Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL AHZAB [39]

39. Those who convey the Message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none save Allah. And sufficient is Allah as a Reckoner. 40. Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last of the Prophets. And Allah is Ever All-Aware of everything. Allah says:

(Those who convey the Message of Allah) meaning, to His creation, and fulfil that with which they have been entrusted.

(and fear Him,) means, they fear Him and they do not fear any besides Him, so no threats on the part of anyone can prevent them from conveying the Message of Allah.

(And sufficient is Allah as a Reckoner.) means, sufficient is Allah as a Helper and Supporter. The leader of all people in this regard and in all regards is Muhammad the Messenger of Allah , for he undertook to convey the Message to the people of the east and of the west, to all kinds of the sons of Adam, so Allah caused his word, his religion and his law to prevail over all other religions and laws. The Prophets before him were sent only to their own peoples, but he was sent to all of mankind, Arabs and non-Arabs alike.

(Say: ”O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah'') (7:158). Then his Ummah inherited the task of conveying from him, and the greatest of those who undertook this task after him were his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, who conveyed from him as he had commanded them, describing all his words, deeds and circumstances, night and day, when he was settled and when he was traveling, in private and in public, may Allah be pleased with them. Thereafter each generation inherited from their predecessors until our own time, so those who are guided, follow their example and their way. We ask Allah, the Most Generous Bestower, to make us among their heirs.   Allah states:

(Muhammad is not the father of any of your men,) After this it was not permitted to say Zayd bin Muhammad, i.e., he was not his father even though he had adopted him. No male child of the Prophet lived until puberty. Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, bore him Al-Qasim, At-Tayyib and At-Tahir, but they died in childhood. Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah bore him Ibrahim, but he also died in infancy. He also had four daughters from Khadijah: Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with them all. Three of them died during his lifetime, Fatimah lived long enough to be bereaved of him, then she died six months later.

(but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last of the Prophets. And Allah is Ever All-Aware of everything.) This is like the Ayah:

(Allah knows best with whom to place His Message) (6:124). This Ayah clearly states that there will be no Prophet after him. If there will be no Prophet after him then there will surely be no Messenger after him either, because the status of a Messenger is higher than that of a Prophet, for every Messenger is a Prophet but the reverse is not the case. This was reported in many Mutawatir Hadiths narrated from the Messenger of Allah via a group of his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. Imam Ahmad recorded a narration from Ubayy bin Ka`b, from his father that the Prophet said:

(My parable among the Prophets is that of a man who built a house and did a good and complete job, apart from the space of one brick which he did not put in its place. The people started to walk around the building, admiring it and saying, ”If only that brick were put in its place. '' Among the Prophets, I am like that brick.) It was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi, who said ”Hasan Sahih.'' Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said:

(Messengership and Prophethood have come to an end, and there will be no more Messengers or Prophets.) This worried the people, then he said:

(But there will be Al-Mubashshirat.) They said, `O Messenger of Allah, what are Al-Mubashshirat' He said,

(The dreams of a Muslim man, and they are one of the parts of prophethood.) This was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi, who said, ”Sahih Gharib.''   Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded that Jabir bin `Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said:

(The parable of myself and the Prophets is that of a man who built a house and did a complete and good job, except for the space of one brick. Whoever entered it would look at that space and say, how good it is, apart from the space of that brick. My position is like that of that brick, and the Prophets -- blessings and peace be upon them -- end with me.) It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and At-Tirmidhi, who said, ”It is Sahih Gharib with this chain of narrators.'' Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said:

(The parable of myself and the Prophets is that of a man who built a house and completed it apart from the space of one brick. I have come and completed that brick.) This was also recorded by Muslim. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said:

(The parable of myself and the Prophets who came before me is that of a man who built houses and made them complete and beautiful apart from the space of a brick in one of the corners. The people started to walk around, admiring the construction and saying, If only you put a brick here, your construction will be complete.) The Messenger of Allah said:

(And I am that brick.) It was also recorded by (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).   Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said:

(I have been given preference over the other Prophets in six ways: I have been given the ability to speak concisely; I have been aided by fear (cast into the hearts of my enemies); the spoils of war have been made permissible for me; the entire earth has been made a Masjid and a means of purification for me; I have been sent to all of mankind; and the Prophets end with me.) This was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah; At-Tirmidhi said, ”It is Hasan Sahih.'' Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah said:

(The parable of myself and the Prophets who came before me is that of a man who built a house and completed it apart from the space of one brick. I have come and completed that brick.) It was also recorded by Muslim. Jubayr bin Mut`im, may Allah be pleased with him, said that he heard the Messenger of Allah say:

(I have several names: I am Muhammad, and I am Ahmad; I am Al-Mahi (the eradicator) through whom Allah will erase disbelief; I am Al-Hashir (the gatherer) at whose feet mankind will gather; and I am Al-`Aqib (the final one) after whom there will be no Prophet.) It was also recorded in the Two Sahihs. And there are many other Hadiths on this topic. Allah has told us in His Book, and His Messenger has told us in the Mutawatir Sunnah, that there will be no Prophet after him, so that it may be known that everyone who claims this status after him is a liar and fabricator who is misguided and is misguiding others. Even if he twists meanings, comes up with false claims and uses tricks and vagaries, all of this is false and is misguidance as will be clear to those who have understanding. This is what Allah caused to happen in the case of Al-Aswad Al-`Ansi in the Yemen and Musaylimah the Liar in Al-Yamamah, whose false miracles and nonsensical words showed everyone who was possessed of understanding that they were liars who were leading people astray; may the curse of Allah be upon them both. This is the case with every false prophet until the Day of Resurrection, until they end with Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal (the Antichrist). Each of these liars is given by Allah signs which show the people of knowledge and the believers that his message is false -- which is part of the perfect kindness of Allah towards His creation. These liars do not enjoin what is good, nor forbid what is evil, unless they do so by coincidence or because it serves an ulterior purpose. They are the utmost in falsehood and immorality, in all that they say and do, as Allah says:

(Shall I inform you (O people!) upon whom the Shayatin descend They descend on every lying, sinful person.) (26:221-222) This is in contrast to the Prophets -- may blessings and peace be upon them -- for they are the utmost in righteousness, truthfulness, wisdom, uprightness and justice in all that they say and do, command and forbid. In addition to this they are supported with miracles and clear and obvious proof. May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them always, as long as heaven and earth remain.