The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
The Finality of Prophethood
~ 195 ~
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a prophet of the
modern age, holding that since the modern world
had changed considerably, a new prophet was
required to give people guidance, and that Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad had come to meet this need.
This argument is nothing but a fallacy. The advent
of a prophet does not relate to the changes of the
times; it is meant rather to rectify the distortion or
non-existence of the divine scriptures. If the world
keeps changing, what is required is to re-interpret
the divine religion according to the altered
circumstances. And this task of re-interpretation is
performed by religious scholars
(ulama)
and
mujtahids
(one who may exercise
ijtihad).
Therefore,
no new prophet is required for this task.
As we know, the Qur’an exists even today in its
perfect, original state. Not even minor changes have
occurred in its text, and when God’s word in the
form of the Qur’an is preserved, there is no need for
the coming of a new prophet.
One aspect of this issue is that the modem claimants
to prophethood share the common viewpoint that
one of the problems, created in the industrial age is
