473 — “After finishing the dawn prayer, he would say: ‘Did any of you see a dream last night?’ And he would say: ‘Nothing of prophethood will remain after me except righteous dreams.’”

Malik narrated it in al-Muwatta’ (2/956/2), as did al-Hakim (4/390–391), through Ishaq ibn Abd Allah ibn Abi Talhah, from Zufar ibn Sa‘sa‘ah, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would…

Al-Hakim said: “Its chain of transmission is authentic.” Al-Dhahabi agreed with him.

I say: It is as they both said.

The latter portion of it was also narrated by al-Bukhari (4/349), through Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib, who reported that Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: “Nothing remains of prophethood except the glad tidings.” They asked: “What are the glad tidings?” He said: “Righteous dreams.”

This hadith has many supporting reports, which I have cited in Irwa’ al-Ghalil, no. 2539.

The hadith explicitly establishes that there is no prophethood or revelation after the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, except the glad tidings: righteous dreams, which are one of forty-six parts of prophethood. Yet a sect went astray by claiming that prophethood remains and continues after him, peace and blessings be upon him. They interpreted—indeed, nullified—the meaning of this hadith and similar reports on this subject. Likewise, they distorted the saying of Allah Most High: “Rather, he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets,” with such claims as: that it means “the adornment of the prophets.” At other times they say that he is the last of the lawgiving prophets, while affirming the continuance of non-legislative prophethood.