Study of the Conceptual Transformation of Ummī (Illiterate) and Ummas (Nations) in the Old and New Testament and the Qur’ān

علوم قرآن و حدیث

Article 1, Volume 46, Issue 2 - Serial Number 93, February 2015, Pages 91-116   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/naqhs.v46i2.18039

Author

Husayn Haydari^*

KashanUniversity

Abstract

The present writing seeks to explain the concepts of ummas and the ethnic exclusivism in light of the Holy Scripture and the concept of ummī (illiterate) and ummiyūn, in the Holy Qur’ān. Is the title ummī equivalent to polytheist and idolater or is it applied to the gentile people? Similarly, does the Prophet Muḥammad’s (S.A.W.) being called ummī in the Qur’ān concern his being illiterate, or, in light of the background of the Holy Scripture, can this title be regarded as meaning the gentiles or any unfamiliar person with the Testaments?
Reviewing the application of this term in the Old and New Testament and also with a general look at the order of different books of the Testaments, this article concludes that the term umma, has been applied to all communities, including the Jews, but it has gradually been applied to the gentiles. In the New Testament, the term ummī has been just applied to non-Jewish and non-Christian communities. Given the background of the concept in the Testament and with a review of the verses in which the terms ummī and ummiyūn are used, it is understood that what is meant in the Holy Qur’ān by ummī is not illiterate or unable to read and write; rather, it means the one unfamiliar with the Torah and Gospel, even though being a Jew or
Christian.

Keywords

ummī; ummas and ummiyūn; goy (nation); goyim (nations)

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