* The word ‘Ummi’ refers to the special status of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him), that he did not receive any formal education from any human, nor did he study any book or scripture. He still knows far more than the entire creation through the divine knowledge bestowed upon him directly from Allah Almighty. Allah taught him directly whatever he did not know before. This word also refers to his innocence and purity, like the innocence and purity of a newborn baby, despite his raising in an idolatrous and polytheistic society.
* The town here refers to Jerusalem, or Ariha (Jericho), or a Palestinian city in the West Bank, or the land of Syria, or the whole of Palestine.
* Some reports identify it as a town called Ayla (Eilat), located in the Gulf of Aqaba between Midian and Sinai. Others identify it as Tiberias or a town in Midian.
* The warnings and glad tidings also belong to the matters of the Unseen. Allah Almighty enlightens His Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) on these matters. Without such information on the unseen, neither would the Prophethood be validated, nor could this duty be performed. So, in the glory of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him), it has been revealed: ‘And this Messenger is not ungenerous in informing about the unseen.’ (al-Takwir, 24:81). This Verse of the Holy Qur’an signifies that not being ungenerous in informing about the unseen is only possible if Allah has informed the Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) of the knowledge and glad tidings of the unseen. On the contrary, if the knowledge of the unseen had not been imparted to the Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) at all, informing about the unseen and not being ungenerous in this regard would have been meaningless. This denotes that the Messenger’s being knowledgeable of the unseen has not been negated. The negation refers only to self-acquisition of control over profit and loss and knowledge of the Unseen because that is attributable only to Allah Most High.