Addressing Grammatical and Scriptural Queries in the Quran

Oxford, UK

Question:

Respected Maulana Rida ul-Haq, Principal of Jamiat Al-Huda in Nottingham, may Allah preserve him, has a daughter, Ustadha Safiyya Zaid, who is an accomplished scholar, a specialist in Arabic language and Hadith, and also one of my students.

She has received authorization in Hadith from many scholars. She posed the following question:

What does it mean that the Prophet (PBUH) was “Ummi”? Was there any error made by the Prophet (PBUH) in writing the Qur’an? Is there any grammatical mistake in the Qur’an? Is there a mistake in the Qur’an’s script? Why is “ليكوناً من الصاغرين” in Surah Yusuf (12:32) and “لنسفعاً بالناصية” in Surah Al-`Alaq (96:15) written with a noon that resembles an alif?

Answer:

Your questions are significant, and to address their importance, I will answer each question under a subheading to ensure clarity and eliminate any misunderstandings.

What does it mean that the Prophet (PBUH) was “Ummi”?

We won’t delve into the etymology of the word Ummi here, as detailed research can be found in books of linguistics and tafsir. Instead, we will focus on its meaning as understood from the Qur’an.

The Jews had been receiving divine scriptures one after another, which they used to read and write. Compared to other nations, the Jews were more literate. However, among them, there were some who could neither read nor write, and the Qur’an refers to them as “Ummi” – “And among them are unlettered ones who do not know the Scripture except in wishful thinking” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:78). In contrast, most Arabs were illiterate, hence as a nation, they were generally referred to as Ummiyoon (unlettered).

The term Ummi is not the opposite of Alim (scholar), but rather of Qari/katib (reader/writer). The opposite of Alim is Jahil (ignorant). Therefore, a person could be Ummi (illiterate) and still be a scholar. In Islamic history, we find examples of many blind scholars who couldn’t read or write, such as Qatadah bin Di’ama (d. 117 AH), who was regarded as a master in Hadith, Tafsir, Fiqh, and history despite being Ummi.

Similarly, the Prophet (PBUH) could neither read nor write, like most Arabs at that time, which is why he was referred to as Ummi. Allah deliberately kept the Prophet (PBUH) unlettered so that no one could accuse him of fabricating the Qur’an. “You (O Muhammad) were not reciting any Scripture before this, nor were you writing it with your right hand, otherwise the falsifiers would have doubted” (Surah Al-Ankabut 29:48). This is akin to the wisdom behind Maryam (AS) being unmarried, so no one could doubt the miraculous birth of Isa (AS).

Despite being Ummi, the Prophet (PBUH) reached the highest level of knowledge and wisdom, and his sayings and actions are proof of this. It is also nothing short of a miracle that the Qur’an, revealed to an Ummi Prophet, surpassed all other divine books. As the poet Sa’di said:

The unlettered one who corrected the Qur’an,
Wiped clean the libraries of seven nations.

Was there any error made by the Prophet (PBUH) in writing the Qur’an?

The preservation of the Qur’an has been unparalleled, unlike any other divine or non-divine book. The Qur’an is preserved in the heavens and was delivered to the Prophet (PBUH) through Jibreel (AS), who revealed verses as needed. The Prophet (PBUH) memorized them and recited them in prayers, according to divine order. Trusted companions wrote down these verses under his supervision. Some companions even kept their own copies of the written verses.

The process of writing down the Qur’an was carried out by several companions, but mainly by Zayd ibn Thabit (RA). During the time of Abu Bakr (RA), Zayd was entrusted with compiling the Qur’an into one book, and no disagreement about its script was reported. This led to a unified version of the Qur’an. Later, during the reign of Uthman (RA), Zayd was again tasked with producing official copies of the Qur’an to standardize its recitation across different dialects. I have detailed the entire history of the Qur’an’s compilation in my book Mabadi’ fi Usul al-Tafsir for further study.

Is there any grammatical mistake in the Qur’an?

The Qur’an is the highest example of Arabic language and its grammar follows the rules of classical Arabic, just like the preserved poetry, speeches, and proverbs of that time. Later grammarians, like Sibawayh in his famous book Al-Kitab, developed the rules of Arabic based on the Qur’an and other classical texts.

The two main schools of grammar, Basra and Kufa, which emerged later, both acknowledged the Qur’an’s linguistic superiority. There are slight differences between them in grammatical explanations, but these differences do not affect the language itself.

Sometimes, people with limited knowledge of Arabic grammar claim to find mistakes in the Qur’an, but such claims are often laughable. For instance, someone once told me that the Qur’an doesn’t follow Arabic grammar. When I asked for an example, they struggled to give one. Eventually, they pointed to a verse from Surah Yusuf. I explained to them that if they had studied even the basics of Arabic morphology, they wouldn’t have raised such an objection. Once I clarified their mistake, they felt quite embarrassed.

Is there any mistake in the Qur’an’s script?

The Arabic script, like any other script, has undergone changes over time, but these changes have been minimal. In some cases, earlier forms of writing continued to coexist with later forms. For example, in early Arabic, the use of alif was less common, and sometimes it wasn’t written where it would be today.

The examples you gave from Surah Yusuf and Surah Al-`Alaq, where the noon appears like an alif, are related to this. In classical Arabic, there are two types of noon for emphasis at the end of a verb: noon mushaddadah (with a shaddah) and noon saakinah (without a vowel). When stopping at the end of a word with a noon saakinah, it sometimes changes to an alif, as in the examples you mentioned.

Early scribes wrote the noon in the form of an alif to reflect this, and this practice continued in some parts of the Qur’an. However, later grammarians debated whether it should be written as noon or alif. The school of Basra favored writing it as alif, while the Kufan school preferred writing it as noon.

This explanation should clarify the issue, and I hope it resolves any confusion. Wa Allahu A’lam.

Disclaimer: Translated by AI, and it may contain errors.