'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' This is a Medinan surah, and its verses are 11 [revealed after As-Saff]. The attributes of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, are read in the nominative case as praise, as if it were said: He is the King, the Most Holy. If it were read in the accusative case, it would also be valid, as the Arabs say: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Praise. The term 'ummi' is attributed to the Arab nation, because they did not write or read among the nations. It is said that writing began in Ta'if, taken from the people of Al-Hirah, and the people of Al-Hirah are from the people of Al-Anbar. The meaning of 'He has sent a Messenger among the unlettered' is that He sent an unlettered man among unlettered people, as mentioned in the hadith of Shu'ayb: 'How can I send an blind man among the blind, and an unlettered man among the unlettered?' [Narrated by Abu Nu'aym in Al-Dala'il through Abdul Samad bin Muqil, I heard Wahb bin Munabbih say: 'Allah revealed to a prophet from the prophets of the Children of Israel named Shu'ayb, and he mentioned it at length.'] It is said 'among them', as His saying: 'from among yourselves' indicates, as they know his lineage and circumstances. It is read: 'in the unlettered', by omitting the two yā's of the attribution. 'He recites to them His verses' means he reads them to them, although he is unlettered like them, as no reading was known from him, nor was he known to have learned. The reading of 'ummi' without learning is a clear sign. 'And He purifies them' means He purifies them from polytheism and the evils of ignorance. 'And He teaches them the Book and Wisdom' refers to the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The phrase 'And if they were' is the lightened form of the heavy, and the lam is a proof of it, meaning: they were in misguidance, and you do not see a greater misguidance than this. 'And others' is in the genitive case, an addition to the unlettered, meaning: He sent him among the unlettered who were in his time, and among others from the unlettered who did not catch up with them yet, and they will catch up with them, and they are those after the companions, may Allah be pleased with them. It is said that when it was revealed, it was asked: 'Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?' He placed his hand on Salman and then said: 'If faith were at the Pleiades, men from these would attain it.' It is said: they are those who come after them until the Day of Resurrection. It may be that it is in the accusative case, in addition to what is mentioned in 'And He teaches them', meaning: He teaches them and teaches others, for teaching, if it continues until the end of time, is all based on its beginning, as if He is the one who has taken charge of everything found from it. 'And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise' in empowering an unlettered man with that great matter, and supporting him in it, and choosing him from among all of humanity. That is the favor that Allah granted Muhammad, which is to be the prophet of his generation and the prophet of the generations to come. It is the favor of Allah; He gives it to whom He wills, and His wisdom necessitates it.