Transliteration:( Wa maa kunta tatloo min qablihee min kitaabinw wa laa takhuttubhoo bi yameenika izal lartaabal mubtiloon )
123. This means prior to the advent of prophethood, he could not read and write but afterward Allah Almighty bestowed upon him knowledge of both, reading as well as writing.Â
Therefore, this verse is not contradicting those Ahadith from which the reading and writing of our Holy Prophet ? is proved like writing something at the time of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah.
124. In that, the infidels of Makkah should have said that since the Holy Prophet had been a learned person from before, therefore he produced the Qur'aan on the strength of his knowledge.Â
And the Ulama of the People of the Book would have said that among the signs written about the Final Prophet in our scriptures is that he will not be able to read and write, but he is a learned person.Â
Thus, he is not a true Prophet (May Allah forbid). Now, that he is not an literate person, therefore nobody should have any doubts. It should be remembered that to be educated is one thing, but to be a scholar is a different thing altogether.
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The tafsir of Surah Ankabut verse 48 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Ankabut ayat 47 which provides the complete commentary from verse 47 through 49.
(29:48) (O Prophet), you did not recite any Book before, nor did you write it down with your hand; for then the votaries of falsehood would have had a cause for doubt.[88]
88. This is the same argument that has already been given in Surahs Yunus and Al-Qasas as a proof of the Prophet’s Prophethood. See (Surah Yunus, ayat 16) note 21 and (Surah Al-Qasas, ayat 46) note 64, (Surah Al-Qasas, ayat 86) note 109. For further explanation, see (Surah An-Nahl, ayat 103) note 107, (Surah Bani Israil, ayat 88) note 105, (Surah Al-Muminun, ayat 69) note 66, (Surah Al-Furqan, ayat 6) note 12, and (Surah Ash-Shuara, ayat 116) note 84.
The basis of the argument in this verse is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was unlettered. His compatriots and his kinsmen among whom he had spent his whole life, from birth to old age, knew fully that he had never read a book nor ever handled a pen. Presenting this actual fact Allah says: This is a proof of the fact that the vast and deep knowledge of the teachings of the Divine Books, of the stories of the former Prophets, of the beliefs of the various religions and creeds, of the histories of the ancient nations, and the questions of social and moral and economic life, which is being presented through this unlettered man could not have been attained by him through any means but revelation. If he had been able to read and write and the people had seen him reading books and undertaking serious studies, the worshipers of falsehood could have had some basis for their doubts, that he had acquired the knowledge not through revelation but through study and reading. But the fact of his being absolutely unlettered has left no basis whatsoever for any such doubt. Therefore, there can be no ground, except sheer stubbornness, which can be regarded as rational in any degree for denying his Prophethood.
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