The Finality of Prophethood

No. 2363) are applicable to the ways and means of daily existence. God’s prophets came to tell us of the principles that govern life. They did not come to guide us as to how to develop our civilization. Therefore, advancing arguments to prove the need for a new prophet with reference to cultural progress is quite futile. It has to do neither with shariah nor with reason. Sir Zafarullah Khan, a Qadiani has written a book in English in support of Qadianism. He believed that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a prophet of the modern age, holding that since the modern world had changed considerably, a new prophet was required to give people guidance, and that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad had come to meet this need. This argument is nothing but a fallacy. The advent of a prophet does not relate to the changes of the times; it is meant rather to rectify the distortion or non-existence of the divine scriptures. If the world keeps changing, what is required is to re-interpret the divine religion according to the altered circumstances. And this task of re-interpretation is performed by religious scholars (ulama) and mujtahids (one who may exercise ijtihad). Therefore, no new prophet is required for this task. As we know, the Quran exists even today in its perfect, original state. Not even minor changes have occurred in its text, and when God’s word in the form of the Quran is preserved, there is no need for the coming of a new prophet. One aspect of this issue is that the modem claimants to prophethood share the common viewpoint that one of the problems, created in the industrial age is that of the pluralism of society. Communications having now greatly improved throughout the world, people adhering to different religions have felt encouraged to settle abroad, thus creating multi-religious societies in many countries. This is a new state of affairs, one with very few precedents. It is maintained that while commandments may exist in Islam for a uni-religious society, there are none for a multi-religious society. This situation, it is claimed, necessitates the advent of a prophet to tell us the divine commands regarding this problem. The solution to this problem offered by latter day claimants to prophethood was that truth is found in all religions, as alluded to in this verse of the Quran: Surely, it is foretold in the ancient scriptures. (The Quran, 26:196). They held that since truth was to be found in all religions, the adherents of one religion must believe in other religions, just as they believed in their own religions. But this is not a problem for the solution of which a new prophet is required who would bring new commands. Indeed, the answer to this question is found in the sirah of the Prophet himself. When the Prophet migrated to Madinah from Makkah, at that time Jews and idolaters too lived there alongside the Muslims. Madinah’s society, in effect, was multi-­religious in character. At that time the Prophet of Islam issued the “Charter of Madinah.” This Charter, establishing the