Ibn Kathir in his commentary states:
This Ayah clearly states that there will be no Prophet after him. If there will be no Prophet after him then there will surely be no Messenger after him either, because the status of a Messenger is higher than that of a Prophet, for every Messenger is a Prophet but the reverse is not the case.
The 12th century Islamic philosopher, Raghib Isfahani, says in his Al-Mufradat fi Gharib al-Quran:
"Verily Allah the Exalted ended the office of Prophethood (for anyone in future) and made his Shari’ah to abrogate the Shari’ahs of others. In one way he made this Shari’ah perfected, as Allah the Exalted says: ‘Today have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour upon you’."(5:5).[29]
He further explainthis epithet in these words:
"And Khatim al-Nabiyyin, for he has ended the Nubuwwa (Prophethood), i.e. with him the Prophethood has come to an end".[30]