It was said: He only said, 'O Children of Israel,' and did not say, 'O people,' as Moses did, because he has no lineage among them to be considered their people. [Al-Zamakhshari said: 'He only said, O Children of Israel, and did not say: O people, because he had no lineage among them - blessings and peace be upon our Prophet and upon him. Ahmad said: This is similar to Allah's saying when Shu'ayb said to them, for Shu'ayb was not from the people to whom he was sent.'] The meaning is: I was sent to you while confirming what was before me from the Torah and while giving glad tidings of a Messenger who will come after me, meaning: that my religion is to confirm the Books of Allah and His Prophets, both those who came before and those who will come after. It has been read: 'after me,' with the yā being silent and pronounced open; Al-Khalil and Sibawayh prefer the open pronunciation.

And from Ka'b: The disciples said to Jesus: O Spirit of Allah, is there a nation after us? He said: Yes, the nation of Ahmad, wise scholars, righteous, pious, as if they were prophets in understanding. They are content with little sustenance from Allah, and Allah is pleased with little work from them. If you say: By what does 'confirming' and 'giving glad tidings' stand? Is it by what is in the Messenger from the meaning of sending or by 'to you'? I say: Rather, it is by the meaning of sending, because 'to you' is a connection to the Messenger, so it cannot act on its own since prepositions do not act by themselves, but by what they contain of the meaning of the action. If the connection does not include the meaning of the action, then from where does it act? And it has been read: 'This is a clear magician.'