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They were circumambulating the Ka’ba, when Ka’ab bin Ujrah asked Abdul Rahman ibn Abi Lailah: “Shall I not give you a precious gift?” A gift in the middle of that act of intense devotion? Abdul Rahman was a prominent tabayi, i.e. from the generation that came after the generation of the companions. Ka’ab, may Allah be pleased with him, was one of the 1400 Companions who were part of the Covenant of al Ridwan, a covenant to live or fall together to avenge the blood of Uthman bin Affan, Radi-Allahu anhu, who had been feared to have been murdered by the Quraish. To know this background is to get a clue to the special gift.

While Muslims were stationed at Hudaybiyah, where the covenant took place, many delegations of Quraish had visited them. Among them was Urwah ibn Mas’ud al Thaqafi. It was he who reported the extra-ordinary relationship of the companions with the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam : “I have seen Caesar and Chosroes in their pomp, but never have I seen a man honored as Muhammad is honored by his comrades.”

The gift that Ka’ab gave to ibn Abi Lailah was the hadith that gives us the salawat (benediction) that we use in regular prayers. The companions asked the proper way of sending the blessings, when the verse requiring them to do so was revealed.

“Lo Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.” [Al-Ahzab, 33:56].

Then the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam , taught them the exact words, as they themselves were revealed to him by Allah.

A prophet of God is a unique person. He acts as the link between the people and their Creator. He is a human being, yet he speaks for God. The most difficult task for followers of a prophet has always been that of dealing with the prophet as a prophet. It is so easy to go to extremes. Make him divine, God-incarnate, Son of God. Or make him just another man, attributing all human weaknesses and sins to him. Religious literature of major religions in the world is testimony to these tendencies. It is a story of abject human failure in this matter.

One must contrast that with the beautiful and delicate balance presented by Islam. Here the Prophet is the perfect human being, but he is not Divine. He speaks for God but he is not God. He is the object of our gratitude, ardent love and devotion, unswerving allegiance, and deference. But he is not the object of our worship. We ask Allah to send His blessings on him which at once makes two very important statements. First, he needs Allah’s blessings. Second, we cannot bless him, only Allah can. It is not possible for those who always invoke Allah’s blessings for the Prophet, to degrade him to the level of other human beings, or to elevate him to the level of divinity. The benediction, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam , is a magic formula that fights both tendencies equally effectively. It also strikes at the roots of shirk, the tendency to associate partners with Allah. For we have met the perfect human being, the example to follow. And we found him to be a servant of Allah. Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam .

For centuries Muslims lovingly added the benediction, whenever they mentioned the name of the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam . The hadith literature is a good example of this labor of love. For here the name of the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam , is mentioned repeatedly. Yet the muhadithun never tired of writing the benediction. That was at a time when every book was written by hand, and all its copies were also made by hand. It was never considered a burden or an unnecessary interruption. A brief recent statement from a professor of hadith at one Islamic religious school captures the spirit. “The merits of studying hadith are innumerable and those interested can read Ibn Abdul Bar’s book on the subject,” he said. “But it is sufficient to note that through this study we get plenty of opportunities for saying the benediction, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam .”

And so for centuries this practice has continued unabated throughout the Muslim world. Also, realizing the importance of a “worthy benediction” Muslims always used the Arabic expression in other languages, be they Urdu, Farsi, Bangla, or others. For the first time in history, we find a break from this practice, and this spirit, when reviewing the Islamic literature in English.

Initially some one substituted “peace be upon him” for “Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam .” But it is not even a proper translation. Then some one thought of abbreviating it to pbuh. It, of course, did not improve the translation or the readability. Others came up with innovations of their own. One Islamic text book in English notes in the beginning: “After using the name of the Prophet Muhammad, Muslims should write or say the honorific phrase, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam …Due to limited space this honorific phrase has been omitted.. but should be inserted when reading the book.” Another book goes a little further by acknowledging the “long established and cherished tradition”, but then announces bluntly: “To avoid interrupting the flow of ideas, especially for non-Muslim readers, I have not followed the customary practice.” A majority of recent Islamic books published in the U.S. and U.K. by reputable Muslim organizations, though, do not feel the need for any excuse or explanation, whatsoever. They simply mention the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam , as they would any ordinary person.

It is time we moved beyond our hesitations, confusions, or inferiority complexes. This is the Ummah of the Last Prophet. In every language of the world, our Prophet is Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam .

Scores of Qur’anic verses, and dozens of ahadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad can be cited in support of the belief on the “Finality of prophethood”. To reproduce all the Qur’anic verses and the ahadith supporting this belief would be beyond the scope of this short article. By way of example, a single verse, some ahadith and the explanations of the scholars follow, leaving no doubt concerning the issue of the finality of prophethood.

QURANIC VERSE

“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the apostle of Allah and the seal of the prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.” (Ahzab 33:40).

In this verse, the Holy Prophet Muhammadhas been described as the “Seal of the prophets” or the “Last of the prophets”. This verse from the Holy Qur’an is the most clear-cut evidence for the belief of “Khatmun-Nubuwwat” (finality of prophethood). The well known scholar Hafiz Ibn-Katheer rahmatullahi alayhi writes in his book: “This verse is a clear evidence for this belief that there is no prophet after the Holy Prophet Muhammad .” (Tafseer Ibn-Katheer)

It is thus incumbent upon Muslims to believe that Prophethood has ended with the advent of Hazrat Muhammad. This belief in the finality of Prophethood has been an established belief of the Muslims since the time of the Prophet. Every time a false prophet has arisen, the Muslims recognised him as false because belief in the finality of Prophethood has been established as part of the Muslim’s fundamental beliefs. Without a shadow of doubt, the finality of Prophethood is something that is an essential belief in the religion of Islam. Hence the rejection of this belief is Kufr and any person who rejects this belief is out of the fold of Islam, no matter what claims he makes to the contrary. In the history of Islam there have been a number of false claimants of prophethood who were outrightly rejected by the Muslim Ummah as apostates and renegades.

QADIANI IMPOSTER

One such claimant was the comical Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. He founded his deviated cult in India in the latter part of the 19th Century. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani claimed prophethood, with no evidence for such a claim apart from incoherent ranting and illogical arguments. Like all fraudsters of the past, he has been rejected vehemently by the Muslim Ummah and exposed as an imposter, and declared as a disbeliever (kafir) by the leading scholars (Ulama) and the Ummah as a whole.

A great scholar, Imam al-Tahawi (d. 321 AH) in al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyya states:

“Every claim to prophethood after him is falsehood and deceit.”

Another great scholar, Hafiz Ibn-Katheer states:

“Allah Most Blessed and Exalted has stated in His book, as has His Messenger in the traditions via numerous channels of transmission (mutawatir) that there will be no prophet after him, so that whoever claims this rank thereafter is a lying pretender, misled and misleading, even if he should stage miracles and exhibit all kinds of magic, talismans and spells.”

AHADITH

The Prophet said:

(1) “Apostleship and prophethood have ceased. There will be no messenger or prophet after me.” [Musnad-Ahmad]

(2) “My likeness among the prophets is as a man who, having built a house put the finishing touches on it and made it seemly, yet left one place without a brick. When anyone entered it and saw this, he would exclaim, ‘How excellent it is, but for the place of this brick.’ Now, I am the place of the brick: through me the line of prophets has been brought to completion.”

[Sahih-al-Bukhari]

(3) “The Children of Israel used to be ruled and guided by prophets: Whenever a prophet died, another would take over his place. There will be no prophet after me, but there will be Caliphs who will increase in number.”

[Sahih-al-Bukhari; 4.661]

(4) The Messenger of Allah set out for Tabuk appointing ‘Ali as his deputy (in Medina). ‘Ali said, “Do you want to leave me with the children and women?” The Prophet said, “Will you not be pleased that you will be to me like Haroon was to Moosa? But there will be no prophet after me.” [Sahih-al-Bukhari; 5.700]

(5) “The Hour will not come till

(1) two big groups fight each other whereupon there will be a great number of casualties on both sides and they will be following one and the same religious doctrine

(2) about thirty dajjals (liars) appear, and each one of them will claim that he is Allah’s Apostle

(3) the religious knowledge is taken away (by the death of religious scholars)

(4) earthquakes will increase in number

(5) time will pass quickly

(6) afflictions will appear

(7) Al-Harj (i.e., killing) will increase

(8) wealth will be in abundance . . .”

[Sahih-al-Bukhari; 9.237]

CONCLUSION

The above is just a sampling of the large amount of evidence that proves conclusively that there shall be no prophets after the Prophet Muhammad .

In the face of such overwhelming evidence in support of the finality of prophethood, the ludicrous claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani and his followers, who still regard themselves as Muslims, is absolutely untenable and rejected outright.

For the Qadianis, the only recourse is to make sincere Taubah and return to the correct beliefs of Islam. Until they do not renounce the deviated ideology of the imposter Mirza and sincerely repent by submitting wholeheartedly to the belief of finality of prophethood as explained by the scholars of Islam throughout the centuries, they cannot and will not be regarded as Muslims.