النص المفهرس

169
Sūrah al-Aņzab : 33 : 40
Muhammad is not a father of any of your men, but he is
a messenger of Allah and the last of the prophets. And
Allah is Knowledgeable of every thing. [40]
Commentary
The verse quoted above refutes the contention of those people who, in
accordance with the custom of the days of ignorance, used to call
Sayyidna Zayd Ibn Harithah 4ee as son of the Messenger of Allah ? and
used to taunt at the nikah (marriage) of the Holy Prophet with
Sayyidah Zainab Li Ul >) , after she had been divorced by Sayyidna
Zayd Ibn Harithah
that the Holy Prophet
had married his son's
wife. It was enough to say in refutation that the father of Sayyidna Zayd
is not the Holy Prophet & but Harithah cee. But in order to emphasis
the matter, the statement has been generalized in the following words: (
" Muhammad) (كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌّ ابَآ أَحدٍ مِّنُ رِّجَالِكُمُ
is not a father of any of your
men). The sense is that the Holy Prophet &g has no son at all. How can it
be asserted against him that he has a son and that his divorced wife is
forbidden to him because of being his son's wife?
مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍ A brief expression for this statement could have been
(Muhammad is not a father of any of you). But the wise Qur'an, by
adding the word (Jl)) (any of your men) has removed a possible objection
that the Holy Prophet g is father of four sons - three sons Qasim, Tayyib
and Tahir de born to Sayyidah Khadijah Que un , and Ibrahim 4ge born
to Sayyidah Mariyah al- Qibtiyyah رضى الله عنها but all of them died during
childhood and none of them reached manhood. It can also be said that at
the time of revelation of this verse, none of his sons was alive, because
Qasim 40, Tayyib and Tahir had died, while Ibrahim que was not born at
that time.
Although the objection of the opponents had been adequately replied
by the above sentence, yet in order to remove other doubts as well, it is
stated ◌ِوَلكِنُ رَّسُولَ اللَّه (but a messenger of Allah). The word لكن lakin (but) is
used in Arabic language to remove any doubt that could be raised about
the preceding statement. In this case, a doubt could be raised against the
negation of the statement that the Holy Prophet
is not a father of any
one. One could say that every prophet and messenger is the father of
every man and women of his Ummah, and therefore the negation of his
fatherhood would be tantamount to negation of his prophethood. This

170
Surah al-Aņzab : 33 : 40
doubt has been dispelled by JU J'225 ;< ( but a messenger of Allah ) which
means that the rules regarding permissibility or impermissibility of
marriage are applicable to the real and biological fatherhood that is quite
different from a spiritual fatherhood enjoyed by the prophets in relation
to the members of their Ummah. In this relationship these laws do not
apply. Now the meaning of the full sentence is that the Holy Prophet is
not the biological father of any of the men of the Ummah but he is the
spiritual father of all of them.
This is also a rejoinder for another sarcasm that some Mushriks
(polytheists) had uttered against the Holy Prophet = that (Allah forbid)
he is 3 (issueless) that is, since he has no male offspring to continue the
lineage and to propagate his message further; after a few days the whole
story would come to an end. The above words have made it clear that
although he has no biological sons, yet the biological sons are not in any
case essential to spread the message of prophethood or to maintain and
propagate it. This function is normally performed by one's followers who
are his spiritual children, and since he is the spiritual father of the whole
Ummah who are there to carry forward his mission, he excels all of you
in the number of his ( spiritual )children.
Then, once the prophethood and messengership of the Holy Prophet
Ar was mentioned here in which he carries a very special and distinct
excellence over all other prophets, this distinctive eminence surpassing all
other prophets has been indicated by the following words: ◌َوَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّن ( and
the Last of the Prophets ).
There are two ways to read the word خاتم Imam Hasan رحمه الله تعالى and
'Aşim read this word as khatam whereas other leading scholars read it as
khatim. The meaning remains the same in both cases, that is, 'the last of
the prophets'. In both the cases, the word means the 'last' as well as the
'seal'. The meaning of the seal is also the 'last' because the seal is applied
to something when it is intended to be closed. The Holy Prophet
¿ has
been called the seal of the prophets because the process of sending new
prophets has come to an end on his advent. This is the gist of the
explanation given in Tafsir Ruh-ul-Ma'ani, Tafsir of Al-Baydawi and
Ahmadi. The fact that both the words ' khatam' and 'khatim' carry the
same meaning in this sentence has been affirmed by all the famous
lexicons of the Arabic language.

171
Surah al-Aḥzab : 33 : 40
Ibn Sidah, for example, in his Almuhkam states that the the words
'khatim' and 'khatimah' with regard to everything means its end and its
termination.
The gist is that both readings of the verse (khatam and khatim)
convey the same meaning, that is, the Holy Prophet
g has concluded the
line of prophets; he has succeeded all the prophets and he is the last
among all of them.
The Holy Prophet's @ attribute of being the last of all the prophets
demonstrates his excellence and distinction in all the perfections of
prophethood and messengership, because in general, all things progress
gradually reaching completion at the highest stage, and the end result is
اَلْيَوْمَ اكُمَلْتُ لَكُمْ the real objective. The Holy Qur'an has stated this clearly in
Today, I have perfected your religion for you and) دِيْنَكُمْ وَاَتْمَمُتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعُمَتِىُ
have completed My blessings upon you, - 15:3).
The religions of the previous prophets were also complete with regard
to their respective times - none was defective. But absolute perfection was
reached by the religion of the Holy Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa
1998
which is the authority for all the ancient and modern human beings and
will continue to be so up to the Doomsday.
By adding the phrase 'last of the prophets' after negating his being a
father of a male boy, another point has been clarified here. The
polytheists used to pass negative remarks against the Holy Prophet ~ by
saying that he has no son, and therefore his lineage would not continue.
By saying that he is the last of the prophets it is indicated that these
remarks are based on ignorance, because he is the spiritual father of the
whole Ummah which follows him and being the last prophet, all the races
and nations to come in this world till the Doomsday would be included in
his Ummah; as such the number of persons in his Ummah would be more
than in other Ummah and his spiritual sons would be more than those of
other prophets.
The Holy Prophet's & being the last prophet has also told us that his
kindness and affection for his spiritual sons (i.e. for his Ummah) would be
more than that of other prophets and he would be fully seized of the
concern to identify and appreciate the needs which may arise till
Doomsday because no prophet or wahy (Divine revelation) would come

172
Surah al-Aḥzab : 33 : 40
after him. The prophets preceding him did not have this concern because
they knew that when the nation would deviate and adopt erring ways,
other prophets would come after them and reform the nation. But the
Last Prophet g was seized of the concern that he should impart
instructions to the Ummah for all the situations that it may face uptill
Doomsday. The ahadith of the Holy Prophet
bear witness to the above,
because he has told us even the names of most of those people who could
be followed and who would come after him. Similarly, he has told us the
details about the leaders who would misguide humanity in a manner that
anybody who cares to ponder over those warnings would not have the
slightest doubt left in his mind. That is why the Holy Prophet said
I have left (you) on such an illuminated" تَرَكْتُكُمُ عَلى شَرِيْعَةٍ بَيْضَآءَ لَيْلُهَا وَنَهَارُهَا سَوَاءٌ
path where it does not make any difference whether it is day or night;
there is no danger of being misguided at any time."
Another point to note in this verse is that Sayyidna Muhammad
al-Mușțafa
has been referred to in the beginning of the sentence as a
rasul (messenger) and as such it would have been apparently more
appropriate to use the word khatam-ur-rusul or khatam-ul-mursalin (the
last of the messengers ) for him. But the wise Qur'an has, instead, used
the word khatam-un-nabiyyin (the last of the prophets). The reason is
that according to the consensus of scholars, there is a difference between
Nabi (prophet) and rasul (messenger). Nabi is that person whom Allah
Ta'ala (the Almighty) has selected for the reformation of His slaves and
has honored him with His Wahy (revelation), irrespective of whether He
has given him a Book and a new Shari'ah (set of revealed rules and
precepts) or He has appointed him to guide the followers of a previous
Nabi according to a previous Nabi's Book and Shari'ah, like Sayyidna
Harun &Cd was appointed to guide and reform his followers according to
the Book and Shari'ah of Sayyidna Musa &l. On the contrary, the word
rasul (messenger) is used exclusively for a particular Nabi who has been
given a Book and a new Shari'ah. As such Nabi is more general than
Rasul.
So the meaning of this verse is that the Holy Prophet #8, being the
last of the prophets, has concluded the line of prophets and no prophet
will come after him, irrespective of whether he is given a Book and a
Shari'ah or he succeeds a previous Nabi to follow his Book and Shari'ah.

173
Surah al-Aņzab : 33 : 40
It is now very clear that all kinds of prophets appointed by Allah came to
an end with the Holy Prophet
no prophet will be appointed after
him.
Imam Ibn Kathir, in his Tafsir, says:
فَهذِهِ الْآَيَّةُ فِى أَنَّهُ لَا نَبِىّ بَعْدَهُ وَإِذَا كَانَ لَا نَبِىّ بَعْدَهُ فَلاَ رَسُوْلَ بِالطّرِيْقِ الْأَوْلى، لَإِنَّ
مَقَامَ الرِّسَالَةِ أَخَصُ مِنْ مَّقَاعِ النُّبُوَّةِ، فَإِنَّ كُلَّ رَسُوْلٍ نَبِىٌّ وَلَا يَنْعَكِسُ، بِذَلِكَ وَرَدَتِ
الْأَحَادِيثُ الْمُتَوَائِرَةُ عَنْ رَّسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ حَدِيْثِ جَمَاعَةٍ مِّنَ
الصّحَابَةِ.
"This verse is the unambiguous proof of the belief that there
would be no Nabi after the Holy Prophet # and since there
would be no Nabi , there is no question of there being any rasul
after him because Nabi is a general term and rasul is
particular. And this is the belief which is evidenced by
mutawatir ahadith which have reached us through the reports
of a very large number of the Noble Companions
The Literal explanation of this verse has been given here in
considerable detail because one imposter by the name of Mirza Qadiyani,
considering this verse to be a hindrance in his way, has distorted the
meanings of the verse and has introduced a host of conjectures in its
explanation. The foregoing, al-Hamdulillah, is a befitting reply.
The Issue of Termination of Prophethood
That the Holy Prophet
was the last of the prophets who has sealed
and thus terminated prophethood, and that no other prophet is to be
appointed after him and every claimant to prophethood is a liar and an
infidel are well-settled issues on which there has been complete unanimity
and consensus right from the days of the noble companions
upto the
date. Therefore there was no need for a lengthy discussion on this subject.
But the Qadiyani sect has put in a lot of effort to create doubts in the
minds of Muslims on this issue; by publishing hundreds of pamphlets and
books they have tried to misguide those Muslims who are not well versed
in religious knowledge. So this humble author has written a book titled
"Khatm-e-Nabuwwat" in which this issue has been fully detailed and
clarified in the light of one hundred Qur'anic verses, more than two
hundred ahadith and hundreds of dictum of the classic as well as later
scholars and learned people; the Qadiyani deception and doubts created

174
Surah al-Aņzab : 33 : 40
thereby have been fully refuted. Some important points from that book
are being reproduced here.
The Holy Prophet's
Being the Last Prophet does not negate
the descent of Sayyidna 'Isa && in the last days
It is proved from many verses of the Qur'an and from mutawatir
ahadith that in the last days before the doomsday, Sayyidna 'Isa Scal
would come into this world again, kill Dajjal ( the Antichrist ) and bring
all misguidance to an end. The detailed proofs of this fact are given in my
Arabic book 'At-tasrih'. Mirza Qadiyani, denying the descent of Sayyidna
'Isa Cel, has proclaimed himself to be the predicted Masih with the
reasoning that if reappearance of Sayyidna 'Isa Ibn Maryam JI Lule
who was a prophet of Israelites, is accepted, then it would negate the Holy
Prophet's being the last of the prophets.
The clear reply is that the Holy Prophet's
being the last prophet
means that nobody would be appointed as a prophet after him; it does not
imply that somebody who was appointed a prophet earlier would be
dismissed from his prophethood or that such a prophet would not be able
to return to this world. But, of course, the prophet who returns to this
world for the reformation of the Ummah of the Holy Prophet while
maintaining his prophethood, would carry out the reforms in the Ummah
in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Prophet , as clarified in
authentic ahadith.
Imam Ibn Kathir, in explanation of this verse, has said:
والمراد بكونه عليه السّلام خاتمهم انقطاع حدوث وصف النبوّة فى احد مّن
الثقلين بعد تحليته عليه السلام بها فى هذه النشأة، ولا يقدح فى ذلك ما اجمت
عليه الامّة واشتهرت فيه الاخبار، ولعلها بلغت مبلغ التواتر المعنوى و نطق به
الكتّب على قول ووجب الايمان به وأكفر منكره كالفلاسفة من نزول عيسى عليه
السلام آخر الزمان، لأنّه كان نبيًّا قبل ان يحلى نبيّنا صلى الله عليه وسلم بالنبوة فى
هذه النشأة.
"The Holy Prophet # being the last of the prophets means that
the office of prophethood stands terminated after him. No one
would get this office after him. But it does not have any effect on
the fact of the descent and reappearance of Sayyidna 'Isa E in
the last days on which there is a consensus of the whole
Ummah and which is proved by a large number of ahadith that

175
Surah al-Ahzab : 33 : 40
are almost mutawatir and by the Qur'an itself according to
some interpretations, because he had been given prophethood
before the Holy Prophet %."
Distortion of the Meaning of Prophethood and invention of new
kinds of Prophethood
This claimant of prophethood adopted a new trick to pave the way for
his claim by inventing a new kind of prophethood which simply does not
exist in Qur'an and Sunnah and neither is there any proof for it, but
according to him this new kind of prophethood does not negate the decree
of Qur'an regarding the termination of prophethood. Briefly, he has
introduced in prophethood the concept of reincarnation, which is well
known in Hinduism and other religions. His contention is that if a person
is dyed in the color of the Holy Prophet , by virtue of his complete
obedience to him and by following his footsteps, his coming to this world is
the coming of the Holy Prophet 2g himself; such a person is in fact the
shadow and incarnate demonstration of none else but the Holy Prophet
Therefore, his claim does not negate the belief in the termination of
prophethood after him.
But how can this invented kind of prophethood find its way to Islamic
beliefs? There is no proof of it. Besides, the belief in termination of
prophethood is a basic belief of Islam and as such it has been so
thoroughly clarified by the Holy Prophet &g under different topics at
various times that no imposter can distort it. The full details can be seen
in this author's book referred to earlier, but only some necessary proofs of
this belief are being presented here.
Şahin of Bukhari, Şahin of Muslim and almost all books of Hadith
have reported from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah
ge with authentic chain of
narrators that the Holy Prophet g has said,
ان مثلي ومثل الانبياء من قبلى كمثل رجل بنى بيتًا فاحسنه واجمله الاموضع لبنة
من زاوية، فجعل الناس يطوفون به ويعجبون له ويقولون هلاّ: وضعت هذه اللبنة؟
وانا خاتم النبيين، رواه احمد والنسائى والترمذى وفى بعض الفاظه فكنت انا سددت
موضع اللبنة وختم بى البنيان
"The example of all the prophets before me and of myself is like
a man has built a very strong and well decorated house in one
corner wall of which space has been left vacant for one brick;
people roam about in the home to see it and admire the

176
Surah al-Aḥzab : 33 : 40
construction but all of them say that why did not the builder
put a brick in that space also which would have completed the
construction. I am that last brick (of the palace of prophethood)"
and in some versions he said "I have filled up that vacant space
and thus completed the palace of prophethood."
The gist of this eloquent simile is that prophethood is like a grand
palace composed of Prophets g. This grand palace was complete in all
respects before the Holy Prophet " except for the placement of one brick.
The Holy Prophet
completed this grand palace by filling up that
vacant space for one brick. Now there is no more space for any prophet or
messenger. Even if it is supposed that there are other kinds of prophets
and messengers, there is just no more space for them in the palace of
prophethood.
In another Hadith narrated by Sayyidna Abu Hurairah 4% reported
in Şahihs of Bukhari, Muslim, Musnad of Ahmad, etc., the Holy Prophet
has said:
كانت بنو اسرائيل تسوسهم الانبياء كلّما هلک نبى خلفه نبى وانه لانبى بعدى و
سیکون خلفاء فیکثرون (الحديث)
"The politics and administration of Banu Isra'il was being
handled by the prophets themselves. When one prophet expired,
another prophet would take his place. And after me there is no
prophet, but of course, there would be my khulafa' (caliphs -
successors) who would be numerous."
This Hadith has made it clear that there would be no prophet after
the Holy Prophet 2 and the education and instruction of the Ummah
would be carried out by his Khulafa'. The Holy Prophet 25 has explicitly
and clearly told us that there is no prophethood of any kind after him,
otherwise he would have mentioned it in this Hadith where he has
mentioned Khulafa'.
Şahins of Bukhari and Muslim have reported a Hadith narrated by
Sayyidnā Abu Hurairah age :-
لَمْ يَبْقَ مِنَ النُّبُوَّةِ إِلاَّالْمُبَشِّرَاتِ
"Nothing is left of prophethood except mubashshirat (true
dreams )".
As reported in Musnad of Ahmad, etc., Sayyidah Şiddiqah 'A'ishah

177
Surah al-Aḥzab : 33 : 40
have stated رضى الله عنها and Sayyidah Umm Kurz al- K'abiyyah رضى الله عنها
that the Holy Prophet
has said:
لا يبقى بعدى من النبوة شئ الّا المبشرات، قالوا: يا رسول الله! وما المبشرات؟
قال: الرؤيا الصّالحة يراها المسلم او تری له. (طبرانى، كذا فى الكنز)
"Nothing is left of prophethood after me except mubashshirat.
The noble companions asked: O Holy Prophet ! What is
mubashshirat? He replied, 'True dreams that a Muslim sees
himself or somebody else sees about him."
This Hadith has so explicitly told that no kind of prophethood, either
one with a new law or without it, either Zilli (shadowy) or Buruzi
(incarnate), is possible after the Holy Prophet g; people would only have
mubashshirat (true dreams) through which they would find out a few
things.
Musnad of Ahmad and Tirmidhi carry a narration of Sayyidna Anas
Ibn Malik see wherein the Holy Prophet
¿ has said:
إن الرسالة والنبوة قد انقطعت فلا رسول بعدى ولا نبى (رواه الترمذى وقال: هذا حديث صحيح)
"No doubt risalah (messengership) and nubuwwah
(prophethood) stand terminated after me; after me there would
neither be a rasul (messenger) nor a Nabi (prophet)".
This Hadith has made it clear that prophethood even without a new
law is simply not there after the Holy Prophet &g what to say of zilli or
buruzi prophethood which are neither any form of prophethood nor are
they recognized as such in Islam.
The objective is not to collect here all the ahadith pertaining to the
issue of termination of prophethood; more than two hundred ahadith on
this subject have been put together in my book "Khatm-e-Nabuwwat".
The objective, by quoting a few of them is to advise that the categories of
zilli and buruzi prophethood invented by Mirza Qadiyani is without any
basis or proof, and moreover the ahadith quoted above have told
explicitly that there is no kind of of prophethood whatsoever left to come
after the Holy Prophet .
That is why, right from the days of the noble companions see uptill
today, all the schools of Muslim Ummah are unanimous on the belief that
there cannot be any kind of Nabi or Rasul after the Holy Prophet and

178
Surah al-Aņzab : 33 : 40
whoever claims to be so is a liar and denier of the Qur'an and is a
disbeliever. The first general consensus of the noble companions de had
evolved on this very issue as a result of which a holy war (jihad) was
fought with Musaylimah, the liar, the false claimant of prophethood,
during the period of the first Khalifah Sayyidna Abu Bakr dee, in which
he (Musailimah) and his followers were killed.
The dictums and clarifications of the past Imams and wise scholars of
the Ummah are reproduced in considerable detail in the book
"Khatm-e-Nabuwwat", some of them are being copied here also.
Ibn Kathir, in his tafsir, writes under this verse:
أخبر الله تعالى فى كتابه ورسوله الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم فى السنة المتواترة عنه
أنه لا نبي بعده ليعلموا ان كل من ادعى هذا المقام بعده فهو كذاب افّاک دجّال
ضالٌ مضل. ولو تحرّق وشعبذ واتى بانواع السحر والطلاسم والنيرنجيات فكلها
محال وضلال عند اولى الالباب كما اجرى الله سُبحانه على يد الاسود العنسى
باليمن ومسيلمة الكذاب باليمامة من الاحوال الفاسدة والاقوال الباردة ما علم
كُلّ ذى لُبّ وفهم وحجى انهما كاذبان ضالآن لعنهما الله تعالى وكذلك كل
مدع لذلك الى يوم القيمة حتّى يختموا بالمسيح الدجّال. (ابن كثير)
"Allah Ta'ala in this Book and the Holy Prophet " in successive
ahadith has informed that there is no Nabi after the Holy
Prophet so that people should know that whoever claims to
be a prophet after him is a liar, a cheat, an imposter, a deviator
who misguides others, no matter how many conjuring tricks he
shows, magic spells he binds or talismanic wonders and
sorceries he performs which are, in fact, sheer fallacies
recognized as such by the people who have have knowledge and
understanding. Allah Ta'ala had let such perverse acts and
utterances manifested at the hands of Aswad Al-'Ansi (claimant
of prophethood) in Yemen and Musaylimah, the liar, (another
claimant of prophethood) in Yamamah in a way that every
intelligent and comprehending person, after hearing and seeing
them, knew that both of them were liars and misguided. May
Allah curse them. In the same way anyone who claims to be a
prophet upto the Doomsday is a liar and an infidel and this
stream of claimants of prophethood would end at Dajjal, the
Anti-Christ."
Imam Ghazzali, ,while explaining the above mentioned verse and

179
Sūrah al-Aḥzab : 33 : 41 - 48
discussing the belief in the termination of prophethood, has observed in
his book 'Al-Iqtisad fil I'tiqad' as follows,
وليس فيه تاويل ولا تخصيص ومن أَوَّلَه بتخصيص فكلامه من الهذيان لا يمنع
الحكم بتكفيره لانّه مكذّبٌ لهذا النص الذى اجمعت الامة على انه غير مأوّل ولا
مخصوص .
"The entire Ummah has unanimously understood from these
words and from circumstantial evidences that there will never
be a prophet after him ever, nor will ever come a messenger of
Allah. These words (of the verse) can neither be interpreted in
any other sense, nor can their generality be restricted."
Qadi 'Iyad in his book 'Ash-shifa', after declaring that a person who
claims to prophethood after the Holy Prophet
is a liar and an infidel
who does not believe in this verse, has observed as follows:
واجمعت الامة على حمل هذا الكلام على ظاهره، وانّ مفهومه المراد به دون
تاويل ولا تخصيص، فلا شك فى كفر هؤلاء الطوائف كلها قطعًا اجماعًا وسمعًا.
"The Ummah holds by consensus that this discourse bears the
obvious meaning and that this verse means what it says,
without any other interpretation or any exception. Therefore,
there is no doubt in the kufr (infidelity) of all those sects (who
follow any claim out of prophethood) rather their kufr stands
absolutely proved in view of the consensus of the Ummah and
the express texts of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Verses 41 - 48
يَأَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ امَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيْرًا ﴿١٤﴾ وَسَبِّحُوُهُ بُكْرَةً
وَّاصِيْلاً ﴿٢﴾ هُوَ الَّذِىُ يُصَلِّىُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَئِكَتُهُ لِيُخْرِجَكُمُ مِّنَ
الظُّلُمْتِ إِلَى النُّوْرِ* وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ رَحِيمًا ﴿٤٣) تَحِيَّتُهُمُ يَوْمَ
يَلْقَوْنَهُ سَلَمْ مَّ وَاَعَدَّ لَهُمُ اَجْرًا كَرِيْمًا ﴿٤﴾ ◌َأَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ ◌ِنََّ
أَرْسَلُنْكَ شَاهِدًا وَّمُبَشِّرًا وَّنَذِيْرًا ﴿٤٥﴾ وَدَاعِيًّا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِذْنِه
وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيْرًا ﴿٤٦﴾ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِيُنَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ مِّنَ اللّهِ فَضْلاً كَبِيْرًا
﴿٤٧﴾ وَلاَ تُطِعِ الْكَفِرِيُنَ وَالْمُنْفِقِينَ وَدَعُ اَذِئُهُمْ وَتَوَّلُ عَلَى اللهِ﴾

180
Surah al-Azab : 33 : 41 - 48
وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ وَكِيْلاً ﴿٤٨)
O those who believe, remember Allah abundantly, [41]
and proclaim His purity at morn and eve. [42] He is such
that He and His angels send blessings to you, so that He
brings you out from all sorts of darkness into Light.
And He is Very-Merciful to the believers. [43] Their
greeting, the Day they will meet Him, will be, "Salam"
(Peace). And He has prepared for them a noble reward.
[44]
O prophet, We have sent you as a witness and a bearer
of good news and a warner, [45] and as one who calls
(people) towards Allah with His permission, and as a
luminous lamp. [46] And give good news to the believers
that they are to receive a huge bounty from Allah. [47]
And do not obey the infidels and the hypocrites, and
just ignore any hurt (that afflicts you) from them, and
place your trust in Allah. And Allah is sufficient (for
you) to take care of all matters. [48]
Commentary
Mentioned in the preceding verse was the incident of Sayyidna Zaid
de
diese
and Sayyidah Zainab Que Ul >), and in relation to it the Holy
Prophet's being the last of the prophets has been stated in the context of
directions for the respect and reverence of the Holy Prophet and
saving oneself from causing any pain to him.
Further on also, the perfect attributes of the Holy Prophet we are
going to be stated; his person and attributes are the greatest blessings for
Muslims in this world. The instruction of remembering Allah in
abundance is given in the above verse to show gratitude for those
blessings.
Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas de has stated that there is no form of worship
except JI's; dhikrullah (remembrance of Allah) for which Allah has not
fixed a limit; for example, Salah is prescribed five times a day and the
number of rak'at are determined for each Salah; fasting throughout the
month of Ramadan is determined, Hajj can be performed only at a
particular place and at a particular time, Zakah is prescribed once a year
at a particular rate. But dhikrullah is a form of worship for which there is
no limit or defined quantity, no particular time or period, no defined

181
Surah al-Ahzab : 33 : 41 - 48
posture or position, nor even the state of purity through ablution is
required. Dhikrullah is required all the time, in all circumstances,
whether one is traveling or is at home, whether one is healthy or ill,
whether one is on land or at sea, whether it is day or night - dhikrullah is
required all the time.
Therefore no excuse is acceptable for neglecting dhikrullah except
that one may have lost his senses and become unconscious. In case of all
forms of worship, other than dhikrullah, if one becomes unable due to
illness or compelling circumstances, one is allowed reduction, brevity or
exemption altogether, but in case of dhikrullah there are no extenuating
circumstances. Therefore, no excuse is considered valid for omitting it and
the merits, blessings and rewards for doing it are also numerous.
Imam Ahmad has reported from Sayyidna Abu ad-Darda' dge that the
Holy Prophet said to the noble companions ce, 'Should I not tell you a
thing that is better than all your deeds and is most acceptable to your
Lord, and which would raise your grades, and is better than giving silver
and gold in charity and alms and is also better than your embarking for
Jihad wherein you face and kill the enemy and the enemy kills you? The
noble companions
asked the Holy Prophet
about that thing. The
Holy Prophet said, ◌َّذِكُرُ اللهِ عَزَّوَجَل that is, remembrance of Allah, the
Mightiest the Most Glorious". (Ibn Kathir)
Imam Ahmad and Tirmidhi also have reported that Sayyidna Abu
Hurairah
said that he had heard a prayer from the Holy Prophet
which he does never miss. It is the following:
اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلُنِىُ أُعَظِّمُ شُكُرَكَ وَاتَّبِعُ نَصِيُحَتَكَ وَأُكْثِرُ ذِكُرَكَ وَأَحْفَظُ وَصِيَّتَكَ
"O Allah make me so that I keep thanking You profusely, I keep
obeying your instructions, I keep remembering You abundantly
and I safeguard (to follow) your advice." (Ibn Kathir)
Here the Holy Prophet
has supplicated to Allah Ta'ala for ability to
engage in dhikrullah abundantly.
A Beduin said to the Holy Prophet
that the number of good deeds,
obligations in Islam are many; so please tell me something concise and
comprehensive which I could hold on to firmly. The Holy Prophet told
him,

182
Surah al-Aḥzab : 33 : 41 - 48
لاَيَزَالُ لِسَانُكَ رَطُبًا بِذِكُرِ اللَّهِ تَعَالى
That your tongue remains always wet with the dhikr of Allah.
(Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Kathir)
Sayyidna Abu Said " has narrated that the Holy Prophet g has
said ◌ٌأُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ تَعَالى حَتَّى يَقُوُلُوا مَجُنُون "Remember Allah, the Almighty so much so
that people start calling you crazy." (Ibn Kathir from Musnad Ahmad)
And Sayyidna 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar
has narrated that the Holy
Prophet
has said that a gathering of people wherein Allah is not
mentioned would prove to be a matter of remorse on the Doomsday for
those sitting therein. (Ahmad, Ibn Kathir)
(33:42 ."And proclaim His purity at morn and eve") وَسَبِّحُوُهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيْلاً
Here morning and evening may, metaphorically, mean all the time.
Alternatively, morning and evening have been mentioned specifically to
lay emphasis on carrying out dhikrullah during these times and to
indicate that it carries more blessings - otherwise dhikrullah is neither
specified nor limited to any particular time.
He is such that He and His angels send) هُوَ الَّذِىُ يُصَلِّىُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَئِكَتْهُ
blessings to you. 33:43) It means that when you have become used to
dhikrullah in abundance and have become regular in recounting the
perfections of Allah morning and evening, Allah would honor you and
respect you by bestowing His Blessings and by the angels supplicating for
you.
The word 'Salah' has been used in this verse for Allah Ta'ala as well
as for the angels but the applicable meaning are different. For Allah it
means His bestowing blessings, and for angels who have no volition on
their own, it means their supplication to Allah to bestow His blessings.
Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas dee has stated that Salah from Allah is blessing,
from angels it is prayer for forgiveness and from humans it is
supplication. The word Salah carries all the three meanings.
,Their greeting, the Day they will meet Him, will be) تَحِيَُّهُمْ يَوْمَ يَلْقَوْنَه، سَلِمْ
"Salam" - 33:44). This is the explanation of the Salah that is sent to
believers from Allah. It means that the day they would meet Allah, they
will be respectfully addressed by Him with the word, 'Salam' i.e.
(Assalamu 'alaykum) . The day of meeting Allah according to Imam

183
Sūrah al-Aņzab : 33 : 41 - 48
Raghib, would be the Doomsday; some other leading exegetes say that it
would be when they enter Paradise and they would receive Salam from
Allah Ta'ala as well as from the angels; and yet other scholars consider it
to be the day of death when they would leave the whole world to be
present before Allah as stated by Sayyidna 'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud see that
when the Angel of Death goes to a believer to extract the spirit of life out
of him, he gives him a message that his Lord has sent to him Salam. The
word 'meeting' is true in all the three cases. Therefore there can be no
objection or contradiction in the traditions, because Salam from Allah
Ta'ala is sent on all the three occasions.
Note
This verse has proved that when Muslims meet each other, their
greeting should be assalamu 'alaykum whether from the older to the
younger or from the younger to the older.
Special Attributes of the Holy Prophet
فَأَيُّهَا النَّبِىُّ ◌ِنَّ أَرْسَلْنَكَ شَاهِدًا وَّمُبَشِّرًا وَ نَذِيْرًا وَّدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ إِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيْرًا
O prophet, We have sent you as a witness and a bearer of good
news and a warner and as one who calls (people) towards Allah
with His permission, and as a luminous lamp. (33:45-46)
The text here reverts to the special perfect attributes of the Holy
Prophet . Five attributes have been mentioned here - 'Shahid',
'mubashshir', "nadhir', da'i ila Allah'. 'siraj munir'. 'Shahid' (a witness)
means that the Holy Prophet & will be a witness of the ummah on the
Day of Judgment according to a hadith narrated by Sayyidna Abu Sa'id
al-Khudri dge and reported by Bukhari, Nasa'i and Tirmidhi. It is
mentioned in some parts of that Hadith that on the Day of Judgment
when Sayyidna Nuh You will be presented before Allah, he will be asked
whether he had conveyed Allah's Message to his Ummah. He will reply
that he did. Then his Ummah will be presented and they will deny having
received any message of Allah. Then Sayyidna Nuh & will be asked
whether he has any witness to his claim of having conveyed the message
of truth, and he will reply that Muhammad $
and his Ummah are
witnesses. Some narrations have it that he will present the Ummah of
Muhammad 3
É as witness and this Ummah will give evidence in his
favour. At this, the Ummah of Sayyidna Nuh You will argue 'How can
they, who were not even born at that time, give evidence in our case?'.

184
Surah al-Aņzab : 33 : 41 - 48
Now the Ummah of Muhammad af will be asked to substantiate their
evidence and they will answer that no doubt they were not born at that
time but they were told about it by their Holy Prophet 25 in whom they
believe and trust. At this time the Holy Prophet
will be asked to give
testimony regarding the veracity of his Ummah's statement.
Briefly, the Holy Prophet
through his testimony, will confirm and
verify the statement of his Ummah that, of course, he had given them
that news.
Another general meaning of being a witness for the Ummah may be
that the Holy Prophet
will give evidence about the good and bad deeds
of all the individuals of his Ummah. And this evidence would be on the
basis that the deed's of the Ummah are presented before the Holy Prophet
every morning and evening daily; some narrations state that the deeds
are presented once a week. The Holy Prophet
thus recognizes each and
every individual of his Ummah by their deeds and as such he will be
made witness for the Ummah on the Doomsday. (Ibn al-Mubarak from Sa'id
Ibn al- Musayyab, Mazharī)
Mubashshshir' means bearer of good news, and as such the Holy
Prophet ag is the announcer of the good news of Paradise for the
righteous people of his Ummah.
'Nadhir' means the one who warns; thus the Holy Prophet also
puts the fear of Allah's punishment in the hearts of his Ummah in case
they violate or disobey the injunctions of Shari'ah.
'One who calls people to Allah' means that the Holy Prophet e calls
his Ummah to believe in Allah's Being, Oneness and obedience. The act of
calling towards Allah has been qualified by the phrase 'with His
permission'. It means that the Holy Prophet g calls and invites people
towards Allah with His permission. This condition is an indication that
preaching and inviting towards Allah are very difficult tasks which
cannot be performed successfully without Allah" permission and help.
¿ (Siraj) means lamp and ('Munir') means luminous. The fifth
attribute of the Holy Prophet g has been stated that he is a luminous
lamp, and some are of the view that 'luminous lamp' refers here to the
Qur'an. But the context suggests that this is also an attribute of the Holy
Prophet g.

185
Surah al-Azab : 33 : 41 - 48
Qadi Thana'ullah has stated in Tafsir Mazhari that "the Holy
Prophet's = function of calling towards Allah pertains to his speech and
outward acts, his attribute of being a 'luminous lamp' pertains to his
blessed heart. Just as the sun illuminates the whole world, in the same
way, the hearts of the faithful become illuminated by the radiant light of
his heart. That is why the noble companions who were the beneficiaries
of his company in this world are superior and more exalted than the
whole of the Ummah, because their hearts were illuminated and graced
by his heart directly; the rest of the Ummah received this radiant light
indirectly through the noble companions and their successors and so on."
It can also be said that all prophets, specially the Holy Prophet
Low ,
after having passed away from this world are alive in their graves. Their
life in barzakh (transition between death and the Day of Resurrection) is
much more superior than the transit-life of common people, the reality of
which is known to Allah Ta'ala only. However due to this life, the hearts
of all Muslims would keep on receiving the radiant light of his blessed
heart, and the share of each individual would be in accordance with the
intensity of love and reverence he has towards the Holy Prophet and
the abundance of Salah (durud) he offers to him.
The radiant light of the Holy Prophet
has been metaphorically
described as a 'lamp', even though his inner radiance is far brighter than
the sun. This is because the sun illuminates only the surface of the world,
whereas his blessed heart illuminates the inside of the whole world and
the hearts of the faithful. The reason for this simile appears to be that
obtaining advantage from the light of a lamp is voluntary and available
all the time easily, whereas approaching the sun is well-nigh impossible
and its light is not available all the time.
The attributes of the Holy Prophet , as stated in the Holy Quran,
are also mentioned in Torah as reported by Imam Bukhari that Sayyidna
'Ata' Ibn Yasar says that one day when I met Sayyidna 'Abdullah Ibn
'Amr Ibn al-'As dee asked him to tell me the attributes of the Holy Prophet
as stated in Torah. He said, "of course, I will tell you. By Allah! some of
the attributes of the Holy Prophet 2 mentioned in the Qur'an are also
there in Torah" And then he quoted the following extract.
إِنَّا أَرْسَلُنْكَ شَاهِدًا وَّمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيْرًا وَّ حَرْزًا لِلْأُمِّيْنَ، أَنْتَ عَبْدِىُ وَرَسُوْلِيُ سَمَّيْتُكَ

186
Surah al-Aņzab : 33 : 49
الْمُتَوَكّلَ، لَيْسَ بِفَظٍّ وَّلاَ غَلِيظٍ وَلاَ سَخَّابٍ فِى الْأَسْوَاقِ وَلاَ يَدْفَعُ السَّئَةَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ
وَلَكِنْ يَّعْفُوُ وَيَغْفِرُلَنْ يَّقْبِضَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالِى حَتَّى يُقِيُمَ بِهِ الْمِلَّةَ الْعَوْجَآءَ بَانُ يَّقُّوْلُوا لَا إِلَّهَ
إِلاَّ اللّهُ وَيَفْتَحُ بِهِ اعينا عُمُيًّا وَاذَانًا صُمَّا وَّقُلُوْبًّا غُلْفًا.
"O Prophet ! We have sent you as a witness, as a bearer of
glad tidings , as a warner and as a refuge and protection for the
illiterate Arabs. You are My slave and messenger. I have named
you "mutawakkil' (i.e. one who trusts in Allah). You are neither
ill-tempered nor hard natured nor one who raises noise in the
markets; you do not repay wickedness with wickedness, rather
you forbear and forgive. Allah Ta'ala would not recall you from
the world till He has straightened out the crooked Ummah
through you and they start saying 'la ilaha illallah'. Allah
would open up unseeing eyes, un-hearing ears and locked-up
hearts through you".
The Holy Qur'an, after attributing the above qualities to the Holy
Prophet , is asking him to carry on his functions, that is, to give the
good news to the faithful that they are going to receive great bounties
and mercy from Allah and not to obey the desires of the infidels and
hypocrites. It was, though, not possible for the Holy Prophet 25 obey the
infidels and the hypocrites or to give up preaching and inviting people,
yet there was a chance that, in order to avoid people's sarcasm and
taunts, he might have inclined to avoid marrying Sayyidah Zainab Uls)
Que that was, in fact, a practical demonstration of the divine rule of
Shari ah. This has been alluded to as obeying the infidels and hypocrites.
He was further directed not to mind any vexation that he may receive
from the infidels and hypocrites (as he did) and also not to worry about
physical harm afflicted by them, but in case such a thought crosses his
mind, he was directed to trust in Allah, because Allah is enough to put all
matters right - He will protect him from all harms, and if an apparent
harm is caused during preaching, it is a gain in reality, and is not against
the promise of protection and putting things right.
Verse 49
◌َأَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ امَنُؤْا إِذَا نَكَحْتُمُ الْمُؤْمِنْتِ ثُمَّ طَلَّقْتُمُوْهُنَّ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ
تَمَسُّوُهُنَّ فَمَالَكُمُ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ عِدَّةٍ تَعْتَدُّونَهَا فَمَتِعُوُهُنَّ

187
Surah al-Aḥzab : 33 : 49
وَسَرِّحُوُهُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيْلاً ﴿ ٤٩)
O those who believe, when you marry the believing
women then divorce them before you have touched
them, then they have no obligation of any 'iddah
(waiting period) for you that you may count. So give
them (due) benefits, and release them in a pleasant
manner. [49]
Commentary
Some attributes and the special eminence of the Holy Prophet 25 have
been mentioned in the preceding verse. Some special rules that are
exclusive to him in matters of marriage and divorce are intended to be
mentioned in forthcoming verses in which he has a distinction over the
general Ummah. But before that, a general rule regarding divorce has
been mentioned as a prologue which is applicable to all Muslims in
general.
There are three injunctions regarding divorce in this verse.
The first injunction is that if after nikah (marriage) a woman is
divorced before the spouses have had full privacy الخلوة الصحيحة (Al-khalwah
Aş-sahihah), then she is not liable to any period of 'iddah (waiting
period), which means that she can enter into another marriage
immediately. In the present verse, 'touching' means having sexual
intercourse, either actually or by presumption, because if the spouses
meet together at a private place without any apprehension of interference
by someone and there is nothing to prevent them from having sex, this
type of privacy (Al-khalwah As-sahihah) carries the same legal
consequences as an actual intercourse.
The second injunction is that the divorced woman should be
separated gracefully and by giving some gifts to her. Giving something to
a divorced woman at the time of her departure is desirable according to
Sunnah, and in some cases it is compulsory as elaborated in verse 236 of
Surah Al-Baqarah (َّلَاجُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمُ إِنْ طَلَّقْتُمُ النِّسَآءَ مَالَمْ تَمَسُّوهُن - There is no sin on
you if you divorce women when you have not touched them. - 2:236). The
use of the word 'mata" here is perhaps based on the wisdom that this
word has a wide and general meaning and is applicable to anything
which may be beneficial, which includes the woman's obligatory rights,

188
Sūrah al-Aņzab : 33 : 49
like mahr (dower), etc.,which means that the dower, if not already paid,
has to be paid at the time of divorce gladly; and it also includes her rights
that are not compulsory, for example, a set of clothes to be gifted to her at
the time of departure, which is mustahab (commendable) in respect of
every divorced woman and the Qur'an has persuaded the husband for
both, the compulsory as well as commendable rights.
A leading scholar of Hadith 'Abd Ibn Humayd has narrated the
dictum of Sayyidna Hasan 4ee that every divorced woman has to be given
something as mut'ah whether one has had Al-khalwah Assahihah (full
privacy) with her or not and whether her mahr (dower) was fixed or not.
Details of Mut'ah to be given at the time of Divorce
Badai', the famous book of Hanafi figh has mentioned that mut'ah of
divorce means those clothes which a woman wears necessarily when
going out. It includes a pair of trousers, long shirt, shawl and a large
sheet as covering from head to feet. Clothes can be graded as high
quality, medium and ordinary. Muslim jurists have determined that if
both the husband and wife belong to wealthy families, the clothes have to
be of high quality; if they are both poor, then the clothes should be of
ordinary quality, and if one is poor and the other wealthy, then the
clothes may be of medium quality.
Islam's matchless teaching in discharging social obligations
gracefully
Recognition of rights and a courteous behavior towards others is
restricted in common practice to relatives, friends and at the best it is
extended to common people. Recognizing and discharging of the rights of
opponents and foes and devising rules and regulations for their execution
is a distinct feature of Islamic teachings. Although many organizations
have been established in our days exclusively for the protection of human
rights, and some rules and regulations have also been devised for this
purpose. Huge sums of money are collected as donations from all over the
world for this objective, but all of them are politically oriented and
whenever they do help the suffering people, such help is not available
everywhere, nor is it without a motive. It is rather given to fulfill their
own political aims. And, supposing, these organizations do start
functioning properly to serve the suffering humanity, the most they can
do is to help when some area is affected by a devastating storm, epidemic