Illiterate Prophet (or not)?

Quran is the only magnificent book in the world with rich in contents and powerful in literature that can not be forged. Its writings has far exceeded the time of its revelation and at the present time. It has been admired by all the prominent writers and philosophers of the world, even many unbelievers bow to its unprecedented style of writing. One of the miracles of Quran is its beautiful and powerful writings have come to us through an illiterate man who was not even able to write his own name. In fact when the verses were revealed to him they were dictated by him and were written down by two writers who were at his service at all times, since he was not able to read and write so all the verses without the conformation of these two writers would not considered being the authentic documents.

This is the answer you will most likely hear when asked what roll has the illiteracy of Mohammad (pbuh) plays in revelation and collection Of Quran.

To simplify the reasoning of illiteracy of the prophet one can claim that since such an unlettered person logically is not able to produce such a book, this alone proves that Quran is the handy work of the creator (Allah).

To see if Quran fortify such reasoning or not we should consult Quran and seek the answer and possibly find out the reason why the prophet was unlettered.

وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُواْ بِسُورَةٍ مِّن مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُواْ شُهَدَاءكُم مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (2:23)

2:23 And if you doubt any part of what We have, bestowed from on high, step by step, upon Our servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah of similar merit, and call upon any other than God to bear witness for you -if what you say is true!

Considering this verse we can see that Allah is challenging all man kind of all times to try their level best by witnessing one another to produce only on chapter like any chapters in Quran.

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِسُورَةٍ مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُواْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (10:38)

10:38 and yet, they [who are bent on denying the truth] assert, "[Muhammad] has invented it!" Say [unto them]: "Produce, then, a surah of similar merit; and [to this end] call to your aid whomever you can, other than God, if what you say is true!

In this verse Allah is asking those who accuse the prophet of writing such a book to do the same and even seek help from any sources except Allah to see if they are telling the truth.

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِعَشْرِ سُوَرٍ مِّثْلِهِ مُفْتَرَيَاتٍ وَادْعُواْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (11:13)

11:13 and so they assert, "[Muhammad himself] has invented this [Qur'an)!" Say [unto them]: "Produce, then, ten surahs of similar merit, invented [by yourselves], and [to this end] call to your aid whomever you can, other than, God, if what you say is true!

The above verse basically carries the same message limiting the perception of human mind to produce such a writing and this challenge is not only to illiterate people but includes those who are able to write and disseminate their ideas through books in any language and at any level of literacy. Incidentally this challenge is not only to any particular person, more over it includes whole human community as a whole even when they are in support to each another.

These three verses by themselves are the brilliant explanation to any reader in order to understand the level of education of any person has no effect in the magical results of this book. Other wise if this book was revealed to Shakespeare or Rumi, its efficiency should have had the same effect and literacy status of Prophets would not have increased or decreased its value.

Among Muslims there are some whom their perception of illiterate prophet is based on Quranic verses which we will examine one by one and consider all the possibilities to reach the best conclusion.

الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَاهُمُ اللَّهُ وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ أُوْلُوا الْأَلْبَابِ (39:18)

39:18 who listen [closely] to the word of Allah, and follow the best of it: [for] it is they whom God has graced with His guidance and it is they who are [truly] endowed with insight!

الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنْجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَآئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالأَغْلاَلَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُواْ النُّورَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ (7:157)

7:157 those who shall follow the [last] Apostle, the unlettered Prophet whom they shall find described in the Torah that is with them, and [later on] in the Gospel: [the Prophet] who will enjoin upon them the doing of what is right and forbid them the doing of what is wrong, and make lawful to them the good things of life and forbid them the bad things, and lift from them their burdens and the shackles that were upon them [aforetime]. Those, therefore, who shall believe in him, and honor him, and succor him, and follow the light that has been bestowed from on high through him-it is they that shall attain to a happy state."

As we see in this verse, it is clear that prophet has been depicted as unlettered or at least it seems this way at the first glance. As a Muslim who is ordered by Allah in Quran to explore all the possibilities of each word that has been used in Quran and not to stop in pursue of the truth until my heart is content. I will ask my self why is it so important for the prophet to be illiterate and is there any other meaning to the word OMMI.

The questions pile up when I ask my self how the prophet could be unlettered when Quran is clearly directing our attention to pen and writing.

وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ (68:1)

68:1 Nun. CONSIDER the pen, and all that they write [therewith]!

This verse is highlighting the importance of pen and writings.

الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ (96:4)

96:4 who has taught [men] the use of the pen

In this verse Allah is emphasizing the importance of pen that he teaches us with it.

How can he emphasizes on the importance of learning by pen and writing yet chooses a man who has no knowledge of pen and writing to deliver his message?

Earlier in Quran we learned that Allah teaches men the names, and that alone makes us different from the Malaaek (the angels) and he brags about it.

وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الأَسْمَاء كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلاَئِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنبِئُونِي بِأَسْمَاء هَـؤُلاء إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (2:31)

2:31 And He imparted unto Adam the names of all things; then He brought them within the ken of the angels and said: "Declare unto Me the names of these [things], if what you say is true."

According to Quran learning and seeking knowledge is essential to us in order to be prosperous in life. The word ELM and its derivatives have been mentioned in Quran more than 800 times and it simply does not make sense to choose an illiterate prophet in order to convey the message of light and knowledge to man kind.

According to Arabic –English Lexicon by Edward William Lane volume-1 page 128 the word OMM has been translated as mother or original form of something OMM is widely used as mother because the children originate from her. We can also use this word in different context such as OMOL SHAJARA which means the original tree that other trees has branched off or OMOL KETAB which means the original book that others have been copied from it.

The word OMMI in fact means in original form, and those who can not read or write are called OMMI because their mind has not been familiar with any ideas and have the mentality of a new born who is just born with out any preconceived or prejudice ideas.

It is absolutely essential to allow Quran define the words for us, in this case also Allah has clarified who the OMMI’s are.

أَوَلاَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ اللّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ (2:77)

وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَابَ إِلاَّ أَمَانِيَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلاَّ يَظُنُّونَ (2:78)

2:77 Do they not know, then, that God is aware of all that they would conceal as well as of all that they bring into the open?

2:78 And there are among them (ommion) people who have no real knowledge of the divine writ, [following] only wishful beliefs and depending on nothing but conjecture.

These two verses introduce to us a group of people having their knowledge of the book is extremely limited and what they know is not based on facts but based on the baseless ideas and conjecture. In support of this idea we also can mention the following verse

فَإنْ حَآجُّوكَ فَقُلْ أَسْلَمْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلّهِ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِ وَقُل لِّلَّذِينَ أُوْتُواْ الْكِتَابَ وَالأُمِّيِّينَ أَأَسْلَمْتُمْ فَإِنْ أَسْلَمُواْ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَواْ وَّإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلاَغُ وَاللّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ (3:20)

3:20 Thus, [O Prophet,] if they argue with thee, say, "I have surrendered my whole being unto God, and [so have] all who follow me!" - and ask those who have been vouchsafed revelation aforetime, as well as those with no knowledge of the book, "Have you [too] surrendered yourselves unto Him?" And if they surrender themselves unto Him, they are on the right path; but if they turn away - behold, thy duty is no more than to deliver the message: for God sees all that is in [the hearts of] His creatures.

Allah is asking the prophet to address the people who have been given the book and those who do not have any preconceived ideas in the matter of religion, both to join him and submit to the will of Allah.

Obviously Quran has used both groups of people who evidently are in opposite spectrum of each other to join his messenger.

It would not seem logically that Quran mention the people of the book and those who are unlettered in the same context, considering the fact that there are many believing people who for different reasons never had classical education.

There are other verses in Quran which make this assumption even more clear

وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مَنْ إِن تَأْمَنْهُ بِقِنطَارٍ يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ إِن تَأْمَنْهُ بِدِينَارٍ لاَّ يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ إِلاَّ مَا دُمْتَ عَلَيْهِ قَآئِمًا ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُواْ لَيْسَ عَلَيْنَا فِي الأُمِّيِّينَ سَبِيلٌ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ (3:75)

3:75 AND AMONG the followers of book there is many a one who, if thou entrust him with a treasure, will [faithfully] restore it to thee; and there is among them many a one who, if thou entrust him with a tiny gold coin, will not restore it to thee unless thou keep standing over him - which is an outcome of their assertion, "No blame can attach to us [for anything that we may do] with regard to those who follow not our faith": and [so] they tell a lie about God, being well aware [that it is a lie]."

Quran is condemning the attitude of people who have knowledge of the book in regard to the mistreating and betraying the trust of those who have not form any opinions in regard to religion or do not follow any religious ideas or simply are completely ignorant of any religious ideology.

It is fair to assume that there are people who are arrogant based on social and political status. this problem exist in very present time and can be observed how followers of one religion degrade, mistreat, and betray those who have a different way of thinking or even those who have not form any belief yet .

It is common knowledge that a new concept such as a new language, music, or computer science is learned by children much easier and faster, because their mind is fresh and free of any pre conception. It is almost certain that it requires much more effort to convert ones idea to a different one even if this conversion causes the person much more comfort, there were people who still preferred to ride a horse buggy in oppose to a car, there are still people who rather to drive a car to a far destination than flying with an air plain, and surprisingly there are those who favor a type writer to a computer and accepting a new change causes them tremendous stress .usually it takes one generation to adopt and implement a new concept.

Other examples such as changing a political system in a society who is used to tyranny to a democratic one is also worthy of mentioning.

Ibrahim the messenger of Islam was very much aware of such a problem he was living in a society that people were so used to false gods that they were not able to correct themselves even when it was proven to them that their gods who supposed to protect them were not even able of protecting themselves against a young boy.

He is a man of God and full of wisdom consider him imploring his God:

رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ العَزِيزُ الحَكِيمُ (2:129)

2:129 "O our Sustainer! Raise up from the midst of our off spring an apostle from among themselves, who shall convey unto them Thy messages, and impart unto them revelation as well as wisdom, and cause them to grow in purity: for, verily, Thou alone art almighty, truly wise!"

He is imploring his sustainer to raise for the future generation from themselves a messenger who will recite and teach the word of Allah and convey the wisdom to them .As a result of his request Allah grants his wish and:

هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ (62:2)

62:2 He it is who has sent unto the free minded people an apostle from among themselves, to convey unto them His messages, and to cause them to grow in purity, and to impart unto them the divine writ as well as wisdom - whereas before that they were indeed, most obviously, lost in error

Translating the word OMMI in this verse will make no sense because how can you ask an unlettered man to recite and teach a book when he, by himself is not able to read and write. Obviously reciting and teaching can only be the characteristics of those who acquire knowledge not the unlettered ones.

Amazingly, Allah has raveled to us the fact that the messenger was not one of the people of the book or other word one who were familiar with the other revelations but instead he was a free thinker with no preconceived notion.

وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا مَا كُنتَ تَدْرِي مَا الْكِتَابُ وَلَا الْإِيمَانُ وَلَكِن جَعَلْنَاهُ نُورًا نَّهْدِي بِهِ مَنْ نَّشَاء مِنْ عِبَادِنَا وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ (42:52)

42:52 And thus, too, [O Muhammad,] have We revealed unto thee a life-giving message, [coming] at Our behest. [Ere this message came unto thee,] thou didst not know what revelation is, nor what faith [implies]: but [now] We have caused this [message] to be a light, whereby We guide whom We will of Our servants: and, verily, [on the strength thereof] thou, too, shalt guide [men] onto the straight way –

He was a man looking for truth completely free of any corruption in his mind, fresh minded, and a re searcher who would not be satisfied by any simple answers ,he was living among people who were serving many self created gods with no real power.

He never stopped searching just like his forefather Ibrahim (pbuh)

وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُو مِن قَبْلِهِ مِن كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ إِذًا لَّارْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ (29:48)

29:48 for, [O Muhammad,] thou hast never recited any divine writ ere this one [was revealed], nor didst thou ever transcribe one with your own hand or else, they who try to disprove the truth [of thy revelation] might indeed have had cause to doubt [it].

Allah is telling us that the messenger never read any books and never tried to disseminate his own ideas through writing, simply because he had no firm ideology to convey it to others.

Quran never introduced Mohammad (pbuh) as Jew or Christian who later on brought a new religion. He was never a follower of previous man invented religions he was a man who was not satisfied with any of the doctrine in his surrounding. He was chosen by Allah based on his eminent characteristics that made him a great leader. By the command of his Allah he introduced his status to the people of all times.

قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا الَّذِي لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ يُحْيِـي وَيُمِيتُ فَآمِنُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ النَّبِيِّ الأُمِّيِّ الَّذِي يُؤْمِنُ بِاللّهِ وَكَلِمَاتِهِ وَاتَّبِعُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ (7:158)

7:158 Say [O Muhammad]: "O mankind! Verily, I am an apostle of God to all of you, [sent by Him] unto whom the dominion over the heavens and the earth belongs! There is no deity save Him; He [alone] grants life and deals death!" Believe, then, in God and His Apostle-the Prophet free of all preconceived notions who believes in God and His words-and follow him, so that you might find guidance!

Once again many Muslims failed to contemplate on the verses of Quran and ignore the fact that all the verses of Quran are to ratified and fortified by other verses. Other wise, it would be indispensable not to reach an incorrect conclusion. We are responsible to open our eyes, minds, and pay special attention to the basics of Arabic language and not to be obsessed by the immediate meaning of any word.

إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ (12:2)

12:2 behold, We have bestowed it from on high as a discourse in the Arabic tongue, so that you might encompass it with your reason.

Why is it so important to keep the portrait of an illiterate prophet alive?

What do they gain from it?

أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ (57:16)

57:16 IS IT NOT time that the hearts of all who have attained to faith should feel humble at the remembrance of God and of all the truth that has been bestowed [on them] from on high, lest they become like those who were granted revelation aforetime, and whose hearts have hardened with the passing of time so that many of them are [now] depraved?

Every Muslim who believes in Quran and Allah must submit his whole soul to what Allah has revealed to them and not to try to change the word of Allah to suit their life style. It is impossible to change the word of Allah, but it is very possible to create our own writings and claim that it is also from Allah or his messenger. To rationalize the authenticity of what is said in the name of messenger; they have to create an illiterate prophet so they can write in his name and call it the book of Hadith, therefore not having even one hand writing document from him can be explained by his illiteracy.

The greatest weapon in the hands of oppressor is the mind of oppressed. By taking away the word of Allah from people and replacing it by self invented materials and proliferating them through books and speeches they try to control peoples minds and behaviors to the point that people like Bin laden and his gangsters can be forced to serve them and slaughter innocent men, women, and children and depict themselves as soldiers of Allah.

Once we discover the truth about the ability of not only Muhammad but also all other messengers (pbuh), to read and write, we can easily understand why there is no hand written documentation left from any of these prophets knowing that they were very much public figures and loved by their followers and it would be impossible not to preserve any of their writings. The reason is that they were truly the message bearers of their sustainer and would have never found his word incomplete or inefficient to add, subtract, or correct it.

كِتَابٌ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ فَلاَ يَكُن فِي صَدْرِكَ حَرَجٌ مِّنْهُ لِتُنذِرَ بِهِ وَذِكْرَى لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ (7:2)

7:2 A DIVINE WRIT has been bestowed from on high upon thee -and let there be no doubt about this in thy heart-in order that thou mayest warn [the erring] thereby, and [thus] admonish the believers:

اتَّبِعُواْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاء قَلِيلاً مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ (7:3)

7:3 "Follow what has been sent down unto you by your Sustainer, and follow no masters other than Him. How seldom do you keep this in mind!

May Allah give us the knowledge and desire to follow his messenger and his true book, and never to fall in the trap that many self appointed anchorites have laid for us.

Salam-O-Alaikum (peace)

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