In the Qur'an these three surah's (verses) speak to the issue of Muhammad's illiteracy. They are:
PICKTHAL: Those who follow the messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to wear. Then those who believe in him, and honour him, and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful .
Surah 007:157
PICKTHAL: Say (O Muhammad): O mankind! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah to you all - (the messenger of) Him unto Whom belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. There is no Allah save Him. He quickeneth and He giveth death. So believe in Allah and His messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, who believeth in Allah and in His Words, and follow him that haply ye may be led aright. Surah 007:158
PICKTHAL: He it is Who hath sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their own, to recite unto them His revelations and to make them grow, and to teach them the Scripture and wisdom, though heretofore they were indeed in error manifest... Surah 062:002
Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I am not literate." Isaiah 29:12
Under the rules of Biblical Interpretation a passage must be read in the context in which it is written to arrive at the correct interpretation.
Isaiah 29:10-13
10 For the Lord has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers. 11 The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." 12 Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I am not literate." 13 Therefore the Lord said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men..
The Isaiah passage is a passage of rebuke. The Lord closed the eyes of the prophets and covered the head of the seers. The vision of the Lord became "like" a sealed book that no one can read. Not the one who is literate or the one who is illiterate.
The question remains was Muhammad illiterate?
The Qurnic passages should have settled the question of Muhammad's illiteracy, but it doesn't. While it is true that the Qur'an is the is considered the final authority on matters relating to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. There is a second source of information that is held by Muslims to be just as important regarding the beliefs found in Islam. This information is found in the Hadith.
The Hadith is second only to the Qur'an in terms of authority. The Hadith contains the sayings of Muhammad and narrations of Muhammad's followers as they observed the Prophet in daily life.
Some Hadiths are considered more reliable than others, depending upon the author. The information found in the Hadith does not always agree with the information presented in the Qur'an. Such is the case of Muhammad's claim to be an unlettered prophet.
The following quotes are from the Hadith authored by Sahih Bukhari :
Narrated 'Ursa:
The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with 'Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death). ( Sahih Bukhari 7.88 )
Narrated Anas bin Malik :
Once the Prophet wrote a letter or had an idea of writing a letter. The Prophet was told that they (rulers) would not read letters unless they were sealed. So the Prophet got a silver ring made with "Muhammad Allah's Apostle" engraved on it. As if I were just observing its white glitter in the hand of the Prophet ... ( Sahih Bukhari 1.65 )
Who is Sahih Bukbari? (quoted from the website Amazon.com)
We are pleased to be able to provide the English Translation of Sahih Bukhari.
Sahih Bukhari is a collection of sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), also known as the Sunnah. The reports of the Prophet's (saw) sayings and deeds are called ahadeeth. Imam Bukhari lived a couple of centuries after the Prophet's (saw) death and worked extremely hard to collect his ahadeeth. Each report in his collection was checked for compatibility with the Qur'an, and the veracity of the chain of reporters had to be painstakingly established. Bukhari's collection is recognized by the overwhelming majority of the Muslim world to be one of the most authentic collections of the Sunnah of the Prophet(pbuh).
Bukhari (full name Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin al-Mughira al-Ja'fai) was born in 194 A.H. and died in 256 A.H. His collection of hadeeth is considered second to none. He spent sixteen years compiling it, and ended up with 2,602 hadeeth (9,082 with repetition). His criteria for acceptance into the collection were amongst the most stringent of all the scholars of ahadeeth.
Sahih Bukhari is divided into nine volumes, each of which has several books. Each book contains many ahadeeth. The ahadeeth are numbered consecutively per volume. The books really only serve to group ahadeeth together, but the volumes impose the numbering.
Was Muhammad illiterate? There is no absolute answer. Which leaves the question in what book do you trust? The Qur'an or the Hadith?
A.H. represents the Muslim calendar also known as the Hijri calander. The Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar. It consists of 12 months in a year. The year can be either 354 or 355 days long. This dating system is not synchronized with the seasons and sees an annual shift of 10 or11days.