In other words, because of the superiority of the Prophet ﷺ, his laws are superior-most, which entails they must also be the endmost. In an 1878 transcript of a debate, he said:

Navigating the End of Time – Wondrous Islam Navigating the End of Time – Wondrous Islam

In Taḥdhīr al-Nās, his most detailed exploration of this issue, he argues that since the Qur’ān is a preserved book, divine wisdom dictates that no prophethood after the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ is needed, even one that does not bring with it a new law. In this manner, the superiority of status entails chronological finality. In his words: “ In this way, chronological posteriority is necessitated by prophetic sealship in the meaning submitted.” [40] Hence, in response to detractors who claimed he did not believe the term “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn” indicated finality in time, he said: Look now, in this situation, the conjunction between the two sentences and the aforementioned corrective and exception come into focus at the height of coherence. The sealship [of the Prophet ﷺ] is established in the best way. Chronological finality ( khātamiyyat zamānī) too does not escape one’s hand. Thus, Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī argues the verse has a conspicuous meaning ( ẓahr) and an esoteric meaning ( baṭn), both of which are equally true. In Ajwibah Arba‘īn, a work published in 1874 in refutation of Shī‘ah, Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī wrote:Navigating the End of Time’ sets a course for a navigation of the dangerous ways that Armageddon-watchers have invented or twisted prophecies to their own advantage. Rashid draws on examples of how both Muslim and non-Muslim millenarians have cajoled and brainwashed followers, in many cases, to their doom. The trials and tribulations of our time are indisputable, but Rashid lays bare the fitan which are essentially a result of our own miseducation or dependence on the products of the industrial revolution—the apotheosis of which is the smart phone in our hand—which completes what has been called the mass-formation (or crowd psychosis) of our ‘technic society’. These he juxtaposes with the language of the Qur'an and the key prophecies of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and what he says about the fitan of the End Times. These eschatological matters were further collected and mapped out by a few Muhaddithun and Rashid gently teaches us how to map read; ‘Do not travel there until you learn to read the signs properly, and if possible find a very good guide.’ Author A map is not merely a chart, but something that unveils paths and gives directions through illumined way markers- lamp posts if you like. Rewards and dangers lie on the way. It is no coincidence perhaps that the teaching game “Snakes and Ladders’ was invented in Moghul India [Shataranj al-Urafa]. An inability to map-read or interpret the virtues and dangers in those signs renders them futile. In such a case, one must be led, grasping the hand of a guide. Whose hand today can be trusted?

Navigating the End of Time - Eventbrite Navigating the End of Time - Eventbrite

Further, in this situation, just as the reading “ khātim” is made sense of, so too is the reading “ khātam ” made sense of to the highest degree, without any artificiality ( takalluf). The mark or seal of a “ khātam” – with fatḥah on the tā’ – appears on the thing that is sealed. Similarly, the mark of one that embodies a characteristic directly appears on those that embody the characteristic indirectly. [51]

This unique work is a result of multiple engagements and debates in universities, mosques, private gatherings and elsewhere. The author, Asrar Rashid, takes on the more difficult questions taking us through a labrynth of Kalām, philosophy, logic, epistemology, science, the Qurʾān, Ḥadīth and Sharīʿa. The book covers in depth the proof for God, His divine attributes, the problem of evil, freewill and divine knowledge, the most difficult philosophical and scientific objections against Islam, as well as objections to Sharīʿa law, the Qurʾān’s historical preservation, the historicity of the Ḥadīth, slavery, Jihād, women’s rights and a host of other complex issues. This book is a must for all who are learning about Islam, Muslims and non-Muslims, apologists and detractors. In this situation, the outcome of the meaning of the noble verse will be that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ has not acquired fatherhood of the known kind with respect to any man, but he has acquired spiritual fatherhood with respect to his community, as well as with respect to the prophets. “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn” is proof only with respect to the prophets. The attributes of those that embody attributes indirectly are branches of the one that embodies them directly. The one that embodies attributes directly is the source of the derivative attributes and they are its offshoots. Hence, what he took issue with is it being the “sole meaning”. This is clear from Taḥdhīr al-Nās itself as he has himself said the verse indicates chronological finality. As was quoted from him earlier, Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī said: “The author of Taḥdhīr al-Nās does not mean that the sentence on Khātam al-Nabiyyīn doesn’t in any way indicate chronological finality or that chronological finality cannot be meant by the term ‘Khātam al-Nabiyyīn’. He himself has given two explanations of how chronological finality is meant and indicated [by the verse/term].” [60] He proceeds to explain why he believes the context must be one of praise and not merely a neutral statement. Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī’s detractors objected that this statement means all exegetes of the Qur’ān, even the Prophet ﷺ and the companions themselves, be considered “common folk” because they all believed “the Seal of the Prophets” means “the last chronological prophet”.

Navigating the End of Time: A Book by Asrar Rashid - Find Book Navigating the End of Time: A Book by Asrar Rashid - Find Book

He also argued that superiority in status entails superiority of laws, and the superior-most law must also be the endmost law, hence the Prophet ﷺ must be the endmost prophet. In an 1877 transcript of a debate, he said: In his earlier work ‘ Islam Answers Atheism’, Asrar Rashid enters the territories of the New Atheists and those pursuing kufr humanistic sciences—particularly those bent on debunking a Divine Reality. Intent on showing the false trails laid out for the unwary, he aims to rescue those who have been misled by showing the weakness and fallacies in their arguments and that in most cases, behind their disparagement and denigration, the Hand of God is merely replaced by straw-man arguments, emotional content, and fantasy. The ‘Ulamā’ of Ahl al-Sunnah in India have undertaken many appreciated works in refuting the Qādiyānīs by writing books in various languages,The 1974 court case against Qādiyānīs was one of the most high-profile and impactful efforts against the Qādiyānīs. It was led by scholars from all persuasions, including Deobandīs. Some of the members of the National Assembly of Pakistan who in 1974 pushed for a Supreme Court judgement against Qādiyānīs include: Muftī Maḥmūd (1919 – 1980), a prominent Deobandī scholar and politician; Mawlānā Ghulām Ghawth Hazārvī (1896 – 1981), a Deobandī scholar; and Mawlānā ‘Abd al-Ḥaqq Akorwī (1912 – 1988), founder of the famous madrasah Dār al-‘Ulūm Ḥaqqāniyyah. Mawlānā Nānotwī (Allāh have mercy on him) affirmed a third type: sealship of location: “Meaning, the earth in which the Noble Prophet appeared is above and at the end of all earths, and there are no earths above it.” He demonstrated this with evidences. [87] Since the blessed Muḥammadan being embodies the characteristic of prophethood directly and the remaining prophets embody it indirectly, it is now established that he ﷺ is a spiritual father ( wālid ma‘nawī), and the remaining prophets are with respect to him spiritual children ( awlād ma‘nawī). With respect to his community, ponder the phrase “RasūlAllāh” and this reality will become clear. [44] He married a woman of Deoband in 1853 with whom he had ten children. One of his sons, Mawlānā Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad Aḥmad (1862 – 1928), went on to become rector of the Dār al-‘Ulūm in Deoband. This is not to say that Qādiyānīs never used Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī’s statements. Qādiyānīs have misused the statements of many scholars, including Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī, Shāh Waliyyullāh Dihlawī, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Rūmī etc. The mere fact that they misuse Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī’s writings says nothing about the validity or otherwise of Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī’s views. [84]