Ommi: An Illiterate or a Non-Follower of the Revealed Book

The root of the word “ommi” is “omm” or “ommah”. The most common meaning of “omm” is “mother” because “mother” is the origin of children and gives birth to them. The most common meaning of “ommah” is “community” which is a unified group. The meaning of these two words can help one define “ommi” because “ommi” is related to them. The literal meaning of “ommi” is “illiterate”, i.e. one who can neither read nor write. Using exegetical and hadith sources, we find out that the Prophet is called “ommi” since he was “illiterate” and was not capable of reading and writing prior to his delegation as a prophet though, following his delegation as a prophet, he could read and write and he had accomplished acts of reading in some instances but he had not written anything.