With Love to Muhammad (sa) - The Khatam-un-Nabiyyin — Page 133
Nothing has remained of Prophethood except Mubashir ā t 133 This means that they reacted with sadness and shock and perhaps wondered why all kinds of prophethood, including the prophethood of the Holy Prophet sa , have ended. While the companions ra were in a state of shock, they were mollified to some extent when he completed his statement by adding the clarifying clause, “ ُ اdْFبXّرَات a ِ ِنaٰF ”, meaning that mubashir ā t or glad tidings remain. This indicated that prophethood had not ended absolutely or in totality. Its essence remains in the ummah. In other words, this statement was made in a specific context and time. He made this statement about his type of prophethood keeping in view his death, which was near. Correspondingly, leading scholars of Isl ā m have made this interpretation as well. All ā ma Ibn Hajar, one of the greatest scholars of had ī th , writes: َّ اeFُّبُو a ِB a اFَّم ِ ۃ a ْ cِF ْ gَ] a بَ]ْد a َ Mَبْق a ْ Fَم a َeْ]َdْFوَا a Hُبُوَّتہ a وَاdْFُرَاد a ِ د َّ اeFُّبُو ِ ۃ a اdْFُبXَِّرَات a َّ اِﻻ a بِ a اdْFُخْتYََّۃ The implication of the [definite article] “ ال ” in the word اeFبو ۃ [ an-nubuwwah ] refers specifically to the prophethood of the Holy Prophet sa [not to prophethood in general] and the meaning is: “nothing remains from prophethood specific to myself except mubashir ā t”. 130 Therefore, it refers to his prophethood specifically, after which only mubashir ā t ( glad tidings ) have remained. Intellectually, this was necessary for the time of the Holy Prophet sa when the scope of revelation could not be expanded to a great extent because 130 Fath-ul-B ā r ī , Volume 16, Page 464, under the Had ī th in Sah ī h Bukh ā r ī , Kitab-ut-Ta‘b ī r, B ā b: Al-Mubashir ā t