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The question

Who read Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah's letter in the presence of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and was the Prophet able to read?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The mentioned story is authentic and appeared in the Two Sahihs. Reading books is not important, as all those around the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, were scribes and readers. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was unlettered, but he did not need to read books because he knew what was in them before they came to him. The illiteracy of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, is one of his miracles and proof of his truthfulness, and that Allah Almighty taught him, as He Almighty said: "And you did not recite before it any book, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand. For then the falsifiers would have had [cause for] doubt." (Al-Ankabut: 48).

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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