312. On Prophet Muhammad being an illiterate.

These verses of the Quran (6:112, 7:157, 7:158, 25:5, 29:48) say Prophet Muhammad was not a literate person neither having the knowledge to read nor write.

Muslims do know that Prophet Muhammad did not possess the knowledge to read or write.

Some among the learned Muslims fabricate a lie that Prophet Muhammad was a literate.

 Since people nowadays are judged based on their educational qualifications, some feel ashamed to declare that Prophet Muhammad did not qualify as an educated person.

They fear that declaring Prophet Muhammad as a unlearned person would cause a dent in his reputation, as the reason behind their argument.

Or, are they ashamed to own up their life guide as an uneducated person?

They present some proof to support their claim. Before verifying the proof offered by them let’s get in to see, whether being uneducated is a big setback for Prophet Muhammad.

Though, generally illiteracy is associated with ignorance and ignominy, this cannot be so inthe case of Prophet Muhammad. Because certain features considered as a setback to some people in fact increases the stature of the person.

Though being a literate increases the stature of a person, in the case of Prophet Muhammad it is apt for him to be a person with illiteracy. 

.Prophet Muhammad declared that he received divine messages from Almighty God, the messages were of high literary calibre that challenged others to bring a similar one. 

Had prophet Muhammad been a learned person, people would have come to a conclusion that the Quran is his own creation, he having used his literary knowledge to create it. This would prove him to be a intelligent person, and not as a messenger of God.

It is a better qualification for Prophet Muhammad, being the messenger of God than being a learned Arabic intellectual. 

Had he been a learned person, most of the people who had seen him personally would not have accepted the Quran as a scripture from God Almighty. 

This is an arrangement from the Almighty to make prove the disqualification in Prophet Muhammad as an illiterate is in fact to his advantage.

The reason most people those days trusted Prophet Muhammad as the messenger of God, was the fact he delivered messages from God with such high calibre in literature, not possible by a person, who did not possess the knowledge to read or write. Thus proving, the message is nothing but scripture from God Almighty.

Allah says thus in verse (29:48) of the Quran addressing the prophet “ If you have had the knowledge to read and write ,the idlers among them would have doubted your integrity. 

Verse (29:48) of the Quran says in order to bestow a blessing on Prophet Muhammad, Allah did not grant him the qualification of being a literate.

The Quran in many places clearly indicates Prophet Muhammad did not possess the knowledge to read and write.

The verses (7:157, 158) of the Quran denote Prophet Muhammad as ‘Ummee’.

The word ‘Ummu’ in Arabic means the ‘mother’, and the word ‘Ummee’ denotes ‘reliant on the mother’. Since infants are reliant on their mothers, they are called as ‘Ummee’. Later on the same term was used to refer to people who were unable to read or write, since they were dependent on others for the same.

In verses 24:4, 5 it is said “ they refer to this Quran as some kind of mythology that has been made to be written down by him (Prophet Muhammad) and read out to him every morning and evening. This verse also stands testimony to the fact,that Prophet Muhammad did not possess the knowledge to read and write. 

The enemies of Prophet Muhammad believed, he had fabricated the Quran himself, and got it written with the help of others. Since they were aware Prophet Muhammad was an illiterate, he had others write the Quran for him is the message that is conveyed here.

The root word here is ‘kathaba’ meaning ‘wrote‘, and ikthaba means ‘to get it written by someone’. We find the word ‘ikthaba’ in this verse.

 Verse 29:48, tops all others in expressing the same message. 

This verse declares clearly “ You have not read anything before and neither will you further write anything with your hand. 

Some have wrongly translated as “you will not further write with your right hand” this is wrong (walaadhahutu) is an expression of future happening, meaning “ will further not write “ is the direct correct meaning. 

When Allah has declared “ You did not read before and neither will you now, after becoming a messenger, the argument by some the Prophet Muhammad woud have turned a literate after becoming a messenger of God is proven wrong. 

The people who argue that Prophet Muhammad was a literate, cite the following event as an evidence:-

The enemies of Islam refused to accept Prophet Muhammad as the messenger of God and objected to the mention of the same in the agreement of Hudaibiya, by saying, in the first place, if we had accepted him as the messenger of God, the very question of agreement wouldn’t arise. Prophet Muhammad accepted their contention, and ordered his companions to erase the words ‘ Muhammad the messenger of God’ and replace it with ‘Muhammad son of Abdullah’ But none of his comrade came forward to do it, and the prophet himself erased the same. (Hadith Book : Bukhari 2698, 2699.) 

These people argue that because the prophet knew to read and write could he erase his name exactly. Though there is clear indication in the Quran about the inability to read and write on the part of Prophet Muhammad, these people are beating about the bush to bring an evidence.

The hadiths with nos 3184 and 4251, in the book Bukhari deny their claim, as can be seen. Since Prophet Muhammad did not know to read write, he ordered Ali (RA) to erase the particular words ‘Muhammad the prophet of Allah’ and replace it with “ Muhammad son of Abdullah”, but Ali (RA) refused to do so. And Prophet Muhammad asked Ali (RA) to point out the words and the Prophet erased it himself. This is the hadith quotes regarding the event.

Though generally illiteracy is regarded as a lesser qualification, in the case of Prophet Muhammad it seen as a special one.