With this principle...

With this principle, it becomes very interesting when we note that even prophethood had a life cycle of its own; for it started with Prophet Adam, upon whom be peace, and ended with the Seal of the Prophets, , peace and blessings be upon him and his family. Indeed this aspect of prophethood is popular with many Muslim thinkers and scholars of the past. Thus we are shown in one source[^1] .

For example, that a Sufi poet, Mahmud Shabistari, wrote in his book Gulshan-i-Raz, the following couplet in Farsi: 'Nabuwwat ra zuhur ra az Adam amad, Kamalash dar wujud Khatam amad' (The first appearance of prophethood was in Adam and its perfection was in the Seal of the Prophets). We find in this couplet a reference pointing clearly to the lifecycle prophethood went through beginning with Adam and flowering with the Last Prophet.

But this has posed a dilemma for mankind because while prophethood reached its optimum, the history of humanity has outlived the term of prophethood. Therefore, in the absence of future prophets, who should guide mankind?

What about Allah's promise in the Qur'an to continue guiding mankind, for example: '...And if, as is sure, there comes to you guidance from Me, whosoever follows My guidance on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.' (2:38) This dilemma for mankind is very serious as well as interesting. It is serious because without the guidance from Allah, the status of mankind would be such that it could not be salved.

Mankind is already in a state of loss (103:2) and forgetfulness (36:78), most importantly he carries the burden of the trust and covenant with Allah (7:172-173). The dilemma is also interesting because Allah's promise cannot fail and yet we clearly see that the term of prophethood ended with the Last Prophet. The Qur'an itself declares him the 'Seal of the Prophets' (33:40). The truth of the matter is that the only answer to this dilemma is found in the episode of Ghadir Khumm.

Apart from providing a solution to this problem, Ghadir also charts once and for all a clear path for the guidance and salvation of mankind. Ghadir provides once and for all the usul of the only acceptable faith to Allah. This is a challenge, the defence of which we find directly from the Qur'an, thus: 'The (only) faith before Allah is Islam' (Quran 3:19).