How can the illiteracy of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) be reconciled with illiteracy being a defect, given his absolute perfection (peace be upon him)?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Illiteracy in our current era is a blameworthy deficiency. However, the illiteracy of the Prophet, peace be upon him, did not lead to him being described as ignorant, because Allah taught him through revelation. His illiteracy, peace be upon him, served as an argument against the disbelievers, proving that the Qur’an was not from him, in fulfillment of Allah’s saying: "And you did not recite before it any book, nor did you inscribe it with your right hand. Otherwise, the falsifiers would have had doubt."
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Ftawy
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- 79695
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Read the full answer on Ftawy