No reform please. We are Muslims.

Luton's 'Preservation of the Finality of Prophethood Forum' has finally published a rebuttal to the Ahmadiyya Muslim advert which had reportedly offended the Muslims of Luton. This is a paid advert published in this week's Luton on Sunday.

And the point is?

I was pleased to see that the writers of the advertisement have used civil language which is a remarkable achievement by itself. I am sure that the hate speech laws would have caused many edits before the piece was sent to the printers.

I say this because in my experience, all 'Khatme Nabuwwat' (Finality of Prophethood) organizations are known for their venomous language against the Ahmadiyya Muslims. This language often breeds violence against the community, the most recent example of which was in Hyderabad, India, where a drunken mob attacked the Ahmadiyya Mosque during the Friday prayers.

It is refreshing to see that Luton's anti-Ahmadiyya Mullahs are willing to share their beliefs with the community without inciting violence and hatred.

How does their definition of a Muslim help any of the readers is another matter.

When did the finality of prophethood become one of the central tenets if Islamic beliefs?

The committee of 22 Mosques in Luton would struggle to find a verse in Quran to justify this belief. They do present a verse in the advert

' Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets.' (33:40)

The term used here is 'Khataman Nabiyyeen', translated by the classical translators like Pickthal, Yusuf Ali and Arberry as the Seal of Prophets. This term has been understood by the commentators to mean the best of the prophets. But since the founder of the Ahamdiyya Muslim Community claimed to be a subservient prophet to Muhammad (peace be upon him), his opponents have rejected the more sublime understanding of the verse in favour of a pedestrian one.

Before the inception of Ahmadiyya Islam, classical Islamic scholars had no doubt about the coming of a prophet within Muslims who would reform them and teach them the true wisdom of the Quran. He has been referred to in the Hadith as 'Eesa Ibn Maryam', Jesus, Son of Mary. Muslims have been, and most are still waiting for the Promised Messiah.

Herein lies the great dilema for our friends at the Finality Forum. How can they declare an end to the institution of Prophethood when their own advert claims that 'Lord Almighty in His Grace, never left mankind without any religious guidance'?

What they don't share with their readers is the unanimous belief of all the 22 Luton mosques, and the Muslims around the world that Jesus will descend from the heavens and he will be a prophet for the Muslims. A hadith in Tabarani, quotes the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him)

'And remember, there is no prophet between me and him (the Promised Messiah)'

There are many other prophetic sayings (Ahadith) which refer to the Promised Messiah as a prophet.

There is no difference of opinion between the Ahmadi Muslims and the rest about the absolute supremacy of the Quranic message until the end of days. i.e., Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Seal of Prophets. His era continues until the day of judgement. The hadith quoted in the advert 'there will be no prophet after me' only refers to a new prophet bringing a new book or a new law.

But what becomes of the Muslims when they lose their way? When some of them start using their distorted understanding of the Quran to usrup the rights of mankind? When the quest of scientific knowledge is deemed sinful and difference of opinion is met with fatwas of heresy? Don't they need reform? And a prophet is, as the advert points out ' a reformer and an orthodox humanitarian'.

Whether or not you accept Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's claim to be a prophet is not relevant here. The fact that you need to contradict yourselves to counter his claims reveals the stubbornness so symptomatic of a people in dire need of reform.

Luton's 22 mosques belong primarily to the Barelvi (sufi) sect. Ibne Arabi, the great Sufi mystic, known as the Seal (Khatam) of Mystics by many, saw the coming of a prophet in Islam as an absolute necessity. He awaited the second coming of Jesus in a 'new body' who will follow the law of Quran.

But Ibne Arabi is considered a bit of a heretic himself by the more puritanical Wahabi Muslims. A great Indian scholar, Shah Waliullah of Delhi, highly regarded by the non-barelvi sects as an authority in Quran and Hadith states that only prophethood with a new law has come to an end. He also wrote that the Promised Messiah will be a true image of Muhammad himself.

For any Deobandi Mosques in Luton, I present the definitive statement of Qasim Nanotawi, the founder of Deoband sect in India, who said that the coming of a new prophet after the Holy Prophet does not break the 'Seal'. This has been a hotly debated issue between the Barelvi and Deobandi sects, each blaming the other for agreeing with the 'Qadianis'.

How unorthodox of the orthodoxy. A newfangled definition of a Muslim? That is the last thing one expects from them.

Despite the contradictions I have pointed out above, the advert is a step in the right direction.

By promoting their own cause and desisting from hate speech, the forum has taken a leaf out of the Ahmadiyya book. I urge them not to stop here. Please copy the whole book. Lets start by being more inclusive and less dogmatic. Lets remove any notions of a separatist, ghettoised interpretation of Islam from our minds and show more loyalty and commitment to the country we call our home. And above all, let us share the humanitarian, tolerant message of the Quran in our towns and cities.

Mujaddid Alif Thani (a.r.) and Khatme Nabuwwat

بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم

On the website, Let me Turn the Tables, a number of articles are being published in an attempt to respond to various references given in support of the claims of Promised Messiah (as). Most of these articles are focused on solitary references and the author makes every effort to ignore the context in which those excerpts of Ahadith and writings from various scholars were provided.

Mujaddid Alif Thani (a.r.) and the verse Khaataman Nabiyyeen:

 In Ahmadiyya literature concerning the issue of finality of prophethood, you will find a wealth of strong opinions from various saints and scholars which support the claims of Promised Messiah علیہ السلام to be a subordinate prophet in accordance with the prophecies of Quran and Hadith.

The author from “Turn the tables” quotes a reference presented in Ahmadiyya literature by Hadhrat Ahmad Sirhindi, Mujaddid Alif Thani (r.a.)

“'The rising of prophets after the Khatamar Rasul Hazrat Muhammad, the Chosen One, peace and blessings be upon him, from among his own followers and as a heritage, does not in any way run counter to his status as the Khatamar rasul. Therefore, O reader, do not be among those who doubt.' Maktubat Imam Rabbani, Hazrat Mujaddid Alf Thani “

 The same text has been translated by “turn-table” as

“So for the followers to attain the wonders of prophethood (kamalat nubuwwat) by way of following and inheritance after the coming of the Last Prophet –on him and his followers and all the prophets be the peace and salutations- is not in contradiction to his finality. So be not of those who doubt.”

According to the author, the words “the rising of prophets” should be translated as “for the followers to attain the wonders of prophethood”. Thus proving that Mujaddid Alif Thani (ar) was only alluding to minor blessings which come to those who follow the Holy Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم.

So according to him, “kamaalat e nabuwwat” do not include being a subordinate prophet. The author himself quotes the passages from the same letter which mention the second coming of Jesus علیہ السلام and includes this event to be relevant to the subject being discussed. This letter is addressing the qualities of prophethood which include revelation, true dreams and visions as continuous phenomenon in the Muslim ummah since the time of Sahaba and the generations following them. Hadhrat Ahmad Sirhindi also sates “And the last of the times have been made akin to the earliest days.” i.e., the same qualities could be observed at the time of writing his letter.

Hadhrat Ahmad Sirhindi, also known as Imam Rabbani and Mujaddid Alif Thani lived during and after the time of Emperor Akbar. He was a great scholar who lived the life of a true saint. Receiving revelations and visions from Allah (swt), which he recorded in his writings extensively. He rejected the innovations being introduced into Islam by so-called Sufis and Mullahs of his day. His influence was so great that he spoke to King Akbar personally to explain the correct Islamic creed to him. He was also Jailed during Jehangir’s reign but the released and honored by the same king. Throughout his life, Imam Rabbani (a.r.) wrote letters to his friends, family and followers, explaining his world view and personal spiritual experiences. As a true saint, his experience of Divine Revelations seems to be the most striking topic in his Maktoobat. And this issue of prophecy, renovation of faith and appearance of Imam Mahdi recur in these writings.

Now, we know that is a fact that none of the recipients of “kamaalat e nabuwwat” claimed to be a subordinate prophet, (including Ibn Arabir and Mujaddi Alif Thani) but it is very common observation that both of them have discussed the second coming of Jesus علیہ السلام as an exception where a subordinate prophet will exist among Muslims. This is no coincidence that any discussion on finality of Prophethood can not be completed without mentioning the appearance of Eisa Ibn Maryam علیہ السلام. All great scholars have discussed this and all of them agree that Eisa ibn Maryam علیہ السلام will be a prophet, following the Shariah of Holy Prophet (saw). That is another argument that Ahmadiyyat has already won by proving that Jesus (as) passed away. (we can have another debate if you like..)

The Ahmadiyya stance on this matter is that Holy Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم prophecised the coming of an Ummati Nabi in his Ummah. He called him Eisa Ibne-Maryam علیہ السلام and also Imam Mahdi. This person was to attain the highest spiritual rank in the Ummah by being immersed in the love of his master, the Holy Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم;a phenomenon not unknown to great saints like Ibne-Arabi and Imam Rabbani (a.r.). The only difference is that the title of Prophet is given to only one person.

Imam Rabbani, Mujaddid Alif Thani (a.r.) writes.. “Perfect followers of prophets (peace be upon them), due to their complete obedience and because of their immersion in their love, they (the followers) become colored with their (master’s) colors so much so that there is no difference between the follower and the one who is followed. i.e., between the Nabi and Ummati: Apart from being Asl and Tabe’ and beign awwal and aakhir”. (Maktoobat No. 248, Part 4, Vol 1, page 49, Published Mujaddadi press, Amritsar).

Mujaddid Alif Thani (a.r.) has left a wealth of knowledge for the right minded Muslims to accept the Promised Messiah علیہ السلام.One of the recurrent themes in his writings is his understanding of the concept of “Mujaddidyyat” and his own claim to be the Mujaddid of the 2nd millennium. He learnt this wisdom from Ibne Arabi (a.r.) and you can find in his writings a profound influence of Ibne Arabi’s thought.

On the subject of Imam Mahdi, Hadhrat Imam Rabbabi (a.r.) repeatedly mentions the fact that he will have the “ulema” of his time as his enemies. He is also acutely aware of the great spiritual status of Imam Mahdi. According to Ibne Arabi, Imam Mahdi will receive the Shariah of the Holy Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم through revelation. (Imam Shu’rani explains this in his Al-Yawaqeetu wal Jawahir, Vol 2, while explaining Ibne Arabi’s thought)

Promised Messiah علیہ السلام writes: (Haqiatul Wahi, page 406)

"And another unwise thing they say to inflame the ignorant people that this man his claimed to be a prophet but this is an utter fabrication. I have not claimed to prophethood which has been known to be forbidden in Quran, the claim only is that in one respect I am an ummati and from one respect due to the prophetic blessing of Holy Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ), I am a prophet. And from prophet it is only meant that I receive frequent honor of revelation and words from Allah. Truth is as Mujaddid sahib of Sirhind has written in his maktoobat that even though some people from this ummat are destined to receive revelations and words from Allah and will remain so until the day of judgement, but the person who will receive the most frequent revelation and will be given news of the unseen in abundance is called a prophet. Let it be clear that the prophecy in Ahadith of Holy Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) have fortold that in the ummat of Holy Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) a person will be born who will be called Eisa and Son of Mary. And he will be given the name of Nabi, that is, he will be given Divine revelation in abundance and matters of the Unseen will be reveated to him frequently which cannot be given to a non-prophet as Allah has said that Allah does not grant full knowledge and understanding of His Unseen (matters) with frequency and clarity unless to a person who is His honored prophet(Surah Al-Jin verse 27-28)”

Dear readers, it is clear that the critics of Ahmadiyyat have always tried their best to ignore the blatantly obvious hole in their own beliefs regarding the second coming of the Messiah علیہ السلام.They cannot hide behind vague statements and fairy-tales anymore. I invite them to ponder over the writings of great scholars like Ibne Arabi, Mujaddid Alif Thani and Shah Waliullah (peace be upon them all), and understand the true significance of the coming of Imam Mahdi علیہ السلام.

Wassalam,