Jesus in Hadith andMuslim Traditions 271The Prophet Muhammad, may the blessings and peace of God
be on him, also confirmed on more than one occasion that towards
the end of time Jesus would return to this world in order to de
stroy the AntiChrïst (the Dajjal) and his followers, and that after
this had occurred, the way of Islam would be established through
out the world. Among the many hadith which record what the
Prophet Muhammad said aboutJesus, may theblessings and peace
of God be on both of them, are these:
It has been related by Ibn Mas'ud, may God be pleased
with him, that the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless
him and grant him peace, said, 'On the night of the 'isra'
(the night journey), 1 met my father Abraham, Moses
and Jesus, and they discussed the Hour. The matter was
referred first to Abraham, then to Moses, and both said,
HI have no knowledge of il."
"Then it was referred to Jesus, who sai d, "No-one
knows about its timing except God; what my Lord told
me was that the Dajjal will appear, and when he sees
me he will begin to melt like lead. God will destroy him
when he sees me. The Muslims will fight against the
disbelievers, and even the trees and rocks will say, '0
Muslim, there is a disbeliever hiding behind me -come
and kill him!' God will destroy the disbelievers, and the
people will return to their own lands. Then Gog and
Magog will appearfrom all directions, eating and drink
ing everything they find. The people will complain to
me, so 1 will pray to God and He will destroy them, so
that the earth will be filled with their stench. God will
send rain which will wash their bodies into the sea. My
Lord has told me that when that happens, the Hour will
be very close, like a pregnant woman whose time is due,
but her family do not know exactly when she will de
liver.'" (Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Musnad, 1.375).These events are described in greatèr detail in the following hadith:
An-Nuwas ibnSam'an said, 'One morning the Prophet,
may God bless him and grant him peace, spoke about
the Dajjal. Sometimes he described him as insignificant,