In the above reference, we find Khatamiyyat meaning finality in status rather than finality in time. Apart from the meanings that have been discussed so far, some scholars have described Khatamiyyat to mean a signet ring, adornment, and imparting blessing in the sense of a seal of authenticity. The Holy Prophet(sa) is the testifier of all excellences. This, the Promised Messiah(as) argued, was the Holy Prophet’s(sa) favour on the previous Prophets.
As I have mentioned earlier, Khatamiyyat transcends time and space. It has a universal application. Listen to the words of the Promised Messiah(as) from this point of view. He writes:
Thus, he became the Seal of the Prophets. This was not because no one was to be granted any spiritual grace after him, but because no one could achieve any grace without the attestation of his seal, and that the door of converse with God would never be closed to his followers. No other Prophet has been granted this seal; he is the only one through whose seal such prophethood can be achieved and for which it is necessary that its recipient should be his follower. (Haqiqatul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 22. p. 29–30)
The Promised Messiah(as) also writes:
I believe sincerely in His Messenger and know that all prophethoods reached their apex in him and that all law culminated in his law. Yet one type of prophethood has not ended, that is to say, the prophethood which is granted in consequence of complete obedience to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and which is illumined by his lamp. This prophethood has not ended inasmuch as it is a reflection of his prophethood and is given through him and is his manifestation and receives grace from him. (Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 23, p. 340)
Elsewhere, the Promised Messiah(as) has elaborated that all other Prophets are indebted to the Holy Prophet(sa) in that through his seal of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat he has testified to the truth of all previous Prophets. Had he not done so, we could not have believed in their truthfulness. This is a unique and great favour of the Holy Prophet(sa) that he has testified to the truth of not only all the previous Prophets but also to the Prophets sent anywhere in the world. In other words, the benefits of his Khatamiyyat transcend time and space.
In this connection, I would place before you a passage from the writings of the well known Mujaddid Alf-e-Thani, Hazrat Sheikh Ahmad Faruqi Sirhindi (died 1034 AH), who is a recognized authority among the different sects of Ahle-Sunnat (Hanafi, Deobandi, Barelavi). In his Maktubat, he states:
Following the advent of Hazrat Muhammad, the Chosen One, the Seal of the Prophets(sa), the attainment of the attributes of prophethood by his followers as subordinate or by way of inheritance, will in no way conflict with his status as the Seal of the Prophets. So do not be amongst the doubters. (Maktubat Imam Rabbani, Book 1, Maktub no. 301, vol. 5, p. 141)