In Ahmadiyya literature concerning the issue of finality of prophethood, you will find a wealth of strong opinions from various saints and scholars which support the claims of Promised Messiah علیہ السلام to be a subordinate prophet in accordance with the prophecies of Quran and Hadith. The author from “Turn the tables” quotes a reference presented in Ahmadiyya literature by Hadhrat Ahmad Sirhin
di, Mujaddid Alif Thani (r.a.)
“’The rising of prophets after the Khatamar Rasul Hazrat Muhammad, the Chosen One, peace and blessings be upon him, from among his own followers and as a heritage, does not in any way run counter to his status as the Khatamar rasul. The same text has been translated by “turn-table” as
“So for the followers to attain the wonders of prophethood (kamalat nubuwwat) by way of following and inheritance after the coming of the Last Prophet –on him and his followers and all the prophets be the peace and salutations- is not in contradiction to his finality. According to the author, the words “the rising of prophets” should be translated as “for the followers to attain the wonders of prophethood”. Thus proving that Mujaddid Alif Thani (ar) was only alluding to minor blessings which come to those who follow the Holy Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم. So according to him, “kamaalat e nabuwwat” do not include being a subordinate prophet. The author himself quotes the passages from the same letter which mention the second coming of Jesus علیہ السلام and includes this event to be relevant to the subject being discussed. This letter is addressing the qualities of prophethood which include revelation, true dreams and visions as continuous phenomenon in the Muslim ummah since the time of Sahaba and the generations following them. Hadhrat Ahmad Sirhindi also sates “And the last of the times have been made akin to the earliest days.” i.e., the same qualities could be observed at the time of writing his letter. Hadhrat Ahmad Sirhindi, also known as Imam Rabbani and Mujaddid Alif Thani lived during and after the time of Emperor Akbar. He was a great scholar who lived the life of a true saint. Receiving revelations and visions from Allah (swt), which he recorded in his writings extensively. He rejected the innovations being introduced into Islam by so-called Sufis and Mullahs of his day. His influence was so great that he spoke to King Akbar personally to explain the correct Islamic creed to him. He was also Jailed during Jehangir’s reign but the released and honored by the same king. Throughout his life, Imam Rabbani (r.a.) wrote letters to his friends, family and followers, explaining his world view and personal spiritual experiences. As a true saint, his experience of Divine Revelations seems to be the most striking topic in his Maktoobat. And this issue of prophecy, renovation of faith and appearance of Imam Mahdi recur in these writings. Now, we know that is a fact that none of the recipients of “kamaalat e nabuwwat” claimed to be a subordinate prophet, (including Ibn Arabir and Mujaddi Alif Thani) but it is very common observation that both of them have discussed the second coming of Jesus علیہ السلام as an exception where a subordinate prophet will exist among Muslims. This is no coincidence that any discussion on finality of Prophethood can not be completed without mentioning the appearance of Eisa Ibn Maryam علیہ السلام. All great scholars have discussed this and all of them agree that Eisa ibn Maryam علیہ السلام will be a prophet, following the Shariah of Holy Prophet (saw). That is another argument that Ahmadiyyat has already won by proving that Jesus (as) passed away. (we can have another debate if you like..) The Ahmadiyya stance on this matter is that Holy Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم prophecised the coming of an Ummati Nabi in his Ummah. He called him Eisa Ibne-Maryam علیہ السلام and also Imam Mahdi. This person was to attain the highest spiritual rank in the Ummah by being immersed in the love of his master, the Holy Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم;a phenomenon not unknown to great saints like Ibne-Arabi and Imam Rabbani (r.a.). The only difference is that the title of Prophet is given to only one person. Imam Rabbani, Mujaddid Alif Thani (r.a.) writes:
“Perfect followers of prophets (peace be upon them), due to their complete obedience and because of their immersion in their love, they (the followers) become colored with their (master’s) colors so much so that there is no difference between the follower and the one who is followed. i.e., between the Nabi and Ummati: Apart from being Asl and Tabe’ and beign awwal and aakhir”. (Maktoobat No. 248, Part 4, Vol 1, page 49, Published Mujaddadi press, Amritsar). Mujaddid Alif Thani (r.a.) has left a wealth of knowledge for the right minded Muslims to accept the Promised Messiah علیہ السلام.One of the recurrent themes in his writings is his understanding of the concept of “Mujaddidyyat” and his own claim to be the Mujaddid of the 2nd millennium. He learnt this wisdom from Ibne Arabi (r.a.) and you can find in his writings a profound influence of Ibne Arabi’s thought. On the subject of Imam Mahdi, Hadhrat Imam Rabbani (r.a.) repeatedly mentions the fact that he will have the “ulema” of his time as his enemies. He is also acutely aware of the great spiritual status of Imam Mahdi. According to Ibne Arabi, Imam Mahdi will receive the Shariah of the Holy Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم through revelation. (Imam Shu’rani explains this in his Al-Yawaqeetu wal Jawahir, Vol 2, while explaining Ibne Arabi’s thought) Promised Messiah علیہ السلام writes:
“And another unwise thing they say to inflame the ignorant people that this man his claimed to be a prophet but this is an utter fabrication. I have not claimed to prophethood which has been known to be forbidden in Quran, the claim only is that in one respect I am an ummati and from one respect due to the prophetic blessing of Holy Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ), I am a prophet. And from prophet it is only meant that I receive frequent honor of revelation and words from Allah. Truth is as Mujaddid sahib of Sirhind has written in his maktoobat that even though some people from this ummat are destined to receive revelations and words from Allah and will remain so until the day of judgement, but the person who will receive the most frequent revelation and will be given news of the unseen in abundance is called a prophet. Let it be clear that the prophecy in Ahadith of Holy Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) have fortold that in the ummat of Holy Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) a person will be born who will be called Eisa and Son of Mary. And he will be given the name of Nabi, that is, he will be given Divine revelation in abundance and matters of the Unseen will be reveated to him frequently which cannot be given to a non-prophet as Allah has said that Allah does not grant full knowledge and understanding of His Unseen (matters) with frequency and clarity unless to a person who is His honored prophet(Surah Al-Jin verse 27-28)” (Haqiqatul Wahi, page 406)
