سورة الجمعة

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Allah the Exalted sent Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), who is a mercy for all the worlds, to prophethood on the twenty-seventh of Rajab. Whoever fasts on this day, Allah writes for him the reward of fasting sixty months.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) used to read and write, and he also read what had not been written.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): هُوَ الَّذِی بَعَثَ فِی الْأُمِّیِّینَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ [He it is Who raised among the unlettered ones a Messenger from among themselves]; they used to write, but they had no Book from Allah with them, nor had a Messenger been sent to them, and for this reason Allah the Blessed and Exalted ascribed to them being unlettered (ummi).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Bazanti has narrated from some of the Shia from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: It was so that he would read but would not write. When Abu Sufyan set out towards Uhud, Abbas wrote a letter to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). His Eminence was in the middle of Medina when the letter reached him, so he read it, but he did not inform his companions and ordered them to enter Medina, and when they entered Medina, he informed them.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) used to read, but he did not write.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ الْأُمِّیِّینَ [and the unlettered ones]; that is, those who do not have a heavenly Book.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): الْأُمِّیُّونَ [the unlettered ones] are those among whom there is no Book.

Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him): Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sufi said: I asked Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him): "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Why was the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) called Ummi?" He said: "What do the people say?" I said: "They suppose that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was called Ummi because he was not able to write." He said: "They lie; may the curse of Allah be upon them! How can that be, when Allah says in the Qur'an: هُوَ الَّذِی بَعَثَ فِی الْأُمِّیِّینَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ یَتْلُو عَلَیْهِمْ آیَاتِهِ وَ یُزَکِّیهِمْ وَ یُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْکِتَابَ وَ الْحِکْمَةَ [He it is Who raised among the unlettered a Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His verses and purifies them and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom]. How could he teach something that he himself had not learned? By Allah! The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) used to read and write in seventy-two — or he said, seventy-three — languages. He was called Ummi only because he was from the people of Mecca, and Mecca is one of the Ummahat al-Qura (mother-cities), and this is what Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: لِتُنْذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُری وَ مَنْ حَوْلَها [that you may warn Umm al-Qura (Mecca) and those around it]. (Shura/7)."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): We are the ones from among whom Allah raised a Messenger, to recite His verses to us, purify us, and teach us the Book and the Wisdom.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): یَتْلُوا عَلَیْهِمْ آیاتِهِ وَ یُزَکِّیهِمْ وَ یُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْکِتابَ وَ الْحِکْمَةَ [who recites to them His verses and purifies them and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom]. The meaning of the Book is the Qur'an and the meaning of the Wisdom is the wilayah (guardianship) of Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abd al-Rahman ibn Jundab narrated from his father: Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: Allah the Mighty and Majestic bestowed His favour upon you (granted a great blessing) through Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and He raised him as a Messenger from among yourselves to you, and in what He revealed of His Book He said: هُوَ الَّذِی بَعَثَ فِی الْأُمِّیِّینَ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ یَتْلُوا عَلَیْهِمْ آیاتِهِ وَ یُزَکِّیهِمْ وَ یُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْکِتابَ وَ الْحِکْمَةَ وَ إِنْ کانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِی ضَلالٍ مُبِینٍ [He it is Who raised among the unlettered a Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His verses and purifies them and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, though before that they were indeed in manifest error] ... The Messenger sent to you was from among yourselves, and he taught you the Book, the Wisdom, the obligations and the sunnah.