Navigating the End of Time

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Therefore, if [sealship] is unrestricted and inclusive, the establishment of chronological finality is evident. Otherwise, accepting the necessity of chronological finality by implicative indication is definitely established. Here, the explicit statements of the Prophet ﷺ like: “You are to me at the level of Hārūn to Mūsā but there is no prophet after me”, [49] or as he said, which is apparently derived from the term “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn” in the manner explained above, are sufficient on this subject because they reach the level of mass-transmission.

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This is an issue regarding which various views and unsound notions have arisen from the scholars of our age. The debate has even led to declarations of disbelief and deviation, but the issue is not something in which either of the two sides on it are ruled to have disbelief or deviation. I compiled three books on it, two in Urdu, the first al-Āyāt al-Bayyināt ‘alā Wujūd al-Anbiyā’ fi ‘l-Ṭabaqāt and the other Dāfi‘ al-Waswās fī Athar Ibn ‘Abbās, in which I verified the matter in a nice way and removed the doubts of many skeptics in an explanatory manner. The third is in Arabic called Zajr al-Nās ‘an Inkār Athar Ibn ‘Abbās, in which I incorporated the outcomes of the two previous books and added a lot from the books Allāh favoured me to read in the two Blessed Ḥarams. I finished compiling it in Makkah Mu‘aẓẓamah in 29 Dhu ‘l-Qa’dah 1292 (January, 1876). Scholars of the two Ḥarams came across it and approved of it and praised its contents. Mawlānā Shaykh ‘Abd al-Ghanī al-Mujaddidī al-Dihlawī, resident of Madīnah Ṭayyibah, wrote a few words endorsing it with his noble pen. [90] Almost a thousand years before Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī, the Ṣūfī Muḥaddith, al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī, wrote: Upon completing his education in 1851, he worked as a proof-reader and annotator at various printing presses in Delhi and Meerut. He was also involved in the first ever print of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, famously produced by Muḥaddith Aḥmad ‘Ali Sahāranpūrī in the early 1850s. [4] Al-Nānawtawī said: “To interpret the ‘finality of Prophethood’ as the ‘Last Prophet’ is a misconception in the minds of the general public – this meaning is incorrect according to the learned”; “Even if a prophet were to be born after the Holy Prophet ﷺ, the finality of the Prophet ﷺ would not be affected in any way” and “Even if it were assumed that a new prophet can come during the era of the Holy Prophet or after him ﷺ, it would not have effect on the finality of our Prophet ﷺ.” These statements gave birth to an unprecedented debate on the finality of the Prophet Muḥammad. [64]Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī included the following couplet in his famous Mathnawī: “The Prophet is the Khātam because no likeness has he in generosity nor will he; like when a scholar acquires special mastery in a field, you say: ‘This field has been sealed by you.’” [29] In commenting on this couplet, Baḥr al-‘Ulūm Laknawī writes: The common people, based on their belief in the famousness of chronological finality as its meaning, regard sealship limited to time to be the absolute and total meaning…What the author of Taḥdhīr al-Nās meant was that the common people consider the whole meaning and the assigned literal meaning of “Seal” to be the last in time, hence they consider it impermissible to take other meanings. Yet, the reality [according to the author of Taḥdhīr al-Nās] is that the meaning of “Seal” is the last, whether in terms of time, location or position. At the level of the essence, this meaning is general and these specifications play no part. [59] In his inspired tract [i.e. Taḥdhīr al-Nās], Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Muḥammad Qāsim Ṣāḥib (Allāh have mercy on him) offered strong evidences and proofs for the Prophet ﷺ being the Seal of the Prophets and espoused remarkable academic insights on the narration transmitted from Ḥaḍrat ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās. In several places in this treatise, Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā also affirmed that the Noble Prophet ﷺ is the Seal of the Prophets in terms of time, and that this is a unanimous doctrine, and that this meaning has been mass-transmitted and its denier is a disbeliever. See also Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā’s book Munāẓarah ‘Ajībah on this very topic, and also his Āb-i-Ḥayāt, Qāsim al-‘Ulūm and other writings.

Navigating the End of Time – Wondrous Islam Navigating the End of Time – Wondrous Islam

If it were legally possible for a prophet to be appointed after the Prophet ﷺ according to the deceased Mawlānā [Qāsim Nānotwī], he would not have used the word “hypothetically” ( bi ‘l-farz). The term “hypothetically” itself indicates it is impossible, the clear meaning of which is that this is impossible and in no way is it possible [for it to occur]. However, if in hypothetically assuming the impossible, for a short while this impossibility [of a future prophet being born] were to be entertained, even then there would be no difference to the positional sealship of the Prophet ﷺ, his excellence and supremacy. [62] This is not to say that Qādiyānīs never used Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī’s statements. Qādiyānīs have misused the statements of many scholars, including Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī, Shāh Waliyyullāh Dihlawī, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Rūmī etc. The mere fact that they misuse Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī’s writings says nothing about the validity or otherwise of Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī’s views. [84] Despite writing this, Zayd says: “If something contrary to this is proven from the Sharī‘ah, I will accept that. I am not adamant on this statement.” In Taḥdhīr al-Nās, his most detailed exploration of this issue, he argues that since the Qur’ān is a preserved book, divine wisdom dictates that no prophethood after the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ is needed, even one that does not bring with it a new law. In this manner, the superiority of status entails chronological finality. In his words: “ In this way, chronological posteriority is necessitated by prophetic sealship in the meaning submitted.” [40]After having been away from his home for years – spent in quest of religious and medical education and performing the Ḥajj pilgrimmage twice – Ḥakīm Nūr al-Dīn left Jeddah for Bombay and from there to Delhi by rail. This was at the time when Qāsim al-Nānawtawī held spiritual sway in Delhi and was engaged in the teaching of the Holy Qur’ān and Ḥadīth. It was during that time that Ḥakīm Nūr al-Dīn had the opportunity of attending one of his sessions. Ḥakīm Nūr al-Dīn gave an account of such a meeting in his own words: “I have seen Mawlānā Qāsim al-Nānawtawī. He is a very intelligent man. He has an intellectual temperament and handles all questions sharply.” [67] Thus, the question to the scholars of Sharī‘ah is: Do the words of the ḥadīth contain the possibility of these meanings or not? And will Zayd become a disbeliever or sinner or outside of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa ‘l-Jama‘ah because of this statement or not? Clarify and be rewarded. [23] This book is a must read in the current time and it's the most important work on the topic as it's written in 2022, which allows the author to look at far more false claims than previous authors could and refer to very recent events such as ISIS. Thus, the context of Taḥdhīr al-Nās was to reconcile the superiority of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ with the report of Ibn ‘Abbās affirming counterparts existing on other earths. Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī had already explained his view on the superiority of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ in an earlier work, Āb-i-Ḥayāt, in 1870. In it, he explained a distinction between direct/non-derivative ( dhātī) and indirect/derivative ( ‘araḍi) attributes. The light of the moon and planets is indirect/derivative while the light of the sun is direct/non-derivative. He argued prophethood had a similar division. According to the intent of Haḍrat Mawlānā [Qāsim Nānotwī], the Prophet ﷺ will not be called ‘Khātam’ of this earth only. Rather, his prophethood, both in terms of time and status, is a seal for the prophets of all seven earths. [54]

Asrar Rashid - ‘Navigating the End of Time’ by Shaykh Asrar Rashid - ‘Navigating the End of Time’ by Shaykh

Navigating the End of Time sets a course for a navigation of the dangerous ways that Armageddon-watchers have invented or twisted prophecies to their own advantage. Rashid draws on examples of how both Muslim and non-Muslim millenarians have cajoled and brainwashed followers, in many cases, to their doom. The trials and tribulations of our time are indisputable, but Rashid lays bare the fitan which are essentially a result of a our own miseducation or dependence on the products of the industrial revolution the apotheosis of which is the smart phone in our hand which completes what has been called the mass-formation (or crowd psychosis) of our 'technic society'. These he juxtaposes with the language of the Qur'an and the key prophecies of the Messenger of Allah & and what he says about the fitan of the End Times. These eschatological matters were further collected and mapped out by a few Muhaddithun and Rashid gently teaches us how to map read; 'Do not travel there until you learn to read the signs properly, and if possible find a very good guide.' He offers a number of evidences for why he believes the earlier prophets derive their prophethood from the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ. He accepts these evidences are “abductive” ( innī) – that is, arguing the cause from its effects, which is not a definitive form of evidence. But he develops a cumulative case which he argues offers strong support for his claim. [43] Another high-profile court case occurred in the Bahawalpur state between 1926 and 1935 with regards to the status of the marriage of a woman whose husband converted to Qādiyānism. Seeing that this court case was critical to the integrity of their movement, the Qādiyānī leadership hired experienced lawyers to argue their case. ‘Allāmah Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī (1873 – 1933) and his students led the case against the Qādiyānīs. [85] During the proceedings, the Qādiyānī lawyer argued from some isolated statements of Taḥdhīr al-Nās, to which ‘Allāmah Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī replied: Mawlānā Aḥsan Nānotwī then wrote up a question that he sent to Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī and ‘Allāmah ‘Abd al-Ḥayy Laknawī. [21] The question is as follows:As explained, Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī believed the elements of time, location and status are all included in the Prophet’s ﷺ sealship. If the sealship of time were hypothetically violated, the sealship of status would remain. Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī expressed this in a couple of places in Taḥdhīr al-Nās, which became a source of criticism on the part of his detractors. The point that Mawlānā Nānotwī was getting across in these passages is that with this understanding of “sealship” no doubt will remain as to the supremacy and excellence of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, even to the extent that any hypothetical prophet would be subordinate to his direct prophethood. So, there can be no doubt as to the Prophet’s ﷺ superiority. We will refer to the following two citations as “citation 2” and “citation 3”. Thus, Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī argues the verse has a conspicuous meaning ( ẓahr) and an esoteric meaning ( baṭn), both of which are equally true. In Ajwibah Arba‘īn, a work published in 1874 in refutation of Shī‘ah, Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī wrote: