Hadith: Last Prophet and Last Mosque? Full Explanation + Sunni Claim Refuted

Introduction

“Sunnis” claim that the Prophet (ﷺ) is the absolute last prophet and no prophet can come after him in any shape or form. We show them numerous verses and ahadith that go against this belief. One of them is the following hadith:

فَإِنِّي آخِرُ الأَنْبِيَاءِ وَإِنَّ مَسْجِدِي آخِرُ الْمَسَاجِدِ

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:

I am the last of the Apostles and my mosque is the last of the mosques.

_{[Sahih Muslim 1394c]}

Explanation

The above hadith completely refutes the understanding of the non-Ahmadis. According to the Prophet (ﷺ) himself, his mosque is the last mosque just like he is the last prophet. We all know that his mosque i.e. Masjid Nabwi is not the last mosque. Muslims build new mosques even today and will continue to do that.

Thus, the true meaning of the hadith is that the Prophet (ﷺ) is the last to reach the rank of prophethood that no one can ever reach. This is the meaning of the verse of Khataman Nabiyyin as well. He (ﷺ) is the best of the Prophets and his mosque is the best of the mosques i.e. no mosque will ever reach the status of Masjid Nabwi.

Refutation

Since non-Ahmadis have no answer for the above hadith, they dig out a weak narration from some sources in an attempt to refute us. They claim that the hadith means that Masjid-e-Nabwi is the last mosque of the prophets, not the absolute last mosque.

حدثنا أحمد بن منصور ، ثنا عبيد الله بن موسى ، ثنا موسى ٢٤٥ / وهو ابن عبيدة ، عن داود بن مدرك / ، عن عروة ، عن عائشة قالت : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : أنا خاتم الأنبياء ومسجدي خاتم مساجد الأنبياء

Holy Prophet (pbuh) said:

“I am the last of the Prophets and my mosque is the last of the mosques of the prophets.”

_{[Kashful Astar an Zawaid al-Bazzar, vol. 2, pg. 56]}

Al-Bazzar: Narration is Weak

Firstly, the hadith is weak and Al-Bazzar himself mentions it in the footnote of this narration:

قال الهيثمي : رواه البزار ، وفيه موسى بن عبيدة وهو ضعيف

Musa bin Ubaidah is weak.

Thus, they deceive others by hiding the fact that their source labels this hadith as weak.

Narration has Unknown Narrator

Secondly, the narration also has a Majhul (unknown) narrator, Daud bin Mudrak is MajhulHadith.islam-db.com موسوعة الحديث : داود بن مدرك.. This makes this hadith even more weak. It is absurd to quote such weak narrations while hiding its Isnad.

Khatam means Seal, NOT Last

Thirdly, they are mistranslating the hadith. The word used in the hadith is not آخِر (last), rather, it is خاتم (seal). Thus, the hadith must say: “I am the seal of the Prophets and my mosque is the seal of the mosques of the prophets.“

Ahmadi Muslims already agree with this statement. Muhammad (ﷺ) is indeed the Seal of the Prophets as the Quran mentions, and so is his mosque the Seal of the Mosques of Prophets i.e. the best mosque of the prophets.

Thus, even if the hadith was not extremely weak, it would still be a non-issue for us.

Ibn Kathir: Prophet (ﷺ) built multiple mosques after conquest of Mecca

Fourthly, even though the hadith is weak and does not contradict the beliefs of Ahmadis, even then Masjid-e-Nabwi not the last mosque of the Prophet ﷺ. He built multiple mosques after the conquest of Mecca. Ibn Kathir says:

قال ابن إسحاق : فسلك رسول الله – يعنى من حنين إلى الطائف – على نخلة اليمانية ، ثم على قَرْنٍ ، ثم على الملَيْحِ ، ثم على بَحْرِةِ الرُّغاءِ مِن لية ، فابتنى بها مسجدا فصلى فيه

Ibn Ishaq said: The Messenger of Allah – meaning from Hunayn to Ta’if – passed by Nakhlat al-Yamaniyyah, then Qarn, then al-Malīḥ, then Baḥrat al-Ruġā’ from Layla, where he built a mosque and prayed in it.

_{[Al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya, vol. 7, pg. 67]}

Ibn Hisham: Prophet (ﷺ) built multiple mosques after expedition of Tabuk

Fifthly, once again, Ibn Hisham writes that Prophet ﷺ build several mosques between Medina and Tabuk.

( ماجد الرسول فيا بين المدينة إلى تبول ) .

مياة : مسجد وكانت مساجد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فيما بين المدينة إلى تبوك معلومة بتبوك ، ومسجد بثانية مدران، ومسجد بلات الزراب ، ومسجد بالأخضر ، ومسجد بنات الخطمي ، ومسجد بالاء ، ومسجد بطرف البتراء ، من ذنب كواكب ، ومسجد بالشق ، شيق تارا ، ومسجد بذى الجيفة ، ومسجد بعدار حوضي ، ومسجد بالحجر، ومسجد بالصعيد ، ومسجد بالوادي ، اليوم، وادي القرى ، ومسجد بالرفعة من الشقة ، شيقة بني عذرة ، ومسجد يدى المروة ، ومسجد بالفيفاء ، ومسجد بلى خشب .

(The Prophet’s mosques between Medina and Tabuk)

The mosques of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ located between Medina and Tabuk are known as follows: Mosque in Tabuk, Mosque in Thaniya Madran, Mosque in Lat Az-Zurab, Mosque in Al-Akhdar, Mosque of Banat Al-Khatmi, Mosque in Alaa, Mosque at the edge of Petra near Zanb Kawakib, Mosque in Al-Shaq, Shaq Tara, Mosque in Dha Al-Jaifah, Mosque in Badar Hawdi, Mosque in Al-Hajar, Mosque in Al-Saeed, Mosque in Al-Wadi (today’s Wadi Al-Qura), Mosque in Al-Rifa’ah from Al-Shaqqah, Shaqah Bani ‘Udhrah, Mosque in Yadi Al-Marwah, Mosque in Al-Fayfa, Mosque in Lā Khashab.

_{[Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah by Ibn Hisham, Vol 2, pg. 530-531]}

These narrations recorded by Ibn Kathir and Ibn Hisham about the many mosques the Prophet ﷺ established after the conquest of Mecca clearly shows that he did not mean Masjid-e-Nabwi was literally the final mosque to ever be built.

Instead, Khatam al-Masajid in this context means the best or most noble mosque, not the last chronologically. As we can see, Prophet ﷺ personally established numerous mosques during his lifetime.

Conclusion

• The phrase “last mosque” (Khatam al-Masajid) signifies the best or most noble mosque, not the last in time.
• Numerous mosques were established by the Prophet ﷺ after Masjid-e-Nabwi, as evidenced by the mosques he ﷺ built in Tabuk and other places following the conquest of Mecca.
• The Prophet ﷺ likened his position as the final prophet to his mosque being the final mosque. This means that no prophet will come after him who contradicts his teachings, just as no mosque will be built that diminishes the honor of the greatest mosque.