When Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Jawad Al-Taqi (AS) was asked why the Prophet (PBUH) is referred to as “Ummī,” he replied: “What do people say?” The answer was: “They believe that he was illiterate, unable to read or write.”
Imam Jawad (AS) said: “May God curse them; they lie. For God says: ‘God is the One who sent among the unlettered people a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them God’s signs, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and wisdom’ (Qur’an 62:2). How could he be illiterate when he knew seventy-two or, as the Imam (AS) said, seventy-three scripts and languages?” The reason he was called “Ummī” is because he was from Mecca, which is known as Umm Al-Qura, as God says: “That you may warn the Mother of the Towns and those around it” (Qur’an 6:92).
This text is written by Mohammad Saeid Taheri Moosavi & translated by Fatemeh Aghaei for Shafaqna English. All rights reserved for Shafaqna.
Part of a series: The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Facts
source: shafaqna