Khatam An-Nabuwwah - Hadith and Traditions of Muhammad

Hadith and Traditions of Muhammad

Sunnis claim to quote the Hadith of Umar and prophecy as proof of Muhammad being the last prophet, while both Shi‘ī and Sunni Muslims quote the Hadith of position.

Some authentic traditions illustrated by both Shi‘ī and Sunni are below:

"The tribe of Israel was guided by prophets. When a prophet passed away, another prophet succeeded him. no prophet will come after me; only caliphs (literally, successors) will succeed me."

Muhammad affirmed: "My position in relation to the prophets who came before me can be explained by the following example: A man erected a building and adorned this edifice with great beauty, but he left an empty niche, in the corner where just one brick was missing. People looked around the building and marvelled at its beauty, but wondered why a brick was missing from that niche? I am like unto that one missing brick and I am the last in the line of the Prophets."

"So I came and in me the line of Prophets has ended."

The very same tradition in similar words has been incorporated among other traditions reported by Jabir ibn Abd-Allah; and its last sentence reads, "It is in me that line of Prophets came to its final end."

Musnad Ahmad contains traditions reported by Ubay ibn Ka'b, Abu Sa`id al-Khudri and Abu Hurairah on the same subject with a slight variation of words here and there.

Muhammad observed: "God has bestowed upon me six favors which the former Prophets did not enjoy:

• I have been endowed with the gift of pithy and perfect speech.
• I was granted victory owing to my awe.
• The spoils of war were made lawful unto me.
• The whole earth has been made the place of worship for me and it has become the means of purification for me also. In other words in my religion, offering of prayers is not confined to certain specified places of worship. Prayers can be offered at any place over the earth. And in case water is not available it is lawful for my people to perform ablutions with earth(Tayammum) and to cleanse themselves with the soil if water for bathing is scarce.
• I have been sent by Allah to carry His Divine message to the whole world.
• The line of prophets has come to its final end in me.

Muhammad affirmed: "The chain of Messengers and Prophets has come to an end. There shall be no Messenger nor Prophet after me."

Muhammad observed: "I am Muhammad, I am Ahmad, I am the Effacer and infidelity shall be erased through me; I am the Assembler. People shall be assembled on Doomsday after my time. And I am the last in the sense that no prophet shall succeed me."

Muhammad observed: "God Almighty hath sent unto the world no apostle who did not warn his people about the appearance of Dajjal (Anti-Christ, but Dajjal did not appear in their time). I am the last in the line of Prophets and ye are the last community of believers. Without doubt,then, Dajjal shall appear from amongst ye".

'Abdur Rahman bin Jubair reported: "I heard Abdullah bin 'Amr ibn-'As narrating that one day the Holy Prophet came out of his house and joined our company. His manner gave us the impression as if he were leaving us.' He said, 'I am Muhammad, the unlettered prophet of Allah' and repeated this statement three times. Then he affirmed: "There will be no prophet after me'."

Muhammad said: "Allah will send no Apostle after me, but only Mubashshirat. It was said: what is meant by al-Mubashshirat. He said : Good vision or pious vision". (In other words there is no possibility of Divine revelation in future. At the most if some one receives an inspiration from Allah he will receive it in the form of "pious dream."

Muhammad said: "If an Apostle were to succeed me, it would have been 'Umar bin Khattab."

Muhammad told Ali, "You are related to me as Aaron was related to Moses. But no Apostle will come after me."

This tradition is recorded in Bukhari and Muslim in the account of the battle of Tabouk also. Musnad records two traditions narrated by Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas on this subject. The last sentence in one of these traditions runs as follows: "Behold there is no prophethood after me."

Detailed accounts of the traditions report that on the eve of his departure for the battle of Tabouk, Muhammad had resolved to leave Ali behind him in order to look after the defense and supervise the affairs of Medina. The hypocrites thereupon began to spread insinuations and rumours about Ali. Ali went to Muhammad and said: "'O Prophet of Allah, are you leaving me behind among women and children?'" On this occasion in order to set his mind at peace Muhammad observed: "You are related to me as was Aaron with Moses." In other words "as Hadrat Moses on the Mount Tur had left Hadrat Aaron behind to look after the tribe of Israel, so I (Muhammad) leave you behind to look after the defense of Medina." At the same time apprehending that this comparative allusion to Aaron might later on give rise to heresies, Muhammad immediately made it clear that "There will be no Prophet after me."

Thauban reports: "Muhammad observed: And there will arise Thirty imposters in my Ummah and each one of them will pronounce to the world that he is a prophet, but I am the last in the line of the Prophets of God and no Apostle will come after me."

Abu Dawood in Kitab-ul-Malahim has recorded another tradition reported by Abu Hurairah in the same subject. Tirmidhi has also recorded these two traditions as reported by Thauban and Abu Hurairah. The text of the second tradition runs thus: "It will come to this that thirty imposters will arise and each one of them will put forth his claim to be the Apostle of God."

Muhammad observed: "Among the tribe of Israel who went before you there indeed were such people who held communion with God, even though they were not his Prophets. If ever there arose a person from among my people who would hold communion with God, it would be none else but 'Umar."

A version of this same tradition in Muslim contains Muhaddithuna instead of Yukallimuna. But then Mukalima and Muhaddith bear identical meaning i.e., a man enjoys the privilege of holding direct communion with God or a person who is addressed by the Almighty from the unseen. Thus we conclude that if there had been any person among the followers of Muhammad who could hold communion with God without being raised to the dignity of prophethood, it would have been `Umar.

Muhammad said: "No Prophet will come after me and there will, therefore, be no other community of followers of any new prophet."

Muhammad observed: "I am the last in line of the prophets of God and my Masjid is the last Masjid (referring the holy Masjid of the Prophet)."

A large number of such traditions of Muhammad have been reported by the Sahabah (companions) and a great many compilers have recorded them from authoritative sources. A study of these traditions shows that Muhammad on several occasions, and in various ways and in different words made it explicitly clear that he was the last Prophet of God; that no prophet would follow him and that the line of prophets had ended in him. Furthermore, those would claim to be prophets and messengers of God after his time would be impostors and liars.

There can be no authentic, creditable and conclusive interpretation of the words of the Qur'an, Khatam-un-Nabiyyin, than that given by Muhammad for the credentials of Muhammad need no proof and the authority of his words is unassailable. His words are authentic and a proof in itself. When Muhammad is explaining a Nass of the Qur'an, his explanation is the most authentic and a proof positive.