a person with a coal-like predisposition will
remain alongside a person with a diamond-like predisposition.
As a result, the secret of God's charging humanity to act in compliance
with His commands and prohibitions and the consequences of the
test are lost.1
Thus, one characteristic of the End Times' signs
may be that not everyone who sees them can immediately understand
and interpret them. The fact that some of these signs have been
described in an oblique manner may cause some people to have doubts.
Yet these doubts are completely unfounded, for when such signs are
analyzed with a clear and open mind, they can be understood. Moreover,
commentaries by great Islamic scholars are valuable guides for believers.
People with true faith and the requisite fear of
and respect for God also have, as a blessing from our Lord, a deep
understanding and comprehension. Thanks to this, they can accurately
identify what is wrong and also understand, to the extent that God
wills, that wisdom is often expressed in oblique terms. Such people
will never feel any doubt about what our Lord reveals and what our
Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) has reported. They
will evaluate the relevant hadith and Qur'anic verses through the
eyes of faith, and will seek to understand the information contained
within them. Rejecting wisdom-containing information just because
one cannot understand it is unsuitable behavior for Muslims. Therefore,
Muslims need to pray to our Lord in order to understand any wisdom
that is unclear to them, remember that the End Times will be a most
miraculous period, and prepare themselves for it in the most appropriate
manner.
Muslims' Love of Jesus (pbuh)
As revealed in "The Prophet
is closer to the believers than their own selves." (Qur'an,
33:6), Muslims who have true faith also have a very deep, sincere,
and powerful love of and respect for our Prophet (may God bless
him and grant him peace), the last prophet sent by God to humanity.
Our Lord revealed the Qur'an to him and sent him as a messenger
to lead humanity to salvation. The Prophet (may God bless him and
grant him peace) is a chosen and honorable believer in God's sight.
Even though we have never seen our Prophet (may
God bless him and grant him peace), we can come to know his pleasing
attitudes, words, and superior moral values from the Qur'an and
the hadith, and we can do all in our power to take him as our friend
in the Hereafter. The Qur'an reveals that he is the finest role
model for all believers:
You have an excellent model in
the messenger of God, for all who put their hope in God and the
Last Day, and remember God much. (Qur'an, 33:21)
One of the Muslims' main characteristics is that
they make no distinctions in their love of and respect for all of
God's prophets and obey them all from the heart: ".
We believe in God and what has been sent down to us; what was sent
down to Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, and Jacob and the tribes; and
what Moses, Jesus, and all the prophets were given by their Lord.
We do not differentiate between any of them. We are Muslims, submitted
to Him" (Qur'an, 3:84). Muslims know that all of God's prophets
are chosen, honorable, and respected individuals in His sight. God
created all of His messengers with superior moral values and perfect
behavior so that they could serve as role models for humanity. The
prophets are His beloved servants. Many verses reveal that those
who obey the prophets are actually obeying God, and that those who
comply with God's prophets will be rewarded in this world and in
the Hereafter. This devotion and obedience is shaped within that
awareness.

Say: "We believe in God and what has been sent down
to us; what was sent down to Abraham and Ishmael, Isaac
and Jacob, and the Tribes; what Moses and Jesus were given;
and what all the Prophets were given by their Lord. We
do not differentiate among any of them We are Muslims
submitted to Him." If their faith is the same as
yours, then they are quided. But if they turn away, they
are entrenched in hostility. God will be enough for you
against them. He is the All-Hearing the All-Knowing. (Qur'an,
2:136-137)
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Beginning with the Companions of our Prophet (may
God bless him and grant him peace), it is a great source of honor
for all believers who were the prophets' contemporaries to be with
these blessed people. Being with the prophets, who set an example
for all people with their deep faith in God, superior moral values,
sharp intellects, and determination and courage is one of the most
valuable blessings in this world. Those who sincerely obeyed Abraham
(pbuh); who had faith in Joseph (pbuh); who fought against Pharaoh
alongside Moses (pbuh); and who followed such great individuals
as Noah (pbuh), Solomon (pbuh), Salih (pbuh), Jacob (pbuh), and
David (pbuh) have all received, by God's will, their rewards in
the Hereafter. Those believers who have never seen one of the prophets
can still pray to be counted among their friends in the Hereafter
and to live with them in Paradise for all eternity.

His name is the Messiah is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary,
of high esteem in this world and the Hereafter, and one
of those brought near. (Qur'an, 3:45) |
The End Times is a very blessed period, one of
glad tidings for all believers who love and obey the prophets, for
God has revealed that after a gap of 2,000 years, He will send Jesus
(pbuh) back to Earth. This very important news is revealed both
in the Qur'an and the hadith. All Muslims who feel a deep devotion
to and love for the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace)
also love, respect, and honor Jesus (pbuh). In a hadith reported
by Abu Hurayrah, our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace)
said:
The prophets are brothers of
different mothers, but their religion is one. Of all men, I am
the most deserving to be the brother of Jesus son of Mary, for
there was no prophet between me and him.2
As stated by our Prophet (may God bless him and
grant him peace), all of God's prophets communicated the same religious
moral values to their societies. All of God's messengers called
upon the people among whom they lived to believe only in God, serve
Him, and live the kind of life that meets with His approval. In
addition, they showed their people how to avoid Hell's eternal suffering.
In other words, they relayed the same religion to their people.
God states that the religion He revealed to His prophets and which
they spread among their peoples is one and the same:
He
has laid down the same religion for you as He enjoined on Noah.
That which We have revealed to you and which We enjoined upon Abraham,
Moses, and Jesus: "Establish the religion,
and do not make divisions in it." (Qur'an, 42:13)
Therefore, when he returns, Jesus (pbuh) will call
people to this same divine religion: Islam. Indeed, the Qur'an reveals
that Islam is the only religion of which God approves: "The
religion with God is Islam" (Qur'an, 3:19). When Jesus (pbuh)
returns to Earth, he will cleanse Christianity of its corrupted
elements, rule the people according to the Qur'an (the last divine
text), and bring all people together in Islamic moral values.
Muslims will be this great prophet's sincerest
supporters and defenders, for they have a deep love for him, just
as they do for all of God's prophets. Given that Jesus (pbuh) is
one of God's chosen servants, and because they take only God, His
prophets, and true believers as their friends, all Muslims feel
a deep respect for Jesus (pbuh). The source of this deep love and
devotion is a result of their love and fear of, and respect for
God, as well as their obedience to Prophet Muhammad (may God bless
him and grant him peace).
Our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) Gave Muslims
the Glad Tidings
That They Will Be Jesus' (pbuh) Helpers
The Qur'an, the hadith, and the works of great
Islamic scholars reveal that Jesus (pbuh) was raised to God's presence
and will return to Earth. His second coming is widely described
in al-Hafiz ibn al-Dayba' al-Shaybani's Taysir al-Usul ila Jami`
al-Usul, and such esteemed hadith collections as Imam Malik's
Al-Muwatta', the Sahihs of Ibn Khuzayma and Ibn
Hibban, and the Musnads of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Abu Dawud
al-Tayalisi. Some of these hadith are as follows:
By Him in Whose Hands my soul
is, the son of Mary (Jesus [pbuh]) will shortly descend among
you people as a just ruler.3
Jesus (pbuh), son of Mary, will
definitely descend as a just judge and a just ruler.4
Some members of my community
will be reunited with Jesus (pbuh), son of Mary, and will witness
his war against the Antichrist.5

Islamic scholars consider this
miraculous event to be tawatur (unanimously agreed upon), and the
relevant hadith are considered to be of indisputable veracity. All
hadith scholars agree that those who transmitted these hadith are
completely reliable, are not to be doubted, and that no completely
reliable hadith is to be questioned.6 In due
course, we shall examine, with detailed examples, the great Islamic
and hadith scholars' opinions that "there is no doubt about the
return of Jesus (pbuh)." However, we now need to briefly mention
what the Hanafi legal school says about this event, as its founder,
Imam Abu Hanifa, heads the list of those who discuss it. In the
final chapter of his book Al-Fiqh al-Akbar, Abu Hanifa
states:
The emergence of the Antichrist
and of Gog and Magog is a reality; the rising of the Sun in the
west is a reality; the descent of Jesus, upon whom be peace, from
the heavens is a reality; and all of the other signs of the Day
of Resurrection, as contained in the authentic traditions, are
established realities.7

Jesus, the son of Mary, will soon descend among you as
a just judge. (Sahih Muslim)
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In his hadith, our Prophet (may God bless him and
grant him peace) informed us of such matters as Jesus' (pbuh) descent,
his struggle, and what the world will be like at that time. Each
of these reports is good news for all Muslims. For example, Prophet
Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace) said that when
Jesus (pbuh) returns to Earth, Muslims will enjoy the honor of being
his valuable helpers:
I swear to God, Who sent me as
a true prophet, that of course Jesus (pbuh), son of Mary, will
find in my community people to replace his disciples [when he
returns close to the period of the End Times].8
Of course, being his helpers is both a very good
piece of news and a major responsibility for true believers. All
believers will sincerely wish to achieve such an honorable position.
At a time when the signs of the second coming are
becoming clear, we need to think about the importance of the Prophet's
(may God bless him and grant him peace) words. The fact that some
people behave almost as if Jesus (pbuh) will not return, a grave
mistake, must not be allowed to deceive others or lead them to make
concessions on the subject. On the contrary, Muslims who realize
that this event is a manifest truth revealed by the Qur'an and the
hadith must experience the excitement of this extraordinary situation
and make great efforts to welcome this blessed guest with the appropriate
amount of love and enthusiasm. There is no time to waste on groundless
doubts and apprehensions. Believers must prepare both themselves
and those around them for this miraculous event and use the opportunities
afforded by living in such a time to gain God's good approval.
When Jesus (pbuh) returns in the End Times, he
may ask: "Who are my helpers?" Those who aspire to be among
his helpers must use this valuable period in which we are living
to renounce and, from that point on, abandon all behavior and immorality
that might be a source of shame when Jesus (pbuh) returns. The most
important attitude to be avoided, and which might constitute the
greatest source of shame, is a lack of enthusiasm in this area.
Given this reality, believers should constantly raise the issue
of what an extraordinary event the second coming will be. Explaining
the proofs that Jesus (pbuh) was raised alive to God's presence
and will return, along with describing all aspects of this event's
signs, will enable those who are still unconvinced to overcome their
doubts. Moreover, constantly raising this issue will make it impossible
for people to claim later on: "But we did not know. If we had known,
we surely would have made the most suitable preparations." Thus,
believers should use all available means to join together in order
to prepare for this event.
True Followers of Jesus
The essence of the divine religion brought by Jesus
(pbuh) 2,000 years ago has been corrupted. As the Qur'an reveals,
such distorted beliefs as the Trinity and the deification of Jesus
(pbuh) (God is surely beyond that) became part of Christianity after
the time of Jesus (pbuh) himself. When he returns, his first action
will be to cleanse Christianity of these distorted beliefs, for
only he can do this. He will tell the Christian world, which is
awaiting his coming, of Islam's moral values and direct Christianity
in the direction of the true, divine religion. Those who follow
him will be true Christians.
The great Islamic scholar Bediuzzaman Said Nursi,
the renovator (mujaddid) of the thirteenth Islamic century, describes
these true Christians with considerable wisdom. When we look at
his words closely, we see that true Christians are those who abide
by the moral values of the Qur'an and the Sunnah and who obey Jesus
(pbuh). True Christians will be sincere Muslims and those Christians
who reject the distortions and superstitious beliefs that have entered
their religion and turn toward Islamic moral values. Muslims and
Christians, who will have been freed from their superstitious beliefs,
will then establish a great alliance (by means of Jesus [pbuh])
that will cause all systems and practices that oppose religious
moral values to collapse.
Some of the Bediuzzaman's statements on this subject
are as follows:
"At the end of time, Jesus (pbuh)
will come and act in accordance with the Sunnah of Muhammad (may
God bless him and grant him peace)," indicates that at that time,
Christianity will be purified and divest itself of superstition
in the face of the current of unbelief and atheism born of naturalist
philosophy, and that it will then be transformed into Islam. At
this point, the collective personality of Christianity will kill
the fearsome collective personality of irreligion with the sword
of heavenly revelation; so too, representing the collective personality
of Christianity, Jesus (pbuh) will kill the Antichrist, who represents
the collective personality of irreligion. In other words, he will
kill atheistic thought.9
"... in the face of the current of unbelief
and atheism born of naturalist philosophy": Bediuzzaman reveals
that Jesus (pbuh) will lead a great struggle against the irreligious
movements created by Darwinism and those who deny God's existence.

They are not all the same. There is a community among the
People of the Book who are upright. They recite God's
signs throughout the night' and they prostrate. (Qur'an,
3:113)
They believe in God and
the Last Day, enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, and
compete in doing good. They are among the righteous. (Qur'an,
3:114)
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"... Christianity will be purified and divest itself of superstition
. and that it will then be transformed into Islam": Here,
Bediuzzaman interprets the hadith that says that when Jesus (pbuh)
returns in the End Times, he will abide by Islam's law and rules.
His struggle will begin by cleansing Christianity from all of
the myths and false beliefs that have entered into it over the
centuries, and thereby return it to Islam.
Following the Qur'an, the collective
personality of Christianity will be in the rank of follower, and
Islam, in that of leader. True religion will become a mighty force
as a result of this joining. Although defeated by the atheistic
current while separate, Christianity and Islam will defeat and
rout atheism as a result of their union. Then the person of Jesus
(pbuh), who is present with his human body in the world of the
heavens, will come to lead the current of true religion, as, relying
on the promise of the One Powerful Over All Things, the Bringer
of Sure News [Prophet Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him
peace)] has said. Since he has said it, it is true, and since
the One Powerful Over All Things has promised it, He will certainly
bring it about.10
"Following the Qur'an, the collective personality
of Christianity will be in the rank of follower, and Islam, in that
of leader": Christianity's transformation, beginning with Jesus
(pbuh), will conclude with all Christians adhering to the Qur'an,
as required by the final book of revelation. Both Jesus (pbuh) and
Christianity as a whole will adhere to Islam.
"Although defeated by the atheistic current
while separate, Christianity and Islam will defeat and rout atheism
as a result of their union": A great power will form when Christians,
under Jesus' (pbuh) leadership, adhere to the Qur'an, because the
world's two largest monotheistic religions are two huge powers in
terms of politics, economics, and spirituality. After their unification,
they will have enough power to destroy all forms of irreligion.
Materialist philosophy, which distances people from their true purpose
in life and forces them into selfishness, lovelessness, and aggressiveness,
will be eradicated, along with all forms of irreligion.
"Then the person of Jesus (pbuh), who is present
with his human body in the world of the heavens, will come to lead
the current of true religion.": This alliance, when combined
with the Christians' acceptance of the Qur'an, will achieve a global
majority status and move as one body led by Jesus (pbuh). Bediuzzaman
reminds us that Jesus' (pbuh) leading of the true religion is based
upon the hadith and stresses that, as a result, this news is true
knowledge.
Jesus (pbuh) Will Protect Believers from the Antichrist

Who would deliberately renounce the religion of Abraham
except someone who reveals himself to be a fool? We chose
him in this world, and in the Hereafter he will be one of
the righteous when his Lord said to him: ‘Become a Muslim,
"he replied: "I am a Muslim who has submitted
to the Lord of all the worlds." (Qur'an, 2:130-31)
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The concept of the Antichrist, which means "liar
and cheat; the one who confuses good and bad, as well as truth and
superstition in the people's hearts and minds; who gilds the surface
of things and conceals their true nature; the evil and inauspicious
one who travels to all places," is described as a person who will
appear in the End Times and who will be the source and representative
of all evil and strife. However, the Antichrist may not actually
be a human being; rather, this person may be a system or an ideology
that represents a way of thinking or practice that is against religious
moral values. Many hadith contain a great deal of information about
the Antichrist, and several verses refer to the Antichrist's morality
and system. This individual's emergence is reported as being one
of the End Times' major signs:
Abu Hurayra narrated: "There
are three things that, when they are manifested, will be of no
benefit to the faith of a person who did not have faith before:
the Antichrist, the Beast, and the Sun rising in the west."11
Abu Hanifa said this about the hadith that refer
to the Antichrist and other signs:
The emergence of the Antichrist
and of Gog and Magog is a reality; the rising of the Sun in the
west is a reality; the descent of Jesus (pbuh) from the heavens
is a reality; and all the other signs of the Day of Resurrection,
as contained in authentic traditions, are established realities.12
O you who believe. Be helpers of
God, just as Jesus son of Mary asked the Disciples: "Who
will be my helpers of God?." The Disciples said: "We
will be the helpers of God." One faction of the Children
of Israel believed, and the other disbelieved. So We supported
those who believed against their enemy, and they became victorious.
(Qur'an, 61:14)
"Jarusalem" by Nathaniel Everett
Green, London
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In addition to the signs of the Antichrist's coming, the hadith also
reveal his characteristics in considerable detail: The Antichrist
will cause people to turn away from the true path, portray good as
evil and evil as good, deceive those who follow him with so-called
blessings, oppress those who fail to obey him, wreak confusion upon
the world, encourage conflict, oppose religious moral values, and
seek to turn people away from those values. The Antichrist's time
on Earth will be one when true believers experience many troubles
and difficulties, and when most people turn away from religious moral
values.
The Antichrist's emergence will have a profound
effect on the whole world, and will be the source of developments
that will inflict many catastrophes and troubles upon humanity.
Since his main target will be religious moral values and true believers,
the period in question may be a particularly difficult one for the
believers. In addition, many people will believe in his deceptions
and follow him. Such an environment will have to be opposed by all
people of good conscience and believers. In addition, they will
have to wage a powerful intellectual struggle against this environment,
one in which, by God's will, they will be victorious. However, the
Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) revealed that this
individual's wickedness will be on a scale never before seen in
history, and warned believers to avoid it:
I tell you these things so that
you may understand the situation and not fall into his snare,
and so that you may tell those who come after, because his wickedness
is the worst wickedness of all.13
This advice, as well as his prayer for shelter
in God from the strife caused by the Antichrist, is a guide for
Muslims. Muslims from different sects and races ask God during their
five daily prayers to protect them from the Antichrist's evil. As
the hadith reveal, the prayer that our beloved Prophet (may God
bless him and grant him peace) taught to believers is as follows:
Our Prophet (may God bless him
and grant him peace) stated that: "When one of you finishes his
prayer, let him seek God's protection from four things by saying:
Oh God, I seek your protection from the suffering of Hell, the
agony of the tomb, the wickedness of life and death, and the wickedness
of the Antichrist."14

Do those who plot evil actions feel secure that God
will not cause Earth to swallow them up or that a punishment
will not come upon them from where they least expect? (Qur'an
16:45)
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The fact that the Prophet (may God bless him and
grant him peace) taught this prayer to his followers in person and
recommended that they say it during the daily prayers shows how
important the question of the Antichrist is for believers. We know
that after their daily prayers, Islamic scholars also added the
words Allahumma ajirni min fitna al-Masih al-Dajjal wa al-Sufyan
(O God, protect me from the wickedness of the Antichrist and the
Sufyan). Aware of the immense scale of the Antichrist's evil, Muslims
seek God's protection with this prayer in their own daily prayers.
This shows that Muslims are spiritually prepared for the Antichrist.
However, the most important preparation to be taken against the
Antichrist is exactly the one that must be taken to prepare for
Jesus' (pbuh) coming.
In one respect, the second coming will manifest
the fact that this prayer has been heard. This is because the hadith
reveal that the Antichrist's wickedness can only be done away with
by Jesus' (pbuh) return to Earth, and that when the Antichrist sees
Jesus (pbuh), "he will dissolve like salt in water." Some of the
hadith reveal how Jesus (pbuh) will eliminate the Antichrist, as
follows:
As the Antichrist spreads evil
through the world, God will send the Messiah, Jesus (pbuh), son
of Mary . Jesus (pbuh) will meet the Antichrist at the gate of
Ludd [near Jerusalem] and kill him. 15

Any blessing you have is from God. Then when harm touches
you, it is to Him you cry for help. (Qur'an, 16:53)
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When God's enemy [the Antichrist]
sees him, he will dissolve like salt in water. Although he would
dissolve until he has been completely destroyed, even if left on
his own, God will still destroy the Antichrist by the hand of Jesus
(pbuh). 16
Jesus (pbuh) will soon return,
and will then destroy the Antichrist, the malicious, the inauspicious
one. 17
Therefore, it is a matter of the greatest importance
that all believers and those who wish to be protected from the Antichrist's
evil should fully support Jesus (pbuh) and strive to prepare the
best possible environment before he actually returns.
On the one hand, Muslims must uncover the Antichrist's
wickedness and deceptions and wage an intellectual struggle against
those elements that comprise the ideological foundations of the
Antichrist's system. On the other hand, they must prepare the groundwork
for the great intellectual struggle that Jesus (pbuh) will wage
after his return, and must prepare themselves to support him. The
information provided in the Qur'an and the developments described
in the hadith indicate that one of history's most important periods
is approaching.
Those who will enjoy the honor of living at such
a historic time should feel great excitement at this prospect and
should be aware of the scale of their responsibility. One of the
first things that such people have to do is to prepare themselves
and those around them for Jesus' (pbuh) return.
How Should We Await the Second Coming?
The current state of the world shows us which subjects
we need to give priority to as we prepare for this glorious event.
This is a period when the damage inflicted on society by atheistic
ideologies will perhaps be worse than in any other. The spread of
violence, terror, cruelty, fraud, falsehood, immorality, conflict,
and poverty all over the world shows that the world is full of "wickedness."

He sent His Messenger with quidance and the Religion
of Truth to exalt it over every other religion, even though
the idolaters detest it. (Qur'an, 9:33)
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All of this cruelty and degeneration is gathering
strength from the superstitious system established by those who
deny God's existence and oneness and who do not believe in the Hereafter.
Moreover, it is growing and spreading. In the face of this, Muslims
need to eliminate the ideological sources that make up this environment's
foundation and encourage this degeneration through intellectual
arguments. One of the most important ways of doing this is for Muslims
to struggle in a spirit of oneness and unity.
This intellectual struggle is a major responsibility
for all Muslims. In addition, those Muslims who are awaiting his
return must abandon their internal disagreements and differences
of opinion in order to establish unity and solidarity. No doubt,
it would be a grave error and a terrible evil for the Muslim world
to become mired in its own internal problems.
Muslims who fully live by the Qur'an's moral values
and follow the Sunnah of our Prophet (may God bless him and grant
him peace) must behave in a cohesive manner, bring a spirit of cooperative
solidarity to the fore, and remind the Muslim world that all Muslims
are "brothers and sisters in religion." In fact, our Lord tells
Muslims to act in a spirit of unity and union:
Hold fast to the rope of God all
together, and do not separate. Remember God's blessing to you when
you were enemies and He joined your hearts together so that you
became brothers by His blessing. You were on the very brink of a
pit of the Fire, and He rescued you from it. In this way, God makes
His signs clear to you so that, hopefully, you will be guided. (Qur'an,
3:103)
Furthermore, by God's will, this alliance will
be one of the main stages in the intellectual destruction of atheistic
ideologies. In the Qur'an, our Lord mentions this alliance and reveals
that the believers must enjoy friendly relations among themselves
and help each other if the wickedness in the world is to be eliminated:
Those who do not believe are
the friends and protectors of one another. If you do not act in
this way, there will be turmoil in the land and great corruption.
(Qur'an, 8:73)
If the Muslims can set aside their differences
and divisions, remember that they are "brothers" and "sisters,"
and live by the proper moral values brought about by this spiritual
unity, they will set an example to the whole world and provide an
entirely suitable environment for Jesus (pbuh).
When Jesus (pbuh) returns, the Muslim world must
have already turned its internal cultural and traditional differences
into elements of enrichment, eliminated the negative influence of
atheistic ideologies upon it, and joined together in unity by living
according to the Qur'an's moral values.
Those who follow the Messenger, the Ummi, whom they find
written down with them in the Torah and the Gospel, commanding
them to do right and forbidding them to do wrong, making
good things lawful for them and bad things forbidden for
them relieving them of their heavy loads and the chains
that were around them. Those who believe in him, honor
and help him, and follow the Light that has been sent
down with him, they are the ones who are successful. (Qur'an,
7:157)

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1. Izzet Ikbal, Risale-i Nur'dan
Ahir Zaman ile Ilgili Bahisler (Inquiries into the End Times from
the Risale-i Nur), 8.
2. Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal, vol. 17, hadith no.
1033. 
3. Sahih al-Bukhari hadiths.
4. Imam Nawawi, Commentary on Sahih Muslim, 2:192; Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi,
Kanz al-‘Ummal, vol. 14, hadith no. 332.
5. Al-Hakim, Al-Mustadrak, hadith no. 8634, 4:587.
6. Dr. Subhi Salih, Ulum'il Hadis (Sciences of the Hadiths),
151-52; Dr. G. Huseyin Tacirineseb, Mehdilik ve Imam Mehdi (Mahdism
and Imam Mahdi), 325.
7. Imam Abu Hanifa, Al-Fiqh al-Akbar, http://muslim-canada.org/fiqh.htm.

8. Al-Tirmidhi, Nawadir al-Usul fi Ma‘rifat Ahadith al-Rasul,
2:92.
9. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection: The Letters,
"First Letter."
10. Ibid., "Fifteenth Letter".
11. Al-Tirmidhi hadiths; Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rasul Barzanji
, Al-Isha‘ah li Aashrat al-Sa‘ah, 209.
12. Imam Abu Hanifa, Al-Fiqh al-Akbar, http://muslim-canada.org/fiqh.htm.
13. Nu‘aym ibn Mas‘ud; Ismail Mutlu, Kiyamet Alametleri,
(Signs of the Last Day), Mutlu Publications, (Istanbul: 1999), 92-93.
14. Sahih Muslim, hadith no. 590, 1:413.
15. Sahih Muslim; Saim Gungor, Buyuk Fitne Mesih-i Deccal (The Great
Wickedness, the Messiah Antichrist), 104.
16. Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fitan wa Ashrat as-Sa‘ah, 9 (Book
Pertaining to the Turmoil and Portents of the Last Hour), no. 2897,
4:2221.
17. Nuzul-i Mesih Risalesi (Treatise on the Second Coming of the
Messiah) (Istanbul: Ekmel Publishing, 1998), 121.
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