Originally Posted by mezzen

The Qur'an denies the divinity of Jesus and verses are directed at the Christians asking them not to deify him, "Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son." As in Christianity, the Qur'an tells of the Annunication and the Virgin Birth. It acknowledges Jesus' prophethood and the status as a Messenger of Allah by bringing the Gospel, just as Muhammad brought the Qur'an. Something not mentioned in Christianity is the ability of Jesus, according to the Qur'an, to speak as a baby, "I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet; And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live; (He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable; So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)"! The 'raised up to life' is of course interpreted as the resurrection of all humans for the Day of Judgement. However, several miracles in common with Christianity are mentioned, "And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Allah's leave." The Qur'an mentions that Jesus prophecized Muhammad and the people persecuted him because of this, and it states that Jesus avoided death on the cross, instead, he was 'raised up' to Allah.

The Qur'an doesn't explicitly state the return of Jesus, although one verse is sometimes interpreted to mean he will return during the End Times. However a multitude of hadith (reported sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) do describe Jesus and his return. Both his description and purpose are given in hadith, When you see him, recognise him: a man of medium height, reddish fair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet. He will fight for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill swine and abolish jizyah. Allah will cause all religions except Islam to perish. He will destroy the Antichrist and will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him. Some hadith state he will appear near a mosque in Damascus. Breaking the cross is usually taken to mean that he will denounce or illegalise the Christian belief. The Dajjal (Antichrist) is also called Messiah in the same way as Jesus, meaning that they are marked by Allah. Two of Dajjal's power are that he will be able to cause rain to cease or fall and bring people back to life, however Jesus will have the power to kill the Dajjal.

The first major sign of the End Times is the appearance of the Dajjal and hadith say that every Prophet since Adam has warned his people of the coming of the Dajjal. The Dajjal will be the most evil of people to have ever existed and will spread disbelief throughout the world and finally claim himself to be God. Few Muslims will be able to confront him face-to-face and remain as believers, and other Muslims will resist the Dajjal's armies under the leadership of Imam Mahdi (who will have earlier united either the Arabs or the Muslims). Jesus will be sent at this time in order to kill the Dajjal since the Muslims will have no power to do so. Jesus will cause the Dajjal's armies to perish and the Dajjal himself will be speared by Jesus at Lydda. The remainder of the armies will be hunted down and killed until there is no more disbelief. Jesus is then a just ruler of the Earth for 40 years until his death after which disbelief will eventually return until there is no belief, resulting in the final major sign, the rise of the Sun from the West, the end of life and the start of the Day of Judgment.