The Termination of Prophethood

The great soul “wrapped up in his vestment” responded to the call and participated in the divine scheme with wholehearted dedication, although many were his trials and tribulations before the prophetic mission, which was to be a mercy for the whole world, reached completion. The coming of repeated prophets, one after the other, to the world had been a severe test for humanity. Now, this era had passed, and there would be one acknowledged Prophet for all time, enabling people to enter into the sphere of God’s mercy in an unending procession. With God’s choice of Muhammad, prophethood was given historical credibility. This meant that no more prophets had to come to the world in future. But it was not merely a matter of divine proclamation. Certain conditions had to be fulfilled before this could happen. Firstly, God’s commandments relating to every walk of human life had to be revealed. This was duly accomplished as the Quran states: “It is He who has revealed the Quran for you fully explained.”164 Secondly, a perfect pattern had to be presented before humanity. The Prophet Muhammad provided humanity with just such a “good example,”165 and this condition was fulfilled. Thirdly, there had to be an arrangement for the permanent preservation of the Quran. This task Almighty God took upon Himself: “It was We who revealed Quran, and We will certainly preserve it.”166 God’s way with previous prophets was to send them specific signs and miracles. The prophets, for their part, left no