With-Love-to-Muhammad

َ
Structure of the word Khātam 21
aَ
رaإ ُ ْ ُ َّ‎اaأ َ َ
َa aااللهِ‏
ُ a َ ح دa َّ ُ َ ولُ‏
ُ ْ َ ہُ‏
a ۃً‏ َّ ِa
َ اتَ‎‏ٍ‏ نْ‏
اa‏ِ‏ aخ
‏َاتَّخَ‏ ذَ‏
‏َا a‏َدِ‏ ِ ہِ‏
بَ‎
و
‏َا ر
ِ ہِ‏ a
“Hazrat Anas bin Malik ra narrated: When the Prophet sa intended
to write to the Byzantines, it was said to him, ‘Those people will
not read your letter unless it is stamped.’ So the Prophet sa took a
silver ring (khātam) and got Muhammad, the Messenger of Allāh
engraved on it... as if I am now looking at its glitter in his
hand.” 6
These are only two examples, among many, that are sufficient to
shatter Farhan Khan’s opinion that khātam does not mean seal of
authentication and can only mean last. When the meaning of
“seal” is applied to the phrase Khātam-un-Nabiyyīn, it means Seal
of the prophets. This implies that the Holy Prophet sa is the seal of
authentication for all of the prophets as , past and future. This is
the simple, logical understanding of the position of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamā‘at.
The other objection that Farhan Khan raises against this
meaning is:
“...if the letters خ ت م meant seal of attestation as they
[Ahmadī Muslims] understand it, then to produce
the meaning of best, or most attested, the word should
have been as follows:
– best, highest of quality اخْ‏ تَمُ‏
6
Sahīh Bukhārī, Chapter: Taking a ring for stamping certain things or (for
stamping) letters written to the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians)
and other people