Muhammad and illiteracy
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Muhammad's literacy is a commonly mentioned topic in regards to the historicity, revelation, and compiling of the Quran. Many Muslim scholars have argued that Muhammad's illiteracy is evidence that the Quran is a divine miracle. However, skeptics disagree that this is enough to constitute a miracle and challenge the claim altogether. Among modern academic scholars there is virtual unanimity that the Quran does not in fact describe Muhammad or his people as illiterate, and that this was a reinterpretation arising some time after his death. Indeed, there is now known to be abundant evidence of significant literacy among the pre-Islamic Arabs.
Transfer of Information
Humans have many means by which information transfer is possible. Verbal communication, historically, was the main mode of information sharing. Many civilizations, their histories, mythologies, and stories have been kept alive as they are passed down orally from one generation to the next.
During Muhammad's time, his critics called him "an ear" (أذن, udhun), which is confirmed in the Quran:
Julien Decharneux, an academic scholar who specialises in Syriac traditions and the Quran, proposes that the Quranic author(s) came into contact with East Syriac Christian preachers or missionaries rather than direct accessing Christian texts. In his book Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background, he notes that the Christian lore in the Quran is "always periphrastic, never detailed, and often approximative". Decharneux further explains that the repetoire of texts that would have contributed to the thought of a "standard Christian preacher" at the turn of the 7th century would vary depending on church affiliation, "but it involves among other things the Bible, apocryphal texts, exegetical commentaries, and ascetic literature. These types of texts were not occasionally read. The sources attest that they were omnipresent in the Christian scholastic and monastic life from where a 'standard preacher' would have come". Indeed, he adds, "both Syriac and Greek exegetes were extremely popular".[1]
Decharneux further writes regarding missionary activity in the vicinity of Arabia:
For further relevant verses and sources, see the introductory sections in the article Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature.
The myth of pre-Islamic Arab illiteracy
Old Arabic (i.e. pre-Islamic) comprised a continuum of dialects over a large region, and is found enscribed on rocks and monuments in a variety of scripts such as Safaitic, and eventually in early Arabic scripts. Ahmad al-Jallad, a leading expert on the history of Arabic and its epigraphic evidence outlines how we now know that a sizable segment of South Arabian society was able to write even for informal purposes, and that North and West Arabia were literate societies, as traced in the extensive range of inscriptions, and even that a large number of desert nomads were able to read and write. He further writes, "Thus, the growing body of pre-Islamic evidence strongly indicates that the use of Arabic for administration in the early Islamic period does not reflect an ad hoc invention, but the continuation of an established tradition of administration in Arabic which must have its origins in North Arabian and Syrian scribal practices."[2]
Was Muhammad illiterate?
The meaning of ummiy
The word is derived from the root أمم. There are 119 words in the Quran, derived from this root [3]. Other words besides ummiy (أمي) from the same root are:
- umm (أم) - mother
- amam (امام) - in front of
- imam (إمام) - leader (because he is "in front of" others)
- ummah (أمة) - the (Islamic) community/nation
Lane's Lexicon of classical Arabic says this about ummiy specifically:
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.)The word ummiy in the Quran
The word ummiy (أمي) appears 6 times in the Quran. Two times in the singular in relation to Muhammad himself (verses 7:157-158) and four times in the plural form (verses 2:78, 3:20, 3:75 and 62:2). [4] From these verses quoted below we will see that the word doesn't have to necessarily mean "illiterate", but can also mean "ignorant" or "not given a scripture".
Mehdy Shaddel says that modern academic scholars "virtually unanimously" agree that the Arabic word ummi did not mean that the Prophet is illiterate, contrary to the Islamic tradition. In at least three of the six verses where the word appears such an interpretation does not fit. This is also true of its usage in many cases in the hadith tradition. It is less easy to positively determine exactly what it did mean, though in general it is now believed to mean gentile or pagan i.e. coming from an unscriptured people.[5]
In his commentary on the Quran, Gabriel Said Reynolds (a modern academic scholar) points to verse 3:20 as evidence that the word refers to those who do not know the word of God (similarly verses 3:75 and 62:2).[6] Thus, Muhammad is described as an ummi prophet in verses 7:157-158 because he came from a people to whom God had not yet sent down revelation, not because he was illiterate. As Reynolds further points out (crediting Holger Zelletin), verses 29:47-48, which are commonly cited to interpret the other verses on this topic, deny that Muhammad wrote the Quran himself, yet this does not imply that he could not read:
Chapter 2 Verse 78
One of the plural forms is in sura 2. Shaddel here argues that the verse is talking about Arab converts to Judaism.
Tafsir Al-Jalalayn says about the verse:
Chapter 3 Verse 20
Another is in verse 3:20 (see above regarding Reynolds' commentary about this and similar verses).
Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on 3:20 says:
Here, according to Tafsir Al-Jalalayn, as well as most academic scholars, the word ummiy means pagan or gentile (i.e. those not given a scripture).
Chapter 3 Verse 75
The tafsir Al-Jalalayn explains:
The tafsir interprets ummiy here to mean gentiles, those not given a scripture.
Chapter 7 Verses 157-158
The two singular forms are in the verses 7:157 and 7:158 in the context of talking about Moses:
7:155 "And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. And when the earthquake seized them, he said, "My Lord, if You had willed, You could have destroyed them before and me [as well]. Would You destroy us for what the foolish among us have done? This is not but Your trial by which You send astray whom You will and guide whom You will. You are our Protector, so forgive us and have mercy upon us; and You are the best of forgivers."
7:156 "And decree for us in this world [that which is] good and [also] in the Hereafter; indeed, we have turned back to You." [ Allah ] said, "My punishment - I afflict with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all things." So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses -"
7:157 "Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered (الْأُمِّيَّ, al-ummiy) prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful."
7:158 "Say, [O Muhammad], "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, [from Him] to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death." So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered (الْأُمِّيِّ, al-ummiy) prophet, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him that you may be guided."
7:159 "And among the people of Moses is a community which guides by truth and by it establishes justice."So the information about Muhammad's illiteracy (as orthodoxy interpreted the word, but alternatively his coming from a people without a scripture) was for some reason inserted into a passage which talks about Moses. The context doesn't provide any indication as to what the word ummiy means here.
According to Tafsir Ibn Kathir, it is a description of Muhammad in Jewish and Christian scripture and that rabbis and priests "well know" it:
It is worth noting, however, that Ibn Kathir doesn't specify what this "well known" description of Muhammad in the Torah is.
Chapter 62 Verse 2
The modern academic view is that again this verse refers to gentiles or pagans i.e. those not given a scripture. The verse has traditionally been interpreted to describe the Arabs as illiterates. However, modern epigraphic research has refuted this picture (as outlined above), and first century Quran manuscripts show that an early Arabic orthographic standard was already in existence.
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:
Ibn Kathir says "other" in 62:3 means Persians:
The Prophet explained Allah's statement,
﴿وَءَاخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ﴾
(And others among them) by mentioning Persia.Claimed prediction of an illiterate prophet in the Bible
A popular Islamic preacher Zakir Naik proposed that an illiterate prophet is predicted in Isaiah 29:12 [7]. According to Zakir Naik, the verse says:
This could be a prediction of what Aisha described:
Isaiah 29:12, however, is as follows:
29:11 "For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.”"
29:12 "Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”"
29:13 "The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught."- اسم (ism) means "a noun".
So this word has a variety of meanings. One 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 Muhammad 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.
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":
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:
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" [8].
There are two versions of the story of the first revelation. In the Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq it goes as follows:
‘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.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 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)
- 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.
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.[9]:
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.
Relevant Quotations
7:155 "And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. And when the earthquake seized them, he said, "My Lord, if You had willed, You could have destroyed them before and me [as well]. Would You destroy us for what the foolish among us have done? This is not but Your trial by which You send astray whom You will and guide whom You will. You are our Protector, so forgive us and have mercy upon us; and You are the best of forgivers."
7:156 "And decree for us in this world [that which is] good and [also] in the Hereafter; indeed, we have turned back to You." [ Allah ] said, "My punishment - I afflict with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all things." So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses -"
7:157 "Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered (الْأُمِّيَّ, al-ummiy) prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful."
7:158 "Say, [O Muhammad], "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, [from Him] to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death." So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered (الْأُمِّيِّ, al-ummiy) prophet, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him that you may be guided."
7:159 "And among the people of Moses is a community which guides by truth and by it establishes justice."
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.
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)
See also
Translations
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References
- ↑ Julien Decharneux (2023) "Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background", Berlin/Boston: DeGruyter, pp. 10-11
- ↑ Ahmad al-Jallad (2020) Chapter 7: The Linguistic Landscape of pre-Islamic Arabia - Context for the Qur’an in Mustafa Shah (ed.), Muhammad Abdel Haleem (ed.), "The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies", Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 122
- ↑ http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=Amm
- ↑ http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=Amm
- ↑ Mehdy Shaddel, Qurʾānic ummī: Genealogy, Ethnicity, and the Foundation of a New Community (Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 43, 2016, pp. 1-60)
- ↑ Reynolds, Gabriel Said, "The Quran and Bible:Text and Commentary", New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2018 p.54 (commentary on Q. 2:78-9)
- ↑ http://www.unchangingword.com/illiterate-prophet/
- ↑ http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=tlw
- ↑ https://islamqa.info/en/4713