Navigating the End of Time

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Al-Nānawtawī said: “To interpret the ‘finality of Prophethood’ as the ‘Last Prophet’ is a misconception in the minds of the general public – this meaning is incorrect according to the learned”; “Even if a prophet were to be born after the Holy Prophet ﷺ, the finality of the Prophet ﷺ would not be affected in any way” and “Even if it were assumed that a new prophet can come during the era of the Holy Prophet or after him ﷺ, it would not have effect on the finality of our Prophet ﷺ.” These statements gave birth to an unprecedented debate on the finality of the Prophet Muḥammad. [64]

Navigating the End of Time – by Asrar Rashid (Now available)

Whilst looking at the signs, the author puts to bed misinterpretations of eschatology and calls instead for Muslims to wait for the signs to appear as mentioned in the Quran and sunnah, they being the only certainty. The rest is mere conjecture. This was an incident some forty years before the 1974 Supreme Court case. If the scholars of Deoband were able to put up a defence several decades before, why would they suddenly fail to do so here?! The alleged proximity between the authorship of Taḥdhīr al-Nās and Mirzā Ghulām Aḥmad’s claims of prophethood; Look now, in this situation, the conjunction between the two sentences and the aforementioned corrective and exception come into focus at the height of coherence. The sealship [of the Prophet ﷺ] is established in the best way. Chronological finality ( khātamiyyat zamānī) too does not escape one’s hand.Hence, the Prophet ﷺ received prophethood before everyone else. It is clear from the verse on the prophetic covenant [86] that just as the Noble Prophet ﷺ is the Messenger of this Ummah, he is the prophet of all prophets ( nabiyy al-anbiyā’). The group of prophets had been placed to one side and the Noble Prophet ﷺ to another side, and an agreement and oath to believe and support the Prophet ﷺ was taken from all of them. By saying “then he comes to you”, the verse clarifies that the time of appearance of the Prophet ﷺ will occur after all of them. Now that we have been introduced to the context and basic thesis of Taḥdhīr al-Nās, we are in a position to examine some of the controversial statements from the book.

Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī on Khatm al-Nubuwwah – Response to

My belief is that the aforementioned ḥadīth is authentic and reliable. And the strata of the earth are separate. In each stratum there are creatures of the divine. It is inferred from the aforementioned ḥadīth that there are prophets in each stratum. However, while it is established there are seals on each stratum, it is not established they are equal to our Seal of the Prophets. Nor is it my belief that those ‘seals’ are equal to the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ. The children of Ādam that have been mentioned in, ‘We have ennobled the children of Ādam’, [22] and are better than the rest of creation, are the children of the Ādam of this stratum by consensus. Our Prophet ﷺ is better than all the children of Ādam. Thus, undoubtedly, he is better than all creatures. Thus, the ‘seals’ of the other strata, who are included amongst ‘creatures’, cannot be equal in any way to him.” Mawlānā affirmed not one, not two, but three types of sealship for the Prophet ﷺ. The first is direct sealship. Meaning, the position of the Prophet ﷺ is a direct sealship. The Noble Prophet ﷺ is characterised with prophethood directly while all other noble prophets (upon them peace) are characterised by it indirectly, via him. This is like in the world of means, the sun is directly imbued with light while other heavenly bodies, the moon and so on, and earthly things are imbued with light via the sun. This is analogous to the characteristic of prophethood. Almost a thousand years before Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī, the Ṣūfī Muḥaddith, al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī, wrote:Save Bronze Navigation Course (Peak-Outdoor) to your collection. Share Bronze Navigation Course (Peak-Outdoor) with your friends. This unique work is a result of multiple engagements and debates in universities, mosques, private gatherings and elsewhere. The author, Asrar Rashid, takes on the more difficult questions taking us through a labrynth of Kalām, philosophy, logic, epistemology, science, the Qurʾān, Ḥadīth and Sharīʿa. The book covers in depth the proof for God, His divine attributes, the problem of evil, freewill and divine knowledge, the most difficult philosophical and scientific objections against Islam, as well as objections to Sharīʿa law, the Qurʾān’s historical preservation, the historicity of the Ḥadīth, slavery, Jihād, women’s rights and a host of other complex issues. This book is a must for all who are learning about Islam, Muslims and non-Muslims, apologists and detractors. The key to following any map is that one must be ready for a journey. Ready or not, mankind’s journey is simply one of time; a journey imposed on its wayfarers without options. This chronological journey began at the creation of man and will end with the Day of Judgement, a journey full of trials [fitna (pl. fitan)], from which few of us can escape. Shāh Ismā‘īl Shahīd explains that the one who holds such a belief is a “true mushrik and a complete ignoramus, and has not understood the meaning of divinity in the slightest, and has not realised the greatness of this Owner of the Kingdom.” [13] Then, explaining Allāh’s greatness and power, he said: “It is the nature of this King of Kings that in a single moment, had He so wished, with one command of ‘ Kun’, He would create thousands of prophets, saints, jinn and angels equal to Jibrīl, upon him peace, and Muḥammad ﷺ; and would turn the whole universe from the throne to the earth upside down and put another creation in its place.” [14] He further states that if all creatures were like Jibrīl and the Prophet ﷺ, this would not increase in the lustre of Allāh’s kingdom, and similarly if all creatures were devils and dajjāls this would not decrease from the lustre of His kingdom. [15] Thus, in context, Shāh Ismā‘īl Shahīd was merely showing the utter transcendence of Allāh and His being completely without need for creation, so why would He fear anyone’s status when exercising His will?! Thus, the question to the scholars of Sharī‘ah is: Do the words of the ḥadīth contain the possibility of these meanings or not? And will Zayd become a disbeliever or sinner or outside of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa ‘l-Jama‘ah because of this statement or not? Clarify and be rewarded. [23]