This means our beloved Prophetصَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم  is the Khalīfah of Allah Almighty and the master of everything created. He came to teach the creation about their Lord and show them the path leading to Allah Almighty. Qādir-i-kul refers to Allah Almighty, who has absolute and complete power over everything. The beloved Prophetصَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم  is His greatest Khalīfah and supreme representative.

It is the majesty of Allah Almighty that when He declares “Be”, whatever He wills comes to pass. Allah Almighty has bestowed upon His beloved Prophet  صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم this excellence, that whatever the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم says, Allah Almighty causes it to happen.

The greatest Khalīfah is our beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. After him, all the other noble Prophets عَـلَـيْـهِمُ الـصَّلٰوةُ وَالـسَّـلَام are also Khalīfahs of Allah Almighty.^[1] Through the means and blessings of the noble Prophets عَـلَـيْـهِمُ الـصَّلٰوةُ وَالـسَّـلَام, anybody from their nations who possesses the capability for this rank is also considered a Khalīfah upon the Earth.

Khilāfah is kasbī (acquired)

From this, we learn that indeed all the noble Prophets عَـلَـيْـهِمُ الـصَّلٰوةُ وَالـسَّـلَام are Allah’s Khalīfahs on earth. But for us ordinary human beings, after the noble Prophets عَـلَـيْـهِمُ الـصَّلٰوةُ وَالـسَّـلَام, we can only become worthy of this station if we strive for it and develop the necessary qualities within ourselves.

Shaykh Ibn al-ꜤArabī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه, a great saint of Allah Almighty and immensely learned personality, wrote an entire book on the commentary of this verse. He states that Prophethood is not kasbī (acquired), meaning that no person can become a Prophet through effort. Instead, the station of Prophethood was granted purely through the grace of Allah Almighty.

Yet, the rank of Khilāfah (mentioned in this verse) is acquired. By striving and by cultivating the right qualities within oneself, a person can indeed attain this status.^[2]