Life of Ahmad — Page 842
REMOVES A MISCONCEPTION as 842 new law, it would have been Umar ra. It cannot mean that there can be no Prophet after Muhammad sa. In another tradition the Holy Prophet sa clearly implies the opposite. He says: 'If Ibrahim (his son) had lived, he would have been a Prophet'. 234 He could not say this if it were absolutely impossible for anyone to become a Prophet. The next Hadith that is brought forward is: 'I am ‘ A qib and he is one after whom there is no Prophet'. 235 The authenticity of this Hadith is very much questioned. Mullah Ali Q a r i rh , who is a recognised critic of Hadith, definitely declares that the last portion of this Hadith is spurious. He says it appears to be the interpretation put upon the word ‘ A qib by some reporter. 236 The next Hadith in support of this belief is: 'I am the last Prophet and my mosque is the last mosque'. 237 It is clear from this that the Holy Prophet sa did not mean that there was to be no Prophet after him, otherwise we shall have to conclude that he did not want the Muslims to build any other mosque. Obviously, what he means to say is that the religion brought by him is perfect and no one can cancel or 234 Ibn-e-M a ja , vol. I. , p. 237 235 Tirmidh i. 236 Mirq a t , vol 5, p. 376, 237 Muslim, Kit a bul Hajj, Fa d li s S al a t , p. 531