The Holy Prophet is the Last Law-Giver
Narrated by Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurairah, Allāh be pleased with
him: The Prophet of Allāh (may peace of Allāh and His
blessings be on him) said:
“I am the last Prophet and this mosque of
mine (at Medina) is the last mosque.”
(Muslim)
Explanatory Notes
In this pleasing Ḥadīth, our Lord, the Holy Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allāh be on him) says: He is the last
prophet and no such reformer dare come after him as would
terminate his prophetic dispensation and, instead, initiate
another dispensation. If one came along, he would
necessarily be of his own following, his disciple, and as a
servant of his Sharī‘ah, within the fold of his prophethood
and not beyond its pale.
In order to clarify its purport, our Master (peace of Allāh
be on him and His blessings) added the words “And this
mosque of mine is the last mosque.” It is clear that, by these
words, it was not meant, nor subsequent events support the
sense that there would never be built another mosque in the
world. On the contrary, it meant that there would not be a
mosque in opposition to his mosque and that, all mosques
hence-forth, shall be constructed in line with and in
imitation of his mosque, as its copies and as its reflections.
Similarly,(i.e., I am verily the last of prophets) means that there can be
no prophet, in future, independent of allegiance to him and
with a rival prophethood and with a religion other than his.
On the contrary, whosoever comes along, would be his
servant, his disciple, his subject, his reflection and so to say,
a part of his person. And this is the deep philosophy
underlying the designation of Khātaman-Nabiyyīn (Seal of
the Prophets) given to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allāh be on him) in a verse of the Qur’ān. Ponder well the
point that, if the sense underlying the saying, “My this
mosque is the last mosque,” remains intact in spite of tens of
thousands of mosques having been built in Muslim
countries, besides his mosque at Medina, how can then the
grant of prophethood to a servant, a disciple, and a subject of
his from among his followers, militate against the idea of
Khatm-i-Nabuwwat (finality of prophethood) or against the
spirit of the Ḥadīth, “I am verily the last of Prophets”?
This Ḥadīth, therefore, definitely means that he was the
last law-bearing Prophet and that no Prophet would come
after him, independent of his bondage and with a Sharī‘at
other than that of Islām and that his mosque (of Medina)
was the last and there shall be no mosque in rivalry to it. A
little reflection will show that it is not consistent with exalted
status of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be
on him) that he should be regarded as the terminator of the
free-flowing former favors. On the contrary, his glory
demands that all the diverse streams should be stopped and
issue forth afresh from his vast river. And this is the
wholesome explanation that the leading Divines of Islām and
great reformers have been putting forward in every age. Here
are some of them.
(1) The chief of mystics Ḥaḍrat Shaikh Akbar
Muḥayyuddīn Ibni ‘Arabī (A.H. 560 to A.H. 638) says:
“The prophethood that ceased with the
coming of the Prophet of Allāh—peace of Allāh
and His mercy be on him—is the law-bearing
prophethood.” (al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyyah, Vol.
II, p. 3)
(2) Ḥaḍrat Imām Abdul-Wahhab Shīrānī, a reputed
Imām (died A.H. 976) observes:
“Prophethood as such did not cease with the
advent of the Prophet of Allāh (peace of Allāh
be on him and His blessings) but only the law
bearing prophethood came to a close.” (Al-
Yawāqīt wal-Jawāhir, Vol. I, p. 22)
(3) Ḥaḍrat Shaikh Aḥmad Sirhindī, Mujaddid Alf-Thānī,
(died A.H. 1034), a leading and reputed reformer of Islām
says:
“It is in no way repugnant to the sense of
Khātaman-Nabiyyīn that the followers of the
Prophet of Allāh should attain to the
excellences of prophethood, by virtue of their
allegiance to him, as their heritage. So be not of
the doubters.” (Maktūbāt-i Aḥmadiyyah, Vol. I,
letter No. 271)
(4) Ḥaḍrat Shah Waliyyullāh Muḥaddath Dehlawi,
Mujaddid of the 12th century Hijrah (born A.H. 1114, died
A.H. 1176), widely known for his profound learning and
whose exalted rank is acknowledged on all hands, says:
“That the prophethood ended with the Holy
Prophet (peace be on him and blessings of
Allāh) means that no prophet shall be raised
after him bearing a new law.” (Tafhīmāt-i-
Ilāhiyyah, Tafhīm 53)
(5) Ḥaḍrat Maulawī Muḥammad Qāsim Nānotvī (A.H.
1248—A.H. 1297), a learned scholar of the recent past and
the founder of the Deoband University, known far and wide,
in the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent, as a center of oriental
science, says:
“The idea of the common people is that the
Prophet of Allāh (peace of Allāh be on him and
His blessings) is the Khātam, in the sense, that
his period is at the end of that of rest of the
prophets. But, to men of understanding it is
clear that there is no superiority merely in
precedence or in subsequence, in terms of
period of time, as a mark of praise. How can
then the verse “But He is the Messenger of
Allāh and the Seal of the Prophets” [33[Al-
Aḥzāb]:41] be appropriate in this sense? If, by
way of supposition, a prophet were to appear
after the Prophet of Allāh (peace of Allāh be on
him and His blessings) it will not be a breach of
the Muḥammadī Khātamiyyat.” (Taḥzīrun-Nās,
page 3 and p. 28)
Little doubt, therefore, that the view that prophethood
has found its perfection in the august person of the Holy
Prophet (peace of Allāh be on him and His blessings) and
everlasting Sharī‘ah has been revealed and there is no
prophet after him, but, one who partakes of his garden-fruit
in his service, bearing his seal of authentication inherits the
favor of his reflected prophethood and is raised to serve the
religion brought by him. Would that people cared to grasp
this minute point and recognize the Holy Prophet (peace of
Allāh be on him and His blessings).