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Mirza Mahmud Ahmad wrote Khatam-un-Nabiyyin means Last Prophet

In April 1912 Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad published a writing entitled Jawab Ishtihar Ghualm Sarwar Kanpuri (‘Reply to the Poster by Ghulam Sarwar of Kanpur’), relating to the fulfilment of certain signs of the coming Messiah as reported in Hadith. This eleven page booklet is available on the Qadiani Jama‘at website alislam.org.

While criticising, quite rightly, those Muslims who ascribe certain unwarranted attributes to Jesus in his second coming, qualities which would make him greater than the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Mirza Mahmud Ahmad writes:

Translation:

“What a pity that Islam has been reduced to the state that there are Muslims who do not wish the Holy Prophet to have any distinction. He was the Khatam-un-Nabiyyin, but these Muslims said: We will not let him be the Khatam-un-Nabiyyin. They brought back Jesus from heaven after 19 centuries. Now, who is the Khatam-un-Nabiyyin: the one who comes last or the one who came earlier? They should have realised that in this way the distinction of the Holy Prophet’s finality of prophethood is removed! Jesus becomes the Khatam-un-Nabiyyin, after whom there would be no prophet. It would be through his grace that anyone would find God.”

— Vol. 1, no. 14, p. 396 in Anwar-ul-Uloom.

He has clearly written here that Khatam-un-Nabiyyin means the Last Prophet, so whoever comes last must become the Khatam-un-Nabiyyin. Moreover, there would be no prophet to come after the one who was Khatam-un-Nabiyyin. This is in plain contradiction with the later, erroneous doctrine trumpeted by the Qadiani Jama‘at that Khatam-un-Nabiyyin does not mean last but the best, after whom another prophet can come.

It is to be noted that this writing was published almost four years after the death of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. It was less than two years before the Split in the Ahmadiyya Movement, at which point Mirza Mahmud Ahmad became Khalifa of the Qadiani Jama‘at.

What Mirza Mahmud Ahmad has written here in 1912 is, of course, in agreement with Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who wrote that if any other prophet whatsoever were to come after the Holy Prophet Muhammad then that prophet would become the Khatam-un-Nabiyyin instead of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. For his views, please see this link.