By: Islamic-Life, Bassam Zawadi
In
this article, insha'Allah (by the will of Allah), I'll refute the
non-Muslims' false allegation of incompletion of the Qur'an and reveal
the truth about alleged missing ayah (1)
of Rajm (Stoning). They claim: Islamic textual evidence suggests that
Allah revealed the ayah of rajm (stoning) to Prophet Muhammad (peace
and blessings be upon him) and it is not found in the mushaf (codex) of
Qur'an that we have today; thus, the Qur'an is not preserved and
incomplete. First, Allah Ta'ala says in the Qur'an that it has been
completed (interpretation of the meaning): "this day have I perfected your deen for you" (2) and He says that He will preserve it (interpretation of the meaning): "We have, without doubt sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)" (3).
Second, the entire Qur'an was memorized and written down during the
life of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) and later it
was compiled in the form of a book by trustworthy companions (May Allah
be pleased with them all) and passed down to us in both forms (written
and oral) and how to recite it. Third, it is well known that some ayat
of the Qur'an were revealed in the beginning but they were later
abrogated and replaced with others or their ruling remained but
recitation was abrogated and vice versa. So, it is not enough to prove,
from Islamic text, that a certain ayah of the Qur'an was revealed
because we do not deny it, as long as there is authentic evidence to
prove it. The burden of proof lies on the attackers; they have to prove
two things: (1) certain ayah of the Qur'an was revealed (2) and it is
suppose to be part of the Qur'an (final recitation). Unfortunately, for
the attackers, they can only find the evidence to prove the first case
and I fail to see how does this prove that Qur'an is incomplete. Fourth,
brother Bassam (May Allah bless him) has already written a very good
article (4) to prove the abrogation of this ayah. He has provided lots of Islamic evidences and I'll be using them, insha'Allah.
Evidence for their claim
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: 'Umar said, "I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, ‘We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) in the Holy Book,'
and consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah
has revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajm be inflicted on
him who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already married and
the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession." Sufyan
added, "I have memorized this narration in this way." 'Umar added,
"Surely Allah's Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajm, and so did we
after him." (5)
Islamic-Life's Response
We
learn two things from this narration: (1) the ayah of rajm was
revealed and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessing be upon him)
carried the punishment (2) and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) is
afraid that the time will come when people will reject the ruling due to
absence of the ayah in the Qur'an. Now, let's assume that this ayah was
supposed to be part of the Qur'an (final recitation). However, there is
a big problem with this assumption because it is well known that the
companions of Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spent
their whole lives for Islam and they cared about Qur'an and following
the Sunnah of Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Thus, they
wouldn't let Qur'an get corrupted by any means when they had written it
down and memorized it during the life of Prophet (peace be upon him).
So, I ask and have asked the following question to the attackers: If
this ayah was suppose to be part of the final recitation, why 'Umar (May
Allah be pleased with him) or one of the other companions did not try
to write it in the compiled book form of the Qur'an? The attackers have
no answer to this question. In fact, the evidences tell us why 'Umar
(May Allah be pleased with him) did not try to add this in the mushaf
(codex) of the Qur'an, which was compiled during the time of Abou Bakar
(May Allah be pleased him). Now, let us examine the evidences; the translation is summarized version of what it is being said in the Arabic passage:
Imam
Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (May Allah have mercy on him) says: “Reported in
Muwatta that 'Umar spoke to people of Medina during the time of
pilgrimage (hajj) and said: '...people say we do not find this ruling
(ayah of rajam) in the book of Allah. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon
him) did rajam and so did we. If
it was in my hands and not for the people to say 'Umar written/added
something in the book of Allah which was not there, I would have
written/added in it (ayah of rajam).' ... 'Umar said to people:
'The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) carried the punishment of
rajam and so did we after him. If
it were not for people saying 'Umar increased in the book of Allah
which was not there, I would have written/added in it (ayah of rajam).'” (6)
Imam
Ibn Kathir (May Allah have mercy on him) says: “It is reported in
Musnad Ahmad that one day 'Umar said in a sermon: 'People say we do not
find the ruling of rajam in the book of Allah; Qur'an only mentions
whiping. Remember Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself did
rajam and we did the same after him. If
I were not afraid of people saying 'Umar added/written in the book of
Allah which was not there, I would have written/added in it the ayah of
rajam the way it was revealed.' This has been also reported in Sunan An-Nasi.” (7)
Thus,
the above narrations clearly tell us the reason why the companions (May
Allah be pleased with them) abandoned the writing of this ayah in the
mushaf of the Qur'an. If something is not supposed to be part of a
story, how can you say that the story is incomplete since it is missing
that part? Imam Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (May Allah have mercy on him)
further explains us why 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) got
emotional and wanted this ayah to be written down: "In the verse whose recitation has been abrogated but its ruling remained,
and it has happened what Umar feared. A tribe from the Khawarij or most
of them and some of the Mu'tazilites rejected the stoning" (8).
Now, let us examine more ahadith which will prove that the Messenger of
Allah (peace be upon him) himself disapprove the writing of this ayah:
Imam
Ibn Kathir (May Allah have mercy on him) says: “'People were sitting
around Merwan and Hadhrat Zaid bin Thabit was also present. He [Zaid]
said, ‘we used to recite in the Qur’an that punishment for married
adulterer and adulteress is stoning to death’. Merwan asked, ‘So why did
you not write this in the Qur’an (mushaf)’? He [Zaid] said listen,
‘when we started talking about this, we went to ‘Umar bin Khtaab and he
told us: one man came to Prophet (peace be upon him) and he started
talking about the ayah of rajam. Someone from the gathering said that O
Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) write this ayah down. Prophet
(peace be upon him) said that I cannot write it down anymore or something similar/same.’ This hadith has also been recorded in Nasi. Therefore,
it is proved from these ahadith that the ayah of rajam was first part
of recitation but later its recitation was abrogated but the ruling
remained and Allah knows best.” (7)
Imam
Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (May Allah have mercy on him) says: “Umar said,
'When this verse came down I approached the Prophet (peace be upon him)
so I asked him: Should I write it down?' It is as if he hated that' ... Hence, it is proved from these ahadith that the recitation of this ayah was abrogated but the ruling remained.” (6)
Imam Al-Nawawi (May Allah have mercy on him) says: "And this is whose recitation has been abrogated and its ruling remained ... And
the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) abandoning the
writing of this verse is clear evidence that the abrogated should not be
written in the Qur'an and that Umar's statement about the
stoning as he is on the pulpit and the silence of the companions and
other than them from who were present from opposing him is evidence
about the ruling of the stoning (still being implemented).” (9)
Conclusion
In
conclusion, the evidences are crystal clear and tells us that
recitation of the rajam ayah was abrogated but its ruling remained and
this is the unanimous opinion of the companions and scholars of Islam as
Prophet (peace be upon him) himself disapproved the writing of the ayah
but he practiced the ruling. Unfortunately for the attackers, their
poor attempt to disapprove the preservation of the Qur'an has been
refuted, alhamdulillah (praise to be Allah)! Before I finish, let me
completely bury the attackers and their poor arguments against the
preservation of the Qur’an. I call this the golden key and irrefutable
argument to refute the supposedly missing ayat and parts of the Qur’an:
Narrated
'Abdul 'Aziz bin Rufai': Shaddad bin Ma'qil and I entered upon Ibn
'Abbas. Shaddad bin Ma'qil asked him, "Did the Prophet leave anything
(any other Qur’an besides this Qur'an)?" He replied. "He did not leave anything (any other revelation) except what is (safe) between the two bindings (of the Qur'an)." Then we visited Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiyya and asked him (the same question). He replied, "The Prophet did not leave (any other revelation) except what is between the bindings (of the Qur'an)." (10)
Imam
Wahedi (May Allah have mercy on him) comments on this hadith: “By
recording this hadith, Hadhrat Imam Bukhari (May Allah have mercy on
him) has rejected the views of those Shias, who say that Qur’an had a
verse about Hadhrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) being the
[first] khalifa and other companions (e.g. ‘Uthman, Abou Bakr, ‘Umar
(May Allah be pleased with them all)) didn’t include it in the final
compilation of the Qur’an. When Prophet's (peace
be upon him) cousin, 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abas and Ali's son Muhammad bin
Al-Hanafiyya (May Allah be pleased with them all) didn't know about such
tales/stories, then how can these people claim it" (11).
Similarly, even if we assume what attackers claim, there are missing
ayat and parts of the Qur'an or multiple version of the Qur'an, then how
come 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abas (May Allah be pleased with him) was not aware
of it? He was one of the two persons who answered the questioner--from
later generation--regarding the preservation of the Qur'an! Why didn't
he tell the questioner that it has been reported or known that there are
missing ayat or parts of the Qur'an or there are different version of
the Qur'an? This concludes the refutation, alhamdulillah. Wallahu a'lam
(and Allah knows best)
Footnotes:
- The arabic word "ayah" is commonly translated into "verse" but I do not think it is correctly translated. So until a better word is found, I'll be using the Arabic word.
- Surah Al-Ma'idah, 3, Ayah 3
- Surah Al-Hijr, 15, Ayah 9
- The Qur'anic Verse on Stoning
- Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 816
- Fathul Bari, Commentary on Hadith no. 6327
- Tafsir ibn Kathir, Commentary on Surah An-Noor, 24, Ayah 2
- Fathul Bari, Commentary on Hadith no. 6328
- Sharh Saheeh Muslim, Commentary on Hadith no. 3201
- Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 537
- Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, page 545, published by Jami'yat Ahla Hadith of Hind in 2004
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