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سُورَةُ الأَحۡزَابِ · 33:40
MedinanRevelation order ٩٠Juzʾ ٢٢Page ٤٢٣

مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍۢ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَٰكِن رَّسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمًۭا

٤٠
Saheeh International · EN

Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing.

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Introduction

This is āyah 40 of Sūrat Al-Ahzaab (The Combined Forces), the 90th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 22. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

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Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Medinan
Order revealed
90 of 114
Surah
Al-Ahzaab (33)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

MuḤammad is not the father of any of your men, but rather the messenger of God and the seal of the prophets. This is a reminder bestowing the recognition, and an explanation declaring the eminence, of the paragon of the world and master of the children of Adam, the pearl of felicity and the foundation of mastery, the kiblah of prosperity and the kaabah of hopes, MuḤammad MuṣṬafā, the eminence of whose messengerhood is bound to the Beginningless and the exaltation of whose good fortune is joined with the Endless. The pulpit and mihrab are adorned with his name. The pillars of the religion and the foundations of belief were laid down by his explanation and clarification. That paragon was outwardly all ease and inwardly all comeliness. His expressions were eloquence, his secret core love. His spirit was from the light of exaltedness, his curtain the divine jealousy. His customs were the Shariah, his robe of honor intercession. Although God stripped the name of fatherhood from him, he was more tender and more lovingly kind than any father. He said, “For you I am like a father toward his children.” It has been said that his tenderness toward his community is greater than that of fathers, but God did not call him the father of the community because of what preceded in the beginningless decree, the lordly judgment, and the divine predetermination. This is the fact that on the Day of Resurrection-in that greatest gathering place and most tremendous exposure, when the pavilion of all-subjugatingness is pitched, the carpet of tremendousness spread, the scales of justice hung, the prison of chastisement brought out from the veil, spirits come to the throat, eloquent tongues become dumb, all excuses nullified, and all relationships cut-it is then that all fathers will flee from their children, as the Exalted Lord said: “On the day a man will flee from his brother, his mother, his father” [80:34]. Adam, who is the father of all, will come forth and say, “Lord God, let Adam go, and as for his children, You know what You will do.” Noah will say the same, Abraham the same; Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets the same. All will tremble from the harshness of the rising and the terror of the resurrection. They will be helpless for themselves and will not attend to their children.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Those who convey the Message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none save Allah. And sufficient is Allah as a Reckoner (39)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 (40) Praise for Those Who convey the Message. Allah says: الَّذِينَ يُبَلِّغُونَ رِسَالَاتِ اللَّهِ (Those who convey the Message of Allah) meaning, to His creation, and fulfil that with which they have been entrusted. وَيَخْشَوْنَهُ (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. وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ حَسِيبًا (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 ﷺ, f…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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And now — what do you think?

The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.

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Provenance

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