Prophet's Name al-Aqib صلى الله عليه وسلم

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والعاقبة للمتقين

One of the distinctive names of our holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is al-Aqib. He said:

لِي خَمْسَةُ أَسْمَاءٍ أَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، وَأَحْمَدُ، وَأَنَا الْمَاحِي الَّذِي يَمْحُو اللَّهُ بِي الْكُفْرَ، وَأَنَا الْحَاشِرُ الَّذِي يُحْشَرُ النَّاسُ عَلَى قَدَمِي، وَأَنَا الْعَاقِبُ

For me are five names: I am Muhammad, and Ahmad. I am al-Mahi through whom Allah effaces unbelief. I am al-Hashir after whom the people are gathered, and I am al-Aqib

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

In another version of this Hadith, there is the additional wording:

وَأَنَا الْعَاقِبُ الَّذِي لَيْسَ بَعْدَهُ أَحَدٌ

I am al-Aqib after whom there is none

(Sahih Muslim)

And in yet another version, there occurs the additional wording:

وَالْعَاقِبُ الَّذِي لَيْسَ بَعْدَهُ نَبِيُّ

and al-Aqib is he after whom there is no prophet

(Sahih Muslim)

This additional wording in which the name al-Aqib is explained to mean ‘he after whom there is no prophet’ is not found in any report collected by Imam al-Bukhari in his Sahih, but rather occurs in a version collected by Imam Muslim in his Sahih. The great Hanafi scholar Ali al-Qari has explained that this additional wording is not in fact from the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم but is commentary on the name al-Aqib by either a Sahabi or someone after:

الظَّاهِرُ أَنَّ هَذَا تَفْسِيرٌ لِلصَّحَابِيِّ أَوْ مَنْ بَعْدَهُ وَفِي شَرْحِ مُسْلِمٍ قَالَ ابْنُ الْأَعْرَابِيِّ ‌الْعَاقِبُ الَّذِي يَخْلُفُ فِي الْخَيْرِ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَهُ

It is obvious that the words ‘and al-Aqib is he after whom there is no prophet’ have been added as a commentary by a companion or someone afterwards. Ibn al-A’rabi states that al-Aqib refers to someone who succeeds another person in goodness (Mirqat al-Mafatih; v.10, p.49):