Written Quran Existed During Muhammad’s Life

Salaamun alaykum, dear readers!

One of the opinions of Rashad Khalifa, the Messenger of the Covenant, was that not only was the prophet a literate man, but he was capable of writing. He believed that whenever Qur’anic verses were revealed to Muhammad, he wrote them down by his own hand.

While the Quran does not say whether the prophet wrote down the Quran with his hand, it does say that the Quran was written down by scribes in parchment during his lifetime and that he was a literate man.

Hadiths Contradict Each Other About the Prophet’s Literacy

Before we examine Quranic evidence, let’s examine evidence from Hadith. But there is an important disclaimer: it is problematic to use Hadith as a source of history because there are several well-known historical inaccuracies in Hadith literature.

For example, Bukhari Hadith number 2004 says the prophet found the Jews fasting on Ashura day to commemorate Passover (the day that prophet Musa, or Moses, saved the Children of Israel from Pharaoh), then he commanded Muslims to do the same too.

• The problem with this Haith is that Jews do not fast during Passover day. Passover is supposed to be a feast according to the Torah, not a fast day.

• The only day that Jews are required to fast in the Torah is Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), which is unrelated to Moses delivering the Children of Israel out of Egypt.

Another example is Muslim no. 2897, which says an army from Madina will fight the Roman Empire in the Syrian towns al-Amaq and Dabiq. Then, a third of the Medinan army will run away, a third will die, and a third will conquer Constantinople.

• Once again, the problem is: there is no record of any Roman Empire battle in al-Amaq and Dabiq.

• Additionally, Constantinople was conquered in the year 1453 by an army which came from Anatolia (the Ottoman Empire), not by an army that came from Madina.

So you can see why Hadith reports are not a reliable source of history, even though scholars have taken great lengths to try to authenticate those reports.

The same applies to Seerah reports, which formed the basis for the earliest biography of the prophet (the one made by ibn Ishaq). You will find in ibn Ishaq’s biography that the prophet was illiterate.

However, unlike Hadith reports, there wasn’t any system in place to determine which Seerah report is authentic, and which is man-made. Historians like al-Tabari were known to include multiple contradictory reports in their works, for example, because he only sought to report whatever was transmitted to him.

• So if Hadith reports (which had far stricter criteria of acceptance) contains historical inaccuracies, then how much more inaccuracies were in the Seerah reports collected by the early biographers of the prophet, which had far looser acceptance criteria?

Multiple Hadith narrations show the prophet either writing something, or attempting to write something (Bukhari Hadith no. 114, 65, 4431, 4432, and 5669; Sunan Abu Dawud no. 2999 and 5136, etc).

• This contradicts with other Hadith (such as Bukhari Hadith number 3) saying he cannot read.

Some may say, “The Arabic word for write (aktub) can also be used to mean ‘dictate’ instead of write. So it is totally possible that the Hadith says the prophet dictated those statements, instead of writing them.“

• But Bukhari Hadith number 4432 says the companions gave the prophet writing material when the prophet said he will “aktub” (write) something. So it is very likely that all the other Hadiths which use the same word also means the prophet was writing, rather than dictating.

Hadith number 4432 from Bukhari stands out because it shows the prophet on his deathbed wanting to write a final statement for the people so that they would not go astray.

Some of the companions refused out of concern for the prophet due to him being seriously ill, and because the Quran alone was enough as guidance. But others wanted to give the prophet writing material so that the prophet can write the final statement for them.

• Why would any companion offer the prophet writing material if it was common knowledge that he cannot read or write?

• This Hadith implies that it was common knowledge amongst his companions that he could read or write, thus contradicting the famous Hadith (Hadith number 3 from Bukhari) where he tells Gabriel that he cannot read.

This is why relying on Hadith for history can be problematic. Any historical content found in them must be taken with a grain of salt. So if we cannot rely on even Hadith to ascertain whether the prophet was illiterate or not, then can we rely on the Qur’an?

Evidence from Quran

As for the Quran, the very first revelations the prophet received are the first five verses of Surah 96. Verse 1 says: “Read (iqra), in the name of your Lord who created.” Thus, the prophet was commanded from the very beginning to read the Quran.

• So even if he was illiterate at some point during his life, he perhaps did not remain illiterate for the rest of his life because he was commanded to read.

Not only that, but God is telling the prophet in the Quran that He will make Muhammad read:

• [87:6] We will make you read (sanuqriuka), then you will not forget.

Some may say, “The word ‘iqra’ and other related words can mean to recite, not just to read.“

• That is a legitimate objection. Perhaps “iqra” means to recite from memory, as opposed to read.

• But in verse 96:3-4 (which is part of the very first revelation of the Quran received by the prophet), the command to “iqra” the Quran is associated with the word “pen”, indicating that “iqra” very likely means to read the Quran:

• [96-3-4] Read (iqra), and your Lord is Most Noble, the one who taught by the pen.

So if “iqra” means to read, then what exactly is the prophet reading? Does that mean God revealed a written text to the prophet?

• Not necessarily, the Quran denies that Muhammad was given a physical paper book (verse 6:7).

• Rather, he was given specific instructions by God for how to compile the Quran and differentiate the Surahs and verses (verses 75:17, 24:1), which he relayed to his scribes. His scribes wrote down the Quran for him in pages of parchment according to the prophet’s instructions (verses 80:11-16, 33:6, 52:2-3).

• If the prophet was literate, he would easily be able to read the text of the Quran that his scribes wrote down.

What Does “Ummi” Mean?

The Quran, however, in a few places such as verse 7:157, says that Muhammad was an “ummi” prophet. Many people translate this word as “illiterate”, but this is not the Quranic usage of this word.

To give an example, verse 2:78-79 refers to some people amongst a group who write the scripture with their hands for distortion purposes as “ummiyoon”. This shows that even literate people who know how to write can be “ummiyoon” too, not only illiterate people.

• [2:75-79] Do you then hope that they would believe for you, while certainly there has been a group of them who hear God’s word, then distort after when they understood it, while they know? …And among them (the distorters) are ummiyoon who do not know the Book, except what they long for, and they do not but assume. So woe to the ones (distorters) who write the Book with their hands, then say, “This is from God,” for they may purchase a cheap gain with it…

Rather, God in the Quran uses the word “ummi” to mean a group of people who have never received a scripture or messenger before the Quran, also known as Gentiles. The proof is in verse 3:20.

Verse 3:20 instructs to asks the ones who received the scripture, as well as the “ummiyoon” if they have submitted. In this verse, the word “ummi” is used as the opposite of “those who were given the Book”. Thus, “ummi” here refers to Gentiles, or non-Jews, as non-Jews were not given a Book from the time of Israel to the time of Muhammad.

• [3:20] So if they argue with you, then say, “I have submitted my face to God, as well as whoever followed me.” And say to the ones who were given the Book, as well as the ummiyoon (those who were not given the Book), “Have you submitted yourselves?” If they submitted, then certainly they have accepted guidance. But if they turned away, then only upon you is the clear conveyance, and God is Seeing of the servants.

Another key piece of evidence is that verse 7:157 tells the Children of Israel that Muhammad is the “ummi prophet” found in the past scriptures, and tells the Children of Israel to follow the “light” that was brought down to him.

The Old Testament (namely Deuteronomy 18 and Isaiah 42) mentions a future prophet who will be a “light to the Gentiles” but doesn’t mention or predict the coming of an illiterate prophet. Thus, the word “ummi” in this verse means a gentile (non-Jew).

• [7:157] “The ones who follow the messenger, the ummi (gentile) prophet whom they find written in the Torah and Injeel with them……So the ones who believed in him, honored him, and supported him, and followed the Light which was brought down with him, those are the successful ones.”

Now that we know “ummiyoon” means Gentiles, we know that the Quran does not even say the prophet is illiterate. Whether you disagree on the meaning of the word “iqra” in the Quran, we can all agree that there is no Quranic evidence to confirm the prophet’s illiteracy.

The Written Quranic Text Is Revelation Too

In conclusion, there is a fairly high chance that the prophet is not actually an illiterate man. Admittedly, there can be legitimate disagreement on the exact meaning of “iqra”, whether it means to read or recite something in verses 96:1 and 87:6.

• But everyone can agree that no Quranic evidence exists to prove the prophet’s illiteracy, and the evidence from scholarly-authenticated Hadith is contradictory.

Additionally, many Muslims believe that the Quran was only an oral revelation given to the prophet, and that the prophet was not told how to properly write it down.

That idea is thoroughly disputed by the Quran itself. In a few verses, God mentions that there is a correct, pure, written Quranic text.

• [80:11-16] No! Indeed, it is a Reminder. So whoever willed shall remember it. It (Quran) is in honored pages, exalted, purified. It is by the hands of scribes, noble, pious.

• [52:1-3] By the Mount, and the Book that is written in unrolled parchment.

• [33:6] The prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers. The relatives are closer to one another in God’s Book than the rest of the believers and the immigrants. But continue doing acts of kindness to your allies. That has been written in the Book.

Moreover, we see in verse 25:5 that disbelievers accused the prophet of writing down the Quran from another human being rather than from God. The disbeliever would not make this accusation if there was no written copy Quran available to the prophet the time.

• [25:5] And they said, “Tales of the previous ones which he has written, while they were dictated upon him morning and evening!”

Additionally, verse 98:2-3 mentions the messenger reciting purified pages of a written text that contains correct writings. That means there was a correct, pure, written text of the Quran available to him.

• [98:2-3] A messenger of God reciting purified pages, in which there are correct writings.

• This is a very important verse because many Muslims believe there is no perfect written copy of the Quran available, but instead, only the oral recitation is perfect. But verses 98:2-3 states that the messenger had a Quranic text available to him which contained no spelling mistakes.

Verse 24:1 says that God differentiates the Surahs and verses. Verse 75:17 says the compilation of the Quran is God’s responsibility. That means the prophet was given instructions from God about the correct way to compile the Quran in written form. This includes how many verses each Surah has and how to correctly order each revealed Surah when making a written copy of the Quran. The scribes followed these revealed instructions when compiling the Quran in written form during the lifetime of the prophet.

• [75:17] Indeed, upon us is its (Quran’s) compilation and its recitation.

• [24:1] This is a Surah which We have brought down and obligated, and We revealed therein clear verses, so that you may remember.

So regardless of whether prophet Muhammad was illiterate or not, it is established that there was both a revealed oral version and revealed written version of the Quran during the prophet’s time.

• The revealed written version was not an actual physical book sent down by God, but it was the instructions about how to correctly compile the Quran into written form which the prophet relayed to his scribes.

• Therefore, contrary to the predominant narrative, some of the peculiarities of the Quran’s written text (such as omissions of certain letters) are not due to the personal orthographic style of Uthman that was used during the Quran’s standardization under him. Rather, they were instructions given to the prophet, which he then relayed to his scribes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Qur’an does not provide any conclusive evidence to support the claim that the prophet was illiterate, nor does the Qur’an provide conclusive evidence to support the claim that he was illiterate.

So while Rashad’s hypothesis (that prophet Muhammad can read and write, and even wrote the Qur’an down himself) is not entirely proven from the Qur’an, he should not be too strongly criticized for it because we simply do not know.

Just as we don’t know whether any of the other prophets were illiterate or not, and we should not care because ultimately, nothing changes. Being illiterate does not mean the prophet was stupid. He likely knew the importance of preserving the Qur’an in writing.

• If the prophet was literate, he would have written down the Qur’an himself.

• If he was illiterate, he would have relied on trusted scribes to write down the Qur’an for him from the beginning.

Either way, he would have made sure the Qur’an was somehow documented in writing during his lifetime, simply because the Qur’an stated that the compilation of the Qur’an is God’s responsibility (verse 75:19).

Hence, God provided the prophet with the instructions for how the Qur’an should be compiled, and it was the prophet’s duty to make sure those instructions are followed.