MUHAMMAD-THE LAST PROPHET 207

whether the Impairment of human nature could ever be

imparted acme of perfetion ?
A nd, In this way, man woul d have looked f orward, at
eve ry stage, to the promised Messiah to come and finish
off the job lef t incomplete by his predecessor. Man would
have always been marking time, sitting idle, unable to utilize
his own resources and intellectual capacities either f or
improving, refining himself or the world entrusted to hie
c harge. This is what Iqbal expJains in the 'Reconstruc
tion of Religious Thought in Islam' in these words :
11
ln Islam prophecy reaches Its perfection In dis
covering the need of its own abolitio n. This nvolves
the keen perception that life cannot for ever be kept in
leading strings ; that In order to achieve f u ll self
consciousness man must finally be thrown back on his
own resources. The abolition of priesthood and here
ditary kingship in Islam, the constant appeal to reaGon
and experience In the Qur'an, and the emphasis it lays
on Nature and History as sources of human know
ledge, are all different aspec ts of the same idea of
finality.''1

Menace of False Prophets

Muslims have never come across, In their long hlstc;>ry,

a menace more perilous than the threat of the false
prophets, but more often than not these pretenders had
lit tle success in misleading them. The stir caused by
them was always short-lived llke a bubble, but the danger
to which the Muslim community was laid open by the latest
claimant of prophethood, Mirza Ghu Uim A hmad Q!di ni
(1840-1908), In the closing decades of the nineteenth
century, became more dangerous owing to the then

1. Six Lectu res on tlle Reconstruction of Rcllg ious Thought m Islam.

pp. 176-77.

www .abulhasanalinadwi .org

 •

208 ISLAMIC CONCBrT OF PR OPHETHOOD

obtai nIng pollti cal situation.1

•
Danger posed by Gnostic Imagery and Illuminations

A ll those who have studied •the development of

mysticism in Islam and other religions have reached tlie
conclusion that intuitive religious perception culminating
into gnostic imagery, beat ific visions and illuminations
and the ascetic-mystical attitudes claiming a theosophi c.al
link with the Unknown, which very of ten lead to make the
apocalyptic a charac teristic f orm of such intuitive experi
ences, open the gates of dubious claims arid antinomian
tendencies. For the source of such Intuitive perceptions
is of tentimes the predilection of the mys tic , or his circum
stances, o r even d'evllish illusion, those who lay a c laim to
the._se Illuminatio ns somet imes become, consciously or un
consciously, Impious ministers of avil. The habits and cus
toms, subconscious delusions, distorted impressions, tr adi
tional beliefs, mythological conceptions and the circumstan
ces under wh ich a my stic undertakes the jo urney of spirit, all
combine to shape the pattern of his mystical experience.1

1. For a detailed account of this menace see the author'ti "Olldianism

A Crit ical Study" brought out by the A cademy of Islamic Research
and Publlcalions.
2. Dr . Sir M11hammad Iqbal has olludod t o this mistak en f or m of
mysllcal exper iernce w it h his charac terist ic Insight into 1h
philosophical an d Intuitive thought . He say s :
•'I dare say tho founde r o f Ahmad iyya movement did hear a
voice; but whether this I/oleo came f rom the God of Li fe and Power
?' arose out of the spiritua l Impover ishmen t of t ho people must
cfopend upon the nature of t he moveme nt which it has create d and
the kind of thoug ht and emotion which II has gtven to lhoso who
have listened to it."
(Islam and Ahmadlsmt p . 17)
Then. he proceeds to conclude in t he same paper-
"Thus all the act ors who particlpat ed J n t he drama of
Ahmadism were, I think, onlx Innocent Instruments In the hands of
decadenc e."
(Islam and /J hmafilsm, p. 17}
[Continued on next page )

www .abulhasanalinadwi .org

 •

MUJtAMMAD-THE LAST PROPHET 209

Several of those mastt.rs who have had a practical expe

rience of beatific visio ns and illum inations assert that it is
virtually not posslbLe for the mystical experie nces to be
completely free fr om the beliefs and tradit ions of the
mystic or even the c ircumstances attendi ng these
perc ep tlons.1
Therefore, if anybody considers theophanic visio n or
divine inspiration to be indispensab le for salvation or
perfection of faith, he comme nds the optio nal to be
obligatory.' The prescripts of this type
obv io.usly

The same Idea hns been exr ressud by lqbiil more lrenchanlly
in one o f his couplc ls which rc ·ads :
Savo us God. f rom t he re•rnlation of the serf ,
II lays tho people In rurns like Chinghoz I
1. Sheikh A hmad S 1rhlndl Mujaddld Alf T hllnl ( d. 1624) has
enunciated lho matter 1n some detail in his f elle rs in which he
explains, on lhe
basis of per sonal exper ience, lha1 pure and unalloyed ln t rllect as
well as unlaintod mv sllc c xpor loncc are unt hlnkahle. H e ha d t hus
antlcipAt<.:d Emmanual Kant , t h o German phll11sorhrr, by two
hundred yenrs , who, t oo, In his Critique of Pure Reason' ex pressed
doubt in tho cOpi1bllily of pure l11;e 1t ect or r eason lo arrive at a
conclusion not
lnOuc nced by t he circumst ances, her edity, habits, belief s and c
us· t oms. Muja cJ cJ ld Alf Thllnl, however , goes a s t ep f ur t her t
han Kant, 1t ncJ lhrows t ight 011 In.:11on- x ls te: nco ,,, pur e Intuition
and :;pirltuel
oxperie11c t• . (See Mak 11 1 ;i t Mujaddld Alf Th'Jni , V ol. I, feller
No. i66 t o Ktlwlljll A bdullah and others .)
2 Siliyld Muhammad bin Yusuf Husaini of Jaunpur (1443-1504) Iha
f oundo r of t he M.1hdnwly:1h S•lCl. had clcc lnr cd that "If o man
ls denied the vis ion of God In t his world.lhalis, ho fa lls t o havo
gnostic percept ion either in a stall' of consc iousucss or In dr eam,
then he is not a Mu,IJm." This pronou ncemen t had sen l t ho w
hole of lndlen Musllm societ y in the tent h century. ex t ending from
t ho eas tern part of tho country to A fghan istan 111 t he west. ln a
flutter . It had caus
e d suc h a lropldation thal the view put forlh by Saiyld Muhammad
had become a burning t opic of discussion In al I the circles of
rellgl ous scho lars and cou;ts of the Mus!f m Kings. Saiy ld
Muhammad was a pious and godly s oul, truthful an d sincere, who

www .abulhasanalinadwi .org

had not only attained the hlgho r stages of splrltuiality but was also
known for hie
{ Continued on next page)

www .abulhasanalinadwi .org

 •

2l0 lSl hM ICl CONC.BPT OF PltOPHETROOD

mistreat the simplic ity of the aith, injure universal

princ iples of Islam and open the door to confusion and
intellectual anarr.hy as was done by irza Ghu lam A
hmad
Qadiani. The latter had also set up mystical experiences,
spiritualvisions and intuitio n as n necessary outcome
of meditations and travails, and ns an evidenc e of true
faith. He had expressed the view thata religion which
denied such intuition was dead Clr rather dev ilish, and
led its followers to t h e Hell. If the puritans and
ascetics of any religion, he c laim ftd, were not rewarded
with transpor ts and illuminations, then they were way ward
and blind.1
Such a propositio n of religious truth is so manifestly
wrong tha t it need not be disc ussed in any deta il. The
companions of the Prophet of Islam wer e trained and
g uided under prophetic care ; they had absorbed the
teac hings of the Qur' n as no other generation of Muslims
ever did after them, nor can the later Muslims of nny age
c laim to equal them as the best exemplars of vi rtue and
gQ.odness ; f or It was thro ugh the ir effor ts that the
message of Islam was carried t o the four corner s of the
wo rld. Yet , none of them ever c laimed gnostic
vision of reality nor did anyone of them
dema nd conformit y with the content of a deep
and spiritual ex perierice. No compa nion of the Prophet
ever laid a c laim t o the communion with On High, nor
we find them in co mpetition in the ways of mystical-
ascetic disciplines, nor yet history records any

rcliolous zea l, yet t 11s h 1l u i llon was foully for h:? clnimcd lo be the
·Promised Messinh' or tho Moo;slnh pr edic t ed to a ppear at the end
of tim< In some of t he T r a t.hlh>ns. Ht• t hus. commende d Muslims
lo join l h t'lr f alt h In c1..1r l n l11 lhi11 {1S whic h we re by no means
obligat ory.
(For n t/l'!l n lled account
sec Hay 'M-i- P'Jk by Maulvl
Mahmood Yadall hl
Mahdnw l).
1. Ba(:J hln-1- AhmBdi yoh, Vol. V , p. 183
www .abulhasanalinadwi .org
 •

MUllA.MltlAD TJrE LAST PROPHET 21 1

inc ident that anyone of tt.em had expressed regrets for not
being raised to a higher plane of spiritual consciousness
. How, then, can any M'1slim deemit necessar y to seek
or stress intuitive perception of the Inner content of faith ? 1
It has happened several times in the past, as history of
religion tells us, that separatist movements based on an
individual's expe riences or claims develop into extre
mist factions wh ic h gradually cut t hemselves adrif t from
the parent community. Such schisms very soon decla re
t he rest of the Mus lims as a postates, diverge into a new
religion and give rise to intricate problems which def y
solution eve n by the combined effort of the whole com
munity, their leaders and religious mentors.'

Collectiv e Intuition of Muslims

Islam has been favoured by the Infinite mercy and

grace of the Lord, with a collective intuition which Is
free from all dangers Inheren t in taking to a new course or
f ollowing the decision of any individual.
Whene ver the Mus lims are f aced with any Intricate
or difficult pro blem o r tile march o-f time throws up a new
question whic h cannot be solved by the ordinary process,
God invariably inc lines the hearts of a group am ong the
deeply-learned, pious an d sinc ere Muslims, who apply
t hemselv es who leheartedly and find out the c orrect
answer 'to t hat ques tion. They feel so deter mined to
get to th e bottom of the µroblem that one might say tha t
they have been commanded by God or driven by some for
ce beyond them to set the matter at rest. Such is t he
com bined endeavour of the community in the hour of
every crisjs

1. Fur a dctollc tJ discussion soc Chapl<",. IV of SecUon II In O:'Jd/"3nism

-A C1ill ciJ / S tud y b y t he
author.
'?. While this chapter was being wr ilten, Pakistan decided lo tr eat QRdillnls
as a non-Muslim minority, In orcicr to placate the aoltatod Muslim
masses of that country. as demonded by almost all tho Muslim
orgen laetlons within ond outside PeJ<lston.

www .abulhasanalinadwi.org
 •

2 12 ISLAMIC OONOEPT OP PROPHETHOOD

to which we have given the name c:4 'collective

intuitlon' and numerous examples of this nature can be
found In the history of Islam.
But. there are also times when \ome of the pure and
elevated souls have an Immediate apprehension of the
right course. A n example of the intuition of this nature
can be found in Adhan. the call to prayer, which was
prescribed by the Prophet after 'Umar lbn al-K hatU1b
and
'Abdullah bin Zaid were simultaneously communicated the
words of the call hear d by them In their dreams .1 lailatul
Qadr or the Night of Power f urnishes ano ther example
of similar nature. It has been related on the authority of
c A bdullah bin 'Umar t hat "a f ew c ompanions of the
Prophet who had had the vision of Lailatu/ Qadr In the last
seven nights of the month of Ramadhlln In their dreams
came to the A postle of God and told him about what they
had seen. The Prophet ther eupon said, 11 1 find that a ll
of you have similar visions about the last seven nights.
ther efore, whoever desires to find It should seek it in
these seven
nights."
The prayer of Taraw1h , offered during Ramadhan.
furnishes yet another example of somewhat analogous
nature. The Prophet started to offer this prayer but
abandoned It after three days lest It should become a
burdensome obligation for his followers.2 The Muslims,
however. continued to offer it individually until Caliph
'Umar decided to perform the prayer In cong regatlon.
Obviously. the dectsion of Caliph 'Umar was guided
by divine intuition, for, it proved to be Immensely beneficial
to the community. The prayer of Taraw7h not only created
the zeal for spending the nights of Ramadhrln In vigils and
adoration of God but also led to the memorising of the
Qur'an. The earneatneaa of the Ahl-1-Sunnat In tearnlng

1. Ablt Dl'nd. Tlrmldh1. Dltlm1 1nd lbn

Ml/ah, 1. BullhllJ on lb• authority of
Ay••h•.
www .abulhasanalinadwi.org
 •

MUHAMMAD -1'11E LAST PROrllET 213

the Qur>an by hear t '1nd Its recital as c ompared to the

absence of similar fervour in ot her sects of Islam, who
do not offer Tsraw1h prayer, ls a manifest sign of 'Umar's
right- guid9d intuition. •
And, of tentimes, this 'collective intuition' takes the
shape of unanimous consent of a vast majority of
Muslims on a certain issuP which cannot, by any mea ns,
be tr eated as the result of fortuitous circumstances or
conspi racy by a sec t io n amo ngst them. Such a
consensus of opinion of the majorit'y of lear ned Muslims
is either adva ntageo us to Islam and the Muslims, provides
a solution to certain impor tant problem aff ec ting their
community life and puts an end to certain menaco or
dangerous situation, or helps to achieve certa in desired
objec ti ves.
The instances of the 'collec tive Intuitio n' of this
cate gory are very many : collec tion of the Qur'iin during
the caliphate of A bu Bakr, collectio n and c ritical
examination of the Tradit ions during the first two
centuries of lslaml c era, deduc tion of laws and principles
of Islamic juris pru dence by the learned doc tors of
r eligion, and the amplifica tion and development of all
those branches of !earning which have helped in
preser ving the origlnal text of the Qur 'an and its study
and progagation of Islam arc befitting examples of such a
collective intuition.
The system of spir itual purification wh ich later on
dev eloped into an elaborate disc ipline designed to Identify
the machinations of the devi l within man and its suppres-
sion through spiritual realisation and communion with God
is the inner dimension of the Islamic Shar t iah, recognised
by it as tazk iya h (spiritual purification) and ihsan
(devotion). Known as tasawwuf (mys ticism) to later
generations, It furnished yet ano ther manifestation of
'collective Intuition'. lt was refined and developed by the
noble masters of spirit
Into the greatest act of devotion to God and as a means for
striving against the burden of one's own carnal self. God
made It a medium of revivifying listless hearts and cool
www.abulhasanalinadwi.org
 •

2 14 lLAM IC CONC.:cl1T 01-' PltOPH ETHOOD

spirits and it was then utilisec..l by lh great saints and

their disciples to sp read the message of Islam In far off
rands like India, Far East and Africa. lnnmerable people
were gu ided thro ugh It whit e main y amongs t them
imparted faith and righteousness to the Muslim society of
their limes. They were not ascelics embodying the
quiescent spirit of inactivity, since, many of them f ought
like heroes In the battlefields. Nobody w ho has not c lose
d his eyes to the history of Islam can de ny t he great
service rendered by these trave llers of lhe pat h of spirit
to t he cause oi fait h.
A nother shining exam ple of this • c olf ect lve intuition '
c nn be found in the.greilt endeavo ur made from time to
time to discredit and conf ute the misguided sects, Irreligious
philo sophies, skep t ic patter ns of thoughl and blasphemous
movements inviting people to profanity and inaction. It was
the 'co llective intuition' of Islam which produced master
spirits o1 the age, at the appropria te moment they were
needed, who unravelled wickedness oflhese bad influences
and saved th P, Muslims f rom their pernlcic us effects. A ll
thes e are the achievements of divine Inspiration granted by
the Lord to a sec t ion of Muslims in every age and place, f or
they are not o nly the last of the right-guided people but
also the star of hope for entire mank ind.
This is, undoubtedly, the sign of th is ummal being the
c hosen c ommunity while its 'collec t ive intuition ' is a
testimony of the term inatio n of revelat io n after the las t
A postle of God. We do not fincJ s'uch a continuous
and marked exa mple of 'collec live intui tion' in the
fol lowers of earlier prophe ts who were not blessed w ith it
because the prophelhood was not lo be terminated in their
times.

Seeds of Strife
The Intellectual confusio n and disruptio n in the
Muslim society brought about by the false prophets are
matter s of grave c oncer n to every f ol lower of Islam. In
these days of mater ialism and godlessness, people are
little Inclined to
www.abulhasanalinadwi .org
 •

fUHAMMA O-TlrE LAST PR.OPHBT 215

prefer claims of highlr spirltuaf lty ; but were the people

Inf atuated with the craze to put f orward their claims t o
prophethood Ilka Mlria Ghulam A hmad Qadi8ni llnd his
zealous followers, c ondemning every other Muslim,
rejecting him as an apostate a nd an unbeliever, the
resulting confu sio n and anarchy , strif e and struggle in
the wo rld of Islam could be vory well visualised by all of
us. Would not, the n, the community raised by God lo
make Islamic brotherhood a living renlity by effacing the
prej udices of colour, race, nationality and t ongue t urn
int o small, warring religious factio ns, con demning one a
nother t o the point of heresy ?1
The danger posed by the contin uanc e of prophethood
in Islam was realised by Ma ulvT Mu hammad 'AIT LahorT,
a r>rominent fo llower of the Mirza, who raised his voice
against it, but he could not go to th e root of the menace or
h"e still continued to hold the Mirzi:i as a revivalist and
Promised Messiah . A ppealing to tho good sense of his co-
religionists. Maulvi Muhammad < A lisays :
"Reflect, for the sake of God, that if the beliei
of Mian S!hlb 1 is accepted that the prophets will
continue to come, and that thousands of prophets
will come, as he has writt en ex plicitly in Anwa r-i-
Khitafat , will not these thousands of gr oups
denoun ce one another as Ka firs ? A nd so. what
wi ll ha1 pen to Islamic unity ? Let us ass ume that all
those prophets will be confined

1. Philosopher-Poet IQbal has pointedly oxpres sed lhe pr lnclplo of Unity

of Islam In ono of his arllc les. Ho say s :
"Islam Is esaen llally o religious order which hos definod limits,
that Is , belief ln the Unity and Omnipot enc e of Gud, faith In tho
prophets and termination of prophet hood on t ho advrnt of His
lost Messenger,Muhammed (peace bo upon him). Faith In t he last
men tioned creed Is, In roallty , the distlngu1shlno f eature
between o Muslim and a non-Musli m and ls a determinant whethor
a certain In dividual or group forms pert of the Mu:Jllm
community or not." ( Harf-'/- lqb'al, p p . 136-7).
1. That Is,Mllln Bashlr Uddin Mahmood, t he son and success or to MirzlI
Ghu l!m A h mad Qldlll n l.
www.abulhasanalinad wi.org
 •

216 JSLAMI C CONCE PT Or PROPH ltl'llOOD

to the A hmadi group afone. Ti.en, how many factions

will there be In the A hmadi group ? After all yo u are
aware of what happened in the past, how one of these
groups became favou rab le to and • another opposed to
the Prophet after his advent. Then, wl II that very God
w ho has expressed the will to unify all the peop les of
the world at the hands of Muhammad (peace and bless
ings of God be upon him), now divide Muslims into
numerous factions, each one of them calling the ot her
Kafir , having no ls!amlc relationship and unity among
them selves ? Remember that if the prom ise to make
Islam predomi nant over all religions In the f ut ure istrue,
then, that tragic day when thousands of prophets will
go abo ut wit h their own separate exc lusive mosques ,
each w ith its own g roup of mentors of lrue belief and
saf vation, denounc ing all other Muslims as infidels , will
never dawn in the history of lslam.''1
In sho rt, the term ination of prophethood and reve
lation signifying the end of the probatio nary period of
huma n race with the adve nt of the last prophet,
Muhammad, the Shin ing Light and Leader of a ll
Humanity (on wh om be peace and blessings) , is w it
hout doubt the greatest of divine blessings on man.
This is the spi ritua l principle for unity of mankind and a
means to div ert the energies of human beings to fruitf
ul channels. It protec ts the Identity of Muslims and their
vigour and power for it gives them co n flden ce In
t hemselves as well as in t he• ever-abiding nature of their
religion, places the respo nsibility of univ ersal
leadership on the ir shoulders and urges them to strive
in the way of God to the Last Day . Th is is the
foundation on which the edifice of Islam has been raised.

Worst Enemies of Islam

Whoever lays a claim to any new prophethood in any

1. Radd-1- Tal<f lr-l-Ahl-/-Q/bla, p . 49-50

www.abulhasanalinadwi.org
 •

WH>JOIAD--TBB LABT PROPHET 21 7

shape or form or helJlS or abets such a pret&nder l's the

worst enemy of Islam and Muslims and a tool In the
hando of Islam's bitterest foes. Islam can never forgive the
guilt of such wrongdoers. •Verily, the pronouncement of
Lord God ls absolutely correc t.
11
Who Is guilty of more wrong than he who f orgoth
a lie against A llah, or saith : I am Inspired, when he is
not inspired In aught ; and who saith : I wlll reveal the
like of that which Allah hath revealed ? If thou couldst
see, when the wrongdoers reach the pangs of death
and the angels stretch their hands out, saying : Deliver
up your souls. This day are ye awarded doom of degra
dation for that ye spake concerni ng Allah other than the
truth, and used to scorn His portents.
"Now have ye come unto Us solitary as We did
create you at the flrat, and ye have lef t behind y ou
all that We bestowed upon you, and We behold not
with you those your Intercessors, of whom ye claimed
that they possessed a share In you. Now Is the bond
between you severed, and that which ye presumed
hath failed you."1

1. Q. V I : 04-95

www .abulhasanalinadwi.or g
www .abulhasanalinadwi.or g
 •

Bibliogr aphy

< Abdus Shakoor, Maull!nlJ : Kashf-ul-Ghita, Lucknow

(1329 A H.)
A bu Dli>ud A s-SajistanJ ; Sunan A bu Da'ud, Cairo
(1369/ 1950)
A bU Nu<aJm , Hl!flz A hmad bin 'Abdullah : Hilyat ul-
A ulUJ, Cairo (1932)
'All Qa ri, Mutla : Sharh Flqah Akbar
An Encyclopaedia of Religions (New York, 1945)
Asfl, <A bdulUJh bin : Zafar ul-Walli bi Muzaflar wa A
llhl "Umar (Mecca)
Barth, A. : Rellgions of India (Delhi, 1965)
Bukhari Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad bin lsma< JI :
(i) Sahih Bukharl
(ii) A l-A.dab al-Mufrad
Chakravarti, Suresh Chandra : Philosophy of the
Upanishads (Calcutta, 1935)
Char les lssawi : A n Arab Philosophy of History (London,
1950) (Translation of Muqaddamah lbn Khaldun)
Chelpi, Mutawwali Yusuf, A z wa 'A lai Masihiyah
Dl!rimT, A bu uhammad 'Abdullah lt-TamimT : Musnad-
1- Darlmi
Dl!raqutryi, Abul Hasa n : K itab-us-Sunan al-D!raqutnf,
Delhi, 1310 A.H.
Encyclopaedia Brltannka, 11th Edition, 14th Edition

www .abulhasanalinadwi.or g
 •

220 !SLAMIC CONCEPT OP PROPHETHOOD

Encyclopaedia o f Religions and Etics, (1039), Vols. V III

x.
&
lbn 'Arabi, Sheikh Muhiuddln : Futuhat-1-Ma kkiyah, Vols.
II and 111. •
A l-Ghazali, A bU Muhammad lbn Muhammad :
(i) lljam-ul-A wm an<IJm il-K alilm (Egypt, 13ll9
'A.H.)
(ii) Tahlif ut-al-Falasaf ah, (Egy pt, 1302 A.H) .
lbn Hazm, A bu Muhammad 'A ll: Al- A hkam fi-UsiJl-11-A
hkam, Vol. IV, Matb'a-us-Sa<ada (Egypt)
Ibn Hishllm : Sirat ur-RasUI
lbn ls'haq :Sirat RasITI A llah (Tr . A .Guillaume), London,
1955 lbn al-Jawz l: Sifat us-Safwah, Dn'iratul
Ma'arif, (Hyder-
abad 1355-6 A .H.)
lbn Knthir, lmod uddin A bul Fida lsm 'TI bin A ma'r :
(I) Al Bidayah wan-Nihayah Vol Ill, IV, VII and
V III, (Egy p t, 1932)
(ii) Taf sT r lbn Kathir, V ol. II, Matb< li Dlir-
Undulus lbn Majah, A bu 'Abd-11-llah
Muha.mmad b. Yazid : A l
Sunnan, Cairo (1373/ 1954)
lbn Nuja'im, Mullah : A l-A shblih wa n Nazair
lbn Qayy lm, Hllfiz :
(i) 'Allam-ul-Muwaqqin, Vol. II
(Ii) Zad-ul-Ma'ad fr Hudli Khair-ul-'Ibad, Matb<
a Maimanah (Egypt 1324 A .H.)
lbn Shaddad, Qazi Bah! UddTn : A n-Nawadlr-1-Sul U
nlyah (Egypt 1317 A.H.)
lbn Talmiyah, Hafiz A hmad TaqT Uddfn :
(i) Fat!wah lbn Taimiyah, Matb<a Kurdistan 11-
<umlyah (Cairo, 1326-29 A.H.)
(ii) Kitab-ur-Radd-o-' alal ManfaqlyTn, Bombay,
1368 A.H .)
(Iii) Mlnhnj-us-Sunnat-ln-NabawTyah, (Cairo, 1321
A.H.)
(iv) . Al-Jawnb-ul-SahTh Liman Baddafa D n-
al- MasTh, Matb'a N I (Cairo, 1322 A. H.)
(v) Kltnbun-Nubuwat, (Cairo, 1346 AH)
www .abulhasanalinadwi.org
 •

BlDLIOORA rHY 221

(vi) Muaflq Shtrli'lh-ul·M'aqool •

Iqbal, Dr. Sir Muhammad :
(i) Six Lect ures on the Reconstruc tion of
Religious Thought i''Islam (Lahore, 1930)
(11) Islam and A hmadlsm (Lucknow, 1974)
(Ill) Harf-i-lqbal (Lahore)
James, E .O. : His tory of Religions ( London, 1956)
Jewish Encyc lopaedia
KashmfrT ,Maulanli A nwar Shah : 'A qidatu l Islam
K h5n, Maulana Muhammad Hasan : Miy' r-us-Sunnat-11-
K hatm-un-Nabtiwat
Kiranwi, Maulana Rahmat Ullah : lzhar-ul-Haq, Egyp1,
(1317 A .H.)
A l-KeU nT , \ A bdul Ha 'I : Al-Tar tib ud-Durriyah
Lane Poole, S :
(I) Selections from t he Kuran (Turnber,
London) (Ii) Saladin (New Yor k, 1944)
MahdawJ, Muhammad Yada llahi : HaylH-i- Pnk
MaudUdT, Maulana < A buI< A l ,Qur>an ki Char Buny!dT lstaU
hen (Delhi)
Maryam Jameelah : Islam Ver sus A hl-i-K ltab, Past
and Present, (Lahore, 1967)
Muhammad <.AIJ : Radd-1-TakfTr-l-Ahl-i-Qiblah
Muhammad Sulaiman Mansurpuri, Q zi: Rahmat-u!-111-
<A alimin, Vo l. II
Muhammad Shafi, Mufti, KiUib-un-Nabuwat
Muir, Sir W iiiiam : Life of Mahomet (London, 1912)
Mujaddld Alf Th8nJ, Sheikh Ahmad Sarhindi : Maktubat-i
lmS:m RabbanJ, Newal Klshore Press , Lucknow
Muslim bin Hajjllj al-Qushalri. A bul Husai n : Sahlh Muslim,
Vol. Ill (Deihl)
NadwJ, MauUinS: Syed A buI Hasan cAIJ :
(i) Saviours of Islamic Spirit, Vol. I, (Lucknow ,
1971)
(Ii) Islam and the World (Lucknow, 1973)
(iii) Qadlanlsm-A Critical Study (Lucknow, 1974)

ww w .abulh asanalinadwi.or
 •

222 ISLAMIC CONCE£>T OJ! PltOPUl!TBOOD

Nad\vl, Maulana Syed Sulalman, Khutb!t-i-Madras .(Azam

garh) •
Palmer, Prof. E.H.: The Qur'an Translated,Oxford
QadUlnl, Mirza Ghullim AhmacJ : Bar!hln-1-A hmadiya,
Vol. V (Lahore 1884)
Qazi <A iyaz : A s-Shit&, Vol. II
Radha Krishnan, Dr. S.: Indian Philosophy, Vol. II (London,
1927)
Sakhawi : A l-Maqlisid-ul-Hasnnah
Tabrllnl, H!fiz S.ulaiman bln A hmad :
(i) A l-Mt ujam-al-Kabir, Delhi, (1311 AH)
(ii) A l-Mt ujam.:al-A
wsat Tabri, lbn Jarlr :
(i) TarTkh-ul-Umam-wal-MulUk, Vol. Ill and IV ,
(H) Maktab:i Husainlyah (Egypt)
Al-TUmls!nT, Abu I Hasan.cAIT A l-K hlza>1 : Al-Takhrij
A l-Tirmldhi, Muhammad binllsa : Al-Jami, Delhi
cUamllnl, Maulana Muhammad Taqf Bible se Q ur>lin Tak,
(Karachi, 188 A .H.)
Wall U llah Dehlwr, . Shah, Hujjat A llah il-Baligha,
Vol. I, (Egypt)
Wherry, Rev. E.M.: Commentary on the Qur' n, Vol. I,
(Turn ber, London)
Yahya ManerJ, Sheikh A hmad Sharat uddln : Muktubt
.
Se h Sadl,(ed) Sheikh Zain Sadr 'Arabi, K utub
Khana lallm, Lahore.

ww w .abulh asanalinadwi.or
 •

,
•
•

G lossary

Adha n : "A nnou.n. cement'', all or summons to public prayer,

proclaimed by the Mu 1azzin (Crier) In a harmonious and
sonorous voice before the stated hours of prayer from
eve ry mosque.
Ahl-i-Sunnat : The people of the path.'' The larger por
11

tion of the Muslims is known by this name because of

its adherence to the Traditions of the Prophet and the
practice of his companions. Unllk'e the Shicahs, the
Ahl - i -Sunnat acknowledge the flrs t four caliphs to
have been the rightful successors of the Pfophet.
Ahmad1, Ahmad iyy a : The followers of Mirza Ghulnm
Ahmad Qdllini who flrst claimed to be the Proml6ed
Messiah and, then, promoted himself to pro:;>hethood,
declaring that all Muslims rejecting his claim were
apostates. They have ever been held by the general
body of MusiIms as beyond the pale of Islam, and
have baen declared a non-Muslim minority even in
Pakistan, their native country.
Am1nun : 'AmJn' or Trustworthy was th tltle given to
Muhammad when n youth, on account of his fair and
honourable bearing, which won the confidence of the
people.
<Arafah : The ninth day of the month of Zu/-Hijjah when the
pllgrfmg stay on mount cArafllt and recite the mid-day
and af ternoon prayers, and hear the Khutbah or sermon
of pilgrimage.

ww w .abulh asanalinadwi.or
 •

224 15LAMJC CONCE PT OF PRO PtlETHOOD

•
Batin iy ah : Inner, esoteric. The Btlnites maintained that
o nly a symbolic interpretation requiring gradual initia
tion by an illuminated teacher. could reveal the real
meaning of the Q;jr' an . The word, they claimed, was
like a veil, hiding the deep and occult meaning never
attalnable by those clinging to literal explanatio n.
Being a Shic alte theological school of thought, they
also upheld the doc t rine of t he divine source of lmamat
(the spiritual leadershi p of an lmlim) and of the t rans
mission of dlvlnely ordained hereditary succession fr om
Caliph t A l .
Bait-u/ -Maqdis : "The Holy House". The temple of Jerusalem
where now stands the Dome of the Rock, wh ich is a lso
known as the Mosque of 'Umar.. Next to Kac.aba, it is
t he most sacred mosque where all the prophets are
reported to have said their prayers.
Din : or 1'the way" . mear=ti ng re ligion. It is used
especially for the religion of "the prophets and their
inspired books.
Din- i-1/ahi : Jalal Uddin Muhammad Ak bar, the great Moghul
Emperor, had initiated a new religion, k nown as Din-i
/ lah1, with the sole purpose of producing an amalgam
of Hindu and Muslim faiths In order to strengthen and
consolidate the Moghul Empire. People w ho embraced
the faith had openly to forsake the conf ormist or
orthodox Islam whi ch. according to A kbar, had outlived
its utility after a thousan d years of its inception.
A lthough the new religion claimed to embody the
merits of all the f aiths w ithout any prejudice, 11 was
partic ularly hars h to Islam and h.eld its Injunctions to be
retrogressive.
HadTth : •Propheti c tradition'1 which can better be called
a narrative of some act or word of the Prophet
Muhammad, or an act tacitly approved· by him. A s
opposed to the Our,an.which is a direct revelation from
God, the Prophet•s Instructions on religious and social

ww w .abulh asanalinadwi.or
 •

GLOSSARY 225

•
matters were glv"° according to divi ne Inspiration.
The Had7th thus represents an authentic interpretation
of the Qur>lin, valuable source of law and an
infallable guide for the overwhelming majority of
Muslims In every situation of their spiritual and secular
life.
Hadis-u/-Gharib : A classific ation of hadit h with reference
to the manner in which it has been narrateq. Hadith-
u / Ghar7b represents a Tradit io n r elated by only one
line of narrators.
Ha(lz : 'A guar dian or protec tor '. The term is also applied
to one who has committed the entire Q ur'en to his
memory.
'lbadat : Prayer or devotional exercise which every Muslim
is required to render to God. It comprises sa/at or
ritual prayer, fasting, almsgive ng and pilgrimage.
l hram : The pilgrim's dress an d also the state In whi ch the
pilgrim is held to be from the time he puts on this
dis tinctive garb until he lays It a s ide.
lhsan : means to confer favour or to perform an action In a
perfec t manner. The term has been used in the
Prophetic Traditions for the since re worshi p of God.
The Prophet said : 11 ihsan Is both to wor ship God
as
If thou sawes t Him, and to remember that God
seest thee." The word is used In this sense by the
su(7 mystics. .
I/ah : A n objec t of wors hip or ado ration i. e. god or
deity. The term A llah, 'God' Is ilah w ith the definite
article Al, I. e. Al- ilah or A llah -the God.
lmamat : Following an Imam i. e. one who leads, a normal
guide or a model. In the Shi< aite c reed, the Imam is
the faultless, infallible leader, an offspring of c AIT, to
whom spiritual leadership is supposed to have been
passed on from the Prophet.
Jmamiyah : The chief sec t of the Shl'ahs, namely, those who
receive twelve descendants of cA lf , the f ourth
caliph,

ww w .abulh asanalinadwi.or
 •

226 J.nLAM.tC CONCEPT O' PROPH ETHOOD

•
as the rightful and lmpeccabl• guides. l'he twelfth
one, Muhammad, son of al-Hasan al-'AskarJ·or the
lme:m MahdJ, Is supposed to be still allve, though
he has withdrawn for a time, and wllT appear again In
the
last d ays as Mahdi or Director to set the world on the
path oi rl.ghteousness.
'/t izal : lit. ' tie saceded ',the word Is applied to the
school
of Wlisll ibn 'A ta VJ ho broke away from Hasan al-
BasrT. The school rejec ted eternal attributos to God t n
order to avoid mak ing eternals more than one, denied
fh at the Qur,an was the eternal word of God, held
major
sins to be unpardonable by God and rejected the view
that the believers wo uld have the visio n of God In
the Paradise. They denoun ced all comparisons and
similitudes applied to denote the attributes of God.
Jahmiy nh : was the secl founded by Jahm lbn Safwan
(d . 7 17). He borrowed from the Murjites sect the
doctrine that true faith is founded on conviction Lnde
pendent of external manifestations ; and from the
M'utazilites, the rejection of all simllitudos to explain
the attributes of God. Unlike the M'utazilites, the
Jahmiyah believed in absolute predestination, that Is
man has neither power nor choice in deciding his
actions.
Jauhar : A cus tom of the Rajputs of India during
medleval times wher eby their womenfolk committed
suicide by plunging into fire, before the warrior s faced
an overwhel ming foe in battlefield, in order to save
therr honour and to avoid falling in the hands of the
victors.
Kafir : lit. 'The coverer' I. e. one who hides or covers
up the truth. The word is generally used to define one
who is a nonbeliever in the Unity of God and apostle
ship of Muhammad.
Khabar-ul-W'ahid : A nother category of had7/ f1 according to
manner of narration. The term stands for a Tradition
ww w .abulh asanalinadwi.or