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Subject: Re: On the Meaning of "Muhammad the Seal of the Prophets" (II of VI)
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Date: 4 Dec 89 22:46:38 GMT
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Continuation from part I:

Muhammad, (Peace be upon Him!), has been referred to as Khatam'u-Nabieen in the
Qur'an: "Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Apostle
of God, and the seal of the prophets: and God knoweth all things."
						[The Confederates: 39]

This has been interpreted by many among Muslims to mean that Revelation from
God ended with Muhammad's Revelation, and the door of God's mercy towards
mankind was closed for ever.

Interestingly enough, Muslims are not the only people who hold such belief.
Historically Jews and Christians have based on their Scriptures maintained the
belief that their religions is the final religion, and their code of law is
the last set of revealed law from God.

Jews will argue that they are required by Exodus 31:16-17 to keep the Sabbath
as an eternal covenant: "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the
Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout  their generations, for a perpetual
Covenant. It is a sign between Me (i.e. God) and the children of Israel."

Both Jesus and Muhammad broke the Sabbath. Does this mean that they were wrong?
Or, God forbid, they were false prophets?

Jesus has been referred to in the Book of Revelation 1:11, as Alpha and Omega,
the First and the Last. Likewise He is recorded to have said in Luke 21:33;
"Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away." As a
result Christians, have based on these verses believe that the revelation of
Jesus is the final revelation from God.

If Jesus was to be the Last, why did Muhammad appear after Him? If the words of
Jesus were not to be changed, then why did Muhammad reveal the Qur'an?

Are we to side with Jews, Christians or Muslims in their belief? Is the concept
of finality of religion real, or, is there perhaps another explanation for these
verses found in the Holy Books of the past! Baha'u'llah addresses this issue as
follows:

`....For this reason, hath  the Point of  Baya'n [i.e. a  title of The Ba'b, the
Qa'im,	or  Mihdi of the  House of  Muhammad, the Forerunner of Baha'u'llah]....
likened the  Manifestations of God [i.e. Messengers of God]  unto the sun which,
though it  rise from the  "Beginning that hath no beginning" until the "End that
knoweth no  end," is none  the less  the same  sun. Now,  wert thou to say, that
this  sun is the  former sun, thou  speakest the truth;  and if thou sayest that
this sun  is the "return"  of that sun,  thou also speakest the truth. Likewise,
from this  statement it is  made evident that  the term  "last" is applicable to
the "first," and  the  term "first" applicable	to the "last;"	inasmuch as both
the "first" and the "last" have risen to proclaim the same Faith.

Notwithstanding the obviousness  of this theme,  in the  eyes of those that have
quaffed the wine of knowledge and certitude, yet how many are those who, through
failure to understand its meaning,  have allowed the term "Seal of the Prophets"
to obscure their understanding,and deprive them of the grace of all His manifold
bounties! Hath	not Muhammad, Himself,	declared: "I am  all the Prophets?" Hath
He not said...:  "I am Adam,  Noah, Moses, and Jesus?" Why should Muhammad, that
immortal Beauty,  Who hath said:  "I am the  first Adam" be  incapable of saying
also: "I  am the last  Adam"? For even as   He regarded Himself to be the "First
of the	Prophets" -That is  Adam- in like manner,  the "Seal of the Prophets" is
also applicable unto  that Divine Beauty.  It is  admittedly obvious  that being
the "First of the Prophets," He likewise is their "Seal".
					Iqan, Book of Certitude p. 161-162

The following verse of the Holy Qur'an appears to support this point as well:

"Say ye:  `We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down to us, and that
 which	hath been sent	down to Abraham and  Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the
 tribes: and  that which hath  been given to Moses, and to Jesus, and that which
 was given to the  Prophets from their	Lord. No difference  do we  make between
 any of them."					Al'Baghara-2:130

There must be a deeper meaning to the term Khatam'u-Nabieen than its apparent
meaning (i.e. the Author of last Revelation from God).
Before I start to discuss the various views on the meaning of Khatam'u-Nabieen,
I'd like to discuss the various classifications of prophets from the perspective
of Islam. The Muslim Scripture classifies the intermediaries between man and
God into three groups:

1- Nabi = Prophet: Who is a messenger, Who does not have an independent Book.
   A very good example of that are the Prophets of Israel like Isaiah, Jeremiah,
   Daniel, etc..... They all promulgated the Mosaic Law, without adding any new
   laws, or abrogating the past laws.

2- Rasool = Apostle: Who is a messenger, who has a Book, thus, He can abrogate
   the previous laws, but, He comes only to bring the Laws of God for His own
   tribe or nation. Like Hud and Salih.

3- Peighambar-e-OllolAzm = A universal Apostle, or a major Manifestation of God:
   Who is a messenger, Who has a Book, (i.e. thus can abrogate the laws of past
   religions) and His message is not specific to one tribe or one nation, but
   the whole world. Examples of this, according to the Muslim Scripture are:
   Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad.

Unquestionably, both Shi'ahs and Sunnis believe that Muhammad, Peace be upon
Him, was a messenger of the third category. That is to say, He had a Book, and
His revelation was not specific to the people of Arabia, as we can clearly see.
The question which one might ask is then: Why is His Holiness Muhammad referred
to in the Qur'an as the Seal of the Nabieen (prophets), and not the Seal of the
OllolAzm Messengers (UNIVERSAL Messengers of God with independent Books)?
Clearly, He was more than a Nabi. In fact, He was more than a Rasool too,
(since He did not come just for the Arab nation), so, what is the reason behind
this specific but peculiar form of reference to a Peighambar-e-OllolAzm? Are
there other ways one can understand the term Khatam'u-Nabieen, which does not
implicate Muhammad to have been a Nabi?

Let us examine the term "Khatam'u-Nabieen" and see what are the possible
meanings one can associate with it, moreover, what are the implications of using
each meaning. The term "Nabi", means Prophet, as discussed above. So "Nabieen",
which is the plural form of "Nabi" means Prophets. But, depending on how the
opening term is read "KhatEm" or "KhatAm", the literal meaning of the word can
change. The former, "Khatem" means: "One who ends.", while the term "Khatam"
means "Ornament". The term "Khatam" is also a name for a ring of seal, which
was in use by the Arabs, during Muhammad's lifetime. Many people had in the
past, such a ring on their finger, by which they sealed a letter. Therefore,
the term Khatam'u-Nabieen, could mean: the Ornament of Prophets, or the
Ornament among Prophets; the Seal of the Prophets. And the term Khatem'u-Nabieen
means: One who ends Prophets, one who ends Prophethood. How this term has been
used and must be used, according to Muslim theologians, will be the subject of
the next reply.

							Part II of VI
Regards,

Kamran Hakim
hakim@bigq.dec.com				Tel#508-568-6925