Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 49
THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM 49 munity that we do not believe the Messenger of Allah, peace be on him, to be the Seal of the Prophets is utterly false. The faith, the conviction, the certitude,and the absoluteness that characterize our belief in the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, as the Seal of the Prophets, are entirely absent from the belief of our opponents [AI-Hakam, 19 March 1905]. He elaborated this in his statement as follows: We believe that the Quran is the last Book and Final Law and that after it there can be no prophet till the end of days, in the sense of a law-giver or a recipient of the word of God independently of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. As God Almighty has pronounced the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, to be the Seal of the Prophets, He implies that because of his spiritual eminence the Holy Prophet is like a father unto the righteous whose inner perfection is achieved through subordination to him and who are honoured with the bounties of Divine revelation. Thus it is said: 'Muhammad is not the father of any of your males, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets. ' The use of the conjunction 'but' after the opening affirma- tion of the verse, introduces a qualification of the affirmation to the effect that though the Holy Prophet does not enjoy the physical fatherhood of any male, his spiritual fatherhood is so comprehensive that after him an independent grant of the blessings of prophethood has been terminated and that there- after prophethood would be granted only to a person bearing the Seal of, and acknowledging subservience to, the Holy Prophet. Such a one would thus become a son and heir of the Holy Prophet. Thus while the fatherhood of the Holy Prophet in respect of males has been negatived, yet his spiritual fatherhood has been affirmed so that the criticism of his enemies, based on the verse' Surely, it is thy enemy whose line will be cut off, might be confounded. In short, what is meant is that pro- phethood, even unaccompanied by a new law, is barred as a direct bounty, yet it is attainable as a bounty through the light of Muhammad, peace be on him. (Review on the Debate between Chakralvi and Batalvi, pp. 6-7. )