Thursday, August 1, 2019

Early Islamic Traditions Affirming That Muhammad Could Write


It is still common among Muslim apologists to claim that Muhammad was completely illiterate and could not write anything, ergo, the Qur’an is a miracle ipso facto. However, early Islamic traditions impute to Muhammad the ability to be able to write. Recounting some traditions relating to Muhammad on his deathbed, Stephen Shoemaker wrote:

‘Abd al-Razzāq and Ibn Sa’d also ascribe to al-Zuhrī a tradition that Muhammad sought to write something down just before his death, a report that Ibn Isḥāq has possibly suppressed. As Muhammad’s illness grew worse, he asked for something to write on, in order to leave behind a document that would prevent his followers from going astray. ‘Umar opposed the request, suggesting that Muhammad’s illness was clouding his judgment and that the existence of the Qur’ān obviated the need for any additional document to guide the community. Others, however, began to argue that Muhammad should be given something to write with. When the ensuing noise and confusion eventually began to disturb Muhammad, he dismissed the throng and ultimately failed to produce a document. While it is certainly possible that al-Zuhrī taught something of this nature, the absence of any ascription to al-Zuhrī independent of Ma’mar suggests that possibly the latter is its author. Nevertheless, in light of the controversies surrounding the issue of writing in earliest Islam, as noted above, as well as the politically volatile nature of the tradition with regard to issues to succession to Muhammad, it is certainly conceivable that Ibn Isḥāq may have chosen to omit the story form his collection. (Stephen J. Shoemaker, The Death of a Prophet: The End of Muhammad's Life and the Beginnings of Islam [Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012], 96)

In an end note (p. 304 n. 101), Shoemaker provides the sources for this tradition:

< Ma’mar < al-Zuhrī: ‘Abd al-Razzāq, Muṣannaf, 5:438-39. Al-Bukhārī cites this tradition from ‘Abd al-Razzāq, but with some slight difference: al-Bukārī, al-Jāmic, Kitāb al-Maghāzī, bāb 83, ḥadīth 5 (Krehl and Juynboll, Le Recueil, 3:185; Khan, aḥiḥ al-Bukhāri 5:512-13); < al-Wāqidī < Usāma b. Zayd al-Laythi and Ma’mar < al-Zuhrī; Ibn Sa’d, abaqāt (Sachau, Biographien Muhammeds, 2.2:37)