In a loving reply To Gilberto Simpson’s point:
>Muhammad is the chronologically last prophet and messenger …Gilberto
Tim Nolan writes:
This may be a non-issue if Baha'u'llah claimed to be in a different category
from a nabi or a rasúl. Perhaps other members of the list say whether He did.
Tim Nolan
Dear Tim, Dear Gilberto. Maybe this has been discussed before. Maybe it has
not. In either case it has to be approached with patience and with love. On the
issue of Khaatamiyyat (Sealship/Sealhood/Finality) many Bahá'ís have been
condemned outright. Because the members of this list are hopefully polite and
cordial this needs to be addressed with patience.
1) The Successors of the Abrahamic Prophets were called Nabi. In the Holy
Qur’an it states that We ordained the station of (Nubuwwat) prophesying/giving
the naba/ having the function of announcing/ to RESIDE in the progeny of
Abraham.
Qur’an 57: 26 **And We verily sent Noah and Abraham and placed the prophethood
and the scripture AMONG THEIR SEED, and among them there is he who goeth right,
but many of them are evil-livers.
2) Clearly the Prophet of God, Muhammad, may God's salutations be upon Him, was
a Prophet and He had seed, through His Daughter, Fatimah the Chaste.
3) When the Prophet of God married Zaynab the wife of His adopted son Zayd, the
objection was raised *How could this be?*.
God answers **Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the
messenger of God and the Seal of the Prophets; and God is ever Aware of all
things.** 33:40 a most famous Verse.
Ma kana Muhammadun aba ahadin min rijalikum walakin rasoola Allahi wakhatama
alnnabiyyeena wakana Allahu bikulli shay-in AAaleeman
He is not the Ab (Father) of any Rijaal (Men) among you etc.
4) Of course a Bahai would absolutely affirm this. In other words. Zayd was not
the Prophet's son, and even though the Abrahamic Prophets' Progeny were Nabi's
as per the earlier verse quoted 57:26, the Progeny of the Prophet Muhammad were
called Imams (according to Shi'ih belief) and Shareef amongst the others.
The Imam Husayn therefore is not a Nabi etc...
5) Then we come to the function of nubuwwat (Prophesying). One function which
is extremely important and which is lost sight of in the debate on finality is
that a function of nubuwwat (Prophesying) is to prophesy the significance of
Yawm Allah the Day of God, the Day of an Encounter with God's Purpose, God's
Judgement, and so on many Beautiful Names.
6) When one humbly studies the Bahai Writings one comes away with the truth
that Yes Here the point is made that Baha'u'llah is that Event, that
Inaugurator, that Great Naba (That Great Announcement)... He never claims the
Station of Nabi-hood (Prophethood) in that sense and in that semantic.
**It is evident that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is
divinely ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God's appointed
Day. This Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished from those that
have preceded it. The designation "Seal of the Prophets" fully revealeth its
high station. The Prophetic Cycle hath, verily, ended.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Page: 60)**
And the Bab Who was martyred wrote:
**When God sent forth His Prophet Muhammad, on that day the termination of the
prophetic cycle was foreordained in the knowledge of God. Yea, that promise
hath indeed come true and the decree of God hath been accomplished as He hath
ordained. Assuredly we are today living in the Days of God. These are the
glorious days on the like of which the sun hath never risen in the past. These
are the days which the people in bygone times eagerly expected. What hath then
befallen you that ye are fast asleep? These are the days wherein God hath
caused the Day-Star of Truth to shine resplendent. What hath then caused you
to keep your silence? These are the appointed days which ye have been
yearningly awaiting in the past - the days of the advent of divine justice.
Render ye thanks unto God, O ye concourse of believers.
(The Bab: Selections from the Bab, Page: 161)**
And finally from a recent statement:
**the texts speak with one voice: religion’s goal is humanity’s attainment of
the age of “in-gathering”, 1 of “one fold, and one shepherd”; 2 the great age
to come when “the Earth will shine with the glory of its Lord” 3 and the will
of God is carried out “in earth, as it is in heaven”; 4 “the promised Day” 5
when the “holy city” 6 will descend “out of heaven, from … God”, 7 when 54 “the
mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains,
and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it”, 8
when God will demand to know “what mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces,
and grind the faces of the poor”; 9 the Day when scriptures that have been
“sealed till the time of the end” 10 would be opened and union with God will
find expression in “a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name”; 11 an
age utterly beyond anything humanity will have experienced, the mind conceived
or language as yet encompassed: “even as We produced the first Creation, so
shall We produce a new one: a promise We have undertaken: truly shall We fulfil
it.” 12
The declared purpose of history’s series of prophetic revelations, therefore,
has been not only to guide the individual seeker on the path of personal
salvation, but to prepare the whole of the human family for the great
eschatological Event lying ahead, through which the life of the world will
itself be entirely transformed. The revelation of Bahá’u’lláh is neither
preparatory nor prophetic. It is that Event. Through its influence, the
stupendous enterprise of laying the foundations of the Kingdom of God has been
set in motion, and the population of the earth has been endowed with the powers
and capacities equal to the task. That Kingdom is a universal civilization
shaped by principles of social justice and enriched by achievements of the
human mind and spirit beyond anything the present age can conceive. “This is
the Day”, Bahá’u’lláh declares, “in which God’s most excellent favours have
been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace 55 hath been
infused into all created things…. Soon will the present-day order be rolled up,
and a new one spread out in its stead.” 13
http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/bic/OCF/ocf-14.html
I hope dear Tim this is a start. This subject, when studied with genuine
impartiality reveals so many layers of light upon light.
Referring to His own station He declares: "But for Him no Divine Messenger
would have been invested with the Robe of Prophethood, nor would any of the
sacred Scriptures have been revealed."
(Shoghi Effendi: God Passes By, Page: 99)
When the Prophet Muhammad is visited and a Tablet of Visitation is recited
addressing His sacred Soul, a Visitation address was composed by the Imam 'Ali.
There in that Visitation the Soul of the Prophet is addressed. The believer
says: Peace be upon Thee, O Messenger of God! Peace is upon Thee O Khaatim of
that which came before Thee! and then very significantly Peace be upon Thee O
Opener of that which is to come after Thee! O Opener of that which is to come
after Thee! (Very significant)
The Arabic text here:
http://www.aljaafaria.com/Mafatih/
2nd mat.lab of the 4th chapter
اَلسَّلاَمُ مِنَ اللهِ عَلى مُحَمَّد رَسُولِ اللهِ اَمينِ اللهِ عَلى وَحْيِهِ
وَرِسالاتِهِ، وَعَزائِمِ اَمْرِهِ، وَمَعْدِنِ الْوَحْيِ وَالتَّنْزيلِ،
الْخاتِمِ لِما سَبَقَ، وَالْفاتِحِ لِمَا اسْتُقْبِلَ،
Most interestingly after the very famous verse about the Seal in Sura 33: 40
quoted above, the Holy Qur'an again promises the Day of an Encounter of an
Attaining to the Presence (i.e. of Liqaa' with God)
Their greeting on the DAY, WHEN THEY MEET HIM, will be `Peace.' And HE has
prepared for them an honourable reward. (33:44)
33:44 Tahiyyatuhum YAWMA YALQAWNAHU salamun waaAAadda lahum ajran kareeman
This is why Baha'u'llah reveals in the Sacred Iqan.
Especially note the mention of FORMER AND LATTER VERSE
Even as the Lord of being hath in His unerring Book, after speaking of the
"Seal" in His exalted utterance: "Muhammad is the Apostle of God and the Seal
of the Prophets,"(2) hath revealed unto all people the promise of "attainment
unto the divine Presence." To this attainment to the presence of the immortal
King testify the verses of the Book, some of which We have already mentioned.
The one true God is My witness! Nothing more exalted or more explicit than
"attainment unto the divine Presence" hath been revealed in the Qur'an. Well
is it with him that hath attained thereunto, in the day wherein most of the
people, even as ye witness, have turned away therefrom.
And yet, through the mystery of the FORMER verse, they have turned away
from the grace promised by the LATTER, despite the fact that "attainment unto
the divine Presence" in the "Day of Resurrection" is explicitly stated in the
Book.
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Iqan, Pages: 169-170)
Attaining to the Presence (liqaa') is Meeting with God is recognizing and
"Meeting" Baha'u'llah...
Christopher Buck writes nicely:
***This one single verse, Qur'án 33:40, is at the heart of Muslim theology.
Carved in exegetical stone, the sense of ultimacy behind the "Seal of the
Prophets" cannot be overruled. At most, it can only be reinterpreted.
Bahá'u'lláh does just that. His exegesis is dramatic: he points his finger just
four verses further to Qur'án 33:44, a relatively overlooked verse. Suddenly,
the reader is transported from the last prophet to the Last Day, from the end
of prophecy to the end of time. Within a few lines of revealed Arabic, the
vision of Muhammad dissolves into the vision of God. But since God cannot be
seen, the promise of entering into the presence of God requires
interpretation... This is an interesting argument. Two verses are juxtaposed
here, two titles, two theophanies of God, according to Bahá'u'lláh's exegesis.
Their prophetic code names are: (1) the "Seal of the Prophets"; and (2) the
"Presence of God." (Although Qur'an 33:44 simply speaks of the "Day of
Meeting," Bahá'u'lláh also adduces Quran 2:46,2:249,13:2, 18:111, 29:23 to
extract the relevant term, liqa' Alláh). The interpretation of "Seal of the
Prophets" has traditionally meant the "last of the prophets." The "presence of
God," in Bahá'u'lláh's exegesis, signifies, in effect, the "prophet of the Last
Day." The "last of the prophets" and the "prophet of the Last Day" are two
theophanies in two different Dispensations. Muhammad ends the prophetic cycle.
The Báb inaugurates the cycle of fulfilment....
http://www.bahai-library.com/books/symbol.secret/4.html
pages 194-195
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