What is Islam's idea of the messiah?

Answer 1

Answer 1

Islam doesn't have a Messiah, which is another word for "Christ." However, they do have a Figure-at-the-End-of-Time they call The Madhi, whose functions are quite similar to those of Christ at the Second Coming, although, of course, the Madhi comes to destroy Christianity and Judaism.

From time to time, someone claiming to be the Madhi rises up to accomplish these tasks, the most notable being the fellow who killed "Chinese" Gordon at Khartoum.

Answer 2

Actually, Islam does have a Messiah and considers Jesus to be this Messiah. The Qur'an refers to Jesus as "Sid al-Mesih" (سيد المسيح), which means the Messiah. However, the Muslim conception of the role of the Messiah is less clear than Jewish and Christian conceptions of the role of the Messiah (which are different from each other).

The Muslim conception of the Messiah is relatively clear as concerns the End of Days. It is believed that Jesus (as the Messiah) will return to Earth to lead the Army of God against the Dajjal (Islamic Anti-Christ) and the Unbelievers. At that point, Jesus will reveal that he was only ever a Prophet of God and Christianity mistakenly attributed Divinity to him. He will also bring all Muslims together in unified belief. As for his First Coming, his role there is unclear. Unlike Judaism, Islam does not hold that the Messiah has a duty to create a kingdom or other polity. Unlike Christianity, Islam does not hold that Jesus was sacrificed or that the job of the Messiah was to atone for sin.