Khatamul Aulad?

The non Ahmadis bring up another allegation that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as has used the word khatam to mean last but its sad that they have misunderstood the true meaning of what Ahmad^as has said. They treat this reference as they treat the Qur’an and Ahadith wherever khataman nabiyeen is mentioned. Ahmad^as has used the term Khatamul Aulad to infer finality in the same way we interpret khataman nabiyeen. Neither mean finality in all aspects. Secondly one has to remember that this statement is from a book written in Urdu while we are discussing the meaning of Khatam through the language of Arabic, rather than Urdu. This statement does not have the vowels written so its possible that Ahmad^as in reality wrote Khatim, rather than Khatam. We are not completely aware. Another point to keep in mind is that this was stated before the claim of prophethood by Ahmad^as in its entirety and before Allah explained to him the true meanings of Khataman nabiyyin.

Ahmad^as states:

“Thirdly, I am also similar to Adam in that Adam was born as a twin and I was also born as a twin. First a girl was born and I was born thereafter; and in this manner I was Khatamul-Walad for my father. No child was born after me.”(Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya Ruhani Khazain Volume 21. Page 113)

He further states:

“A girl was born with me whose name was Jannat. First she was born and then I was delivered. After me there was no son or daughter born to my parents and I was Khatamul-Aulad for them.”(Taryaqul Qulub, Ruhani Khazain Volume 15, Page 479)

The non Ahmadis claim that Ahmad(as) uses both khatamul Walad and Aulad to mean the last of the children and state that we cannot use the argument of it referring to rank.

Now none of these references contradict our belief on what khatme nabuwat means to begin with. Khatam can be used as last for us and it will still not affect our belief in any way. We agree that the Promised Messiah^as is the last of the children in the same way the Holy Prophet^saw is the last of the prophets. When Ahmad^as states that he is khatamul Aulad and that no child was born after him, it does not refer to last in the way the non Ahmadis take it to be. Did Promised Messiah^as not have offspring? In fact he had children and many of them became amazing defenders of Islam just as he was. In the same way after the Holy Prophet^saw died no independent prophet was born and he was the last in the chain of law bearing prophets. In the same way Ahmad^as was khatamul Aulad to his parents. No children were born to the parents of Ahmad^as but their  physical offspring continued through Ahmad^as . Ahmad^as was revealed to by Allah :

The genealogical chain of your forefathers would be cut off, and from now on, the chain of descendants will be counted from you.”(Tadhkirah)

In the terms khatamul Walad and Khatamul Aulad, the superiority of rank is indeed mentioned. The reason is that he was the only one who continued the progeny of his parents and no one else was able to because of Allah’s plan.

“No child was born after me” and “there was no son or daughter born to my parents” have also been raised as allegations. The true meaning of these statements is that Ahmad^as was last in the line of siblings and his birth brought the end to the birth of any other siblings and no more children were born to the parents of Ahmad^as. The progeny however continued through the seed of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as which is why he was khatamul Aulad meaning the best of the children. This is the exact same way we understand the finality of Muhammad^saw. His advent also brought an end to all the prophets and the only prophethood that continued is the prophethood through his own spirituality and one that is attainable only by following him completely.

Another important factor to be noted is that Ahmadi Muslims do not deny that Khatam can be used for last when not referring to rank. We see this explained in Review of Religions of Religions of 1986 where it is written:

“Khatamul- Aulad (last of sons) will mean last born because to be born is not a talent and the term is used not to praise the boy but merely to point out the fact that he is the youngest son.”

This shows us that such titles can also have the meaning of last, as it is not a talent or a term used to praise someone.

Ahmad^as states:

“If you succeed in this your status will be raised beyond people’s
imagination, and God shall make you heir to His Prophets and
Messengers^as, which means that all their knowledge, wisdom and blessings, which had disappeared into obscurity and oblivion, will be granted afresh to you, and you will reach the highest level of sainthood, and none after you shall be able to rise higher.”(Blessings of Prayer, Footnote on page 26)