Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Could the Prophet(saw) write? |
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| explorer |
| 10/07/01 at 06:01:31 |
| [slm] The Prophet[saw] is known as the 'Unlettered Prophet', he could neither read nor write. However there is an incident before his death where he requested a pen to write down something that will prevent muslims from going astray. Does this mean he could write by then and wasn't illiterate all his life? [wlm] |
| Re: Could the Prophet(saw) write? |
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| Saleema |
| 10/07/01 at 13:17:32 |
| [slm] Man I have a bad memory. *sigh* Now, I don't remember the details of this inccident but I can give you a general idea of what happened. The scribe of Prophet Muhammad (S) refused to strike out something that he had written so the Prophet asked him for the pen and then asked him to point out the words that the wanted to strike out and his scribe did that. So the Prophet (S) struk out those words with his pen with the aid of his scribe pointing out to him what those words were. I think the scribe was Zaid, but it could very well have been someone else too. And I'm not sure but it was a treaty with the Quraish over coming to Makkah for Hajj or perhaps something to do with Muslim captives in the hands of the Quraish. Bhaloo? Arsalan? Kashif? :) [wlm] |
| Re: Could the Prophet(saw) write? |
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| Arsalan |
| 10/07/01 at 14:15:26 |
| [slm] Saleema the incident that you are talking about is different from what explorer is talking about. You are talking about what happened at the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah when Ali (r.a.) refused to erase the words "Rasulullah" from the treaty. Explorer, I'm not sure about the exact words of the Prophet [saw], but that hadith is in Bukhari. I can't find it though. What I did find was the incident in Raheeq al-Makhtum, and it says the following: "On Thursday, four days before the death of the Messenger of Allah [saw] he said to people - though he was suffering from a severe pain: 'Come here. I will cause you to write something so that you will never fail into error.'" It seems that what Rasulullah [saw] had meant was that he would *dictate* someone to write something important. We know from the Seerah as well as the Qur'an that Rasulullah [saw] could not read or write (at least until the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah, which was only a few years before his death). Wallahu a'lam. Wassalamu alaikum. |
| Re: Could the Prophet(saw) write? |
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| se7en |
| 10/11/01 at 14:51:39 |
wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatAllahi wa barakatuh, [quote]I'm not sure about the exact words of the Prophet [saw], but that hadith is in Bukhari.[/quote] I think this is it: [*][url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/003.sbt.html#001.003.114]Bukhari 1:114[/url] [*][url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/052.sbt.html#004.052.288]4:288[/url] [*][url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/059.sbt.html#005.059.716]5:716[/url] [*] [url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/059.sbt.html#005.059.717]5:717[/url] [*][url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/070.sbt.html#007.070.573]7:573[/url] [*][url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/092.sbt.html#009.092.468]9:468[/url] [*][url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/053.sbt.html#004.053.393]4:393[/url] From what I can understand, the word translated here as "write" can also means "dictate", as br Arsalan said. This hadeeth, along with the one on the Treaty of Hudaybiyya (see [url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/059.sbt.html#005.059.553]here[/url]), are often times used to 'prove' that Rasulullah [saw] was literate. I don't know much about the incident near the time of Rasulullah [saw]'s death, but obviously this argument is faulty if you look at what actually happened with the treaty and 'Ali ra. Some of the anti-Islam sites I visited quote some scholars of seerah as saying that Rasulullah [saw] may have learned how to read and write near the end of his life. Their quotes may have been distorted, mistranslated, or taken out of context though. I'm not sure how they would be able to reconcile that notion with Rasulullah [saw] being called "unlettered" in the Qur'an: [color=black]Those who follow the messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures) - in the Law and the Gospel - for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure) ; He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the Light which is sent down with him, - it is they who will prosper. ---Al-Aa'raf, the Heights, ayah 157[/color] Interesting stuff. InshaAllah I'll ask my teacher about it. wAllahu a'lam. wasalaamu alaykum. |
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