The Jesus Question in Risale-i Nur: Return to Earth and the Union of Religions

WISE NEWS PRESS / ANKARA, TURKEY — Nov. 13, 2025

Risale-i Nur is a collection of books written by the late Islamic scholar Bediüzzaman Said Nursi. Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) is one of the prophets sent by the Almighty God for the guidance of humanity. His death, like his birth, is one of the fundamental discussion points of the divine religions.

According to Islam, the birth of Prophet Jesus was a miraculous event, conceived without a father, through a soul breathed into his mother by God. However, his death is a crucial matter of debate among scholars. According to some, Prophet Jesus lived and died like a normal human prophet. According to others, He was raised up to God and did not die. Therefore, He will return to earth in the End Times (Ākhir al-Zamān), eliminate the injustice and lawlessness prevalent in the world, establish justice, and then die a natural death.

Said Nursi, in the Risale-i Nur Collection, addressed the historical issue of Prophet Jesus from various dimensions. He first focused on the miraculous nature of his birth and his miracles, then examined the reason for and error of his deification. He further analyzed topics such as Prophet Jesus not having died, his return to earth in the End Times, his execution of important functions not as a new prophet but as a member of the Muslim community (Ummah), and his eventual natural death. Finally, in connection with Prophet Jesus's return, he compared the fundamental tenets and principles of Christianity and Islam, explaining the reasons for the changes that occurred in Christianity.

FOURTH QUESTION, THE MEANING OF:

"In the End Times, after Prophet Jesus (A.S.) kills the Dajjal (Antichrist), people will predominantly enter the true religion. However, it is stated in narrations that, 'The Hour will not be established as long as there are people on earth saying Allah, Allah.' How can people fall into disbelief (Kufr) generally after having generally accepted faith?"

"The Answer: Those whose faith is weak find it unlikely that, as narrated in the authentic Hadith, 'Prophet Jesus (A.S.) will return and act according to the Sharia of Islam, and he will kill the Dajjal.' If the truth of this is explained, there will be no room left for improbability. The meaning expressed by that Hadith and the Hadiths concerning Sufyan (the embodiment of hypocrisy) and the Mahdi is this:"

"In the End Times, two currents of irreligion will gain strength:"

"The First: A terrifying person named Sufyan will deny the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH) under the guise of hypocrisy. He will lead the people of hypocrisy and strive to destroy the Sharia of Islam. Against him, a luminous person named Muhammad Mahdi from the luminous chain of the Prophet's family (Ahl al-Bayt) will lead the people of sainthood (Ahl al-Wilayah) and perfection (Ahl al-Kamāl), destroying and dispersing the hypocritical current embodied by Sufyan."

"The Second Current: A tyrannical, Nimrod-like current stemming from the philosophy of naturalism and materialism will spread through materialistic philosophy, gaining strength, and reaching a level where it will deny Godhood. (...)"

"Just when such a current appears very strong, the true religion of Jesus, which consists of the moral personality of Prophet Jesus (A.S.), will emerge; that is, it will descend from the heavens of Divine mercy. The present Christianity will be purified against that truth, stripped of superstitions and distortions, and will unite with the truths of Islam. Spiritually, Christianity will be transformed into a kind of Islam. It will follow the Qur'an, and that moral personality of Jesus will remain as the follower, and Islam will remain in the position of the followed (Matbū'). The true religion will gain immense power as a result of this unification."

"While defeated individually against the current of irreligion, Christianity and Islam, through their union, will have the potential to overcome and scatter the current of irreligion. A Trustworthy Reporter (Prophet Muhammad), relying on the promise of an All-Powerful (Qadir-i Kul-li Shay'), has announced that the person of Jesus (A.S.), who is in the celestial world with his human body and is alive, will lead that current of the true religion. Since he announced it, it is the truth. Since the All-Powerful promised it, He will certainly fulfill it."

"Yes, for the sake of a supremely great result related to the religion of Jesus, for a Wise and Glorious God (Hakīm-i Zülcelāl) who always sends angels down from the heavens to earth and sometimes gives them human form (like Gabriel in the form of Dihyah), and who sends the spirits of the deceased saints to the world with a subtle body (cesed-i misālī), it is not far from His Wisdom to dress Prophet Jesus with a new body and send him back to the world, even if he had gone to the farthest corner of the afterlife and had truly died. On the contrary, His Wisdom dictates such a promise, and since He has promised, He will certainly send him."

"When Prophet Jesus (A.S.) returns, it is not necessary for everyone to recognize him as the real Jesus. Only his close ones and the elite (hawass) will recognize him with the light of faith. Otherwise, not everyone will recognize him to the degree of self-evidence."

THIRTEENTH ISSUE

"There is a categorical and authentic narration that, 'Jesus (A.S.) will kill the Great Dajjal.'"

"And God knows best, but there are two aspects to this:"

"One aspect is this: The person who can kill that dreadful Dajjal, who protects himself and mesmerizes everyone with wonders derived from sorcery, magnetism, and spiritualism, can only be a figure who is miraculous, possesses supernatural marvels, and is accepted by all, and that person is Prophet Jesus (A.S.), who is the most concerned and the prophet of the majority of mankind."

"The second aspect is this: The magnificent embodiment and moral personality of terrifying materialism and irreligion, which the person of the Dajjal forms, will be slain by the sword of the person of Jesus (A.S.). It will be the spiritual men of Jesus who will destroy his atheistic idea of denying Godhood. They will mix the truth of the Christian religion with the truth of Islam and disperse it with that strength, killing it spiritually."

"In fact, the narration that, 'Prophet Jesus (A.S.) will come and pray behind the Mahdi, following him,' indicates this agreement and the followship and dominance (metbuiyet) of the Quranic truth."

These noble Hadiths and the explanations of Üstad Hazretleri prove the issue definitively. To deny and refuse the noble Hadiths recorded in the works of Hadith authorities such as Imam Bukhari and Muslim is nothing but deviance. The denial of such Hadiths by some heretical sects carries no academic significance. What is important is the view of the scholars and Hadith experts of the Ahl as-Sunnah (Sunni majority). Üstad Hazretleri also accepted and explained this issue in categorical language.

Footnotes:

(1) Refer to Mektubat, The Fifteenth Letter. (2) Refer to Şualar, The Fifth Ray, Second Topic

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