Life of Ahmad — Page 829
as REMOVES A MISCONCEPTION 829 'Muhammad sa is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Apostle of God and the seal of the Prophets. ' (Al-A h z a b 33:41). The Arabic word which is translated as 'seal' is Kh a tam which according to Lane’s Arabic-English Lexicon 195 means the last company of men. T abr i also thinks that Kh a tam means the last. 196 There is another reading of the verse in which the word used is Kh a tim , instead of Kh a tam. Kh a tim means the last. It is therefore, concluded that Muhammad sa is the last Prophet. El-Farra (d. 207 A. H. ) says that Kh a tam , Kh a tim and Khit a m are nearly the same in meaning. 197 It should be pointed out here that the second reading is not very authentic. The recognised and universally accepted reading is Kh a tam and not Kh a tim. None of the Companions of the Prophet sa reports this reading. On the other hand Ali ra is said to have corrected the teacher of his sons by telling him that he should teach Kh a tam. 198 Usman also supports the same reading. 199 Therefore it is not safe to base the meaning of this verse on the second reading. Apart from this it should be remembered that the word Kh a tim also means 'seal' or one who seals. Therefore it does not make much difference. 195 Book I. , p. 703, London, 1863. 196 Book 22, 1st Edition, Egypt, 1329 A. H. p. 15 197 Lane. 198 Suy u t i , Tafs i r Durr-e-Manth u r. 199 Mitrizee in Al-Maghrib.