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Subject: Re: On the Meaning of "Muhammad the Seal of the Prophets" (IV of VI)
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Date: 4 Dec 89 22:48:10 GMT
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Continuation from part III:

Allamih Majlesi in Bahar'ul-Anvar Vol 13, p.323 mentions one of the discourses
of Imam Ali. In that discourse Ali says:

"I am the Commander of the faithful. I am the King among the pious..... I am the
 Khatam'u-Vasieen [which can be either taken as "The Seal of the guardians and
 successors", or, as "The Ornament of the Guardians and successors".] and the
 heir of the prophets and the representative of the God of the worlds."

This tradition of Imam Ali is a very interesting. One must be fair in one's
judgment. If we are to take, in this tradition, the term "Khatam" as "the Seal",
"the ender", "one who completes", then one is obliged to accept that Ali was
"the seal of the guardians, and successors", after Muhammad, Who is the Seal of
the prophets. Yet, Shi'ahs believe that after Muhammad there was supposed to be
twelve Imams, only the first of Whom was Ali. So, assuming that the term Khatam
in Khatam'u-Vasieen must have a similar meaning to the term Khatam in Khatam'u-
Nabieen, then one is to question why were there more Imams after Ali. How are we
to reconcile the existence of the other Imams, Who came after Ali, based on this
interpretation? Let this be food for thought for the possessors of pure heart
and open mind.

Let us now examine the meaning of the term Khatam'u-Nabieen from the perspective
of Sunni scholars and theologians, so that the seekers of truth obtain a wider
spectrum of views for their judgment:

Allamih Ahmad Hamedi-al-Mohammad, a well-known Sunni Theologian discusses the
term Khatam'u-Nabieen in his book, Tebyaan-va-Borhan, based on a commentary
of Fat'hol-Ghadeer by Hafiz Mohhades-i-Shokani who says:

"All the Ghoraba use KhatEm, while Athim use KhatAm. KhatEm in Khatem'u-Nabeein
 means the Ender of Prophets, or the Seal of Prophets, while, KhatAm in Khatam'
 u-Nabeein means ring and ornament. In essence Muhammad, the Messenger of God,
 was the Ring or Ornament of (i.e. among) the Prophets, due to His exalted
 station compared to other Prophets."

The same book quotes from Dorr'ul-Mansoor of Allamih Jallal'u-Din Soivotti, who
quotes Ayeshih, the wife of Muhammad, who said:

"Say KhatAm-u-Nabeein (i.e. The Ring or Ornament of the Prophets), and never say
 no prophets shall come after Him (i.e. Muhammad)".

One can find the same references in the commentary of Kashaaf, by Zamakhshari,
who says: "Muhammad, the Messenger of God, was called Khatam'u-Nabieen, since,
He did not  have any male offsprings to inherit prophethood from Him." He goes
on and presents a Hadith from Prophet Muhammad who says about His deceased son
Abraham (from Marieh, the Egyptian wife of Muhammad): "If my son Abraham was
alive, he would have been a Nabi (i.e. He would have become a Nabi after Me.)".
However, all of Muhammad's male offsprings die in early childhood, thus, the
verse of the Qur'an: "Muhammad is not the father of any man among you...."
comes into fulfillment, and Muhammad become Khatam'u-Nabieen, according to the
same verse."

Abo'l-Bagha, another trusted Sunni source discusses this issue in his book,
"Mofeed", from the same angle, which I will not quote here in order to prevent
excessive repetition of the same idea.

It is apparent from what has been mentioned at length, that both Shi'ah and
Sunni sources agree that:

1- There is a more profound meaning associated with the title Khatam'u-Nabieen;

2- Finality of Muhammad's revelation is not implied by this term, mentioned in
   the Qur'an, the Confederates: 39.

Let me close this note with the view of Abol-Fadail-i Golpayegani, a prominent
Baha'i scholar, from a Muslim background, who, in his book Fara'id addresses the
question of Khatam'u-Nabieen as follows:

"No wonder if the learned of Islam too, argue against the renewal of revelation
 from God [i.e. like their predecessors, Jews and Christians, who are firmly
 convinced that their respective religions are the final revelation from God.],
 based on such references as: Khatam'u-Nabeein, or such traditions as: "There
 shall be no prophet after me....", and by doing so become subjected to a test
 of faith; and join their predecessors [i.e. Jews and Christians]. Not realizing
 that the purpose of Muhammad in using the term Khatam'u-Nabeein was to suggest
 the progress of the Islamic nation, and unveil the ascendancy of the station
 of the Imams in comparison to the prophets of Israel. It is clear to those who
 are familiar with the Scriptures of the past, who are aware of the events which
 are associated with the historical events of the nations of antiquity that the
 prophets of Israel, such as  Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah,
 etc... one and all prophesied about the future events according to dreams and
 visions. And they interpreted their vision or dream as a revelation from God.
 As a result, the book of these prophets became known as the vision of Isaiah,
 vision of Daniel, vision of Jeremiah, and vision of Ezekiel. By the same token,
 if we are to examine this issue from a Christian perspective, the Revelation of
 St. John is in essence the Dream of John. As a result the term Nabi (i.e.
 prophet) was given to the ones who prophesied based on visions, or dreams. This
 usage was solidified during the Jewish and Christians dispensations. However,
 after the appearance of Prophet Muhammad (Khatam'ul-Anbia), the ender of the
 prophetic cycle, the era of revelation from God "through the medium of dreams
 and visions" was ended and a new era of "revelation through direct inspiration"
 was started. Thus, the fulfillment of the tradition; "There will be no prophets
 after me..." came about."
					Fara'id, p. 311

Parts of sections III & IV have either been cited or paraphrased, after my own
inadequate English translation, from "Ghamoos-i-Iqan" (The Encyclopedia to the
Book of Certitude), by A. Eshragh-Khavari, Baha'i Publishing Trust of Iran.

Finality of Islam and the Qur'an, will be discussed in the next reply.

						Part IV of VI
Regards,

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