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(¯`'•.¸Superiority, Exclusivity, and Finality of Religion¸.•'´¯)
1. The Jews claim their Religion is final and for all mankind:
The Jewish doctrine asserts that after Moses, the only human being "Whom the Lord knew face to face" (Deut. 34:10) and "with Whom He spoke mouth to mouth" (Numb. 12:8.) there will be no other prophet. His Law is perfect and is neither capable nor in need of improvement. Hence, it is valid for as long as the world will exist. On the basis of this teaching, Moses Maimonides1 includes as the ninth doctrine in the thirteen articles of the Jewish faith set down in his Mischne Torah2: "I firmly believe that this Law will not be changed, and that there will not be any other Law given by the Creator, praised be His Name." 3 In support of his position, Maimonides cites the Torah, whose precepts by its own testimony are "an eternal statute for all your generations." (Ex. 28:43; Lev. 6:22; 7:34; 10:9, 15; 16:31; 17:7.). He refers to the Torah's explicit commandment "Thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it," (Deut. 12:32) and to the verse "It is not in Heaven" (Deut. 30:12). The latter means that "the Torah had already been given at Mount Sinai,"4 i. e., that nothing of the Torah was left in Heaven for later revelations: At Mount Sinai, God renounced once and for all His power of legislation.
Thus, according to this Jewish doctrine, it is therefore not surprising that the Messiah is not expected to bring a new Law but to be subject to the Law of Moses. His mission will be to lead all mankind to Sinai. This fixation has led to the verdict that was passed on religions not mentioned in the Torah, in particular on Christianity and on Islam, whose respective claims to truth have been disparaged as mere human usurpation.5
2. The Christians also claim that Christianity is a final Religion for all mankind:
Of all religions, it is the Christian Church that has been most intransigent in its dogmatic proclamation of finality and exclusivity. Referring to certain verses in the New Testament, (Matt. 7:15; 24:25-6; John 1:1, 14; 3:16; 10:30; 12:45; 14:6; Acts 4:10-12; 1. Tim. 2:5) interpreted as dogma of exclusivity and finality, the Church, from its earliest days, had already passed a judgment of condemnation on all who did not belong to it. "Extra ecclesiam nulla salus"! (outside Christianity no salvation) was the motto from the time of bishop of Carthage, St. Cyprian (200-258 CE), onwards. This meant also that there was to be no revelation after Christ: "Extra ecclesiam nullus propheta"! (Outside Christianity no prophet). The seal was set on revelation for all times since the fullness of salvation had come only with Christ. The origin of this is certainly the Doctrine of the Trinity formulated at the Council of Nicea. This dogma took Christ out of the chain of prophets and divine messengers and elevated him instead to the rank of God (in His second person). This event-the incarnation of God on earth-thus appeared unique, unrepeatable and unsurpassable.
Thus, for many centuries it was the Christian position that all men must become Christians if they are to be saved. In 1302, Pope Boniface VIII, in his Bull Unam Sanctam, pronounced: "We are required by faith to believe and hold that there is one holy, catholic and apostolic Church; we firmly believe it and unreservedly profess it; outside it, there is neither salvation nor remission of sins.... the Roman Pontiff is, for every human creature, an utter necessity of salvation."
The Bahai Faith interpretation of “…no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Every religion has two teachings: Social teachings and Spiritual Teachings. The Spiritual Teachings are the same in all religions. But the social Teachings are different. The social teachings are the laws of marriage, divorce, crime punishment, etc. etc.
The Spiritual teachings are the laws of love, kindness, forgiveness, etc. etc. These teachings never change from religion to religion. For example, Jesus says that He did not come to abolish the Law of the Prophets (Mt. 5:17). But, He changes the laws of marriage (from polygamy to monogamy), the law of eye for an eye ('If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.') (Lk 6:29); the law of the Sabbath day; the law of food; etc. At first, it appears Jesus is contradicting himself. But, when Jesus said, He did not come to abolish the Law, what He is saying is that He did not come to abolish the Spiritual Laws.
Spiritual Laws are more powerful than the Social Laws. The Spiritual Teaching of Jesus could summarize the Social Laws. That way, we can say Jesus did not come to change the Ten Commandments; but to fulfill them. He summarized the Ten Commandments with this one statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. If you love your neighbor, you won't steal from him or bear as a false witness against him or become selfish, greedy or overindulgent before him --Love summarizes all Spiritual commandments. Therefore, when Jesus said that He was the only way, what He meant is that His Spiritual Teachings are the only way. In other words, the love that was taught by Abraham, Moses, and Jacob is the same love that Jesus taught. Otherwise, if we are going to say Jesus is the only way because he said so, then long before Jesus, Moses has also said that He is the only One. This will be explained later in retrospect.
3. The Muslim's interpretation of finality of Islam:
Even Islam, which acknowledges the prior history of salvation, in so far as it is testified to in the Qur'an, and which even acknowledges the existence of divine messengers whose names are not mentioned in the Qur'an (4:164), still saw in the Far Eastern religions of Buddhism and Hinduism--with the exception of a phenomenon such as the Great Mughal Akbar 6-- nothing but idolatry. Islam, too, made a stern and uncompromising claim to finality based on the statement in the Qur'an that Muhammad was the "Seal of the Prophets" (33:40).7 The doctrine that revelation ceased with the advent of Muhammad is central to the teachings of orthodox Islam, and one which is held to by Muslims of all sects. Hence, the Muslims, along with the Jews and Christians, believe that the fullness of salvation has been granted through the coming of Muhammad.
Islamic mediaeval theologians, philosophers and historians justified this claim to finality with the argument that the evolution of religion had reached its culmination in Islam; and that Islam was the most adequate, the most perfect religion, as evidenced in its teachings. Modern Islamic thinkers regard a new revelation as superfluous, since through Islam man has reached maturity and the guidance provided in the Qur'an corresponds to his level of development.
Other verses in the Qur'an also appear to uphold a similar view: "This day I have perfected your religion for you" (3:85). "Whoso desireth any other religion than Islam, that religion shall never be accepted from him, and in the next world he shall be among the lost" (3:85). "The true religion with God is Islam" (3:19). However, the hermeneutics of these verses leave open a different interpretation from that of the dogma of the finality of prophethood.
According to the doctrines of both sh'ia and sunni Islam, the saviour expected in the Last Days, who is associated with the names such as al-Mahdi (The Rightly-Guided One), al-Q'aim (He Who will arise), aibu'z-Zamn (The Lord of the Age), aibu'l-Amr (The Lord of Command), al-Imm al-Muntaar (The Awaited Imam), al-ujja (The Proof), will not be a prophet or messenger of God. He will be solely a restorer of Islam whose mission it will be to make the Qur'an known throughout the world, establish Qur'anic law everywhere and "fill the earth with equity and justice."8 He will bring neither a new Book nor a new law from God. This is strongly reminiscent of the Jewish understanding of the nature of the Messiah. Although the Qur'an foretells for the day of judgment, "when mankind shall stand before the Lord of all Being. . ."(83:6) "a book distinctly written, witnessed by those brought nigh," (83:20) those theologians, who proposed that the Q'aim will rise with a new authority, a new Book and a new religious law (Shari'a) were subject to criticism from both Sh'ia and Sunni traditionalists.
The Bahai Faith interpretation of khtamu'n-nabiyyn (seal of the prophets) (Qur'an 33:40)
First, the Qur'an tells us that Abraham 'was a Muslim'. (2:128; 2:131; 2:133.); and Jesus was also a Muslim. Then, the Muslims say Islam started with the appearance of Mohammad. How is it possible for Abraham to become a Muslim before the coming of Mohammad?
Islam means, to surrender oneself to God. It means that power, wealth, and everything that’s on this earth and in heavens belong to God alone. Since Abraham surrendered Himself to God, he is a Muslim. Jesus also surrendered all his possession, including his life, to God; therefore, He is also a Muslim.
Second, there is a big difference between these two Arabic words: Rasool and Nabi. Rasool means a Messenger of God and Nabi means a Prophet of God. A Messenger of God is someone who brings a Message from God. A Prophet is someone who becomes a follower of a Messenger with pure heart when the majority of the peoples of the world reject Him. A Messenger is Someone who brings a Message and a Prophet is someone who tells the future. A Messenger of God can be both Messenger and Prophet. However, a Prophet cannot be a Messenger.
Ibn-i Babuyih known as Sheikh Sadoogh, a highly respected Shí'ah scholar/theologian argues in his book, Ekmaal-ud-Din vol I:
"All the Messengers of God who appeared prior to Muhammad, were succeeded by a Nabi (i.e. a prophet). Adam was a Rasool (Messenger of God), and His successor was Shais the Nabi (Seth the prophet). Noah was a Messenger of God and His successor was Saam the Nabi (Shem the prophet). Abraham, Moses, Jesus and David (peace be upon Them!), were also God's Messengers, Whose successors were Isaac, Jashua, Simon (St. Peter) and Solomon Who were all prophets. However, the successors of Muhammad, Rasool-Allah (the Messenger of God), were not called Nabis (prophets). They were referred to as Imams. Therefore, Ali was not a Nabi, Hasan was not a Nabi, Hossein was not a Nabi, etc...., since, with the Manifestation of Muhammad, the usage of the term Nabi was abandoned (i.e. He was Khatam-u-Nabieen), and ended."
33:40 contains both terms: "Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of God (Rasool-Allah), and the seal of the prophets (khtamu'n-nabiyyn)". Baha'is understand from this verse not that revelation has been sealed up, and that no more divine messengers will come, but rather that Muhammad's revelation marks the end of the prophetic cycle (the universal cycle that started with Adam) which has announced and prepared the way for the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth. In this perspective, Muhammad is the prophet prior to the Last Day, rather than the last prophet in a temporal sense. This is why the Bab revealed: "When God sent forth His Prophet Muhammad, on that day the termination of the prophetic cycle was foreordained in the knowledge of God" (Selections 6:11:5). To interpret the "perfection" of religion of which the Qur'an speaks (5:3) as the ending of all revelation is neither cogent nor perceptive. It is Muhammad's message that has been perfected. The other verses are easily understood from the Qur'anic terminology: the term "Islam" is not confined to the revelation of Muhammad, it is surrending oneself to the indivisible religion of God which was proclaimed by all prophets.
When Mohammad said:
"Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but (He is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things." --(33:40)
It is essential to look at the historical context of any event when pursuing the deeper meaning of any event in history. According to the history and traditions of Islam, at the time of Prophet Mohammad, the Muslims of His time were expecting a son to succeed Mohammad. But, since Mohammad did not have any male descendants, He told them that He was not the Father of any of the men. That is the reason why this statement was revealed in the Holy Qur'an:
Based on this one statement, however, Muslims reject the Bahai Faith. This is the only place in the entire Qur'án where "Seal of the Prophets" is mentioned.
First, let's see the difference between a Messenger and a Prophet. A Messenger is One that brings a New Boook and A New Faith. A Prophet is one that foretells the future. A Messenger is both Messenger and Prophet. But a Prophet is just a follower of a Messenger. Jesus is a Messenger (and a Prophet). St. Peter is a Prophet (but not a Messenger).
Now, Mohammad did not say that He was the Seal of the Messengers. In fact, in many occasions, Mohammad promised His followers that Two Messengers will come, Mahdi (one who is guided) and Isaa bin Maryamm (Jesus the Son of Marry). Bahá'is believe that the Báb was the promised Mahdi and Bahá'u'lláh as the Return of Isaa bin Maryam.
Many Muslims, however, take the word "Seal" in this verse to mean that Muhammad is the last Messenger of God. However, even though Muhammad came after the revelation of the Bible and Muslims believe that the Quran is a supplement to the Bible, we can also read in the Bible that God has said that the Bible was "Sealed":
"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."--(Dan. 12:4)
And again, according to the Old Testament, God has said that the Bible "sealed until the time of the end":
"He replied, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.""-- (Dan 12:19)
It was for this reason that the Jews opposed Mohammed when He appeared with His Message from God. They told Him after Moses no Prophet should be sent from God.
"'The hand of God,' say the Jews, 'is chained up.' Chained up be their own hands! And for that which they have said, they were accursed. Nay, outstretched are both His hands!" (Quran 5:64). . . "The hand of God is above their hands." (Quran 48:10)
Moreover, it is the directive of the Qur'an that the Day of the appearance of the future Revelator of God's Commandments in the "Day of God". It is the Day when God will appear among His servants:
"What can such expect but that God should come down to them overshadowed with clouds." (Qur'ran 2:210)
Suppose there is a manufacturer of automobiles. And after making many cars, the manufacturer makes a final one, and says, "This is the last car; there will be no cars after this. " Now someone invents an airplane, which flies through the air and doesn't need roads as cars do. Some people, slavishly believing what the manufacturer had told them, say, "No one must get into that airplane. It is a false method of transportation, because there will never be another car." Baha'u'llah is in a different class of Manifestations, different from all those Who came before Him.
Finality of Islam
It is very intriguing to read that Mohammad has predicted that "a thin legged Abyssinian will demolish the Ka'bah."
In Hadith, Bukhari Vol 2, as Narrated by Ibn Abbas, it is written that:
The Prophet said, "As if I were looking at him, a black person with thin legs plucking the stones of the Ka'bah one after another. -- (Book 26, Number 665)
Also, as Narrated by Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "Dhus-Suwa-iqatain (the thin legged man) from Abyssinia will demolish the Ka'ba." --(Volume 2, Book 26, Number 666)
Destroying the Ka'bah means the end of Islam. After all, the Holy Qur'án clearly rejects the Jewish claims that Judaism is the last Religion and on Sinai all revelation was completed (5:64). The Holy Qur'án (6:67), moreover, clearly states: "For every Message is a limit of time, and soon shall ye know it." and this applies to all religions, including Islam.
Quran itself says the opposite.
31:27 Asad : “And if all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea [were] ink, with seven [more] seas yet added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted: for, verily, God is almighty, wise.”
As far as what the Quran refers to by Islam. It means the divinely revealed revelations that come from time to time. All the past prophets and messengers were referred to as Muslim. But of course that term was not used in past revelations. Muslim means believer and submitter to God and His will. Baha’i means follower of the Light follower of God through the endless words of God.
Baha’i likewise is a new name but it refers to the same Faith of God. Baha’i is Islam in that since. It is the continuation of God’s Faith on earth, made new to meet the great needs of the new era that we now live in.
The doctrine of finality by the way is frowned upon in the Quran.
Quran 40:34:
Yusuf Ali: “And to you there came Joseph in times gone by, with Clear Signs, but ye ceased not to doubt of the (Mission) for which he had come: At length, when he died, ye said: 'No messenger will Allah send after him.' thus doth Allah leave to stray such as transgress and live in doubt,”
The hands of God, and His ability to sends a new Message is never “tied up”.
Quran 5:64:
“Yusuf Ali: The Jews say: “Allah's hand is tied up.” Be their hands tied up and be they accursed for the (blasphemy) they utter. Nay, both His hands are widely outstretched: He giveth and spendeth (of His bounty) as He pleaseth...”
The Quran actually teaches that God's Revelation is endless:
“Should the sea become ink, to write the words of my Lord, the sea would surely fail ere the words of my Lord would fail, though we brought it's like in aid.” Kahf 18:109
“If all the trees that are upon the earth were to become pens, and if God should after that swell the seas into seven seas of ink, His words would never be exhausted: for God is Mighty, Wise.” Luqman-31:26
“Every people has a set term. And when their time is come, they shall not retard it an hour; and they shall not advance it. A'raf-7:33
The Bahai Faith Interpretation of "Seal of the Prophets"
The term "Seal of the Prophets" usually refers to something like a seal from a king on a piece of parchment to show that the parchment was ended. There is also a tradition which states that the Prophets were like bricks used to build a mosque and Muhammad was the last brick. The Baha'is say that Baha'u'llah is like the first brick of a new and entirely different mosque, or the first words on a new piece of parchment.
According to Baha'u'llah, the Prophetic Cycle began with Adam and ended with Muhammad. Baha'u'llah began an entirely new cycle, the Cycle of Fulfillment (the Bab was between the two cycles).
In fact there is one passage in Gleanings where Baha'u'llah states that the term "Seal of the Prophets" actually is indicative of the greatness of the forthcoming Revelation (for reasons similar to those stated above).
Also, Baha'u'llah claimed in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf that "This is the Announcement, the greatness of which hath been mentioned in most of the Books of old and of more recent times." (p.143). That is in a sense it was Baha'u'llah that the Prophets were prophesying about.
Suppose there is a manufacturer of automobiles. And after making many cars, the manufacturer makes a final one, and says, "This is the last car; there will be no cars after this."
Now someone invents an airplane, which flies through the air and doesn't need roads as cars do.
Some people, slavishly believing what the manufacturer told them, say, "No one must get into that airplane. It is a false method of transportation, because there will never be another car."
Bahá'u'lláh is in a different class of Manifestations, different from all those Who came before Him.
Indeed Baha'u'llah, despite His great suffering and the great opposition He faced during His lifetime, frequently spoke of the greatness of this Revelation.
What we learn from all Holy Scriptures is that all Messengers of God promise for the coming of another Messenger of God at a later and fuller time and, at the same time, warn us against false prophets, imposters and deceivers. But, their followers reject each Messenger of God by misinterpreting the words of God with their imperfect and limited understanding the warnings to mean uniqueness, finality and exclusivity of Revelation.
Thus, not surprisingly, when Bab appeared, it was not only His claim to be the long-awaited salvation figure of the Last Days that provoked such violent reaction. Above all, it was His assertion that he was the Primal Point,9 i. e., a revealer of the Divine Word, a Manifestation of God, bearing a new Law abrogating that of the Qur'an, the Shar'ia. It was this claim-one which contradicted the eschatological expectations of traditional Islamic doctrine-that attracted the unmitigated hatred of the orthodox clergy. The merciless persecution of the Babis and Baha'is in Iran; the massacres that took place in the nineteenth century and the bloody persecutions that endure to this day; the brutal suppression of the Baha'i community under the Ayatollah's regime all find their theological justification in this dogma of finality.10 Anyone who professes faith in the new Revelation is guilty of apostasy and, according to the law of the Shar'ia, has forfeited his life as a renegade.11
One last point before I stop, in criticizing the glorification of Baha'u'llah, Muslims claims that "Throughout the Quran, Muhammad is depicted as an ordinary man".
The Bahais also believe that Baha'u'llah is an ordinary man. However, accepting Baha'u'llah is accepting God and meeting Him is meeting God. It is also a mistake to assert that, because in the Quran it is clearly written:
"So it was not ye who slew them, but God slew them; and those shafts were God's not thine! . . ." (Qur'an 8:17)
That simply means even though they were killed by Mohammad's hands, they were actually killed by the hands of God. Therefore, meeting Mohammad is also meeting God. However, a clarification must be made that it is not literal when we say meeting God. It only means meeting the perfect mirror of God.
Other opinions and interpretations, including some by Muslim scholars, have argued that since there are many other verses in the Qur'an which explain the endless nature of the Words of God and His Messengers, in addition to other verses and Hadiths (traditions and sayings of the Prophet), which talk about the return of Jesus and the coming of the Mahdi, these opinions, have argued that there may be other interpretations for these verses.
Footnotes:
1. 1135-1204
2. "Repetition of the Law," 1180, published in Hebrew.
3. Quoted in M. Friedlander, The Jewish Religion, p. 139.
4. The Babylonian Talmud, Baba Mezia 59a/59b.
5. "The mission of the Prophets after Moses is to exhort the people to obey the Law of Moses, and not to make a new religion" (Maimonides, quoted in M. Friedlander, The Jewish Religion, p. 218). RaBabi Abraham ben David rejected Jesus' and Muhammad's claims to be the bearers of a divine mission, asserting that: "The divinity of the old covenant, or the Torah, has been admitted by both Jesus and Mohammed; we need not prove it. But the Divine authority asserted by them for its abrogation or change is not admitted by us; it must be proved; and since no proof has been given, it must be rejected" (Fifth Principle, ch. II, quoted in M. Friedlander, ibid., p. 220).
6. . An historical attempt to produce such an eclectic mixture in the form of a religion unity took place in Northern India in the seventeenth century. The Great Mughal Akbar, himself a Muslim, who ruled over a disunited population (Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Hindus, and Parsees) summoned representatives of each of the religions to his court and, in order to bring about harmony in his kingdom, created from elements of all the religious traditions a new "divine faith" (Din-i-Ilahi) which he promulgated in 1682. Despite his good intentions, this syncretism was not well received and his religion did not survive his death (cf. Oxtoby, The Meaning of Other Faiths, p. 74ff.).
7. On this doctrine see cf. Mawdudi, Towards Understanding Islam, pp. 57-60. Also, Seena Fazel/Khazeh Fananapazir, "A Baha'i Approach to the Claim of Finality in Islam," in: The Journal of Baha'i Studies 5.3, p. 29. For further details see Fazel and Fananapazir, in: The Journal of Baha'i Studies 5.3, p. 17ff).
8. Hadith, quoted in I. Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law, p. 198; cf. also Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam, "Al-Mahdi," p. 312.
9. Nuqatu'l-l. In His Epistle to Muhammad Shah, the Bab revealed: "I am the Primal Point from which have been generated all created things. I am the Countenance of God, Whose splendor can never be obscured" (Selections 1:4:4; cf. also Kitb-i-qn 279 (p. 252); Epistle to the Son of the Wolf 141 [p. 88]).
10. cf. Douglas Martin, "The Persecution of the Baha'i's of Iran 1844-1984," in: Baha'i Studies 12/13, Ottawa, 1984; cf. also the confidential document of the Secretary of the Supreme Revolutionary Council, Dr. Seyyed Mohammed Golpaygani of 25 February 1991, signed by the State President 'Al Khamenei, in which the status of the Baha'i's within the country's system is described. In this document we read: "The Government's dealing with them must be in such a way that their progress and development are blocked." In this paper there is also a plan advocated "to confront and to destroy their cultural roots outside the country" (published, together with the Persian text, in: World Order, Fall 1993. pp. 46). As to the theological reasons of these persecutions see Payam Akhavan, "Implications of Twelver Sh'ih Mihdism on Religious Tolerance: The Case of the Baha'i Minority in the Islamic Republic of Iran," in: Vogt, Kari/Tore Lindholm (eds.), Islamic Law Reform and Human Rights. Challenges and Rejoinders, Kopenhagen: Scandinavian University Press, 1993.
11. apostate (or murtad مرتد ) (cf. Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam, p. 413). In the Qur'an (16:106) the apostate is threatened with punishment in the next world only. In the fiqh there is unanimity that the male apostate must be put to death.
For further discussion with the meaning of "Seal of the Prophets", read Kamran Hakim
For more information on "Uniqueness, Finality and Exclusivity of Revelation" read Udo Schaefer, Beyond the Clash of Religions (pdf)
All thanks is due to http://www.BibleGateWay.com for providing the above links to the Bible and http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/SURAI.HTM for providing the links to the Qu'ran.
And at last, but not least, read my other articles on Biblical prophecies fulfilled in Islam in my homepage
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