With Love to Muhammad (sa) - The Khatam-un-Nabiyyin — Page 251
Continuation of Prophethood according to the Holy Qur’ ā n 251 and a glad tiding has been given in S ū rah An-Nis ā ’ that All ā h will continue to bless these people with such spiritual ranks in this life. The Grammatical Structure of 4:70 Taking this discussion further, two things must be borne in mind when studying 4:70. First, All ā h, the Exalted, has used the words “ a Gن M[ع ”and this means “one who obeys or will obey” because the word “ M[ع ” is in the ZGارع a B]ل ( f‘ail mudh ā ri‘ ) formation and such a formation is used for present as well as future tenses. As a result, the whole phrase would mean, “And whoso obeys or will obey All ā h and this Messenger of His. . . ”. This means that in future, prophets who are subordinate to the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa can continue to come. Second, the word Gع [ ma‘a ] here gives the meaning of Gن [ min: from among] because All ā h, the Exalted, has Himself clarified its meaning by using the word Gن [ min ] in the same verse. All ā h stated, “ اeFبiiن a Gن ” ( from among the prophets ) not “ a Gع اeFبiiن ” ( with the prophets ). Therefore, the meaning of the whole verse is: “And whoso obeys All ā h and this Messenger of His shall be among those on whom All ā h has bestowed His blessings, namely, the prophets, the truthful, the witnesses, and the righteous. ” Contextual Use of Ma‘a The word ma’a can mean “among” or “with” and its meanings vary according to the context it is used in. For example, in the following verse, it means “among”: