Tenth Lecture
The Prophet of Islam: the Seal of the Prophets

The Real Meaning of the Seal of the Prophets

The Prophet of Islam is the last of God’s prophets and with him the cycle of prophethood comes to an end and this is one of the “essential beliefs of Islam.”

The true meaning of “essential” here is that anybody who enters the rank and file of the Muslims would soon realize that all followers of the Prophet believe him to be the last. In other words, such a person would soon realize that Muslims agree unanimously on the principle that Mu¦ammad(s) is the last of the prophets in the same way that they emphasize the principle of monotheism and no Muslim is awaiting the arrival of another Prophet.

In fact, with the Prophet’s mission, human civilization and perfection are now on their right paths and have reached a mature status to be able to stay on their own course. Now man can solve his problems through his use of Islam’s complete codes of instructions and teachings.

This notion could be expressed in another way: Islam is the most complete and ultimate stage in the evolution of human civilization. In its ideology, Islam is the most complete and in practice, Islamic laws deal with all human needs.

The Reasons why the Prophet is the Last Prophet

To verify this claim, we will present three clear reasons hare:

The necessity behind Mu¦ammad’s being the last Prophet: We have seen so far that anybody who comes into contact with a Muslim would realize that he or she believes that the Prophet of Islam is the last Prophet. Therefore, if anybody accepted Islam through logical reasoning, he has to accept this principle. And since in the previous lectures we dealt with the legitimacy and authenticity of this religion, we have to accept and believe that the Prophet of Islam is the last Prophet.

Some verses of the Holy Qur’¡n deal with this principle. An example is the following:

مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ.

“Mu¦ammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Apostle of Allah and the seal of the prophets.” [Qur’¡n 33:40]

This interpretation came into being at a time when the adoption of sons was a common practice among Arabs. They used to accept as their son somebody else’s son whom they adopted their own. That child would be adopted and accepted in the family circle and even got some share in the inheritance.

Islam put an end to such a backward custom, and adopted sons no longer benefited from inheritance. Among these was Zayd, the adopted son of the Prophet of Islam. Thus, this verse says: Instead of introducing the Prophet of Islam as the father of a specific individual, define him through two of his real characteristics: i.e. his prophethood and his being the last Prophet.

This interpretation reveals the fact that this principle was an accepted and generally verified fact.

Now we would like to know the real meaning of finality as related to the Prophet’s mission. The word “Kh¡tam” comes from the word “Khatm,” meaning “final.” For instance, a seal at the end of a letter is called khatm or finisher.

In Islamic narrations, we read that when the Prophet(s) decided to write letters to the rulers in those days to invite them to the new religion, he was told to stamp and seal his letters with a seal because it was the habit of Iranian rulers and statesmen not to accept any letter that was not sealed. For this reason, the Prophet(s) ordered his men to make a ring for him on the signet of which was written:

“There is no associate for God and Mu¦ammad is God’s messenger.” From then on letters were sealed with this ring.

Thus, the true meaning of “kh¡tam” is something that completes.