Transliteration:( Yaaa Ahlal Kitaabi qad jaaa'akum Rasoolunaa yubaiyinu lakum 'alaa fatratim minar Rusuli an taqooloo maa jaaa'anaa mim basheerinw wa laa nazeerin faqad jaaa'akum basheerunw wa nazeer; wallaahu 'alaa kulli shai'in Qadeer )
O People of the Book! Indeed, there has come to you Our Messenger who makes clear to you Our commands, after a period of coming of messengers for a long time [78], lest you say: "There came not to us any bearer of glad tidings or warner". Therefore, now he (Muhammad ﷺ) has come to you as a bearer of glad tidings and as a warner [79]. And Allah has the power to do all things.
(Kanzul Imaan Translation)
This verse addresses the People of the Book (Yahud and Nasara), affirming that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has now come to them after a long gap in prophethood.
This period is referred to as "Fatrah" (a gap in the chain of messengers), indicating that no prophet came between ‘Isa عليه السلام and Muhammad ﷺ — a span of nearly 600 years.
This intermission of divine guidance was not due to divine neglect, but rather it honored the coming of the Final Messenger ﷺ — whose arrival was like the sun rising after the darkness of night.
From this, we learn:
The Holy Prophet ﷺ is the messenger for all of mankind, including the previous nations and their remnants among the People of the Book.
This global and universal Prophethood affirms his being Rahmatan lil-‘Aalameen — a mercy for all worlds (S21:V107).
The parents of the Prophet ﷺ, who lived during this period of fatrah, were not accountable to a revealed Shari‘ah, and hence belief in Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) sufficed for them.
The verse clarifies the purpose of the Prophet’s mission:
"Basheer" (Bearer of glad tidings): To inform those who accept truth of Allah’s reward.
"Nazeer" (Warner): To warn those who reject of Allah’s punishment.
Notably, the verse does not use the term "Mubashshir wa Musaddiq" (bearer of glad tidings and verifier), because:
Unlike previous prophets who came to verify and complete the mission of earlier prophets, the Holy Prophet ﷺ is Khaatam an-Nabiyyin — the Seal of the Prophets (S33:V40).
He is not a forerunner to any prophet, but rather the one who concludes and perfects the message of all prior revelations.
He affirms the truth of past prophets, not as a follower, but as the final, conclusive authority in the chain of divine messengers.
19. O People of the Scripture! Now has come to you Our Messenger making (things) clear unto you, after a break in (the series of) Messengers, lest you say: “There came to us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner.” But now has come unto you a bringer of glad tidings and a warner. And Allah is able to do all things. ) Allah is addressing the People of the Book — the Jews and the Christians, saying that He has sent His Messenger Muhammad to them, the Final Prophet, after whom there will be no Prophet or Messenger. Rather, He is the Final Messenger who came after a long time passed between him and `Isa, son of Maryam peace be upon them. There is a difference of opinion about the length of time between `Isa and Muhammad . Abu `Uthman An-Nahdi and Qatadah were reported to have said that this period was six hundred years. Al-Bukhari also recorded this opinion from Salman Al-Farisi. Qatadah said that this period was five hundred and sixty years, while Ma`mar said that it is five hundred and forty years. Some said that this period is six hundred and twenty years. There is no contradiction here if we consider the fact that those who said that this period was six hundred years were talking about solar years, while the second refers to lunar years, since there is a difference of about three years between every one hundred lunar and solar years. As in Allah’s statement,
(And they stayed in their Cave three hundred years, adding nine.) meaning, nine more lunar years to substitute for the difference between lunar and solar years, thus agreeing with the three hundred years that the People of the Book knew about. We should assert again that the time period we mentioned here was between `Isa, the last Prophet to the Children of Israel, and Muhammad , the Last Prophet and Messenger among the children of Adam. In the Sahih collected by Al-Bukhari, Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,
(I, among all people, have the most right to the son of Maryam, for there was no Prophet between Him and I.) This Hadith refutes the opinion of Al-Quda`i and others, that there was a Prophet after `Isa called Khalid bin Sinan. Allah sent Muhammad after a period of time during which there was no Prophet, clear path, or unchanged religions. Idol worshipping, fire worshipping and cross worshipping flourished during this time. Therefore, the bounty of sending Muhammad was the perfect bounty at a time when he was needed the most. Evil had filled the earth by then, and tyranny and ignorance had touched all the servants, except a few of those who remained loyal to the true teachings of previous Prophets, such as some Jewish rabbis, Christian priests and Sabian monks. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Iyad bin Himar Al-Mujash`i said that the Prophet gave a speech one day and said,
(My Lord has commanded me to teach you what you have no knowledge of and of which He taught me this day, `All the wealth that I gave to My servants is permissible. I created all My servants Hunafa (monotheists). But, the devils came to them and deviated them from their religion, prohibited for them what I allowed and commanded them to associate others with Me ﴿in worship﴾, which I gave no permission for.’ Then Allah looked at the people of the earth and disliked them all, the Arabs and non-Arabs among them, except a few from among the Children of Israel. Allah said (to me), `I only sent you to test you and to test with you. I sent to you a Book that cannot be washed by water (it is eternal), and you will read it while asleep and while awake.’ Allah has also Commanded me to burn (destroy) Quraysh. So I said, `O Lord! They will smash my head and leave it like a piece of bread.’ He said, `I will drive them out as they drove you out, and when you invade them We will help you. Spend on them (your companions) and We will spend on you, send an army and We will send five armies like it (in its support). Fight with those who obey you, against those who disobey you. And the inhabitants of Paradise are three: a just, prosperous, and charitable ruler; A merciful man who has a kind heart toward every relative and every Muslim; a forgiving, poor man with dependants ﴿who is charitable﴾. And the inhabitants of the Fire are five: the weak one with no religion; those who follow after you not for family reasons nor wealth; and the treacherous who does not hide his treachery, acting treacherous in even the most insignificant matters; and a person who comes every morning and every evening, is cheating your family or your wealth.’) And he mentioned the stingy, or the liar, and the foulmouthed person.” Therefore, the Hadith states that Allah looked at the people of the earth and disliked them all, both the Arabs and non-Arabs among them, except a few among the Children of Israel, or a few among the People of the Book as Muslim recorded. The religion was distorted and changed for the people of the earth until Allah sent Muhammad , and Allah, thus, guided the creatures and took them away from the darkness to the light and placed them on a clear path and a glorious Law. Allah said,
(lest you say, “There came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner.”) meaning, so that you, who changed the true religion, do not make it an excuse and say, “No Messenger came to us bringing glad tidings and warning against evil.” There has come to you a bringer of good news and a warner, Muhammad .
(And Allah is able to do all things. ) Ibn Jarir said this part of the Ayah means, “I am able to punish those who disobey Me and to reward those who obey Me.”
(5:19) People of the Book! After a long interlude during which no Messengers have appeared there has come to you Our Messenger to elucidate the teaching of the true faith lest you say: ‘No bearer of glad tidings and no warner has come to us.’ For now there indeed has come to you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner, Allah is All-Power-ful.[41]
41. In the present context this sentence is extremely eloquent and subtle. It signifies that the same God who had sent warners and bearers of glad tidings to men in the past has now sent Muhammad (peace be on him) with the same task. At the same time it also means that they {should not treat the message of this warner and bearer of glad tidings lightly. They should bear in mind that if they disregard the injunctions of God, He can chastise them as He wills, for He is All-Powerful and All-Mighty.
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