Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
This narration was reported from Al-Rabi‘ ibn Anas through the same chain of transmission that was discussed previously. It contains: ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Ja‘far, from his father, from Al-Rabi‘ ibn Anas. Therefore, its chain of transmission is weak, and it is not correct to assert with certainty that this dialogue was authentically narrated from the Prophet ﷺ through this route.
Among the most important defects in the chain are: the weakness of Abu Ja‘far Al-Razi, the criticism concerning the narration of ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Ja‘far from his father, and the inconsistency in Al-Rabi‘ ibn Anas’s narration from Abu Ja‘far, in addition to the fact that some versions of the narration ultimately trace back to a disconnected report.
However, the weakness of the chain does not mean that the meanings contained in the dialogue are false. Affirming that Allah تعالى is exalted above the attributes of created beings, explaining the humanity of Jesus, peace be upon him, and that he is a servant and messenger of Allah and not a deity are meanings established by authentic evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Likewise, the Muslim belief in the raising of Jesus, peace be upon him, alive to heaven and his descent at the end of time is established by authentic hadiths. Among them are the authentic reports stating that he will descend as a just ruler, break the cross, kill the swine, abolish the jizyah, and kill the Dajjal.
Accordingly, the ruling on this narration should distinguish between two matters:
The narration through this chain: It is weak and is not established as a report traced back to the Prophet ﷺ.
The fundamental Muslim belief concerning Jesus, peace be upon him, and his descent at the end of time: This is established by independent authentic evidence separate from this narration.
A number of scholars have transmitted this dialogue in books of Qur’anic exegesis, biography, and other works, and they have mentioned its meanings. However, merely transmitting it does not make its chain authentic.
And Allah تعالى knows best.