What is the ruling on one who mocks or belittles illiteracy or an illiterate person, while knowing that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, was illiterate?
Illiteracy in anyone other than the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not a virtue, as Islam has encouraged learning, and the first thing that should be learned is reading and writing. As for the illiteracy of the Prophet (peace be upon him), it was a miracle and a perfection for him, to avoid the claim that he learned knowledge from others, as stated in His Almighty'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 doubted."
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/127867