Muhammad and illiteracy: Difference between revisions

"The book shall be given to a person who is not learned. And when will be asked "Read this!", he will say "I am not learned".}}

This could be a prediction of what Aisha described:

Isaiah 29:12, however, is as follows:

{{Quote|Isaiah 29:11-13|

====Hadiths====

كتب (''kataba'') means "he wrote":

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

'''Once the Prophet (ﷺ) wrote (كَتَبَ) a letter or had an idea of writing a letter'''. The Prophet (ﷺ) was told that they (rulers) would not read letters unless they were sealed. So the Prophet (ﷺ) got a silver ring made with "Muhammad Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)" engraved on it. As if I were just observing its white glitter in the hand of the Prophet.}}

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:

'''The Prophet (ﷺ) wrote (كَتَبَ) a letter to Heraclius''': "From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to Hiraql (Heraclius), Chief of the Byzantines. Peace be to those who follow the guidance." Ibn Yahya reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas that AbuSufyan said to him: We then came to see Hiraql (Heraclius) who seated us before him. He then called for the letter from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Its contents were: "In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful, from Muhammad the Messenger of Allah, to Hiraql, chief of Byzantines. Peace be to those who follow the guidance. To proceed."}}

Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab:

Ahmad ibn Salih said: AbdurRazzaq transmitted this tradition to us from Ma'mar, from az-Zuhri on the authority of Sa'id. In this version he said: The Prophet (ﷺ) made him governor over the bedouins.}}

Narrated Yazid ibn Abdullah:

وكتب (''wa-kataba'') means "and he wrote":

Narrated Abu Humaid As-Saidi:

فكتب (''fa-kataba'') means "then he wrote":

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The Jews should either pay the blood money of your (deceased) companion or be ready for war." '''After that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) wrote (فَكَتَبَ) a letter to the Jews''' in that respect, and they wrote that they had not killed him.}}

Narrated Al-Bara:

Ibn Ishaq died in 761. But in the 9th century, Bukhari recorded the narration differently:

He used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food likewise again till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "'''I do not know how to read.''' (مَا أَنَا بِقَارِئٍ)" The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, 'I do not know how to read (or what shall I read)?' Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said, 'Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists), created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous." (96.1, 96.2, 96.3)

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==Hadith regarding the Ummah as an unlettered people==

According to a hadith, Muhammad said that the Islamic community was a ummiyya who could not write nor count. The hadith has been understood to mean that the start of the month should be determined by moon sighting and not by calculation.<ref>https://islamqa.info/en/4713</ref>:

Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah's Apostle as saying:

7:159 "And among the people of Moses is a community which guides by truth and by it establishes justice."

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So if they argue with you, say, "I have submitted myself to Allah [in Islam], and [so have] those who follow me." And say to those who were given the Scripture '''and [to] the unlearned''' (وَالْأُمِّيِّينَ, ''wa-al-ummeena''), "Have you submitted yourselves?" And if they submit [in Islam], they are rightly guided; but if they turn away - then upon you is only the [duty of] notification. And Allah is Seeing of [His] servants.

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{{Quote|Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on 62:2|

It is He Who sent to the unlettered folk among the Arabs '''ummī means ‘one who cannot write or read a book’''' a messenger from among them namely Muhammad (s) to recite to them His signs the Qur’ān and to purify them to cleanse them from idolatry and to teach them the Book the Qur’ān and wisdom in the rulings that it contains though indeed wa-in in has been softened from the hardened form with its subject having been omitted that is to say understand it as wa-innahum before that before his coming they had been in manifest error.}}

He used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food likewise again till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "'''I do not know how to read.''' (مَا أَنَا بِقَارِئٍ)" The Prophet (ﷺ) added, "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, 'I do not know how to read (or what shall I read)?' Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said, 'Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists), created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous." (96.1, 96.2, 96.3)

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