Seal of the Prophets explained

Seal of the Prophets (Arabic: خاتم النبيين|translit='''khātam an-nabīyīn''' or '''khātim an-nabīyīn'''; or Arabic: خاتم الأنبياء|translit='''khātam al-anbiyā’''' or '''khātim al-anbiyā'''), is a title used in the Qur'an and by Muslims to designate the Islamic prophet Muhammad as the last of the prophets sent by God.

The title is applied to Muhammad in verse 33:40 of the Qur'an, with the popular Yusuf Ali translation reading:

Term variations

There is a difference among the schools of Qur'anic recitation regarding the reading of the word خاتم in verse 33:40 – it can be read as either khātim or khātam. Of the ten qirā’āt (readings, methods of recitation) regarded as authentic – seven mutawātir and three mashhūr – all read خاتم in this verse with a kasrah on the tāʼ (خاتِم, khātim) with the exception of 'Asim, who reads with a fatḥah on the tāʼ (خاتَم, khātam).[1] [2] [3] [4] The reading of al-Hasan, a shadhdh (aberrant) recitation, is also khātam.[1] [2]

The recitation that has become prevalent in most of the world today is Hafs 'an 'Asim – that is, the qirā’ah of 'Asim in the riwāyah (transmission) of his student Hafs.

Hadith

Final brick metaphor

In a well-known hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah, Jabir ibn Abd Allah, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, and recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Nasa'i, and others, Muhammad compared the relationship between himself and the previous prophets to a building missing a single brick.[1] [5] [6] In Sahih al-Bukhari it is reported by Abu Hurayrah that Muhammad said, "My similitude in comparison with the prophets before me is that of a man who has built a house nicely and beautifully, except for a place of one brick in a corner. The people go about it and wonder at its beauty, but say: 'Would that this brick be put in its place!' So I am that brick, and I am the seal of the prophets" (fa’anā ’l-labinah, wa anā khātamu ’n-nabīyīn). This hadith is narrated with similar wording in Sahih Muslim, Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, as-Sunan al-Kubra of al-Nasa'i, and Sahih Ibn Hibban.[7] [8] [9] In Mu'jam al-Awsat, al-Tabarani narrated a variant wording of the hadith with the last statement being, "So I am that [brick], I am the seal of the prophets, there is no prophet after me" (fa’anā dhālika, anā khātamu ’n-nabīyīn, lā nabīya ba‘dī).[10] Ibn Hibban also has a variant ending with "I was the place of that brick, with me the [line of] messengers is sealed" (fakuntu anā mawḍi‘u tilka ’l-labinah, khutima biya ’r-rusul).[11] In Sahih Muslim and Musnad Ahmad the hadith is also reported by Jabir ibn Abd Allah, with the last statement being "So I am the place of that brick, I have come and sealed the [line of] prophets" (fa’anā mawḍi‘u ’l-labinah, ji’tu fakhatamtu ’l-anbiyā’).[12] [13] Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi in his Musnad has from Jabir, "So I am the place of that brick, with me the [line of] prophets is sealed" (fa’anā mawḍi‘u ’l-labinah, khutima biya ’l-anbiyā’).[14]

Other hadith

In another hadith, Muhammad prophesied the appearance of a number of false prophets before the day of judgement, while asserting his status as the seal of the prophets.[1] It is reported by Thawban ibn Kaidad that Muhammad said, "The Hour will not be established until tribes of my ummah (community) unite with the idolaters, and until they worship idols. And in my ummah there will be thirty liars, each of whom will claim to be a prophet, (but) I am the seal of the prophets, there is no prophet after me."[5] [15] [16] [17] Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman reports that Muhammad said, "In my ummah there will be twenty-seven liars and dajjals, among whom are four women, (but) I am the seal of the prophets, there is no prophet after me".[5] [18]

Classical lexicons

According to the authoritative dictionary Lisan al-Arab of Ibn Manzur,

According to Taj al-Arus of al-Zabidi,

Further,

Traditional interpretation

The title is generally regarded by Muslims as meaning that Muhammad is the last in the series of prophets beginning with Adam.[19] [20] [21] The belief that a new prophet cannot arise after Muhammad is shared by both Sunni and Shi'a Muslims.[22] [23] Some of the most prominent historical Sunni texts on creed (aqidah) explicitly mention the doctrine of finality of prophethood.[24] For example, in al-Aqidah at-Tahawiyyah it is asserted that "Every claim to the prophetic office after his is a delusion and a wandering desire."[25] [26] In another popular work, al-Aqidah an-Nasafiyyah, it is stated, "The first of the prophets is Adam and the last is Muhammad."[27]

Western Orientalists views

Hartwig Hirschfeld doubted the authenticity of the verse 33:40 and claimed it to be of late origin.[28] Yohanan Friedmann states that Hirschfeld's arguments "that the title khatam an-nabiyyin is unusual, that it only appears once in the Qur'an, that the word khatam is not Arabic…do not seem valid arguments against the authenticity of the verse."[1]

Frants Buhl accepted the traditional meaning of last prophet.[29]

Josef Horovitz suggested two possible interpretations of khatam an-nabiyyin: the last prophet or the one who confirms the authenticity of the previous prophets.[30] Heinrich Speyer agreed with Horovitz.[31]

According to Alford T. Welch, the traditional Muslim belief that Muhammad is "last and greatest of the prophets" is most likely based on a later interpretation of 33:40.[32]

The first modern academic to have studied in detail the history of the doctrine of finality of prophethood is Yohanan Friedmann.[33] In his seminal article, Finality of Prophethood in Sunni Islam (1986), he concluded that although the notion of finality of prophethood "eventually acquired an undisputed and central place in the religious thought of Islam," it was contested during the first century AH.[1] He states, "While it is true that the phrase khatam an-nabiyyin is generally interpreted as meaning 'the last prophet', the exegetical tradition and other branches of classical Arabic literature preserved material which indicates that this now generally received understanding of the Qur'anic phrase is not the only possible one and had not necessarily been the earliest."[1] [33] Due to this Friedmann states that the meaning of khatam an-nabiyyin in its original Qur'anic context is still in doubt.[1]

Wilferd Madelung takes Friedmann's findings into consideration in observing that the original Qur'anic meaning of the term is not entirely certain.[33] [34] However, in a more recent paper he states, "Most Muslims at the time no doubt understood it to mean that he was to be the last prophet and Islam was the final religion, as Muslims have commonly understood it ever since."[35]

Carl W. Ernst considers the phrase to mean that Muhammad's "imprint on history is as final as a wax seal on a letter."[36]

David Powers, also making use of Friedmann's research, believes that the early Muslim community was divided over the meaning of the expression, with some understanding it to mean he fulfilled or confirmed the earlier Christian and Jewish revelations, while others understood it as signifying that Muhammad brought the office of prophethood to a close. He suggests that the Qur'anic text underwent a series of secondary omissions and additions which were designed to adapt the text to the dogma of finality of prophethood, and that the idea of finality only became the prevailing interpretation (alongside the notion of confirmation or fulfilment) by the end of the 1st century AH / 7th century.[33] [37] In a review of Powers' book, Gerald Hawting goes further, suggesting that the development of the doctrine was not complete before the 3rd century AH / 9th century.[33] [38] Madelung comments that Power's argument, that verses 36–40 are a later addition dating from the generation after Muhammad's death, is "hardly sustainable."[35]

Uri Rubin holds that the finality of prophethood is a Qur'anic idea, not a post-Qur'anic one, and that the expression khatam an-nabiyyin implies both finality of prophethood and confirmation. In response to Powers and other modern scholars sceptical of the early origin of the doctrine, Rubin concludes from his study "that, at least as far as Sura 33 is concerned, the consonantal structure of the Qur'anic text has not been tampered with, and that the idea of finality of prophethood is well-represented in the text, as well as in the earliest available extra-Quranic materials." Rubin reexamines the early extra-Qur'anic texts cited by Friedmann and other modern scholars, and concludes that rather than indicating that the notion of finality of prophethood is late, the texts confirm the early origin of the belief. He concludes that "there is no compelling reason to assume that the Muslims of the first Islamic century originally understood the Qur'anic khatam an-nabiyyin in the sense of confirmation alone, without that of finality."[33]

Official mandates

See also: Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat. In Pakistan voters before voting and leaders before assuming their offices have to declare in writing and take an oath of finality of prophethood, (i.e. Khatm-i-Nabuwat); any one not subscribing is considered claiming otherwise and a non-Muslim and may face persecution and loss of opportunities.[39] Quranic verses and Ahadith pertaining to the finality of prophethood have to be displayed prominently in Government offices, and at entrances to districts along highways.[40]

On 22 June 2020, the Government of Pakistan made it mandatory that the term be added to the name of Muhammad in textbooks and official documents[41] [42] [43] [44] where previously it was passed on 15 June in the Sindh Assembly.[45] [46] [47] In October 2021 Punjab, Pakistan provincial assembly recommended inclusion of oath of Khatm-i-Nabuwat in the Nikah (marriage) documents.[48]

Similarly, the Khatumo administration based in Buuhoodle and centred on the Sool, central Sanaag and Ayn regions of northern Somalia, claims its title is derived from the Quranic injunction of Khatam an-Nabiyyin.[49]

Ahmadiyya interpretation

See main article: Prophethood (Ahmadiyya).

The Ahmadiyya Community believe that Muhammad brought prophethood to perfection and was the last prophet to have brought a complete and comprehensive universal law for humanity, but prophethood subordinate to Muhammad is still open.[50] [51] New prophets may be born, but they must be seen as subordinate to Muhammad and cannot create any new law or religion.[52] Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who founded the movement in Qadian, India in 1889, is believed to be the promised Messiah and Mahdi. He claimed a kind of prophethood, believed he had been divinely appointed to revive and universally establish Islam, but not to have add to or change the laws of God or Muhammad.[53] This has caused controversy between Ahmadis and more mainstream Muslims, who accuse them of denying the finality of prophethood.[54] [55] [56] Ahmadiyya Muslims are subjected to considerable persecution for their beliefs.[57]

Baháʼí Faith view

The Baháʼí Faith regards Muhammad as a Manifestation of God and as the Seal of the Prophets,[58] but does not believe Revelation or Scripture from God has ended. In particular, Baháʼís regard the end-times prophecies of Islam (and other faiths) as being both metaphorical and literal,[59] and see the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh as fulfilling these prophetic expectations. The latter of these is the founder of the Baháʼí religion, which considers Islamic law as secondary or tertiary to its own. Muhammad is seen as ending the Adamic cycle, also known as the Prophetic cycle, which is stated by Bahá'is to have begun approximately 6,000 years ago,[60] [61] and the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh as starting the Baháʼí cycle, or Cycle of Fulfilment, which will last at least five hundred thousand years with numerous Manifestations of God appearing throughout this time.[62] [63] Moreover, Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri Bahá'u'lláh gave the Title "King of the Messengers" (sultán al-rusul) to the Báb, and the "Sender of the Messengers" (mursil al-rusul) to himself. Additionally, the Kitáb-i-Íqán shows the Islamic concept of the oneness of the prophets and the Hadith, "knowledge is a single point, which the foolish have multiplied,"[64] to reveal that the term "Seal of the Prophets", like Alpha and Omega, apply to all the prophets: "Whilst established upon the seat of the 'first', they occupy the throne of the 'last'."[65] In summary, these interpretive and legal differences have caused the Bahá'ís to be seen as heretics and apostates by some Muslims, which has led to their persecution in different countries.

Notes and References

  1. Friedmann. Yohanan. Finality of Prophethood in Sunni Islam. Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam. 1986. 7. 177–215.
  2. Book: Jami' al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an. 33:40. at-Tabari. ar.
  3. Book: al-Jami' al-Ahkam al-Qur'an. 33:40. al-Qurtubi. ar.
  4. Web site: Comparison of Ayat by Riwayat – Surah al-Ahzab v.30. nQuran.com. ar.
  5. Book: Durr al-Manthur. 33:40. as-Suyuti.
  6. http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/hadithServices.php?type=2&cid=1567&sid=2069 الشواهد
  7. Sahih al-Bukhari. Kitab al-Manaqib. Hadith 44. Sunnah.com
  8. Muslim, Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fada'il, Hadith 24, Sunnah.com
  9. al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari,
    1. 3293
    ; Muslim, Sahih Muslim,
    1. 4246
    ; Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal,
    1. 8959
    ; an-Nasa'i, Sunan al-Kubra,
    1. 10907
    ; Ibn Hibban, Sahih Ibn Hibban,
    1. 6541
    , Islamweb.net
  10. at-Tabarani, Mu'jam al-Awsat,
    1. 3382
    , Islamweb.net
  11. Ibn Hibban, Sahih Ibn Hibban,
    1. 6543
    , Islamweb.net
  12. Muslim, Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Fada'il, Hadith 26, Sunnah.com
  13. Muslim, Sahih Muslim,
    1. 4247
    ; Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal,
    1. 14593
    , Islamweb.net
  14. Abu Dawud at-Tayalisi, Musnad Abi Dawud at-Tayalisi,
    1. 1884
    , Islamweb.net
  15. at-Tirmidhi. Jami' at-Tirmidhi. Kitab al-Fitan. Hadith 62. Sunnah.com
  16. Abu Dawud as-Sijistani. Sunan Abi Dawud. Kitab al-Fitan wal-Malahim. Hadith 13. Sunnah.com
  17. at-Tirmidhi, Jami' at-Tirmidhi,
    1. 2149
    ; Abu Dawud as-Sijistani, Sunan Abi Dawud,
    1. 3712
    ; Ibn Hibban,
    Sahih Ibn Hibban,
    1. 7395
    , Islamweb.net
  18. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal,
    1. 22747
    ; at-Tabarani, Mu'jam al-Awsat,
    1. 5596
    , Mu'jam al-Kabir,
    1. 2957
    ; at-Tahawi, Mushkil al-Athar,
    1. 2493
    , Islamweb.net
  19. Encyclopedia: Khatam al-Nabiyyin . The Oxford Dictionary of Islam . John L. . Esposito . John Esposito . 2003 . Oxford University Press. Oxford . 171 . Khatam al-Nabiyyin: Seal of the prophets. Phrase occurs in Quran 33:40, referring to Muhammad, and is regarded by Muslims as meaning that he is the last of the series of prophets that began with Adam..
  20. Encyclopedia: Seal of the Prophets, The . Dictionary of Qur’ānic Terms and Concepts . Mustansir . Mir . 1987 . Garland Publishing . New York . 171 . Muḥammad is called "the seal of the prophets" in 33:40. The expression means that Muḥammad is the final prophet, and that the institution of prophecy after him is "sealed.".
  21. Encyclopedia: K͟HĀTIMU 'N-NABĪYĪN . A Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopædia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs, Together with the Technical and Theological Terms, of the Muhammadan Religion . Thomas Patrick . Hughes . Thomas Hughes (priest) . 1885 . W. H. Allen . London . 270 . K͟HĀTIMU ’N-NABĪYĪN (خاتم النبيين). "The seal of the Prophets." A title assumed by Muhammad in the Qur’ān. Surah xxxiii. 40: "He is the Apostle of God and the seal of the Prophets." By which is meant, that he is the last of the Prophets..
  22. Book: Goldziher. Ignác. Ignác Goldziher. Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law. 1981. Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey. 220–221. registration. Sects. Translated by Andras and Ruth Hamori from the German Vorlesungen über den Islam (1910). 9780691100999 . Sunnī and Shī‘ī theology alike understood it to mean that Muhammad ended the series of Prophets, that he had accomplished for all eternity what his predecessors had prepared, that he was God's last messenger delivering God's last message to mankind..
  23. Encyclopedia: 'Ali . Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World . 1 . Richard C. . Martin . 2004 . Macmillan . New York . 37 .
  24. Yasin. R. Cecep Lukan. The Twelver Shi'i Understanding on the Finality of Prophethood. Al-Jami'ah: Journal of Islamic Studies. 18 February 2010. 48. 1. 10.14421/ajis.2010.481.129-164.
  25. Elder. E.E.. Al-Ṭaḥāwī's 'Bayān al-Sunna wa'l-Jamā'a'. The Macdonald Presentation Volume. 1933. 129–144. Princeton University Press.
  26. Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī . Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi . متن العقيدة الطحاوية / Matn al-'Aqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwīyah . متن العقيدة الطحاوية . Arabic . وكل دعوى النبوة بعده فغَيٌّ وهوى.
  27. Book: Elder. E.E.. A Commentary on the Creed of Islam: Sa'd al-Dīn al-Taftāzānī on the Creed of Najm al-Dīn al-Nasafī. limited. 1950. Columbia University Press. New York. 130.
  28. Book: Hirschfeld. Hartwig. Hartwig Hirschfeld. Beiträge zur Erklärung des Ḳorān. 1886. Leipzig. 71. de. Cited by Friedmann.
  29. Encyclopedia: Muhammad . Encyclopedia of Islam . F. . Buhl . 650a. Cited by Friedmann.
  30. Book: Horovitz. Josef. Josef Horovitz. Koranische Untersuchungen. 1926. Berlin. 53. de. Cited by Friedmann.
  31. Book: Speyer. Heinrich. Die Biblischen Erzählungen im Qoran. 1931. Berlin. 422–423. de. Cited by Friedmann.
  32. Encyclopedia: Muhammad . Encyclopedia of Islam . F. . Buhl . A.T. . Welch . Alford T. Welch. new.
  33. Rubin. Uri. The Seal of the Prophets and the Finality of Prophecy. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. 2014. 164. 1. 65–96.
  34. Book: Madelung. Wilferd. Wilferd Madelung. The succession to Muhammad: a study of the early Caliphate. 1997. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 17. 9780521646963 .
  35. Madelung . Wilferd . Wilferd Madelung . Social Legislation in Surat al-Ahzab . 2014 . The Institute of Ismaili Studies . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141012043119/http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=114432 . 12 October 2014 . An edited version of an article that originally appeared in the Proceedings of the 25th Congress of L’Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants in 2013.
  36. Book: Ernst. Carl W.. Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. 2003. University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill. 80. 9780807855775 .
  37. Book: Powers. David S.. Muḥammad is Not the Father of Any of Your Men: The Making of the Last Prophet. 2009. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia. 9780812241785.
  38. Hawting. G.R.. Muhammad Is Not the Father of Any of Your Men: The Making of the Last Prophet. Islamic Law and Society. 1 February 2011. 18. 1. 116–119. 10.1163/156851910X538396. free.
  39. Web site: Web Desk. 2021-10-27. Punjab Assembly backs including Khatm-i-Nabuwat oath in nikahnama. 2021-10-28. Aaj.tv. en.
  40. Web site: Reporter. The Newspaper's Staff. 2021-09-29. Punjab Assembly for display of Quranic verses on prophethood in govt offices. 2021-10-28. DAWN.COM. en.
  41. News: 22 June 2020. قومی اسمبلی: نصابی کتب میں حضرت محمدﷺ کے نام کیساتھ خاتم النبیین لکھنے کی قرارداد منظور. ur. National Assembly: Resolution passed to write 'Khatam-un-Nabiyyin' with the name of Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in textbooks. جنگ. live. 24 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200622215106/https://jang.com.pk/amp/786878. 22 June 2020.
  42. News: 23 June 2020. NA unanimously adopts resolution regarding 'Khatam-un-Nabiyeen'. MMNews. 24 June 2020.
  43. News: 23 June 2020. NA Passes Historic Resolution To Write 'Khatam-Un-Nabiyyin' With Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) Name. Parhlo. 24 June 2020.
  44. News: 23 June 2020. NA passes resolution to write 'Khatam-un-Nabiyeen' with name of Prophet (PBUH). DialoguePakistan. 24 June 2020.
  45. News: Samar. Azim. 16 June 2020. Sindh Assembly passes unanimous resolution. The News. live. 24 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200616172110/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/673435-sindh-assembly-passes-unanimous-resolution. 16 June 2020.
  46. News: 16 June 2020. Sindh Assembly passes unanimous resolution. TheWorld News. 24 June 2020.
  47. News: Mehmood. Shahid. 15 June 2020. Sindh Assembly unanimously passes resolution to make it mandatory to write Khatam-un-Nabiyyin with Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). 92News. 24 June 2020.
  48. Web site: Reporter. The Newspaper's Staff. 2021-10-27. Punjab Assembly backs Khatm-i-Nabuwat oath in marriage documents. 2021-10-28. DAWN.COM. en.
  49. Stremlau, Nicole. "Governance without Government in the Somali territories." Journal of International Affairs 71.2 (2018): 73-89.
  50. Yohanan Friedmann. Prophecy Continuous: Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and its Medieval Background Oxford University Press, 2003 p 119-46
  51. Web site: Finality of Prophethood Hadhrat Muhammad (PUBH) the Last Prophet. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
  52. Web site: Finality of Prophethood Hadhrat Muhammad (PUBH) the Last Prophet. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
  53. http://www.alislam.org/library/books/promisedmessiah/index.htm?page=37 The Question of Finality of Prophethood
  54. Andrea Lathan (2008) ‘The Relativity of Categorizing in the Context of the Aḥmadiyya’ Die Welt des Islams, 48 (3/4): p. 378. "It is primarily Ghulām Aḥmad’s prophetical claim based on his reinterpretation of the prophetology mentioned above that distinguishes the Aḥmadiyya Muslim Jamāʿat from the Muslim “mainstream”. In spite of the differentiation Ghulām Aḥmad had made between the two kinds of prophets and his acceptance of Muḥammad as the last law-bearing one, many of his adversaries consider his claim as an offence against the finality of Muḥammad."
  55. G. Böwering et al. (2013) The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, Princeton: Princeton University Press, p.25
  56. Web site: In Pakistan, most say Ahmadis are not Muslim. 10 September 2013.
  57. http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/hrj/iss16/khan.shtml Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan: An Analysis Under International Law and International Relations
  58. Web site: Baha'u'llah. Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah. bahai.org. 17 April 2017.
  59. Web site: Baha'u'llah. Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri. Commentary of the Surah of the Sun. bahai-library.com. 30 March 2017.
  60. Letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, 13 March 1986. Published in Book: Effendi, Shoghi . Shoghi Effendi . The Universal House of Justice . Hornby, Helen. 1983 . Lights of Guidance: A Baháʼí Reference File . Baháʼí Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India . 81-85091-46-3 . 500.
  61. Book: Taherzadeh, Adib . Adib Taherzadeh . 1977 . The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 2: Adrianople 1863–68 . George Ronald . Oxford, UK . 0-85398-071-3 . 352 .
  62. Seena Fazel and Khazeh Fananapazir . 1993. A Baháʼí Approach to the Claim of Finality in Islam. Journal of Baháʼí Studies . 5 . 3. 17–40 . 10.31581/jbs-5.3.2(1993). free.
  63. Web site: Personal Interpretation of the term 'Seal of the Prophets'. bahai-library.com.
  64. Web site: Baha'u'llah. Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri. Kitab-i-Iqan. bahai.org. 30 March 2017.
  65. Web site: Baha'u'llah . Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri. Kitab-i-Iqan. bahai.org. 30 March 2017.