Now where does their claim go that all past righteous scholars were unanimous in their interpretation and had no doubt about Khatamiyyat having no other meaning than being last in regards to time, and that there can be no other Prophet of any kind. Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Thani who holds a high rank among the Muslims of the Indo-Pak subcontinent, says:

Following the advent of Hazrat Muhammad the Chosen One, the Seal of the Prophets(sa), the attainment of the attributes of prophethood by his followers as subordinate or by way of inheritance, will in no way conflict with his status as the Seal of the Prophets. So do not be amongst the doubters. (Maktubat Imam Rabbani, Book 1, Maktub no. 301, vol. 5, p. 141)

Now I present the view of Hazrat Imam Baqir(ra):

Abu Ja‘far Imam Baqir(as) said in commenting upon the verse of the Holy Qur’an:1

Allah raised Prophets, Messengers and imams from the progeny of Hazrat Ibrahim(as) [Abraham]. It is therefore surprising that while acknowledging these blessings among the progeny of Hazrat Ibrahim(as), people deny this possibility in the case of the progeny and the followers of Hazrat Muhammad(sa). (as-Safi Sharah ‘Usulul-Kafi, by Mulla Khalil, Kitabul-Hijjah, vol. 3, p. 119)

The following is a couplet from Maulana Rum, who is known as the crown of Muslim saints:

Exert yourself in the service of faith to such an extent that you be granted prophethood within the Muslim ummah. (Miftahul-‘Ulum by Maulavi Muhammad Nadhir ‘Arshi (Sharah Mathnawi Jalal-ud-Din ar-Rumi(rh), vol. 13, Book 5, part 1, p. 98))

What judgment would these present day ‘ulema,’ who are hostile to Ahmadiyyat, pass against the saints and sages quoted above? How are they going to disregard these writings? These writings expose the falsehood of the claim that all past pious ulema unanimously held the view that the only meaning of Khatamiyyat is ‘being the last in point of time.’ When we study the writings of great scholars and saints we find that present day ‘ulema’ are ascribing to them exactly the opposite of what they had written.

It is inconceivable that a major department of the government entrusted with the task of research on this issue was comprised of such fools that they were unaware of the existence of the writings of the past pious ulema. Surely they knew, but they deliberately chose to deceive and lie.

Let us see in what meaning the Promised Messiah(as) considered the continuity of prophethood in the Muslim ummah. He writes:

We cannot attain any heavenly grace or greatness, place of honour, and position of nearness to God, except by complete devotion and absolute obedience to the Holy Prophet(sa). Everything is granted to us by way of reflection and his inheritance. (Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 3, p. 170)

He also writes:

But this honour was bestowed upon me solely because of my complete submission to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. If I had not been a part of the ummah of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and had not been his follower, then, even if my good deeds had matched all the mountains of the world, I would never have received this honour of converse with God, for all prophethood has come to an end except the prophethood of Muhammad(sa). No law-bearing Prophet can come after him. A Prophet who does not bring a new law can come, but he has to be a follower of the Holy Prophet(sa) first. On this basis, I am both an ummati [follower] and a Nabi [Prophet]. (Tajalliyyat-e-Ilahiyyah, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 20, p. 411–412)

The Promised Messiah also writes:

The fact, O naive and blind people, is that our Holy Prophet(sa), and our lord and master, (countless blessings be upon him), surpassed all Prophets in his spiritual influence. The influence of all past Prophets came to an end at a certain point and their people and their religions have no trace of life left in them, but the spiritual influence of the Holy Prophet(sa) will endure to the Last Day. For this reason, this ummah does not require that a Messiah should come into it from outside; for, under the Holy Prophet’s(sa) benign influence, even an ordinary man can become a messiah, just as God has done in my case. (Chashma-e-Masihi, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 20, p. 389)

Here is an excerpt from the writings of Hazrat Shah Waliyyullah Muhaddith Dehlavi, who is has been acknowledged in the White Paper as an authoritative Muslim scholar. He is known to be a mujaddid (reformer) of the twelfth-century (Hijri), Imam of India, divinely inspired Sufi and prolific writer. He writes:

That is, there cannot be any Prophet after the Holy Prophet(sa) who receives divine blessings independently [without going through the Holy Prophet(sa).] (Al-Khairul-Kathir, p. 78)

This is exactly the same theme that the Promised Messiah(as) has expressed. The possibility of the return of the Messiah of Nazareth [Jesus] in the above excerpt is rejected because Shah Waliyyullah writes that there cannot be a Prophet who has not received blessing through the Holy Prophet(sa). It is agreed by all that the Messiah of Nazareth did not receive his blessings through the Holy Prophet(sa), nor can he do so. Suppose Jesus returns, he would have read the Torah and Bible, not the Qur’an or the Hadith. The question arises, would he take on a mentor, would he become a disciple of a religious cleric to learn the Qur’an and Hadith? Some people say that God will directly reveal the Holy Qur’an to him just like it was revealed to the Holy Prophet(sa). Even the sayings of the Holy Prophet(sa) will be revealed to him. If this were the case, how is that blessing received through the Holy Prophet(sa)? Jesus is an independent Prophet who had no relation to the Muslim ummah. In the past, he received blessings through someone else.

[According to this belief ] he sat in heaven for 2000 years, and when he comes again, he will receive direct revelation from God!

The Promised Messiah(as) says that one of the meanings of Khatamun-Nabiyyin is that no law-bearing Prophet can come because Khatamiyyat has the connotation of encompassing all goodness and qualities. If a teaching has reached perfection and does not exclude any good quality, then the question of a new teaching only arises if the teaching has been disfigured and tainted. However, Allah the Almighty has also guaranteed that the Qur’an will be protected. The natural and logical conclusion of these two facts—Khatamiyyat ensuring that the Book revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa) encompasses all good qualities and God simultaneously promising that the jurisdiction of his law will extend till the Day of Judgement—is that this is the last teaching. The Holy Prophet(sa) is reported to have said that he and the Day of Judgement are as close together as two fingers of a hand. That is, there cannot be anybody who would abrogate his commandments or interfere in his law till the Day of Judgment—and beyond that the question does not even arise. This is exactly what the Promised Messiah(as) has said and it is what riles the opponents of Ahmadiyyat the most. Our opponents attack us, claiming that on the one hand we believe that the Holy Prophet(as) is Khatamun-Nabiyyin and profess on oath that we believe in verse Khataman-Nabiyyin in the Qur’an, but on the other hand we open the door to the advent of an ummati Prophet. They claim that we say Khatamiyyat means ‘the last’ with reference to Shari‘ah [Islamic law], but not with reference to the non-law bearing prophethood. The Promised Messiah(as) writes in this respect:

The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was granted a unique honour of being Khatamun-Nabiyyin because, firstly, all spiritual qualities of prophethood have reached their pinnacle in him. Secondly, there cannot be a law-bearing Prophet after him or one who is not in his ummah. Everyone who receives the honour of divine revelation does so only through the Holy Prophet(sa) and his blessings. Such a one is designated as an ummati Prophet and not an independent Prophet. (Tatimmah Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 23, p. 380)

Further, the Promised Messiah(as) writes:

All prophethood has come to an end except the prophethood of Muhammad(sa). No law-bearing Prophet can come after him. A Prophet who does not bring a new law can come, but he has to be a follower of the Holy Prophet(sa) first. (Tajalliyyat-e-Ilahiyyah, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 20, p. 412)