Life of Ahmad — Page 830
REMOVES A MISCONCEPTION as 830 The real meaning of Kh a tam 200 is seal, and the phrase should be interpreted in the light of this meaning. T abr i (p. 15) and T a jul ‘Ur u s conclude that Kh a tam means the last only on the basis of the Quranic verse Khit a muh u misk (Al-Ta t f i f 83:27). But Ibn-e-Khalad u n emphatically refutes this basis. He says it is wrong to interpret the word Khit a m in this verse to mean the last or the end 201. He holds that the word Kh a tam denotes the consummation and completion of a thing, which he further explains by the words, authenticity, perfection and validity. When a seal is put to a letter it becomes authentic and complete. The seal may be put in the end or in the beginning. According to him, therefore, Kh a tamun Nabiyy i n would mean the truest and the most perfect of Prophets and not the last in point of time. It refers to his status and place among the Prophets and not to the time of his advent. The meaning of Kh a tim too is not always the last. Lis a nul Arab says Kh a tim and Kk a tam both mean 'seal'. Hence it is evident that the general view of the lexicologists and the commentators is that the phrase under question should in all preference be translated as 'the seal of the Prophets' and not as 'the last' of them. Muhammad Ali, Sale and Pickthall have all rendered it the same in their English translations of the Quran. 200 T a jul ‘Ur u s, Lis a nul Arab, Q a m u s. 201 Muqaddama , Vol. II. , p. 54, Paris.