Prophethood (Ahmadiyya)

rdf:langString Prophethood (Ahmadiyya)

rdf:langString The view on the Prophets of God (Arabic: نبي الله, romanized: Nabī-Allah) in Ahmadiyya theology differs significantly from Mainstream Islam. The main difference centres on the Quranic term Khatam an-Nabiyyin (Arabic: خاتم النبيين, lit. 'Seal of Prophets') with reference to Muhammad which is understood by Ahmadis in terms of perfection and testification of prophethood instead of chronological finality (as understood within mainstream Islam). Accordingly, Muhammad is held to be the last prophet to deliver a religious law to humanity in the form of the Quran whose teachings embody a perfected and universal message. Although, in principle, prophets can appear within Islam but they must be non-lawbearing prophets dependent upon the sharia of Muhammad. Their prophethood is reflective of that of Muhammad, that is, within his Seal; and their role is merely that of reviving and purifying the faith. They cannot be prophets in their own right and cannot change, add to or subtract from the religious law of Islam. As such, Ahmadis, regard their founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a prophet who appeared as the promised Messiah and Mahdi in accordance with Islam's eschatological prophecies. In contrast to mainstream Muslims who believe Jesus to be still alive and one who would return himself towards the end of time, Ahmadis believe Jesus to have died a natural death and view the coming of such an independent, Israelite prophet (from outside the Islamic dispensation) to amount to breaking the Seal of Prophethood. Moreover, unlike orthodox Islam, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community considers the term Messenger (rasul) and Prophet (nabi) as being different aspects of the same office of a Khalifatullah (Representative of God on Earth). According to Ahmadiyya belief, the terms used in the Qur'an to signify divinely appointed individuals, namely, Warner (Nazir), Prophet (Nabi), Messenger (Rasul), are generally synonymous. Ahmadis however categorise prophets as law-bearing ones and non-lawbearing ones.