Quran - 02 - Quran and the unlettered messenger

Quran and the unlettered messenger

 

الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِىَّ الأُمِّىَّ الَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِى التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَـهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَـتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَـئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالاٌّغْلَـلَ الَّتِى كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ بِهِ  وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُواْ النُّورَ الَّذِى أُنزِلَ مَعَهُ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read not write whom they find written with them in the Toraah and the Injeel, - he commands them for al-Ma’roof (i.e., Islamic monotheism and all that Islaam has ordained); and forbids them from al-Munkar (i.e., disbelief, polyth eism of all kinds, and all that Islaam has forbidden); he allows them as lawful al-Tayyibaat (i.e., all good and lawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.), and prohibits them as unlawful al-khabaa’ith (i.e., all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.), he releases them from their heavy burdens (of Allaah’s Covenant) and from the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. So those who believe in him (Muhammad), honor him, help him and follow the light (the Qur’aan) which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful."

[Quran - al-A’raaf 7:157]

هُوَ الَّذِى بَعَثَ فِى الأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولاً مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَـبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُواْ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَلٍ مُّبِينٍ

He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief and polytheism), and teaching them the Book and al-Hikmah (al-Sunnah). And verily, they had been before in manifest error."

[Quran  al-Jumu’ah 62:2]

God Almighty, Allah, has always chosen Prophets and messengers from among mankind to deliver His message. Divine revelations played a major part in teaching people the message of Allah.

Quran was revealed at the time when the Arabs were masters of language and they expressed themselves through poetry. However, the ability to read and write was not commonplace amongst the Arabs. It is against this backdrop  that an orphan, Muhammad ﷺ, who could neither read nor write, and who was already considered by his people as the 
trusted one, was ordained as a Prophet of Allah and given the revelation of Quran.

The Arabs were mesmerised by the eloquence and beauty of Quran, even those who did not accept Islam. Those who accepted Islam, not only loved the Quran for its linguistic magnificence, but understood the power of the message and that it was revealed by none other than the Creator, Allah. The messenger, Muhammad ﷺ, himself was pure and what he presented was pure  and this made the fit  of messenger and message perfect. The message was essentially inviting to the worship of the One True God, Allah while in Mecca itself idolatry was the order of the day. Corruption and shameful acts went unchecked prior to Islam and then the Quran was revealed calling to justice, righteousness and decency.

The advent of this Prophet, Muhammad ﷺ, was already mentioned in both the Torah and the Injeel. Allah Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, had already known that Muhammad ﷺ was to be the messenger to whom the Quran was to be revealed, but as humans we  want to know who is this messenger. His character, before and after receiving revelation, is beyond reproach and those who know him and know the Quran will have no doubt that he is the best person to have been given this task and position.

It is human nature to want to find fault and the Prophets and Messengers (upon whom be peace) were all ridiculed and scoffed at. Some people will want to say that Quran was written by Muhammad ﷺ yet we know he was unlettered. Some will want to say that he dictated his own words as Quran, yet when one analyses Quran and one sees the perfection of Quran then 23 years would have been too short a period for any human to have  come up with such a masterpiece.

As we study other aspects of Quran further in terms of its transmission we will see that the Quran was not a written text, but an oral one. This lends further credence to the fact that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was unlettered and that Quran is a divine revelation. The role of Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him - is not underestimated since he was the perfect human being to receive this Noble revelation, Quran.

also see - What is Quran - http://muslimdaee.blogspot.co.za/