The verse was explained by the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم himself, the Companions, TābiꜤīn رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُم, and 1400 years’ worth of expert Islamic scholarship.

Summarising centuries of academic and scholarly research into this verse, Imam Aḥmad Razā Khān رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه said:

خَاتَمُ النَّبِیّٖن means آخِرُ الْاَنْبِیَاء – the final of all Prophets. With the arrival of the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, it is impossible for anybody else to be given prophethood. This applies for the duration of his worldly lifetime and all the way until the Day of Judgement. It is an act of disbelief to make any form of taˈwīl or takhṣīṣ in this verse (This means it is disbelief to draw meanings from this verse according to one’s whims and desires).^[1]

Five heretical interpretations

The Imam رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه explained five corrupted interpretations of what   خَاتَمُ النَّبِیّٖن means.

1.   Some say, “This refers to a prophet who brings a new system of divine law. This means a new prophet can come to act upon this Islamic Shariah.” Whoever says and believes this, is a non-Muslim.

2.   Whoever says this means نبی بِالذّات  (original Prophet) becomes non-Muslim.

3.   The same applies to whoever says this means اَفْضَلُ النَّبِیّٖن (the best of all Prophets).^[2] (The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم is indeed the best and highest ranked of all Prophets, but to say خَاتَمُ النَّبِیّٖن  means this, is an act of disbelief, as this alters the meaning of a Quranic verse.)