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Muhammad is The Last Prophet

Muhammad is The Last Prophet

Author:
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
English

Alhassanain (p) Network for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Muhammad is The Last Prophet

Author: Sayed Saeed Akhtar Rizvi

WWW.ALHASSANAIN.ORG/ENGLISH

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Chapter One: Finality of Prophethood 4

(A) Continuity of Religious Leadership 4

(B) Evolution of Religious Guidance 4

(C) Why `Shari'ahs' were Changed? 4

Chapter Two: Challenge of Ahmadism 6

Chapter Three: Historic Back-ground of Ahmadism 8

Chapter Four: Tafseer of `Khatamun-Nabiyyin' 13

How? 14

And what would have been the effect of such declaration? 15

Chapter Five: 'Khatamun-Nabiyyin' in Tradition 17

Chapter Six: Other Traditions 20

Chapter Seven: `Nubuwwah' without new Shari'ah? 23

WHY NOT PERFECT PROPHETHOOD? 23

IBN-E-`ARABI'S VIEWS 24

NEW `NUBUWWAH': NOT A GRACE, BUT A CURSE 26

Chapter Eight: 'Khatam' in Dictionaries and Usage 28

Chapter Nine: Who is Ahmad? 32

Chapter Ten: History of Religions 36

Chapter Eleven: Some Misinterpreted Verses 40

CONTINUITY OF PROPHETHOOD? 41

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION 41

IMAM MAHDI (p.u.h.) A `RASUL'? 41

Chapter Twelve: Imam Mahdi (P.U.H.) 44

A COMPARISON 45

Chapter Thirteen: Other Signs 48

DABBATUL-ARDH 49

SUNRISE FROM WEST 49

LUNAR AND SOLAR ECLIPSES 49

Chapter Fourteen: Jesus, Son Of Mary (P.U.H.) 51

Chapter Fifteen: Conclusion from these Tradition 55

A Comparison Again 57

Introduction

"Sauti Ya Bilal", a Swahili periodical of Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania, has been generally acknowledged as one of the most informative and comprehensive religious periodicals in East Africa.

In 1968, the Mission gave a detailed treatment to the subject of `Khatme-Nubuwwah' (Finality of Prophethood), in the form of three articles which appeared in three consecutive issues. No wonder the series was well-received by the readers - lear- ned and laymen alike.

That Muhammad (p.u.h.a.h.f.), the Holy Pro- phet of Islam, was the last Prophet, and that no- body was to get Prophethood after him, is a simple yet cardinal belief of every Muslim. The Mission had explained that Islamic belief in those Swahili articles, quoting verses from Qur'an, and traditions from various traditionalists in corroboration. A Qadiani missionary wrote a long letter in Swahili, making a frustrated attempt to object to the contents of those articles. This letter was ans wered by Sayed Saeed Akhtar Rizvi, Chief Missio- nary.

As there was no reply forthcoming from the said missionary, silence prevailed. However, a Shia African student later on wrote to Mr. Rizvi seeking clarifications over the belief of Khatme-Nubuw- wah; and in that letter certain passages were found to bear great similarity to the previous letter from the Qadiani missionary. Obviously, the Qadianis were circulating their letter, or perhaps propaga- ting its contents, despite the refutation by Mr. Ri- zvi. Thus, the Mission was left with no alternative but to circulate Mr. Rizvi's reply, which assumed form of 24 foolscap cyclostyled pages. A copy was sent to the said Shia student, who later on expressed his complete satisfaction.

These events were reported in the Bilal News as usual, and Haji Hasanally P. Ebrahim (Karachi) requested for a few copies. As the articles were in Swahili, Mr. Rizvi very kindly agreed and promised to translate them into English for the benefit of a wider public. In the meantime, I requested Mr. Rizvi to add and argument certain relevant topics so as to make the endeavour complete. I am grate- ful to Mr. Rizvi for having conceded to my request.

This booklet is the result of Mr. Rizvi's lat:d- able endeavour, and various topics relevant to the subject of Khatme-Nubuwwah are amply dealt with. It also gives us an insight into the thinking (ii)

ways of the distracted, among them the Qadianis.

May Allah Accept this, and shower His Blessings upon

Mr. Rizvi. Asgherali M. M. Jaffer

June, 1971

Chapter One: Finality of Prophethood

(A) Continuity of Religious Leadership

God, in His grace, never left mankind without a religious guide. That guide may be a prophet, a 'Rasul' or an `Imam'. The first man, Prophet Adam (p.u.h.), was made a vicegerent of Allah on this earth,.. so that he might lead his children on the right path.

hence then, prophets and messengers were sent to all the regions and all the peoples. Allah says in the Qur'an: "And there never was a people without a War- ner having lived among them". (Qur'an, 35:24) In all, there came 124,000 propliets from God. Many of the prophets were sent to one or two villages, some even to one family or one man. Others were sent to a bigger area; still others to a whole tribe. But none of them, before our Holy Prophet, was sent to the whole mankind. Our Holy Prophet was sent to the whole man- kind for upto the end of the world. No other pro phet is to come after him. He was, and is, the Last Prophet.

(B) Evolution of Religious Guidance

It appears from the history of divine religions that God sent from time to time many `Shari`ahs' (Divine Laws) which were suitable to that particu lar era. Prophet Noah (p.u.h.) brought a Shari'ah which was simple to a great extent. And that Shari'ah was followed by other prophets upto the advent of Prophet Abraham (p.u.h.). Prophet Abraham (p.u.h.) was given a Shari'ah which was more elaborate and more comprehensive than the previous one.

The Shari`ah of Prophet Abraham remained it force for the children of Israel upto the time of Prophet Moses (p.u.h.). When Prophet Moses (p.v h.) was given Torah (Law), it was a really com- prehensive and fully detailed Shari`ah, which was followed by all the prophets of Bani Israel till Prophet Jesus (p.u.h.) came. Prophet Jesus (p.u.h.) perfected the Shari`ah of Prophet Moses (p.u.h. ) and made adjustments according to the time. The Shari'ah of Prophet Jesus (p.u.h.) remained valid till the arrival of the Holy Prophet of Islam. Coming to the other branch of the family of Prophet Abraham (p.u.h.) we find that the child- ren of Ismael were expected to follow the Shari`ah of Prophet Abraham (p.u.h.) upto the time of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Prophet Muhammad Mus- tafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.). When he came, he abrogated and cancelled all the previous Shari`ahs, and brought the final, most comprehensive and most suitable and moderate Shari`ah of all, which can meet the challenge of the changing times without any diffi- culty upto the day of ` Qiyamah' ( Resurrection day).

(C) Why `Shari'ahs' were Changed?

It may be asked: Why the changes in Shari`- ahs? Why the gradual revelation? And why the separate `Ulul-Azm' (Prominent) prophets coming one after another? Well, when a child is born, the parents make some garments for him. And as the child continues to grow, the old clothes are disca- rded, and new ones made according to the growth of the body of the child. This continues during his childhood, during his adolescence, during his tee- nage, till a time comes after 25 or 30 years, when the body reaches its maximum height and attains its full growth. After that, the size which fits him at that time, continues to fit him upto the end of his life. Nobody will suggest that as the child at the age of 25 years is expected to be 5 fit.

6 in. tall, he should be given the clothes of that size on the day of his birth. Nor will any body think that a young man of 30 years should wear the same clo- thes which he used to wear when he was 10 years old. Likewise, we may suppose that the humanity was a child in the days of Prophet Adara and Noah (p.u.t.), which reached its adolescence in Uie days of Prophet Abraham (p.u.h.) and continued to grow (mentally, socially and spiritually). Accor- dingly, Allah continued discarding and abrogating old Shari`ahs and sending new ones according to the social, intellectual and spiritual needs of the times.

This continued upto the time of Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.). His time may be comparea asthe age of 25 or 30 years of a man when he reaches the full height and the highest peak of his strength. Now there is no chance that he will outgrow his clothes, and the size of that age remains in force till his last day. When huma- nity reached that stage, Allah sent the final Shar- i'ah which was to serve the mankind to the last day of the world. After Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.- h.f.) there was no need for any Shari`ah; there was no need for any new prophet or messenger from God. And it was for this reason that he was dec- lared by Allah to bethe Last of the prophets.

Question: Admitted that the body does not grow in height after about 25 years; but still there appear- changes in the body. A person may gain or lose considerable weight, necessitating some chan- ges in the measurement of his clothes. Therefore, how can you say that there will never be any need for a new Shari`ah after Islam?

Answer: Clothes usually do not adjust them- selves according to the build of a body. But Islam has a built-in capacity to cover all the possible situations which a man faces during his life-time. In this respect, we may compare it with those sophisticated electronic devices which automati- cally adjust to the temperature, light, humidity and other relevant factors of the operating time. If you take a good camera, you will find that its lense makes all the necessary adjustments accor- ding to the distance and light without any need for you to make those adjustments manually.

Likewise, Islam has all the rules for all the possible situations, and as soon as a given situation changes, the Shari`ah automatically recognises the change and another set of rules applicable to the new situation comes into force immediately and automatically. This flexibility is the unique feature of Islam which is not found in any other religion. And this feature eliminates the need of a new Shari`ah. Of course, the need for an interpreter of the Qur'an and protector of the Shari`ah will remain for ever. But Allah appointed Imams for this pur- pose, after theThe Last Prophet. The chain of the Prophethood came to an end and a new system of religious leadership, known as `Imamat' was introduced. The Holy Prophet said: "Banu Israel, prophets were leading them; when a prophet died another prophet succeeded him. But after me there is no prophet, and surely there will be Caliphs".

Chapter Two: Challenge of Ahmadism

The universally accepted Muslim belief that Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (px.h.a.h.f.) was the Last Prophet of God, was unfortunately challen ged some 70 years ago by one Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (Punjab, India) who claimed to be a prophet.

As this booklet is being written to throw light upon the Muslim belief of the "Finality of the Prophethood", it is "essential to give a historical background to the birth of Ahmadism. The famous Muslim thinker, Dr. Iqbal, wrote a booklet "Islam and Ahmadism" and I propose to quote in this chapter some of the paragraphs from his learned discourse.

He writes:-

"The simple faith (of Islam) is based on two propositions that God is One, and that Muhammad is the last in the line of those holy men who have appeared from time to time in all ages to guide mankind to the right way of living". "The question of heresy, which needs the ver- dict whether the author of it is within or without the fold, can arise, in the case of a religious society founded on such simple propositions, only when the heretic rejects both or either of these propo- sitions. Such heresy must be and has been rare in the history of Islam which, while jealous of its fro- ntiers, permits freedom of interpretation within these frontiers. And since the phenomenon of the kind of heresy which affects the boundaries of Islam has been rare in the history of Islam, the feeling of the average Muslim is naturally intense when a revolt of this kind arises. That is why the feeling of Muslim Persia was so intense against the Bahais. That is why the feeling of the Indian Mus lims is so intense against the Qadianis. "The question of what may be called major heresy arises only when the teaching of a thinker or a reformer affects the frontiers of the faith of Islam. Unfortunately this question does arise in connection with the teachings of Qadianism".

"Theologically the doctrine is that: The organization called "Islam" is perfect and eternal. No revelation the denial of which entails heresy is possible after Muhammad. He who claims such a revelation, is a traitor to Islam. Since the Qadianis believe the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement to be the bearer of such a revelation they declare that the entire world of Islam is infidel. The foun- der's own argument is that the spirituality of the Holy Prophet of Islam must be regarded as imperfect if it is not creative of another Prophet. He claims his own Prophethood to be an evidence of the Prophet-rearing power of the Holy Prophet of Islam. But if you further ask him whether the spirituality of Muhammad is capable of rearing more Prophets, than one, his answer is "No". This virtually amounts to saying "Muhammad is not the last Prophet: I am the last".

This is, in fact, the accepted belief of the Qadianis. Really it is astounding that while the dis- tinction of being the last of the Prophets is denied to the Prophet of Islam, it is claimed for the pro- phet of Qadian. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad himself says: "I am the last path of all the divine paths, and the last light of all the divine lights". Elabora- ting on this theme,the "Tash-hizul-azhan" (Vol. 9, No. 3, March, 1914) writes: "In this ` Ummah' there can be only one prophet, that is, the promi- sed Messiah; and certainly nobody else can come." The same magazine (Vol. 12, No. 8, August, 1917) says: "After the Holy Prophet of Islam only one prophet can come. It will disturb many poli-, cies and kingdom of God if many prophets came". The same paper (Vol. 9, No. 3, March, 1914) declared: "Thus it is proved that there cannot be more than one prophet. (The Holy Prophet of Is- lam) has said "La Nabiyya Ba`di" There is no pro- phet after me; and thus has clearly declared that in this Ummah no prophet or messenger of God can come after him, except the promised Messiah".

This distorted logic is beyond human comp- rehension. The Qadiani writer accepts the Holy Prophet's declaration that there would be no pro phet after him; and then (instead of refuting the claim of any pretender of prophethood after Mu- hammad) adds a tail to the interpretation: "except Mirza Ghulam Ahmad."

"Tash-hizul Azhan" was a magazine for Ah- madi children and that is the belief which is taught to their children from childhood. Thus, the Qadianis have transferred the fina- lity of prophethood from the Prophet of Islam to Prophets; for the Qadiams, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the last of the prophets. But there is one "Khata- mun-Nabiyyin" (the Last of the Prophets) in both religions, in the sense of the finality of the pro- phethood. I think this point of agreement should be enough to end the controversy about the mea- ning of the phrase "Khatamun-Nabiyyin ".

Now to revert to Dr. Iqbal's writing - "Far from understanding the cultural value of the Islamic idea of finality in the history of man- kind generally and of Asia especially, he (i.e.,_Mir za Ghulam Ahmad) thinks that the finality in the sense that no follower of Muhammad can ever reach the status of prophethood is a mark of impe- rfection in Muhammad's Prophethood. As I read the psychology of his mind he in the interest of his own claim to prophethood, avails himself of what he describes as the creative spirituality of the Holy Prophet of Islam and at the same time deprives the Holy Prophet of his "finality" by limiting the cre- atingcapacity of his spirituality to the rearing of only one prophet, i.e., the founder of the Ahma- diyya movement. In this way does the new pro- phet quietly steal away the "finality" of one who "He claims to be `buruz' 1 of the Holy Prophet of Islam instituating thereby that, being a buruz of him, his finality is virtually the "finality" of Muha mmad, and that this view of the matter, therefore, does not violate the finality of the Holy Prophet. In identifying the two finalities, his own and that of the Holy Prophet, he conveniently loses sight of the temporal meaning of the idea of Finality.

It is, however obvious that the word `buruz' in the sense even of completed likeness, cannot help him at all, for the buruz must always remain the other of its original. Only in the sense of reincarnation a buruz becomes identical with the original. Thus if we take the word `buruz' to mean `like in spiritual qualities' the argument remains ineffective. If, on the other hand, we take it to mean reincarnation of the original, in the Aryan sense of the word, the argument becomes; plausible but its author turns out to be only a Magian in disguise."

Chapter Three: Historic Back-ground of Ahmadism

"I dare say the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement did hear a voice; but whether this voice came from the God of Life and Power or arose out of the spiritual impoverishment of the people must depend upon the nature of movement which it has created and the kind of thought and emotion which it has given to those who have listened to it."

This quotation comes from Dr. Iqbal who has clearly unmasked "the real content of Ahmadism in the light of the history of Muslim theological thought in India at least from the year 1799". He says: "The year 1799 is extremely impor- tant in the history of the world of Islam. In this year fell Tippu; and his fall meant the extinguish ment of Muslim hopes for political prestige in In- dia. In the same year was fought the battle of Na- varneo which saw the destruction of the Turkish fleet".

"Thus in the 1799 the political decay of Islam in Asia reached its climax. But just as out of the humiliation of Germany on the day of Jena arose the Modern German Nation, it may be said with equal truth that out of the political humilia- tion of Islam in the year 1799 arose modern Islam and her problems. I want to draw the reader's atte- ntion to some of the questions which have arisen in Muslim India since the fall of Tippu and the de- velopment of European Imperialism in Asia.

"Does the idea of Caliphate in Islam embody a religious institution? How are the Indian Muslims and for the matter of that all Muslims outside the Turkish Empire related to the Turkish Caliphate? "2Is India "Dar-ul-Harb" 1 or "Dar-ul-Islam ? What is the real meaning of the doctrine of `Jihad' in Islam? What is the meaning of the expression "From amongst you" in the Qur'anic verse "Obey God, obey the Prophet and the masters of the affair, i.e., rulers, from amongst you?" What is the

1. Dar-ul-Harb - Alien country.

2. Dar-ul-Islam - Muslim country.

character of the traditions of the Prophet foretel- ling the advent of Imam Mehdi? These questions and some other which arose subsequently were for Muslims only. European Imperialism, however, which was then rapidly penetrating the world of Islam was also intimately interested in them." Mr. M. O. Abbasi of Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania) writes in "The Mirror" (published by Makki publi- cations):-

"In order to reach the bottom of this reality, it is necessary as a preliminary, to understand the background in which it became possible for Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to advance his claims and to achi- eve success in his mission." "The Muslims of India, after leading a life of governance, glory and honour for an approximate period of 700 years, were beset with a variety of calamities and catastrophes owing to their indif- ference, inaction and ignorance:

(1) Internal dissensions and disunion led to inter- necine quarrels and they became extremely debilitated.

(2) Due to the aggression of their age-old ene- mies, the infidels, Muslim blood flowed in profusion at the hands of the Marahtas and the Sikhs.

(3) European Imperialists took undue advantage of this and extended their Imperialist tentac- les. They knew that the Muslims were endo wed with a spirit of revenge, sacrifice and martyrdom and possessed of a passion for de- fence of their religion in the fullest degree. "It was necessary therefore, to:-

(1) Break their collective strength and disorga- nise them.

(2) Crush their sense of self-respect and their spirit of sacrifice and martyrdom.

(3) Cultivate a spirit of devotion to and expec- tations from the Imperialist Powers.

(4) Entirely expunge the spirit of `Jihad', that is, readiness to sacrifice and gamble away their lives in defence of religion and community. "In view of the above, the chess players of Western Imperialism prepared a few peculiar pawns for the political board, the choicest of which were those that entered the field under the cloak of reli- gion and exponents of its technicalities."

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani was such a pawn who served the interests of the British Impe- rialism using the religion as his tool. As will be seen afterwards, his tenets were "Obey Allah and Obey the British Imperialism." Those who want a fuller account, should read the quotations given by Professor Ilyas Berni in "Qad- iani Mazhab Ka Ilmi Muhasiba" (part 2, Chapters 11 to 14). Here a few quotations are given just as a sample.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani writes:-

"In short my father was always hopeful of mercies of the British Government and continued to render services as the need arose, so much so, that the English Government honoured him with notes of appreciation and remembered him speci- ally with their gifts and bounties and sympathised with him and favoured him and considered him among their well-wishers and sincere supporters. "When my father expired, my brother succe- eded him in these qualities, and his name was Mir- za Ghulam Qadir, and the favours of the English Government were likewise showered on him just as on my father. "A few years after the death of my father, my brother also expired and after the decease of these both, I stepped into their shoes and follo- wed them in their characteristics. "But I was not possessed of wealth or pro- perty Therefore, I rose to serve the Gover- nment with my hand and my pen, and God was assisting me, and I made a compact with God from that time that I would never write a single volume which does not contain a description of the obliga- tions of the Queen Empress of India. Nay, the vo- lume must contain a narration of all the obliga- tions done to the Muslims of India for which the Muslims of India have to be grateful to her." ("Nurul Haq ", Part I, Page 28, written by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian).

"For the achievement of this object of mine I made it a practice to repeat in every writing of mine (Vide, for example, Baraheene Ahmadiyya, Shahadatul Qur'an, Surmae Chashme Arya, Ainae Kamalate Islam, Hamamatul Bushra, Nurul Haq, etc.) that `Jihad' against this Government is not at all permissible to the Muslims."

Statement Worthy of the attention of the Government, which was published for the perusal of the Empress of India (i.e., Queen Victoria), His Excellency the Governor-General of India and His Excellency Lieutenant Governor of Punjab and other High Officials from the humble Ghulam Ah- mad of Qadian; dated 10th December, 1894; reco- rded in `Tabligh-e-Risalat' (Vol. 3, p. 193, edited by Mir Qasim Ali Qadiani).

"The second matter to be submitted is this, that from the earliest age till now - and I am sixty years old now - I have been engaged with my ton gue and pen in this important task that I should turn the hearts of the Muslims of India towards true love, well-wishes and sympathy towards the English Government and remove from the minds of some senseless ones all ideas of `Jihad', etc., which stop them from sincerity of heart and hone- sty of relations and I notice that a tremen- dous impression has been made on the minds of the Muslims owing to my writings and hundreds of thousands of persons have been converted to a changed attitude."

(Petition to Nawwab Lieutenant Governor - May his fortune be eternal - from the humble Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian; dated 24th Feb ruary, 1898; recorded in `Tabligh-e-Risalat' Vol. 7, p. 10, edited by Mir Qasim Ali Qadiani). "The major portion of my life has passed in support of this English Government and I have wri- tten so many books on the `Prohibition of `Jihad' and `Obedience to the English' and have issued pamphlets that, if they were gathered together, no less than fifty cupboards could be filled with them. I have sent such books to all the countries like Ara- bia, Egypt, Syria, Kabul and Turkey. "I have always endeavoured that Muslims should become true well-wishers of this Govern- ment and the baseless traditions about Bloody Mehdi and Bloody Messiah which animate and inf- lame the hearts of fools may be obliterated from their minds."

(Tiryaqul-Qulub, p. 15, by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani). The British Government reciprocated this ser- vice as Mirza Mahmud Ahmad, the son and second Caliph of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, writes:- "The obligations of the British Government on us are great and we are passing our lives in great comfort and tranquility and accomplishing our ob ject and if we are to go to other countries for ` Tabligh' (propaganda), there, too, the British Go- vernment renders us assistance." (Barakat-e-Khi- lafat, p. 65).

How much Mirza Qadiani served the British Imperialism, is clear from the following declara- tion:-

"Thus, my religion which I do repeatedly dec- lare is only this, that Islam has two parts: One, to obey God, secondly, to obey this Government Thus, if we raise our head against the British 21 Government, we are raising our head against Islam, against God and against the Holy Prophet." (Government Ki Tawajjuh Ke Laik; by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani). It would be of interest to see what was their attitude towards the freedom movements of India. There were two organisations endeavouring to get independence: All India National Congress and All India Muslim League. Qadianis' attitude towards the Congress can be seen from the lecture of Mirza Mahmud Ahmad (the son and second caliph of the founder of Ahmadism), which was published in their newspaper `Al-Fazl' (Vol. 22, No. 91) dated 29th January, 1935. He said:-

"After that whenever the Congress launched any disturbance, we helped the (British) Govern- ment. At the time of the last movement of Gandhi, we spent Fifty Thousand Rupees on tracts and advertisement and we can prove it by records. Our men gave hundreds of lectures against that move- ment. We gave best advices which were appreciated by the High Officials." About Muslim League: The said `AI-Fazl' (Vol. 3, No. 78, dated 8th January, 1916) wrote:- "We remember that the real Reformer of the Muslims and the True Guide of the world, Prophet Masih-e-Maw'ud and Mehdi Akheruzzaman (i.e., Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani) when Muslim Lea- gue was mentioned before him, he expressed his displeasure at it. Can such a thing, which the Cho- sen of God and Ordained dislikes, be beneficial and blissful for the Muslims? No, Never."

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani went so far as to turn himself into a spy of the British Govern- ment against nationalists. He wrote in 'Govern- ment Ki Tawajjuh Ke Laiq' (recorded in Tabligh-e- Risalat) :-

"Whereas it is expedient that for the well- wishers of the English Government, the names of such Muslims also should be recorded in charts who look upon the British India as Dar-ul-Harb Therefore, this chart has been drawn up with the single object of preserving therein the names of those ungrateful people who are endowed with such rebellious nature. "Therefore, for the political sympathy of our benevolent Government, we have thought it proper on this blessed occasion that we should record as far as possible the names of such wicked people whose seditious intentions can be proved by their beliefs But we respectfully request the Government that such Charts will remain with us as a State secret in any of the Government offices until such time."

We should thank Allah that East Africa was not populated with persons of such servile menta- lity. Otherwise, these countries would have rema ined under British yoke forever, and the Union Jack would have been flying over the State Houses of Dar-es-Salaam, Nairobi and Entebbe even now. Dr. Iqbal says:- "To the intensely religious masses of Islam only one thing can make a conclusive appeal, and that is Divine Authority. For an effective eradica tion of orthodox beliefs it was found necessary to find a revelational basis for a politically suitable orientation of theological doctrines involved in the questions mentioned above. This revelational basis is provided by Ahmadism. And the Ahmadis them- selves claim this to be the greatest service rendered by them to British imperialism. The prophetic claim to revelational basis for theological view of a political significance amounts to declaring that those who do not accept the claimant's views are infidels of the first water and destined for the fla- mes of Hell.

"In primitive countries it is not logic but authority that appeals. Given a sufficient amount of ignorance and credulity which strangely enough sometimes co-exists with good intelligence and a person sufficiently audacious to declare himself recipient of Divine revelation whose denial would entail eternal damnation, it is easy in a subject Muslim country, to invent a political theology and to build a community whose creed is political ser- vility. And in the Punjab even an ill-woven net of vague theological expressions can easily capture the innocent peasant who has been for centuries exposed to all kinds of exploitation.

"As I have explained above the function of Ahmadism in the history of Muslim religious thought is to furnish a revelational basis for India's present political subjugation". (i.e., under British imperialism). To show how the Qadiani missionaries try to twist the subject, I quote here from `A Lively Dis- cussion' published by the `Ahmadiyya Muslim Mis sion Of Tanganyika' in 1967. Their Chief Missio- nary, Sheikh Muhammad Munawwar H.A., trying to refute this blame has written:-

"Muslim scholars over the ages have been pra- ising their governments for one reason or the other without being criticised by their fellow-Muslims. Here in Tanzania the Shia Alim, Sayed Saeed Akh- tar Rizvi, wrote an article in The Standard dated August 25, 1967 to show that the Arusha Declara- tion contained certain aspects that went parallel with the Islamic teaching. No finger was pointed at the writer of the article to condemn his "collu- sion" with the un-Islamic government. Nor was he given the title of a "toady" or a "Quisling". He is so naive that he does not see the diffe- rence between showing that an ideology of a free national government "contained certain aspects that went parallel with the Islamic Teachings" and supporting the tyrannical rule of an imperial power and forbidding the wretched `subjects' to rise aga- inst it and making that support an integral part of the religion, next in importance to the belief in the unity of God! If he wants to keep his eyes shut to such clear differences, nobody on earth has any power to make him see.

Dr. Iqbal further writes:- "A similar drama had already been acted in Persia; but it did not lead, and could not have led, to the religious and political issues which Ahma dism has created for Islam in India. Russia offered tolerance to Babism and allowed the Babis to open their first missionary center in Is'hagabad. England showed Ahmadis the same tolerance in allowing them to open their First missionary center in Wok- ing. Whether Russia and England showed this tole- rance on the ground of imperial expediency or pure broadmindedness is difficult for us to decide. This much is absolutely clear that this tolerance has created difficult problems for Islam in Asia."

Then Dr. Iqbal winds up his discourse with declaring the Ahmadi movement as being a "stra- nge mixture of Semitic and Aryan mysticism with whom spiritual revival consists not in the purifica- tion of the individual's inner life according to the principles of the old Islamic Sufi'ism, but in satis- fying the expectant attitude of the masses by pro- viding a `promised' Messiah. The function of this promised Messiah is not to extricate the individual from an enervating present but to make him slavi- shly surrender his ego to its dictates. This reaction carries within itself a very subtle contradiction. It retains the discipline of Islam, but destroys the will which that discipline was intended to fortify."

Chapter Four: Tafseer of `Khatamun-Nabiyyin'

"Behold! thou didst say to one who had rece- ived the grace of God and thy favour: "Retain thou (in wedlock) thy wife and fear God". But thou didst hide in thy heart that which God was about to make manifest: thou didst fear the peo- ple, but it is more fitting that thou shouldst fear God. "Then when Zaid had dissolved (his marriage) with her with the necessary (formality), We joined her in marriage to thee: in order that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the believers in (the matter of) marriage with the wives of their adop- ted sons, when the latter had dissolved with the necessary (formality-their marriage) with them. And God's command must be fulfilled.

"There can be no difficulty to the Prophet in what God had indicated to him as a duty. It was the way of God amongst those of old that have passed away. And the command of God is a decree determined. "(It is the practice of) those who preach the message of God and wear Him, and fear none but God. And enough is God to call (men) to account. Mohammed is not the father of any of your men, but (he) is The Apostle of God and the last of the Prophets. And God has full knowledge of all things". (Qur'an, 33:37-40) This (verse) is revealed in the fifth Ruku of Chapter Al-Ahzab. In this `Ruku' Allah has replied to the objections of the unbelievers and the hypoc rites, who were ridiculing and slandering the Holy Prophet because of his marriage with Ummul- Mumeneen Zainab bint Jahash.

They said that Zainab was previously married to Zaid bin Haritha, who prior to Islam, was adop- ted by the Holy Prophet as his son. The detractors said, as such Zainab was the daughter-in-law of the Holy Prophet; and when the Holy Prophet married her, after her divorce from Zaid, he married his daughter-in-law which is haraam even in the Sha- ri'ah brought by Muhammad (p.u.h.a.h.f.) Replying to that, Allah said in verse No. 37 that that marriage was entered into by the order of Allah, and performed by Allah, so that the Mus lims should be made free to marry the wives of their adopted sons if the said so-called sons were to divorce them.

Verses Nos. 38 and 39 declare that no power can detract a prophet from doing what he was told by Allah to do. And it is not the job of the pro phet to be afraid of the masses in performing the commands of Allah. They fear only Allah, and no one else. And it is the way of Allah from ever that makes the prophets to convey the message of Allah without any hesitation, without taking any thing else into their consideration. After that comes this verse; and it cuts at the roots of all such objections of the enemies of the Holy Prophet.

Their first objection was that the Holy Pro- phet had married his daughter-in-law, which is for- bidden in Islam. Replying to that, Allah said: "Muhammad was not father of anyone from among your men-folk". It reminds the unbelievers that Zaid bin Hari- tha (whose divorcee Zainab was), was not the son of the Holy Prophet, and as such Zainab was not the daughter-in-law of the Holy Prophet. Marrying the divorcee of Zaid therefore cannot be said to be forbidden by any logic. Even his enemies knew that Muhammad was not the father of Zaid.

Second objection: Agreed that Zaid was not the son of the Holy Prophet by birth; but was he not his son by adoption? Agreed that it was not illegal for Muhammad to marry the divorced wife of Zaid. But was that marriage necessary? Agreed that that marriage was legal and lawful. But what was the need of entering into such a marriage which could make Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.- h.f.) the target of ridicule?

Replying to that, Allah said:

"But Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah". The significance of this answer is that, being a Messenger of Allah, ii was essential for him to re- move all superstitions end prejudices and all base- less taboos which were choking the life out from the society. It was essential for him to act in such a way that nobody could remain in any doubt about the legality of such marriages and about the fact that an adopted son was not a son at all. Then comes the phrase:"The Last of The Prophets". The significance of this phrase is that, after the Holy Prophet of Islam not even a prophet is to come (let alone a Rasul whose job is to bring a new Shari`ah ). No prophet was to come after him, so that if any deficiency were left unreformed in the legal or social system of the so- ciety or religion, the later prophet would remove that defect. Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) was the last Messenger; he was the Last Prophet. And therefore it was essential for him to effect reforms to all the bad practices of the society, to refute all superstitions during his life-time, because there was no Nabi to come after him, let alone a Rasul.

Then comes the sentence:

"And Allah has the full knowledge of every- thing". Why this assertion? Allah wants to convey the idea that Allah knows that if Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) left this world without reforming the bad elements of the society, no prophet was to come after him to fill that gap; and if Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) left without giving effect to all the reforms of the society, no such person was ever to appear who would have such respect, pres- tige and reverence among the masses that his every word and his every action would have the force of Law. It was the prerogative of the Holy Prophet of Islam; and nobody had, or was to have, such res- pect that if he did one thing it became lawful for upto Qiyamah ( Resurrection day), and if he for- bade one thing, that became unlawful for upto Qiyamah This prestige was bestowed by Allah upon the Last Prophet and Allah knew that if he did not reform such bad customs no other person would ever be able to give effect to such reforms after the Holy Prophet.

Looking at this verse in this context, it is cry- stal clear that we cannot accept a new meaning to this verse invented by a home-made claimant of prophethood from Qadian, that ` Khatamun-Nabi- yyin' means `Seal of the prophets', which in its turn means that the prophets coming after the Holy Prophet of Islam would become prophet by the seal of the Holy Prophet, and by his confir- mation. If we were to entertain such idea, all the force and logic will be wiped out. Not only that it will lose its logic - it will be tantamount to refu- ting whatever was put forward in the preceding phrases and sentences. This verse will become a self-contradictory statement.

How?

We have seen that Allah wanted to reply to the objections of the enemies of the Holy Prophet, by saying that:

1. The Holy Prophet married Ummul-Mumeneen Zainab bint Jahash by order of Allah.

2. The aim of that marriage was to remove the prejudice and superstition and traditional taboo of the pagan Arabs and many other nations who treated the adopted sons as the real sons.

3. It was necessary, nay essential, for Muham- mad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) to marry the divo- rced wife of his adopted son, so that Muslims should not feel shy of such marriages; they should be persuaded by the practical example of the Holy Prophet that such marriages are perfectly lawful, because an adopted son is no son at all.

4. To show the urgency of that marriages, Allah says that Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) is the Messenger of Allah and it was impera- tive for him to give effect to that marriage to provide a practical example.

And then the Qadianis say that, Allah says: "Many Prophets will come after Muhammad Mus- tafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) who will be made prophets by the confirmation from him, and who will be in a position to give effect to whatever reforms were needed in their times!

And what would have been the effect of such declaration?

As soon as the enemies of the Holy Prophet were to learn this they would easily have said: "Then what was the urgency that Muhammad him self should perform this marriage to show the Mus- lims legality of such marriages? As other prophets were to come after him, any other prophet could have legalised such marriages by showing his own example! There was no need on the part of Muha- mmad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) to perform that ma- rriage".

Thus, the whole force of the arguments show- ing the urgent need of that marriage is negated, wiped out and cancelled. Not only this: a weapon is given in the hands of the enemies of the Holy Prophet to attack him and ridicule him, saying that "he married the divorced wife of his adopted son while there was no urgency for him to do so. After all, other prophets coming after him could have shown to the world that there was nothing wrong in such marriages."

It is clear from this explanation, that if the interpretation of the Qadianis is accepted then not only the logic of the replies will be lost, but the verse will become a mass of contradictory state- ments. Allah says:

"If this Qur'an would have been from other than Allah, then they would have found in it much contradiction." (Qur'an, 4:82) If an interpretation creates contradictions in a verse, it means that that interpretation is not from Allah; it is from other than Allah - it is from Satan. Another interpretation of the Qadianis is that `Khatamun-Nabiyyin' means `Afzalun-Nabiy- yin' i.e., Muhammad is the superior to all prophets. [n other words, other prophets would come after him, but he is the greatest, most respected and most honoured of all prophets.

Apart from the fact, that this interpretation shows that Qadianis themselves are not sure what new meaning they should give to the phrase `Kha tamun-Nabiyyin', the same defect of contradiction is inherent in that interpretation also. How? The unbelievers and the hypocrites could have retorted that when other prophets were to come after Mu- hammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.), though inferior to Muhammad, but prophet of Allah all the same, they could have carried out such reform and that there was no need or urgency for Muhammad Mus- tafa.(p.u.h.a.h.f.) to perform that marriage and put himself in ridicule unnecessarily.

Chapter Five: 'Khatamun-Nabiyyin' in Tradition

One often hears Qadiani missionaries asserting that the phrase "Khatamun-Nabiyyin" has not been interpreted as "the Last Prophet" by the Holy Prophet himself. The fact is that the Holy Prophet himself has explained this phrase in these words: "And I am Khatamun-Nabiyyin, there is no prophet after myself".

The Tradition (Hadith) is this:

"Thauban said that the Holy Prophet said: (in a long tradition part of which is that) "there will appear in my Ummah thirty imposters each of them will claim to be a prophet while I am Khata- ' mun-Nabiyyin, there is no prophet after me." This tradition is found in Abu Dawood Kitab- ul-Fitan; and another tradition of the same mea- ning from Abu Huraira in Kitab-ul-Malahim. Both traditions are narrated by Tirmizi also.

The Second Tradition:

The Holy Prophet said: "The simile of myself and the other prophets is the simile of a well-built palace in which the place of a brick was left va cant; the sight-seers were roaming around that pa- lace expressing their wonder on its fine construc- tion except the place of that missing brick. Thus, I am that brick and I closed the gap of that place. The construction was completed by me and the messengers of God were completed by me. So, I am that brick and I am ` Khatamun-Nabiyyin' (the last Prophet)."

This tradition has been recorded in Saheeh Bukhari (Kitab-ul-Manaqib; Bab Khatamun-Nabiy- yin) with minor variations in wordings. It means that after the advent of the Holy Prophet of Islam, the building of Prophethood was complete; there is no vacant place left, so that another Nabi be expected to come and fill that place. There are four traditions like this one in Sa- heeh( Kitabul-Fadhail, Bab Khatamun-Na- biyyin), and the last of those traditions has these extra words, "Then I came and I closed the prophets".

The same tradition in the same words is found in Saheeh Tirmizi (Kitab-ul-Manaqib, Bab Fazlin-Nabi; and Kitab-ul-Adab, Bab-ul-Amthal). In Musnad of Abu Dawood Tayalisi this tradi- tion has been narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah An- sari, and its last words are "The Prophets have been closed by me". And these traditions with minor differences in the wordings are found in Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal narrated by Ubai bin Ka'ab, Abu Said Khudri and Abu Huraira.

The Third Tradition:

The Holy Prophet said: "Qiyamah will not come till many groups from my Ummah follow the idol-worshippers (commit capital sins like the idol worshippers) and till they worship idols; and surely there will be in my Ummah 30 impostors, every- one of them will suppose himself to be a prophet; while I am `Khatamun-Nabiyyin' (last prophet), there is no prophet after me." Tirmizi has narrated these traditions from Thauban and Abu Huraira, and the second tradi- tion says:

"Till there will be about thirty impostors each of them would claim to be a messenger of Allah".

QADIANIS' EXCUSE:

A Qadiani missionary wrote to me about this tradition: "But this prophecy was already fulfilled before Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. The book `Al-Bakara' p.15 , says that "If we count all those who claimed prophethood after the Holy Prophet upto our time, this number has been completed. And it is known to all those who know the his- tory." The writer of this book died in 828 Hijri. Upto this year (i.e., 1390) 562 years have passed since that writing. Do you think that writer was wrong?"

I wrote to him: "Well, what book is this `Al- Bakara'? Who was its author? This clutching to str- aws shows how poor your arguments are. Of cou rse, he was wrong, because centuries after him, Na- wwab Siddiq Hasan Khan of Bhopal (who died in 1889 A.D.), wrote in his book `Hujajul-Kara- mah' "The prophecy of the Holy Prophet - that there would come 30 Dajjals in this Ummah - is proving correct; and 27 of those Dajjals have alre- ady appeared." (page 540).

Remember that this - count of 27 was before the claim of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. Sometimes, some writers have committed the mistake of counting everyone who claimed pro- phethood after the Holy Prophet as one of those 30 promised Dajjals. But it is wrong, because in this way we will find hundreds of Dajjal and the number 30 would be exceeded by far.

That is why imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani has written in `Fat'h-ul-Bari Sharh Saheeh Bukhari' (Vol.VI, p455):- "It is not the meaning of this tradition to count every person who claimed to be prophet (after Muhammad p.u.h.a.h.f.); because there were so many of them that they cannot be counted; as mostly such claimants suffer from insanity and "Sawda. "* But this tradition means only those who get some strength i.e., whose religion beco- mes accepted and who gets sufficient followers". Therefore, if we add one more after 1889, the total ccmes to 28. There are still two more to come.

"Sawda": In ancient and medieval physiology, four chief fluids of the body (which were called 4 humours or 4 cardinals) were blood, phlegm, choler and melan- cholia or black choler. These four cardinals by their re- lative proportions were supposed to determine a per- son's physical and mental qualities. Melancholia or black choler is called in Arabic `Sawda' (literally, `black subs- tance'). Excess of `Sawda' (melancholia, black choler) was supposed to cause mental ailments like melancholia, (insanity and mania) besides many ailments of blood etc. Gradually, the word came to be used for insanity, mania and melancholia, in common language.

Then we come to the public declaration of Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (p.u. h.), which is given in Al-Iqd-ul-Farid, Vol. IV, p. 75. In this lecture, Imam Ali (p.u.h.) said about the Holy Prophet Muhammad (p.u.h.a.h.f.): "Until, Allah honoured him (Muhammad) by Ruh-ul-Amin (i.e., Angel Gabriel) and the Bright Light (i.e., Qur'an or Islam) and completed with him the prophets and completed with him the number of the Messengers."

'`com-See how the word pleted with him the prophets" has been explained "completed withby him the number of the Messengers".

It should be noted that in the whole Qur'an, the word 'Khatam' has been used only once and that is in this phrase. Also, this phrase "Khatamun Nabiyyin" was never used in Arabic language befo- re this verse. It was a new phrase which was used for the first time in the Qur'an in this verse. And, therefore, the only correct way of knowing its real significance is to see how this phrase was interpre- ted by the Holy Prophet of Islam, because it was revealed to him, and as such no other person can know its meaning better than he. And he himself interpreted in these words: "And I am Khatamun-Nabiyyin, there is no prophet after me".

The saying of the Holy Prophet is a proof in itself. But when that saying is the interpretation of the wording of the Holy Qur'an, then it becomes double proof. The question is: Who has more right to understand Qur'an and to interpret the Qur'an than Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.)? Who can explain the meaning of Khatamun-Nabiyyin better than Muhammad (p.u.h.a.h.f.)? And who has any right that we should listen to his claims leaving the wording of the Holy Prophet of Islam aside, the Holy Prophet on whom the Qur'an was revealed? Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani himself has said:

"Nobody can explain the meaning of Ilham (Reve- lation) better than the person on whom that Ilham Was sent". Ishtihar of Mirza Qadiani, 7/8/1887, recor- ded in Tabligh-e-Risalat, Vol. 1, p. 121)

Chapter Six: Other Traditions

Now we give here some of the other traditions of the Holy Prophet which show that he himself did claim to be the Last Of The Prophets, using other phrases:-

The Fourth Tradition:

The Holy Prophet said, "Bani Israel, prophets were leading them; when a prophet died another prophet succeeded him. But after me there will be no prophet; there will be Caliphs." (Saheeh Bu- khari, Kitab-ul-Manaqib). The Fifth Tradition: The Holy Prophet said: "Verily, the Messen- gership and the Prophethood have (now) ended; so there is no messenger after me and no prophet." (Tirmizi Kitab al-Ru'uya, Babu Dhihab al-Nubuw- wah; Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal from Anas bin Malik).

The Sixth Tradition: This tradition, is found in Saheeh Bukhari; Saheeh Muslim, Kitab-ul- Fadhail; Bab Asmain-Nabi); Saheeh Tirmizi, (Ki tab-ul-Adab, Bab Asmain-Nabi); Muwatta (Kitab- ul-Asmain-Nabi); Mustadrak of Al-Hakim, (Kitab al-Tarikh Bab Asmain-Nabi):- The Holy Prophet said: "I am Muhammad; and I am Ahmad; and I am Mahi, the Kufr will be erased by me; and I am Hashir, i.e., after me peo ple will be gathered in Hashr (i.e., after me there will be no prophet; - after me there will be only Qiyamah; and I am Aaqib after whom there will be no prophet."

The Seventh Tradition: The Holy Prophet said: "God did not send any prophet but He warned His Ummah about Da- jjal ( But he did not appear among them). And I am the last of the prophets and you are the last of the Ummahs, and he will appear among you anyhow."

Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab-ul-Fitan, Bab-ul-Daj- jal). The Eighth Tradition: There is another tradi- tion in Saheeh Muslim, Saheeh Tirmizi and Sunan Ibn Majah which says:

The Holy Prophet said: "I have been given superiority over other prophets by six distinctions - (1) I have been given the ability to utter short sentences covering wide range of meanings: (2) I was helped by fear; (3) The booty of war was made lawful for me; (4) The earth has been made for me Masjid and a means to cleanliness; (5) I have been sent as the Messenger of Allah to the whole world; (6) And the chain of the Prophets was finished by me."

The Ninth Tradition:

Abdur-Rahman bin Jubair said that he heard Abdullah bin Amr bin As saying that one day the Holy Prophet came out of his house in such a man ner as he was taking our leave; and he said three times: "I am Muhammad the unlettered prophet." Then he said, "and there is no prophet after me." The Tenth Tradition:

This tradition is found in Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Nasai and Abu Dawood. The Holy Prophet said: "There is no prophethood after me, except the good tidings." He was asked. "And what are the good tidings, O' Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Good dreams". or he said "true dreams". It means that there was no possibility of revelation after the Holy Prophet. The utmost that anybody will be given as a sign from Allah will be through the true dreams. The Eleventh Tradition: Baihaqi in his Saheeh (Kitab al-Ru'uya) and Tabardni have narrated that the Holy Prophet_ said:

"There is no Nabi after me and there is no Ummah after my Ummah." The Twelfth Tradition: This tradition is found in Saheeh Muslim ( Kitab-ul-Hajj). The Holy Prophet said: "And I am the last of the Prophets and my Masjid is the last of the mosques."

It should be mentioned here that the Qadi- anis claim that the Holy Prophet said that his Mas- jid was"the Last Masjid", while in fact it is not the last of the mosques, because after that millions of mosques have been built and are being built every day in the world; likewise when the Holy Prophet said that he was the he meant that there would be pro- pnets coming after him; though according to the Fadhilah he was the Supreme Most Prophet as his Masjid is Superior to all other mosques. But these people have lost the ability to un- derstand the words of Allah and His Prophet. This tradition has been narrated in Saheeh Muslim in the chapter where Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) has said that there are only three mosques in the world which have superiority over other mosques and the prayers in which is thou- sand times more rewarding than in other mosques; and it is for this reason that travelling for the pur- pose of prayers is allowed and lawful to these three mosques only. Other mosques have no right that a man should travel to pray there leaving the other mosques. First of those mosques is the Masjid-ul- Haram, which was built by Prophet Abraham and Prophet Ishmael (p.u.t.); the second mosque is the Masjid-ul-Aqsa which was built by Prophet David and Prophet Solomon (p.u.t.); and the third mos- que is the Masjid of Madina built by the Holy Pro- phet (p.u.h.a.h.f.). The Holy Prophet meant that as there is no prophet coming after him there will be no mosque in the world after his mosque which would have more thawab (spiritual reward) and superiority over other mosques. Thus it is the last of the mosques of the prophets and the last mos- que to which a man is allowed to travel for the purpose of prayer in it.

This meaning is clear from another tradition where the wording is "I am the last of the prophets and my mos- que is the last of the mosques of the prophets."

This tradition is narrated by Daylami, Ibn- Najjar and Bazzar and is recorded in Kanz-ul- Ummal.

The Thirteenth Tradition `Hadith-ul-Manzi-: lah' is the saying of the Holy Prophet (p.u.h.a.h.f.), which he said at the time of his journey to Tabuk. This tradition is correct without any doubt from any quarter, and innumerable traditionalist and historians have recorded it. Some of them are:

Saheeh Bukhari, vol.3, p.58

Saheeh Muslim, vol.2, p.323

Sunan Ibn Majah, vol.1, p.28

Mustadrak; vo1.3, p.109

Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, vol.1, p.173-182

At the time of that journey, the Holy Prophet had left Imam Ali, as his successor in Medina. Imam Ali said: "You are leaving me behind among the women and children." The Holy Prophet rep- lied:

"Are you not pleased that you have the same position with me as Aaroon had with Moses, exc- ept that there is no prophet after me." This also is a great proof from the tradition of the Holy Pro- phet that there would be no prophet after him. These and other traditions have been narrated by numerous companions of the Holy Prophet and it proves that the Holy Prophet of Islam on diffe- rent occasions, in different ways and in different words has made it crystal clear that he was the last of the prophets, and there was no Nabi coming after him, that the chain of Nubuwwah (Prophet- hood) has been completed, that anybody who clai- med to be a Rasul or Nabi after him would be Dajjal and Kazzab (liar).

Can there be any other interpretation or mea- ning of the words of Qur'an `Khatamun-Nabiyyin' than this? Also there is the Declaration of Sahdba just after the death of Holy Prophet that from then on there was no Nabi to come. The famous collection of the lectures etc., of Imam Ali (p.u.h.) known as `Nahj-ul-Balagha' ( which has been published in Egypt with footnotes and explanations of Sheikh Muhammad Abduh) records on p.463:-

Imam Ali (p.u.h.) said when he was washing the body of Holy Prophet (p.u.h.a.h.f.): "My father and mother be your ransom, such a thing has been discontinued with your death which was never discontinued with the death of any other person, (and that thing is) Prophethood, announ- cement (of Ghaib) and the news of heaven."

Chapter Seven: `Nubuwwah' without new Shari'ah?

Concerning the last tradition mentioned in the previous chapter, the Qadiani missionary had written to me:-

"Imam Muhammad Tahir Gujrati has written in his Takmila Majma-ul-Bihar (p.85) that meaning ofis that no such prophet will come after me who will abrogate my Shari`ah " I wrote in reply: "First of all, all such writers refer to the sec- ond coming of Prophet Jesus, son of Mary (p.u.h.) whose Nubuwwah (Prophethood) was some 600 years before the advent of our Holy Prophet. They mean that if a previous prophet re-appears after the Holy Prophet it is not against the `Finality of Prophethood', because even when he will come he will follow the Shari'ah of our Holy Prophet. Not only this; he will refrain even from leading the pra- yers, and will pray behind the Imam of the Mus- liars. Thus he will live just like other Muslims - he will not call people to believe in his own Nubuw- wah; he will not bring any revelation; he will not establish any new community, separate from all the Muslims.

`Khatamun-Nabiyyin' has closed the door of prophethood so far as the newcomers are concer- ned. But it has not stripped the previous prophets of their prophethood. This meaning has clearly been written in `Mishkat-ul-Masabih' in a note un- der the wording of the Holy Prophet "and the prophets were ended witn me" wnicn says:

"i.e., creation of the prophets; thus no prophet will be created after me". This edition of Mishkat was printed in 1307 A.H., long before the claim of prophethood by Mirza Qadiani. "So you must understand that the Muslim writers do not say that a new prophet can come after the Holy Prophet, calling the people to beli eve in himself. When they say Isa bin Mariam they do mean Isa bin Mariam; they do not even dream of any Masil (likeness) of Masih or any Ghulam Ahmad bin Ghulam Murtaza of Qadian. "If, as you believe, Prophet Isa bin Mariam has died and is not to come again, then all the wri- tings of Muslim scholars in this respect would be worthless: you cannot fasten them on Mirza Ghu- lam Ahmad Qadiani who surely was not born be- fore the Holy Prophet, and who was not born with- out father and whose mother was Chiragh bibi and not Mariam bint Imran.

"Look at in this way. Either the writings of these scholars about re-coming of Prophet Isa (p.u.h.) are correct or are wrong. If they are cor rect, then they refer to Isa bin Mariam, not to, Ghulam Ahmad bin Ghulam Murtaza. And if these' writings are wrong, then how can you prove your ideas with a wrong assertion? Frankly speaking; this twisting of the writings of scholars cannot do you any good.

WHY NOT PERFECT PROPHETHOOD?

"Moreover, why do you say that no Saheb-e- Shari'ah prophet can come after the Holy Prophet of Islam?

"According to your interpretations, there is nothing in the Qur'an to prove that the Holy Pro- phet of Islam was the Last Prophet; Khatamun Nabiyyin means just a "seal of the Prophets" or "the supreme-most prophet", and shows just the supremacy of the Holy Prophet over all the other prophets, Saheb-e-Shari`ah and non-Saheb-e-Shar- i`ah alike; `La Nabiyya Ba`di' means only that no Saheb-e-Shari'ah prophet will come afterwards. "Alright. What is the trouble if a Saheb-e- Shari'ah Nabi, like Prophet Moses (p.u.h.), comes after the Holy Prophet and whose grade is below that of the Holy Prophet? Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani wrote in seve- ral places that "is it not ridiculous to think that in this Ummah Siddiqs, Martyrs, and Pious people will come but no prophet will come? Well, is not prophethood a grace of Allah? Why this `grace' should be withdrawn from this Ummah which was to be the best of all Ummahs?"

"Well, now tell me: Why a Saheb-e-Shari'ah prophet should not come into this Ummah? Is not Saheb-e-Shari'ah prophethood more perfect than the prophethood without a new Shari`ah? Why this superior `grace of Allah' has been withheld from this Ummah?"

"Once you say that Muhammad Mustafa (p.- u.h.a.h.f.) was not the Last Prophet, you cannot say that a Saheb-e-Shari'ah prophet cannot come into this Ummah". "And following your trend of thinking, tbp idol-worshippers may easily say: 'La Ilaha Illa 'llah' does not mean that there is no other god. It just means that there are many other gods, but they are under Allah, their godship is inferior to Allah; and their inferior godship is not against the belief in the Unity of God, because these gods are only His followers."

IBN-E-`ARABI'S VIEWS

Qadiani also claim that Sheikh Muhyiddin Ibn `Arabi of Spain has said that `it is possible for a Muslim saint (Wali) to attain in his spiritual evolu tion prophetic revelations.' Before going further it is necessary to remind the Qadianis that Sheikh Muhyiddin Ibn `Ardbi was a believer in ` Wahdat-ul- wujud' (The Unity of Being): he believed that everything is He (i.e., God). This belief has been termed by Muslim theologians as the biggest paga- nism, which turns even a dog and pig into a deity. And the second Caliph of the Qadianis, Mirza Mah- mud Ahmad, said in his Khutba (sermon) of Fri- day, printed in the Al-Fazl, dated 20th October, 1925 (Vol.13, No.46) about Ibn-e-`Arabi that `his knowledge was not complete; therefore, Ibn-e- ` Arabi went out to the (belief of) Wahdat-ul- wujud.'

Now, is it not astonishing that they want to base their faith on the alleged views of a man whose knowledge was not complete! Coming to the views of the said Sheikh Muh- yiddin Ibn-e-`Arabi, we may quote from `Islam and Ahmadism' of Dr. Igbal. It should he noted that ` Tasawwu f ( Mysticism) was the spe-ial subject of Dr. Iqbal. He writes:-

"I personally believe this view of the Sheikh Muhyiddin Ibn-e-`Arabi to be psychologically un- sound; but assuming it to be correct to (sic) Qadi ani argument is based on a complete misunderstan- ding of his position. The Sheikh regards it as a purely private achievement which does not, and in the nature of things cannot, entitle such a saint to declare that all those who do not believe in him are outside the pale of Islam. Indeed, from the Sheikh's point of view there may be more than one saint, living in the same age or country, who may attain to prophetic consciousness.

"The point to be realized is that while it is psychologically possible for a saint to attain to prophetic experience his experience will have no social-political significance making him the centre of a new organization and entitling him to declare this organization to be the criterion of the faith or disbelief of the followers of Muhammad.

"Leaving his mystical psychology aside, I am convinced from a careful study of the relevant pas- sages of the Futuhat that the great Spanish mystic is as firm a believer in the Finality of Muhammad as any orthodox Muslim. And if he had seen in his mystical vision that one day in the East some In- dian amateur in Sufism would seek to destroy the Holy Prophet's Finality under cover of his mysti- cal psychology, he would have certainly anticipa- ted the IndianUlama ( Muslim scholars) in warning the Muslims of the world against such traitors to Islam."

To make Dr. Iqbal's meaning clear, here are some quotations from the Sufis' books. Sheikh Abdul-Wahhab Sha'arani writes in his `Al-Yawaqit- wal-Jawahir' (p.25):- "The difference between them (i.e., Nabi and Rasul) is that the Nabi, when the Spirit (i.e., angel) reveals to him anything, the Nabi keeps that reve lation to himself reservedly and he is forbidden to convey that (revelation) to another person. "And if he is told to "convey what is sent to you" [either to a special group, as was the case with all the prophets; or to one and all - and this universal prophethood was not given to anyone except Muhammad (p.u.h.a.h.f.) J he is called Rasul.

"So, if he is not given any such order which is to his own self only (not meant for the Ummah) he is called "Rasul" not "Nabi". And that is the "Tashree'i" prophethood which is not for the "Walis" (saints)." Thus it is clear that in the language of the Sufis even a Wali is supposed to receive the revela- tions from God and he is called `Nabi'; but he is absolutely forbidden to convey that revelation to others. Also, it is clear that all the prophets whom the Muslims call "Nabi ", irrespective of whether they brought any new Shari`ah or not (i.e., Saheb- e-Shari'ah and Ghair Saheb-e-Shari`ah both), are called "Rasul" in Sufic terminology, because those prophets were told by Allah to convey the revela- tions to their Ummah.

It is because of this terminology, which ga- thers all the prophets under the heading "Rasul" and all the Awliya under the heading "Nabi" that the Sufis of Islam said that the Holy Prophet of Is- lam closed `Saheb-e-Shari`ah' prophethood (which term includes all the "prophets" of common Mus- lim terminology).

But, as Dr. lqbal points out, the "Wali" who, according to the Sufis' claim, receives revelation is expressly forbidden to call anyone to his fold or to start any new rengious group. How can this fit on Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani who surely called people to believe in him and started a new Ummah? Sheikh Muhyiddin Ibn Al'Arabi al-Andalusi has clearly written in Al-Futuhat-ul-Makkiya, using the common terminology:- "The speciality which is found in a Nabi, and not in a Wali, is the revelation bringing a new Shari`ah. Because the revelation of Shari`ah is not but for the Nabi and Rasul."

Thus he claims the revelations for the Awliya (saints) after the Holy Prophet of Islam, but that revelation does not entitle that Wali to call people to himself, or to convey that revelation to others. Also, as there may be hundreds of Walis (Aw- liya) in one time, the Sufis' writings can not fit on Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani who claimed that no one but he himself can become a prophet after Muhammad.

NEW `NUBUWWAH': NOT A GRACE, BUT A CURSE

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani thought that a new Nubuwwah (Prophethood) would be a Grace of Allah for this Ummah. But in fact such a Nubu- wwah would be opposite of Grace; it would be a Curse. How? Whenever a Nabi would come in an Ummah, there would automatically arise the question of Kufr (blasphemy) and Iman (faith). Those who will believe in him will become one Ummah; those who will reject his claim will be counted as another Ummah. And the difference between these two Ummahs will not be of an unimportant `branch' of religion. It will be such a basic difference which will not allow them to unite until one of them leaves its faith and accepts the faith of the other Ummah. Further, the sources of guidance and the references of Shari`ah, for all practical purposes, will be quite separate for each of these two Ummahs. Because one group will take its Shari`ah from the revelation and tradition of the new Nabi, and the other group will totally refute the validity and. authenticity of that supposed revelation and tradition, and will not accept them as the source of Shari`ah. Thus practically, it will be impossible for these two groups to unite in one society.

If we look from this angle, it will be clear that the `Finality' of the prophethood is one of the gre- atest mercies of Allah upon this Ummah. Because of this Finality of the prophethood, this Ummah has remained an eternal and universal brotherhood which is unparralleled in the annals of religions and civilizations. This Finality of Prophethood has pro- tected the Muslims from every such basic diffe- rence which creates a permanent rift amongst them. Anybody who believes in Muhammad Mus- tafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) becomes a member of this bro- therhood. This unity could never be achieved if the door of Nubuwwah was not closed, because on the arrival of every new Nabi, this unity would have been shattered to the pieces. If a man thinks with clear mind he will have to accept that when a Nabi has already been sent for the whole world, and when through that Nabi the religion is completed perfectly, and when the directions of that Nabi are preserved, protected completely, then the door of the Nubuwwah must be closed, so that the whole world can unite together by following that prophet and can become one Ummah of the believers which is not to be interfered every now and then with the advent of new prophets.

This interference in the unity was understan- dable when there was really a need to send a pro- phet, then it is against the wisdom and mercy of Allah to create unnecessary friction amongst the Ummah of Islam.

Thus it is clear that the Finality of the Pro- phethood which is proved from the Qur'an, is pro- ved from the traditions of the Holy Prophet, is proved from the unanimity of the whole Ummah, is also proved by the intellect and wisdom. Thus, Qur'an, Sunnah, Ijma', and Aql, all four basic foundations of Shari'ah and Iman de- mand that the door of Nubuwwah must remain closed for ever after the advent of the Holy Pro- phet of Islam.

There is a very simple and interesting ques- tion which the Qadianis should ponder upon. Every body accepts that the question of prophet hood is a very serious question. According to the Qur'an, it is in those basic tenets of Islam upon which depends the true belief or the Kufr of a man. If a certain man is a true prophet and one does not accept him one becomes Kafir. On the other hand, if that claimant is not a prophet and someone accepts him as a true prophet he beco- mes Kafir. Nobody can think that Allah Ta'ala would behave carelessly and off-handedly in such a serious matter. If there was a Nabi to come after Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) Allah should, nay must, have made the Holy Prophet announce it very clearly in his sayings; and the Holy Prophet of Islam (p.u.h.a.h.f.) could not have left this world without warning his Ummah in unambigu- ous terms that there was a prophet to come after him and the Ummah of Islam must accept him.

Naturally Allah and His Prophet had no en- mity against the followers of Islam, against us and against our faith, that though the door of Nubuw- wah was to remain open after Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.), though there was a Nabi to come after him, still we were kept unaware of that event and that advent. On the contrary, Allah and His Prophet both uttered such sayings which led the whole Ummah, without any sectarian difference and without any exception, to the belief, for four- teen hundred years, that there was no Nabi to come after Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.). If the door of Nubuwwah is really open, and if a Nabi comes truly from God, still we will refute his claim, we will reject his prophethood without any hesitation, without any fear of reprisal from Allah. When Allah, on the Day of Judgement, will take our account and will ask us why we rejected the prophet sent after Muhammad, we will put the whole record of Qur'an and traditions before Him, and we will say that if we went astray it was beca- use of the book of Allah and traditions of His Rasul. And after the presentation of these records, we are sure Allah cannot mete any punishment to us, because of rejecting a new prophet.

But if the door of Nubuwwah is in fact closed after Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) and still some one believes in the claim of a claimant of a new Nubuwwah, he should think beforehand what record will he put in the court of Allah on the Day of Judgement when he will be asked as why did he believe in a impostor when Allah in the Qur'an and Rasul in His traditions had clearly declared sever6l times in different wordings that there was no Nabi to come after Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.).

Chapter Eight: 'Khatam' in Dictionaries and Usage

We have just seen that in the context of the Qur'an and according to traditions, according to Ijma' and according to Reason, the only meaning of "Khatamun-Nabiyyin" which is relevant is `The Last of The Prophets', `One who closed the pro- phethood'. Now let us see what the dictionaries sav about `Khatam' or `Khatm'.

= (Khatamal-amal) = He finished the work given to him.

= (Khatamal-ina') = He sealed the mouth of pot (so that noth ing comes out of it and noth- ing enters into it).

_ (Khatamal-Kitab) = Closed the en- velope and sea- led it (so that nothing is ad- ded into the le- tter or put into the envelope).

It must be mentioned here that 'seal' in Ara- bic does not mean the cancellation stamp of the post offices which are put on the postal articles before sending them onward. It means the seal of wax which is put, on the envelopes to protect it from forgery or additions. (Khatama alal qalb) = He put a seal on the heart (so that no new idea enters into it and no old prejudice is removed from it). (Khitamu kulle mashrub) =

The last taste felt at the end of a drink. (Khatematu kulle shay) = End of every thing; and its finish. a thing means -to come at the end of that thing'. (Khatamash shay) = To `khatm' And it is in this sense that we use the word `Khat- mul Qur'an', i.e., to read the Qur'an upto its end. Also it is for this reason that the verses of the Sura are called Khatam"ul-Qawm) = The last man of the tribe or nation.

These meanings are given in all the authentic dictionaries of Arabic language. The Qadianis say that if someone is said to be `Khatamush-Shu'ara' or ` Khatamul-Mufassireen' or `Khatamul-Fuqaha ; nobody thinks that after that person no other poet or Faqeeh (religious juris- prudent) or Mufassir (commentator) was born. Everybody thinks that it means that the said per- son was the most expert in that field of know- ledge.

These people forget that if a word is some- times used metaphorically (in an allegorical sense) that metaphorical use does not deprive it of its real meaning. If, for example, the word `Lion' is some- times used for a brave man, it does not mean that this word cannot be used for the animal, for which it was coined. Such arguments show the hollow- ness of their minds and bankruptcy of their think- ing. Even if one thousand persons are called `Kha.- KKhawteem' tamul-Mufassireen' (in the sense of `the most per- fect Mufassir'), the real meaning of the word `Khatam' would remain the same, i.e., The Last. A sample of Qadiani's miscomprehension of the subject matter may be seen in the following sentence of their Chief Missionary in Tanzania, Sheikh Muhammad Munawwar H.A.

"It should be borne in mind that being `last' of a group of people is no distinction in itself. Sir Richard Turnbull was the last governor of Tanga nyika. Does this add to his status as a governor or indicates his superiority over the late Twining?" ( A lively Discussion).

He does not pause to think that the Nubuw- wah of Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) is not like governorship of Sir Richard Turnbull. Sir Richard Turnbull was the last governor because the British rule came to an end with him. And a national government ousted him and his masters from the soil of Tanganyika. Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.a.h.f.) is the Last Prophet because his pro- phethood is not to be usurped by any impostor; he is the last prophet because his `rule' will continue upto Qiyamah; and no one coming after him can use his title and name for himself. To talk in Sheikh Muhammad Munawwar's language, if Sir Richard Turnbull's governorship were to continue upto the last day of the world, and all representa- tives of the British crown coming after him were obliged to keep his `Chair' vacant for him, and not to use the Title of Governor for themselves but just to sign as the `Leader of the government', would it not have been a tremendous tribute to Sir Richard Turnbull?

The Qadiani Missionary had written to me:- "Imam Suyuti and Imam Ibne Athir Al-Jazari were given the title of ` Khatamul-Huffaz' ( The Last of those who remembered traditions); like- wise, Abu Tammam at-Tai has been described as ` Khatamush-Shu'ara' (The Last Poet). Can it be said that there was no ` Hafiz' after Imam Suyuti or Imam Jazari, or no poet after Abu Tammam at- Tai?"

I asked him: First of all have those phrases been used in the Qur'an or tradition? As I told you earlier, the phrase `Khatamun-Nabiyyin' was never used in Arabic before Qur'an; and that the Qur'an has used it for the first time. Thus, the meaning given to this phrase by the Holy Prophet is its real meaning. If someone else uses such phrases in some other allegorical sense, it does not make that alle- gory its real meaning. For example, "moon" has a real meaning which all of us know. If someone uses the word `moon' for the face of a beautiful person it does not mean that `beautiful face' is the real meaning of `moon' or that it cannot be used for the terrestrial object for which it was made.

Thirdly, these references, in fact, show the writer's thought (though wrong) that Imam Suyuti (for example) was the last Hafiz. It was their mis taken idea, which has been proved wrong. And no wonder. Those writers did not know what was in future. But can you suppose that Allah also did not know the future when He said that Muham- mad (p.u.h.a.h.f.) was the Last of the Prophets? How can you compare the words of Allah with the writings of some mortals?

At the most you can say that those writers were wrong in believing that the person concerned was the last Hafez or the last poet. But you cannot change the real meaning of `Khatamun-Nabiyyin' to make their writings correct. If you tell an Arab `Ja'a Khatamul-Qawm', he will never understand that the most learned man of the tribe has reached; he will always think that the whole tribe has arrived, till the last man. It is because of this that every writer of the dictionary and every commentator of the Qur'an, without any exception has written that `Kha- tamun-Nabiyyin' means `Akhirun-Nabiyyin', the Last of the Prophets.

If you look impartially at these proofs from the Qur'an, tradition, dictionary and language, you will have to agree that the Holy Prophet of Islam was the Last Prophet and prophethood ended with him. No prophet will ever come after him up to the day of Qiyamah; and anybody claiming to be a prophet would be an impostor. Khatamul - Awliya?

The Qadiani missionary had written to me; "There is a tradition in Tafseer Safi (Sura Al- Ahzab, Ruku 2) that the Holy Prophet said to Imam Ali, i.e., "O Ali, I am Khatamul-Anbiya and you are Khatamul-Awliya." Now can anybody say that Imam Ali was the last Wali and no other Wali can come after him?" I wrote to him: This supposed tradition quo- ted from Tafseer Safi is not only without any Sanad (chain of narrators) but also it can not be found in any book of tradition. On the other hand, there are some traditions in the books written by the Sunnis as well as the Shias which describe Imam Ali (p.u.h.) as "Khata mul-Awsiya" or "Khatamul-Wasiyyin" (The Last of the successors of the Prophets). Here are two of the said traditions:-

1. Sheikh Suleman al-Balakhi al-Qanduzi, al- Hanafi wrote his book `Yanabi-ul-Mawaddah' by order of Sultan Abdul-Aziz, the Turkish Caliph of the Sunnis; the book was published under the authority of the Turkish Caliphate in Istambul, in 1301 Hijra. He quotes in the said book: "Likewise, Al-Hamwaini has narrated the tra- dition from Abu Dhar that he said that the Holy Prophet (p.u.h.a.h.f.) said, `I am Khatamun-Nabiy yin and you, O Ali, are Khatamul-Wasiyyin upto the day of Judgement".

2. Ubaidullah Amritsari quotes in his book, Arjahul-Matalib (printed at Nawal Kishore Press, Lahore, 2nd Edition, p.25) a long tradition from Anas, in which the Holy Prophet (p.u.h.a.h.f.) des- cribed Imam Ali (p.u.h.) as "Amir-ul-Mu'mineen wa Sayyidul-Muslimeen wa Khatamul-Wasiyyin wa Imamul-Ghurril-Muhajaleen ". This tradition has been quoted from Ibn Mar- dwaih. It shows that Imam Ali (p.u.h.) was "The Commander of the Faithful, Chief of the Muslims; and the Last of Successors (of the Prophets) and the Leader of those who will come on the Day of Judgement with shining faces and illuminated hands and feet". In fact, these traditions are one more proof of the Finality of the Prophethood. Imam Ali was "the Last of the Successors of the Prophets", beca use there was no other prophet to come after the Last of the Prophets Muhammad Mustafa (p.u.h.- a.h.f.) upto the Day of Qiyamah ( Resurrection). Had there been any other awaited prophet, Ali (p.u.h.) could not have been described as the Last of the Successors of the Prophets.

So you see, the correct tradition is not for you; it is against your belief. Now it appears that some scribes made a mistake in copying Manaqib (from where this tradition has been taken in Safi) and wrote Khatamul-Awliya in place of Khatamul- Awsiya. That is why you cannot find this tradition in any other book of traditions, except Mandqib or where it has been quoted from Manaqib. It is one more sign of the weakness of your cause that you have to clutch to such misquoted or wrong traditions!

Abbas: "Khatamul - Muhajireen" Qadianis say: "In the book "Kanzul-Ummal" Vo1.6, p.178, Seyyidana Abbas (uncle of the Holy Prophet p.u.h.a.h.f.) has been called "Khatamul Muhajireen ". Does it mean that he was the Last Muhajir (emigrant)?" FACT: Yes. He was in fact the Last Muhajir. You must understand that Al-Muhajireen and Al- Ansar, mentioned in the Qur'an and tradition, have a special meaning. In other words, they are special terms. The word `Al-Muhajireen' is used only for those who in the earlier days of hardship of Islam left their towns and migrated either to Ethiopia or Medina. And `Ansar' is used only for those inha- bitants of Medina who helped the Holy Prophet (p.u.h.a.h.f.) and the Al-Muhajireen in those days.

Hijrat (emigration) was discontinued after Holy Prophet entered Mecca in the year 8 of Hijra. Before surrender of Mecca the Muslims of Mecca and other places were required to do Bay`at (alle- giance) on Islam and Hijrat. After the surrender of Mecca, Mujalid bin Mas'ud accepted Islam and wanted to do Bay'at on Islam and Hijrat, as was the system. But the Holy Prophet (p.u.h.a.h.f.) said:

"There is no Hijrat after the capture of Mecca", and Mujalid did Bay'at on Islam only. (See Bukhari Vol.4, p.92).

Therefore, Abbas was in fact the Last of Al- Muhajireen who left their town for Medina as the word is used in the Qur'an. Hafiz Ibn Hajar writes about Abbas in his book Al-Isaba Fi Ma'arifatis- sahaba (Vol.3, p.668): "He did Hijrat shortly before capture of Mecca and participated in that capture." History says that Abbas together with his family left Mecca for Medina; but met the Holy Prophet (p.u.h.a.h.f.) in the way at Juhfa or Ra bigh (who was going to capture Mecca with his army). Thereupon, Abbas sent his family to Medi- na and accompanied the Holy Prophet to Mecca. Naturally, when he heard the Holy Prophet (p.u.h.a.h.f.) saying that, "there was no Hijrat after capture of Mecca", he was perturbed that perhaps he would not be counted among the Muhajireen.

You see Hijrat was, being abolished just after his migration from Mecca, and he had not yet reached Medina before that declaration. When the Holy Prophet (p.u.h.a.h.f.) came to know of his anxiety he told him not to worry, because he was "the Last Muhajir".

"Do not worry, O uncle, because thou art the last of the Muhajireen". I know that, according to the dictionary, any- body migrating from one place and going to ano- ther may be called `Muhajir'. But he will not be among the `Al-Muhajireen' of the Qur'an. Likewise, anybody conveying the message of one man to another may be called `Rasul'. But he will not be the 'Rasul' of Allah according to the Qur'an. And anybody bringing a news can be called `Nabi', but he will not be the `Nabi' of Qur'an.

Just to show how your argument has no leg to stand, I would like you to tell me how will you interpret the phrase `Khatamul-Muhajireen?' Does it mean "Superior to all the Muhajirs"? Impossible, because Abbas was never considered superior to Ali (p.u.h.), Hamza and many other Muhajirs.

Or does it mean "Seal of the Muhajirs?" If so, then does it mean that other people became Muha- jir by the seal of Abbas? Or does it mean that he was confirming the Hijrat of other Muhajirs? Surely, none of these meaning can fit here, except the "Last Muhajir". Thus, it is clear that Abbas was called "Kha- tamul-Muhajireen" because he was "The Last Muhajir".


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