“I am the Last of the Prophets and My Mosque is the Last of the Mosques”

This argument stems from Invitation to Ahmadiyyat by Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Ahmad under “Part I: Preliminaries” under the section titled, “Meaning of Khatam Meaning of Khatam al-Nabiyyin.”

Recorded in Sahih Muslim, Book 7, Chapter 90, hadīth 3211[1]

Abū Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported, “Prayer in the mosque of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) is more excellent than a thousand prayers in other mosques, except Masjid al-Haram, for Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) is the last of the Apostles, and his mosque is the last of the mosques.” Abū Salama and Abū Abdullah (two of the narrators in this chain of narrations said, “We had no doubt that what Abū Haraira (Allah be pleased with him) had said was from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and so we did not like to get an attestation from Abū Huraira about this hadīth until Abū Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) died. We discussed it (the issue of getting attestation from Abū Huraira) amongst ourselves and blamed one another as to why we did not talk about it to Abū Huraira regarding it so that he could attribute its transmission to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) in case he had heard it from him. While we were discussing it as we sat with 'Abdullah b. Ibrahlm b. Qariz, we made a mention of this hadīth and our omission (in getting its attestation) about its direct transmission by Abū Huraira from him (the Holy Prophet); thereupon, Abdullah b. Ibrahīm said to us, ‘I bear witness to the fact that I heard Abū Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) say that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said, ‘I am the last of the Apostles, and my mosque is the last of the mosques.’”

Ahmadi Argument:

The above hadīth and subsequent confirmation clearly show that the meaning of خاتم cannot be last. If the meaning of خاتم was last, then the statement of the Prophet would contradict reality. Indeed, there have been thousands of masjids built worldwide since then. It is impossible to think that the Prophet would refer to his masjid as the last masjid, as it would clearly contradict reality.

If one establishes that in this hadīth the word خاتم does not mean last, then when the Prophet refers to himself as the last of the prophets, one can logically infer that in actuality, it has to mean other than last of the prophets. This also shows that the orthodox translation of the hadīth is incorrect. خاتم means best, not last. The accurate translation would be best of the prophets. Therefore, as his masjid is the best of the masjids, he is the best of the prophets.

Muslim Response:

The hadīth in Arabic:

حدثني إسحق بن منصور حدثنا عيسى بن المنذر الحمصي حدثنا محمد بن حرب حدثنا الزبيدي عن الزهري عن أبي سلمة بن عبد الرحمن وأبي عبد الله الأغر مولى الجهنيين وكان من أصحاب أبي هريرة أنهما سمعا أبا هريرة يقولا

صلاة في مسجد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أفضل من ألف صلاة فيما سواه من المساجد إلا المسجد الحرام فإن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم آخر الأنبياء وإن مسجده آخر المساجد قال أبو سلمة وأبو عبد الله لم نشك أن أبا هريرة كان يقول عن حديث رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فمنعنا ذلك أن نستثبت أبا هريرة عن ذلك الحديث حتى إذا توفي أبو هريرة تذاكرنا ذلك وتلاومنا أن لا نكون كلمنا أبا هريرة في ذلك حتى يسنده إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن كان سمعه منه فبينا نحن على ذلك جالسنا عبد الله بن إبراهيم بن قارظ فذكرنا ذلك الحديث والذي فرطنا فيه من نص أبي هريرة عنه فقال لنا عبد الله بن إبراهيم أشهد أني سمعت أبا هريرة يقول قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فإني آخر الأنبياء وإن مسجدي آخر المساجد

Nowhere in the hadīth is the word خاتم used. Instead, the word آخر is used, which means last according to all dictionaries, including the Ahmadi dictionary titled Dictionary of the Holy Qur’ān by Malik Ghulam Farid, M.A.[2] By all accounts, the meaning of the word آخر is last or end. When placed in the sentence, it means last of the prophets, confirming that there are no prophets after Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم.

Ahmadi Rebuttal:

It is true that the word خاتم is not used in this hadīth. The word آخر means last, but based on the context and the usage of the word آخر in this hadīth, one can logically infer that it means end in the sense that no one will reach his excellence. Competition for the highest position of greatness and nearness to Allah has ended with the coming of the blessed Prophet Muhammad عليه الصلاة والسلام. This is known because the narration continues by saying وإن مسجدي آخر المساجد, which means and my masjid is the last of the masjids. The Islamic understanding of the word آخر would not make sense in context, because as stated above, there have been thousands of other masjids since the construction of the Prophet’s masjid.

Muslim Rebuttal:

The response lays in the context of the hadīth and a more critical analysis of the text itself with a contextual understanding of when and why the hadīth was stated.

Before the advent of Islam, the pre-Islamic Arabs would construct shrines and temples to honor the memory of a deceased person of high social or moral standing. The mushrikeen (polytheists) claimed that special barakāh (blessings) exist at these locations, and those who frequent them would be blessed.[3] This practice of creating “holy blessed sites” was terminated with Islam. The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم specified that only three special holy sites exist: first, Masjid al-Haram (in Makkah), second, Masjid al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem) and last, Masjid al-Nabawi (in Madinah).

In the above hadīth, the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم is saying that after this masjid, referring to Masjid an-Nabawi, no masjid exists that holds special blessings from Allah. Indeed, all masjids are blessed places in general, but no masjid, be it an ornate sanctuary for the worship of Allah or a small tabernacle of mud and stone, carries any special significance over another except these three holy sites. Masjid an-Nabawi is the last of these types of masjids.

Further evidence of this is taken from the following hadīth:

حدثنا أبو الوليد حدثنا شعبة عن عبد الملك سمعت قزعة مولى زياد قال سمعت أبا سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه

يحدث بأربع عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فأعجبنني وآنقنني قال لا تسافر المرأة يومين إلا معها زوجها أو ذو محرم ولا صوم في يومين الفطر والأضحى ولا صلاة بعد صلاتين بعد الصبح حتى تطلع الشمس وبعد العصر حتى تغرب ولا تشد الرحال إلا إلى ثلاثة مساجد مسجد الحرام ومسجد الأقصى ومسجدي

Recorded in Sahīh Bukhārī, Volume 2, Book 21, Number 288[4]

Qaza'a Maula (freed slave of) Ziyad said:

I heard Abū Said Al-Khudri narrating four things from the Prophet and I appreciated them very much. He said, conveying the words of the Prophet,

(1) "A woman should not go on a two-day journey except with her husband or a Dhi-Mahram.

(2) No fasting is permissible on two days: 'Id-ul-Fitr and 'Id-ul-Adha.

(3) No prayer after two prayers, i.e. after the Fajr prayer till the sunrises and after the 'Asr prayer till the sun sets.

(4) Do not prepare yourself for a journey except to three Mosques: Al-Masjid-Al-Haram, the Mosque of Aqsa (Jerusalem), and my Mosque."

In this hadīth, the three masjids are specified as the only masjids worth traveling for and Masjid an-Nabawi is the آخر (last) to be built.

If one looks at the text itself, the phrase used by the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام is آخر المساجد meaning the last of the masjids rather than المسجد الاخر, which would mean the last masjid. المساجد (the masjids, plural) refers to the specific set of masjids, namely Masjid al-Aqsa, Masjid al-Harām, and Masjid al-Nabawī. Again, the last of this set to be built was Masjid al-Nabawī.

Now, it is vital to consider the construction of these three masjids compared to any other masjid. Masjid al-Harām was originally erected by Adam عليه السلام and later reconstructed by Ibrahīm عليه السلام; Masjid al-Aqsa was constructed by Dawūd عليه السلام and later rebuilt by Sulayman عليه السلام. Finally, Masjid al-Nabawī was built by Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم. The common characteristic is that all of these masjids were built by prophets. Since there are no more prophets after Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم, his masjid is the last of this set.

Logical inconsistency in the Ahmadi understanding of آخر to mean best:

First, one must establish the premise that from a spiritual perspective, the quality of something is measured based on the metric of it being blessed or cursed. That which is the most blessed by Allah is the best and highest in eminence, and that which is taken out of the mercy of Allah is the worst and lowest in status.

With this in mind, if one changed the meaning of آخر to mean best, it would create a logical inconsistency in the hadīth itself. First, Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه is quoted as saying, Prayer in the mosque of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) is more excellent than a thousand prayers in other mosques, except Masjid al-Haram. This shows that prayer at Masjid al-Haram is superior to Masjid al-Nabawi. However, if آخر means best, as the Ahmadis say, and the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام referred to his masjid as آخر المساجد, which would translate to mean best of the masjids, this would mean that prayer in the best of the masjids is rewarded less than prayer in Masjid al-Harām. This is a logical inconsistency. It is not possible that prayer in the best masjid could be rewarded less than prayer in the second best masjid.

Rather, the word آخر means last and in the hadīth, the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم describes himself as the last prophet. Therefore, there are no prophets after Muhammad عليه الصلاة والسلام.

Questions to ask the Murabbis

1. If آخر does not mean last in this hadīth, what does it mean?

2. Why would the Prophet عليه الصلاة والسلام make a statement which seems to indicate the finality of prophethood, even using the word آخر, when he could have expressed the same thought in another way that would not have rejected the Promised Messiah?

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[1] This hadīth is narrated in many other books, but one reference is sufficient because the narrator of the hadīth is always Abū Hurayrah, so the Matn (text) of the hadīth is the same.

[2] This Ahmadi dictionary, published in 2006, boasts that it was “Published under the auspices of Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Fifth successor of the Promised Messiah and Supreme Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam”.

[3] This practice still exists in large parts of the Muslim world. The justification is that these holy people are being blessed by Allah in the grave, so others want to be within the vicinity of the blessing.

[4] This hadīth is also narrated in Sahīh Bukhārī, Volume 3, Book 29, Number 87 and Sahīh Bukhārī, Volume 3, Book 31, Number 215.