Finality of Prophethood - About the Prophet Muhammad pbuh [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Finality of Prophethood

The Islamic Information and News Network (IINN) is happy to announce that the
Islamic book, Finality of Prophethood, by Syed Abul A'la Maududi, a
renowned scholar from Pakistan, will be made available electronically. We will
insha Allah bring it out in parts due to its length. That Muhammad (S.A.W.) is
the last Messenger and Prophet of Allah is a simple fact for any Muslim. The
book gives a detailed study why. The book is under copyright by



The Islamic Publications Limited, 13-E, Shah Alam Market, Lahore
(Pakistan).



It may be purchased from major Islamic bookstores in the U.S.A. If you happen
to own the book and notice any typographic or other errors in the computer copy,
please notify us by email at:



MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITNET



The obvious omissions from the book are the two maps which we could not
produce in ASCII format and a few Arabic phrases. The Arabic phrases however
have been transliterated into the text.



M.I. Zahid



January 5, 1994








The Finality of Prophethood
by
S. Abul A'la Maududi




Foreword




Of all the conspiracies hatched against Islam in modern times, the most
dangerous is a false claim to Prophethood made in the beginning of this century.
This claim has been the main cause of wide spread mental chaos amongst the Ummah
for the last sixty years. Like all other schisms, the root cause of this
mischief is that the Muslims are generally ignorant of their religion. Had they
been truly imbued with its knowledge and developed a clear understanding of the
article of faith relating to the finality of Prophethood, it would have been
well-nigh impossible for any false claimant to Prophethood to take root and
thrive among the people of Islam after the last ministry of Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). At this juncture the most perfect
and effective remedy for eradicating this evil is to educate the maximum number
of people in the best possible manner about true faith in the finality of the
Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and stressing the importance and
value of this article of faith in the religion of Islam. It is also imperative
that all doubts and skeptical notions about the final ministry of Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) should be dispelled through reason and logic. This
booklet has been prepared to serve this very purpose. Readers who find it useful
should take a step further and extend their full co-operation in the propagation
of its contents. This booklet ought to reach all literate people and they having
studied it themselves should read it out to the non-literate. It is hoped that a
study of this booklet will not only immunize people who have not been
contaminated with this malady but would also make the truth manifest to the
right-minded persons among those who have received some of its germs. However,
those who have fallen victim to falsehood and are impervious to all reason--for
them, hope and salvation lies only with Allah.



Abul A'la Maududi



Lahore:



February 12, 1962.



In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and the Most
Beneficent





Finality of Prophethood
by
S. Abul A'la Maududi
"O people ! Muhammad has no sons
among ye men, but verily, he is the Apostle of God and the last in the line of
Prophets. And God is Aware of everything." (Surah Al Ahzab: 40)



This verse has been revealed in the fifth Ruku' (para or passage) of Surah
al-Ahzab. In this Ruku' Allah has provided answers to all those objections
raised by the hypocrites, which had given rise to a storm of calumnies, slander
and mischief in respect of the marriage of Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) with Hadrat Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her).



These hypocrites argued that Zainab was the wife of an adopted son of the
Holy Prophet and by this connection she stood in the position of the Prophet's
daughter in-law. Hence, after her divorce from Zaid, the Prophet had taken his
own daughter-in-law as wife.



In order to refute this allegation Allah told clearly in verse 37 that this
marriage had Divine sanction behind it and was made to serve as a lawful
precedent for Muslim men to marry the wives of their adopted sons after they had
been divorced by their husbands. Later in verses 38 and 39, Allah affirmed that
no power could hinder the Prophet from discharging a Divine obligation. The
Prophets are ordained to fear God, not the people. It has been an invariable
practice of the Apostles to transmit the Divine message without any extraneous
care and to perform the duties enjoined upon them by Allah without fear or
hesitation. Afterwards a verse was revealed which extinguished the basis of all
objections. In the first place, they had charged "You have taken your
daughter-in-law as wife, in contravention of your own law that the wife of a son
is forbidden to his father."



In refutation of this charge it was affirmed by the Almighty:



"Muhammad had no sons among ye men..."



thereby making absolutely clear that the man whose divorced wife was taken
into wedlock by the Prophet being not his real son; the act, therefore did not
imply violation of it.



The argument of their second charge ran thus: "Admitted that the adopted son
is not the real one, and on that basis a father might lawfully marry the
divorced spouse of his adopted son, but where was the compulsion for the Prophet
to do so?"



Allah affirmed in answer to this charge:



"But, verily, he is the Apostle of Allah".



The implication is that it was Allah's mandate to the Holy Prophet to wipe
out all prejudices and declare all taboos that pagan custom had unnecessarily
imposed upon the people, as lawful. In this respect the Prophet's action was
unequivocal and left no room for doubt. (see footnote 1, below.)



In order to lay particular emphasis upon this point Allah observes: (Khatim
Al-Nabbiyeen)



"And he is the last in the line of Prophets,"



which means that no messenger nor even a Prophet charged with the mission of
carrying out reforms in the sphere of Law or society which might have been
omitted (God forbid) during the lifetime of Muhammad (PBUH) will ever succeed
him. Since Allah ordained the ministry of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to be final,
it was, therefore, imperative that he should accomplish the task of uprooting
this pagan custom.



Later the point has been further emphasized in the revelation (Wa Kan
ul-Allahi Be-kulle Shai-in 'Aleema):



"God is Aware of everything."



The true import of this revelation is that Allah deemed it best to remove
this pagan custom through the agency of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and that Allah
only could take cognisance of the harm that the perpetuation of this infidel
custom would have entailed. Allah was well aware that the line of Prophethood
ended in Muhammad (PBUH) whose precedent the whole ummah would follow, and had
he not done away with this custom, there would arise no man comparable in status
to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who could accomplish the task. And suppose a reformer
had arisen in later times who would break this custom, his act would not have
constituted a universal or permanent precedent for Muslims of all ages and all
countries to follow. No other person that follows will embody the Divine
sanctity which attaches to the person of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Hence the
precedent of no man but Muhammad has the potential of wiping out the idea of all
pagan customs from the souls of men for all times to come.


footnote 1.
At this point those who deny the finality of Muhammad's
Prophethood (PBUH) demand to know the tradition in which this allegation has
been reported. This query in fact lays bare their ignorance. The Holy Qur'an
furnishes answers to the charges of the mischief-mongers at several points
without actually mentioning the charge. In each case, however, the relevant text
bears unmistakable evidence as to which allegation is being answered. In the
present case also the answer contains the substance of the question. The use of
the conjunctive word "but" at the end of the first sentence presupposes that
part of the question had yet to be dealt with. The second sentence, therefore,
furnishes answer to the remaining part of the question. The first sentence had
revealed to the objectors the answer to their charge that 'Muhammad had married
his daughter- in-law.' However, the second point of the question "where was the
compulsion for the Prophet to do so" still called for an answer. This answer was
provided by the next sentence in the text.



"But verily, Muhammad is the Apostle of God and last in the line of Prophets
of God."



The point may be further explained by taking an illustration from ordinary
conversation. Someone says "Zaid had not risen, but that Bakr has stood up." Now
this conveys the sense that Zaid has not risen, but the matter does not end
there, as it gives rise to the query, "If Zaid has not risen, who has stood up
then?" The subordinate clause of the above sentence "but Bakr has stood up"
supplies an answer to this query. It is the same in the above case.





The Verdict of the Text of the Qur'an
A group who has raised the heresy
of a new prophethood in modern times explains the meaning of the idea of the
"Finality of Prophethood" as the 'Stamp of Prophethood' thereby implying that
all prophets who would succeed Muhammad (PBUH) will bear his stamp and will
attain to prophethood by his seal alone. No one, in other words, who does not
bear the seal of Muhammad (PBUH) will attain the status of Prophethood. But the
context in which the term



"the last in the line of Prophets"



has been revealed in the Holy Qur'an leaves no scope for such speculation. If
indeed the term



"last in the line of Prophets"



does bear the meaning intended by this group, then this term is surely out of
place in the context in which it has been revealed. Furthermore, when the term
is charged with this meaning it distorts the whole purpose of the revealed
verse.



In this verse God refutes the charge and dispels doubts created by the
mischievous people about the marriage of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) with Zainab
(may Allah be pleased with her), the divorced wife of the Prophet's adopted son,
Zaid. Does it stand to reason to make a sudden interpolation in this context of
the point that Muhammad (PBUH) was the 'seal of Prophets' and that Allah had
delegated to him the authority of attesting the bonafides of succeeding prophets
?



This interpretation bears no connection with the context-not the least even
and is contrary to the purpose of Divine argument against the heretics. If this
interpretation were true the non- believers might well have argued: "There is no
hurry in doing away with this custom now. You might safely leave this task for
your successor prophets who will bear your stamp."



According to a second interpretation of the idea of the finality of
Prophethood advanced by this group it is said that the term



"Last in the line of Prophets"



means the "exalted Prophet." They further explain that the line of Apostles
will continue, though the excellence of Prophethood has been culminated in the
person of Muhammad (PBUH). This interpretation is no less defective and harmful
than the other one. It hardly bears any relation to the context and, in fact,
conveys a contradictory sense of the verse. Taking this thread of argument the
infidels and hypocrites would have plausibly pointed out, "Sir, there will be
other prophets after you, howsoever inferior in status compared to you, to
fulfil the Divine mission, why must you take it upon yourself to remove this
custom also?"







The Dictionary Meaning of the Word 'Khatam-al-Nabiyyin'




It is evident that the text can bear one meaning and it is that
Khatam-al-Nabiyyin stands for the Finality of Prophethood with a clear
implication that the prophethood has been culminated and finalized in Muhammad
(PBUH). It is not only the context that supports this interpretation but also
the lexicography.



According to Arabic lexicon and the linguistic usage Khatam
means to affix seal; to close, to come to an end; and to carry something to its
ultimate end.



Khatama al-'Amala is equivalent to 'Faragha min al-'Almali' which means 'to
get over with the task.' 'Khatama al-Ina' bears the meaning 'The vessel has been
closed and sealed so that nothing can go into it, nor can its contents spill
out.'



'Khatam-al-kitab' conveys the meaning 'The letter has been enclosed and
sealed so that it is finally secured.'



'Khatama-'Ala-al-Qalb' means 'The heart has been sealed so that it cannot
perceive anything new nor can it forswear what it has already imbibed.'



'Khitamu-Kulli-Mashrubin' implies 'the final taste that is left in the mouth
when the drink is over.'



Katimatu Kulli Shaiinn 'Aqibatuhu wa Akhiratuhu means "The end in the case of
everything denotes its doom and ultimate finish." Khatm-ul-Shaii Balagha
Akhirahu conveys the sense, "To end a thing means to carry it to its ultimate
limit."



The term Khatam-i-Qur'an is used in the similar sense and the closing verses
of Qur'anic Surahs are referred to as Khawatim. Khatim-ul-Qaum Akhirhuum means
"The last man in the tribe." (Refer to Lisan-ul-'Arab; Qamus and Aqrab-ul-
Muwarid). (see footnote 2, below.)



For this reason all linguists and commentators agree that Khatam-ul-Nabiyyin
means 'The Last in the line of Prophets.' The word Khatam in its dictionary
meaning and linguistic usage does not refer to the post office stamp which is
affixed on the outgoing mail. Its literal meaning is the 'seal' which is but on
the envelope to secure its contents.





footnote 2.

We have referred to three lexicons here, yet the elucidation
of this point is not confined to these works alone. All authoritative
dictionaries of the Arabic language interpret the word Khatam in the sense that
we have given to it. But the deniers of the Finality of Prophethood in their
endeavor to make a sneaky assault on the religion of God argue that if we refer
to someone as 'Last of the Poets' or 'Last of the Legists' or 'Last of the
Commentators', we do not necessarily mean that no poet, legist or commentator
will come after them; rather we only mean to say that all excellence of their
act has been concentrated in such men. The actual position, however, is that
when we do use these exaggerated epithets for someone we do not thereby replace
or remove the original meaning of the word 'Last'. It is preposterous to assume
that by its metaphorical use to refer to the excellence or perfection of a man,
the word 'Last' loses its original or real significance which is 'Final'. Such
an assumption can only be accepted by a person who lacks elementary knowledge of
the rules of grammar. There is no grammatical principle in any language by which
the metaphorical meaning of a word may be taken as its real or original meaning.
Besides, the metaphorical meaning in no case replaces or obliterates the real
and basic meaning of the word.



When you tell an Arab 'Ja Khatam ul-Qaum', he will certainly not take it to
mean that 'the perfect or the most excellent man of the tribe has come.' He
will, on the other hand, take it to mean that 'the whole tribe, even to the last
man, has come.'



There is another point to be considered. Such terms as the 'Last Poet', the
Last Legist' or the 'Last Narrator of hadith' are eulogies used by men for other
human beings whom they deem to be perfect and excellent. Those who use these
hyperboles for other men certainly can not say, nor do they know, that people of
such excellence will come in later times or not. So in human language these
appellations are hyperboles, but when God uses for a person that such and such
quality has been culminated in him, there is no reason to take it in the
metaphorical sense in the strain of human expression. If Allah had pronounced
someone as 'Last Poet', he would have been last poet in the literal sense of the
word. If Allah appoints someone as His 'Last Prophet', there is absolutely no
possibility of any other person attaining to that dignity after that.



God is Omniscient. Man has but limited knowledge. This being so, how can one
construe the human praise of a person as 'Last Poet' or the last of the jurists
in the same sense as God's pronouncement of a person as the 'Last Prophet'?







The Observations of the Holy Prophet(PBUH) About the Finality of
Prophethood
The meaning of the word Khatam that emerges out of the context
of the Holy Qur'an and which is the same as given in all lexicons of the Arabic
language is also affirmed by the observations of the Holy Prophet(peace and
blessings be upon him). We quote some authentic traditions to illustrate the
case in point:



The Holy Prophet (PBUH) observed: "The tribe of Israel was guided by
prophets. When a prophet passed away, another prophet succeeded him. But no
prophet will come after me; only caliphs will succeed me." (Bukhari,
Kitab-ul-Manaqib).



The Prophet of God (PBUH) affirmed: "My position in relation to the
prophets who came before me can be explained by the following example:



A man erected a building and adorned this edifice with great beauty, but he
left an empty niche, in the corner where just one brick was missing. People
looked around the building and marvelled at its beauty, but wondered why a
brick was missing from that niche? I am like unto that one missing brick and I
am the last in the line of the Prophets." (Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Manaqib).



(In other words, with the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) the edifice
of Prophethood has been completed and there is no empty niche in this edifice