Motivated by wrong explanations and interpretations of the Holy Quran presented by a certain group of so-called Muslim scholars, a distinct body of opponents raise questions regarding the following verses of Surah al-Jumuah, which indicate the advent of a prophet in the latter days:
ہُوَ الَّذِیۡ بَعَثَ فِی الۡاُمِّیّٖنَ رَسُوۡلًا مِّنۡہُمۡ یَتۡلُوۡا عَلَیۡہِمۡ اٰیٰتِہٖ وَ یُزَکِّیۡہِمۡ وَ یُعَلِّمُہُمُ الۡکِتٰبَ وَ الۡحِکۡمَۃَ ٭ وَ اِنۡ کَانُوۡا مِنۡ قَبۡلُ لَفِیۡ ضَلٰلٍ مُّبِیۡنٍ۔ وَّ اٰخَرِیۡنَ مِنۡہُمۡ لَمَّا یَلۡحَقُوۡا بِہِمۡ ؕ وَ ہُوَ الۡعَزِیۡزُ الۡحَکِیۡمُ
“He it is Who has raised among the Unlettered people a Messenger from among themselves who recites unto them His Signs, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and wisdom, although they were before, in manifest misguidance; And among others from among them who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (Surah al-Jumuah, Ch.62: V.3-4)
Desperate to prove the Promised Messiahas false, opponents emphasise that the above verses of the Holy Quran, which, in view of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, signify the appearance of a prophet in the latter days who would be the reflection of the Holy Prophetsa are not at all interpreted in such a way by any other religious scholar of Islam in the books of tafsir or hadith.
The words aakharina minhum [others from among them] in the above verse are of great significance. After studying and examining all the previous commentaries of the Holy Quran, we find that every exegesis has either determined or considered aakharin [others] as mansub [accusative] or majrur [genitive]. According to Arabic lexicon, case endings are usually of three types, i.e. marfu‘ [nominative], mansub [accusative] or majrur [genitive]. Aakharin is written in case of mansub and majrur, while aakharun is used to show that it is marfu‘. So, it is either mansub or majrur in the verse under discussion.
If aakharin is considered mansub, the contextual meaning of the verses would imply ویزکی الآخرین و یعلم الآخرین i.e. the Holy Prophetsa will purify the souls of other [non-Arab] people as well and teach them the book and wisdom. So, the verses as a whole indicate that the message of the Holy Prophetsa was meant not only for the Arabs among whom he was raised, but for all non-Arabs as well, and not only for his contemporaries, but also for the coming generations till the end of time.
This fact is also established from a hadith that is related by Hazrat Abu Hurairahra. He narrates:
“We were sitting with the Holy Prophetsa, when Surah al-Jumuah was revealed to him. When he recited the verse, ‘And among others from among them who have not yet joined them’, a man asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, who are these people [who will hold the rank of the companions of the Prophet, but have not yet joined them].’ The Prophetsa did not answer him. The man repeated his question thrice. The narrator says that [a non-Arab companion] Hazrat Salman al-Farsira was sitting amongst us. The Holy Prophetsa placed his hand on his shoulder and said, ‘Even if faith was to ascend to the Pleiades, men from among his people will bring it back to earth.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Tafsir)
Explaining the condition of Muslims during this faithless era, the Holy Prophetsa said:
“There will come a time upon the people when nothing will remain of Islam save its name and nothing will remain of the Quran save its inscription. Their mosques will be splendidly furnished but deprived of guidance. Their scholars will be the worst people under the heavens; strife will issue from and avert to them.” (Mishkat-ul-Masabih, Kitab al-Ilm)
If aakharin is considered majrur, the contextual meaning of the verses would mean وبعث فی الآخرین رسولا منھم لما یلحقوابھم i.e. the Holy Prophetsa would be raised among another people who had not yet joined his immediate followers. However, these meanings cannot be taken literally because the Holy Prophetsa had passed away and entered paradise. It is not possible for a person to become alive after death and leave paradise to appear again in the latter days. Consequently, aakharin in this case could only imply that a non-Arab prophet would be sent to the non-Arabs who would be a reflection of the Holy Prophetsa. As Allah the Almighty states:
اِنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ یُبَایِعُوۡنَکَ اِنَّمَا یُبَایِعُوۡنَ اللّٰہَ ؕ یَدُ اللّٰہِ فَوۡقَ اَیۡدِیۡہِمۡ
“Those who swear allegiance to thee indeed swear allegiance to Allah. The hand of Allah is over their hand” (Surah al-Fath, Ch.48: V.11).
Though the hand of the Holy Prophetsa was placed over the hands of his Companionsra while taking Bai‘at, Allah considered it as His Own hand. Likewise, Allah the Almighty revealed to the Holy Prophetsa that the castles of Qaisar and Kisra would be conquered and their keys would be handed to him. However, those castles were conquered after his demise in the time of Hazrat Umarra and their keys fell in his hands. So, the hand of Hazrat Umarra was called the hand of the Holy Prophetsa in the prophecy. Hence, the meaning of aakharin in both cases i.e. mansub or majrur heralds the advent of a prophet in the latter days for the revival of Islam and restoration of faith, and his appearance has been considered the second coming i.e. a reflection of the Holy Prophetsa.
The mujaddid [reformer] of the 12th century, Hazrat Shah Waliullah Muhaddis Dehlvirh stated that the status of the Holy Prophetsa is above every other prophet because he would appear again in a certain manner. (Hujjatullah al-Baligha, Bab Haqiqat-ul-Nubuwwah wa Khawasiha)
Explaining the verses under discussion, Allama Musa Jarullah states:
“The meaning of this third verse [of Surah al-Jumuah] is that Allah Almighty is the One Who sent a prophet in the unlettered people from among them and He would raise a prophet in aakharin [others] from among them. Hence, the prophet of every group of aakharin is from among them and all these prophets among these groups are the prophets of Islam as the prophets of Bani Israel among the Israelites were the prophets of Torah.” (Fi Huruf-e-Awailis Suwar, p. 132, [Bait al-Hikmat])
Apart from the above interpretations, certain scholars believe that the word aakharin conveys the news of the conversion of Persians to Islam who did convert in the era of Hazrat Umarra. Some are of the view that it carries the news of the birth of Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifarh and to some, Hazrat Imam Bukharirh. However, these interpretations are not worthy of acceptance because the aforementioned explanation of the word aakharin by the Holy Prophetsa in the hadith of Bukhari refutes them as it mentions the time of aakharin to be the period when faith would go to the Pleiades and that surely was to happen after the three centuries of Khair-ul-Qurun [the best centuries in Islam].
Hence, it could neither be the era of Hazrat Umarra, nor the time of the birth of Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifarh or Hazrat Imam Bukharirh. Surely, the word aakharin signified the age regarding which the Holy Prophetsa said:
“My Ummah will go through the same stages as did the Bani Israel. The similarities will be very striking, like one shoe of a pair has to the other, so much so that if a person from among the Bani Israil committed an offence against his mother, a similar unfortunate one would also be found in my Ummah. Bani Israel split into 72 sects; my people will split into 73 sects; with the exception of one sect, all others will be bound for Hell.’ [The Companionsra] asked, ‘O prophet of Allah, who will be these righteous people?’ [The Holy Prophetsa] replied, ‘They will be the people who truly follow me and my Companions.’” (Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Iman)
There are several verses of the Holy Quran that indicate that a prophet would appear in the Ummah of Muhammadsa and this messenger has been called the Messiah and Mahdi in countless ahadith of the Holy Prophetsa. However, as the opponents have only raised questions on the verses of Surah al-Jumuah mentioned at the outset, we conclude this response by presenting the explanation by the Messiah and Mahdi of the age, whose advent was prophesied in the said verses. The Promised Messiahas states:
“In every respect, the perfection of guidance took place during the first advent of the Holy Prophetsa and the perfection of the propagation of faith, (i.e. the spread of this message) was to take place through the second advent of the Holy Prophetsa. This is because the verse in Surah al-Jumuah that reads, ‘and there are others from among them,’ demands that another group of people should also be prepared through his grace and guidance. From this, it becomes clear that there is another advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa, and this advent in the form of a buruzi manifestation [spiritual reflection of the Holy Prophetsa] is taking place in this era.
“Hence, this age is one in which there was to be a complete spread of this faith. This is also why all means of communication and conveyance are also reaching their pinnacle. There is a multitude of publishing houses, countless printing presses and with each day, there are further improvements and developments in publishing and printing. There is also the use of courier and mail services and the emergence of post offices, wired mail, the railroad, aeroplanes and the publication of newspapers – all of these things have combined to transform the world into a global village.
“In actual fact, these advancements are in service of the Holy Prophetsa because through them, the perfect renaissance of Islam, i.e. the complete spread and delivery of his message, is taking place.” (Malfuzat, Vol. 4, p. 10)