The Bahai Viewpoint

"The Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh), Hazrat Mohammed was the seal of all the previous prophets and the forerunner of those in the future and he is superior to all."

As per the Bahais, through this tradition, Hazrat Ali (as) has clearly outlined the position of the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh) - that he is the one who will abrogate the religions of the previous prophets and announce the coming of future divine leaders.

Our Response

1. Beharaul Anwaar, in its current edition, comprises of 100 volumes. Nevertheless, in this age of computers and technology, if any tradition is present in the book, one can extract and retrieve it easily. Alas, however, this tradition is nowhere to be found in Beharul Anwaar.

2. Yes, a sentence is found in the book Kitabuz Ziyarah which states that when one reaches the shrine of Hazrat Ameerul Mo’meneen in Najaf, Iraq, then after conveying salutations to the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh), one should recite - "Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah, who was the custodian of the revelation from Allah and the keeper of His commands; the one who sealed the previous religions and abrogated the laws of the previous prophets; the one who clarified the laws for the future and is aware of the past and the current."

3. Even if, for augument’s sake, we accept this tradion brought by the Bahais and also accept their flawed interpretation of the same, it does not imply straightaway that the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh) was the one to announce the coming of future prophets. Rather, it implies that he was the one who gave the glad tidings and clarified the role of the Imams who followed him.

4. Hazrat Ameerul Mo’meneen (as) clarifies in Nahjul Balagha (Sermon 88-89) as follows - "Allah sent the Holy Prophet (pbuh) when there was no other prophet. He was sent as a completion to the chain of Messengers and the revelation was terminated upon him."

   This tradition makes it amply clear that not only was he the last Messenger, but even the chain of revelation was terminated through him. Therefore whenever any person claims to be a prophet or a messenger of Allah after the passage of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), then the "revelation" upon him will definitely not be from Allah. Yes, there is a possibility that it could be the whisperings of Shaitaan and inspiration from him.

5. Nahjul Balagha further clarifies this matter - "The Holy Prophet (pbuh) was the custodian of His (Allah’s) revelation, the seal of the Messengers, the harbinger of glad tidings of His mercy and a warner for His punishment."

Conclusion

There will neither be any prophet nor any messenger after the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh). However, if any person claims to be such, then the will be outside the fold of Islam and will be liable for a terrible punishment.