Prophethood within Islam: In the Light of Koran

Society Religion & Philosophy
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-== ** Introduction **==-

The orthodox belief in Islam is based on the unity of Allah, and the Messengership of Mohammad as the ‘Seal of Prophets’. There are two views as to the interpretation of the phrase:

1- Prophet Mohammad is the last of all Prophets, and there can be no Prophet or Messenger after him. The nation of Mohammad will not be given any further divine guidance. The door of prophethood has now been closed, and mankind will not see the face of a prophet ever again.

2- Prophet Mohammad has been declared the greatest of all Prophets, and hence the blessings of Allah including Prophethood and Messengership shall only continue among the followers of Prophet Mohammad.

I will hereby briefly analyze how both these groups support their points of view from the Koran. As the topic states, I will strictly keep this analysis based on the Koran only. For a discussion on the Seal of Prophethood in the light of Hadith, you are welcome to open a seperate thread.

-== ** On Finality of Prophethood ** ==-

Despite the fact that the belief in the finality of prophethood is the belief of the majority of Muslims, it is interestingly supported by only a single verse in the Koran. This verse is:

“Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah is ever Aware of all things.” (Koran, 33:40)

The phrase Seal of Prophets is interpreted by this school of thought, is to be the Last of the Prophets, as opposed to the Greatest of all Prophets by their opponenets. There is enough doubt as to what the phrase means, to incite a very long discussion. However, this is the only verse that can remotely support the idea of the finality of prophethood.

–== ** On Continuation of Prophethood ** ==-

The school of thought that believes in the continuation of prophethood among the followers of Prophet Mohammad, claim to derive their belief from the Koran, just like their opponents claim to do. In order to justify their belief, they come up with quite a few verses of the Koran. These have been listed below:

1- “O Children of Adam! When messengers of your own come unto you who narrate unto you My revelations, then whosoever refraineth from evil and amendeth - there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. But they who deny Our revelations and scorn them - each are rightful owners of the Fire; they will abide therein.” (Koran, 7:35,36)

Comments: The verse 26,27 & 31 use the phrase ‘O Children of Adam!’ too. In all these verses, it refers to all mankind that exists on and after the time of the descent of the Koran. Thus it is concluded that Messengership after prophet Mohammad will continue for as long mankind exists.

2- “Allah chooses from the angels messengers, and (also) from mankind. Lo! Allah is Hearer, Seer.” (Koran, 22:75)

Comments: There are two tenses in Arabic language, the Perfect tense and the Imperfect tense. The action that has been completed, either in the past or just at the time of speaking, comes in the Perfect tense. The action that is still continuing, for some time in the future or for an indefinite time, comes in the Imperfect tense. The word ‘chooses’ in the verse is in the Imperfect tense and therefore means that he will continue choosing messengers in the future.

3- “Whoso obeyeth Allah and the messenger, they are with those unto whom Allah hath shown favour, of the prophets and the saints and the martyrs and the righteous. The best of company are they! That is bounty from Allah, and Allah sufficeth as Knower.” (Koran, 4:69,70)

Comments: This verse clearly states the list of blessings of Allah to the followers of prophet Mohammad. This list include the blessing of Prophethood.

4- “And (remember) when his Lord tried Abraham with (His) commands, and he fulfilled them, He said: Lo! I have appointed thee a leader for mankind. (Abraham) said: And of my offspring (will there be leaders)? He said: My covenant includeth not wrong-doers.” (Koran: 2:124)

Comments: According to this verse, the prophethood will continue among mankind as long as the offsprings of Abraham exist, and have not all become wrong-doers.

5- “When Allah made (His) covenant with the prophets, (He said): Behold that which I have given you of the Scripture and knowledge. And afterward there will come unto you a messenger, confirming that which ye possess. Ye shall believe in him and ye shall help him. He said: Do ye agree, and will ye take up My burden (which I lay upon you) in this (matter)? They answered: We agree. He said: Then bear ye witness. I will be a witness with you.” (Koran, 3:81)

Comments: In this verse ‘there will come unto you a messenger’ speaks for every messenger that proceeds another one. It shows the Messengership will continue for as long as mankind exists.

6- “And when We exacted a covenant from the prophets, and from thee (O Muhammad) and from Noah and Abraham and Moses and Jesus son of Mary. We took from them a solemn covenant; That He may ask the loyal of their loyalty. And He hath prepared a painful doom for the unfaithful.” (Koran, 33:7,8)

Comments: This clearly states hat the prophets from whom the covenant was exacted, included Prophet Mohammad. Thus the concept of continuation of prophethood among the followers of Muhammad has been supported.

7- “And announce unto the believers the good tidings that they will have great bounty from Allah.” (Koran, 33:47)

Comments: What this ‘great bounty’ is, has been explained in the words: “Whoso obeyeth Allah and the messenger, they are with those unto whom Allah hath shown favour, of the prophets and the saints and the martyrs and the righteous. The best of company are they! That is bounty from Allah, and Allah sufficeth as Knower.” (Koran, 4:69,70)

8- " It is not (the purpose) of Allah to leave you in your present state till He shall separate the wicked from the good. And it is not (the purpose of) Allah to let you know the Unseen. But Allah chooseth of His messengers whom He will, (to receive knowledge thereof). So believe in Allah and His messengers. If ye believe and ward off (evil), yours will be a vast reward." (Koran, 3:179)

Comments: In this verse Allah has promissed the followers of prophet Mohammad, that he will not leave them alone, he will seperate the bad from the good. But to do that, since Allah can not let everyone know the unseen, he will keep choosing Messengers and inform them of the unseen! I have already established that Imperfect Tense is used for the present and future together. So as long as the followers of prophet Mohammad exist, Messengers will be chosen among them to help them recognize the good from the bad.

-== Conclusion ==-

I have listed only those verses of the Koran that directly imply continuation of prophethood. The followers of this school of thought also justify their beliefs with numerous other verses that indirectly imply the contiuation of prophethood.

A brief look at the above verses makes it clear that, even if some of them are to be interpreted differently by different people, there is an overwhelmingly large number of verses that support the concept of continuation of prophethood among the followers of prophet Mohammad, as compared to only one verse by those who oppose the concept, and that too, after a serious mistranslation of the word ‘Seal’.

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Thanks for sharing your view. Here is the explaination of word seal.

*Where in the Quran does it say that Muhammad was the last Prophet and Messenger of GOD? *

Let us look at the following Noble Verse in the Noble Quran:

"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Apostle of God, and the Seal of the Prophets: and God has full knowledge of all things. (The Noble Quran, 33:40)"

Comments from the foot notes of the translation of Sheikh (Minister) Abdullah Yusuf Ali; may Allah Almighty rest his soul and make Heaven his final destiny: "When a document is sealed, it is complete, and there can be no further addition. The Holy Prophet Muhammad closed the long line of Messengers. Allah's teaching is and will always be continuous, but there has been and will be no Prophet after Muhammad. The later ages will want thinkers and reformers, not Prophets. This is not an arbitrary matter. It is a decree full of knowledge and wisdom, 'for Allah has full knowledge of all things.'"

In the above Noble Verse we see Allah Almighty clearly Saying that Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him is the last Prophet (Messenger) sent by Allah Almighty to Mankind. In Arabic, the words "Prophet (Nabi)", and "Messenger (Rasul)" could and would mean the same thing. This means that Allah Almighty in the above Noble Verse said that Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him is the last Messenger and Prophet of GOD Almighty. The following Saying from our beloved Prophet peace be upon him will further prove it for us:

"In My Ummah (Islamic Nation), there shall be born Thirty Grand Liars (Dajjals), each of whom will claim to be a prophet, But I am the Last Prophet; there is No Prophet after Me. (Abu Dawood Vol 2 p. 228; Tirmidhi Vol 2 p.45)" [1]

"Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, 'The Israelis 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.' The people asked, 'O Allah's Apostle! What do you order us (to do)?' He said, 'Obey the one who will be given the pledge of allegiance first. Fulfil their (i.e. the Caliphs) rights, for Allah will ask them about (any shortcoming) in ruling those Allah has put under their guardianship.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 661)"

"Narrated Sad: Allah's Apostle 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 Aaron to Moses? But there will be no prophet after me.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 59, Military Expeditions led by the Prophet (peace be upon him) (Al-Maghaazi), Volume 5, Number 700)"

"Narrated Ubaida: Ali said (to the people of 'Iraq), "Judge as you used to judge, for I hate differences (and I do my best ) till the people unite as one group, or I die as my companions have died." And narrated Sad that the Prophet said to 'Ali, 'Will you not be pleased from this that you are to me like Aaron was to Moses?' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 57, Companions of the Prophet, Volume 5, Number 56)"

"Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) left 'Ali b. Abi Talib behind him (as he proceeded) to the expedition of Tabuk, whereupon he ('Ali) said: Allah's Messenger, are you leaving me behind amongst women 4nd children? Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Aren't you satisfied with being unto me what Aaron was unto Moses but with this exception that there would be no prophet after me. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 31, The Book Pertaining to the Merits of the Companions (Allah Be Pleased With Them) of the Holy Prophet (May Peace Be Upon Him) (Kitab Al-Fada'il Al-Sahabah), Number 5914)"

"Sa'd reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying to 'Ali: Aren't you satisfied with being unto me what Aaron was unto Moses? (Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 31, The Book Pertaining to the Merits of the Companions (Allah Be Pleased With Them) of the Holy Prophet (May Peace Be Upon Him) (Kitab Al-Fada'il Al-Sahabah), Number 5916)"

"Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus (peace_be_upon_him). He will descent (to the earth). When you see him, recognise him: a man of medium height, reddish fair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet. He will fight the people for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill swine, and abolish jizyah. Allah will perish all religions except Islam. He will destroy the Antichrist (Dajjal) and will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him. (Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 37, Battles (Kitab Al-Malahim), Number 4310)"

In the above Sayings (Hadiths) of our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, we see several things:

1- The People of Israel used to be ruled and guided by Prophets from Allah Almighty, and Muhammad peace be upon him is the last Prophet and Messenger. No Messenger of Allah will come after him. Only Caliphs (Disciples) will come after him, and the Muslims must follow them.

2- He compared himself and his cousin and forth Disciple Ali bin-Abi Talib with Moses and his brother Aaron peace be upon all of them.

3- He used the word "prophet" for himself and as an expression for Moses peace be upon him. Moses and Muhammad peace be upon them are both Prophets and Messengers from Allah Almighty. Moses peace be upon him did not make predictions before. He only brought the Torah (the Law) to the People of Israel. Jesus and Muhammad peace be upon them on the other hand made predictions (prophecies) that were inspired by Allah Almighty. Yet, Moses and the other Messengers of Allah Almighty were referred to as "Prophets". That's because in Arabic as I mentioned above, the words "Messenger (Rasul)" and "Prophet (Nabi)" would and could mean the same thing.

4- Ali may Allah Almighty be pleased with him and honor his face (for refusing to bow to idols) is not sacred in Islam, because Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him told him that he is like Aaron to Moses to him, meaning they are like brothers, but Muhammad also told him that no more Messengers from Allah Almighty will come after him. This makes Ali not sacred in Islam, but very well respected.

5- Prophet Jesus came before Prophet Muhammad and will come after him peace be upon both of them. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him made it clear that no new Prophet or Messenger will come after him. Only Jesus peace be upon him will. He will come and destroy the Antichrist, the Dajjal.

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none of the verses u have quoted above support any idea of continuity of prophethood…

its just a very wrong interpretation…

khaatam is the word that u translate as SEAL, atleast all of us here know urdu and know what “khatam” means…

and the tenses, u dont know arabic so dont try to deal with them…
and if its just the tenses u r bothered about, then say what u think of this…
Quran 30:2-4
*The Roman Empire has been defeated
In a land close by; but they (even) after (this) defeat of theirs will soon be victorious
Within a few years. *

its future tense…
so as long as Quran exists, rome will keep on getting defeated and will be victorius soon in a few years (from when???) ??? :rolleyes:

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I am still wondering why this absolute finality is breached by very stronged and widely believed Ahadith.. Quran is promising something else.. Hadith is giving the news of more "bounty" in the form of prophethood yet it is widely believed that there can be no Prophet whatsoever..

take a look

Sahih Muslim

Book 041, Number 7015:

Then a people whom Allah had protected would come to Jesus, son of Mary, and he would wipe their faces and would inform them of their ranks in Paradise and it would be under such conditions that Allah would reveal to Jesus these words : I have brought forth from amongst My servants such people against whom none would be able to fight; you take these people safely to Tur, and then Allah would send Gog and Magog and they would swarm down from every slope. The first of them would pass the lake of Tibering and drink out of it. And when the last of them would pass, he would say: There was once water there. Jesus and his companions would then be besieged here (at Tur, and they would be so much hard pressed) that the head of the ox would be dearer to them than one hundred dinirs and ** Allah's Apostle, Jesus, ** and his companions would supplicate Allah, Who would send to them insects (which would attack their necks) and in the morning they would perish like one single person. ** Allah's Apostle, Jesus,** and his companions would then come down to the earth and they would not find in the earth as much space as a single span which is not filled with their putrefaction and stench. ** Allah's Apostle, Jesus,** and his companions would then again beseech Allah, Who would send birds whose necks would be like those of bactrin camels and they would carry them and throw them where God would will.

( a long narration.. i have shortened it form the purpose of brevity.. just wanted to show you that Allah will "reveal" revelations and to an "Apostle" during the time of Dajjal and Yajuj Majuj)

Just explain to me what an ** apostle ** is doing here with ** revelations ** from God.. There must be a serious misunderstanding.. some flaw in communications.. some fault in the policy.. how would you explain this contradiction????

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And will that "apostle" fighting against Dajjal be from skies or from the Ummah..

Sunan Abu Daud: Book 14, Number 2526:
Narrated Anas ibn Malik:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Three things are the roots of faith: to refrain from (killing) a person who utters, "There is no god but Allah" and not to declare him unbeliever whatever sin he commits, and not to excommunicate him from Islam for his any action; and jihad will be performed continuously since the day Allah sent me as a prophet until the day the last member of my community will fight with the Dajjal (Antichrist). The tyranny of any tyrant and the justice of any just (ruler) will not invalidate it. One must have faith in Divine decree.

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Dear Smooth_guy,

Thanx for sharing you views with us. It is extremely sad that I had requested very politely but clearly in the introduction to my article, that I want to discuss the issue in the light of only the Koran. In order to discuss with me, the Ahadith that you have pasted, please open a new thread.

I think Destino has cleared some of your doubts, but I will request you to post further ahadith related questions in a seperate thread.

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armughal,

–==: On the meaning of ﻢﺘﺧ

  • Sir, Urdu & Arabic are two different languages. The Koran was revealed in Arabic, and therefore I insist we must take the meaning of the word in Arabic.

–==: On tenses in Arabic

The problem with you is, that you avoid consulting or referring to any authentic scriptures or books, and only post opinions based on guess work and your childish personal concepts.

I suggest you to sack your Arabic teacher, because there are only two tenses in Arabic, the Perfect Tense and the Imperfect Tense. I have explained Arabic tenses in another thread, and on there I also explained how we can refer to an incident that will happen only at a certain time in the future. I’ll repeat it for you here, we use the Imperfect Tense, for something that is happening now, and will continue to happen in the future, but if something is not happening right now, and will only happen at a certain time in the future, we still use the imperfect tense but add the prefix ﺱ to it.
I suggest that you do google for this. Infact, just click here. Starting from the first website, you will see the same rule listed in any site you check or any book you buy from these websites.

According to the above rule, since the Romans have only been foretold to be victorious at a certain time in future, the verse you quoted uses the word ﻥﻮﺒﻠﻐﻴﺳ. Please note that ﻥﻮﺒﻠﻐﻳ is imperfect tense, and the prefix ﺱ has been added to it. However, in the verse that I had quoted, it was said that God chooses his messengers now, and will continue to do that in the future, so the Imperfect Tense was used. If God had said that Messengers have been chosen only in the past, he would have used the Perfect Tense which is used for that purpose.

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^
and ur point still remains a baseless theory just to somehow try to prove that mirza was a prophet… :rolleyes:

do u ever think what meaning does SEAL OF PROPHETS have???
none whatsoever!!!
all that verse means is that there is no more prophets coming after Muhammad :saw:

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Mr. Pagal Insaan:

Presenting your scholarly arguments will only work one someone who needs to listen to them. Presenting them in front of people like armughal or smooth_guy would be like giving a lecture to a stone.

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None of you has even a single logical argument against any of the verses of the Koran that I had mentioned. If these verses do not mean what I say they mean, then what else do they mean?

Armughal, what I think the 'Seal of Prophets' means has been explained in the 'Introduction' to my above article. Now that you have been embarassed by your stupid claim that the Arabic language has future tense, all you can do is roll your eyes!

Dear FatehAhmed Saheb, I know what you mean, and I agree to it. These people have not read the Koran in their lives, and its apparent in all the threads on this forum, that when they are asked to prove their point from the Koran, they have nothing to offer. And if we present ours from the Koran and the Hadith, people like smooth_guy, Islamabad & perplexing leave the thread and run away.
However, there are some other people who do not participae that regularly or reply to every thread, but they read the posts with open minds. This thread was intended for some of them. Jazakallah for your post :)

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So, this pretty much sums it up! Nobody of you has any logical justification to deny any single of of the verses of the Koran that support the continuation of Prophethood.

Now, as visible in this thread, the only way you people can prove your point is through the Hadith. I will start a new thread and deal with all the Ahadith pointed out by smooth_guy.

Atleast now none of you can say that the Koran supports the idea of Finality of prophethood. In the thread about the punishment for people who leave Islam, I had proven to you, that no matter how many ahadith Molvis come up with, it is not possible that a Sahi hadith can be against the teachings of the Koran. I will prove the same in my next thread about the Finality of Prophethood in the light of Hadith.

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On the contrary, Quran actually promises continuation of prophethood from among the followers of Hadhrat Muhammad’s :saw:

4: 70. And whoso obeys ALLAH and this Messenger shall be among those on whom ALLAH has bestowed HIS blessings - the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs, and the Righteous. And an excellent company are they.

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so many prophets there would be after Mirza? 100,000 may be - or how many were there after Prophet (PBUH) and Mirza? are there any around today..

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It’s not my job to send prophets. Ask this question to Allah Almighty.

I just quoted you a verse from Holy Quran, that Allah promises to exalt the status of man even to a status of prophet if he follows the footsteps of ourlord and master, the pride of all the prophets, the best of mankind, Muhammad :saw:, the chosen one, peace and blessings of Allah be on him.

Byt the way, I cannot understand one thing. Followers of Ibrahim :as: and Moses :as: and so many others got prophethood by following them but Ummat-e-Muhammadi who got the prophet Muhammad :saw: the best of mankind, for whom this very world was made, would never be exalted to a status of prophethood even if they follow Huzur:saw: with full of love and devotion.

How unfortunate Ummat-e-Muhammadi would be if one denies blessings of continuation of prophethood.

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Re: Prophethood within Islam: In the Light of Koran

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Paaga| |nsaan: *
....
3- "Whoso obeyeth Allah and the messenger, they are with those unto whom Allah hath shown favour, of the prophets and the saints and the martyrs and the righteous. The best of company are they! That is bounty from Allah, and Allah sufficeth as Knower." (Koran, 4:69,70)

Comments: This verse clearly states the list of blessings of Allah to the followers of prophet Mohammad. This list include the blessing of Prophethood.
[/quote]

Here is one translation of same verse:

All who obey Allah and the Messenger are in the Company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah, of the Prophets (who teach), the sincere (lovers of Truth), the witnesses (who testify), and the righteous (who do good): ah! what a beautiful Fellowship!

It really is different in meaning in what you are saying. All it is saying is that those who obey Allah swt and His messenger are in the Company of those whom Allah hath shown favor which includes Prophets, siddiq (witnesses/truthfuls), martyrs and righteous. Now where does it say that followers will be blessed with Prophethood?

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Degas: *

so many prophets there would be after Mirza? 100,000 may be - or how many were there after Prophet (PBUH) and Mirza? are there any around today..
[/QUOTE]

Degas, look for the answer in the Koran. It says prophets will continue to come for as long as mankind exists. You consider Prophethood a curse, whereas God considers it a blessing. Thats a philosophical clash.

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Re: Re: Prophethood within Islam: In the Light of Koran

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Changez_like: *

Here is one translation of same verse:

All who obey Allah and the Messenger are in the Company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah, of the Prophets (who teach), the sincere (lovers of Truth), the witnesses (who testify), and the righteous (who do good): ah! what a beautiful Fellowship!

It really is different in meaning in what you are saying. All it is saying is that those who obey Allah swt and His messenger are in the Company of those whom Allah hath shown favor which includes Prophets, siddiq (witnesses/truthfuls), martyrs and righteous. Now where does it say that followers will be blessed with Prophethood?
[/QUOTE]

Very interesting. As per your translation, I agree, there would be no prophets, and also no siddiq, no martyrs and no righteous. What a blessed Ummat!

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Honestly speaking, only the last one (#8) made "some" sense but even that, to my understanding is not related to continuation of prophethood.

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Re: Re: Re: Prophethood within Islam: In the Light of Koran

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by zakiahmed: *

Very interesting. As per your translation, I agree, there would be no prophets, and also no siddiq, no martyrs and no righteous. What a blessed Ummat!
[/QUOTE]

No, what I personally think it means is that this verse applies for Judgement day company, not everyday company.

20

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Paaga| |nsaan: *
Degas, look for the answer in the Koran. It says prophets will continue to come for as long as mankind exists. You consider Prophethood a curse, whereas God considers it a blessing. Thats a philosophical clash.
[/QUOTE]

I understand you asked Degas, but I think nobody in this world has yet regarded "Prophethood" as "curse" yet, who is the accused?