اقبال اور عقیدۂ ختم ِ نبوت کی عصری معنویت

Iqbal and contemporary meaning of belief in finality of prophet hood

Abstract

Finality of prophethood is the fundamental belief of Islam. Its position in the Islamic belief system is just like that of the soul in body. According to Sahib Al-Lisaan al-Arab, the word “Khatam” means: “Covering something and encompassing it in such a way that nothing can enter it from the outside."It is an indubitable fact that no prophet will come after Holy Prophet Mohammad (ﷺ). Several verses of the Holy Qur'an, a number of ahadith, the consensus of the Muslim Ummah as well as practices of Muslims bear an irrefutable testimony to this fact. After Him (ﷺ), no new prophet (in any form or perspective) and no breach in the wall of the citadel of prophethood was accepted by the Ummah, by word or deed. From the Battle of Yamama to this day, the Ummah has sacrificed thousands of lives to protect this sacred belief. The finality of prophethood is, indeed, a great blessing of Allah Almighty. Apart from matters settled through revelation, human intellect is free in all other matters. Today, all human beings are free to solve their problems in the light of revelation as well as their wisdom and intellect. In this article, the necessity of prophethood, the negation of any new type of form of prophethood and the affirmation of the belief of the finality of prophethood will be discussed in the light of the Holy Qur'an, a hadith of the Prophet (ﷺ) and the views of Iqbal.