Surah-e-A’raf, Verse 157:
“Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who is an Ummi, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to wear. Then those who believe in him, and honour him, and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful.”
Allah gave the Prophet “Risalat”, “Nabuwwat” and “Ummiyat“.
Muslim translators and mufassirs wrote the meaning of Ummi as “one who does not know how to read or write”.
What needs to be thought upon is level by level, literacy and accumulation of knowledge increases. First you pass level one, then two, then you move on to class/level three. Here it is first Risalat, then Nabuwwat, then the Prophet becomes illiterate!
If this is the meaning of Ummi, then it’s a disgrace to Risalat and Nabuwwat.
If the Prophet did not know how to read and write, then why was it said in the first revelation to “Read!”? And in the same revelation was also the phrase “Bil-Qalam”: We taught him to write with the pen!
“Read with the name of your Lord Who created, created man from a clot. Read, and your Lord only is the Most Beneficent, The One Who taught to write with the pen!” (Al-Alaq 96: 1-4)
Taught whom? Why isn’t it “Say in the name of your Lord”? Why is it specifically “Read”?
The first revelation contains both reading and writing, then why are Muslims saying “didn’t know how to read or write”?
“Nun, and by the Pen, and that which will be written. Thou art not, for thy Lord’s favour unto thee, a madman.” (68:1-2)
Mufassirs have written the meaning of Nun as “fish”. Now what does a fish have to do with a pen? We have the pen, and what it will write, the only thing left to complete the set is a “dawaat” (ink bottle). Does the letter Nun resemble a container of sorts?
Why did Allah reveal this verse? Did the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) ask for a pen, paper and an ink bottle, and was declared a madman ever?
It is a strange thing that in Arabic, every word has 20-25 meanings. The Prophet said “Man Kunto Maulahu Fahaza Ali Un Maula!” Here the meanings of Maula have been declared by Muslims as brother, aide, helper, servant, neighbor, friend, etc so that the real meaning gets lost somewhere. But when it comes to Ummi, they have declared just one meaning “illiterate”. Why has the dictionary shrunk here?
Risalat means to convey the message, and Nabuwwat means to get it from Allah, if a Prophet passes away then neither will the message come from Allah nor would it be conveyed to the people. This means that both ranks get terminated. But the Holy Prophet is above all the other prophets, so there must be a rank that does not end ever.
Prophet Ibrahim was given Risalat, Nabuwwat, then Khullat (ref Khalilullah), showing that the rank is increasing, not decreasing, and in the end he was given Imamat. The last rank is the highest of them all: “We have made you the Imam of all humanity.” This rank will go on till Qayamat, all other ranks ended at his passing.
Imamat, Imam and Ummi, there is a strong connection between these three in Arabic. Since Ibrahim was the first Imam, this rank was passed on in his lineage till Qayamat. Since the Holy Prophet is above Ibrahim, then he must have a rank that is greater than that of an Imam i.e. Ummi.
Ummi is a rank that will go on till Qayamat and beyond that. Higher than Risalat, higher than Nabuwwat!
To understand this word, we must see where it comes from. Ummi is derived from the word “Umm” (ام). “Umm” has a lot of meanings and in the light of each and every one of them, the Holy Prophet is an “Ummi”.
“Umm” means “mother”, “Umm” means the “origin/reality of everything”, e.g. the origin of Ummah, Ummi. The origin of Imamat, Ummi. “Umm” also means “basis/foundation”, and it also means “root”.
“Umm” means “central land”, “Umm” means “central/main Alam(flag)”, “Umm” means “where two rivers meet and form the main river”.
Umm means main alam/flag. A flag is the identity of an army, it’s purpose to bring all soldiers closer to their base. Flags are raised so that all those who have gone astray may reach their destination. On tall buildings, in villages, alams were hoisted so that a traveller, a stranger may find inhabitations easily. The first alam was used for gathering people. When Shees decided to avenge Abel’s murder from Cain, the children of Adam were scattered over great distances so Shees asked Gabriel on how to unite them. Gabriel brought an alam from Heaven and asked Shees to raise it. An Alam unites people, it does not create divisions. The one who raises it is an Ummi.
But the Holy Prophet never held an Alam throughout his entire life. It was either Hamza, or Ja’far-e-Tayyar and in Khyber he announced that he would give the Alam to the one who is a Man (Rajul) and it was awarded to Ali. Then which Alam is this? It’s the Alam of Shafa’at. On the Day of Judgment, this Alam will be in the Prophet’s hand, and this honor has not been bestowed on any Nabi or Rasool.
Umm also means “central land”. When the world was being created, the first land to be formed was Makkah, that’s why one of it’s names is “Umm-ul-Qara”. “Qarion ki Maan” (mother of villages), the origin of cities. A resident of Lucknow is Lakhnavi, that of Dehli is Dehlavi, the one from Umm-ul-Qara is Ummi. Mufassirs have written that in relation to Umm-ul-Qara, the Holy Prophet has been called Ummi. But that means every resident of Makkah becomes an Ummi, and everyone can not be an Ummi.
Allah says in the Quraan:
“We sent an Ummi from amongst Ummis.”
During the tafseer of this verse, the literal meaning was taken. If every infidel from Makkah becomes an Ummi, then this is a disgrace for this rank.
And if we repeat the previous meaning that “We sent an illiterate from illiterates” then the Quraan again refutes by saying that “He recites verses over them. He narrates the Quraan”…one who narrates the Quraan cannot be illiterate…and neither were the inhabitants of Makkah. They were so learned that their children used to say poetic verses effortlessly while walking. They used to recognize the rider by looking at the hoof-prints of the horse or camel. They used to say rhapsodies on the go during battles and were proud of their eloquence. They called themselves Arabs and all others Ajams (mutes). They were not illiterates. These Arab non-believers were not illiterate but the Prophet was…won’t the one saying this be called an infidel himself?
Then what does the Quraan mean by saying that we sent an Ummi from Ummis?
Sometimes the application of “Ummat” is on one man. The Quraan says that Ibrahim was an Ummat [Ibrahima Kana Ummatan (16:120)], this Ummat is still alive after Ibrahim in his progeny…this Ummat is of Abdul Muttalib, Abdullah, Abu Talib, Fatimah Binte Asad, Khadijah and Ali, etc. And from amongst these Ummis, the Prophet was sent.
Coming to the meaning of Umm that is “where two rivers meet to form the main river”:
Two bahars (seas) met…Ibrahim is one bahar, Hajra another, both met and this process led till Hashim. Hashim got married to Salmah of Madinah, Abdul Muttalib was born. Abdul Muttalib and Fatimah-e-Makhzoomia form two bahars, and Abdullah is born. Abdullah and Aminah meet, and the Noor of the Prophet appears. Where two Umms meet, appears an Ummi. Khadijah’s lineage comes from Ibrahim…she gets married to the Prophet and Fatimah Zehra’s Noor appears. Abu Talib and Fatimah Binte Asad meet and the Noor of Ali appears. Ali and Fatimah Zehra come together then the Quraan moves forward and declares:
“Pearls and Coral” like Hasan and Husain are born.
Now we come to the most important meaning of Umm…”mother”.
Ummi means “son of one’s mother”, this means that the son of every Umm is an Ummi. No, every son of an Umm is not Ummi, only one whose mother is the pride of the Creation.
This is a strange merit…whenever the Prophet selected anyone from his Ummat to award a title or merit, then the highest merit was always awarded to Ali, and to Fatimah among the women. The Prophet declared everyone in his Ummat to be the brother of another, but made Ali his own brother…highest merit for Ali.
He made all his wives the mothers of the Ummat, Ali the father.
But for Fatimah, the merit had to be higher, so he called Fatimah “Umm-e-Abiha” (mother of her father)!
By calling Fatimah his mother, the Prophet wanted to show the Ummat that a prophet’s mother is always pure, and devoid of impurities and faults, like Fatimah. And the one who raised him on his lap was a mother like Fatimah Binte Asad. Ayah-e-Tatheer stands witness over their purity and infallibility.
It is now clear that the Prophet was not illiterate, the translators and mufassirs are the illiterate ones. Then how high a standard does the Prophet have of knowledge? This can only be declared by an Infallible. Muhammad-e-Taqi, his successor, states:
“The Prophet knew how to read and write in the 97 languages in use at that time!“
**************
This is a modified and translated extract (almost half) of Dr. Syed Zameer Akhtar Naqvi’s speech on the topic “Rasool-e-Ummi”, from the book “Mairaj-e-Khitabat” Volume III. Most parts have been removed to prevent choking due to overdose. 
Sorry!
Any mistakes or discontinuities are my faults, I am a mere human being after all. The full speech can be found in the book above.
**************
Allamah Dr. Syed Zameer Akhtar Naqvi
Born in Lucknow in 1947, Syed Zameer Akhtar Naqvi is one of the prominent scholars of Pakistan, having a breath-taking command over history, not just of Islam or Muslims but the whole goddamn world, and maybe more. Having two Ph. Ds to his credit, one on “Khitabat” and the other on “Mir Anees”, he has been conducting research on God knows how many topics for the past 50 years. Not only this, he has command over languages including Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Hindi and (again) God knows what else (I’ve even heard him speak in some dehaati language!). Ask him about the origin or roots of any word or idiom and he’ll tell you.
Having read books of all Muslim schools of thought, including Shia, Hanafi, Barelvi, Ahl-e-Hadees, Deobandi, Maliki, etc and even those of other religions like Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, he has devoted his life to upholding the merits of the Holy Prophet and His Progeny (S.A.W.W.) and condemning all actions taken by the perpetrators of heinous crimes against them, or in current times by the supporters of these perpetrators. He has taken it upon himself to defend these virtuous personalities and their forefathers, e.g. Hazrat Abu Talib (A.S.), Hazrat Abdul Muttalib (A.S.), by refuting all degrading theories, and proving their virtues and high status with the help of the Quraan, Ahadees and History. This has earned him the title of “Wakeel-e-Wila-e-Ali” from his fans and followers, belonging to both Shia and Sunni sects. He has delivered lectures in various countries including Pakistan (obviously!), India, Iran, Iraq, Syria, UK, USA, Greece, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, etc, etc, etc, bus main thak gaya!
Author of more than 300 books and articles, on topics like “Mir Anees Ki Shairi Mein Rangon Ka Istimal”, “Ilm-e-Maasoom”, “Shu’raye Urdu aur Ishq-e-Ali”, “Fatah-e-Imam-e-Hasan [w.r.t the deal with Muawiyyah (L.A.)]“, “Janab-e-Zainab aur Tareekh-e-Mulk-e-Shaam”, “Gham-e-Imam-e-Husain Aur Azadaron Ki Shifa’at”, etc, and personalities like Hazrat Ali (2000 pages), Bibi Fatimah Zehra(2000 pages), Hazrat Ja’far-e-Tayyar, Shahzada-e-Qasim Ibne Hasan (two volumes, 1000 and 900 pages), Bibi Umm-ul-Baneen (500 pages), etc and being an excellent poet himself (by the name ‘Akhtar’), he is famous in the literary world as well and many of his books are present in the Library of the U.S. Congress.
Bus buhat ho gaya, I’m tired. Find more here: Allamah Zameer Akhtar Naqvi
Related Stuff
ok so u are into the password thingy too !!!
Okay, I’m in absolute awe of that post!
I might seriously have to get this book!!
Here it is first Risalat, then Nabuwwat, then the Prophet becomes illiterate!
If this is the meaning of Ummi, then it’s a disgrace to Risalat and Nabuwwat.
Absolutely!
The Mairaj-e-Khitabat books have some seriously awesome speeches on various topics. I’m waiting for his “But Shikan and But Tarash” speeches to get published. They are simply awesome and they’ll shake your beliefs like anything, only to make them stronger!
well when i was reading dis awesome article i was thinking to ask u from where u did d research… but i found it at d end of d article. i dnt have dis book of Zameer Akhtar, i have all his books based on history n research…. ill buy dis buk asap!
Maybe, I should remove the credit portion.
Buy all five volumes!
oh my god its such a long post! ill come back tomorrow to read it
hey my brother told me that it has 4 volumes…. shyd he have seen only 4 at d shop, tumhe ziada pata hga abt allama zameer akhtarz book!!
wow…just wow! amazing post man!
Planning to translate more from the book?
I have four volumes too, but books mein likha hai ke 5 volumes hain.
@Leena: Thanks. Tumhein topics bataoon ga na to tum dung reh jao gi!
hmmmm….dung kero phir
Here are some topics I have liked by just their names!
1) Quraan ki Qasmain
2) Ali ki Sargoshian
3) Khushnoodi-e-Fatimah Zehra
4) Ilm Zindagi Hai
5) Quraani Ayaat aur Scienci Haqaiq
6) Aadam-e-Aal-e-Muhammad
7) Qalam (Awesome!)
8 ) Asmat-e-Abu Talib
9) Zulfiqar
10) Mubahila
11) Fadak
12) Paanch Hazaar Baras Pehlay
13) Ali ki Awaz
14) Farishton ki Qasam
15) Hawa (Air)
16) Do Maasoom Sheer-Khwar, Hazrat Moosa aur Hazrat Ali Asghar
17) Do Maasoom Sheer-Khwar, Hazrat Ali aur Hazrat Ali Asghar
18) Ali ki Angoothi
19) Noor
20) Islam aur Iman
21) Dunya Kyun Baaqi Hai
22) Wal-Fajr
23) Najaf-e-Ashraf
24) Two speeches on Jannat-ul-Baquee
interesting stuff…and u gave me so much to think about! ill be getting my books out today to go through them over the next few days
Oh there’s much more I can give you!
yea i can see ur new post, havent read it as yet
LOL!
very logical & well researched….
but i dont get it,,WHY multitude of meanings for Arabic words?? was it always so ..Or is it some sort of conspiracy to create confusion?…
It was always so. The difference of zer, zabar, pesh is also responsible. As for conspiracies, they have always been there too.
The best way to understand and convince yourself is to learn the Arabic language, which sadly is something not many of us are willing to do.
Great post waisay, obviously very well-researched. Good job!
Thanks a lot man. You know where the credit goes!
[...] Rasool-e-Ummi is no longer password [...]
[...] Rasool-e-Ummi is no longer password [...]
[...] Rasool-e-Ummi is no longer password [...]
Disclaimer:I’m not quoting for the sake of any kind of debate over here as I myslef is not very wel versed with Quran and Arabic language technicalities. Infact I’d like to hear back how it was translated in other places of Quran by Zameer Sahab.
It is wrong to blame that it is only translated as unlearnt/unlettered/illiterate, and the dictionary was shrunk. It has different meanings too and so it was translated according to the context of verse. One should know that the word ummi has occurred in the Qur’an at several places but in different meanings at different places. It being translated as those who don’t posses books as Christians and Jews, as illiterate and sometimes as Jewish term.
AI-’Imran: 20, where it has been said:
“Ask those who possess the Book and those who do not possess (umnris); ‘Have you accepted Islam?` ”
Here, the ummis imply the Arab polytheists, and they have been regarded as a separate class from the followers of the Book, i.e. the Jews and the Christians.
At another place, it has been used for the illiterate people among the Jews and Christians, who are ignorant of their Book even (Torah), as in
Al-Baqarah: 78: “Among the Jews there are some illiterate people (ummis) who have no knowledge of the Book but are guided by mere conjecture and guess-work.”
At still another place, this word has been used purely as a Jewish term, which implies all the non-Jewish people, as in
AI-’Imran: 75, And among the People of the Book there are some who would restore you even if you were to entrust a treasure of gold, and of them there are some whom were you to entrust with one gold piece, will not restore it unless you stand over them. That is because they say: ‘We will not be taken to task for whatever we may do to non-Jews (ummis). Thus they falsely fix a lie upon Allah, and do so wittingly.
Juma:2, “He it is Who has raised a Messenger among the gentiles from among themselves, who recites to them His Revelations, purifies them and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom ”
Implying the fact that he was not raised by his choice but it is Allah who raised him and since the Non-believers than argue that why we were not given revelation.
This third meaning of ummi is implied in the verse under discussion. It is a synonym of the Hebrew word goyim, which has been translated gentiles in the English Bible and implies all the non-Jewish or the non- Israelite people of the world.
Now coming to the verse mentioned of Al’Araf, the context tells that the Israelites were being addressed. Reference to the Prophet (peace be on him) in this verse as ummi is significant as the Israelites’ term “Gentiles” (ummis). Steeped in racial prejudice, they did not consider members of other nations as their equals, let alone accept any person not belonging to them as a Prophet. Employing the same term which they themselves had used, the Qur’an tells them that their destiny was linked with the Prophet who they call “ummi”. This very verse under discussion also gives the characteristics of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) which have been mentioned in their books. But they became stubborn because of racial prejudice that they refuse to recognize and believe in the Messenger whose truth is manifestly proved by his wonderful works only because Allah has not raised him among them but among the people whom they call the ummis (gentiles). As most of the messengers were from bani Israel and Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W.W) was from bani Ismael.
(All details above taken from Tafheem-ul-Quran by Sayyiad Abul Aaala Moududi)
Those who translated as being un lettered don’t bring any form of degradation to the status of prophet. Other commentators who translated it as un-learnt is making it as a miracle that a man who haven’t been taught by anyone yet he is parting knowledge and wisdom. Tafseer Ibn e Kathir (verse 158: Al’Araf)
Quran itself said “(O Prophet), you did not recite any Book before, nor did you write it down with your hand; for then the votaries of falsehood would have had a cause for doubt.”(Al-Ankaboot:48)
Since Quran is miracle of him despite of the fact that he was not learnt, just as ‘turning of stick in snake’ and ‘brightening of hand’ were the miracles of Moses despite of the fact that he didn’t learn any magic and Christ can cure incurable disease without being taught medicine. So that no one can blame that he is reading it from some previous divine books, which was actually the case with Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W.W) that he was accused of narrating it from other books.
Furqan:5 They say, “These things are the writings of the ancients which he has got copied down for himself, and then these are recited to him in the morning and evening.”
Thanks Zahra for your views.
However, I would like to point out that in all verses you have mentioned, Muslim translators have taken Ummi as “illiterate”, used in whichever context.
For Al-Ankaboot:48, yes the Prophet never wrote or read anything. But Muslim translators have simply taken it as a sign of illiteracy. The verse says the Prophet never wrote or read but that does not mean he didn’t know how to.
Context does not change the meaning of the word. You can see for yourself that in each of the verses, Ummi has been taken as illiterate, or unlettered: another word for illiterate. Context is only important if you want to see what the verse implies. It comes in handy when you try to grasp what the verse commands/points out/means collectively. But nowadays, people tend to understand the Quraan through translation only, without paying any attention to the surroundings/consequences/background of the verse.
Take this for example:
“By the (steeds) that run, with panting (breath), Striking sparks of fire (by their hooves), And scouring to the raid at dawn And raise the dust in clouds the while Penetrating forthwith as one into the midst (of the foe)” [Al-Aadiyat: 1-5]
When you take these verses for their translation, it looks like Allah is praising running horses. But if you look at the context, it changes the whole conception!
This verse was revealed when Hazrat Ali (A.S.) raided the Infidel mountain camps in the Battle of Zaat-e-Salasil, arriving at dawn and capturing all of them. These verses are in praise for Duldul, the horse he was riding.
FROM AHADEES:
Narrated Al-Bara bin ‘Azib:
When Allah’s Apostle concluded a peace treaty with the people of Hudaibiya, Ali bin Abu Talib wrote the document and he mentioned in it, “Muhammad, Allah’s Apostle .” The pagans said, “Don’t write: ‘Muhammad, Allah’s Apostle’, for if you were an apostle we would not fight with you.” Allah’s Apostle asked Ali to rub it out, but Ali said, “I will not be the person to rub it out.” Allah’s Apostle rubbed it out and made peace with them on the condition that the Prophet and his companions would enter Mecca and stay there for three days, and that they would enter with their weapons in cases. (Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 49, Number 862)
Note: If the Prophet didn’t know how to read, how did He know what to rub out?
Narrated Al-Bara:
When the Prophet intended to perform ‘Umra in the month of Dhul-Qada, the people of Mecca did not let him enter Mecca till he settled the matter with them by promising to stay in it for three days only. When the document of treaty was written, the following was mentioned: ‘These are the terms on which Muhammad, Allah’s Apostle agreed (to make peace).’ They said, “We will not agree to this, for if we believed that you are Allah’s Apostle we would not prevent you, but you are Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah.” The Prophet said, “I am Allah’s Apostle and also Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah.” Then he said to ‘Ali, “Rub off (the words) ‘Allah’s Apostle’ “, but ‘Ali said, “No, by Allah, I will never rub off your name.” So, Allah’s Apostle took the document and wrote, ‘This is what Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah has agreed upon: No arms will be brought into Mecca except in their cases, and nobody from the people of Mecca will be allowed to go with him (i.e. the Prophet ) even if he wished to follow him and he (the Prophet ) will not prevent any of his companions from staying in Mecca if the latter wants to stay.’ When the Prophet entered Mecca and the time limit passed, the Meccans went to ‘Ali and said, “Tell your Friend (i.e. the Prophet ) to go out, as the period (agreed to) has passed.” So, the Prophet went out of Mecca. The daughter of Hamza ran after them (i.e. the Prophet and his companions), calling, “O Uncle! O Uncle!” ‘Ali received her and led her by the hand and said to Fatima, “Take your uncle’s daughter.” Zaid and Ja’far quarrel ed about her. ‘Ali said, “I have more right to her as she is my uncle’s daughter.” Ja’far said, “She is my uncle’s daughter, and her aunt is my wife.” Zaid said, “She is my brother’s daughter.” The Prophet judged that she should be given to her aunt, and said that the aunt was like the mother. He then said to ‘All, “You are from me and I am from you”, and said to Ja’far, “You resemble me both in character and appearance”, and said to Zaid, “You are our brother (in faith) and our freed slave.” (Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 49, Number 863)
Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas:
When the time of the death of the Prophet approached while there were some men in the house, and among them was ‘Umar bin Al-Khatttab, the Prophet said, “Come near let me write for you a writing after which you will never go astray.” ‘Umar said, “The Prophet is seriously ill, and you have the Quran, so Allah’s Book is sufficient for us.” The people in the house differed and disputed. Some of them said, “Come near so that Allah’s Apostle may write for you a writing after which you will not go astray,” while some of them said what ‘Umar said. When they made much noise and differed greatly before the Prophet, he said to them, “Go away and leave me.” Ibn ‘Abbas used to say, “It was a great disaster that their difference and noise prevented Allah’s Apostle from writing that writing for them. (Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 92, Number 468 & Volume 7, Book 70, Number 573)
Narrated Said bin Jubair:
that he heard Ibn ‘Abbas saying, “Thursday! And you know not what Thursday is? After that Ibn ‘Abbas wept till the stones on the ground were soaked with his tears. On that I asked Ibn ‘Abbas, “What is (about) Thursday?” He said, “When the condition (i.e. health) of Allah’s Apostle deteriorated, he said, ‘Bring me a bone of scapula, so that I may write something for you after which you will never go astray.’The people differed in their opinions although it was improper to differ in front of a prophet, They said, ‘What is wrong with him? Do you think he is delirious (mad)? Ask him (to understand). The Prophet replied, ‘Leave me as I am in a better state than what you are asking me to do.’ Then the Prophet ordered them to do three things saying, ‘Turn out all the pagans from the Arabian Peninsula, show respect to all foreign delegates by giving them gifts as I used to do.’ ” The sub-narrator added, “The third order was something beneficial which either Ibn ‘Abbas did not mention or he mentioned but I forgot.’ (Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 53, Number 393)
This last hadees is in Sahih Muslim as well. Notice the word “WRITE”?
From the above ahadees, I can make only one conclusion: Either Bukhari made it all up, or the translators are complete idiots. Ummi as ‘illiterate’ raises serious questions about the authenticity of Sahih Bukhari.
Concerning the last hadees, you can go above and read 68:1-2 again.
And don’t mind yaar, me is just expressing my views.
*sigh* you seriously mis-understood me ……I said my comment was not for sake of any kind of debate neither I was trying to prove that he was ‘unlettered man’ I said I just wanted to know that how Allama Sahab explained these verses containing word ‘ummi’. But yes I have objection on the blame that the dictionary was shrunk for the word ‘ummi’ since it was translated according to context as I mentioned above
AI-’Imran: 20 who do not have divine book to follow that does not mean that they cant read but they do not have any divine book.
Al-Baqarah: 78 who ‘read’ divine book but does not ‘understand’ it.
AI-’Imran: 75 Jewish term
Juma:2 again a Jewish term that He was not raised from Bani Israel but from those ‘Jews’ consider ummi.
Next the thing that I mentioned is those who translated as un lettered supported their views with verses of Surah Ankaboot and Surah Furqan. It is also said in this regard that he didn’t know how to read/write before prophethood but later he knew as I mentioned considering it as a miracle that a Man who didn’t know read/writing but later was taught directly by Allah but not from any human being that’s why the the first revelation was “read”. (ta k nisbat kisi insaan say na jur sakay k us say seekh lia hay bul k Allah say juray k us nay sikhaya)
We’re not debating, we’re expressing our views.
Lets start from the beginning: Allah revealed verses containing the word Ummi. Every word of the Arabic language will have separate translation(s) in Urdu or English or any other language. Whenever you translate, you don’t take the whole verse and create an Urdu meaning for it. The ‘context’ can easily be changed if this done.
Now you can see in all verses that meaning of Ummi has been taken as illiterate/unlettered. It’s not a Jewish term, it’s an Arabic word. Now, terming it as a synonym of Goyim is also based on accepting it’s meaning as illiterate. Which is not so, as you can see.
Rasoolullah knew how to read and write from the day he came into this world. Trees used to bow over Him whenever he passed underneath. History is filled with such happenings. But Muslims are hell-bent on reducing their Prophet to nothing. (Don’t take it personally, I’m not talking about you girl)
Rasoolullah is Syed-ul-Anbia, he is the Master of all Prophets. That means he has to be better than all of them. Eesa speaking in his mother’s arms is Eesa’s quality. For Muhammad to be his Master, He must possess the same property or something better. Allah didn’t make him Syed-ul-Anbia for no reason at all.
As for Allama Sahab, he has studied Quraan in the light of Ahadees-e-Masoomeen, not as a stand-alone book, just as Rasoolullah ordered in the Hadees-e-Saqalain. Plus his knowledge extends over a Lot of other subjects as well.
lol by debate I mean in response of my first comment you just extend your views by giving more ahadith references …..and I wanted to know the commentries of Allama sahab in above mentioned verses….and you still didn’t provide. I’ll inshAllah try my level best to get this book myself.
Plus why I would mind bhui :s I’m just naive and lately started reading tafheem and that made my interest grew in reading differnt commentries of Quran.
LOL, yaar Allama Sahab has not written Quraanic Tafseer. But he has written a lot of books on different topics such as those on personalities belonging to the Prophet’s (S.A.W.W.) household, etc.
This article is a shortened version of one of his printed majalis, in the book Mairaj-e-Khitabat. Do buy it, and others that you find.
To know his views on the above verses, you’ll have to explicitly go to him and ask.
According to Ayatullah Khui, each Quraanic verse has one apparent tafseer and at least SEVEN hidden tafaseer!
After all, it is Allah’s word.