THE IMPERFECTLY PRESERVED QURAN

In this post I provide evidence from the so-called authentic sunna and Islamic scholarship proving that the Quran has not been perfectly compiled or preserved.

WHICH QURAN?

According to the so-called authentic Islamic reports there wasn’t one standard way of reciting the Quran, but multiple ways, which caused confusion even among Muhammad’s closest companions!

Narrated by Umar bin Al Khattab:

I heard Hisham bin Hakim bin Hizam reciting Surat-al-Furqan in a way different to that of mine. Allah’s Apostle had taught it to me (in a different way). So, I was about to quarrel with him (during the prayer) but I waited till he finished, then I tied his garment round his neck and seized him by it and brought him to Allah’s Apostle and said, “I have heard him reciting Surat-al-Furqan in a way different to the way you taught it to me.” The Prophet ordered me to release him and asked Hisham to recite it. When he recited it, Allah’s Apostle said, “It was revealed in this way.” He then asked me to recite it. When I recited it, he said, “It was revealed in this way. The Qur’an has been revealed in seven ahruf, so recite it in the way that is easier for you.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 041, Number 601 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=41&translator=1&start=0&number=601)

And:

Ubayy b. Ka’b reported: I was in the mosque when a man entered and prayed and recited (the Qur’an) in a style to which I objected. Then another man entered (the mosque) and recited in a style different from that of his companion. When we had finished the prayer, we all went to Allah’s Messenger and said to him: This man recited in a style to which I objected, and the other entered and recited in a style different from that of his companion. The Messenger of Allah asked them to recite and so they recited, and the Apostle of Allah expressed approval of their affairs (their modes of recitation), and there occurred in my mind a sort of denial which did not occur even during the Days of Ignorance. When the Messenger of Allah saw how I was affected (by a wrong idea), he struck my chest, whereupon I broke into sweating and felt as though I were looking at Allah with fear. He (the Holy Prophet) said to me: Ubayy, a message was sent to me to recite the Qur’an in one dialect, and I replied: Make (things) easy for my people. It was conveyed to me for the second time that it should be recited in two dialects. I again replied to him: Make affairs easy for my people. It was again conveyed to me for the third time to recite in seven dialects. And (I was further told): You have got a seeking for every reply that I sent you, which you should seek from Me. I said: O Allah! forgive my people, forgive my people, and I have deferred the third one for the day on which the entire creation will turn to me, including even Ibrahim (for intercession). (Sahih Muslim, Book 004, Number 1787 https://sunnah.com/muslim:820a)

Some Islamic polemicists assert that these refer to the various Arabic dialects which were in use at that time. However, this makes absolutely no sense since both Umar and Hisham belonged to the same tribe, namely the Quraish, and spoke the same exact dialect! Besides, according to the so-called authentic narratives the Quran was “revealed” in the Quraish dialect:

II: The Qur’an was revealed in the language of Quraysh and the Arabs

“An Arabic Qur’an” (12:2) and “in clear Arabic language” (26:195)

4699. It is related that Anas ibn Malik said, “‘Uthman commanded Zayd ibn Thabit, Sa’id ibn al-‘As, ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr, and ‘Abdu’r-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham to write out copies of the Qur’an. He told them, “When you and Zayd ibn Thabit disagree about the Arabic of the Qur’an, you should write it in the language of Quraysh. The Qur’an was revealed in their tongue.’ They did that.” (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of Al-Bukhari, Chapter 69. Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an; emphasis mine)

Muslim scholar Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi admits that no one knows what the ahruf exactly are:

“As for what is meant by these seven ahruf, THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF DIFFERENCE ON THIS ISSUE. Ibn Qutaybah (d. 276 A.H.) RECORDED THIRTY-FIVE OPINIONS ON THIS ISSUE, and as-Suyootee listed OVER FORTY. Ibn Sa’adan (d. 231 A.H.), a famous grammarian and reciter of the Qur’aan, even declared that the true meaning of the ahruf WAS KNOWN ONLY TO ALLAH, and thus to attempt to investigate into this issue WAS FUTILE! On the other hand, Imaam Muhammad ibn al-Jazaree (d. 832 A.H.), perhaps the greatest scholar of the qira’aat after the era of the salaf, said ‘I have sought to discover the meanings of these hadeeth (about the ahruf), and have pondered over them, and contemplated this topic for over thirty years, until Allaah opened my mind to that which is the correct answer in this matter, Inshaa Allaah!’

“The reason that such great difference of opinion exists concerning the exact meaning of the ahruf is due to the fact THAT THERE DOES NOT EXIST ANY EXPLICIT NARRATIONS FROM THE PROPHET, OR THE SALAF, CONCERNING THE EXACT NATURE OF THE AHRUF; these various opinions ARE MERELY THE CONCLUSIONS OF LATER SCHOLARS, based upon their examination of the evidences and their personal reasoning (ijtihaad).

“Therefore, it should be understood from the outset that to arrive at one specific conclusion, and claim with certainty that it alone is correct and all else is wrong, IS PURE FOLLY…” (Qadhi, An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur’aan [al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution, Birmingham UK, Second Print 2003], Chapter 10. The Ahruf Of The Qur’aan, III. What is Meant by the Ahruf of the Qur’aan?, pp. 175-176; capital emphasis mine)

Qadhi then goes on to mention the various and conflicting opinions, some of which he rejects as outright erroneous:

A. THOSE OPINIONS WHICH HAVE NO BASIS WHATSOEVER:

In this category full of those opinions which do not have any hadeeth to support them, nor do they make logical sense. Some of these are:

1) Seven different categories of texts. For example: constrained and unconstrained, general and specific, literal and metaphoric, naasikh and mansookh. Other categories include those given by grammarians and linguists, specifying different verb forms.

2) An esoteric interpretation by certain Soofi groups, claiming that there are seven levels of knowledge, or seven degrees of meanings to each verse.

3) Seven different branches of knowledge, such as tawheed, sharee’ah, etc.

All these opinions contradict the purpose of the ahruf, namely to make the recitation of the Qur’aan easier for the Ummah. Also, there is no proof for these opinions, and they contradict common sense.

B. THOSE OPNIONS WHICH HAVE SOME APPARENT BASIS, BUT ARE WEAK OPINIONS:

Included in this category are the following opinions:

1) These ahruf are seven different ways to pronounce the words, without actually changing the letters. However, this opinion contradicts the variations in words that occurs in the qira’aat.

2) The ahruf are seven types of verses in the Qur’an: apparent, command, recommendation, specific, particular, general and parable. There is a weak hadeeth to support this.

3) Similar to the above, and also based on a weak hadeeth, the different types are: commands and prohibitions, promises and occurrences, halaal and haraam, clear and ambiguous.

4) The seven ahruf are the same as the seven qira’aat. This is contradicted historically, as there are more than seven qira’aat, and the collection and codification of the qira’aat occurred four centuries after the Prophet’s death. None of the major scholars of Islaam held this view, as Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 A.H.) said, “There is no difference of opinion among the scholars that the seven ahruf are not the same as the seven famous qira’aat.”

Unfortunately, most of the Muslim masses understand the hadeeth of the ahruf to refer to the qira’aat. (Ibid., pp. 176-177; bold emphasis mine)

This brings me to my next point.

MUCH OF THE QURAN IS LOST

According to one report by the son of the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, the present text of the Quran is incomplete since much of it has disappeared:

`Abdullah b. `Umar reportedly said, ‘Let none of you say, “I have got the whole of the Qur’an.” How does he know what all of it is? MUCH OF THE QUR’AN HAS GONE. Let him say instead, “I have got what has survived.”‘ (Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. Abi Bakr al Suyuti, al-Itqan fi `ulum al-Qur’an, Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, Volume 2, p. 25)

Said Abu ‘Ubaid:

Isma’il b. Ibrahim related to us from Ayyub from Nafi‘ from Ibn ‘Umar who said – Let none of you say, “I have learned the whole of the Koran,” for how does he know what the whole of it is, WHEN MUCH OF IT HAS DISAPPEARED? Let him rather say, “I have learned what is extant thereof.” (Kitab Fadail-al-Qur’an, as cited in Ibn Warraq, Origins of the Koran – Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book [Prometheus Books, Amherst, NY 1998], Part Two: The Collections and the Variants of the Koran, 9. Abu ‘Ubaid on the Verses Missing from the Koran, by Arthur Jeffery, p. 151: bold and capital emphasis mine)

One of the early Sunni scholars Qasim bin Salam (d. 222 H) records:

حدثنا إسماعيل بن إبراهيم ، عن أيوب ، عن نافع ، عن ابن عمر ، قال : « لا يقولن أحدكم قد أخذت القرآن كله وما يدريه ما كله ؟ قد ذهب منه قرآن كثير ، ولكن ليقل : قد أخذت منه ما ظهر منه

Ismail bin Ibrahim narrated from Ayub from Naf’ee from Ibn Umar who said: ‘Verily among you people one would say that he has found the Quran whilst he is unaware of what the total quantity of the Quran was, because most of the Quran has been lost. Rather one should say that verily he has found the Quran that has appeared.’

Ismail bin Ibrahim: Dahabi said: ‘Hujja’ (Al-Kashif, vol. 1, p. 242), Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, vol. 1 p. 90). Ayub al-Sekhtiani: Dahabi said: ‘The master of scholars’ (Siar alam alnubala, vol. 6, p. 15), Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah Thabt Hujja’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, vol. 1, p. 116). Naf’ee: Dahabi said: ‘The Imam of Tabayeen’ (Al-Kashif, vol. 2, p. 315), Ibn Hajar said: ‘Thiqah Thabt’ (Taqrib al-Tahdib, vol. 2, p. 239). (Fadhail al-Quran by Qasim bin Salam, Volume 2 p. 135) (Who believes the Quran has been a victim of Tahreef?, Sunni reports about deletions from the Quran; emphasis mine)

ABROGATED VERSES ARE STILL PART OF THE QURAN

Muslims will often claim that these missing verses, passages that have completely vanished from the codices, are nothing other than the abrogated texts of the Quran whose rulings are no longer applicable.

The first problem with this assertion is that no Muslim definitely knows this to be the case, since there is ample evidence that whole surahs and passages disappeared which had not been abrogated.

Secondly, where does the Quran state to expunge verses which have been annulled, and where did Muhammad command his followers to remove them? In fact, Muslim scholars candidly admit that there are abrogated texts which are still a part of the Quran till this day!

Finally, and more importantly, one of the four men whom Muhammad instructed to learn the Quran from,

Narrated Masruq: ‘Abdullah bin Masud was mentioned before Abdullah bin ‘Amr who said, “That is a man I still love, as I heard the Prophet saying, ‘Learn the recitation of Quran from four from ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud –he started with him–Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudaifa, Mu’adh bin Jabal and Ubai bin Ka’b.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 58, Number 153 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3808)

Masruq reported: We used to go to Abdullah b. ‘Amr and talk to him, Ibn Numair said: One day we made a mention of Abdullah b. Mas’ud, whereupon he said: You have made mention of a person whom I love more than anything else. I heard Allah’s Messenger as saying: Learn Qur’an from four persons: Ibn Umm ‘Abd (i. e. ‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud) he started from him-then Mu’adh b. Jabal and Ubayya b. Ka’b, then Salim the ally of Abu Hudhaifa. (Sahih Muslim, Book 031, Number 6024 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2464a)

Masruq reported: We were in the company of Abdullah b ‘Amr that we made a mention of a hadith from Abdullah b. Mas’ud; thereupon he said: That is a person whose love ever remains (fresh in my heart) after I heard Allah’s Messenger as saying: Learn Qur’an from four persons: Ibn Umm ‘Abd, i.e. Abdullah b. Mas’ud and he started from his name-then Ubayy b. Ka’b and Mu’adh b Jabal. Zuhri did not make a mention of the words yaquluhu in his narration. (Sahih Muslim, Book 031, Number 6025 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2464e)

Whom Muhammad’s companions claimed was the best of them in Quranic recitation, Ubayy b. Kab refused to omit any of the abrogated texts from his codex:

4719. It is related from Ibn ‘Abbas that ‘Umar said, “Ubayy was the one of us with the best recitation, yet we leave some of the words of Ubayy. Ubayy said, ‘I took it from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah and WILL NOT LEAVE IT for anything.’ Allah Almighty says, ‘Whenever We abrogate an ayat or cause it to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or equal to it.’ (2:106)” (Aisha Bewley, Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 69. Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an, VIII: The reciters among the Companions of the Prophet *; bold and capital emphasis mine)

Here are two alternate English renderings of al-Bukhari’s ahadith on Ubayy being the best reciter:

Narrated Ibn `Abbas:

`Umar said, Ubai was the best of us in the recitation (of the Qur’an) yet we leave some of what he recites.’ Ubai says, ‘I have taken it from the mouth of Allah’s Messenger and will not leave for anything whatever.” But Allah said “None of Our Revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten but We substitute something better or similar.” 2.106 (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 527 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5005)

(7) His Statement: “Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it…” (V.2:106)

Narrated Ibn `Abbas:

`Umar said, “Our best Qur’an reciter is Ubai and our best judge is `Ali; and in spite of this, we leave some of the statements of Ubai because Ubai says, ‘I do not leave anything that I have heard from Allah’s Messenger while Allah: “Whatever verse (Revelations) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten but We bring a better one or similar to it.” (2.106) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 8 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4481)

Ubayy b. Kab wasn’t the only one since the third caliph Uthman b. Affan also refused to expunge the abrogated references from his codex:

XLVII: “Those of you who die leaving wives behind” (2:240)

4262. It is related that Ibn az-Zubayr said, “I said to ‘Uthman, ‘”Those of you who die leaving wives behind” (2:234) in al-Baqara and ‘Those of you who die leaving wives behind’ (2:240) were abrogated by the other ayat and so why do you write it down?’ He said, ‘Leave it, O nephew, I will not change ANY OF IT from its place.'” (Bewley, Sahih al-Bukhari, Chapter 68. Book of Tafsir *; capital emphasis mine)

Here, again, are two alternate English translations of al-Bukhari’s record of Uthman’s reluctance to expunge the abrogated verses:

Narrated Ibn Az-Zubair:

I said to `Uthman, “This Verse which is in Surat-al-Baqara: “Those of you who die and leave widows behind…without turning them out.” has been abrogated by another Verse. Why then do you write it (in the Qur’an)?” `Uthman said. “Leave it (where it is), O the son of my brother, for I will not shift anything of it (i.e. the Qur’an) from its original position.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 60 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4536)

Narrated Ibn Az-Zubair:

I said to `Uthman bin `Affan (while he was collecting the Qur’an) regarding the Verse:– “Those of you who die and leave wives …” (2.240) “This Verse was abrogated by another Verse. So why should you write it? (Or leave it in the Qur’an)?” `Uthman said. “O son of my brother! I will not shift anything of it from its place.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 53 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4530)

Therefore, even if these missing surahs and verses were abrogated there was still no reason to remove and expunge them from the Quran itself.

The fact is that all of the historical, manuscript, and Islamic evidences prove that the Muslim scripture suffered major textual corruption and has not been perfectly preserved.

FURTHER READING

Hafs: The Lying, Unreliable Transmitter of the Quran

Textual Integrity

The Incomplete and Imperfect Quran

The Compilation and Textual Veracity of the Quran

Challenge to the Muslims Concerning the Quran [Part 1]

Challenge to the Muslims Concerning the Quran [Part 2]

Challenge to the Muslims Concerning the Quran [Part 3]

Challenge to the Muslims Concerning the Quran [Excursus]

The Irreparable Loss of Much of the Quran

The Quran Testifies To Its Own Textual Corruption

The Seven Ahruf and Multiple Qiraat – A Quranic Perspective