Source: Fatawa Aman Puri by Sheikh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Aman Puri
Question:
If someone believes that prophethood continues after the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), is he an apostate or not? And will the marriage of a Muslim woman be annulled because of this?
Answer:
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Seal of the Prophets; no prophet will come after him. In Islamic law, there is no concept of an Umati prophet or a shadowy and manifest prophet. Whoever considers prophethood to continue after him (peace be upon him) is the worst of apostates, and the marriage of a Muslim woman will be annulled, because denying the belief in the finality of prophethood is a denial of the Qur'anic texts, the mutawatir hadiths, the consensus of the companions, and the consensus of the Ummah.
❀ Imam Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
"Similarly, the fact that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Seal of the Prophets is established by mutawatir hadiths. Praise be to Allah, this is a consensus issue and one of the necessities of the religion. The consensus of Muslims is that whoever claims prophethood after the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a disbeliever and a liar; he will be called to repent, and if he repents, that is fine, otherwise, he will be sentenced to death."
Reference: (Majmu' Fatawa Ibn Baz: 223/2)
Whoever claims prophethood is also an apostate, and whoever affirms him is also an apostate; he will be completely boycotted.
❀ Qadi Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
"Similarly, whoever considers someone to share in prophethood during the blessed era of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) or after him is a disbeliever. The Jewish Christian sect claims that the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is specific to the Arabian Peninsula. The Kharmiya sect claims that messengers will continue to come. The majority of the Rawaafid say that after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) shares in his prophethood, and likewise, in their view, every Imam of theirs is a substitute for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in prophethood and authority. The Baziqiya and Bayaniya sects believe in the prophethood of individuals named Baziq and Bayan; all these people are disbelievers. Likewise, whoever claims prophethood himself or, like philosophers and extreme Sufis, considers it permissible to attain prophethood through the purity of the heart and to reach the rank of prophethood is also outside the fold of Islam. Anyone who does not claim prophethood but claims the descent of revelation upon himself, or says that he ascends to the heavens, enters Paradise, eats its fruits, and embraces the Houris, all those who hold such beliefs are disbelievers and deny the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), as it is stated in the hadith that he (peace be upon him) is the Seal of the Prophets. He (peace be upon him) was sent to all of humanity. This statement will be taken in its apparent meaning, and there is consensus on this among the Ummah. There is no room for interpretation or specification in this. Therefore, there is no doubt about the disbelief of the aforementioned sects. By consensus and the evidence from the Qur'an and Sunnah, these people are certainly outside the fold of Islam."
Reference: (Al-Shifa bi-Ta'rif Huquq al-Mustafa: 285/2, 286)
