Ijma On The Doctrine Of Khatm Al-Nubuwwah – Ijma of Scholars

The doctrine of Khatm Al-Nubuwwah is one of the foundational and definitive beliefs of Islam. Alongside the explicit texts of the Noble Quran and the Sunnah, it is supported by the continuous consensus of the Muslim Ummah. From the era of the Companions through every subsequent age, Muslim scholars and jurists have affirmed that the Holy Prophet is the final Prophet and have declared every claim to Prophethood after him to be false. This article explains the meaning of ijma, traces the historical continuity of the consensus on Khatm Al-Nubuwwah, and clarifies the legal status of this doctrine through the authoritative statements of the leading scholars of the Ummah.

Definition of Ijma

Lexically, ijma means firm resolve and agreement. ¹ Therefore, when a group agrees upon a matter, the lexicographers describe that agreement as ijma. ² In Islamic legal terminology, ijma is the agreement of the scholars of the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad , in any age, upon a religious matter. A necessary condition is that this agreement must occur after the demise of the Messenger of Allah , because during his blessed lifetime no opinion apart from his, possessed binding legal authority. ³ Ibn Al-Subki defines ijma as follows:

  هو اتفاق مجتهدي الأمة بعد وفاة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم في عصر على أي أمر كان. ⁴

  Translation: Ijma is the agreement of the mujtahids (eminent scholars) of the Ummah, after the passing of Prophet Muhammad , in any particular age, upon any matter.

The First Consensus on Khatm Al-Nubuwwah

A review of the historical development of ijma shows that the first consensus of the Muslim Ummah concerned the doctrine of Khatm Al-Nubuwwah. Musaylimah the Liar claimed Prophethood during the lifetime of the Noble Prophet . During the caliphate of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq , he was fought and killed with the Ijma of the Companions , and the other false claimants to Prophethood were likewise confronted and defeated. ⁵ Dr. Ahmad ibn Saad Al-Ghamidi writes:

  أجمع الصحابة رضي الله عنهم على قتال المتنبئين بعد وفاة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وتسيير الجيوش إليهم التي كان معظمها منهم، مع أن بعض المتنبئين لم يكونوا يدعون النبوة استقلالا، وذلك كمسيلمة، وإنما كان يزعم الشركة في النبوة مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم معترفا برسالته، ولم ينجّه ذلك من سيوف الصحابة رضي الله عنهم. ⁶

  Translation: The Companions , unanimously agreed (had ijma) after the passing of the Messenger of Allah to fight the false claimants to Prophethood and to dispatch armies against them, most of whose soldiers were themselves Companions. Some of those claimants did not even profess an independent Prophethood. Musaylimah, for example, acknowledged the Messengership of the Messenger of Allah but alleged that he shared Prophethood with him. That acknowledgment did not save him from the swords of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

The Uninterrupted Consensus on Khatm Al-Nubuwwah

Ijma on Khatm Al-Nubuwwah was not confined to the age of the noble Companions . It has remained continuously established and universally accepted in every generation of the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad . Scholars, jurists, mujtahids, Quranic exegetes, and the Muslims at large agree upon this fundamental doctrine: no Prophet can be raised after the demise of Messenger of Allah . Imam Al-Ghazali (d. 505 A.H.) writes:

  إن الأمة فهمت بالإجماع من هذا اللفظ ومن قرائن أحواله أنه أفهم عدم نبي بعده أبدا وعدم رسول الله أبدا وأنه ليس فيه تأويل ولا تخصيص فمنكر هذا لا يكون إلا منكر الإجماع. ⁷

  Translation: The Ummah has understood by ijma (consensus), from this expression and from the contextual indications accompanying it, that it signifies that there will never be a Prophet after him (Prophet Muhammad ) and never a Messenger after him (Prophet Muhammad ). It admits neither interpretation nor qualification. Whoever denies this can only be regarded as a denier of consensus.

The Quranic exegete Ibn Atiyyah (d. 542 A.H.) writes:

  هذه الألفاظ عند جماعة علماء الأمة خلفا وسلفا متلقاة على العموم التام مقتضية نصا أنه لا نبي بعده صلى الله عليه وسلم. ⁸

  Translation: According to the scholars of the Ummah, from both the earlier and later generations, these words are received in their complete and unrestricted generality and explicitly require the conclusion that there is no Prophet after him (Prophet Muhammad ).

Qadi Iyad (d. 544 A.H.) states:

  ونزول عيسى المسيح وقتله الدجال حق صحيح عند أهل السنة؛ لصحيح الآثار الواردة فى ذلك؛ ولأنه لم يرد ما يبطله ويضعفه، خلافا لبعض المعتزلة والجهمية، ومن رأى رأيهم من إنكار ذلك، وزعمهم أن قول الله تعالى عن محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: "خاتم النبيين"، وقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "لا نبى بعدى"، وإجماع المسلمين على ذلك وعلى أن شريعة الإسلام باقية غير منسوخة إلى يوم القيامة- يرد هذه الأحاديث۔ وليس كما زعموه؛ فإنه لم يرد فى هذه الأحاديث أنه يأتى بنسخ شريعة ولا تجديد أمر نبوة ورسالة، بل جاءت بأنه حكم مقسط، يجىء بما يجدد ما تغير من الإسلام، وبصلاح الأمور والعدل، وكسر الصليب، وقتل الخنزير. ⁹

  Translation: The descent of Jesus (), and his killing of the Dajjal are true and established according to Ahl Al-Sunnah, because authentic reports have been transmitted concerning them and nothing has been reported that invalidates or weakens them. This is contrary to certain Mutazilites, Jahmites, and those who share their view and deny the descent. They claim that Allah Almighty’s description of Muhammad as “Khatam Al-Nabiyyin,” the Prophet’s statement “There is no Prophet after me,” the Muslim consensus upon this doctrine, and the consensus that the Shariah of Islam will remain un-abrogated until the Day of Resurrection contradict those hadiths. Their claim is incorrect, because the Ahadith do not state that Prophet Jesus , will come to abrogate the Shariah or to renew the office of Prophethood and Messengership. Rather, they describe him as a just ruler who will restore Islam in its true sense, reform affairs, establish justice, break the cross, and kill the swine.

Imam Al-Qurtubi (d. 671 A.H.) writes:

  قد روي من طريق التواتر- من غير أن يحتمل تأويلا- بإجماع الأمة قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا نبي بعدي. ¹⁰

  Translation: The statement of the Holy Prophet , “There is no Prophet after me,” has been transmitted by tawatur (irrefutable chain of narration), and the Ummah agrees that it admits no interpretation to the contrary.

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 A.H.) states:

  محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم خاتم الأنبياء لا نبي بعده فعصم الله أمته أن تجتمع على ضلالة. ¹¹

  Translation: Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets; there is no Prophet after him. Allah has therefore protected his Ummah from agreeing upon misguidance.

He further writes:

  وقد جمع الله في شريعته ما فرقه شرائع من قبله من الكمال؛ إذ ليس بعده نبي فكمل به الأمر كما كمل به الدين۔ فكتابه أفضل الكتب وشرعه أفضل الشرائع ومنهاجه أفضل المناهج وأمته خير الأمم وقد عصمها الله على لسانه فلا تجتمع على ضلالة۔ ¹²

  Translation: Allah gathered within his Shariah all the perfections that had been distributed among the laws of the Prophets () before him. Since there is no Prophet after him, Allah completed the entire matter through him just as He perfected the religion through him. His Book is therefore the best of books, his Shariah the best of laws, his way the best of ways, and his Ummah the best of nations. Through the words of His Messenger (Prophet Muhammad ), Allah protected this Ummah from agreeing upon misguidance.

Allamah Al-Taftazani (d. 793 A.H.) writes:

  ما اتفق عليه المجتهدون من أمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم في عصر على أمر فهذا من خواص أمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم، فإنه خاتم النبيين فلا وحي بعده. ¹³

  Translation: The agreement of the mujtahids (eminent scholars) of the Ummah of Muhammad , in any age, upon a matter is one of the distinguishing features of this Ummah; for he is the Seal of the Prophets and there is no revelation after him.

Allamah Ibn Al-Wazir (d. 840 A.H.) writes:

  إن الأمة أجمعت على انقطاع الوحي بعد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأنه لا طريق لأحد من بعده إلى معارضة ما جاء به فمن ادعى ذلك وجوز تغيير شيء من الشريعة بذلك فكافر بالاجماع. ¹⁴

  Translation: The Ummah has reached consensus that revelation ceased after the Messenger of Allah and that no one after him has any means of opposing what he brought. Whoever claims such authority, or on that basis permits any alteration in the Shariah, is an unbeliever by consensus.

Allamah Amir Al-Sanani (d. 1182 A.H.) writes:

  إنه صلى الله عليه وسلم خاتم الرسل والأنبياء، وشريعته باقية إلى آخر الدنيا، وهذا أمر مجمع عليه، وأما نزول عيسى عليه السلام آخر الزمان فهو ينزل متبعا لشرعته صلى الله عليه وسلم۔ ¹⁵

  Translation: He (Prophet Muhammad ) is the Seal of the Messengers and the Prophets, and his Shariah will remain until the end of the world. This is a matter of consensus (ijma). As for the descent of Prophet Jesus (), near the end of time, he will descend as a follower of the Shariah of the Messenger of Allah .

Allamah Al-Tahtawi (d. 1231 A.H.) writes:

  ويشترط لصحة الإيمان به صلى الله عليه وسلم معرفة اسمه؛ إذ لا تتم المعرفة إلا به، وكونه بشرا من العرب، وكونه خاتم النبيين اتفاقا؛ لورود ذلك القواطع المتواترة. ¹⁶

  Translation: For faith in him (Prophet Muhammad ) to be valid, it is necessary to know his name, because recognition cannot be complete without it; to know that he was a man from among the Arabs; and to know that, by agreement, he is the Seal of the Prophets, as this is established by definitive and mutawatir proofs.

Allamah Al-Alusi (d. 1270 A.H.) writes:

  كونه صلى الله عليه وسلم خاتم النبيين مما نطق به الكتاب وصدعت به السنة وأجمعت عليه الأمة. ¹⁷

  Translation: That he (Prophet Muhammad ) is the Seal of the Prophets is proclaimed by the Book, declared explicitly by the Sunnah, and established by the consensus of the Ummah.

Allamah Ibn Ashur (d. 1393 A.H.) writes:

  والآية نص في أن محمدا صلى الله عليه وسلم خاتم النبيين، وأنه لا نبي بعده في البشر؛ لأن النبيين عام، فخاتم النبيين هو خاتمهم في صفة النبوة۔ ولا يعكر على نصية الآية أن العموم دلالته على الأفراد ظنية؛ لأن ذلك لاحتمال وجود مخصص، وقد تحققنا عدم المخصص بالاستقراء۔ وقد أجمع الصحابة على أن محمدا صلى الله عليه وسلم خاتم الرسل والأنبياء وعرف ذلك، وتواتر بينهم، وفي الأجيال من بعدهم، ولذلك لم يترددوا في تكفير مسيلمة والأسود العنسي، فصار معلوما من الدين بالضرورة، فمن أنكره فهو كافر خارج عن الإسلام ولو كان معترفا بأن محمدا صلى الله عليه وسلم رسول الله للناس كلهم۔ وهذا النوع من الإجماع موجب العلم الضروري كما أشار إليه جميع علمائنا. ¹⁸

  Translation: The verse (Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:40) is an explicit text establishing that Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets and that no Prophet will arise among mankind after him. The word “Prophets” is general; therefore, “Seal of the Prophets” means that he is the final one among them with respect to Prophethood. The observation that a general expression may indicate its individual applications probabilistically does not diminish the explicit force of this verse, because such probability arises only where a qualifying exception may exist, whereas induction has established that no such exception exists here. The Companions reached ijma (consensus) that Muhammad is the Seal of the Messengers and Prophets. This was well known and mutawatir among them and remained so among the generations after them. For that reason, they did not hesitate to declare Musaylimah and Al-Aswad Al-Ansi unbelievers. The doctrine thus became a matter necessarily known to belong to Islam. Whoever denies it is an unbeliever outside Islam, even if he acknowledges that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah to all humanity. This kind of consensus produces necessary knowledge, as all our scholars have indicated.

Allamah Ibn Baz (d. 1420 A.H.) states:

  لما كان صلى الله عليه وسلم خاتم النبيين، وكان رسولا عاما إلى جميع الثقلين اقتضت حكمة الله سبحانه أن تكون شريعته أوفى الشرائع وأكملها وأتمها انتظاما لمصالح العباد في المعاش والمعاد، فهو صلى الله عليه وسلم خاتم الأنبياء والمرسلين، كما قال تعالى: مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا۔ ¹⁹ وتواترت الأحاديث عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بأنه خاتم النبيين، وهذا أمر بحمد الله مجمع عليه ومعلوم بالضرورة من دين الإسلام۔ وقد أجمع المسلمون على أن من ادعى النبوة بعده فهو كافر كاذب يستتاب، فإن تاب وإلا قتل كافرا۔ والله سبحانه وتعالى قد أرسله إلى الناس كافة بإجماع المسلمين. ²⁰

  Translation: Since he (Prophet Muhammad ) is the Seal of the Prophets and a universal Messenger sent to both mankind and jinn, Divine wisdom required that his Shariah be the most comprehensive, perfect, and complete of all revealed laws, fully ordering the interests of human beings in this life and the Hereafter. He (Prophet Muhammad ) is therefore the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, as Allah Almighty says: “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last of all the Prophets; and Allah has full knowledge of everything.” (Moreover) The hadiths transmitted from the Messenger of Allah stating that he is the Seal of the Prophets have reached the level of tawatur. Praise be to Allah, this matter is established by consensus and is necessarily known to belong to Islam. Muslims have also agreed that anyone who claims Prophethood after him is an unbeliever and a liar. He is required to repent; if he does not, the legal ruling applicable to one persisting in disbelief is to be given capital punishment by the competent authority (of the Islamic state). Muslims likewise agree that Allah Almighty sent the Messenger of Allah to all humanity.

The preceding statements and authoritative declarations establish beyond doubt that, in every age, the Muslim Ummah has agreed that the Messenger of Allah is Khatam Al-Nabiyyin. He alone is the final Prophet in the chain of Prophethood. After him, neither another Prophet nor a new Messenger will ever be raised.

The Legal Authority of Ijma

Ijma is counted among the most important and foundational sources of Islamic law. Qadi Abu Yala states that ijma is a definitive legal proof which must be followed and it is forbidden to oppose it. It is also impossible for the entire Ummah to reach ijma upon an error. ²¹ Opposition to an established consensus is therefore prohibited. Although scholars have expressed different views concerning whether every denial of ijma amounts to unbelief, the sound position is that a person who denies a matter that is necessarily known to be a part of the fundamental beliefs of Islam and upon which the Ummah has reached ijma, becomes a disbeliever. ²²

The doctrine of Khatm Al-Nubuwwah has been affirmed not only by the scholars, mujtahids, and jurists of every age, but has also remained an agreed and universally accepted belief among Muslims at large: the Messenger of Allah is Khatam Al-Nabiyyin. Its status is therefore not that of a merely academic or juristic question; it is one of the essential and necessarily known doctrines of Islam. Consequently, whoever rejects the doctrine of Khatm Al-Nubuwwah leaves the fold of Islam and no longer remains affiliated with the Muslim faith.

The evidence presented above from the Quran, hadith and the explicit statements of the leading scholars demonstrate that Khatm Al-Nubuwwah is not the position of any particular period or school of thought. It is the unanimously affirmed doctrine of the Muslim Ummah. The chain of Prophethood reached its permanent completion with the Messenger of Allah , and no possibility remains for any new Prophethood after him. The descent of Prophet Jesus (), is fully consistent with this doctrine, because he will return as a follower of the Muhammadan Shariah. Affirming Khatm Al-Nubuwwah in its definitive and unrestricted meaning is therefore an essential requirement of faith, while its scholarly protection is a shared responsibility of the Ummah. Whoever denies this doctrine places himself outside the fold of Islam.

• ¹  Abu Al-Rabi Sulayman ibn Abd Al-Qawi Al-Tufi Al-Sarsari (1987), Sharh Mukhtasar Al-Rawdah, Muassasat Al-Risalah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 3, Pg. 5.
• ²  Abu Al-Baqa Muhammad ibn Ahmad Ibn Al-Najjar Al-Hanbali (1997), Sharh Al-Kawkab Al-Munir, Maktabat Al-Ubaykan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Vol. 2, Pg. 210.
• ³  Muhammad Al-Amin ibn Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti (2001), Mudhakkirah fi Usul Al-Fiqh, Maktabat Al-Ulum wa Al-Hikam, Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia, Pg. 179.
• ⁴  Taj Al-Din Abd Al-Wahhab ibn Ali Al-Subki (2002), Jam Al-Jawami fi Usul Al-Fiqh, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 76.
• ⁵  Idris Kandhlawi (1997), Ihtisab Qadianiyyat (Tahqiq Masalat Al-Kufr wa Al-Iman), Alami Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm Al-Nubuwwat, Multan, Pakistan, Vol. 2, Pg. 409.
• ⁶  Ahmad ibn Saad Al-Ghamidi (1398 A.H.), Aqidat Khatm Al-Nubuwwah bi Al-Nubuwwah Al-Muhammadiyyah, Jamiat Al-Malik Abd Al-Aziz, Makkah Al-Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia, Pg. 54-55.
• ⁷  Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad Al-Ghazali (2004), Al-Iqtisad fi Al-Itiqad, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 137.
• ⁸  Abu Muhammad Abd Al-Haqq ibn Ghalib Ibn Atiyyah Al-Andalusi (1422 A.H.), Al-Muharrar Al-Wajiz fi Tafsir Al-Kitab Al-Aziz, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 4, Pg. 388.
• ⁹  Abu Al-Fadl Iyad ibn Musa Al-Yahsubi (1998), Ikmal Al-Mulim bi Fawaid Muslim, Dar Al-Wafa, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 8, Pg. 492-493.
• ¹⁰  Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al-Qurtubi (1964), Al-Jami li Ahkam Holy Quran, commonly known as Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Misriyyah, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 11, Pg. 29.
• ¹¹  Abu Al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abd Al-Halim Ibn Taymiyyah Al-Harrani (2004), Majmu Al-Fatawa, King Fahd Complex, Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia, Vol. 3, Pg. 368.
• ¹²  Ibid, Vol. 33, Pg. 159.
• ¹³  Sad Al-Din Masud ibn Umar Al-Taftazani (1957), Al-Talwih ala Al-Tawdih li Matn Al-Tanqih fi Usul Al-Fiqh, Matbaat Muhammad Ali Subayh wa Awladuh, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 2, Pg. 100.
• ¹⁴  Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Ibn Al-Wazir Al-Yamani (1987), Ithar Al-Haqq ala Al-Khalq fi Radd Al-Khilafat ila Al-Madhhab Al-Haqq min Usul Al-Tawhid, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 72.
• ¹⁵  Abu Ibrahim Muhammad ibn Ismail Al-Amir Al-Sanani (2011), Al-Tanwir Sharh Al-Jami Al-Saghir, Dar Al-Salam, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Vol. 3, Pg. 466-467.
• ¹⁶  Ahmad ibn Muhammad Al-Tahtawi (1997), Hashiyat Al-Tahtawi ala Maraqi Al-Falah, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 10.
• ¹⁷  Abu Al-Thana Mahmud ibn Abdullah Al-Alusi (1415 A.H.), Ruh Al-Maani fi Tafsir Holy Quran Al-Azim wa Al-Sab Al-Mathani, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 11, Pg. 219-220.
• ¹⁸  Muhammad Al-Tahir ibn Muhammad Ibn Ashur Al-Tunisi (1984), Al-Tahrir wa Al-Tanwir, Al-Dar Al-Tunisiyyah, Tunis, Tunisia, Vol. 22, Pg. 45.
• ¹⁹  Holy Quran, Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:40.
• ²⁰  Abd Al-Aziz ibn Abdullah Ibn Baz (n.d.), Majmu Fatawa wa Maqalat Mutanawwia, Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, Saudi Arabia, Vol. 2, Pg. 223-224.
• ²¹  Abu Yala Muhammad ibn Al-Husayn Al-Farra Al-Baghdadi (1990), Al-Uddah fi Usul Al-Fiqh, no publisher stated, Vol. 4, Pg. 1058.
• ²²  Dr. Musa Shahin Lashin (2002), Fath Al-Munim Sharh Sahih Muslim, Dar Al-Shuruq, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 6, Pg. 547.