O you who believe, remember Allah with much
remembrance, And exalt Him morning and afternoon. It is He who confers blessing
upon you, and His angels (also) that He may bring you out from darknesses into
the light. And ever is He, to the believers, Merciful. Their greeting the Day
they meet Him will be, "Peace." And He has prepared for them a noble
reward. O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a Witness and a Bringer of good
tidings and a Warner. And one who invites to Allah, by His permission, and an
illuminating Lamp. And give good tidings to the believers that they will have
from Allah great bounty. And do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites; Disregard their noxious talk and rely upon
Allah. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs. (Al-Ahzab 33: 42-49).
The Prophet as “Shahidan”: Witness for the people
Just before these Quranic verses, there is the
mention of Khatam-an-Nabiyyin and these verses are verily linked with
the subject of Khatam-an-Nabiyyin. As the Holy Prophet (pbuh) came for
the entire universe, thus, he is a Witness for one and all. And this has been
proved in the other verses of the Quran also, that Muhammad (pbuh) is a Witness
for all the other prophets. Therefore, “Shahidan”
means that 'We have sent you as a witness for all people, be it from the
past, the present and the future also. You are a witness over all the past
prophets and also the prophets who shall come in the future also. You are also
a Warner for all of them', which means that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was to
be a witness for the people who came before him and those who would come after
him. Now, how can the Holy Prophet (pbuh)
become a witness for the people whom he had not directly encountered/ met?
This verily means that he (pbuh) shall become like a measure to test/ try the
faith and deeds of the others.
It is the testimonial of the Holy Prophet
(pbuh) which shall determine if the deed is good or not. He shall also act as a
measure to test the works of the other prophets, be them past prophets and
those of the future also. And now you can see how this verse is linked with the
verse which mentions 'Khâtim'. Khâtim means someone who attests
and he makes that particular attestation through a testimonial. If it is a good
testimonial, then, through a seal, this becomes all the more a great proof that
the attestation is grand and viable. Therefore, Khâtim means a measure
which can deliver this testimonial for all past people, and those of the
present and future also.
It is verily the example of the Holy Prophet
(pbuh) which is used as a means to judge the stages and stations and actions of
the past, present and future prophets. Through the words and instructions of
the prophets, all these are used as measurements to determine if those prophets
are deserving of forgiveness or punishment.
'O you who believe! Remember
Allah with much remembrance. And glorify Him morning and evening. It is He Who
blesses you, as do His angels, to get you out of darkness into light, and He
has always been Merciful to the believers. Their greeting on the Day they meet
Him will be, “Peace!” And He has prepared for them an honourable reward. O
Prophet, We have sent you as a Witness and a Bearer of glad tidings and a
Warner, as one who calls people to Allah by His leave, and as a light-giving
lamp. Give good news to the believers that they will have a great bounty from
Allah. Do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Overlook their
annoyances, and put your trust in Allah. For Allah is sufficient to take care
of all matters.' (Surah Al-Ahzab 33: 42- 49)