Can Any Prophet Come After the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
Source: Fatawa Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Question:
Can a prophet come after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
Answer:
Allah Almighty had promised to send prophets, and He fulfilled this promise. Muhammad ﷺ is the final Prophet, and his Prophethood is valid until the Day of Judgment. This is established by the Qur’an, mutawatir Ahadith, the sayings of the Companions, and the consensus of the Ummah.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Kathir رحمه الله (774 AH) writes:
’’اللہ نے انسانوں کی طرف اپنے رسول محمد صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کو خاتم النبیین بنا کر بھیجا، آپ کے بعد نہ کوئی نبی ہے، نہ رسول، آپ سب انبیاء کے آخر میں آئے ہیں۔‘‘
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir: 3/70)
After the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, no “shadow” (ظلی), “manifest” (بروزی), or “subordinate” prophet can ever come. The concepts of an Ummah-prophet or shadow-prophet do not exist. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the final Prophet as proven by the Qur’an, Hadith, the understanding of the Salaf, and the consensus of the scholars of language.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
أنا خاتم النبيين، لا نبي بعدي
(I am the Seal of the Prophets; there is no prophet after me.)
He also said:
إني آخر الأنبياء
(Indeed, I am the last of the Prophets.)
These Ahadith explain that Khatam an-Nabiyyin means complete denial of any form of Prophethood after the Prophet ﷺ. Neither a shadow nor a manifest prophet can come. The chain of revelation has been completely cut off.
The false claim that Khatam an-Nabiyyin means “whoever the Prophet ﷺ seals with Prophethood becomes an Ummah-prophet” is baseless. The Qur’an, Sunnah, consensus of the Ummah, classical scholars, and lexicographers never explained it this way. Whoever makes such a claim implies that the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions, and the entire Ummah misunderstood, while only he has realized the truth — but:
ایں خیال است و محال است و جنون
(This is mere fancy, impossibility, and madness.)
❀ Imam al-Ghazali رحمه الله (505 AH) states:
’’اجماع امت نے اس لفظ لا نبي بعدي اور دیگر دلائل سے یہ بات سمجھی ہے کہ رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے اپنے بعد کسی بھی دور میں نبوت یا رسالت کے امکان کی کلی نفی کر دی ہے۔ اس میں کوئی تاویل یا تخصیص نہیں کی جا سکتی، اس کا منکر اجماع کا منکر ہے۔‘‘
(al-Iqtisad fi al-I‘tiqad: 137)
