Proof #1: Jesus' own testimony on the Judgement Day

This short dialogue takes place between God and Jesus on the Judgment Day when he is asked if he gave his followers the belief of his own and his mother's divinity. He responds in the negative and begs complete ignorance on what happened after his death.

“And I said nothing to them except that which Thou didst command me ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ And I was a witness over them as long as I remained among them, but since Thou didst cause me to die, Thou hast been the Watcher over them; and Thou art Witness over all things. (5:118) more translations

Argument 1:
This verse discusses two distinct phases of Jesus’ existence in relation to his people: one when he was among them and the other when he was no longer present. The boundary between these two phases is defined by the Arabic word "tawaffi". His absence from among his people is preceded by the state of tawaffi.   The question is whether Jesus is currently present among his people or absent from them. If he is not among his people, then the state of tawaffi has undoubtedly preceded this absence.

Argument 2:
According to this verse, Jesus emphasizes that the Christian belief in his divinity did not exist while he was among his people; it only took root after Allah had caused tawaffi to him. The doctrine of Jesus' “Sonship” as a part of the Holy Trinity is a well-established fact among Christians, so in light of the above verse it must be concluded that Jesus has already experienced his tawaffi.

The logical inference from this verse is that Jesus has indeed undergone the state of tawaffi, and if tawaffi is interpreted as death, then the verse directly asserts that he has already experienced death.

Meaning of Tawaffi
The term "tawaffi" appears twenty-four times in the Holy Quran, consistently carrying one of two meanings: death or sleep. When the action is performed by God or the angels upon a human, tawaffi specifically denotes death, except when used alongside the qualifier 'night,' where it signifies sleep. Importantly, in all instances, it refers to the soul and not the body. This distinction remains consistent across Arabic literature, both past and present.

Here is a complete list of verses using this word: 2:235, 2:241; 3:194; 4:16, 4:98; 6:61, 6:62; 7:38, 7:127; 13:41; 10:47, 10:105; 12:102; 16:33, 16:71; 22:6; 32:12; 39:43; 40:68, 40:78; 47:28; (this reference scheme counts Bismillah as the first verse of every chapter)

Usage of Tawaffi in Hadith
Holy Prophet^saw has used Tawaffi in exactly same context in relation to himself. This Hadith is taken from Buhkari Kitab-ul-Anbiya and Commentary on chapter Al-Maida:

Ibne-Abbas narrates that the Holy Prophet said: “On the Day of Judgement I will see some people from among my companions being taken to the Left. Upon seeing them I will say, ‘my companions! my companions!’. I will be told that when I parted from them they turned back on their heels. At that point I will say the same thing what (Jesus son of Mary) the righteous had said: that while I was among them I watched over them but once You caused me to die (Tawaffi) it was You alone who watched over them.”

This hadith indicates that the nature of the tawaffi of Jesus is similar to the tawaffi of the Holy Prophet. The fact that the Holy Prophet states, "I will say what Jesus had said," suggests a shared nature of the experience. The use of the same word in the same context by the Holy Prophet is noteworthy and implies a similarity in the manner of their respective tawaffi.

Furthermore, Imam Bukhari quotes Ibn-e-Abbas stating that tawaffi means deaths specifically in the context of the Maidah verse 118 (Bukhari Kitab-ut-Tafseer). This statement from Ibn-e-Abbas, coming from one of the most trusted sources in Islam, provides significant weight to the interpretation of tawaffi as death in relation to this particular verse.

The commonly accepted meaning of the word "tawaffi" is death. This interpretation is reinforced by its use in funeral prayers (namaaz-e-janaza), where the supplication includes the phrase "Cause us to die (tawaffi) in the state of submission." In this context, the word clearly signifies the end of life or death.

Lexical Meaning of Tawaffi
Assas-ul-Balagha, Qamoos, Taj-ul-Uroos, Lisaan-ul-Arab, Sihah-e-Johri, Farhang-e-Asaphia all agree that tawaffi means death.

Corollary: He is never going to return

When God questions Jesus about certain Christian beliefs on the Day of Judgment, Jesus pleads ignorance, claiming he has no idea about what occurred after his death. One might question the truthfulness of this testimony, considering that, as alleged by many Muslims, he made a second in-person appearance on Earth just a few years ago (40 years, it is claimed), where he had observed the extent of Christian misguidance and set matters straight about his divinity. In such a scenario, his testimony would be vastly different.  Instead, he merely says he doesn't know.

Furthermore, he could have defended himself by acknowledging that the supernatural events of his ascension and his prolonged existence without food or drink led his followers, understandably, to believe he was divine. Upon landing back on Earth, however, he had made sincere efforts to refute this misconception, emphasizing that, though a human like none other, he was still not a god.  Any Christian that didn't come around to this explanation faced unpleasant consequences—to put it mildly.  Surprisingly, we see not a word of all that. This leads to the conclusion that he never returns, and the cruel drama associated with his in-person second coming where he kills all the Christians in violation of Quranic injunction of la ikraha fid-din (there is no compulsion in religion), is a fiction that will never come to pass.

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