Seerah

The comprehensiveness of the rules and precepts of Islam and the end of prophecy with the Holy Prophet of Islam have been clearly expressed in the Qur'an: 'And the word of your Lord has been accomplished truly. and justly; there is none who can change His words, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing' (6:115).

'Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of God and the Last of all Prophets, and God is cognizant of all things' (33:40).

In the Arabic language, wherever the word 'khatam' is attached to a word, it conveys the meaning of 'the last' and in this verse it refers to 'the last of the prophets'. Nabi means any type of divine messenger. 163

Obviously, the word messenger can be applied to all prophets so by saying that Muhammad is the last of all prophets, God means that he is the last of all messengers and that after him there will come no prophet, nor any messenger from God, nor any person with a new holy book. 'Surely this Qur'an guides to that which is most upright and gives the good news to the believers who do good that they shall have a great reward (17:9).

Therefore, human beings have no need for any other prophet, any other rules and regulations, or any other school of thought because all they need is to be found in the Qur'an. There are so many documents and testimonies to the fact that the Prophet was the last of all prophets that in Islam this reality is considered one of the clearest points. Now your attention is drawl to some narrations:

The Prophet has himself said, 'You must know that there will come no Prophet after me and no faith after my faith of Islam ...'. 164

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) has said, 'God has ended Holy Books with your Book, the Qur'an, and prophets with your Prophet...'. 165

Hazrat 'Ali (peace be upon him) has said, 'God assigned Muhammad, peace and the mercy of God be upon him and his descendants, to be a prophet after all other prophets and has ended revelation with him'. 166

The Prophet said to Hazrat 'Ali, 'Your relation to me is like that of Aaron to Moses, peace be upon him, with the difference that there will come no prophet after me'." 167

Imam Riza (peace be upon him) has said, 'The faith of Muhammad (peace and the mercy of God be upon him and his descendants) will not be abolished until the Day of Resurrection, and no prophet will come after him until that day'. 168

These and many other traditions and narrations are perpetual proclamations of the Prophet as the last of all prophets and Islam as the only comprehensive faith. The splendour of the purport of this faith as well as its profound precepts and comprehensive rules ensure its perpetuity till the Day of Judgment. Now that God has endowed us with such a matchless magnificent faith, surely it is our duty to communicate it to all other people so all will benefit from this holy faith.

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163. Jami' ul-Javami', p.275; Tafsir al-Mizan, Vol. 2, p.144; Tafsir ul-Kashif, Vol. 3, p.164; Tafsir ul-Biyadwi, p.477; al-Bayan, Vol. 7, p.91; Ruh ul-Ma'ani, Vol. 22, p.32.

164. Mustadrak, Vol. 2, p.262.

165. Usul ul-Kafi, Vol. 1, p.177.

166. Najh ul-Balaghah, Fiyd ul-Islam, sermonn 133, p.403.

167. Kamil, Vol. 2, p. 278.

168. Uyun akhbar ul-Reza, Vol. 2, p.80.

Adapted from: "A Glance at the Life of the Holy Prophet of Islam" by: "Dar Rah Haqq's Board of Writers"