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Finality of Prophethood
By: Ali Reza Amini Mohsen Javadi
To believe that the prophethood, which began with Ādam (‘a), ends with the Prophet Muḥammad #7779;) is one of the essentials of the religion of Islam. Accordingly, every Muslim must believe in this point. Doubt about it is tantamount to the denial of Islam. The Holy Prophet #7779;) has mentioned this point many times. It is recorded that during the Tabūk Expedition, the Holy Prophet #7779;) said to Imam ‘Alī (‘a): “Are you not satisfied that you are to me as Hārūn (Aaron) is to Mūsā (Moses) except that there will be no prophet after me?â€31
This and similar narrations [riwāyāt] have been recorded in Sunnī and Shī‘ah sources without a broken chain of narrators [tawātur]32 and thus there is no doubt about its authenticity [ṣiḥah]. More important than these narrations are the implicit, and at times explicit, verses of the Qur’an regarding this: “Muḥammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets, and Allah has knowledge of all things.â€33
The Qur’an, which is the book of Islam, has been sent down for all people not just those who were present at the time of its revelation. This implies that everyone must put his hopes in the Qur’an for salvation. More explicit than this, however, are verses which indicate that Islam is the religion of God in its complete and final form and thus there is no need for the coming of another prophet: “Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam as your religion.â€34
Khātam literally means seal with which a letter or message is usually ended. The Prophet Muḥammad #7779;), as the khātam, signifies that the series of prophets ends with him. Therefore, there is no doubt that one of the pillars of the religion of Islam is the finality of prophethood [khātamiyyah] in which Muslims must believe.
However, why has the prophethood ended? Will the reasons behind the sending of prophets not be repeated again?
In reply to these questions, Muslims scholars have different views, one of which is as follows:35 In theoretically analyzing the reason behind the finality of prophethood in Islam, firstly the intellectual and spiritual condition of the previous communities of people must be compared with that of the later communities after the apostleship of the Prophet Muḥammad #7779;). Reflecting on the collective life of humankind leads us to the point that just as the there are different stages—for example, sometimes humans are in the stage of childhood and the world of fantasy and at times in the stage of adulthood and intellectual maturity—humankind as a whole has also passed through different stages.
The period of immaturity had passed and around the advent of Islam humans had entered a period of adulthood and maturity. The difference between the two periods is manifested in various forms. During the initial stages, humans were like children who were in need of constant care and supervision. Prophets (‘a) used to come in succession so as to constantly lead the people to the way of salvation, and assist them in every circumstance so that they would be able to identify their duties and act upon them. However, the people of today—who are the addressees of Islam–have reached such a stage of understanding and maturity that given their spiritual and material assets they can identify their duties more readily and follow the path of salvation.
The teachings of Islam, which according to the Ahl al-Sunnah are derived from the Qur’an and the sayings of the Messenger of Allah #7779;), and according to the Shī‘ah are derived from the sayings of the infallible Imāms (‘a) as well, are at the disposal of all people so that they can easily tread their chosen path.
The concept of ijtihād, which means deduction of laws from the sources of Islam, has immense importance here for it is by means of ijtihād that Islam responds to the new and unprecedented needs of mankind. It must be noted that the mujtahid36 does not bring in any new decree that contradicts the finality of Islam. What he does is whenever he encounters a new issue whose ruling is not explicitly stated in the religious texts, he deduces its ruling by using the sources of Islam—including the Qur’an and the ḥadīth—based on an organized or codified system (principles of jurisprudence [uṣūl al-fiqh]) and relays the ruling, suitably deduced, to others.
Therefore, it can be said that the development and maturity of humanity at the present period was the reason God presented His religion in its final and complete form. At his present level of development, whenever humankind encounters a new issue, the level of maturity is available to deduce the correct way and avoid misguidance. The maturity and keenness of the people at the present age make them different from their predecessors who did not recognize the worth and value of their sacred scriptures and distorted them.
One of the reasons behind the continuity of prophethood before was the distortions mankind made to the previous holy books, turning them from books of guidance into common story books and even using them as a source of misguidance for others. Today, however, after many centuries mankind has neither added nor omitted a word or even a letter from the Qur’an and, as God has promised, it has remained safe from any distortion whatsoever.
Moreover, the power of reasoning and intellectual capacity of humanity at the period of the apostleship of the Prophet Muḥammad #7779;) was such that God provided everything humans needed about the fundamental realities of existence. That is, whatever is necessary for the guidance and salvation of humankind to the end of time has been mentioned in the Qur’an.
Understanding and acquisition of knowledge are closely related to one’s aptitude and readiness. God, who knows that humankind at the present time is at the peak of readiness to grasp such truths, taught it whatever is necessary and feasible. Of course, it is clear that the readiness of humanity to acquire knowledge and information about the world of nature and the secrets of creation that make them capable of dominating nature is always on the rise, but this is beside the point.
The Qur’an is meant to state the facts essential for the salvation of all people and so it has not abandoned anything in this regard. As such, the advancement in natural sciences, mathematics and even philosophy do not change the teachings of Islam, and scientific and technological progress do not bring about the need for a new prophet, because prophetic knowledge is related to the knowledge of the Ultimate Reality.
In addition, the moral values of religion are also eternal and must be given attention and acted upon in all aspects of life. If a civilization demands that lying must be the basis of action, one should not submit to it on the pretext that the exigency of time demands it. One must rather doubt the foundation of such a civilization and always rely upon the firm foundation of religious morality. However, some things that may undermine religion in modern times are changes in legal relations. Modern life has raised new issues but, as we have said, the solution to these kinds of problems is the method of ijtihād.
Given this concise explanation, it is clear that the present human is not in need of a new prophet and of course God was aware of this fact before and more than any person. Now, fourteen centuries have passed since the advent of Islam, and no new religion or new prophet has come. This is in spite of the fact that usually the time interval between two prophets had been very short and sometimes there had even been numerous prophets present at the same time. This itself is a living testimony that the door of revelation is closed and the criterion for salvation embedded in the Islamic sources, i.e. the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Hence, the complete proof or argument [ḥujjah] of God has been disclosed to all who open their ears, eyes, and hearts to the truth.
Notes:
31. - Sīrah Ibn Hishām, vol. 2, p. 520; Ibn Ḥajar (al-‘Asqalānī), Aṣ-Ṣawā‘iq al-Muḥriqah (Egypt, 2nd Edition), Book 9, Chapter 2, p. 121. [Trans.]
32. - By tawātur is meant the multiplicity of the sources of a certain report that leads to certitude in the listener that the report is indeed true. A mutawātir hadīth is one which has been reported by so many different chains of transmission and such a number of narrators in every generation that normally one could not fabricate such a tradition without the fact of its fabrication becoming known. [Trans.]
33. - Sūrah Aḥzāb 33:40.
34. - Sūrah Mā’idah 5:3.
35. - The following view is extracted from the works of Āyatullāh Murtaḍā Muṭahharī, Khatm-e Nubuwwat [Finality of Prophethood] in his compendium of works, vol. 3, p. 151.
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