Khatme-Nabuwat, Finality of the Prophet of Hazrat

Muhammad (S.A.W)
Risalah or belief in Prophet hood is one of the seven articles of faith. Prophet hood is the channel
of communication between God Almighty and humanity, this is the medium through which the
human being is able to understand the reason for creation, and realize the will of the creator.
Through this medium the humans understand and comprehend the magnitude of benefit in
applying the will of the Lord and severity of detriment in neglecting it. As Muslims God has
ordained for us to believe in all prophets from Adam to Jesus, culminating in the belief in
Muhammad (S.A.W) as the messenger to all mankind regardless of colour, race, tongue or
ethnicity. The belief in the Prophet hood of The Beloved, The Most Noble Muhammad (S.A.W)
is incomplete, deficient and curtailed unless one believes that he is the Final Prophet of God and
there is to be no Prophet after him. The slightest denial or defiance of this fundamental is sufficient
to cast one out the fold of Islam and throw one into the camp of kufr and apostasy.

Secondly the source must be unequivocal, unambiguous and explicit in what is being said. An
example of this is the belief in tawhid, the oneness of Allah. It is mentioned amongst other places,
in Surah Ikhlas, (Say, He is Allah) states in Almuhkam that the words Khatim and Khatamah with
regards to everything means its end and its termination.
This verse is an unequivocal statement from the Qur’an, which states that Muhammad (S.A.W)
has concluded the line of prophets, and that he is the last and final Prophet of God.

Finality of Prophethood and Coming of Jesus in the Last Days:

A question arises here, we all believe that in the lasy days before doomsday, Jesus Christ Peace be
upon him will descend to the World again, lead the Muslim army against the Kuffar and Dajjal,
Kill Dajjal the Antichrist and bring all misguidance to an end. The question is, does the
reappearance of Jesus Christ, who was a prophet to the Israelites, negate the finality of the
prophethood of Muhammad (S.A.W).This question has been raised and answered by numerous
exegesists of the Quran, hence AllamahZamahshari the great Muttazilite Scholar and a grand
lexicon states in his TafsirKasshaf: Imam Baydhawi raises the same question and states:
The answer to the above objection in light of the scholars is that the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s
being the last prophet means that nobody would be appointed as a prophet after him; it does not
imply that somebody who was appointed a prophet earlier and prior to the birth of Muhammad
(S.A.W) would be dismissed from his prophethood or that such a prophet would not be able to
return to this world. It is well known that Christ was appointed a prophet 600 or so years prior to
the birth of our noble prophet.
Furthermore when Christ, peace be upon him, does return for the reformation of the Ummah of
the Holy Prophet, he will carry out the reform and revival in accordance with the laws and the
teachings of the holy Prophet. and would not bring down or implement a new law alien to the
Sharia of Muhammad (S.A.W), as if he is actually an Ummati one. Now this is a verse from the
Quran, therefore it is certainly from Allah; hence it is definite in text. Also it is unequivocal or
uncertainty with regards to the meaning. Now if anyone were to believe in more that one God
would automatically step out of the fold of Islam, as this would be denial of a fundamental belief
that is proven by a definite text that is definite in meaning. Hence belief of the above mentioned
type an only be proven by a clear verse of the Holy Prophet of Islam, (a statement of the Prophet
narrated by such a number of companions and narrators through the generations that it would be
impossible for them to all agree on a lie). All other types of evidences which do not measure up to
the above criteria can however be used in a supportive capacity. Having set the scene, let us now
analyse the belief that Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) is the last prophet of Allah and there is to be
no other Prophet after him.

Proof from the Qur’an that our Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W) is the
final Prophet of Allah:

Surah 33 Verse 40

”Muhammad is not a father of any of your men, but he is a messenger of Allah and the last of the
prophets”.

In this verse the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) has been mentioned as Khatam ul Nabiyeen, translated as
last of the Prophets. There are two ways to read the word Khatam, Imams Hasan and Asim read
the word as Khatam whereas other leading scholars read it as Khatim. The meaning remains the
same in both cases, that is the last of the prophets’. In both the cases the word means the last as
well as the seal. The meaning of the seal is also the last because the seal is applied to something
when it is intended to be closed. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) has been called the seal
of the prophets because the process of sending prophets has come to an end on his adventAll the
famous lexicons of the Arabic language have affirmed the fact that the words, Khatim and Khatam
carry the same meaning in this sentence. Hence Ibn Sidah or follower of Hazrat Muhammad
(S.A.W). As a final statement on this verse we quote Hafiz IbnKathir who states:
‘Each of these liars is given by Allah signs which show the people of knowledge and the believers
that his message is false which is part of the perfect kindness of Allah towards His creation. These
liars do not enjoin what is good, nor forbid what is evil, unless they do so by coincidence or because
it serves an ulterior purpose. They are the utmost in falsehood and immorality, in all that they say
and do, as Allah says: Shall I inform you (O people!) upon whom the Shayatin descend They
descend on every lying, sinful person.) (26:221-222) This is in contrast to the Prophets – may
blessings and peace be upon them – for they are the utmost in righteousness, truthfulness, wisdom,
uprightness and justice in all that they say and do, command and forbid. In addition to this they
are supported with miracles and clear and obvious proof. May the blessings and peace of Allah be
upon them always, as long as heaven and earth remain. From this verse 40 of surah 33 the entire
Ummah has unanimously understood that Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) is the last Prophet of Allah
and there will never be a Prophet after him ever.

Finality of the Prophet hood of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W) from Hadith:

The above mentioned statement of Ibn Kathir conveniently brings us to analysing the Finality of
Hazrat Muhammad’s Finality from the hadith literature. Muslims Scholars have compiled books
listing over 200 statements from the Prophet, which unequivocally state that he is the Final Prophet
of Allah and there is to be no Prophet after him. We will only mention a few of the ahadith for the
benefit of our readers.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) said ‘ The example of all the Prophets before me and of myself is like
a man has built a very strong and well decorated house in one corner wall of which a space has
been left vacant for one brick; people roam about in the house to see it and admire the construction
but all of them say why did not the builder put a brick in that space also which would have
completed the construction. I am that last brick (of the palace of prophet hood). In some versions
he said ‘I have filled up that vacant space and thus completed the palace of Prophet hood’.
(Narrated By Bukhari, Muslim and Tirmizi From Jabir Bin Abdullah Ansari. Imam Ahmad Bin
Hanbal and Tirmizi From Ubai Bin Ka’b. Imam Muslim and Ahmad Bin Hanbal from Abu Saeed
Khudri).
The gist of this eloquent smile is that prophethood is like a grand palace composed of Prophets.
This grand palace was complete in all respects before the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) except for the
placement of one brick. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) completed this grand palace by filling up the
vacant space for one brick. Now there is no more space for any Prophet or Messenger in the palace
of Prophet hood. Any additional brick to a magnificently constructed buliding would be considered
an eyesore just as one brick less would be considered a matter of surprise.
Jubayr Bin Mut’im, may Allah be pleased with him, said that he heard the Messenger of Allah say:
I have several names: I am Muhammad (S.A.W), and I am Ahmad (S.A.W), I am Al-Mahi (the
eradicator) through whom Allah will erase disbelief; I am Al-Hashir (the gatherer) at whose feet
mankind will gather; and I am Al-Aqib (the final one) after whom there will be no Prophet.
Narrated By Bukhari and Muslim.
The above mentioned statements of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) have shown beyond certainty that
He (S.A.W) is the Final Prophet of Allah and there is to be no Prophet after him. Therefore belief
in any new Prophet after the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) would amount to apostasy. In fact The Prophet
himself has foretold us that there will false claimants to prophethood after him and we, as Muslims
must reject every single one of them. Hence the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) stated: Thawban said that
the Holy Prophet said, ‘In my ummah there shall be 30 liars, each will claim prophethood, and I
am the Final Prophet, there is no Prophet after me’. Narrated by Ibn Mardwaih. It does not therefore
surprise us that every now and then a liar rises and claims prophethood in some shape or form, for
it has been foretold by one who has been given the knowledge of ma kaanwa ma yakoon
(Knowledge of what is and what is to be) by his Lord Almighty, one who has never uttered a lie
nor gone astray (S.A.W).

False claimants of Prophet hood in Islam

Musalima Kazzab
During the Wars of Apostasy which emerged following the death of Muhammad, Sajah bint al-
Harith ibn Suaeed declared that she was a prophetess after learning that Musaylimah
and Tulayha had declared prophethood.[7] 4,000 people gathered around her to march on Medina.
Others joined her against Medina. However, her planned attack on Medina was called off after she
learned that the army of Khalid ibn al-Walid had defeated Tulayha al-Asadi (another self-
proclaimed prophet).[8] Thereafter, she sought cooperation with Musaylimah to oppose the threat
of Khalid. A mutual understanding was initially reached with Musaylimah. Later, the two married
and she accepted his self-declared prophethood. Khalid then crushed the remaining rebellious
elements around Sajah, and then moved on to crush Musaylimah. Musaylimah fought and was
killed in the Battle of Yamama by Wahshi ibn Harb, the same man who had killed Muhammad's
uncle, Hamza, in the battle of Uhud before his conversion to Islam. After Musaylimah was killed,
Sajah converted to Islam.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Qadiani

One of the main source of dispute during his lifetime and continuing since then, is Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad's use of the terms “Nabi” (prophet) and “Rasool” (messenger) when referring to himself.
Muslims consider the prophet Muhammad to be the last of the prophets[11] and believe that Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad's use of these terms is a violation of the concept of “finality of prophet
hood”.[12] His followers fall into two camps in this regards, the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community who believe in a literal interpretation of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's prophet hood (with
some qualifications),[13] and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement who believe in an allegorical
interpretation of these two terms.[14] This among other reasons caused a split in the movement soon
after Ahmad's death.

Ahmadis Declared Non-Muslims in 1973 Constitution of Pakistan

Many Islamist theologians Pakistan particularly Ulama-I-Ahle-Sunnat under the leadership

of Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqui started a successful campaign against the Ahmadi Muslims and
compelled the members of the National Assembly to declare Ahmadis as non-Muslims. And such
a clause was inserted in the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan declaring that followers of Mirza
Ghulam Ahmed are non-Muslims by Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan. After
meeting the first agenda, Khatme-Nabuwat started the next phase of their campaign – to force
Ahmadis to comply with the new law. They started demanding legal sanctions on Ahmadis barring
them from using the title of Muslim. This campaign was at its peak when Shah Ahmad Noorani and
Punjab-based Khalid Hasan Shah were leading the Kul Jamaati Majlis-e-Amal Tahafuz-e-
Khatam-e-Nabuwat in 1984 and 1985. The then president General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq passed
an ordinance in 1984 amending the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that called for punitive sanctions
on Ahmadis in 1984, commonly known as Ordinance XX.