What is the meaning of "we are an unlettered nation that neither reads nor writes," and does that contradict the learning of Muslims in the present time?

The Prophetic tradition, "We are an unlettered nation; we do not write or calculate. The month is like this and like this," meaning sometimes twenty-nine and sometimes thirty days, came to clarify reliance on sighting the crescent moon to determine the beginning of the month, not on astronomical calculations. It was not intended to urge the nation towards ignorance or to abandon beneficial sciences.

Islam is a religion that calls for and necessitates knowledge, whether it be the essential religious sciences or the worldly sciences that the nation needs, such as medicine and engineering. The Prophet, peace be upon him, was sent to an unlettered nation that possessed neither scripture nor measured sciences, but Allah taught them the Book and wisdom, and they became among the most knowledgeable of creation. "Unlettered" in the hadith means no need for writing or calculation to determine the month, and it is a quality of praise here, indicating self-sufficiency through clear sighting, obviating the need for calculations that may be prone to error.