Ummi
/ˈʊm.i/noun
A term used in Islamic contexts for someone described as unlettered, unscriptured, or unable to read and write.
Did you know?In the Qur’an, the Prophet Muhammad is called ummī, a term traditionally interpreted as “unlettered,” though scholars debate whether it instead means “gentile” or “not belonging to a previous scripture.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
ʾ-m-m
“A Semitic root associated with mother, origin, direction, or that which is foremost”
Ancient Arabic
Arabic
umm
“Mother; source or origin”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
ummī
“Unlettered or unscriptured; traditionally understood as lacking familiarity with earlier revealed scripture”
7th Century
Quranic Arabic
al-ummiyyūn
“The ummiyyūn, conventionally translated as the unlettered or gentiles”
19th–20th Century
English
ummi
“A transliterated Islamic term used in English scholarship and religious writing”
Modern English
English
Ummi
“Unlettered, unscriptured, or illiterate in an Islamic theological context”