Last Brick?
The hadith quoted by the non Ahmadi Muslims is:
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ “ إِنَّ مَثَلِي وَمَثَلَ الأَنْبِيَاءِ مِنْ قَبْلِي كَمَثَلِ رَجُلٍ بَنَى بَيْتًا فَأَحْسَنَهُ وَأَجْمَلَهُ، إِلاَّ مَوْضِعَ لَبِنَةٍ مِنْ زَاوِيَةٍ، فَجَعَلَ النَّاسُ يَطُوفُونَ بِهِ وَيَعْجَبُونَ لَهُ، وَيَقُولُونَ هَلاَّ وُضِعَتْ هَذِهِ اللَّبِنَةُ قَالَ فَأَنَا اللَّبِنَةُ، وَأَنَا خَاتِمُ النَّبِيِّينَ ”.
Verily, my example and the example of the prophets before me can be likened to a man who built a house and paid great attention to its beautification and decoration. However, he leaves a place empty for one brick at its corner. People would walk around this house and would become astonished as to why this single place has been left empty. Then, the Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘I am that brick and I am the Seal of the Prophets.’ (Sahih Al Bukhari, Hadith #3535)
The non Ahmadi Muslims try to claim that this means the Holy Prophet Muhammadsaw presented the example of a house and showed that it had a missing brick, and he is that missing brick which means there can no longer be another brick, which refers to a prophet. Secondly they try to claim that the term Khataman nabiyyin is used here as the last prophet, since the Holy Prophetsaw used khataman nabiyeen to refer to the last brick. This is a false statement and does not have any support to it. In Fathul Bari, which is the most well known commentary of the Sahih Bukhari, states:
فَالْمُرَادُ هُنَا النَّظَرُ إِلَى الْأَكْمَلِ بِالنِّسْبَةِ إِلَى الشَّرِيعَةِ الْمُحَمَّدِيَّةِ مَعَ مَا مَضَى مِنَ الشَّرَائِعِ الْكَامِلَةِ
“In this hadith, the purpose is to allude to the perfection of the law of Muhammadsaw in comparison to the laws of the past” (Fathul Bari, Volume 6, Page 370)
Allama Ibn e Khaldun states:
فيفسرون خاتم النبيين باللبنة التي أكملت البنيان. و معناه النبي الذي حصلت له النبوة الكاملة
“People interpret the meaning of Khatamun Nabiyyin with reference to the brick that completed the mansion. However, it really means the Prophet with whose advent Prophethood was perfected.” (Al Muqaddimah ibn-e-Khaldun, Page 300)
If we take the interpretation of the non Muslims, it would become a mockery agaist the Holy Prophetsaw and also contradict the statement of Fathul Bari. How can a sincere Muslim believe that previous prophets laws have many bricks but the law of Islam which is the greatest, only had one? The Holy Prophet Muhammadsaw according to this hadith stated “Verily, my example and the example of the prophets before me can be liked to…” This shows that the Holy Prophet Muhammadsaw is referring to only the prophets before him. The Holy Prophet Muhammadsaw could have used the term “all prophets” but he used the words “prophets before me”. This hadith is only in regards to the past and refers to the law bearing prophets rather than non-law bearing prophets.
Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh states:
“Completion of a metaphorical mansion signifies perfection of divine law. Our opponents put forth another Hadith, which, according to them, conclusively debars the advent of any Ummati prophet. The Hadith runs as follows: ‘Abu Hurrairah (Allah be pleased with him) reports ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said: The previous prophets and myself are like a palace exquisitely built except for a missing brick in its wall. People would wonder why such a blemish was not attended to. I am tha t brick that completed and perfected the edifice of the palace. That is why I am called the ‘Khatim’ of the messengers.’ In another version of the Hadith, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said: ‘I am that brick and I am ‘Khatamun Nabbiyeen’.’ (Bukhari: Kitab-Almanaqib).
Based on this Hadith, our opponent’s state that it is absolutely clear and unambiguously stated that there will be no more prophets of any kind. When the last ‘brick’ has been laid, it is all over. Yet, they have no problem with the second coming of Jesus (peace be on him). This would mean that a brick from a lower level of the palace was taken out and sent up to the heavens to be brought back in The Latter days.
Let us see how some eminent scholars paraphrase this Hadith. Allama Ibn Hajr Asqiani writes in Fath-Albari volume 6, page 361 “Completion of the Palace means that with the advent of ‘Muhammadi Shariah The Divine Law was perfected.” They have very conveniently failed to mention this commentator and his interpretation of the Hadith. He is not included in their list of commentators. A commentator who is included in their list is Allama Ibn-E-Khaldun and he is noted to have said about this Hadith “People interpret ‘Khatamun Nabbiyeen’ to mean the brick that completed the palace. However, it means that the prophet with whose advent prophethood was perfected has come.” (Muqaddama Iben-E-Khaldun pg. 271).
Here again, the term ‘Khatamun-Nabbiyeen’ has been taken to mean the prophet in whom prophethood found its consummation. No mention of termination of prophethood has been made.” (True meaning of Khatme Nabuwat, Page 23)