By: Islamic-Life
This
article covers the Muslims response and refutation to some of the
common false allegations against the preservation of the Qur'an. These
are my notes from a debate that I had with an atheist on the topic of
preservation of the Qur'an. He mainly argued that Qur'an was not
complete during the life of the Messenger of Allah (sal-allahu 'alayhi
wa salam - peace and blessings be upon him), neither it was completely
written down or memorized. He also argued that the Qur'an we've today is
missing ayaat (verses) and parts. The preservation of the Qur'an has
been guaranteed by Allah (God): "Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur'an) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)" (1). Imam ibn Jarir at-Tabari (rahimahullah - May Allah have mercy on him) says in the tafsir (exegesis) of this ayah: "Allah
is saying, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (Reminder), i.e. the
Qur'an, and We will guard the Qur'an against anything false being added
to it that is not part of it, or anything that is part of it being taken
away, whether that has to do with rulings, hudood punishments or
matters having to do with inheritance" (2). The sound minded readers can go through my notes and analyze the truth:
Was Qur'an Incomplete when Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salm) died?
Non-Muslim's Argument
Qur'an
was not complete when Muhammad died and was in fragments. Qur'an is
incomplete because it was not completely compiled, missing parts or some
parts didn't survive. If the sayings of the Qur'an was not organised
into a book called the Qur'an, there is no Qur'an.
Muslim Response
This misconception is only raised due to lack of basic knowledge. The attacker thinks that when Muslims today say "Qur'an",
they refer to the written mushaf (codex), which is not true as no sound
minded Muslim believe in such a thing. According to the correct Islamic
'aqeedah (creed), Sunni Muslim believe that the Qur'an is the Kalam
(speech) of Allah and it is not created. In addition, the literal
meaning of the word Qur'an is, "the recitation". Therefore, when Muslims say "Qur'an",
they're talking about the text not the written copies which contain the
text. Now, the Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu
'alayhi wa salam) over the period of 23 years, it was completed while he
was alive. Allah Ta'ala says in the Qur'an: "this day have I perfected your deen for you" (3).
Therefore, the Qur'anic revelation was completed when Allah’s Messenger
(sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) was alive. Even if we assume the
attacker's position, if the content of a story is complete, how can you
claim that the story is incomplete? The following sahih (authentic)
ahadith further confirms it:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
The Prophet was the most generous person, and he used to become more so
(generous) particularly in the month of Ramadan because Gabriel used to
meet him every night of the month of Ramadan till it elapsed. Allah's
Apostle used to recite the Qur'an for him. When Gabriel met him, he used
to become more generous than the fast wind in doing good. (4)
Narrated
Abu-Huraira: Gabriel used to repeat the recitation of the Qur'an with
the Prophet once a year, but he repeated it twice with him in the year
he died. The Prophet used to stay in I'tikaf for ten days every year (in
the month of Ramadan). (5)
Didn't Companions (radi-allahu anhuma) of Prophet Muhammad(sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salm) memorize and write down the whole Qur'an?
Non-Muslim's Argument
No one memorized or wrote down all of Muhammad's teachings. Look at the following hadith: Narrated
Zaid bin Thabit: ...So I started looking for the Qur'an and collecting
it from (what was written on) palm-leaf stalks, thin white stones, and
also from the men who knew it by heart, till I found the last verse of
Surat at-Tauba (repentance) with Abi Khuzaima al-Ansari, and I did not find it with anybody other than him... (6).
From this hadith, it is clear that the scribes failed to note down all
the Muhammad said, hence why the tale talks about his followers failing
to create a book and also why the person needed to search for multiple
people, multiple writings to even compile it.
Muslim Response
Again,
the attacker shows his lack of basic Islamic knowledge and
misinterpretation of the hadith. First, let's look at the proofs which
refutes his false claims and then we'll look at this hadith within the
context. Shaykh Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid (May Allah preserve him)
said:
Everything
that was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was written down in front of him straight away, and some of the
Sahaabah had masaahif (written copies of the Qur'an). After the
death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), the
first khaleefah, Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased with him)
gathered the Qur’aan in written and kept it. Then the third khaleefah,
'Uthmaan ibn 'Affaan (may Allaah be pleased with him) compiled it in
mus-hafs that were based on the mus-haf compiled by Abu Bakr, in
addition to what had been memorized. (7)
and in another place he said:
The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) appointed a group
of his companions who were trustworthy and knowledgeable to write down
the revelation. They are known in their biographies as those who
wrote down the Revelation, such as the four Caliphs, 'Abd-Allaah ibn
'Amr ibn al-'Aas, Mu'aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyaan, Zayd ibn Thaabit and
others – may Allaah be pleased with them all.(8)
The whole Qur'an was memorized by many companions (radiallahu anhuma) of Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam)
Let's
look at some of the authentic sources which supports what the Shaykh
said; Imam Al-Bukhari (rahimahullah - May Allah have mercy on him)
records the following hadith in Sahih Al-Buhkhari in chapter, "Who were
the Qurra'/hufaz among the companions (radiallahu anhuma - May Allah be
pleased with them) of Prophet (peace be upon him)?" Qari'/ hafiz
(singular of Qurra'/hufaz) is someone who has memorized the WHOLE QUR’AN!:
Narrated
Masriq: 'Abdullah bin 'Amr mentioned 'Abdullah bin Masud and said, "I
shall ever love that man, for I heard the Prophet saying, 'take (learn)
the Qur'an from four: 'Abdullah bin Masud, Salim, Mu'adh and Ubai bin
Ka'b'". (9)
The commenter in the commentary of this hadith says: "These
four companions (RA) were the biggest 'ailm (scholar) and the memorizer
of the whole Qur'an. There were other qurra' among them but these four
knew the most". (10) The phrase, "Knew the most",
doesn't refer to the quantity; rather it refers to the strength of
their memory. This also proves that companions (radiallahu anhuma) of
Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) perfectly memorized and learned the entire Qur'an. You can't teach others or help them memorize the Qur'an unless you have memorized the entire Qur'an and its 'alim. Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) would never have made such a statement if they were not qualified for it! We further read in 'Al-Itqan fi-ulum al-Qur'an: "Some of the companions who memorized the Quran were: 'Abu
Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Abu Huraira, Abdullah bin Abbas,
Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As, Aisha, Hafsa, and Umm Salama". (11)
Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) has told us of great
virtue of memorzing the Qur'an. Muslims for 14 centuries have been
memorizing the Qur'an and passing it down as it came. Hence, it is
complete nonsensical of one to say that the companions (radiallahu
anhuma) of Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) didn't
memorize the whole Qur'an. There are numerous other overwhelming
evidences, which I'm not quoting to keep the response short, that
confirm the fact that many of the companions (rahiallahu anhuma)
memorized the entire Qur'an and the readers will soon see that the very
hadith quoted by the attacker proves him wrong.
Statements of non-Muslim Scholars on memorization of the Qur'an
John
Burton says: "The method of transmitting the Quran from one generation
to the next by having he young memorize the oral recitation of their
elders had mitigated somewhat from the beginning the worst perils of
relying solely on written records…" (12)
Kenneth Cragg says: "this phenomenon of Quranic recital means that the
text has traversed the centuries in an unbroken living sequence of
devotion. It cannot, therefore, be handled as an antiquarian thing, nor
as a historical document out of a distant past. The fact of hifdh
(Quranic memorization) has made the Quran a present possession through
all the lapse of Muslim time and given it a human currency in every
generation, never allowing its relegation to a bare authority for
reference alone". (13)
The whole Qur'an was written down by many Companions (radiallahu anhuma) of Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam)
Let's
look some of the authentic evidences proving the fact that the Qur'an
was written down by many companions (radiallahu anhuma) of Prophet
Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) during his life:
Narrated
Qatada: I asked Anas bin Malik: "Who collected the Qur'an at the time
of the Prophet ?" He replied, "Four, all of whom were from the Ansar:
Ubai bin Ka'b, Mu'adh bin Jabal, Zaid bin Thabit and Abu Zaid. (14)
Narrated
Anas bin Malik: When the Prophet died, none had collected the Qur'an
but four persons: Abu Ad-Darda'. Mu'adh bin Jabal, Zaid bin Thabit and
Abu Zaid. We were the inheritor (of Abu Zaid) as he had no offspring. (15) The commenter in the commentary of this hadith says: "Hadhrat
Anas (radhiallahu anho) is saying what he knew. There were other
companions (radhiallahu anhuma) besides these four who collected (wrote
down) the Qur'an. However, Hadhrat Anas (radhiallahu anho) means the
companions who collected (wrote down) the whole Qur'an". (10)
Some may argue that the word "collected" could also mean they memorized
it or collected knowledge because these ahadith are also recorded in
the same chapter as 521. However, the correct translation is that they
wrote it down. The Arabic word used here is, Jam'a, and it means
literally collecting objects. Therefore, they must have collected Qur'an
in written form.
Narrated Zaid bin Thabit:
Abu Bakr sent for me and said, "You used to write the Divine
Revelations for Allah's Apostle : So you should search for (the Qur'an
and collect) it." (16)
Narrated
Al-Bara: There was revealed: "Not equal are those believers who sit (at
home) and those who strive and fight in the Cause of Allah" (4.95). The
Prophet said, "Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the inkpot
and the scapula bone (or the scapula bone and the ink pot)."' Then he
said, "Write: …" (17)
The
entire Quran was however also recorded in writing at the time of
revelation from the Prophet's [sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam] dictation,
may God praise him, by some of his literate companions, the most
prominent of them being Zaid ibn Thabit. (18)
Others
among his noble scribes were Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Ibn Mas’ud, Mu’awiyah ibn
Abi-Sufyan, Khalid ibn Waleed and Zubayr ibn Awwam. (19)
Explanation of the hadith and reasons for collecting the Qur'an from different people
In
the refutation of the attacker's claim, I've above shown using the
authentic evidences that the entire Qur'an was memorized and written
down during the life of Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam).
Now, the attacker's false claims only arise due to his misunderstanding
and misinterpretation of the hadith: Narrated Zaid
bin Thabit: ...So I started looking for the Qur'an and collecting it
from (what was written on) palm-leaf stalks, thin white stones, and also
from the men who knew it by heart, till I found the last verse of Surat
at-Tauba (repentance) with Abi Khuzaima al-Ansari, and I did not find it with anybody other than him... (6).
However, when we read the complete hadith it tells us the reasons about
their decision of collecting the Qur'an. We read in the hadith that many Qurra' (who memorized the whole Qur’an)
martyred during the battle of Yamama. Again, the very hadith quoted by
the attacker to prove his point contradicts him and it proves my point:
many companions (radiallahu anhuma) of Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu
'alayhi wa salam) memorized the entire Qur’an during his life.
The battle of Yamama took place right after Prophet Muhammad
(sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) passed away, in fact, he (sal-allahu
'alayhi wa salam) sent the army himself and later this army was
strengthened with more men by Abou Bakr (radiallahu anho). Hence, the
companions (rahiallahu anhuma) decided to make a committe which was
responsible of collecting the Qur'an and Zaid was incharge of this task.
Imam ibn Hajr al-Asqalani (rahimahullah) says in Fathul Bari: "The material must have been originally written
down in the presence of the Prophet; nothing written down later on the
basis of memory alone was to be accepted. The material must be confirmed
by two witnesses, that is to say, by two trustworthy persons
testifying that they themselves had heard the Prophet recite the passage
in question". (20)
The restrictions placed by the committee are the sole reason for
collecting the Qur'an from different people and finding a certain ayah
with only one person. In other words, reading the hadith within the
context of other evidences, we understand that the phrase in the hadith "other than him"
exclude the members of committee as Zaid (radiallahu anho) was
collecting the Qur'an from non-members and they needed two trustworthy
witnesses to confirm it. Shaykh Muhammad Salih confirms it: "The
Sahaabi Zayd ibn Thaabit (may Allaah be pleased with him) knew the
Qur’aan by heart but he was methodical in his confirmation; he would not
agree to write down any verse until two of the Sahaabah testified that
they had heard it from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)". (8) Imam ibn Hajr further explains this in Fathul Bari:
The
Prophet (peace be upon him) permitted the writing of the Qur'an and
prohibited the writing of anything else along with it, so Abu Bakr did
not order anything to be written down except what has already been
written down, and that
is the reason why he (Zayd bin Thaabit) refrained from writing the last
verses from Surah al Bara'a until he found it written, for he already
knew it and had people who remembered it along with him.
Umar said: Who ever received anything regarding the Quran from the
Prophet (peace be upon him) then let him bring it. And they used to
write it on the manuscripts and boards and date palmed stalks. He said
that nothing would be accepted from anyone until two witnesses testify
to it. "And
this points out that Zayd was not satisfied with only finding it
written down until someone testified that he heard it, even though Zayd
himself had memorized it, and they used to take this extra precaution in
order to be more cautious. And Abu Dawud contained a
narration on the authority of Hisham bin Arwa that his father said that
Abu Bakr said to Umar and Zayd: Sit down on the door of the Mosque and
whoever of two witnesses come to you regarding the Quran then write it
down'. The men of this narration are trustworthy despite the chain being
broken, and the intended meaning regarding two witnesses was memorization and writing,
or it meant that they both testify that what was written down was
actually written down under the authority of the Messenger peace be upon
him, or it meant that they both testify that it was sent down as
Quranic revelation. And
it was their way that nothing was written down except that they receive
what was written down during the time of the Prophet peace be upon him
and not just from memorization. (21)
From
above evidences, it is clear that Zaid (radiallahu anho) didn't find
the ayaat (verses) written down with anyone except Abi Khuzaima
(radiallahu anho); however, it doesn't mean that no one else knew about
these ayaat beside him. Even if we assume the attacker position, then how did Zaid (radiallahu anho) know that he had to look for these ayaat?
How did he know that he will find these ayaat from Abi Khuzaima
(radiallahu anho)? How did Zaid (adiallahu anho) confirm that it was
part of Sura At-Tauba and Abi Khuzaima (radiallahu anho) was mentioning
those two specific ayaat? Even,
if we assume that Abi Khuzaima (radiallahu anho) told him this then the
committee would never have taken this into account because this would
nullifies their basic premise for verifying the correct collection of
the Qur'an (only one source). To hit the nail to the ground, we read Tafsir ibn Kathir in which Imam ibn Kathir (rahimahullah) summed it all up:
And
Ahmad said: Ali bin Bahr said that Ali bin Muhammad bin Salma on the
authority of Muhammad ibn Ishaq on the authority of Yahya bin Ebad on
the authority of his father Ebad bin Zubayr may Allah be pleased with
him said that Al Harith (Zayd) approached bin Khuzaymah with these two verses from the ending of Surah Al Bara'a
(Surah 9) 'Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad) from
amongst yourselves' to Abdullah ibn Umar Al Khattab so he said 'Who is
with you on this?' He said 'I don't know' and by
Allah I testify that I heard it from the Messenger of Allah peace be
upon him and I learned it and memorized it then Umar said: And I testify
that I heard it from the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him. (22)
Therefore,
it is clear from the above evidences that other than Abi Khuzaima
(radiallahu anho), other companions (radiallahu anhuma) of Prophet
Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) indeed knew about these ayaat. A
more detailed Muslim response to attacker's claim can be found here.
Is Qur'an Incomplete (missing ayaat/parts)?
Non-Muslim's Argument
Many
passages of the Qur'an were lost as it is related by the following
narration: "Zuhri reports, 'We have heard that many Qur'an passages were
revealed but that those who had memorised them fell in the Yemama
fighting. Those passages had not been written down, and following the
deaths of those who knew them, were no longer known; nor had Abu Bakr,
nor 'Umar nor 'Uthman as yet collected the texts of the Qur'an. Those
lost passages were not to be found with anyone after the deaths of those
who had memorised them. This, I understand, was one of the
considerations which impelled them to pursue the Qur'an during the reign
of Abu Bakr, committing it to sheets for fear that there should perish
in further theatres of war men who bore much of the Qur'an which they
would take to the grave with them on their fall, and which, with their
passing, would not be found with any other" [-bu Bakr 'Abdullah b. abi
Da'ud, "K. al Masahif"]
Muslim Response
First, it is
well known that "al Masahif" by 'Abdullah bin abi Da'ud is full of
fabricated narrations. Hence, there's no point of refuting the claim if
it is not authentic. It is well known and reported by Islamic scholars
that if it weren't for the isnaad (chain of narrators/transmitters), the
people would had come up anything they wanted and inculded it in Islam.
Thus, I ask the attacker where is the isnaad of this narration? I'm
assuming that Zhuri mentioned in the narration is Imam Muhammad ibn
Muslim ibn 'Ubaydullah ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (rahimahullah). I say this is
a lie attributed to a great Sunni Imam and muhadith (scholar of hadith)
as the narrations goes against the well known authentic ahadith
reported in Sahih al-Bukhari. It has been proved earlier that there were
many companions (radiallahu anhuma) of Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu
'alayhi wa salam), who memorised and wrote down the entire Qur'an, but
we read few names from authentic ahadith (9) (14) (15): 'Abdullah bin Masud, Salim, Mu'adh bin Jabal, Ubai bin Ka'b, Abu Ad-Darda', Zaid bin Thabit and Abu Zaid.
Among
these people, Ubai bin Ka'b (radiallahu anho) and 'Abdullah bin Masud
(radiallahu anho) passed away during the caliphate of 'Uthman
(radiallahu anho). Mu'adh bin Jabal (radiallahu anho) passed away during
the caliphate of 'Umar (radiallahu anho). Zaid bin Thabit (radiallahu
anho) and Abu Ad-Darda' (radiallahu anho) passed away during/after the
caliphate of 'Uthman (radiallahu anho). Salim (radiallahu anho) was
martyred during the battle of Yamama. I could not trace down some info
about Abou Zaid (radiallahu anho). Therefore,
out of seven people, who are proven from authentic ahadith that they
memorised and/or wrote down the entire Qur’an, only one of them was
martyred during the battle of Yamama; hence, the report/rumour that is either attributed to Imam Zahri (rahimahullah) or he heard is false and an utter lie.
Non-Muslim's Argument
Quran
is incomplete as relayed by the earliest Muslims: "It is reported from
Ismail ibn Ibrahim from Ayyub from Naafi from Ibn Umar who said: "Let
none of you say 'I have acquired the whole of the Qur'an'. How does he
know what all of it is when much of the Qur'an has disappeared? Rather
let him say 'I have acquired what has survived.'" [as-Suyuti, Al-Itqan
fii Ulum al-Qur'an, p.524].
Muslim Response
If we read
this report, from Ibn 'Umar (radiallahu anho), in the context and the
correct translation of it, we understand that he is talking about
understanding of the Qur'an not compilation or completion of the Qur'an
as the attacker claims! Dr. G.F. Hadad says:
The
words used by Ibn 'Umar for the terms given as "acquired,"
"disappeared," and "what has survived" above were -- I am quoting from
memory -- respectively "ahattu" (I have encompassed), "faatahu" (escapes
him), and "ma tayassara minhu" (whatever amount of it has been
facilitated). The actual meaning of Ibn 'Umar's words is: "Let no one
say: I have encompassed the whole of the Qur'an [= its meanings]. How
does he know what all of it is when much of the Qur'an escapes him?
Rather, let him say: I have encompassed whatever amount of it has been
facilitated [for me to know]". Ibn `Umar was famous for his strictness
in refraining from interpreting the Qur'an, even criticizing Ibn
'Abbas's interpretive zeal in the beginning, then accepting its
authority. He was not referring to the collection of the Qur'an! But
only to the ethics of the exegete, in the same line as Ibn 'Abbas's
saying narrated by al-Tabari and cited by al-Suyuti and al-Zarkashi:
'There are ambiguous verses in the Qur'an which no one knows besides
Allah. Whoever claims that he knows them, is a liar.' (23)
Non-Muslim's Argument
Different
version of the Qur'an were destroyed: Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the
people of Sha'm and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur'an,
so he said to Uthman, 'O Chief of the Believers! Save this nation before
they differ about the Book (Qur'an) as Jews and the Christians did
before'. So Uthman sent a message to Hafsa, saying, 'Send us the
manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials
in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you'. Hafsa sent It to
Uthman. Uthman then ordered Zaid ibn Thabit, Abdullah bin az-Zubair,
Sa'id bin al-As, and Abdur-Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the
manuscripts in perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men,
'In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Qur'an,
then write it in the dialect of the Quraish as the Qur'an was revealed
in their tongue'. They did so, and when they had written many copies,
Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. Uthman sent to every
Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all
the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts
or whole copies, be burnt. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, p.479).
Muslim Response
Qur'an was originally revealed in the dialect of Quraish but later was allowed to recited/read in seven different ways: Narrated
'Abdullah bin 'Abbas: Allah's Apostle said, "Gabriel recited the Qur'an
to me in one way. Then I requested him (to read it in another way), and
continued asking him to recite it in other ways, and he recited it in
several ways till he ultimately recited it in seven different ways. (24)
Hence, various readings among people from different tribes/nations
became obvious and we also make a note of this from the hadith, which
the attacker quoted, that they were afraid of disputes raising among
people. As a result, 'Utman (radiallahu anho) set a committee to prepare
a final copy of the Qur'an from the copy that Abou Bkar (radiallahu
anho) left with the wife of Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa
salam), Hafsa (radiallahu anha - May Allah be pleased with her). He also
ordered to write down the Qur'an in Quraish dialect and burned the
other copies to resolve any uncertainty, discrepancies and errors in
terms of textual or reading variants. Shaykh Muhammad Salih briefly
explains the reasons for uniting upon one recitation:
This
Mus-haf (written copy of the Qur’aan) remained in the hands of the
caliphs until the time of the Rightly-Guided Caliph ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan
(may Allaah be pleased with him). The Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased
with them) had dispersed to different lands, and they used to recite the
Qur’aan according to what they had heard of the seven recitations from
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and
each of their students used to recite according to what he had heard
from his shaykh. If a student heard someone reciting in a manner
different from what he knew, he would denounce him and accuse him of
making a mistake, and this went on until the Sahaabah feared that there
would be fitnah (trouble) between the Taabi’een and successive
generations. So they thought that they should unite the people in
following one recitation, which was in the dialect of Quraysh in which
the Qur’aan had first been revealed, so as to dispel any disputes and
resolve the matter. ‘Uthmaan (may Allaah be pleased with him) was
consulted, and he agreed with this opinion.
Al-Bukhaari
narrated in his Saheeh (4988) from Anas ibn Maalik that Hudhayfah ibn
al-Yamaan came to ‘Uthmaan at the time when the people of Shaam (Syria)
and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Armenia and
Azerbaijan. Hudhayfah was alarmed by their (the people of Sham and Iraq)
differences in the recitation of the Qur’aan, so he said to 'Uthmaan,
"O Ameer al-Mu’mineen! Save this nation before they dispute about the
Book (Qur’aan) as the Jews and the Christians did before." So 'Uthmaan
sent a message to Hafsah saying, "Send us the manuscript of the Qur’aan
so that we may make copies of the Mus-haf and we will return the
manuscript to you." (8)
We also read:
The earlier recension (Original copy prepared by Abu Bakr) was to serve as the principal basis of the new one. (25)
Any
doubt that might be raised as to the phrasing of a particular passage
in the written text was to be dispelled by summoning persons known to
have learned the passage in question from the Prophet. 'Uthman himself
was to supervise the work of the Council. (26)
It
is well known that when the final recension was completed, 'Uthman
(radiallahu anho) sent a copy of it to each of the major cities of
Makka, Damascus, Kufa, Basra and Madina. The action of 'Uthman
(radiallahu anho) to burn the other copies besides the final recension,
though obviously drastic, was for the betterment and harmony of the
whole community and was unanimously approved by the Companions of the
Prophet as Zaid ibn Thabit (radiallahu anho) is reported to have said: "I saw the Companions of Muhammad (going about) saying, 'By God, Uthman has done well! By God, Uthman has done well!". (27)
Non-Muslim's Argument
Editing
of the Qur'an is allowed as it is reported in a hadith: Uthman called
Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah bin az-Zubair, Sa'id bin Al-'As and
'Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Harith bin Hisham, and then they wrote the
manuscripts (of the Qur'an). 'Uthman said to the three Quraishi persons,
"If you differ with Zaid bin Thabit on any point of the Qur'an, then
write it in the language of Quraish, as the Qur'an was revealed in their
language". So they acted accordingly. [Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol.4, p.466]
Muslim Response
So,
what exactly did they edit? As I showed above that Qur'an was
originally revealed in Quraish dialect but later was allowed to be
recited/read in seven different dialects. I don't know by which logic
using one of the seven dialects is considered editing!
Non-Muslim's Argument
There
have been changes to the Qu'ran as Zaid has been reported to said: "I
missed a verse from al-Ahzab (Surah 33) when we transcribed the mushaf
(the written text of the Qur'an under Uthman's supervision). I used to
hear the messenger of Allah (saw) reciting it. We searched for it and
found it with Khuzaimah ibn Thabit al-Ansari: 'From among the believers
are men who are faithful in their covenant with Allah' (33.23). So we
inserted it in the (relevant) surah in the text." [As-Suyuti, Al-Itqan
fii Ulum al-Qur'an, p.138]
Muslim Response
Again, the
attacker mixed up the completion of the Qur'an with compilation of the
Qur'an. Does the attacker's source say that they came up with this ayah
and added it to the completed Qur'an? All it is saying that when they
were compiling the Qur'an under the supervision of 'Uthman (radiallahou
anho), one of the companion (radiallahu anho) forgot an ayah but he knew
that he (radiallahu anho) heard it from Prophet Muhammad (sal-allahu
'alayhi wa salam); so, he (radiallahu anho) got it from another
companion (radiallahu anho) and added it in where it belonged!
Therefore, I don't see how this is changing the Qur'an. The argument of
edition of the Qur'an would make sense if they (radiallahu anhuma)
created or removed an ayah which was not part of the Qur'an, but there
is ZERO evidence for that. I already have showed above that Qur'an was
perfectly compiled and the same Qur'an exist today as it has been
perfectly passed down for 1400 years.
Non-Muslim's Argument
An
example of a missing verse, Verse of Stoning; One of the missing verses
is the verse of stoning, where an adulterer would be stoned to death as
punishment: "Allah sent Muhammad (saw) with the Truth and revealed the
Holy Book to him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the
Rajam (the stoning of married persons, male and female, who commit
adultery) and we did recite this Verse and understood and memorized it.
Allah's Apostle (saw) did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did
we after him. I am afraid that after a long time has passed, somebody
will say, 'By Allah, we do not find the Verse of the Rajam in Allah's
Book', and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation which Allah
has revealed." [Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8, p.539]
Muslim Response
This has been already dealt here
in details. It is important to note that there are other cases like the
rajam (stoning) ayah. Other Islamic sources prove that certain ayaat
were revealed but they were later abrogated; hence, not found in the
Qur'an. However, the attackers quote the narrations which prove that
certain ayaat were revealed but either deliberately misses out the
narrations which say that those ayaat were abrogated or misinterpret
them. For example, the case of missing part of 2:238, which has been
dealt here
in details. With this, I would like to conclude that in this article,
I've shown many authentic evidences to disapprove and refute the common
false allegations made against the authenticity and preservation of the
Qur'an. For more information on this topic and Muslims
refutations/responses to suspicious arguments raised by Islamic haters,
the readers can refer to Qur'anic Variants and Qur'an. Wallahu a'lam (and Allah knows best)!
Footnotes:
- Surah Al-Hijr (15) Ayah 9 - interpretation of the meaning
- Surah Al-Hijr - The Tafsirs
- Surah Al-Ma'idah (5) Ayah 3 - interpretation of the meaning
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 661, Number 509
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 661, Number 519
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 661, Number 520
- Is it true that there is no evidence of a Qur'an being written in the 7th century?
- Who wrote the Qur'an and how was it put together?
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 661, Number 521
- Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, page 527-528, published by Jami'yat Ahla Hadith of Hind in 2004
- 'Al-Itqan fi-ulum al-Qur'an, Vol. I, p. 124.
- An Introduction to the Hadith, Edinburgh University Press: 1994, p. 27.
- The Mind of the Quran, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1973, p.26.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 661, Number 525
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 661, Number 526
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 661, Number 511
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 661, Number 512
- Al-Itqan fee ‘Uloom al-Quran, Vol.1, p.41 & 99.
- Al-Isabah fee Taymeez as-Sahabah, p.53-63
- Fathul Bari, Vol. IX, p. 10-11.
- Fathul Bari, Kitab: Fadaa'il Al Qur'aan, Bab: Jami' Al Qur'aan, Commentary on Hadith no. 4603
- Tafsir of Ibn Kathir, Commentary on Surah 9:129
- COMPANION MEMORIZERS OF QUR'AN
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 661, Number 513
- Ibn Hajar, Bath, IX, p. 15
- 'Al-Itqan fi-ulum al-Qur'an, Vol. I, p. 59
- Naysaburi, al-Nizam al-Din al-Hasan ibn Muhammad, Ghara'ib al-Quran wa-ragha'ib al-furqan, 4 vols., to date. Cairo, 1962.
