Khatam an-Nabiyyin (Arabic: خاتم النبيين, khātam an-nabīyīn; or Khātim an-Nabīyīn), translated as Seal of the Prophets, is a title used in the Qur'an to designate the prophet Muhammad. It is synonymous with the term Khātam al-Anbiyā’ (Arabic: خاتم الأنبياء; or Khātim al-Anbiyā’). It is generally regarded to mean that Muhammad was the last of the prophets sent by God.
The title khatam an-nabiyyin or khatim an-nabiyyin, usually translated as "Seal of the Prophets", is applied to Muhammad in verse 33:40 of the Qur'an. The popular Yusuf Ali translation reads,
There is a difference among the schools of Qur'anic recitation regarding the reading of the word خاتم in verse 33:40 – it can be read as either khātim or khātam. Of the ten qirā’āt (readings, methods of recitation) regarded as authentic – seven mutawātir and three mashhūr – all read خاتم in this verse with a kasrah on the tāʼ (خاتِم, khātim) with the exception of 'Asim, who reads with a fatḥah on the tāʼ (خاتَم, khātam). The reading of al-Hasan, a shadhdh (aberrant) recitation, is also khātam.
The recitation that has become prevalent in most of the world today is Hafs 'an 'Asim - that is, the qirā’ah of 'Asim in the riwāyah (transmission) of his student Hafs. The reading of 33:40 according to Hafs 'an 'Asim is as follows: