The Non Ahmadis continue to ignore all the ahadith telling us of a prophet. clearly shows us Muhammad(Saw) is referring to an immediate prophet after him that there would be no one right after me rather only caliphs which can apply to mujadids also. Muhammad(saw) has compared his ummah to the Prophets of Bani Israel. As we see prophets kept coming after each other which is what the Prophet Muhammad(saw) has explained here. The Islamic ummah would not have prophets immediately after one another, rather after the Prophet Muhammad(saw) the next prophet would come in the end times as he himself has stated in regards to the latter day messiah that:
لیس بینی و بینہ نبی و انہ نازل
There would be no prophet between me and him, and he would descend (Abu Dawud)
Also Ahmad(as) was a caliph of Allah in fact hadith calls him the caliph of Allah. The hadith states:
فَإِذَا رَأَيْتُمُوهُ فَبَايِعُوهُ وَلَوْ حَبْوًا عَلَى الثَّلْجِ فَإِنَّهُ خَلِيفَةُ اللَّهِ الْمَهْدِيُّ
When you see them, then pledge your allegiance to them even if you have to crawl over the snow, for that is the caliph of Allah, Mahdi.”(Sunan Ibn maja Hadith #4084)
Quran calls Adam(as) a caliph also and yet he was a prophet so its clear this shows that a prophet can only come if he is under Muhammad(saw) as Quran and ahadith support and that here Muhammad(saw) is referring to a prophet against his shariah or one who comes with new teachings. The only prophethood which is opened is under Nabi(saw) and through his blessings one can attain a rank. This is supported by many verses of Quran and once again you continue to forget that Allah and Nabi(saw) has called the latter day messiah a prophet but an ummati Nabi which is the only possibility.
Allah states:
Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security and peace after their fear: They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with Me. Then whoso is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious.
The caliphs here mentioned who were before the people of Muhammad(saw) were khalifas but also prophets. These include Hadhrat Isa(as). One has to understand that this hadith is referring to prophets coming after each other in a chain and we agree such was not to happen in our ummah. The word ba’d here refers to immediately after however we cannot ignore all of the prophecies in regards to the latter day messiah who Muhammad(saw) said would come as a prophet.
The non Ahmadis have also ignored this beautiful prophecy of the Prophet Muhammad(saw). He states:
“Prophethood would remain among you so long as Allah wills. Then Allah the Exalted would raise it up. Then Caliphate on the precepts of Prophethood would be established and remain among you for as long as Allah wills. Then Allah the Exalted would raise it up. Then despotic rule would remain among you for as long as Allah wills. Then Allah the Exalted would raise it up. Then a tyrranous rule would remain among you for aslong as Allah wills. Then Allah the Exalted would raise it up. Then Caliphate on the precepts of Prophethood would be established again.Then, the Holy Prophet (sa) remained silent.”(Mishkat)
This hadith is extremely beautiful. The Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) has firstly prophesied about caliphate after him and has stated that it would remain as long as Allah wills. After that Allah would raise it up and false and violent rulers would appear. After that Allah would exalt it back up and then it would be established again on the precepts of prophethood, meaning a prophet would come who would leave khilafat behind him. Now which prophet are all the Muslims waiting? The latter day messiah. So it is indeed clear that this refers to that same messiah who Muslims sadly await, although he has already come.
The interesting part is that where this hadith is recorded, it is stated:
“It is obvious that the second era of this caliphate refers to the time of the Messiah and Mahdi”
Some have said that this hadith does not refer to prophethood but anyone who has the ability to read Arabic can see that the Holy Prophet(saw) has said khilafatun ala minhajin-nabuwwah meaning caliphate on the precepts of prophethood. This clearly shows us that the caliphate would be established with the coming of the prophet and would begin after his death, just like it did after the death of our master Muhammad(saw).
Ahmad(as) states:
His advent, thus has not closed the stream of Divine Grace but its course has been channelized through his person which is now, so to say, the new Headwork. A prophet, henceforth, shall appear only through allegiance to him, by receiving light from his light and as his shadow and reflection, and not otherwise. Hence, “all prophethood except Muhammadan prophethood has ended. No law-giving prophet shall ever come, and a prophet without law may, but only such as is primarily a follower of the Holy Prophet (Allah bless him). I am both a follower and a Prophet.” (Tajalliyate Ilahiyya , pp. 24-25)