With Allah’s Name, The Merciful Benefactor, The Merciful Redeemer

The Finality of Prophethood

 

"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things." -33:40
 
 

All praise is due to Allah. We ask his forgiveness and we recognize His Majesty. We bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worshipping besides Allah and there is none like unto Him, and we bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s slave servant and Messenger. He is the last Prophet and the seal of the Prophets. May the peace and blessings be upon him, upon his family, upon his companions, and upon his righteous followers.

Why is Muhammad (saas) the last Prophet? Why will no other Prophet come after him? We, as Muslims, believe that Muhammad (saas) is the Messenger of Allah. In our declarations of Faith (shahadatain), we first witness that Allah is One. Then, we witness that Muhammad is His Messenger. Why don’t we mention in our first pillar that he is the last Prophet? How could we ask new Muslims to make a declaration when they do not have to say this? The answer is simple; it goes without saying.

To understand this concept, we need only examine the shahadatain in detail. The first thing a Muslim says is La or "no." Before one says anything else, a person is saying no to anything and everything he/she has ever heard or learned before it. The Muslims then goes on to say La (no) ilaha (god) ila (except) Allah (The God). By this, he is saying that there is One God. His creation is one. His attributes are one. His prophets are one. By recognizing this, the Muslim is stating that he accepts what Allah gives him/her because there is no superior being to provide for him/her

The next part of the two-part declaration states Muhammadar-rasulullah. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. By stating the second part, one acknowledges that Muhammad (saas) is a Messenger of God. To truly believe this, one must accept the message. A person cannot separate the Message from the Messenger. The Message sent is from God. If one believes that Muhammad is the Messenger, that person believes his message, which is the Qur’an and states that it has remained unchanged.

The Qur’an also states that Muhammad (saas) is the Seal of the Prophets (peace be upon them all). When an envelope is sealed, it is done. No more can be added to it without the seal being broken. Therefore, Muhammad is the closure of the envelope of prophethood. To say that other Prophets will come after him is to attempt to break the seal, but the promise of Allah is true.

"This is because Allah is the Truth and because whatever else they invoke besides Him is Falsehood; and because Allah, He is the Most High, Most Great." -31:30

Some people say that Muhammad (saas) could not be the last Messenger. Their evidence for this is that angels are messengers. This is true, however, the essence of Prophethood is the bringing of fresh, new revelation. Although the message has the same theme each time, the Message is purified with each revelation. The angel Jibreel or Gabriel, (pbuh) in particular, is known for bringing Allah’s revelation to prophets throughout history. He has been described as the "Holy Spirit of Revelation." According to the Qur’an, however, there will be no more Prophets. Thus, Jibreel (pbuh) will bring no new revelation to a prophet after Muhammad (saas). Therefore, the last Message from Allah is the Qur’an, and the sender of that message is Muhammad. May Allah bless, guide, and have Mercy upon us all. Ameen.