A second verse that Muslim apologists refer to in support of their claims is Isaiah 29:12 – “Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, ‘Read this, please.’ And he says, ‘I am not literate.’”Muslims insist that: (a) the book referred to in this verse is the Qur’an; (b) the one to whom the book is delivered is Muhammad; and (c) the one who orders Muhammad to read the book is Gabriel. They suggest that Muhammad fits the description of this individual, since he was illiterate when the angel Gabriel revealed the words of Allah to him.
Once again we must not take the words out of their context. To understand the context of the verse, we must remember that Isaiah (who lived in the 8th century B.C.) is known as the ‘messianic prophet’ because he prophesied so many details about Jesus Christ—not Muhammad. In Isaiah 29 God pronounces judgements on Judah for her sins at that time (i.e. 702 B.C.).
The passage indicates that within a year, the great Assyrian king Sennacherib would lay siege to Jerusalem (vs. 3). Jerusalem (called ‘Ariel’) would be attacked by her enemies and punished for her sins against God, and then those enemies in turn would receive their just deserts (vs. 4-8).
God’s people were in deliberate spiritual blindness. To them the Bible was a closed book, and Judah’s false prophets were not helping the situation (vs. 9-10). Notice that Isaiah then describes the unwillingness of the people of his day to heed the truth, by comparing them to a literate person who is told to read something, but refuses, excusing himself by saying the document is sealed (vs. 11). Isaiah then likens the people to an illiterate person, who excuses himself by saying he cannot read (vs. 12).
The point is that the people of Isaiah’s day refused to pay attention to God’s Holy Word as spoken through His prophets. They did not want it! Verses 13-16 explain that because of their closed minds, they will suffer for their rejection of God’s Word when the Assyrians arrive to besiege the city, but, as usual, God reveals a better day when people will listen (vs. 17ff.).
Having examined the context, it is evident that Isaiah 29:12 has nothing to do with Muhammad!