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Christ's return is one of the rare themes where Christians and Muslims believe together: parousia on one side, Issa's descent on the other. Points of agreement, different roles, convergent ends.
Yes, according to both religions: the New Testament announces Christ's return ("this Jesus... will come in the same way", Acts 1:11), and Islam teaches Issa's descent at the end of time, where he will establish justice (reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim). The Quran names him "And he [i.e., Jesus] will be a sign of the Hour; so do not have doubt about it and follow me. This is a straight path." (Quran 43:61). The roles differ: judge and saviour for Christianity, servant of Allah following Muhammad's law (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) for Islam.
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Updated on 17 October 2026 at 9:55 PM
📖 2 min readOn few themes do Christians and Muslims agree as much: Issa (peace be upon him) returns. The Gospels close on the promise of his return, and the angels affirm it: "this Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way" (Acts 1:11). The Quran and the Sunna teach the same coming: Issa, raised alive (Quran 4:158), will descend at the end of time "at the white gate east of Damascus", kill the antichrist (the Dajjal), establish justice and die after an ordinary life (reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim).
The Quran names him explicitly "And he [i.e., Jesus] will be a sign of the Hour; so do not have doubt about it and follow me. This is a straight path." (Quran 43:61).
A Christian and a Muslim therefore await the same event: the second presence of Jesus in history.
The convergence stops at the role. In Christian doctrine, the return is the parousia: Christ comes back as glorious judge to establish God's definitive reign, for he is God incarnate. In Islam, Issa descends as Allah's servant and messenger: he breaks the cross (the symbol of a redemption Islam refuses), follows the last prophet's law, prays behind his imam, and it is Allah alone who will judge humanity.
Better: on the Day of Judgment, Allah will question him, and Issa will testify that he never ordered worshipping him (Quran 5:116-117).
The return is shared; the theology of the return is this dossier's entire divergence, summarized in one event.
For the Christian, awaiting Christ guides life toward vigilance and the hope of salvation. For the Muslim, awaiting Issa is part of the signs of the end, alongside the Dajjal, Gog and Magog, the great signs listed in the hadiths: a precise eschatology where Issa is the upright hero of a world's end, not the judge of the next. In both cases, hope has the same practical effect: live uprightly now, for time is short.
If the question of the return leads you to that of faith, the becoming a Muslim silo answers the practical questions, and the page Jesus in Islam sums up his place in Islam, from the cradle to the return.
The Quran only says he is "And he [i.e., Jesus] will be a sign of the Hour; so do not have doubt about it and follow me. This is a straight path." (Quran 43:61): no one knows the date, as no one knows the hour of the end. The hadiths place him before the Day of Judgment, after the great signs of the end times.
No, in Islam: he will descend as Allah's servant, break the cross as symbol, kill the antichrist and live by Muhammad's law (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him). The Last Judgment belongs to Allah alone, and Issa (peace be upon him) himself will affirm it before Him (Quran 5:116-117).