مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ
Muhammad ﷺ is not the father of any of your men, but is Allah’s Messenger and the Seal of the Prophets. (Al-Aḥzāb 33:40)
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا
Say: O people, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all. (Al-Aʿrāf 7:158)
How the passages fit: The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was sent to all people, and prophethood ends with him. Universality of audience and finality in succession are distinct but mutually relevant truths.
Application: Confining the message to a single community or era contradicts its universality; recognizing a new prophet after him contradicts finality.
Limit of inference: Finality alone does not specify the breadth of the audience; that breadth has its own explicit evidence.