" مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ  وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا"  (احزاب/40)

     “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets.” (Al-Ahzab/40)

     So, the Baha’i authors who haven’t been able to ignore the explicitness of the above-mentioned verse have declared the finality of prophethood but they claim that the Excellency Muhammad has finalized the prophethood but the position of being messenger is continued: “Being the messenger is greater than being prophet. Thousands of prophets have come but haven’t been legislators; such as the disciples of the Jesus Christ and… So it is prove that the finality of prophethood doesn’t mean the sending messengers will be cut.[1]”

     Answer:

1)   According to dictionaries the word "نبی" means a person who brings the news[2] and he is the person who brings God’s news (whether he possesses the independent religion or not)

     The word messenger means sent. In the holy Quran, the angels are also called messengers:

" وَهُوَ الْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِ  وَيُرْسِلُ عَلَيْكُمْ حَفَظَةً حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمْ لَا يُفَرِّطُونَ" (انعام/61)

     “He is the Omnipotent over His slaves. He sendeth guardians over you until, when death cometh unto one of you, Our messengers receive him, and they neglect not.” (Al-Ana’m/61)

     The dictionaries write in this regard: “I send such and such bearing a letter. So, s/he is a messenger.[3]”

2)   Contrary to the Baha’i authors’ claim, in the holy Quran, several prophets such as Lot, Elijah, Jonal and Ismail have been mentioned as messengers[4]; while they haven’t possessed book and the religious law.

3)   In the traditions, the following phrases have been mentioned for the finality of the prophethood of the holy prophet of Islam (P.H.):

"خاتم النبیین"، "لیس بعدی رسول"، "اختم به انبیائی و رُسُلی"، "ختم به الوحی"، "خاتم رُسُله"، "خَتَم بِکتابک الکتاب"[5]

     Consequently, each messenger is prophet, too. According to the Quranic verse, when the prophethood finishes, the position of messenger finishes, too.