Word nabi used metaphorically as meaning 'saint'

These words can be, and have been, applied to some of the great saints of Islam, who were certainly not prophets, because they possessed some qualities such as communication from Allah (in the limited form in which it is promised to true believers by the Holy Quran and Hadith).

A Muslim saint who is spoken to by God is known as a muhaddas . This is the term used by the Holy Prophet Muhammad himself, as given in Bukhari.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad used these words nabi and rasul about himself in the way that they are used for Muslim saints, for someone who is a muhaddas, and he made it perfectly clear that he was not claiming to be a prophet.