Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 721
ATTEMPTS TO PHILOSOPHICALLY. JUSTIFY THE FINALITY OF. NON-LAW-BEARING. PROPHETHOOD. WO MAJOR ATTEMPTS have been made by Muslim theologians and thinkers to logically justify the _first relates to the issue of the need for a new cessation of even non-law-bearing prophets. The teacher. The advent of a perfect teacher and a perfect book, it is argued, obviates the need of any other teacher to follow. Of course, if it can be proved that the presence of a perfect book and the appearance of a perfect teacher are sufficient guarantees against any future moral or spiritual decline, then there is no reason why, after this, another prophet should ever be raised again. Regrettably however, this proposition can neither be proved correct theoretically nor historically. . This contention is insupportable because the bringing of a book of law is not the only function performed by prophets. Prophethood is a thing of many splendours. After the death of a law-bearing prophet, the mere preservation of his book and his traditions cannot offer a sufficient substitute for prophethood itself. The case in point becomes amply clear when we examine the conduct of Muslims after the demise of the Holy Prophets. The progressive deterioration of Muslim society should be sufficient to prove this point. The difference between their moral status during the lifetime of the Holy Propheta and that of. Muslims today defies comparison. The Book however 679