Qur'an and the Orientalists". Orientalist scholars Friedrich Schwally and John Wansbrough held a similar opinion to Nöldeke. Some writers have questioned Muhammad's illiteracy. Ruthven states that "The fact of Muhammad's illiteracy would in no way constitute proof of the Qur'an miraculous origin as the great pre-Islamic poets were illiterate." Peters writes: "We do not know where this minor merchant of Mecca learned to make poetry...most oral poets and certainly the best have been illiterate." Others believe that Muhammad hired poets or that the Qur'an was translated into Arabic from another language. References Quran Islamic miracles Islamic terminology