Ummy ≠ Illiterate
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Last updated
To make the revelation of the Quran more miraculous, the ignorant Muslim scholars created a lie against the prophet that he was illiterate and incapable of reading or writing. To justify this understanding, traditionalists have distorted the word ummy ( أُمِّيَّ ) in the Quran to make it mean “illiterate” rather than how it is used in the Quran as "gentile" and have also fabricated Hadith like the following to prop up this false claim.
Narrated Ibn `Umar: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “We are an illiterate nation; we neither write, nor know accounts. The month is like this and this, i.e. sometimes of 29 days and sometimes of thirty days.”
حَدَّثَنَا آدَمُ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا الأَسْوَدُ بْنُ قَيْسٍ، حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ ابْنَ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ قَالَ “ إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ، لاَ نَكْتُبُ وَلاَ نَحْسُبُ الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا ”. يَعْنِي مَرَّةً تِسْعَةً وَعِشْرِينَ، وَمَرَّةً ثَلاَثِينَ.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1913 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1913
The word ummy occurs six times in the Quran.
3:20:13
wal-umiyīna
وَٱلْأُمِّيِّـۧنَ
3:75:29
l-umiyīna
ٱلْأُمِّيِّـۧنَ
7:157:5
l-umiya
ٱلْأُمِّىَّ
7:158:24
l-umiyi
ٱلْأُمِّىِّ
62:2:5
l-umiyīna
ٱلْأُمِّيِّـۧنَ
It comes from the root “alif-mim-mim” ( ا م م ) and classically has the following derivative meanings:
Below is a screenshot from Lane’s Lexicon for the word ( أُمِّىٌّ ), showing that the word has the meaning of gentile.
One of the primary functions of the Quran is to settle disputes.
[16:64] We have revealed this scripture to you, to point out for them what they dispute, and to provide guidance and mercy for people who believe.
وَمَآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ إِلَّا لِتُبَيِّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلَّذِى ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ
The Quran tells us that it has examples for everything.
[18:54] We have cited in this Quran every kind of example, but the human being is the most argumentative creature.
وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِى هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ لِلنَّاسِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ وَكَانَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ أَكْثَرَ شَىْءٍ جَدَلًا
[39:27] We have cited for the people every kind of example in this Quran, that they may take heed.
وَلَقَدْ ضَرَبْنَا لِلنَّاسِ فِى هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ
That it is the best tafsir.
[25:33] Whatever argument they come up with, we provide you with the truth, and the best tafsir.
وَلَا يَأْتُونَكَ بِمَثَلٍ إِلَّا جِئْنَـٰكَ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَحْسَنَ تَفْسِيرًا
To debunk the claim that the Quran indicates that the prophet was illiterate, we will evaluate the six occurrences of this word in the Quran and conduct a comparative analysis using both meanings, "illiterate" and "gentile," to see which definition can be consistently applied as the Quran without contradiction.
[4:82] Why do they not study the Quran carefully? If it were from other than GOD, they would have found in it numerous contradictions.
أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا۟ فِيهِ ٱخْتِلَـٰفًا كَثِيرًا
As you will shortly see, in all six occurrences, applying the meaning of "illiterate" causes contradictions, while applying the meaning of "gentile" provides a consistent interpretation.