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Khatam an-Nabiyyin (Arabic: خاتم النبيين, khātam an-nabīyīn; or Khātim an-Nabīyīn), usually translated as Seal of the Prophets, is a title used in the Qur'an to designate the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is synonymous with the term Khātam al-Anbiyā’ (Arabic: خاتم الأنبياء; or Khātim al-Anbiyā’). Among Muslims, it is generally regarded to mean that Muhammad was the last of the prophets sent by God.
Occurrence in the Quran
There is a difference among the schools of Qur'anic Recitation regarding the reading of the word خاتم in Verse 33:40 – it can be read as either khātim or khātam. Of the ten qirā’āt (readings, methods of recitation) regarded as authentic – seven mutawātir and three mashhūr – all read خاتم in this verse with a kasrah on the tāʼ (خاتِم, khātim) with the exception of 'Asim, who reads with a fatḥah on the tāʼ (خاتَم, khātam).[1][2][3][4] The reading of al-Hasan, a shadhdh (aberrant) recitation, is also khātam.[1][2]
The recitation that has become prevalent in most of the world today is Hafs 'an 'Asim – that is, the qirā’ah of 'Asim in the riwāyah (transmission) of his student Hafs. The reading of 33:40 according to Hafs 'an 'Asim is as follows:
Quranic use of the root kh-t-m
The nouns khātam and khātim are derived from the root kh-t-m (خ ت م). Words based on this root occur in the Quran eight times:[5]
- five times as the Form I verb khatama (خَتَمَ)[6]
- once as the noun khātim (خَاتِم), or khātam (خَاتَم) according to the qirā’ah of ‘Āṣim
- once as the noun khitām (خِتَـٰم), or khātam (خَاتَم) according to the qirā’ah of al-Kisā’ī[7][8]
- once as the passive participle makhtūm (مَختُوم)[9]
