The Real Significance of Hadith La Nabiyya Ba‘di1

The above event took place about four years after the verse Khataman-Nabiyyin was revealed. Holy men and scholars in the past must have read this hadith and the hadith containing La Nabiyya ba‘di that has been previously mentioned. If we look for the interpretation of these ahadith, we note Hazrat Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari (died 1014 A.H.) writing:

If Ibrahim had lived and become a Prophet and if ‘Umar had become one too, both of them would have been followers of the Holy Prophet(sa) and subordinate Prophets like ‘Isa, Khidr and Ilyas. Their prophethood would not have run counter to the Holy Prophet’s title Khatamun-Nabiyyin. This is because Khatamun-Nabiyyin simply implies that after the Holy Prophet(sa) there cannot be any Prophet who brings a new Shari‘ah and is not from his ummah and his follower. (Al-Asrarul-Marfu’atu fil Akhbaril-Maudu‘ah, by Mulla ‘Ali Qari, p. 192)

What a clear and unambiguous interpretation it is, and how he repudiates the argument being put forward by today’s so called scholars. Bear in mind that he is a top scholar among the Ahle-Sunnat. The ‘White Paper’ of the Pakistani Government contends, that the ulema from the past, without exception, held the same erroneous belief that the present day ulema hold, namely, that Khatamun-Nabiyyin does not have any meaning other that complete cessation of prophethood. It is obvious that this assertion is a blatant lie. The top scholars have given La Nabiyya ba‘di the same interpretation as we give.

Although I have presented extensive evidence to repudiate the claim of our opponents that Khatamun-Nabiyyin means the end of prophethood, some may suggest that these holy men and eminent scholars (God forbid) were not familiar with the hadith in the words La Nabiyya ba‘di, hence, they did not talk about it. The fact of the matter is that they were learned people, and were familiar with all aspects of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat and La Nabiyya ba‘di. Let us now see what they wrote.