If someone uses the word 'moon' for the face of a beautiful...

If someone uses the word 'moon' for the face of a beautiful person it does not mean that 'beautiful face' is the real meaning of 'moon' or that it cannot be used for the terrestrial object for which it was made. Thirdly, these references, in fact, show the writer's thought (though wrong) that Imam Suyuti (for example) was the last Hafiz. It was their mistaken idea, which has been proved wrong. And no wonder. Those writers did not know what was in future.

But can you suppose that Allah also did not know the future when He said that Muhammad (S) was the Last of the Prophets? How can you compare the words of Allah with the writings of some mortals? At the most you can say that those writers were wrong in believing that the person concerned was the last Hafiz or the last poet. But you cannot change the real meaning of 'Khatam un-Nabiyyin' to make their writings correct.

If you tell an Arab 'Ja'a Khatam ul-Qawm " he will never understand that the most learned man of the tribe has reached; he will always think that the whole tribe has arrived, till the last man. It is because of this that every writer of the dictionary; and every commentator of the Qur'an, without any exception has written that 'Khatam un-Nabiyyin' means 'Akhir un-Nabiyyin', the Last of the Prophets.

If you look impartially at these proofs from the Qur'an, tradition, dictionary and language, you will have to agree that the Holy Prophet of Islam was the Last Prophet and prophethood ended with him. No prophet will ever come after him up to the day of Qiyamah; and anybody claiming to be a prophet would be an impostor. Khatam ul-Awliya’?

The Qadiani missionary had written to me; "There is a tradition in Tafseer Safi (Sura Al Ahzab, Ruku 2) that the Holy Prophet said to Imam Ali: "O Ali, I am Khatam ul-Anbiya’ and you are Khatam ul-Awliya’". Now can anybody say that Imam Ali was the last Wali and no other Wali can come after him?" I wrote to him: This supposed tradition quoted from Tafseer Safi is not only without any Sanad (chain of narrators) but also it cannot be found in any other book of tradition.

On the other hand, there are some traditions in the books written by the Sunnis as well as the Shias which describe Imam Ali (a.s.) as " Khatam ul-Ausiya’ " or " Khatam ul-Wasiyyin " (The Last of the successors of the Prophets).