Tafsir of Al-Ahzab 33:40

"Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men" Meaning: He was not, in reality, the father of any man among you, such that there would be established between him and that person the sanctity of affinity and marriage that is established between a father and his son.

{ وَلَكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ } He is the Messenger of Allah. Every messenger is a father to his nation in terms of the obligation of reverence and veneration due to him from them, and the obligation of compassion and sincere counsel due to them from him—not in the rest of the rulings established between fathers and sons. Zayd is one of your men who are not his sons in reality; thus, his ruling is the same as yours. Claiming lineage and adoption are merely matters of special status and closeness, nothing more.

{ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ } Meaning: If he had a son who reached the age of manhood, that son would have been a prophet, and he (Muhammad) would not have been the Seal of the Prophets. As it is narrated regarding Ibrahim (his son) when he died: "Had he lived, he would have been a prophet."

If you ask: Was he not the father of al-Tahir, al-Tayyib, al-Qasim, and Ibrahim? I say: They have been excluded from the scope of the negation by His saying "of your men" in two ways:

1. They did not reach the age of manhood.
2. He attributed the "men" to "you" (your men), and these were his men, not yours.

If you ask: Was he not the father of al-Hasan and al-Husayn? I say: Yes, but they were not "men" at that time, and they were also his men, not yours. Furthermore, the intent was specifically his own sons, not his grandsons, because of the verse "and the Seal of the Prophets." Do you not see that al-Hasan and al-Husayn lived until one was over forty and the other over fifty?

Recitations:

• Lakinna Rasula Allah (accusative): Conjoined to "father of anyone."
• Walakin Rasulu Allah (nominative): Meaning "But he is the Messenger of Allah."
• Walakinn (with shadda): Omitting the predicate, meaning "But the Messenger of Allah is the one you know," i.e., he had no male child who lived.

{ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ } Khatam (with a fatha on the ta): Meaning the seal (the instrument). Khatim (with a kasra on the ta): Meaning the seal (the instrument) or the one who performs the sealing. This is supported by the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud: "But a prophet who sealed the prophets."

If you ask: How can he be the last of the prophets when 'Isa (Jesus) will descend at the end of time? I say: The meaning of his being the last of the prophets is that no one will be made a prophet after him. 'Isa is among those who were made prophets before him, and when he descends, he will descend acting according to the Sharia of Muhammad, praying toward his qibla, as if he were one of his nation.

{ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا * وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا }