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The question

How is the Christian claim—that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was not illiterate—refuted, given their reliance on God’s saying: "Recite in the name of your Lord who created," to which the Messenger replied: "I am not a reciter," and on Aisha’s tradition: "Bring me a shoulder blade or a tablet so I may write a letter for Abu Bakr"?

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

The description of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as illiterate is a proven fact supported by religious texts, and the claims of skeptics cannot negate it. Regarding the command for him to read, there are two interpretations: either it was an alert for the Prophet (peace be upon him) to be attentive to what he was about to receive from God's words, or it was a genuine command to read, as interpreted by Al-Tahir ibn Ashur, referring to the recitation of what would be dictated to him. As for the of Aisha, it can be understood in two ways: either the Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted to instruct someone to write, or he intended to write himself, and this does not contradict the fundamental premise of his prophetic mission as an illiterate person.

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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
80652
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