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Draft:Seal of Prophethood

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Seal of Prophethood (Arabic: خَتَم النُبُوَّة) was a mark between the shoulders of Prophet Muhammad (s), regarded as a sign of his prophethood. According to hadiths, this mark appeared as a fleshy protrusion or a mole. It was reportedly witnessed by various individuals at different stages of the Prophet's (s) life, including Yusuf the Jew at the time of the Prophet's (s) birth, Salman al-Farsi upon his conversion to Islam, and Bahira the Monk during the Prophet's (s) childhood.

Mystics interpret this mark beyond its physical appearance, viewing it as a symbol of unseen openings (futūḥāt) and cosmic truths, while Sunni hadith scholars consider it a miracle and have recorded its details.

Significance and Description

The Seal of Prophethood is counted among the miracles of Prophet Muhammad (s)[1] and the signs of his prophethood mentioned in the Torah.[2] Shi'a sources primarily emphasize its existence, whereas Sunni sources have transmitted its details.[3] Sunni hadith scholars such as al-Tirmidhi in Shamaiil al-Nabi[4] and al-Bayhaqi in Dalail al-nubuwwa[5] have dedicated chapters to describing this seal.

According to Shi'a and Sunni hadiths, there was a fleshy protrusion or a mole between the two shoulders of the Prophet (s), known as the sign or Seal of Prophethood,[6] which disappeared from his body after his demise.[7] According to a hadith, Israfil placed the Seal of Prophethood between the Prophet's (s) shoulders by God's command, and the Two Testimonies (Lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammad rasūl Allāh) were inscribed upon it.[8] The physical shape of the seal has been reported differently in various sources, likened to forms such as an apple or a pigeon's egg.[9] Furthermore, Sa'id b. Hibat Allah al-Rawandi, citing Sunni sources, reported that the existence of this seal is substantiated by Mutawatir reports, confirmed by all, and that previous prophets had foretold it prior to the birth of Prophet Muhammad (s).[10]

Mystical Perspective

Mystics have paid significant attention to the Seal of Prophethood, and some Shi'a mystics have offered esoteric interpretations (Ta'wil) of it.[11] Ṣa'in al-Din Turka Isfahani, a ninth/fifteenth-century mystic, considered the area between the Prophet's (s) shoulders as the locus for the entry of unseen openings (futūḥāt) and revelatory sciences.[12] Muhammad Khajawi, a researcher of mysticism, regarded the Seal of Prophethood as a divine imprint and a symbol of cosmic secrets, stating that understanding its reality depends on knowledge of the Origin (Mabda') and the Return (Ma'ad) of souls, as well as the arcs of descent and ascent.[13]

Witnesses of the Seal

  • Salman al-Farsi: He was aware of the signs of the prophethood of Muhammad (s) through what he had heard from a monk and sought an opportunity to see the Seal of Prophethood.[14] One day, while walking behind the Prophet (s) during a Funeral Procession, the Prophet (s) realized his intention and moved his cloak aside, showing him the Seal.[15] Seeing this seal led Salman to convert to Islam.[16]
  • Yusuf the Jew: According to Tafsir al-Qummi, the Jews were aware of the signs of the Prophet of the End Times, including the seal between his shoulders, prior to his mission.[17] Yusuf the Jew saw the mole between the Prophet's (s) shoulders at the time of his birth and fainted. After regaining consciousness, he declared that Prophethood had departed from Banu Isra'il.[18]
  • Bahira: According to al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Bahira the Monk saw the Seal of Prophethood between the Prophet's (s) shoulders during his trip to Sham at the age of eight. He advised Abu Talib to protect him against the Jews and other dangers.[19]
  • Al-Abbas b. Abd al-Muttalib: According to a narration from Abd Allah b. al-Abbas, his father, al-'Abbas, saw the Seal of Prophethood on the Prophet's (s) body after his birth.[20]

Individuals Aware of the Seal

Sayf b. Dhi Yazan, the conqueror of Abyssinia, informed Abd al-Muttalib that a boy would be born in Tihama with a mark between his shoulders who would possess leadership, and he advised protection against the evil of the Jews.[21] Additionally, Heraclius, the King of Rome, sent an agent to Medina to investigate the signs of the Prophet (s), including the Seal of Prophethood. The agent initially forgot, but the Prophet (s) reminded him.[22]

Ibn Abbas's Narration and its Critique

In Rawdat al-wa'izin, Ibn 'Abbas narrates from his father, al-'Abbas, that he witnessed the birth of Abd Allah b. Abd al-Muttalib and the birth of Prophet Muhammad (s) as well as the Seal of Prophethood, but he concealed witnessing the seal and then forgot it until the day he converted to Islam.[23] Ja'far Murtada al-Amili, a Shi'a historian, considers this narration fabricated with the aim of creating virtues for al-'Abbas. According to him, al-'Abbas was only two years older than the Prophet (s), so it is implausible that he witnessed the birth of the Prophet's (s) father, forgot the event, and did not remember it even after the mission of the Prophet (s), only recalling it in 8/629-30 upon his conversion.[24]

Notes

  1. ↑ Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, vol. 2, p. 282.
  2. ↑ Rāzī, Rawḍ al-jinān, vol. 8, p. 433.
  3. ↑ Nafīsī, "Taḥqīq dar-bāra-yi māhiyyat-i muhr-i nubuwwat", p. 20.
  4. ↑ Tirmidhī, Shamāʾil al-Nabī, p. 35.
  5. ↑ Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa, vol. 1, p. 259.
  6. ↑ Imāmī, "Nigāhī ba shurūḥ-i ʿirfānī-yi muhr-i nubuwwat", p. 30.
  7. ↑ Imāmī, "Nigāhī ba shurūḥ-i ʿirfānī-yi muhr-i nubuwwat", p. 32.
  8. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 15, p. 353.
  9. ↑ Nafīsī, "Taḥqīq dar-bāra-yi māhiyyat-i muhr-i nubuwwat", p. 14.
  10. ↑ Rāwandī, Al-Kharāʾij wa l-jarāʾiḥ, vol. 1, p. 32; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 16, pp. 174-175.
  11. ↑ Imāmī, "Nigāhī ba shurūḥ-i ʿirfānī-yi muhr-i nubuwwat", pp. 29, 31.
  12. ↑ Imāmī, "Nigāhī ba shurūḥ-i ʿirfānī-yi muhr-i nubuwwat", p. 37.
  13. ↑ Khājawī, Madārij al-futuwwa, p. 5.
  14. ↑ Ibn Hishām, Al-Sīrat al-nabawiyya, vol. 1, p. 218.
  15. ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, p. 165; Ibn Hishām, Al-Sīrat al-nabawiyya, vol. 1, p. 220.
  16. ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, p. 165; Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, Tārīkh Baghdād, vol. 1, p. 180.
  17. ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, pp. 33, 80, 191.
  18. ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, pp. 196-197.
  19. ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, pp. 182-186. See also: Ibn Isḥāq, Sīrat Ibn Isḥāq, p. 75.
  20. ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, p. 176.
  21. ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, pp. 177-180.
  22. ↑ Rāwandī, Al-Kharāʾij wa l-jarāʾiḥ, vol. 1, p. 104.
  23. ↑ Fattāl al-Naysābūrī, Rawḍat al-wāʿiẓīn, vol. 1, pp. 64-65.
  24. ↑ ʿĀmilī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ min sīrat al-Nabī al-aʿẓam, vol. 2, pp. 66-68.

References

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  • Bayhaqī, Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn al-. Dalāʾil al-nubuwwa. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1405 AH.
  • Fattāl al-Naysābūrī, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad. Rawḍat al-wāʿiẓīn. Qom: Intishārāt-i Raḍī, 1st ed., 1375 Sh.
  • Ibn Hishām, ʿAbd al-Malik. Al-Sīrat al-nabawiyya. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, n.d.
  • Ibn Isḥāq, Muḥammad. Sīrat Ibn Isḥāq. Qom: Daftar-i Muṭālaʿāt-i Tārīkh wa Maʿārif-i Islāmī, 1368 Sh.
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  • Kāshānī, Mullā Fatḥ Allāh. Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn fī ilzām al-mukhālifīn. Tehran: Kitābfurūshī-yi Muḥammad Ḥasan ʿIlmī, 3rd ed., 1336 Sh.
  • Khājawī, Muḥammad. Madārij al-futuwwa fī sharḥ muhr al-nubuwwa. Shiraz: Kitābkhāna-yi Aḥmadī, 1354 Sh.
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  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār al-jāmiʿa li-durar akhbār al-aʾimmat al-aṭhār. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
  • Nafīsī, Abū Turāb. "Taḥqīq dar-bāra-yi māhiyyat-i muhr-i nubuwwat-i Ḥaḍrat-i Khātam al-Anbiyāʾ Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh (s)". Muṭālaʿāt-i Islāmī, no. 15, Summer 1354 Sh.
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  • Rāzī, Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī Abū l-Futūḥ. Rawḍ al-jinān wa rūḥ al-jinān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Mashhad: Āstān-i Quds-i Raḍawī, 1371 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām al-niʿma. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1395 AH.
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