Now before people start jumping all over the place and fill the thread with copy and past, I want to clarify a couple of things. Please answer the question in two parts.
- firstly wots the honour or greatness in being last in anything. this part of the post does not need any hadith and doesn't even need to be related to religion at all?
- secondly wot honour does being the last messenger bestow on our Holy Prophet(saw). Remember, as far as the everlasting book and shariat is concerned we have no disagreements. But specifically what is so great about being the last messenger itself which is taken away if a new messenger is sent?
If the ummah never went astray after Huzoor (saw) then the argument could be made that there is no need for a new prophet and as such Huzoor(saw) being last itself would have been an honour due to the fact that Huzoor eliminated the need for a new prophet. But that is contrary to non-ahmadiyya belif as well. If no prophet is needed after Huzoor (saw) then we don't need one whether he be old or new. The fact that an old prophet will still be needed contradicts the no-need argument.
Again to eliminate any misunderstandings, the shariat is perfect and needs no replacement. Hence even you (the non-ahmadis) believe that whenever Jesus will come he will not replace the shariat.
There is honour in being given the perfect shariat and that shariat lasting till qayamat and being the best prophet and the best human being and future prophets being one's ummati and such subordinate. But i don't see any honour in the single fact of being last in the line of prophethood.
Peace chacha_Ghalib
Answer to first question: What is the honour in being the last in anything. Well Allah (SWT) calls Himself the First and the Last, which means there must be some honour in both states ... no? But it depends what type of last you mean. Of course Allah (SWT) is First and Last in Absolute terms, but you see being last can be dishonourable for a racer, but last man standing can be an honour for a person in a fist fight. The generic question can only be given a generic answer, but I'm sure this will suffice.
Answer to the second question: What honour does being the last messenger bestow on our holy prophet Muhammad (SAW)? That honour is whatever Allah (SWT) Wishes it to be.
We should view the last messenger Muhammad (SAW) as a sign for the end of the world. That humanity has no more chances after him. We really need to get ourselves sorted out pronto. What honour status is fulfilled for RasulAllah is upto Allah (SWT). The reason why we call him the last prophet (SAW) ... is because the Qur'an and hadith are clear on this issue. Even the hadith that you present to justify non-finality can in themselves support the contrary too.
Consider it a task that humanity were sent to Earth to establish the Kingdom of God i.e. Shari'ah upon this rock and water mass. Until that point the world would continue and we would keep having to try to accomplish this great feat. Well know this that the great feat of establishing the Law of God on Earth was achieved by none other that Muhammad (SAW), be it in a sustainable nature because we have preserved the Qur'an and a legacy of classified hadith together with ulema to hold them in their hearts and pages. There is no need for another prophet on a dogmatic basis, so no ruling in religious aspects can be overturned from now on. However, our geo-political position has been compromised and for this we need a leader ..... a messiah!