With Love to Muhammad (sa) - The Khatam-un-Nabiyyin — Page 27
27 Alternative Qir ā ’ ā t of the Qur’ ā n Under the chapter entitled Alternat[ive] Qir ā ’ ā t of the Qur’ ā n and Kh ā tim , Farhan Khan argues that since nine of the ten preserved qir ā ’ ā t [recitation styles] of the Qur’ ā n state kh ā tim instead of kh ā tam , the meaning of kh ā tim should apply as the last one , meaning that the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa is being entitled the Last Prophet 11. He also quotes Hazrat Mirz ā Bash ī r- ud-D ī n Mahm ū d Ahmad ra who has emphasized the fact that the Qur’ ā n states kh ā tam , with the fatah [i. e. , diacritical mark giving an “a” sound] on t ā ’ , instead of kasra [diacritical mark giving an “i” sound], and that gives the meaning of seal. First, it should be noted that the background to the qir ā ’ ā t that Farhan Khan provides is not entirely accurate. It is true that there were multiple dialects of Arabic at the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa. As a result, the Holy Qur’ ā n was revealed with different qir ā ’ ā t to facilitate its learning and memorization for Arabs of different tribes with different dialects. However, by the time of Hazrat ‘Uthm ā n bin ‘Aff ā n ra [d. 656 CE] the Third Khalifah [ Caliph or Successor ], various tribes 11 Khan, With Love , 65