Mohamed a negramotnost

Někteří apologetici tvrdí, že Mohamed nemohl být autorem Koránu, protože byl negramotný a že je jaksi nemožné dávat vymyšlená kázání, pokud je člověk negramotný.

Je čtení jedinou cestou jak získat informace?

Lidé mají 5 smyslů pro získávání informací z okolního světa:

  • Sluch (!!!)
  • Zrak
  • Hmat
  • Chuť
  • Čich

Lidé mohou získávat informací posloucháním. Verbální komunikace je běžný způsob získávání informací. Tato pointa je pravděpodobně jasná každému, kromě islámských apologetiků.

Během Mohamedova života, jeho kritici mu říkali "Ucho" (أذن, udhun), což je potvrzeno v Koránu:

A jsou mezi nimi ti, kdož urážejí proroka a říkají: „On je jenom uchem (أذن, udhun)!“


Zároveň víme, že během Mohamedova života existoval muž jménem Waraqa b. Naufal, který studovali Bibli a psal knihy v arabštině a byl blízký Mohamedově první manželce Chadídži. On oslepl, takže se dá předpokládat, že nadále učil Bibli verbálně, když už nemohl psát.

Chadídža jej vzala k Waraqa b. Naufal b. Asad b. 'Abd al-'Uzza, a on byl synem strýce Chadídži, tzn. bratr jejího otce. A on byl mužem, který přijal křesťanství za dnů džahílíje (tzn. před islámem) a psával knihy v arabštině a tak napsal evangelia v arabštině, jak bůh chtěl aby psal. Byl velmi starý a oslepnul. Chadídža mu řekla: Ó strýci! Poslechni si syna tvého bratra.


Takže Mohamed mohl mohl získat informace aniž by uměl číst a mohl dávat kázání, která obsahují tyto informace. Navíc mohl být inspirován sám sebou, svými touhami a mohl používat svoji fantazii.

Byl Mohamed opravdu negramotný?

Slovo ummiy v Koránu

Slovo ummiy (أمي) se v Koránu objevuje šestkrát. Dvakrát v jednotném čísle (verše 7:157-158) a čtyřikrát v množném (verše 2:78, 3:20, 3:75 a 62:2). [1] Z těchto veršů uvidíme, že to slovo nemusí nutně znamenat "negramotný", ale může také znamenat "neznalý" nebo "pohan".

Verše 7:157-158

Dva tvary v jednotném čísle jsou ve verších 7:157 a 7:158 v kontextu příběhu o Mojžíšovi:

7:155 "A vybral Mojžíš mezi lidem svým sedmdesát mužů pro schůzku Námi stanovenou. A když je postihlo zemětřesení, zvolal: „Pane můj, kdybys byl chtěl, byl bys je zahubil již dříve a mne s nimi. Hodláš nás zahubit kvůli tomu, co učinili hlupáci mezi námi? Vždyť je to jen Tvé pokušení, jímž dáváš zbloudit, komu chceš, a jímž také vedeš toho, koho chceš! Tys ochráncem naším, odpusť nám a slituj se nad námi, vždyť Tys nejlepší z odpouštějících!"

7:156 "A zapiš pro nás na tomto i na onom světě jen dobré, vždyť my jsme židovské víry kvůli Tobě!“ I odpověděl Pán: „Trest Můj postihne toho, koho Já chci, ale milosrdenství Mé objímá všechny věci; Já zapíši dobré těm, kdož bohabojní jsou a dávají almužnu, a těm, kdož uvěřili ve znamení Naše,"

7:157 "a těm, kdož následují posla, proroka neučeného (الْأُمِّيَّ, al-ummiy), jehož naleznou oznámeného jim v Tóře a Evangeliu a který jim přikazuje vhodné a zakazuje zavrženíhodné, který jim dovoluje pokrmy výtečné a zakazuje jim škodlivé a snímá z nich tíživé povinnosti a pouta, jež je tíží. A věru ti, kdož v něj uvěří a podpoří jej a budou následovat světlo, jež bylo s ním sesláno, ti budou blažení!“"

7:158 "Rci: „Lidé, já věru jsem poslem Božím k vám všem vyslaným od toho, jemuž náleží království na nebesích i na zemi. Není božstva kromě Něho a On je ten, jenž život i smrt dává. Věřte tedy v Boha a posla Jeho, proroka neučeného (الْأُمِّيِّ, al-ummiy),jenž věří v Boha a Jeho slova, a následujte jej - snad se octnete na cestě správné!“"

7:159 "A mezi lidem Mojžíšovým jest obec, jež pravdou se řídí a podle ní spravedlivě jedná."


Takže informaceo Mohamedově negramotnosti byla z jakéhosi důvodu vložena do pasáže, která mluví o Mojžíšovi. Toto podivné vložení lze interpretovat různě. Kontext nám nedává moc najevo, co přesně slovo ummiy znamená.

Podle tafsíru Ibn Kathí je to popis Mohameda v židovských a křesťanských textech a rabíni a knězové to údajně "dobře ví":

(Ti, kteří následují posla, proroka, který neumí psát ani číst, o kterém se píše v jejích Tóře a evangeliu) To je popis proroka Mohameda v knize proroků. Přinesli dobré zprávy o jeho příchodu k jejich národům a přikázali jim aby jej následovali. Jejich popisy byly stále zjevné v jejich knihách, což rabíni a knězové dobře ví.


Tafsir Ibn Kathir, komentář k verši 7:157

Ibn Kathir nespecifikoval, kde přesně se tento "dobře známý" popis Mohameda v Tóře nachází.

"Předpověď" negramotného proroka v Bibli

Populární islámský kazatel Zakir Naik tvrdil, že negramotný prorok je předpovězen v Izajáš 29:12 [2]. Podle Zakira Naika, verš říká:

"Kniha bude dána člověku, který není učený. A bude po něm žádáno: "Přečti to!" a on řekne "já nejsem učený".


"Izajáš 29:12" ve fantazii Zakira Naika [3]

To by mohla být předpověď toho, co Aiša popsala:

...najednou se na něj snesla pravda zatímco byl v hoře Híře. Anděl za ním přišel a požádal ho aby četl. Prorok (ﷺ) řekl: "Já neumím číst."...

Ale tohle je, co Izajáš 29:12 říká ve skutečnosti:

29:11 "Vidění toho všeho vám bude jako slova zapečetěné knihy. Dají ji tomu, kdo umí číst, se slovy: „Přečti to.“ On však odpoví: „Nemohu, je zapečetěná.“"

29:12 "I bude kniha předána tomu, kdo neumí číst, se slovy: „Přečti to.“ A on odpoví: „Neumím číst.“"

29:13 "Panovník praví: „Protože se tento lid přibližuje ke mně ústy a ctí mě svými rty, ale svým srdcem se ode mne vzdaluje a jejich bázeň přede mnou se stala jen naučeným lidským příkazem,"


Izajáš 29:11-13

Tedy 29:12 mluví o pokrytcích, kteří podávají výmluvy proč nečtou Bibli.

Verš 2:78

Jeden z tvarů v množeném čísle je v súře 2:

Mezi nimi jsou lidé neučení (أُمِّيُّونَ, ummíúna), kteří neznají z Písma nic než „ameny“ a kteří mají jen své domněnky.


Tafsír Al-Jalalayn říká k tomuto verši:

A jsou někteří židé, kteří jsou neučení, neznající Písmo, Tóru, ale pouze chtějí lži, které jim byly dány jejich vůdci a na kterých staví; a v jejich odmítnutí proroka a vymýšlení dalších věcí mají jen doměnky a né pevné znalosti.


Tafsír Al-Jalalayn, komentář k verši 2:78

Takže zde to slovo může znamenat "negramotný" nebo "nevědoucí".

Verš 3:20

Další je ve verši 3:20.

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.


Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on 3:20 says:

So if they the disbelievers dispute with you O Muhammad (s) concerning religion say to them ‘I have surrendered my countenance to God that is to say I have submitted to Him I and whoever follows me’ wajh ‘countenance’ is chosen here because of its noble character for the other parts of the body will just as soon surrender once the countenance has; and say to those who have been given the Scripture the Jews and the Christians and to the uninstructed the Arab idolaters ‘Have you submitted?’ that is to say ‘Submit!’ And so if they have submitted they have been guided from error but if they turn their backs to Islam your duty is only to deliver the Message; and God sees His servants and so requites them for their deeds — this statement was revealed before the command to fight them had been revealed.


Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on 3:20[4]

So here, according to the tafsir Al-Jalalayn, the word ummiy means gentile/pagan.

Verse 3:75

And among the People of the Scripture is he who, if you entrust him with a great amount [of wealth], he will return it to you. And among them is he who, if you entrust him with a [single] silver coin, he will not return it to you unless you are constantly standing over him [demanding it]. That is because they say, "There is no blame upon us concerning the unlearned (الْأُمِّيِّينَ, al-ummeena)." And they speak untruth about Allah while they know [it].


The tafsir Al-Jalalayn explains:

And of the People of the Scripture is he who if you trust him with a hundredweight that is with much money he will return it to you on account of his trustworthiness the like of ‘Abd Allāh b. Salām to whom a man entrusted 1200 plates of gold which he then returned to him; and of them is he who if you trust him with one dinar will not return it to you on account of his treachery; unless you keep standing over him not leaving him for one minute for as soon as you leave him he will deny it as was the case with Ka‘b b. al-Ashraf to whom a man from Quraysh entrusted a dinar and later denied it. That refusal to return things is because they say ‘We have no duty towards namely no possibility of acquiring sin because of the Gentiles’ the Arabs; for they considered it lawful to be unjust towards any person of a different religion and they attributed the source of this conviction to God exalted be He. God exalted be He says They speak falsehood against God by attributing such things to Him while they are aware that they are liars.


Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on 3:75

So from this verse it seem to indicate that ummiy means gentile.

Verse 62:2

62:2 "It is He who has sent among the unlettered (الْأُمِّيِّينَ, al-ummeen) a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom - although they were before in clear error -"

62:3 "And [to] others of them who have not yet joined them. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise."


In 62:2, according to the tafsir Al-Jalalayn, the word means illiterate and refers to the illiterate Arabs:

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.
Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on 62:2

Ibn Kathir says "other" in 62:3 means Persians:

The Prophet explained Allah's statement,

﴿وَءَاخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ﴾

(And others among them) by mentioning Persia.


Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 62:3 [5]

The meaning of ummiy

The word is derived from the root أمم. There are 119 words in the Quran, derived from this root [6]. There are other words besides ummiy (أمي):

  • umm (أم) - mother
  • amam (امام) - in front of
  • imam (إمام) - leader (because he is "in front of" others)
  • ummah (أمة) - the (Islamic) community/nation

The Lane's lexicon says this about ummiy:

أُمِّىٌّ (T, M, Mgh, Mṣb, Ḳ) and ↓أُمَّانٌ (Ḳ) [the former a rel. n. from أُمَّةٌ, and thus properly meaning Gentile: whence, in a secondary, or tropical, sense,(assumed tropical:) a heathen;] (assumed tropical:) one not having a revealed scripture; (Bḍ in iii. 19 and 69;) so applied by those having a revealed scripture: (Bḍ in iii.69:) [and particularly] an Arab: (Jel in iii. 69, and Bḍ and Jel in lxii. 2:) [or] in the proper language [of the Arabs], of, or belonging to, or relating to, the nation (أُمَّة) of the Arabs, who did not write nor read: and therefore metaphorically applied to (tropical:) any one not knowing the art of writing nor that of reading: (Mgh:) or (assumed tropical:) one who does not write; (T, M, Ḳ;) because the art of writing is acquired; as though he were thus called in relation to the condition in which his mother (أُمَّهُ) brought him forth: (T:) or (assumed tropical:) one who is in the natural condition of the nation (الأُمَّة) to which he belongs, (Zj, * T, M, * Ḳ, *) in respect of not writing, (T,) or not having learned writing; thus remaining in his natural state: (M, Ḳ:) or (assumed tropical:) one who does not write well; said to be a rel. n. from أمٌّ; because the art of writing is acquired, and such a person is as his mother brought him forth, in respect of ignorance of that art; or, as some say, from أُمَّةُ العَرَبِ; because most of the Arabs were of this description: (Mṣb:) the art of writing was known among the Arabs [in the time of Moḥammad] by the people of Et-Táïf, who learned it from a man of the people of El-Heereh, and these had it from the people of El-Ambár. (T.) أُمِّيُّون لَا يَعْلَمُونَ, الكِتَابَ, in the Ḳur ii. 73, means Vulgar persons, [or heathen,] who know not the Book of the Law revealed to Moses: (Jel:) or ignorant persons, who know not writing, so that they may read that book; or, who know not the Book of the Law revealed to Moses. (Bḍ.) Moḥammad was termed أُمِّىّ [meaning A Gentile, as distinguished from an Israelite: or, accord. to most of his followers, meaning illiterate;] because the nation (أُمَّة) of the Arabs did not write, nor read writing; and [they say that] God sent him as an apostle when he did not write, nor read from a book; and this natural condition of his was one of his miraculous signs, to which reference is made in the Ḳur [xxix. 47], where it is said, “thou didst not read, before it, from a book, nor didst thou write it with thy right hand:” (T, TA:) but accord. to the more correct opinion, he was not well acquainted with written characters nor with poetry, but he discriminated between good and bad poetry: or, as some assert, he became acquainted with writing after he had been unacquainted therewith, on account of the expression “ before it ” in the verse of the Ḳur mentioned above: or, as some say, this may mean that he wrote though ignorant of the art of writing, like as some of the kings, being أُمِّيُّون, write their signs, or marks: (TA:) or, accord. to Jaạfar Es-Sádik, he used to read from the book, or scripture, if he did not write. (Kull p. 73.) [Some judicious observations on this word are comprised in Dr. Sprenger's Life of Moḥammad (pp. 101-2); a work which, in the portion already published (Part I.), contains much very valuable information.] ― Also, (Ḳ,) or [only] أُمِّىٌّ, (AZ, T, M,) applied to a man, (AZ, T,) Impotent in speech, (عَيِىّ, in the Ḳ incorrectly written غَبِىّ, TA,) of few words, and rude, churlish, uncivil, or surly. (AZ, T, M, Ḳ.)


Lane's lexicon on أُمِّىٌّ [7]

Online Arabic dictionary says about ummiy:

Translation and Meaning of أمي in Almaany English Arabic Dictionary

أُمّيّ ( اسم ):

illiterate ; uneducated ; unlettered - - illiterate - unable to read or uneducated - an illiterate person - not educated; illiterate - illiterate, not well educated

أُمّيّ ( اسم ):

maternal ; mother ; motherly - - maternal - typical of or connected with being a mother - of a female parent of a child or animal - of or relating to mother


Almaany.com on أمي [8]
  • اسم (ism) means "a noun".

So this word has a variety of meanings. We could speculate that it could even mean "motherly" (derived from umm - mother), because Muhammad's father died before Muhammad was born and he lived only with his mother.

Indications he was literate

Muhammad was employed by his first wife Khadija to travel as a merchant. It's hard to do trade business without being able to write. Besides this implicit indication to his ability to write, we have explicit hadiths talking about Muhammad writing stuff.

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:

Sa'id said: Umar ibn al-Khattab said: Blood-money is meant for the clan of the slain, and she will not inherit from the blood-money of her husband. Ad-Dahhak ibn Sufyan said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) wrote (كَتَبَ) to me that I should give a share to the wife of Ashyam ad-Dubabi from the blood-money of her husband. So Umar withdrew his opinion.

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:

We were at Mirbad. A man with dishevelled hair and holding a piece of red skin in his hand came.

We said: You appear to be a bedouin. He said: Yes. We said: Give us this piece of skin in your hand. He then gave it to us and we read it. It contained the text: "From Muhammad, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), to Banu Zuhayr ibn Uqaysh. If you bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, offer prayer, pay zakat, pay the fifth from the booty, and the portion of the Prophet (ﷺ) and his special portion (safi), you will be under by the protection of Allah and His Apostle."

We then asked: Who wrote (كَتَبَ) this document for you? He replied: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).


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

Narrated Abu Humaid As-Saidi:

We accompanied the Prophet (ﷺ) in the Ghazwa of Tabuk and the king of 'Aila presented a white mule and a cloak as a gift to the Prophet. And the Prophet (ﷺ) wrote (وَكَتَبَ) to him a peace treaty allowing him to keep authority over his country.


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:

When the Prophet (ﷺ) intended to perform `Umra in the month of Dhul-Qada, the people of Mecca did not let him enter Mecca till he settled the matter with them by promising to stay in it for three days only. When the document of treaty was written, the following was mentioned: 'These are the terms on which Muhammad, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) agreed (to make peace).' They said, "We will not agree to this, for if we believed that you are Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) we would not prevent you, but you are Muhammad bin `Abdullah." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "I am Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and also Muhammad bin `Abdullah." Then he said to `Ali, "Rub off (the words) 'Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)' ", but `Ali said, "No, by Allah, I will never rub off your name." So, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) took the document and wrote (فَكَتَبَ), 'This is what Muhammad bin `Abdullah has agreed upon: No arms will be brought into Mecca except in their cases, and nobody from the people of Mecca will be allowed to go with him (i.e. the Prophet (ﷺ) ) even if he wished to follow him and he (the Prophet (ﷺ) ) will not prevent any of his companions from staying in Mecca if the latter wants to stay.'


The first revelation

The first sura was the sura 96, which begins as follows:

Read (اقرا, iqra) in the name of your Lord who created -

Created man from a clinging substance.

Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous -

Who taught by the pen (بالقلم, bil-qalam) -

Taught man that which he knew not.


  • The word iqra is sometimes translated as "recite", but "recitation" in Arabic is تِلاَوَة (tilawa) and the Quran uses form of that word for "recitation" [9].

There are two versions of the story of the first revelation. In the Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq it goes as follows:

When it was the night on which God honored him with his mission and showed mercy on His servants thereby, Gabriel brought him the command of God. "He came to me," said the apostle of God, "while I was asleep, with a coverlet of brocade whereon was some writing, and said, ‘Read!’ I said, ‘What shall I read?’ (وما اقرأ [10]) He pressed me with it so tightly that I thought it was death; then he let me go and said, ‘Read!’ I said, ‘What shall I read?’ He pressed me with it again so that I thought it was death; then he let me go and said ‘Read!’ I said, ‘What shall I read?’ He pressed me with it the third time so that I thought it was death and said ‘Read!’ I said, ‘What then shall I read?’—and this I said only to deliver myself from him, lest he should do the same to me again. He said:

‘Read in the name of thy Lord who created, Who created man of blood coagulated. Read! Thy Lord is the most beneficent, Who taught by the pen, Taught that which they knew not unto men.’

So I read it, and he departed from me. And I awoke from my sleep, and it was as though these words were written on my heart.
Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq [11]

It says وما اقرأ "and what (should I) read?". So in this story Muhammad can read, he just asks what should he read.

Ibn Ishaq died in 761. But in 810 was born Bukhari, who wrote a little different story in his Sahih Bukhari collection:

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)


  • If the iqra in 96:1 meant "recite" as some translators translated it, then here Muhammad says "I don't know how to recite".

This shift from "and what shall I read" (وما اقرأ) to "I don't know how to read" (مَا أَنَا بِقَارِئٍ) seems to indicate that Muhammad's illiteracy was a later invention.

Muhammad, the Islamic role model

Muslims believe the Muhammad is their role model and at the same time they believe that he didn't learn how to read.

Muhammad said the the ummah (the Islamic community) is illiterate and it's not important to use astronomical calculations to determine beginning of a month and it should be rather determined primitively by sight [12]:

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

We are an unlettered people ( أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ, umma ummiyya) who can neither write nor count. The month is thus, and thus. folding his thumb when he said it the third time.


It is estimated that around 40% of the Muslim population today is illiterate [13]. The word ummah (أمة) itself is derived from the same root as ummi (أمي).

Conclusions

  • According to the hadiths, Muhammad could write.
  • The meaning of the word ummiy in the Quran is not clear, but if it means "illiterate", then the Quran is in contradiction with the sahih hadiths.
  • Muslims believe Muhammad was illiterate and they consider him their perfect role model for all times.
  • Muhammad could be the author of the Quran regardless if he could or couldn't read and write.

Reference