Devbandi Quoting 21:22 to Defend Tahdhir un-Nas

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على خاتم النبيين

One of the most controversial beliefs of the Devbandi sect, originating with the founder of the sect, Muhammad Qasim of Nanauta (1832-1880), as expressed in his book Tahdhir un-Nas, is that if, hypothetically, a prophet were to appear after the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم it would not affect khatm an-Nubuwwah, meaning the appearance of a new prophet would not compromise Prophet Muhammad being the ‘Seal of Prophets’.

A contemporary Devbandi cleric, Anis Bajwah, attempted to defend Qasim Nanautawi’s statement in Tahdhir un-Nas, in a debate held in 2012 with the Ahl al-Hadith sect in Pakistan, represented by Yahya Arifi:

In his pathetic defense of the charge levelled against Qasim Nanautawi by both the Barelawis and Ahl al-Hadith sects, Anis Bajwah quoted the following Ayah of the holy Quran:

لَوۡ کَانَ فِیۡہِمَاۤ اٰلِہَۃٌ اِلَّا اللّٰہُ لَفَسَدَتَا

If there had been in them [the heavens and the earth] other gods beside Allah, then surely both would have gone to ruin

(Surah 21:22)

However, this Ayah can by no means rescue the Devbandis from the hole they dug themselves in when they claim that if another prophet were to appear after Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم it would not affect his being the ‘Seal of the Prophets’. Had this Ayah stated that if there were in fact other gods beside Allah it would not affect the Oneness of Allah, or the divine system that governs the cosmos would not be thrown into chaos, then Anis Bajwah would have been justified in quoting it as a defense of what is written in Tahdhir un-Nas. But as it quite evident, that is not at all the purport of the Ayah 21:22, therefore, it serves no purpose for the Devbandis to cite it as a defense.