With Love to Muhammad (sa) - The Khatam-un-Nabiyyin — Page 22
22 With Love to Muhammad sa the Kh ā tam-un-Nabiyy ī n If the root-letters meant attestation or authentication , to make it mean most attested , most authenticated , of highest quality or best , ُ اخْتَم [ akhtamu ] should have been used. . . ” 7 The above quotion exposes Farhan Khan’s pitiable knowledge of Arabic grammar and its linguistic structure. We are replying to this argument only for the benefit of those unfamiliar with the basics of Arabic; otherwise, anyone with rudimentary knowledge would be aware that this is not how the meaning Best of the prophets is derived from the phrase Kh ā tam-un- Nabiyy ī n. We Ahmad ī Muslims translate Kh ā tam-un-Nabiyy ī n as Seal of the prophets based on the primary and fundamental meaning of the word kh ā tam , as stated in the dictionaries. We also understand the phrase to mean Best of the Prophets , based upon the derived connotation and idiomatic usage of the word kh ā tam. When the word kh ā tam comes as ZGاف ( Mud ā f or Possessed ) of a group of people ( اiFہ a ZGاف – Mud ā f Ilaih ), then the idiomatic meaning of the phrase is best of the group. This idiomatic application of the word kh ā tam is actually derived from, and a logical result of, the primary meaning “seal”. The one who is the “Seal of the prophets” is, quite obviously, also the best among them. The Arabic “lesson” that Farhan Khan has tried to give in his chapter, quite sadly, reveals how unqualified he is to give Arabic lessons! If the native Arabs customarily use the word kh ā tam in a phrase to idiomatically convey the meaning of “the best,” then who is Farhan Khan – or anyone else for that matter – to contradict them? Who is he to question the idiomatic usage 7 Khan, With Love, Page 63