Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Jumu'ah Verse 2

Mufti Taqi Usmani

He is the One who raised amidst the unlettered people a messenger from among themselves who recites to them His verses, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and the wisdom, while they were earlier in open error.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

He is the One Who raised for the illiterate ˹people˺ a messenger from among themselves—reciting to them His revelations, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and wisdom, for indeed they had previously been clearly astray—

Ruwwad Translation Center

It is He Who has sent among the unlettered [Arabs] a messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them, and teaching them the Book and Wisdom [sunnah], although before that they were clearly misguided.

A. J. Arberry

It is He who has raised up from among the common people a Messenger from among them, to recite His signs to them and to purify them, and to teach them the Book and the Wisdom, though before that they were in manifest error,

Abdul Haleem

It is He who raised a mes-senger, among the people who had no Scripture, to recite His revelations to them, to make them grow spiritually and teach them the Scripture and wisdom––before that they were clearly astray––

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

He it is Who hath raised amdist the unlettered ones an apostle from among themselves, rehearsing Unto them His revelations and purifying them and teaching them the Book and Wisdom, though they have been aforetime in error manifest.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is He Who has sent amongst the Unlettered a messenger from among themselves, to rehearse to them His Signs, to sanctify them, and to instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom,- although they had been, before, in manifest error;-

Abul Ala Maududi

He it is Who has sent to the gentiles a Messenger from among themselves, one who rehearses to them His verses, purifies their lives, and imparts to them the Book and the Wisdom although before that they were in utter error;

Ahmed Ali

It is He who raised among the gentiles an apostle from amongst them, who recites His revelations to them, reforms them and teaches them the Scripture and the Law, for before him they were clearly in error.

Ahmed Raza Khan

It is He Who has sent among the unlettered people a Noble Messenger from themselves, who recites His verses to them and purifies them, and bestows them the knowledge of the Book and wisdom; and indeed before this, they were in open error.

Ali Quli Qarai

It is He who sent to the unlettered [people] an apostle from among themselves, to recite to them His signs, to purify them, and to teach them the Book and wisdom, and earlier they had indeed been in manifest error.

Ali Ünal

He it is Who has sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger of their own, reciting to them His Revelations, and purifying them (of false beliefs and doctrines, and sins, and all kinds of uncleanness), and instructing them in the Book and the Wisdom, whereas before that they were indeed lost in obvious error.

Amatul Rahman Omar

He it is Who has raised among the Arabs a grand Messenger (who hails) from among themselves, who recites to them His revelations to rid them of their impurities and teaches them the Book and Wisdom, though before (the advent of the Prophet) they were steeped in error which disconnected (them from God).

English Literal

He is who sent in the illiterates/belongers to a nation a messenger from them, he reads/recites on them His verses/evidences , and he purifies them , and he teaches/instructs them The Book , and the wisdom , and (even) if, they were from before in (E) clear/evident , misguidance.

Faridul Haque

It is He Who has sent among the unlettered people a Noble Messenger from themselves, who recites His verses to them and purifies them, and bestows them the knowledge of the Book and wisdom; and indeed before this, they were in open error.

Hamid S. Aziz

He it is Who raised among the Unlettered ones a Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His revelations and makes them grow (or purifies or sanctifies them), and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, although they were before certainly in clear error,

Hilali & Khan

He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger (Muhammad SAW) from among themselves, reciting to them His Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief and polytheism), and teaching them the Book (this Quran, Islamic laws and Islamic jurisprudence) and Al-Hikmah (As-Sunnah: legal ways, orders, acts of worship, etc. of Prophet Muhammad SAW). And verily, they had been before in mainfest error;

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth glorifies Allah, the King, the Holy, the Mighty, the Wise.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

He it is Who raised among the inhabitants of Mecca an Apostle from among themselves, who recites to them His communications and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, although they were before certainly in clear error,

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

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,

Muhammad Sarwar

It is He who has sent to the illiterate a Messenger from among their own people to recite to them His revelations and purify them. He will teach the Book to them

Qaribullah & Darwish

It is He who has raised among the illiterate (Arabs), a Messenger from themselves, to recite to them His verses, to purify them, and to teach them the Book and the Wisdom, though before that they were in clear error,

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His Ayat, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the Hikmah. And verily, they had been before in manifest error.

Wahiduddin Khan

It is He who has raised among the unlettered people a messenger from among themselves who recites His revelations to them, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and wisdom, for they had formerly been clearly misguided --

Talal Itani

It is He who sent among the unlettered a messenger from themselves; reciting His revelations to them, and purifying them, and teaching them the Scripture and wisdom; although they were in obvious error before that.

Tafsir jalalayn

It is He Who sent to the unlettered [folk], [among] the Arabs (umm means `one who cannot write or read a book'), a messenger from among them, namely, Muhammad (s), to recite to them His signs, the Qur'n, and to purify them, to cleanse them from idolatry, and to teach them the Book, the Qur'n, and wisdom, [in] the rulings that it contains, though indeed (wa-in; in has been softened from the hardened form, with its subject having been omitted, that is to say, [understand it as] wa-innahum) before that, [before] his coming, they had been in manifest error.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الاُْمِّيِّينَ رَسُولاً مِّنْهُمْ


He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger from among themselves,

the word `unlettered' here refers to the Arabs.

Allah the Exalted said in another Ayah,

وَقُلْ لِّلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَـبَ وَالاٍّمِّيِّينَ ءَأَسْلَمْتُمْ فَإِنْ أَسْلَمُواْ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَواْ وَّإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَـغُ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ

And say to those who were given the Scripture and those who are illiterates;"Do you submit yourselves If they do, they are rightly guided; but if they turn away, your duty is only to convey the message; and Allah is All-Seer of (His) servants." (3;20)

Mentioning the unlettered ones in specific here does not mean that Muhammad was only sent to them, because the blessing to the Arabs is greater than that of other nations.

In another Ayah, Allah said,

وَإِنَّهُ لَذِكْرٌ لَّكَ وَلِقَوْمِكَ

And verily, this is indeed a Reminder for you and your people. (43;44)

Surely, the Qur'an is also a reminder for those other than Arabs to take heed.

Allah the Exalted said,

وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الاٌّقْرَبِينَ

And warn your tribe of near kindred. (26;214)

These Ayat do not negate Allah's statements,

قُلْ يَأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا

Say;"O mankind! verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah. (7;158)

and,

لااٌّنذِرَكُمْ بِهِ وَمَن بَلَغَ

that I may therewith warn you and whomsoever it may reach. (6;19)

and in His statement about the Qur'an,

وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ مِنَ الاٌّحْزَابِ فَالنَّارُ مَوْعِدُهُ

But those of the groups that reject it, the Fire will be their promised meeting place. (11;17)

There are other Ayat that indicate that his Message is universal. He, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, was sent to all people, mankind and the Jinns alike. We mentioned this meaning before in Surah Al-An`am producing various Ayat and Hadiths. All praise and thanks are to due to Allah.

This Ayah testifies that Allah has indeed accepted the invocation of His friend Ibrahim when he supplicated Allah to send a Messenger to the people of Makkah from among them their own. One who will recite to them Allah's statements, purify them and teach them the Book and the Hikmah. So, Allah -- all praise and thanks be to Him -- sent him when the Messengers ceased and the way was obscure. Indeed it was a time when it was most needed. Especially since Allah hated the people of the earth, Arabs and non-Arabs alike, except for a few of the People of the Scripture, who kept to the true faith Allah the Exalted sent to `Isa bin Maryam, peace be upon him. This is why Allah said,

هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الاُْمِّيِّينَ رَسُولاً مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ ايَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ

وَإِن كَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَإلٍ مُّبِينٍ




He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His Ayat, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the Hikmah. And verily, they had been before in manifest error.

In ancient times, the Arabs used to adhere by the religion of Ibrahim, peace be upon him. They later changed, corrupted and contradicted it, choosing polytheism instead of Tawhid and doubts instead of certainty. They invented a religion that Allah did not legislate, just as the People of the Scriptures did when they changed and corrupted their Divine Books. Allah sent Muhammad, with a great divine legislation, perfect religion that is suitable for all humans and Jinns.

In it, there is guidance and explanations of all that they need in this life and the Hereafter. It draws them closer to Paradise and Allah's pleasure and takes them away from the Fire and earning Allah's anger.

In it, there is the final judgement for all types of doubts and suspicion for all major and minor matters of the religion.

In Muhammad, Allah gathered all the good qualities of the Prophets before him, and gave him what He has never given the earlier and later generations of mankind.

May Allah's peace and blessings be on Muhammad until the Day of Judgement.