Question derived from hadith- may there not be another messenger ? For Joseph

[nalia96]

Assalamualaikum,

It does appear from the Quran that another messenger can appear and that is a true possibility.
However, my only doubt is because of this hadith which is shown in in sunnah.com- a site of Hadith compilations which show the characteristics of a certain Hadith i.e. da-'if or sahih, etc.

In particular, this hadith casts doubts on the possibility that there will even be another messenger. As hadith is our most credible source after Quran we cannot refute it at all.
This is the hadith 

Anas bin Malik narrated:
"The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: 'Indeed Messenger-ship and Prophethood have been terminated, so there shall be no Messenger after me, nor a Prophet.'" He(Anas) said:"The people were concerned about that, so he (s.a.w) said: 'But there will be Mubash-shirat.' So they said: 'O Messenger of Allah! What is Mubash-shirat?' He said: 'The Muslim's dreams, for it is a portion of the portions of Prophethood.'"
حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الزَّعْفَرَانِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَفَّانُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ يَعْنِي ابْنَ زِيَادٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الْمُخْتَارُ بْنُ فُلْفُلٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ إِنَّ الرِّسَالَةَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ قَدِ انْقَطَعَتْ فَلاَ رَسُولَ بَعْدِي وَلاَ نَبِيَّ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَشَقَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى النَّاسِ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ لَكِنِ الْمُبَشِّرَاتُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا الْمُبَشِّرَاتُ قَالَ ‏"‏ رُؤْيَا الْمُسْلِمِ وَهِيَ جُزْءٌ مِنْ أَجْزَاءِ النُّبُوَّةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ وَحُذَيْفَةَ بْنِ أَسِيدٍ وَابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ وَأُمِّ كُرْزٍ ‏.‏ قَالَ هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ غَرِيبٌ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الْمُخْتَارِ بْنِ فُلْفُلٍ ‏.‏
Grade:    Sahih (Darussalam)      
Reference    : Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2272
In-book reference    : Book 34, Hadith 3
English translation    : Vol. 4, Book 8, Hadith 2272


Prophet Muhammad is stated to have implied the future coming of messengers after his coming has ceased. This hadith is also said to be sahih which makes the statement in the hadith even more clear. 

I'm confused as to whether there are certain subtleties in the language of Arabic that are not captured well by an English translation and therefore the meaning may change.
Joseph, can you please shed some light on this and anyone else who feels they can share something useful regarding this matter can also contribute?

[fireheart47]

Dear nalia96,

As a Christian who recently chose Islam, I believe there is confusion about the meaning of prophecy.

Since the Qur'an is said to confirm previous revelations (Surah al-Maidah 5:48), I believe we can use gospels and/or the Bible to compare and find answers. We know how the gospels have scribal errors and errors from church politics. I believe Jesus knew this about all scripture, as he criticized the scribes (Gospel of Matthew Chapter 23) and preached a simple message (Matthew 22:36-40). I believe the essence of this simple message is also found in the Qur'an (Surah al-Bayyinah Ayah 5). Jesus taught about the spirit or essence.

In the Bible, in Acts of the Apostles (Acts 11:19-30), the Jewish and non-Jewish followers of Jesus were called Christians, because they followed Jesus Christ or Messiah. They also record a prophet named Agabus, whose prophecy of a drought came true. The Bible talks about prophesying (1 Corinthians 14:3-4) and testing prophecy (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

The centralized teaching of the religion called Islam is that Muhammad is the final prophet. One of the verses used as evidence is Surah al-Ahzab 33:40. The root of the word Arabic word for seal, خ-ت-م, is similar to the English word, because it does not only mean a seal for closing (ex: sealed lips), rather also a seal to confirm an attribute (English: seal of approval, seal of freshness)(Qur'an: Surah al-Mutaffifin 83:26).

I believe this refers to the attribute prophesiers must have, which is guidance for us to know what information is trustworthy and true. We follow specific prophets who have established wisdom and faith, yet I believe we can all be prophets. The word prophet and prophecy come from Greek word, which loosely means "to speak out". Our interpretations of religions cause this word to have an exclusive meaning, yet I believe environmentalists and civil rights activists prophesy, and so do those who try to preserve the wisdom and faith we inherited.

If by chance any reader doubts my religion, I will describe my faith.

I believe Islam, which comes from Arabic root س-ل-م and related to Hebrew ש-ל-ם, simply means peace, and has a connotation of completeness (1st Book of Kings 9:25), and reciprocity (Genesis 4:44, Book of Job 41:11), and for this reason it also means submission (Surah al-Baqarah 2:131). I believe this, because of how اسلام starts similar to the word انبوا (Surah al-An'am 6:5). I believe by a Muslim is a peace-maker, similar to how the م- prefix functions in other verse translations (Surah al-'Ankabut 29:69), and in Hebrew it could be written מי-שלם.

I believe Jesus is a prophet and attained elevated status of anointed one, Messiah, and his story helps guide our understanding of the scriptures. I believe he was Jewish, and his teachings are rooted in Jewish scripture (Genesis 4:15 [Against vengeance], Genesis 50:18-21 [Forgive and bless your trespassers], Leviticus 19:18 [Against vengeance], 1 Book of Samuel Chapter 2 [Hannah's prayer and God's dynamic control, from warriors to scribes]  Psalm Chapter 46 [God wants peace not war]). I believe he should not be worshiped, yet he said he was in union with God as example to his disciples to know what to do when he left them. I believe the Qur'an and the Bible both agree he didn't die, because he lives in spirit (Matthew 18:20). I believe the term "son of God" (Matthew 5:9) is an attribute or metaphor popularized by Jewish scripture, and it is not literally a son, nor the only son, which the Qur'an makes clear. Metaphor just like children of Devil (1st Letter of John Chapter 3 [Sin of hate]), and they are not fixed attributes, rather ideals we pursue through our thoughts and actions.

I believe Jesus spoke against corruption of the authorities of his organized religion, the Jewish religion, for the same reasons we should speak against Christian organized religion and Islam organized religion. However, we should show mercy, because we strive to emulate the attributes of the one non-physical God, which people have called Allah and many other variations of spelling and grammar.

I believe Jewish people although many don't accept Jesus as the Messiah can think and act like Jesus. And I believe the Qur'an confirms this (Surah an-Nisa 4:162).

Sincerely,
Fireheart47

[fireheart47]

Dear nalia96,

Forgive me for I was in a rush and forgot to add important information.

When I first began to study the Qur'an as a Christian, I doubted Muhammad's existence and viewed it mostly from the perspective of Christoph Luxenberg.

Later, I began to think about this more and after some experiences, concluded I had to have faith in Muhammad, the prophet who delivered the Qur'an, thanks to God.

I believe Muhammad is God's prophet, and recited the Qur'an. My intuition and my studies tell me the contents of the Qur'an may have been part of stories, which were told by Arabs, which in Hebrew ערב, can imply "nomad", whose ancestors intermingled and descended from Moses (Midianite and Tetragrammaton connection) and the earliest prophets like Abraham. They travelled down the mountains to Sheba and westward to Syria, and entered Jerusalem, and learned the prophecies of Jesus.

It has been difficult for me to accept that an angel revealed the Qur'an to Muhammed, and I struggled with this. Now I believe perhaps he experienced Total Recall, and was able to recite the stories he had heard from his travels, which effectively preserved one of the most important sources of information for this region of the world.


My hope is that my story can help those who are struggling to believe, and not to misguide those who are on a good path.

Now, I believe Islam is Christianity, and Christianity is Judaism, and Judaism is the faith of the Israelites, which believed in Allah and sought Islam. Yet each religion ventured on its own path, and its authorities persecuted prophets. Each has developed traditions and self-understanding, which separates them into unique religions.

I believe Judaism formed, because the tribe Judah inherited the Israelite religion by having control of Jerusalem together with tribe of Benjamin. I believe the Qur'an criticizes Jewish religion, because of tribal differences and religious trends, which caused religion to be centralized and the popular narratives to become narrow, and which focused ethnic relationships above faith, even when the Jewish scriptures say this is not so (Book of Isaiah 56). Similar criticism could be made about racist exclusive worldviews in Christianity.


My hope is this can inspire people to interpret what they already know, and to continue to study it, not feeling as if we know the truth, besides the simple teachings. I have not read the whole Qur'an and so I have much more to learn.

Sincerely,
Fireheart47

[fireheart47]

One of the reasons I have faith in the Prophet Muhammad, the reciter of the Qur'an, is because of the story where he helps move the Kaaba by having people hold each end of a large cloth. It is very ingenious way of bringing people together, and one of the parts of his story I remembered the most. One day I had to clear objects from a table and had a towel to place the items onto. That reminded me of him, and it caused me to be more considerate.