Muhammad (S) is the Last Prophet

Introduction

"Sauti Ya Bilal" a Swahili periodical of Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania, has been generally acknowledged as one of the most informative and comprehensive religious periodicals in East Africa. In 1968, the Mission gave a detailed treatment to the subject of 'Khatm an-Nubuwwah' (Finality of Prophethood), in the form of three articles which appeared in three consecutive issues. No wonder the series was well-received by .the readers - learned and laymen alike.

That Muhammad (S), the Holy Prophet of Islam, was the last Prophet, and that nobody was to get Prophethood after him, is a simple yet cardinal belief of every Muslim. The Mission had explained that Islamic belief in those Swahili articles, quoting verses from Qur'an, and traditions from various traditionalists in corroboration.

A Qadiani missionary wrote a long letter in Swahili, making a frustrated attempt to object to the contents of those articles. This letter was answered by Sayyid Sa’eed Akhtar Rizvi, Chief Missionary. As there was no reply forthcoming from the said missionary, silence prevailed. However, a Shia African student later on wrote to Mr. Rizvi seeking clarifications over the belief of Khatm an-Nubuwwah; and in that letter certain passages were found to bear great similarity to the previous letter from the Qadiani missionary.

Obviously, the Qadianis were circulating their letter or perhaps propagating its contents, despite the refutation by Mr. Rizvi. Thus, the Mission was left with no alternative but to circulate Mr. Rizvi's reply, which assumed form of 24 foolscap cyclostyled pages. A copy was sent to the said Shia student, who later on expressed his complete satisfaction.

These events were reported in the Bilal News as usual, and Haji Hasanaly P. Ebrahim (Karachi) requested for a few copies. As the articles were in Swahili, Mr. Rizvi very kindly agreed and promised to translate them into English for the benefit of a wider public. In the meantime, I requested Mr. Rizvi to add and argument certain relevant topics so as to make the endeavor complete.

I am grateful to Mr. Rizvi for having conceded to my request. This booklet is the result of Mr. Rizvi's laudable endeavor, and various topics relevant to the subject of Khatm an-Nubuwwah are amply dealt with. It also gives us an insight into the thinking ways of the distracted, among them the Qadianis. May Allah Accept this, and shower His Blessings upon Mr. Rizvi.

Asgherali M. M. Jaffer

June, 1971