Qoran Shenakht

The word “ummī” is one of the foundational Qur’anic terms in explaining the relation of revelation, prophethood, and miraculousness. In “Key Terms of the Qur’an”, Nicolai Sinai, adopting a historical-critical approach, considers the meaning “unreading and unwriting” to be the product of later theological exegeses and regards “ummī” as an identity-related designation for those lacking a revealed book. The present study, using a descriptive-analytical method and drawing on lexical, contextual, hermeneutical, and narrational analysis, evaluates Sinai’s Qur’anic arguments. The findings show that restricting the meaning of “ummī” to “non-People of the Book” is incompatible with linguistic and Qur’anic evidence. Classical lexical sources connect the meaning of “ummī” with remaining in one’s original state and unfamiliarity with reading and writing, and early narrational evidence confirms its connection with not writing and not reading. Moreover, according to Q 2:78, this designation is also applied to a group among the Children of Israel; therefore, it cannot be a merely ethnic designation. Furthermore, the analysis of Q 29:48 indicates the negation of any prior connection of the Prophet (PBUH) with reading and writing, and restricting it to sacred books lacks sufficient linguistic support. Narrational and historical evidence also show the connection of this word with non-writing and non-reading in the early Islamic tradition. Accordingly, the identity-related signification of “ummī” in some contexts is acceptable, but it does not replace its educational meaning, and Sinai’s exclusivist reading does not enjoy sufficient support.