This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri's book Khatm-e-Nubuwwat.
Statement of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says:
قولوا : خاتم النبيين ، ولا تقولوا : لا نبي : نبي بعده .
"Say 'Seal of the Prophets' and do not say that there is no prophet after the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him)."
Reference: (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah: 109/9)
This is a disconnected (weak) narration; Jarir bin Hazim did not hear or meet Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Scholars have explained its meaning as that no prophet will come to abrogate the Shariah of Muhammad (peace be upon him), rather the prophet who will come after him is Sayyidna Isa (Jesus) (peace be upon him), and he will follow the Shariah of Muhammad (peace be upon him), not bring a new Shariah.
Because the coming of a new prophet after the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) would mean that he has abrogated the prophethood of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Just as it is disbelief to believe that after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) a prophet can come who abrogates his Shariah, similarly it is also disbelief to believe that after him a prophet can arise who does not abrogate his Shariah but follows the Shariah of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Was it possible for Ibrahim (may Allah be pleased with him) to receive prophethood?
In the discussion about the possibility of prophethood, this hadith is brought regarding Ibrahim, the son of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, that "If Ibrahim were alive, he would have been a prophet." What is its meaning and implication? Consider carefully!
Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, says:
لو بقي لكان نبيا ولكن لم يكن ليبقى لأن نبيكم صلى الله عليه وسلم آخر الأنبياء .
"If Ibrahim, may Allah be pleased with him, were alive, he would have been a prophet, but he was not meant to live because you, peace be upon him, are the last prophet."
Reference: (Tarikh Ibn Asakir: 135/3, and its chain is Hasan)
Allama Sindhi Hanafi, may Allah have mercy on him (1138 AH), writes:
معنى الحديث على هذا أنه لو قضى النبوة لأحد بعده صلى الله عليه وسلم، لأمكن حياة إبراهيم، لكن لما لم يقض لأحد تلك وقد قدر لإبراهيم أنه يكون نبيا على تقدير حياته لزم أن لا يعيش ويحتمل أنه بيان لفضل إبراهيم وحاصله : لو قدر نبي بعده صلى الله عليه وسلم، لكان إبراهيم أحق بذلك، فتعين أن يعيش حينئذ إلى أن يبعث نبيا لكن ما قدر بعده فلذلك ما لزم أن يعيش وعلى المعنيين فليس مبنى الحديث على أن ولد النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يلزم أن يكون نبيا حتى يقال : إنه غير لازم، وإلا لكان كلنا أنبياء لكوننا من أولاد آدم ونوح .
"The meaning of the hadith is that if after the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, prophethood was to be granted to anyone, then it would have been possible for Ibrahim, may Allah be pleased with him, to live, but no one received prophethood. Conditioning Ibrahim's life on his prophethood means that he was not meant to live. This can also be interpreted as a statement of Ibrahim's virtue, meaning that if anyone was to be a prophet after the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, then Ibrahim, may Allah be pleased with him, was more deserving of it. But since no one was to receive prophethood after the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, he did not live. This does not mean that every son of a prophet must be a prophet; if that were the case, then we would all be prophets because we are descendants of Sayyiduna Adam, peace be upon him, and Sayyiduna Nuh, peace be upon him."
Reference: (Hashiyah al-Sindhi ala Ibn Majah: 459/1)
The Example of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Sayyidina Ali (RA):
The Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described Sayyidina Ali رضي الله عنه and himself by the example of Sayyidina Haroon عليه السلام and Sayyidina Musa عليه السلام. Sayyidina Saad bin Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه narrates:
خلف رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على بن أبى طالب فى غزوة تبوك فقال : يا رسول الله تخلفني فى النساء والصبيان؟ فقال : أما ترضى أن تكون مني بمنزلة هارون من موسى؟ غير أنه لا نبي بعدي .
"At the time of the Battle of Tabuk, the Holy Prophet ﷺ appointed Sayyidina Ali bin Abi Talib رضي الله عنه as his deputy (in Medina). Sayyidina Ali رضي الله عنه asked: O Messenger of Allah! Are you leaving me behind with women and children? He ﷺ replied: Are you not satisfied that your relationship with me is like that of Haroon عليه السلام with Musa عليه السلام? However, after me, there will be no prophet."
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari: 3706, Sahih Muslim: 2404, and the wording is his)
In Sahih Muslim, these words are also present:
"There will be no prophethood after me."
Qadi Iyad رحمه الله (544 AH) explains its meaning:
قوله : أنت مني بمنزلة هارون من موسى، يريد فى تقديمه على من يخلفه، استثنى من حال هارون بعض صفاته، وهى النبوة، لأن هارون كان نبيا، وقد أعلم النبى عليه الصلاة والسلام أنه لا نبي بعده، ومعناه منذ بعث ، أى بعد مبعثه انقطعت النبوة، فلا نبي حتى تقوم الساعة .
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ says: Your example and mine is the same as that of Haroon عليه السلام and Musa عليه السلام. The purpose of this hadith was to give superiority to Sayyidina Ali رضي الله عنه over those left behind, then ﷺ excluded the attribute of prophethood from Haroon عليه السلام in this analogy, because Haroon عليه السلام was a prophet, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has informed that there will be no prophet after me. 'There will be no prophet after me' means that after the mission of the Prophet ﷺ, the chain of prophethood has been cut off, and no prophet will come until the Day of Judgment."
Reference: (Ikmal al-Muallim: 413/7)
Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi رحمه الله (597 AH) writes:
لما شبهه فى تخليفه إياه بهارون حين خلفه موسى، خاف أن يتأول متأول فيدعي النبوة لعلي عليه السلام، فقال : غير أنه لا نبي بعدي، وإنما كانت خلافة هارون فى وقت خاص فى حياة موسى .
"When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave the analogy of appointing Sayyidina Ali رضي الله عنه as his deputy to the appointment of Sayyidina Haroon عليه السلام as deputy to Sayyidina Musa عليه السلام, the doubt arose that someone might take this statement as evidence to claim prophethood. So he ﷺ said: Yes, there is no prophet after me. The caliphate of Haroon عليه السلام was during a specific period of the life of Musa عليه السلام."
Reference: (Kashf al-Mushkil: 236/1)
A Doubt and Its Resolution:
A doubt has been raised regarding the meaning of this hadith, observe! The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him:
يا على أما ترضى أن تكون مني كهارون من موسى غير أنك لست بنبي ؟ قال : بلى يا رسول الله ، قال : فإنه كذلك .
"Ali! Are you not pleased that the example of me and you is like that of Musa (Moses), peace be upon him, and Harun (Aaron), peace be upon him? However, you are not a prophet?" Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: O Messenger of Allah! You have spoken the truth. Then the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, said: That is the point."
Reference: (Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd: 25/3)
Here, a doubt is raised that this narration clarifies the meaning of the hadith: لا نبي بعدي that the negation of prophethood after the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, is specific to Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him; that after you, peace be upon him, Sayyidina Ali cannot be a prophet, but it does not mean that no one else can be. This reasoning and doubt are completely baseless from logical, rational, and fundamental evidences. It does not prove in any way that this narration is specific to Sayyidina Ali, may Allah be pleased with him; rather, it is a general rule that no prophet comes after the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and Sayyidina Ali is included in this generality, with no special exception. For example: if I say to someone that you are not a partner with Allah, it does not mean that others are partners with Allah; rather, the general rule is that Allah has no partner. Now, whoever is told that you are not a partner with Allah, it will be said to them as an individual of the general rule. This hadith also implies the same. Secondly, this narration is weak because Maymun Abu Abdullah al-Kindi is weak.
Reference: (Taqreeb al-Tahdheeb by Ibn Hajar: 7051)
