By Mawlana Bilal Ali Question: Where can I find the ḥadīth about this ummah being illiterate? Is it found in any strong sources, and if so, weren’t there Companions who could read and write in the Prophet’s time (sallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam)? Answer: The ḥadīth I believe you are referring to reads: “We are an unlettered nation (ummah). We do not write nor do we calculate.” This ḥadīth can be found in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī (1814), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (1080), Sunan Abī Dāwūd (5319), Sunan al-Nasā’ī (2451), Musnad Aḥmad (5017,5137,6041, and 6129), and Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah (3:85). The ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ,…
On the Hadith that the Ummah is Unlettered
By Mawlana Bilal Ali Question: Where can I find the ḥadīth about this ummah being illiterate? Is it found in any strong sources, and if so, weren’t there Companions who could read and write in the Prophet’s time (sallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam)? Answer: The ḥadīth I believe you are referring to reads: “We are an unlettered nation (ummah). We do not write nor do we calculate.” This ḥadīth can be found in Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī (1814), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (1080), Sunan Abī Dāwūd (5319), Sunan al-Nasā’ī (2451), Musnad Aḥmad (5017,5137,6041, and 6129), and Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah (3:85). The ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ,…