Tafseer of The Clans · Al-Ahzaab · 33:40
Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا (33:40) (Muḥammad is not the father of any of your men, but the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets. And Allah is, of all things, All-Knowing.)
He, exalted be His mention, says: Muḥammad is not, O people, the father of Zayd ibn Ḥāritha, nor the father of any of your men whom Muḥammad did not beget; such that marriage to that man's wife would be forbidden to him after he had divorced her. Rather, he is the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets, the one who sealed off prophethood and set a seal upon it, so that after him it will not be opened for anyone until the rising of the Hour. And Allah is, of all things — of your deeds, your words, and everything else — the One who possesses knowledge; nothing is hidden from Him.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ (Muḥammad is not the father of any of your men). He said: this was revealed concerning Zayd, that he was not his son. And by my life, male children were indeed born to him; for he is the father of al-Qāsim, Ibrāhīm, al-Ṭayyib, and al-Muṭahhar. وَلَكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ (but the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets), that is to say: the last of them. وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا (And Allah is, of all things, All-Knowing).
Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra related to me, saying: ʿAlī ibn Qādim related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Nusayr ibn Dhuʿlūq, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, concerning His saying مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ (Muḥammad is not the father of any of your men). He said: this was revealed concerning Zayd ibn Ḥāritha. And the accusative (naṣb) in "rasūla Allāh" (the Messenger of Allah) has the meaning of a repetition of "kāna rasūla Allāh ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam" (he was the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace), while the nominative (rafʿ) has the meaning of a new beginning (istiʾnāf): but he is the Messenger of Allah. The reading according to us, however, is the accusative.
The reciters differed in the reading of His saying وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ (and the seal of the prophets). The reciters of the cities, with the exception of al-Ḥasan and ʿĀṣim, read this with a kasra on the tāʾ of "khātim al-nabiyyīn" (the one who sealed the prophets), with the meaning: that he sealed the prophets. It is reported that in the reading of ʿAbd Allāh it reads "wa-lākin nabiyyan khatama al-nabiyyīn" (but a prophet who sealed the prophets). That is a proof for the correctness of the reading of whoever reads it with a kasra on the tāʾ, with the meaning: that he is the one who sealed the prophets, may Allah's blessing be upon him and upon them. Al-Ḥasan and ʿĀṣim, on the other hand, read, as is reported, خَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ with a fatḥa on the tāʾ, with the meaning: that he is the last of the prophets, just as the one who reads it thus reads مَخْتُومٌ خَاتَمَهُ مِسْكٌ (sealed, whose seal is musk), with the meaning: the last of it is musk.
------------------------ Footnotes: (2) Perhaps: that is to say: he did not beget him … etc.
