The Languages of the World in the Time of an Unlettered Prophet

When Prophet Muhammad ﷺ walked the streets of Makkah in the early 7th century, the world was already alive with a chorus of languages. Empires rose and fell on the tongues of poets, scholars, and kings. Scribes bent over parchment and papyrus, ink flowing in letters that carried the laws of kingdoms and the dreams of civilizations.

And yet, in the heart of the Arabian desert, stood a man who did not read or write—al-Nabī al-Ummi—the Unlettered Prophet. To understand the power of his message, we must first understand the languages that surrounded him, and the remarkable miracle that unfolded in a land where written scripture in Arabic had never before been given.

1. Arabia’s Own Tongue

In the Arabian Peninsula, Arabic was already a rich and eloquent language, shaped by centuries of oral poetry and tribal storytelling. Bedouin poets recited verses under starlit skies, their words flowing like desert wind.

But in Makkah, literacy was rare. The Quraysh valued memory and spoken eloquence far above the pen. Written Arabic scripts existed—most notably the Nabatean and South Arabian scripts—but these were limited in use. There was no single, standardized written Arabic.

2. The Languages Beyond the Sands

Step outside Arabia, and the world spoke in a thousand voices:

Greek — The language of philosophy, medicine, and empire, still dominant in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) territories.

Latin — Once the tongue of Caesar’s Rome, now evolving into the early Romance languages across Europe.

Syriac and Aramaic — The languages of Christian liturgy and everyday life in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Palestine.

Persian (Pahlavi) — Rich in poetry and administration, spoken in the Sassanid Empire to the east.

Hebrew — Preserved for sacred scripture, while most Jewish communities spoke Aramaic or Greek.

Sanskrit and Prakrits — Revered in India for philosophy and religion, while regional dialects flourished.

Classical Chinese — The refined language of the Tang Dynasty’s scholars and poets.

Coptic, Berber, Bantu tongues — Carried on the winds of Africa, from the Nile to the Swahili coast.

The Prophet’s world was one of linguistic giants—languages tied to empires, literacy, and cultural prestige.

3. The Miracle of the Unlettered Messenger

In this world of scholars and scribes, Muhammad ﷺ was ummi—not a man of the pen, yet a man of profound intellect. He had not sat in the schools of the Greeks, nor studied in the courts of Persia. And yet, from his lips flowed a revelation that stunned poets, silenced critics, and redefined Arabic forever: the Qur’an.

It was not merely eloquent—it was beyond imitation. The Qur’an’s language was at once deeply rooted in Arabic yet transcendent in style. It unified dialects, set linguistic standards, and carried a spiritual resonance that even non-Arabs could feel.

The Qur’an itself challenges:

> “And you are not a reader of any book before it, nor did you write it with your right hand. Otherwise, the falsifiers would have had cause to doubt.”
(Qur’an 29:48)

4. From Arabia to the World

Within a century of the Prophet’s passing, Arabic became the language of governance, science, and faith from Spain to Central Asia. It absorbed words from Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit, but also shaped them in return. Under Islam’s expansion, Arabic became a bridge across civilizations, influencing:

Persian, enriching its vocabulary with Islamic terminology.

Urdu, blending Arabic, Persian, and local Indian languages.

Swahili, carrying Qur’anic concepts to the African coast.

Malay, infusing Southeast Asia with Arabic script and Islamic ideas.

From an oral culture with scattered scripts, Arabic rose—through the Qur’an—to become a global civilization’s heartbeat.

5. The Timeless Lesson

In the Prophet’s time, literacy was a privilege; today, language learning is at our fingertips. The miracle of an ummi bringing forth the Qur’an reminds us that knowledge is not only in books—it is in truth, sincerity, and divine guidance.

And just as Arabic became a bridge between nations, we too can use languages—whether Arabic, English, or any other—to carry messages of peace, justice, and the remembrance of God.