The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
The Finality of Prophethood
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THE FINALITY OF PROPHETHOOD
According to Islamic belief, the chain of
prophethood came to an end with the Prophet
Muhammad (Peace be upon him), he being the final
Prophet. No prophet is now going to be sent to the
world by God. This is repeatedly mentioned in the
Qur’an and
Hadith.
There is a specific verse to this
effect in the Qur’an:
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men.
But he is the messenger of God and the seal of the
prophets. And God has full knowledge of all
things”
(33:40)
The word ‘seal’ (in Arabic
khatam)
as used in the
above verse signifies a means of complete closure.
(It should not be confused with ‘stamp’ which is
something affixed to a document to guarantee its
authenticity). The Prophet Muhammad being the
‘seal of the Prophets’ means that his advent put a
stop to there being any continuation of the chain of
prophets.
Abdullah Yousuf Ali, a well-known commentator
on the Qur’an writes: ‘When a document is sealed it
