With Love to Muhammad (sa) - The Khatam-un-Nabiyyin — Page 285
Continuation of Prophethood according to Ah ā d ī th 285 for the same reason that the building of mosques today does not offend against the status of the Prophet’s mosque as the Last Mosque. 280 This is the irrefutable logic of the Ahmadiyya Muslim argument which Farhan Khan has tried to distort. Refuting Farhan Khan’s Argument In order to refute Farhan Khan’s argument, let us first understand the word “ آخر ” ( ā khir ). This word can be used in respect of time, area, and status, i. e. it can mean last in terms of time , or last in terms of area , or last in terms of status. As a result, there can only be three possibilities for the translation of the Holy Prophet’s words in the had ī th under discussion, that is, he is the last of the prophets in respect of time, or area, or status. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam ā ‘at categorically rejects the notion that the Holy Prophet sa could be the last prophet in respect of time because this would naturally cause us to reject the coming of the Latter Day prophet foretold by the Holy Prophet sa himself. The Holy Prophet sa could also not have been the last prophet in respect of area because it would not make sense. Hence, he can only be last in respect of status. This belief is reinforced when one sees the rest of the had ī th without any predisposition to the belief in the “end” of prophethood. The complete statement of the Holy Prophet sa is: “I am the ā khir of the prophets, and my mosque is the ā khir of the mosques. ” The only logical conclusion is that the Holy Prophet sa is using the word ā khir here in respect of status. In other words, his statement is, “I am the last of the prophets (in 280 Invitation to Ahmadiyyat , Part I, Pages 45-46