Title: Why has the Institution of Prophethood been Terminated? Question: Right from the beginning of universe we see messengers of God after a period of time. this shows that a messenger directly from the almighty Allah was necessary to teach the people of that time the directives of God, but why this ended with the prophet Mohammad (PBUH) & why the human generations after prophet Mohammad (PBUH) are kept deprived of this blessing, one may say that since prophet Mohammad (PBUH) left an unalterable & divine book (Qur'an) & people after him can resort to Qur'an for guidance which no doubt is the prime source of guidance for days to come but here the question arises that if the purpose was to leave an unalterable & divine book for guidance then that could have been done with either of the earlier books (Torah etc.) & with either of the earlier prophets, then there would have been no need of such a long series of prophets & books. Why did all this end in a certain area with a certain geo-political conditions & in certain time with a certain person? May Allah-Talah almighty grant you happiness here & the hereafter for all deeni knowledge to spread in ways that is interactive & beneficial to the young generations, who desperately need all the input they can get in a non-judgmental way. Shall await your reply. Jazaak Allah O Khair Your brother in faith Answer: Some of the basic reasons for the initiation, continuation and the ultimate termination of the institute of prophethood, which may be derived from various references of the Qur'an are: To guide people to the correct path at such a level that they are left with no excuse for rejecting the basic truths taught by the prophets of God ( Al-Nisaa 4: 165). For this particular purpose, God did not only send a few messengers at a particular place and time, but continued sending His messengers for a long period of time and in various nations and peoples; To guide people, according to their general socio-cultural and other collective circumstances to the laws of the Almighty; with the evolution in these socio-cultural and other collective circumstances, the laws were amended and sequentially brought closer to the ultimate likings of the Almighty ( Al-Baqarah 2: 106 and Al-Maaidah 5: 3). For this particular purpose, teachings relating to the socio-cultural and other collective aspects of human life were not given in their final shape in the beginning; on the contrary, the final teachings were deferred till the time when man, in his collective capacity, was in a position to bear and follow them; With the advent of the Prophet (pbuh), both these targets of the institute of prophethood were accomplished, according to the absolute Knowledge and Wisdom of the Almighty. It is therefore that after the Prophet (pbuh), God terminated the institute of prophethood. I hope this helps. December 7, 2000