Maulānā Qāsim Nānotwī’s Thesis in Taḥdhīr un Nās – Simplified

As a preface to the translation of Taḥdhīr un Nas, a brief explanation of Maulānā Muḥammad Qāsim Nānotwī’s thesis in the book is presented below to facilitate understanding of the book. Despite the complicated and technical language Maulānā Qāsim Nānotwī uses, his thesis is evidence-based and flows naturally & rationally from the scriptural evidences he cites. Simplifying the book’s thesis (in the manner attempted below) brings this reality to light.

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The book is essentially an explanation (tafsīr) of three verses:

Firstly:

ما كان محمد أبا أحد من رجالكم ولكن رسول الله وخاتم النبيين 

 

“Muḥammad is not the father of any of your men but the Messenger of Allāh (RasūlAllāh) and Seal of Prophets (Khātam al-Nabiyyīn).” (33:40)

Secondly:

النبي أولى بالمؤمنين من أنفسهم

 

“The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves.” (33:6)

Thirdly:

الله الذي خلق سبع سموات ومن الأرض مثلهن يتنزل الأمر بينهن

 

“Allāh is the One that created seven skies and the like of them of earth. The command descends between them.” (65:12)

 

The first verse means that the Prophetﷺ  is not the biological father of any man. The verse then says: But he is “Rasūlullāh” and “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn”. The “but” is to correct an incorrect notion that someone may have, namely that because the Prophet ﷺ is not the biological father of any man he is not a father of others in any respect. The verse thus corrects this misconception by describing the Prophet ﷺ as “Rasūlullāh” and “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn”. “Rasūlullāh” is a quality that shows the Prophet’s metaphorical fatherhood towards his Ummah and “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn” shows his metaphorical fatherhood towards all previous prophets.

The quality “Rasūlullāh” affirms a metaphorical fatherhood for the Prophet ﷺ towards the whole Ummah. This can be understood in light of the second verse cited above, which describes the Prophetﷺ  as closer to believers than their own selves. The believers acquire their most defining characteristic, their belief (īmān), from the Prophet ﷺ. Since belief came to the Prophet ﷺ himself first and only then entered the believer via the Prophet ﷺ, he is closer to the belief of the believer than the believer himself, thus closer to the believer than his own self. Deriving his defining characteristic from the Prophet ﷺ amounts to the believer acquiring his existence as a believer from the Prophet ﷺ. Hence he is in effect born of the Prophet ﷺ who is thus his metaphorical father.

The quality “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn” affirms a metaphorical fatherhood for the Prophet ﷺ towards all previous prophets. This is based on the Prophet ﷺ acquiring his prophethood directly from Allāh, while all other prophets acquired their prophethood indirectly, via the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Thus the Prophet was the first to receive prophethood, as he said: “I was a prophet while Ādam was between spirit and body.” Hence his prophethood was acquired first, and the prophethood – the defining characteristic of all prophets – was acquired from him. Hence he is the father of prophets in this way.

Thus the verse (33:40), while negating biological fatherhood, affirms a metaphorical fatherhood for both the ummah and all previous prophets.

But how does the meaning of “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn” given above relate to the word “Khatam”? Khātam means a stamp. The one who acquired prophethood first (i.e. the Prophet) leaves his stamp and impression on all other prophets as they acquire their prophethood from him.

There is another reading of the word as “Khatim”, which means “last” and “final”. The Prophet ﷺ is final in all senses: status, time and place.

He is final in status because all prophets precede him and come before him in their status. His status is ahead and in front of all of them.

He is final in time because his time comes after the time of all prophets. This is also entailed by his finality in status. An explanation follows. Prophethood is primarily an excellence in knowledge, but translates to excellence in deeds. All sacred knowledge culminated in the Prophet ﷺ. The knowledge of the Prophet ﷺ has been safeguarded in the Qur’ān, which is “an explanation of all things”.

Meaning, the Qur’ān provides a summarised exposition of the knowledge which a slave of Allāh needs, which is then expounded on in other sources (e.g. sunnah, qiyas etc.). Thus now that all perfect knowledge is safeguarded there is no need (according to divine wisdom) for a new prophet to emerge. Apart from this meaning of finality in time within the word “Khātam”/“Khātim”, finality in time is also proven from mutawātir ḥadīths and scholarly consensus, thus denial of it is disbelief.

He is final in place because his earth is at the top of six other earths. The lowest earth is the first in the sequence and the highest earth the final in the sequence. This is further understood from the third verse cited above. The verse shows the genus of “earth” is “similar” to the skies. A ḥadīth in Tirmidhī shows there are seven earths each on top of the other with a gap of 500 years journey between one and the other, just as there are seven skies with a similar gap between one sky and the other. The highest sky is the greatest sky just as the highest earth is the greatest earth, as shown by another ḥadīth.

Another ḥadīth shows (and this is implied in the verse) that rules descend from the higher skies to the lower skies. In the same way (and also as part of the similarity of the earths to the skies) rules descend from the higher earth to the lower earths.

An authentic athar of Ibn ‘Abbās confirms there are prophets on the other earths, sharing a resemblance in terms of sequence with the prophets on this earth. So just as there is a first and last prophet and prophets in between on this earth, there are first and last prophets and prophets in between on other earths. The final prophets of the lower earths acquire their prophethood from our Prophet ﷺ (just like all prophets) and acquire the laws from our Prophet (and are chronologically prior to our Prophet). In this way, the Prophet ﷺ is Khātam and Khātim in a complete sense and the Prophet’s superiority and status is elevated to the utmost degree.

 

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This concludes the summary of Maulānā Nānotwī’s thesis. Maulānā Nānotwī shows that the athar of Ibn ‘Abbās is not in conflict with any verse or ḥadīth, but in full congruence with the verses of Qur’an and the ḥadīths. Furthermore, there are three possible problems with the athar of Ibn ‘Abbās:

1. It opens up the possibility for there to be prophets chronologically after the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ on other earths.

2. It opens up the possibility of the final prophets on the other earths being superior in status to the Prophet ﷺ.

3. It suggests that prophets on other earths are not subject to the laws of our Prophet ﷺ.

Given Maulānā Nānotwi‘s exegesis, all these problems are resolved. No prophet can come later in time to our Prophet ﷺ neither on this nor on any other earth. Nor is it possible for any prophet to equal the Prophet ﷺ in status by virtue of the Prophet’s ﷺ status as “Khātam” – the seal from whom all prophets derive their prophethood. Furthermore, given the superiority and finality of this earth, all earths below are subject to the laws of this earth, meaning all peoples below, at the time of or subsequent to the appearance of the Prophet ﷺ, are subject to the laws of the Prophet ﷺ. Hence not only is the athar sound, it is in full congruence with other evidence, leaving no reason – besides a misguided understanding – for rejecting it.