Iqrah - Did Prophet Muhammad [s] Know How to Read? - Imam Hassan Qazwini

Date: 3/18/2016
Topic: IQRAH Was Rasoul'Allah Literate?
Speaker: Sayed Hassan Qazwini
Location: WISE Academy in Dearborn Heights, MI
Summary:

In this lecture, Sayyed Hassan Qazwini addresses the state of Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) literacy and its implications. Through his extensive research and analysis of Quran and Hadith, he has reached the conclusion that the prophet was unlettered.
Sayyed Hassan quotes the following from the Quran:
“And you did not recite before it any scripture, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand. Otherwise the falsifiers would have had [cause for] doubt [29:49].”

He makes the distinction between being illiterate and being uneducated—clarifying that the former indicates an inability to read and write while the latter signifies intellect. Sayyed Hassan explains that there are two ways to gain knowledge: (1) formal schooling and (2) insight from Allah (al ilm al-ladunni). He emphasizes that “no one had more intellect than the Prophet,” however he was educated through Allah.
There are chapters in the Quran that begin with ambiguous letters (alif, lam, rah, etc.) and there are various theories as to their implications. Sayyed Hassan, paraphrasing Imam Hassan al-Askari (as), provokes an interesting notion that letters of the Arabic language are the “materials” of the Quran and “the meaning of these letters is nothing more than Allah challenging people to write a Quran out of these materials.”
A final point discussed by Sayyed Hassan is the topic of hadith (narration from the life of the Prophet). He discusses the tampering of hadith and the importance of measuring every hadith with the Quran to ensure consolidation. He stresses that filtering of hadith into categories of authenticity (or lack thereof) is the job of scholars. This should be taken seriously because “after the death of the Prophet (pbuh), there were people with personal and political vendettas and agendas who tried to give themselves legitimacy by making up hadith and attributing it to the Prophet (pbuh).”

Books mentioned:
Tuhaf al-Uqul by al-Ḥasan ibn ʻAlī Ḥarrānī
Kitaab Al-Kāfī (The Sufficient Book) compiled by Muhammad ibn Ya'qūb al-Kulaynī

Verses mentioned:
Surat Al-'Ankabut (29), verse 49.
Surat An-Najm (53), verse 3.
Surat Al-Jumu'ah (62), verse 2.