When did belief in the physical return of Jesus (as) become a mainstream belief in Islam?

There were many innovations that were invented during the first century of Islam. So long as the Khulafa-e-Rashidin lead the ummat, they kept these trends in check. With the end of Khilafat-e- Rashidah after 30 years, innovations became more widespread but still had limited influence during the first 300 years of light. It was during the 1,000 years of darkness that these innovations became part of mainstream Islam. In answer to the question, “When did the notion of Jesus’s ^as physical ascension to Heaven and Muhammad’s ^sas physical journey to Heaven arise in mainstream Muslim theology?” Hadrat Khalifatul-Masih IV ^rta answered:

During the 1,000 years of darkness.

(Question Answer Session, May 4, 1985)

John of Damascus is recorded as having presented the idea that Jesus physically ascended to heaven as a belief of Muslims during early Islam. However, this was not a mainstream Muslim belief, and his interpretation cannot be used as evidence of mainstream Muslim thought. His ignorance of the Holy Quran becomes apparent in one of the objections he devotes a large section of his Heresy of the Ishmaelites to. He objects to four different chapters of the Holy Quran, one of which is the book of the Camel of God, a chapter that does not exist. He goes on to describe a detailed story of this camel that is nowhere found in the Holy Quran.