(Continued from previous issue)

His words determine the course of history

How extraordinary was the Prophet’s declaration recorded as follows in books of hadith: “The chain of prophethood and messengership has been terminated and after me neither a prophet nor a messenger will be sent by God” (Sahih Muslim). In addition to his having said that there would be no prophet after him, this was also clearly stated in the Quran. (33:40)

Such a declaration had never been made before him, nor was it ever made after him. It is all the more astonishing that these words have become a matter of history. No one has so far dared to claim to be a prophet of God.

Certain personalities have been named in connection with the prophethood, but this is certainly not right. These spiritual personalities have never made a claim in clear terms such as the Prophet Muhammad did: “No doubt, I am a Prophet of God.” (Seerat Ibn Hisham)

The first instance in this connection is that of Musailama of Yamama (Arabia), a contemporary of the Prophet, who died in 633 AD. It is said that he claimed prophethood. But the fact is that his claim was not that of being an independent Prophet but rather of being a co-sharer in the Prophethood of Muhammad. He sent to the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, in Madinah a two member delegation who brought with them a letter from him in which it was clearly stated: “I have been made a partner in this matter of prophethood with him (Muhammad).” (Seerat ibn Hisham, p. 244)

This makes it evident that Musailama had never claimed independent prophethood. His claim, in fact, was that of having been appointed as a partner. This means that he himself referred the matter of prophethood to the Prophet Muhammad himself. That is to say, that only if the Prophet Muhammad testified to the veracity of his claim could he be held truthful. Since the Prophet did not so testify, Musailama’s claim stands nullified.

Similarly, the Sikh religion is attributed to Guru Nanak, who was born in the Punjab. His devotees for their part sometimes call him a “messenger.” Guru Nanak himself never claimed that he was a Prophet of God. The book, the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred book of Sikhism, attributed to Guru Nanak, is actually a collection of works by different people. Nowhere in this book, is it mentioned that Guru Nanak regarded himself as God’s messenger or claimed to be one. This being so, including him in the list of prophets is not worthy of consideration.

Then there is the Iranian born Bahaullah (d. 1892), who is regarded as a prophet by his followers. The religion based on his teachings is known as the Bahai faith. Now the question is: ‘Did he claim to be a Prophet of God?’ Events show that he never claimed either verbally or in writing to be a Prophet of God. His sole claim, according to the Bahai records, was that he was a Mahadi (Guided Person) and the manifestation of the unknowable God—Mazhar-e-Haq. (EB-732)

The declaration of the Prophet Muhammad that he was the last Prophet still remains unquestioned. The case of Bahaullah does not even figure in the list. For he never claimed to be a Prophet of God. What he claimed, rightly or wrongly, was something else, having nothing to do, directly, with the declaration of the Prophet of God.

Another example is that of the India-born Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (d. 1908), regarded by some as a prophet. But, according to the historically established record, this attribution has no sanction in the works of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. Therefore, he cannot be included in the list of prophets for he never pronounced himself to be a Prophet of God. On the contrary, what he claimed was that he was a shadow of the Prophet Muhammad. He never projected himself as an independent Prophet. He thus left it entirely to the Prophet Muhammad either to validate or nullify his position in terms of prophethood.

As mentioned above, the Prophet Muhammad declared that after him no prophet or messenger would come until Doomsday. This means that after him, neither a dependent nor an independent Prophet was to come to the world. The truth is that to say: “I am a Prophet,” is more difficult than putting a mountain on one’s head. Such words can be uttered either by one who is a Prophet of God in the real sense or by one who is insane. No third person can let this claim fall from his lips.

I have had two personal experiences in this regard; one pertains to Guru Gurbachan Singh (d.1980) and the other to Sree Karunakara Guru of Shantigiri, Trivandrum (d. May 6, 1999). The devotees of both holy men told me that their respective gurus were Prophets of God. I said that it was the guru who had the knowledge of being a Prophet of God, and not his devotees. Therefore, the question of considering such a claim seriously arose only when the concerned person uttered these words: “I am God’s Prophet.” So long as these words were not spoken by the concerned person, the case was not worthy of consideration.

In the case of Guru Gurbachan Singh of Delhi, chief of the Nirankari mission, some of his devotees visited my office and claimed that their guru was the Prophet of the time. I said that if they believed that to be true, I would come to see their guru, and they were to ask him actually to make the assertion that he was a Prophet of God. They said that they would request their guru to do so and that he would certainly utter these words in my presence. I further added that on that occasion, I shall not debate his claim. After listening to those words from the lips of the guru, I would come back without questioning it. The devotees talked to their guru, and fixed the date and the time. At the appointed hour, I went to the Sant Nirankari MandaI (New Delhi), where I was ushered into the Guru’s chamber. His devotees, too, were present along with me. Their faces showed that they were convinced that the guru would utter the desired words. I stayed with the guru for about an hour. He continued to talk to me about his mission all this while, but he never uttered these words. For I had given my word to his devotees that I would neither question him nor enter into any debate, so after waiting for one hour, I finally left.

In the other case, that of Sree Karunakara Guru of Shantigiri, a group of his devotees came from Trivandrum to Delhi, where they visited our centre and told me that their guru was a Prophet of God. I told them that I wanted to hear these words from the lips of the Guru. They invited me to their Ashram at Shantigiri and assured me that their guru would certainly utter these words.

I went to Trivandrum in February 1999. There, I met the Guru at the Shantigiri Ashram, which is located about 20 km away from the Trivandrum airport. This meeting took place in a spacious room, in which many of his devotees and some foreigners, men and women, were also present. These devotees were either standing or sitting on the carpet. The Guru reclined on a bed, beside which a chair was placed for me.

Thus, the distance between the guru and me was about less than one meter. Since the guru did not know Hindi, the conversation took place in English. After some introductory remarks, I came to the point and asked him directly:

“Do you claim that you are a Prophet of God in the same sense in which Moses, Jesus and Muhammad claimed to be Prophets of God?”

A silence fell for a few seconds after my question, then the guru replied quite clearly: “No, I make no such claim.” Afterwards, there was no need for further questions on this topic. I talked to him about his mission for some time, then took his leave after receiving his special parshad—an orange.

To conclude, we may confidently assert that the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, was endowed with such divine vision as enabled him to visualize the future very clearly. That is the secret behind all his religious, social and political achievements. It is no wonder then that, by the virtue of this vision, he was also able to predict the continuing ideological supremacy of his prophethood—to the extent that the history itself has refused, and will refuse credibility to any later ideological counter claims, be they made in prophetic or non-prophetic terms.                                                        □