I will now put forth a hadith which will solve the whole issue of continuity of prophethood. We make no assertion from ourselves. Hazrat Ibn-e-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Holy Prophet(sa) said:
When Ibrahim, son of the Holy Prophet(sa), passed away, the Holy Prophet(sa) led the funeral prayers and then said Ibrahim will have a wet-nurse to feed him in paradise and had he lived, he would have been a true Prophet… (Ibn-e-Majah-Kitabul-Jana’iz, Babu, Ma Ja’a fis-Salati ‘Ala Ibn Rasulillah(saw), wa Dhikri Wafatihi)
The hadith, as noted above, states: ‘Had he lived he would have been a true Prophet…’ Our opponents contend that God in His wisdom caused him to die lest he should become a Prophet. The fact is there is no wisdom in this. It is an attack on the intelligence and eloquence of the Holy Prophet(sa).
Let us consider the background of the hadith. The verse containing Khataman-Nabiyyin was revealed in the year 5 A.H. Hazrat Ibrahim, the son of the Holy Prophet(sa), died in the beginning of the year 9 A.H. If the Holy Prophet(sa) understood Khataman-Nabiyyin to mean that no Prophet of any kind could ever come again, he would not have made a statement like the one mentioned in the hadith above. He could have said that although Ibrahim was a pure soul, even if he had lived for a thousand years, he would not become a Prophet, since the door to prophethood is closed.
That is the most that a Prophet, who has been informed that there would be no Prophet after him, could have said: ‘The boy has a pure soul, but since Allah has informed me that there is no Prophet after me, he would not have become a Prophet’; but he did not say that.
There is another tradition or hadith which settles this question of ba‘di once and for all:
Meaning that, Hazrat ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When Ibrahim, son of the Holy Prophet(sa) passed away, the Holy Prophet(sa) had Ibrahim’s mother Mariya bathe him and wrap him in a shroud. Thereafter, the Holy Prophet(sa) brought the body out. He walked to the cemetery with his companions and buried him. He then put his hand on Ibrahim’s grave and said ‘By God, he is a Prophet and a son of a Prophet.’ (see al-Fatawal-Hadithiyyah by Ibn-e-Hajar, p. 176)
Hazrat ‘Ali was a member of the family, therefore, his narration is fuller and more descriptive.