The Unlettered Prophet and the Question of Illiteracy

The term Ummi Prophet is an expression found in the Holy Qur’an. It refers to a person who has not attended school, received formal education, or acquired the ability to read and write. According to the Qur’an, one of the attributes of the Prophet mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel is this very "ummiyyah" (unletteredness). From this perspective, being "ummi" is a virtue for the Prophet. Despite lacking the ability to acquire knowledge through reading and writing, the Prophet possessed divine and revealed knowledge, through which he brought to humanity the concept of salvation and happiness. According to scholars of theology and exegesis, it is itself a miracle that someone who cannot read or write could present to people a compendium of wisdom such as the Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an mentions the names of prophets, their relatives, supporters, and enemies; it provides detailed historical information and addresses legal matters such as khums, zakat, inheritance, marriage, divorce, various contracts, and numerous legal issues. It is indeed a miracle that someone who neither could read and write nor attended school or studied under a teacher could deliver this collection to his listeners in the environment of Mecca and Medina. From this point of view, being unlettered cannot be considered anything but a virtue for a prophet who lacks formal education and literacy. It becomes clear, then, that if a prophet who has not received education and does not know how to read and write is presenting to humanity a compendium encompassing wisdom, law, social, and political issues, the source of that compendium must be divine and celestial. Consequently, reports regarding the Prophet’s unletteredness can be divided into two chronological phases. Ultimately, we can conclude that the Prophet’s inability to read and write can only be ascribed to the period prior to his prophethood.