KHATAM AL-NABBIYYIN
OF all the excellences of the Great Prophet of Arabia (peace and the blessings of God be upon him) the most outstanding which raises him pre-eminently over all the prophets and apostles of the world, is that whereas those were the national prophets who had been raised for the guidance of their respective nations only, the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the World-Prophet who has been raised for the good and guidance of the entire human race. He is directed by the Most High God to proclaim to the world:
قُلْ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنِّى رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا ٱلَّذِى لَهُۥ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ
Al-A’raf (The Heights) 7:158
Say [O Muhammad]: ’O mankind! Surely, I am the Messenger of Allah to all of you, [sent by Him] unto whom the dominion over the heavens and the earth belongs!
The object of the institution of prophethood was to receive Divine will and deliver it unto the people in the form of laws. The function of the earlier prophets, therefore, was either to bring a new law for the guidance of their people or rectify and remove the imperfections of an existing law or give the people certain new directions to meet the requirements of their times. The revelation of a perfect law which should suit the requirements of all ages and all nations, was obviously out of question; human race, in those earlier times, having not been fully developed for its reception. And it was this reason which caused Jesus the Christ to say unto his disciples:
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. (John, 16:12),
Jesus, son of Mary (peace be on him) who had been raised for the guidance of Beni Israel, was the last of the national prophets. Even up
to his time, as is apparent from the verse quoted above, the Law had not reached its point of perfection, which was to be done when he, the Spirit of Truth, i.e. the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, was to make his appearance on the world stage. Addressing him, the Most High God said:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favour to you and chosen for you Islam as a religion.
5:3 – The Feast (Al-Ma’edah)
The institution of prophethood, it was but natural, should come to a close with the advent of the World-Prophet. The Law having reached its highest degree of perfection, has left no room nor any need for another prophet. Sang rapturously Hadzrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the holy Imam of this age:
ختم شد بر نفس پاکش ھر کمال
لا جرم شد ختم ھر پیغبرے
In his holy person every excellence has reached its point of perfection; and it is, therefore, that every kind of prophethood has come to an end with him (the Holy Prophet ﷺ).
The Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is, of a truth, the Last and the Seal of the Prophets, the Khatam al-Nabiyyin, and no prophet, neither new nor old can come after him. The period of his prophethood shall extend to the last syllable of recorded time. Jesus the Christ had said of him:
He shall teach you all things. He shall abide with you for ever. (John, 14:16, 26).
Hadzrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah, has laid utmost stress upon this great fact of Khatam-i-Nubuwwat in his writings. A few quotations.
(1) 1 have full faith in the fact that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and the blessings of God be upon him) is Khatam al-Nabiyyin, and no prophet, neither new nor old, shall come after him (Nishan-i-Asmani, p. 2).
(2) Anyone who claims to be a prophet and apostle after the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ I look upon and consider him a Kafir and a liar (Poster, dated October 2, 1891).
(3) It must be believed from the core of your heart that prophethood in all its essence has already come to an end with the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, as says the Most High God in the Holy Quran:
وَ لٰـكِنْ رَّسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ وَ خَاتَمَ النَّبِیّٖنَؕ
Al-Ahzab (The Confederates) 33:40
ھست او خیر الرسل خیر الانام
ھر نبوت را برو شد اختتام
(4) The Holy Prophet is the best of all the Messengers of God, as well as the best of all creation. Prophethood of every kind has come to a close with him.
The advent of the World-Prophet, Humanity’s Greatest Teacher, was indeed a matter of such a great moment that the Most High God gave the glad tidings thereof to the world through the mouths of His prophets, urging that they should receive him with open arms when he would make his appearance. A few examples:
The Hindu Scriptures:
The Kuntap Sukt of Atharva-Veda opens with the announcement:
Ye people, listen with reverence the happy news that Narashansah (which is the exact literal translation of the Arabic term Muhammad) shall be praised. This Refugee (referring to the Prophet’s historical flight from Mecca to Medina) We take into Our protection against sixty thousand and ninety enemies.
This Divine promise of protection, when the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Narashansah of the Veda-mantra, made his appearance on the stage, was repeated in the following words:
وَٱللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ
Al-Ma’idah (The Table Spread) 5:67
”Surely Allah will protect thee from the attacks of your enemies” (5: 67).
Bhavishya Purana:
The Maha Rishi Vyasa, a great sage and seer of the Vedic time, when he was shown in a vision the coming of the World-Prophet, wrote in his well-known book, Bhavishya Purana which means the news of the future:
A spiritual teacher from a foreign country shall come with his companions. Muhammad shall be his name. The raja, bathing this Arab of an angelic disposition with the sacred water of the Ganges and five other purifying liquids, adored him with full faith and devotion, and said, I bow before thee, O thou pride of the human race, thou dweller of the desert, who bestows plentiful power for slaying Satan; who has been protected and preserved from thy wicked enemies. O thou manifestation of the Supreme Being, accept me as thy slave, as one fallen at thy feet.
The Zend Avesta:
Prophet Zoroaster was the founder of the Perso-Iranian national religion. He lived and taught some thousand years before Christ. The scriptures of this creed consist mainly of two big tomes, Zend Avesta and Dasateer. It is written in Zend Avesta (Farvar, Din Yasht 13) : O Zoroaster, of the people of faith the mighty souls are those who bear the Law and live up to it, or those believers who are not yet born, but who shall kindle new life into the world.
(The Light – August 16, 1962)
