Aslam

Praise be to Allah.The wording of the hadeeth is not as mentioned

in the question. We will quote it here:

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased

with him) that the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:  “We are an unlettered

nation, we do not write or calculate. The month is such-and-such or

such-and-such – meaning sometimes it is twenty-nine and sometimes it

is thirty.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1814; Muslim, 1080)

This hadeeth was narrated concerning the issue of

the beginning of the lunar month, and it indicates that there is no

need to resort to astronomical calculations in order to know when the

month begins. We should rely on visual sighting of the moon when it

is new, then we will know that the month has begun. The hadeeth was

quoted to explain that we should rely on sighting of the moon and not

on calculations. It did not come to urge the ummah to remain ignorant

and not to learn arithmetic and all other useful sciences. So this hadeeth

does not contradict what Muslims are doing nowadays of seeking education

in different branches of science which will benefit their worldly interests.

Islam is the religion of knowledge; it calls for knowledge and obliges

every Muslim to learn what Allaah has enjoined upon him and to learn

whatever rulings of sharee’ah he needs to know about acts of worship

and dealings with others. With regard to worldly sciences such as medicine,

engineering, agriculture, etc., Muslims have to learn whatever the ummah

needs to know. If the Muslims need to manufacture a needle, there has

to be someone among them who can learn how to make this needle.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah wrote a very useful

discussion on this hadeeth; there follows a selection of his comments

on it:

“The phrase ‘We are an unlettered nation’ is not

telling them to be like that. They were unlettered before Islam came,

as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

‘He it is Who

sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves’

[al-Jumu’ah 62:2]

‘And

say to those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and

to those who are illiterates (Arab pagans): Do you (also) submit yourselves

(to Allaah in Islam)?’

[Aal ‘Imraan

3:20]

Although this is how they were before the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him) was sent to them, they were not commanded to become like

that. Some of the implications of being unlettered were to remain, but

as we shall see, they were not commanded to remain as they were in every

sense…

Among the nation to which Allaah sent

him were some who could read and write a great deal, just as there were

among his Companions. There were also some who could calculate. The

Prophet (peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him) was sent with some obligations which involve calculation.

It was narrated that when the person he had appointed to take care of

the zakaah, Ibn al-Latabiyyah, came to him, he  calculated the

total amount collected. He had a number of scribes, such as Abu Bakr,

‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan, ‘Ali, Zayd and Mu’aawiyah, who would write down the

Revelation, and would write contracts and write his letters to the people

to whom Allaah had sent him, the kings of the earth and the leaders

of groups, and to his workers, governors, etc. Allaah says in His Book

(interpretation of the meaning):

“… that you might

know the number of the years and the reckoning”

[Yoonus 10:5; al-Israa’

17:12]

This is mentioned in two places in the Qur’aan, where

Allaah tells us that He has created [the sun and moon] so that the calculations

may be known.

The word ummi

(unlettered or illiterate) comes from the same root as the word ummah

(nation). It refers to one who is not distinguished from the rest of

the people by knowing how to read or write. It is akin to the word ‘aammi

which is used to describe a regular person (one of the ‘aammah

or masses) who is not distinguished from them by having knowledge which

they do not have. It was also said that the word ummi

is connected to the word umm

(mother), because he has learned no more than his mother taught him,

and so on.

The distinction which takes him out of the

ranks of the regular, unlettered people into the ranks of those who

have specialized knowledge may be a virtue in and of itself, as in the

case of those who read Qur’aan and understand its meaning, or it may

be a means which helps to reach that level of virtue, as when a person

is distinguished from them by his being able to write and read. So the

one who uses that knowledge to pursue perfection is to be praised, whilst

the one who neglects it or uses it for evil purposes is to be condemned.

Whoever does away with it in favour of something that is more beneficial

is more perfect, and if you can achieve the aim without using these

means, then that is even better.

Thus it is clear that being distinct from

the unlettered is of two types. The first nation to which the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him) was sent was the Arabs, through whom the Message was conveyed

to all the other nations, because it was sent in their tongue. They

were mostly illiterate, and they had no advantage of having knowledge

or a scripture etc., although by nature they were more ready to learn

than other nations. They were like a plowed field that is ready to be

sown, but there was no one to do the task and they had no scripture

they could read that had been revealed from Allaah, as the People of

the Book had, or any analytical science like the Sabaeans and others

had. Writing existed among them, but to a very small extent. They had

some knowledge of the type that is acquired by common sense, but which

does not make an individual distinct from any other unlettered person;

for example, they knew of the Creator, and they held good characteristics

in high esteem, and they had some knowledge of astronomy, genealogy

and poetry. So they deserved to be called unlettered in all senses of

the word, as Allaah said concerning them (interpretation of the meaning):

“‘He

it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger (Muhammad) from

among themselves’

[al-Jumu’ah 62:2]

‘And

say to those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and

to those who are illiterates (Arab pagans): Do you (also) submit yourselves

(to Allaah in Islam)?’

[Aal ‘Imraan

3:20]

So the unlettered or illiterate were described as being

opposite to the People of the Book, for the kitaabi

(one of the People of the Book) is something other than the ummi

(unlettered).

When he was sent among them, it became

obligatory upon them to follow the Book that he brought and to ponder

its meanings, understand it and act upon it. Allaah made this Book an

explanation for all things, and their Prophet taught them everything,

even (the etiquette of) defecation. They became people of a Book and

people of knowledge, indeed, they became the most knowledgeable of people

and the best of them in beneficial knowledge. They lost the feature

of blameworthy and imperfect illiteracy, which is the lack of knowledge

and a revealed Book, and they gained knowledge of the Book and wisdom.

They inherited the Book, as Allaah said concerning them (interpretation

of the meaning):

“He

it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger (Muhammad) from

among themselves, reciting to them His Verses, purifying them (from

the filth of disbelief and polytheism), and teaching them the Book (this

Qur’aan, Islamic laws and Islamic jurisprudence) and Al-Hikmah

(As-Sunnah: legal ways, orders, acts of worship of Prophet Muhammad).

And verily, they had been before in manifest error”

[al-Jumu’ah 62:2]

They were unlettered in every sense of

the word, but when he taught then the Book and al-Hikmah,

Allaah said concerning them (interpretation of the meaning):

“Then

We gave the Book (the Qur’aan) as inheritance to such of Our slaves

whom We chose (the followers of Muhammad). Then of them are some who

wrong their ownselves, and of them are some who follow a middle course,

and of them are some who are, by Allaah’s Leave, foremost in good deeds”

[Faatir 35:32]

“And this is

a blessed Book (the Qur’aan) which We have sent down, so follow it and

fear Allaah (i.e. do not disobey His Orders), that you may receive mercy

(i.e. saved from the torment of Hell).

Lest you (pagan

Arabs) should say: ‘The Book was sent down only to two sects before

us (the Jews and the Christians), and for our part, we were in fact

unaware of what they studied.’

Or lest you (pagan

Arabs) should say: ‘If only the Book had been sent down to us, we would

surely, have been better guided than they (Jews and Christians).’”

[al-An’aam 6:155-157]

And Allaah answered the prayer of al-Khaleel

(Ibraaheem) for them, when he said (interpretation of the meaning):

“Our

Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own (and indeed Allaah

answered their invocation by sending Muhammad), who shall recite unto

them Your Verses and instruct them in the Book (this Qur’aan) and Al-Hikmah

(full knowledge of the Islamic laws and jurisprudence or wisdom or Prophethood)

[al-Baqarah 2:129]

So there are kinds of illiteracy which

are haraam, kinds which are makrooh and kinds which are a shortcoming

and failure to do that which is better. A person who does not know how

to read al-Faatihah or

any part of the Qur’aan, is called by the fuqahaa’ in their discussion

on al-salaah (prayer), ummi

(unlettered), the opposite of whom is a qaari’

(one who reads or recites). They say: it is not correct for a qaari’

to be led in prayer by an ummi,

but it is permissible for an ummi

to lead another ummi in

prayer; and they discuss other issues of the same nature. What they

mean by ummi here is one

who cannot read what is necessary, regardless of whether he can write

and calculate or not.

This illiteracy also includes neglecting

what is obligatory, for which a man will be punished if he is able to

learn it but he does not do so.

There is also the kind of illiteracy

which is blameworthy, such as that which Allaah described in the case

of the People of the Book, when He said (interpretation of the meaning):

“And

there are among them (Jews) unlettered people, who know not the Book,

but they trust upon false desires and they but guess”

[al-Baqarah 2:78]

This is a description of one who does not

understand the word of Allaah or act upon it; all he does is to recite

it. Al-Hasan al-Basri said: The Qur’aan was revealed to be acted upon,

so recitation implies acting upon it. The ummi

in this sense may read the letters of the Qur’aan, etc., but he does

not understand it; when he speaks about matters of knowledge, he speaks

superficially, based on conjecture. This person is also regarded as

ummi and deserves to be

blamed, just as Allaah condemned him for his lack of obligatory knowledge,

whether this knowledge is fard ‘ayn

(obligatory on each individual) or fard

kafaayah (obligatory on the community as a whole but not

on each individual)

There is also the kind of ‘illiteracy’

which is better and more perfect, such as the one who only reads a part

of the Qur’aan and he only understands what he has learned. He only

understands as much of sharee’ah as he has to know. Such a person is

also called ummi (illiterate),

and others who learn and act upon the Qur’aan are better and more perfect

than him.

These matters which distinguish a person

are virtues, and if a person fails to attain them, he is missing out

on something that is obligatory either on him as an individual (fard

‘ayn) or is obligatory on the community (fard

kafaayah) or is mustahabb (recommended). These attributes of perfection and

virtue may be attributed to Allaah and His Prophets in general terms.

Allaah is All-Knowing and All-Wise, and He combines knowledge and beneficial

speech in all that He wants, tells and wills. The same is true of His

Prophets and our Prophet, the leader of the knowledgeable and wise.

With regard to the distinguishing features

which are means to attaining virtues, but which one can do without and

use alternative means, these are things like writing and numeracy. If

a person does not have these abilities, knowing that virtue cannot be

achieved without them, not having them is a sign of imperfection. If

a person acquires them and uses them to perfect himself – like the one

who learns how to read and then uses that to read the Qur’aan and read

useful books or write other things that will be of benefit to people

– then this is a virtue in his case. But if he uses it for purposes

that will harm him or other people – like the one who reads misguided

books or writes things that will harm people, like forging the writing

of rulers, judges and witnesses – then this will be bad for him, and

will be a sin and imperfection. Hence ‘Umar forbade teaching women how

to write. If it is possible to do without it yet still achieve perfect

knowledge, then this is better, and this was the case with our Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him), of whom Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):

“Those

who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write

(i.e. Muhammad) whom they find written with them in the Tawraat (Torah)

and the Injeel (Gospel)…”

[al-A’raaf 7:157]

His being unlettered did not mean that he was lacking

in knowledge or the ability to recite by heart, for he is the leader

of all imaams in that regard. What it meant was that he was not able

to write or to read anything that was written, as Allaah said of him

(interpretation of the meaning):

“Neither

did you (O Muhammad) read any book before it (this Qur’aan), nor did

you write any book (whatsoever) with your right hand…”

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:48]

[Then he (Ibn Taymiyah – may Allaah

have mercy on him) went back to discussing the hadeeth “We are an unlettered

nation, we do not write or calculate…” and stated that there is a corroborating

report which refers to what is meant by this hadeeth. Then he said:]

When this is compared with his comment

that the month may be thirty or twenty-nine days, it becomes clear that

what is meant is that with regard to the new moon (beginning of the

month), we have no need for writing or calculations, because sometimes

it is (thirty days) and sometimes it is (twenty-nine days). What differentiates

between them is the sighting (of the new moon), there is nothing else

that differentiates between them, such as writing or calculation.

Thus is becomes clear that the “illiteracy”

mentioned here is a characteristic which is praiseworthy in several

senses:

it

means doing without writing and calculations in favour of something

whichis clearer and more apparent, namely, (sighting) the new moon.

-Writing and calculation may involve errors…

Etc.