وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ
Muhammad is no more than a messenger.
“Mā” negates, “Muḥammadun” is the subject, “rasūlun” the predicate, and “illā” following negation contributes restriction. This does not deny every other attribute of the Prophet.
In its context, the utterance emphasizes his status as God's messenger and the human implications of that status. The proper scope of restriction is determined by context, not by a crude literal exclusion of every other description.
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Supplementary Practice — Integrated Grammatical and Rhetorical Analysis of Arabic Texts
وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ
Muhammad is no more than a messenger.
“Mā” negates, “Muḥammadun” is the subject, “rasūlun” the predicate, and “illā” following negation contributes restriction. This does not deny every other attribute of the Prophet.
In its context, the utterance emphasizes his status as God's messenger and the human implications of that status. The proper scope of restriction is determined by context, not by a crude literal exclusion of every other description.