Witness and Judge in the Last Days

Question

Having a critical eye on the Gospel according to John 5:19,47, claiming that Jesus ﷺ said:

Truly, truly, I say to you, the son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the son does likewise. For the Father loves the son, and shows him all that he himself is doing; and greater works than these will he show him, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the son, that all may honour the son, even as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the son does not honour the Father who sent him.

closing (speaking to Jews who did not believe him)

You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men. But I know that you have not the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; it is Moses who accuses you, on whom you set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe His writings, how will you believe my words?"

To my surprise, I found the Quran confirming Jesus to be a witness but contradicting the version that Moses will accuse the Jews:

An-Nisa 4:159

There is none from the People of the Scripture but will believe in him (i.e. Jesus) before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them.

Even more in Sahih Al-Bukhari 60:118 (3448)

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly; he will break the Cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya. Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it, and a single prostration to Allah will be better than the whole world and whatever is in it." Abu Huraira added "If you wish, you can recite : (4:159, see above)"

John evidently understands here the «son» as singular, Jesus ﷺ. Jesus himself used the term «son of God» in plural, for all who do the Will of God. So I come to my question:

According to other Islamic sources, is the role as a witness before God or even as a judge in the Name of God only accorded to Jesusﷺ, or are others, out of the plurality of those who do the Will of God, or in particular Muhammadﷺ or Musaﷺ, evenly mentioned not only as a witness but also - as in the hadith - as a judge on the coming of the last day?

Answer 1

No one is a judge on the Day of Judgement except Allah Himself:

There is no one in the heavens and earth but that he comes to the Most Merciful as a servant. (19:93)

Then they His servants are returned to Allah, their true Lord. Unquestionably, His is the judgement, and He is the swiftest of accountants. (6:62)

But Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ. (2:113)

Every nation will have their prophet as a witness for or against them on that day:

So how [will it be] when We bring from every nation a witness and we bring you, [O Muhammad] against these [people] as a witness? (4:41)

And [mention] the Day when We will resurrect among every nation a witness over them from themselves. And We will bring you, [O Muhammad], as a witness over your nation. And We have sent down to you the Book as clarification for all things and as guidance and mercy and good tidings for the Muslims. (16:89)

Allah will question all the prophets as witnesses:

Then We will surely question those to whom [a message] was sent, and We will surely question the messengers. (7:6)

So by your Lord, We will surely question them all (15:92)

They will be asked about the deeds of their people and the response they received:

[Be warned of] the Day when Allah will assemble the messengers and say, "What was the response you received?" They will say, "We have no knowledge. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen" (5:109)

The Ummah of Muslims themselves will be witnesses against the disbelievers like Christians, Jews, etc. on the Day of Judgement:

And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you. (2:145)

As for Isa (AS), Allah specifically mentions his questioning in the Quran:

And [beware the Day] when Allah will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen.

I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness.

If You should punish them - indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. (5:116-118)

Allah will ask him about his followers worshiping him as a god, and he will say that he has nothing to do with it.

The notion that only Musa (AS) accused the disbelieving Jews is incorrect. Allah mentions Isa (AS)'s anger against them:

Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of David and of Jesus, the son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and [habitually] transgressed. (5:78)

Rather, all prophets will accuse those who disbelieved.

As for Jesus (AS) being a judge, he will be a judge in this world in the same way all the prophets were judges: they judged according to what Allah revealed. This is the same way Muslim leaders are judges, and of course, the prophets are the best among them.

For example, Allah commands our prophet:

And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. [...] (5:48)

Jesus (AS) will return to earth near the end of times and he will be a fair ruler and judge like Muhammad (SAW) or other prophets were fair rulers and judges in their times. So, all the prophets were judges and rulers in the sense that the hadith is mentioning:

By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly.

This hadith is a prophecy of something that will happen in the future near the end of times, but not on the Day of Judgement itself. Isa (AS) will return to earth, live, rule fairly, then die like normal humans.

The Day of Judgement is after everyone dies and the universe is destroyed. Then, everyone will be resurrected and brought back to be judged by Allah.

On the Day of Judgement, Allah is the judge alone and the prophets will be at most witnesses or intercessors if Allah allows them.