Mahzarnama (The Memorandum) — Page 30
30 Mahzarnama We are accused of not accepting the Holy Prophet sa as the "final prophet" in the absolute sense, and of resorting to interpretations which make room for the advent of a prophet within the dispensation of the Holy Prophet sa (i. e. Ummati ) by way of his Reflection (i. e. , Zilli ). It is alleged that this causes us to break the Seal of Prophethood. We do affirm that it is definitely not contrary to the meaning of the "Verse of Khaatamun Nabiyyeen " if a Follower-Prophet is born among the followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa , who is completely subservient to him and is totally dependent on the Holy Prophet's spiritual munificence for attaining each and every spiritual excellence. That is so because a wholly devoted servant cannot be viewed in isolation from his Master. It is incumbent upon us to prove our thesis on the authority of the Holy Quran, sayings of the Holy Prophet sa , sayings of the saintly scholars of Islam, as well as the Arabic idiom. A comprehensive discussion on this point follows. But prior to that, allow us to evaluate those who accuse us of breaking the Seal of Prophethood, and to scrutinize the truth or otherwise of their avowed belief. They apparently claim that they believe the Holy Prophet sa to be the ‘last prophet' in every sense, in absolute terms, unconditionally and without exception; and do not admit the possibility of the advent of any prophet of any description whatsoever, after the advent of the Holy Prophet sa. But if you question them more closely, they inescapably concede the following addition to their aforementioned position: "yes, but with the sole exception of Hadhrat Isa (on whom be peace) who will certainly descend among the followers of Islam, some day. " If one takes issue with them that they had just affirmed that the Holy Prophet sa was the "last prophet" in absolute terms and without exception, in the sense that he will not be followed by any prophet of any description whatsoever, then who gave them