Seventh Reflection

Seventh Reflection: No Religion is the Last Religion Nader Saiedi

Baha’u’llah writes: Whilst established upon the seat of the “first,” they occupy the throne of the “last.” (The Book of Certitude)

One of the common errors of the followers of almost all religions is that all of them consider their own religion to be the last religion revealed by God. At the same time, almost all religions expect the coming of a Promised One, a messianic figure. But they resolve this contradiction by saying that the promised one would only promote and confirm the previous religion and will not abrogate the laws of the past prophet. But this reduction of religion to a cult of traditionalism--namely, whatever has been the law in the past must remain binding forever—has been particularly rigid among the followers of Islam. On the basis of one statement in the Qur’an, which states that Muhammad does not have a son but he is a Messenger of God and the Seal of prophets (33:40), Muslim clerics concluded that Islam is the last religion, its laws are unchangeable till eternity, and that any deviation from Islamic law is corrupting the world. Baha’u’llah has addressed this question in a number of his books including the Book of Certitude, and the Tablet of Job. The above quotation is from the Book of Certitude. For Baha’u’llah, the very essence and nature of religion is that it is dynamic, dialectical, and progressive. Reducing religion to a dead static object is the ultimate distortion and refutation of religion. In this short paper we discuss Baha’u’llah’s doctrine of the unceasing progressive revelation of God in history. 1. Religion as Dialogue with Humanity Baha’i Faith has radically transformed the very idea of religion. This idea is both a rejection of the clerical static and traditionalistic conception of religion, and a refutation of the atheistic reduction of religion to a purely social and historical institution. Traditionalistic definition of religion sees religion purely as the arbitrary divine will which is absolute and unrelated to conditions of history. Therefore, religion becomes an arbitrary imposition of some absolute laws on humans. Since God is absolute, religion and its laws are absolute. That is why the advocates of this idea find their religion as the last religion. On the contrary, the atheistic sociology of religion reduces religion to a mere expression of social conditions. Such attitude, rejects the idea of a revelation by God, and sees religion as a social and historical construct, different in different societies and different times. The Baha’i idea is entirely different. Religion is both divine and historical. It is in fact a dialogue between God and humanity. Religion is not for God, rather, it is for development of humans and societies. If religion was for God, it could be absolute and unchanging. But if religion is a divine gift to help actualize the potentialities and spiritual perfections of humanity it must be relative, progressive and dynamic. As humans change, their spiritual capacity increases, and the conditions and requirements of time change, the laws of religion must also change.

If religion is reduced to an eternal, static set of laws, the consequence is that religion becomes the greatest obstacle and enemy of human and social development. In such form of extreme traditionalism, religion turns into a powerful legitimization of oppression, intolerance, rigidity, and censorship. For example, since laws of religions are conditioned by the stage of development of society, the previous religions could neither abolish slavery, nor reject patriarchy. If religion was something absolute and eternally binding, no religion should have tolerated slavery or patriarchy. The fact is that all past religions in different ways accepted slavery and patriarchy. The active support of slavery and patriarchy by the Muslim clerics in the past, the extensive codification of differential legal rights between free people and slaves, and detailed listings of areas and proofs of the superiority of men over women in their texts are part of the reasons why the majority of Muslim traditionalistic clerics have been enemies of modernity, human rights, religious freedom, emancipation of women, democracy, and equality of all humans before the law. Baha’u’llah wants to reconstruct religion so that it becomes the cause of unity and progress of humanity. Such lofty objective requires a total rejection of the fanaticism of religious traditionalism. Religion, reinterpreted as an interaction and a dialogue between God and humanity, becomes the foundation of a new global and historically-specific spiritual civilization. 2. The Seal of Prophets: Muhammad or Jesus? Before discussing Baha’u’llah’s explanation of the meaning of the seal of prophets, mentioned in the Qur’an, it is necessary to note a historical paradox. Although Muslims believe that only prophet Muhammad is defined by sacred books as the seal of prophets, the truth is that the term seal of prophet and sealing of prophethood, is a biblical term that is used in reference to Jesus. Unfortunately, Muslim clerics have not been familiar with the Bible, because they falsely believed that the Bible is intentionally falsified by the Jews and Christians so that all prophecies about Islam would be deleted from the existing Bible. This offensive fantasy of the clerics has led to a systematic lack of familiarity with the Bible. Consequently, the fact that the Book of Daniel explicitly defines the crucifixion of Jesus as the sealing of prophecy has remained unknown to them. Had they read the Bible they would know that the title of the Seal of Prophets belonged to Jesus. This is discussed in the famous passage of the Book of Daniel about 70 weeks. All commentators agree that this seventy weeks or 490 days refer to 490 years because of the frequent reference of the Bible that the day of God is equal to one year among the people. The beginning of this 490 years is also a matter of consensus, emphasized within the Book of Daniel. It is 456-7 BC. Therefore, seventy weeks ends with the completion of the ministry of Jesus and his crucifixion. The Book of Daniel defines this time as the time ordained by God at which prophethood would become sealed. The Hebrew original term used to denote this sealing of prophecy (Khatim Nabi) is exactly the Arabic term used in the Qur’an to define Muhammad as the seal of prophets. The Book of Daniel states: Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy , and to anoint the most Holy. (Book of Daniel 9:24) There is no doubt that prophet Muhammad was aware of the biblical assertion that with Jesus vision and prophecy would be sealed. But then why the Qur’an uses the same title for prophet Muhammad? Certainly the typical understanding of the meaning of the seal of prophets as the last prophet of God cannot be correct. If we accept Muslim clerical meaning of the seal of prophets, we have no choice to conclude that after Jesus no new prophet could appear, and therefore, prophet Muhammad could not

be a prophet. Obviously such meaning is incorrect. But then how such contradiction can be resolved? Baha’u’llah’s statement in the Book of Certitude resolves this contradiction. 3. All Prophets are the First and the Last We now can briefly explore the revolutionary and liberating character of the world of Baha’u’llah who defines all prophets of God as one and the same reality. All prophets of God are the ultimate reflection and manifestation of divine names and attributes in this world. That is the very essence and truth of the prophets, being the utter pure revelation and manifestation of divine names and attributes. The truth of the prophets is not their physical, human, or social characteristics. They are prophet because they are reflections of divine attributes. That is why the truth of all prophets is one and the same. That same truth manifests itself at different moments of history in different forms in accordance with the changing needs of humanity, while their truth remains one and the same. This theology of revelation—namely prophets of God are reflections of the divine—becomes the key for understanding the true meaning of the seal of prophets. As extensively discussed in the Book of Certitude, Baha’u’llah notes that all sacred books, including the Jewish Bible, Gospel and the Qur’an, have defined God as being both the first and the last. Like alpha and omega of the Bible, the Qur’an defines God as “the first and the last, the manifest and the Hidden.” (57:3) Since all prophets by their very nature are the perfect reflections and expressions of divine attributes, therefore, all prophets are equally the first and the last. Since they are all one and the same, they are all return of one another. Jesus is the last prophet, just as Muhammad is the last prophet. Likewise, as prophet Muhammad has mentioned several times, he is all the prophets of the past, including Adam. It is interesting that the Qur’an frequently defines all prophets of the past as Muslim. This does not mean that their laws were the same as the laws of the Qur’an—which obviously were not. It rather means that the truth of all religions is one and the same, and that all prophets of God are Muhammad. Consequently, all prophets of God are the first prophet and all of them are, at the same time, the last prophet. As Baha’u’llah says: Whilst established upon the seat of the “first,” they occupy the throne of the “last.” Being both the first and the last indicates both the unity of all the prophets, and the dynamic and ever-advancing nature of religion and revelation.

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