Are all prophets the same? Three kinds of prophethood in the Quran

Before setting out for Mount Sinai, Hazrat Moses (as) left his people in the care of his brother Aaron (as). Aaron (as) brought no new book. He followed the law of Moses (as). Yet the Quran calls him a prophet:

This small example shows a big truth: to be a prophet, one does not have to bring a new law. From the Quran and from the writings of the great saints of the Ummah, three kinds of prophethood become clear.

The first kind: independent, law-bearing prophethood

These prophets bring a new law, a new shari‘ah, from Allah. Hazrat Moses (as), for example, brought the Torah. And the most complete and final law was brought by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa): the Holy Quran.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes that this kind of prophethood ended forever with the Holy Prophet (sa). No law will come after the Quran.

The second kind: independent prophethood without a new law

These prophets did not bring a new law; they followed the law that came before. But they received prophethood directly from Allah, not as the fruit of obeying another prophet. The Quran says that many prophets judged by the Torah:

Hazrat Aaron, David, Solomon and Jesus (as) belong to this group. The book “Truth Prevails” explains that Aaron (as) was not a prophet with a new law, but he was mustaqil, that is, an independent prophet. And in the line of such independent prophets, the Holy Prophet (sa) is the last.

The third kind: ummati or zilli prophethood

This is a unique rank, given only within the Ummah of the Holy Prophet (sa). This prophet brings no new law, and he does not receive prophethood directly and independently either. He receives it as the fruit of complete obedience to the Holy Prophet (sa), as a reflection of his light. That is why he is called an ummati prophet, a prophet from among the followers, or a zilli (shadow) prophet.

The Quran’s promise speaks of this very door: whoever obeys Allah and “this Messenger” shall be among the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs and the Righteous (Surah An-Nisa 4:70). In every rak‘ah we pray in Surah Al-Fatihah, “The path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings” (Surah Al-Fatihah 1:7).

The Promised Messiah (as) wrote: all prophethood has ended except the prophethood of Muhammad (sa); no law-bearing prophet can come; a prophet without a law can come, but he must first be an ummati (Tajalliyat-e-Ilahiyyah, Ruhani Khazain vol. 20, p. 412).

This third kind is a special honour of the Holy Prophet (sa). No one ever became a prophet by obeying any other prophet. This power has been placed only in following him.

A simple picture helps us remember the three kinds. The first is like the sun: it brings its own light and begins a new day. The second is like another lamp: lit separately, but showing the way by the light of the same day. And the third is like the moon: it has no light of its own; it drives away the darkness of the night by reflecting the light of the sun. However bright the moon may be, its light is the sun’s light. In the same way, the prophethood of an ummati prophet is the light of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet (sa) himself.

That is why the coming of such a prophet does not break the finality of the Holy Prophet (sa); it proves it. Seeing the moonlight, people understand that the sun is there.

Questions people ask

Did Ahmadi Muslims invent this classification?

No. Shaikh al-Akbar Ibn Arabi (rh) spoke of four categories: sainthood (wilayah), the prophethood of sainthood, the prophethood of law, and messengership. In his view, the prophethood of law and messengership ended with the Holy Prophet (sa), while the others continue. Sayyid Abdul Karim Jili (rh) wrote that law-bearing prophethood was completed through the Holy Prophet (sa), and in this sense he is Khatam an-Nabiyyin (Al-Insan al-Kamil, chapter 36). Mujaddid Alf Thani (rh) wrote that sainthood is the shadow of prophethood (Maktubat, vol. 2, letter 71). So the idea of zill, a shadow, is very old in the scholarship of the Ummah.

Jesus (as) didn’t bring a law either; so what is the problem if he comes back?

The problem is that he is a prophet of the second kind, an independent prophet. He received prophethood long before the Holy Prophet (sa), not through obeying him. In the words of Hazrat Shah Waliullah (rh), after the Holy Prophet (sa) no one can be a prophet who receives blessings independently, without him as the means (Al-Khair al-Kathir, p. 78). The line of independent prophets ended with the Holy Prophet (sa), so the return of anyone from that line would clash with his finality. Only the third door is open.

Does an ummati prophet add new conditions to faith?

An ummati prophet brings no new law and no new kalimah. He comes to bring the Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (sa) back to life. And the instruction to recognise and accept him was given by the Holy Prophet (sa) himself: about the coming Messiah he said, “When you see him, recognise him” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4324). To accept him is really to accept the word of the Holy Prophet (sa).

Keep these three kinds in mind, and many questions about the finality of prophethood become easy to answer. When someone says “prophethood has ended”, we can ask: which kind of prophethood? The first two, yes, have ended. The third is the name of the living blessing of the Holy Prophet (sa), and it is open until the Day of Judgement.