QURANIC VARIANTS AND PREDESTINATION

In this post I will be citing a particular section from Aisha Bewley’s rendering of Sahih al-Bukhari showing that the Quran has not been perfectly preserved and that Muhammad reportedly taught strict predeterminism or hyper fatalism.

These allegedly sound reports show that Muhammad’s companions were unable to perfectly preserve the Quran since they failed to accurately memorize its contents, which resulted in their compiling conflicting and even contradictory codices.

The narratives also highlight how Muhammad supposedly believed that his deity had causally predetermined everything a person does and whether s/he will be destined for hell or paradise. All emphasis will be mine.

Here are the ahadith in question:

CDXXXI: Tafsir of Surat al-Layl, which begins “By the night when it conceals“

Ibn ‘Abbas said, “And denies the Good” (92:9) is by opposition to it.

Mujahid said that “taradda” (92:11) means “to die” and “talazza” (92:14) means “to blaze”. ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr recited, “tatalazza“.

CDXXXII: “By the day when it reveals” (92:2)

4659. It is related that ‘Alqama said “I went to Syria with a group of the companions of ‘Abdullah [ibn Mas’ud]. Abu’d-Darda’ heard about us and so he came to us and said, ‘Is there anyone among you who recites?’ We answered, ‘Yes.’ He asked, ‘Which of you is the best reciter?’ They indicated me and he said, ‘Recite.’ So I recited, ‘By the night when it conceals and the day when it reveals and the male and female.’ (92:1-3) He asked, ‘Did you hear it from the mouth of your companion?’ ‘Yes,’ I replied. He said, ‘And I heard it from the mouth of the Prophet but these people reject us.'”*

[because the usual reading is “the creation of male and female.”]

CDXXXXIII: “By the creation of male and female.” (92:3)

4660. It is related that Ibrahim said, “The companions of ‘Abdullah came to Abu’d-Darda’ and he looked for them and found them. He asked, ‘Which of you recites as ‘Abdullah recites?‘ He [‘Alqama] said, ‘All of us.’ He asked, ‘Which of you knows the most?’ They indicated ‘Alqama. He asked, ‘How did you hear him recite, “By the night when it conceals…”‘ ‘Alqama said, ‘By the male and female.’ He added, ‘I testify that I heard the Prophet recite it like that but these people want me to recite, ‘By the creation of male and female (ma khalaqa’dh-dhakara wa’l-uthna instead of wa’dh-dhakara wa’l-uthna). By Allah, I will not follow them!‘” (Bewly, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 68. Book of Tafsir https://bewley.virtualave.net/bukhari33.html)

Abdullah ibn Masud was one of four men whom Muhammad said to learn the Quran from, and was considered the most knowledgeable person in regards to the contents of the Muslim scripture:

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://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=58&translator=1&start=0&number=153)

Abdullah (bin Masud) reported that (he said to his companions to conceal their copies of the Qur’an) and further said: He who conceals anything shall have to bring that which he had concealed on the Day of Judgment, and they said: After whose mode of recitation do you command me to recite? I in fact recited before Allah’s Messenger more than seventy chapters of the Qur’an and the companions of Allah’s Messenger know that I have better understanding of the Book of Allah (than they do), and if I were to know that someone had better understanding than I, I would have gone to him. Shaqiq said: I sat in the company of the companions of Muhammad but I did not hear anyone having rejected that (that is, his recitation) or finding fault with it. (Sahih Muslim, Book 031, Number 6022 https://sunnah.com/muslim/44/162)

2 Musnad `Umar b. al-Khattab

It was narrated from Qais bin Marwan that he came to ‘Umar and said:

I have come from Koofah, O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, and I left behind in it a man who dictates the Mushaf FROM MEMORY. ‘Umar got exceedingly angry and said: Who is he, woe to you? He said: ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ood. ‘Umar began to calm down, and went back to normal, then he said: Woe to you, I DO NOT KNOW OF ANYONE WHO IS MORE QUALIFIED THAN HIM, and I will tell you about that. The Messenger of Allah used to stay up at night talking with Abu Bakr discussing some affairs of the Muslims. He stayed up talking with him one night, and I was with him. The Messenger of Allah went out, and we went out with him, and we saw a man standing and praying in the mosque. The Messenger of Allah listened to his recitation, and as soon as we recognised him the Messenger of Allah said: `Whoever would like to recite the Qur’an fresh as it was revealed, let him recite it ACCORDING TO THE RECITATION OF Ibn Umm ‘Abd.` Then the same man sat and offered supplication (du’a’) and the Messenger of Allah started saying to him: `Ask, you will be given; ask, you will be given.” ‘Umar said: By Allah, I shall go to him tomorrow and tell him the glad tidings. I went to him the next morning to tell him the glad tidings, and I found that Abu Bakr had beaten me to it and given him the glad tidings. By Allah, I never competed with him to do good but he beat me to it.

(Grade: Two Sahih isnads) (Darussalam)

Reference: Musnad Ahmad 175

In-book reference: Book 2, Hadith 92 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/ahmad/2/92)

As the aforementioned hadiths noted, Ibn Masud’s Quran omitted a key term from Q. 92:3, which is found in the present text of the Islamic scripture:

“And by the creation of the male and the female,” Shakir

“And by the male and the female,” Ibn Masud

These next reports show that Muhammad clearly believed in hardcore fatalism:

CDXXXIV: His words, “As for him who gives out and is godfearing.” (92:5)

4661. It is related that ‘Ali said, “We were with the Prophet in Baqi’ al-Gharqad in a funeral and he said, “There is none of you but that his place in the Garden or his place in the Fire is written for him.’ They asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, shall we not rely on this?’ He said, ‘Act. Each is eased [to what he was created for].’ Then he recited, ‘As for him who gives out and is godfearing and confirms the Good, We will pave his way to Ease. But as for him who is stingy and self-satisfied, and denies the Good, We will pave his way to Difficulty.’ (92:5-10)”

CDXXXV: “And confirms the Good.” (92:6)

4662. It is related that ‘Ali said, “We were sitting with the Prophet …” and he mentioned the hadith.

CDXXXVI: “We will pave his way to Ease.” (92:7)

4663. It is related from ‘Ali that the Prophet was in a funeral and he took a stick and began to use it to make marking on the ground. He said, “There is none of you but that his place in the Garden or his place in the Fire is written for him.” They said, “Messenger of Allah, shall we not rely on this?” He said, “Act. Each is eased. ‘As for him who gives out and is godfearing and confirms the Good. We will pave his way to Difficulty’ (92:5-10)

Mansur said, “I do not deny that it is part of the hadith of Sulayman.”

CDXXXVII: “But as for him who is stingy and self-satisfied.” (92:8)

4664. It is related that ‘Ali said, “While we were sitting with the Prophet he said, ‘There is none of you but that his place in the Garden or his place in the Fire is written for him.’ We asked, ‘Messenger, shall we not rely on this?’ He said, ‘No, act. Each is eased [to what he was created for].’ Then he recited, ‘As for him who gives out and is godfearing and confirms the Good, We will pave his way to Ease.’ (92:5-10)”

CDXXXVIII: His words, “He denies the Good.” (92:9)

4665. It is related that ‘Ali said, “While we were in a funeral at Baqi’ al-Gharqad, the Messenger of Allah came to us. He sat down and we sat down around him. He had a rod with him. He bowed his head and began to make markings on the ground with his stick. Then he said, ‘There is none of you and no living soul but that its place is written in the Garden or the Fire, and it is written whether it will be wretched or fortunate.’ A man asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, should we not rely on what is written for us and abandon action? Whoever among us is among the people of happiness will go to the people of happiness, and whoever among us is among the people of wretchedness will go to the people of wretchedness.’ He answered, ‘The people of happiness will be eased to the actions of the people of happiness and the people of wretchedness will be eased to the actions of the people of wretchedness.’ Then he recited, ”As for him who gives out and is godfearing and confirms the Good…’ (92:5-10)”

CDXXXIX: “We will pave his way to Difficulty.” (92:10)

4666. It is related that ‘Ali said, “The Prophet was in a funeral and he picked up something and began to mark the earth with it. He said, ‘There is none of you but that his place in the Garden or his place in the Fire is written for him.’ They asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, should we not then rely on what is written for us and abandon action?’ He replied, ‘Act. Each is eased to what he was created for. Whoever is one of the people of happiness is eased to the actions of the people of happiness. If he is one of the people of wretchedness, he will be eased to the actions of the people of wretchedness.’ Then he recited, ‘As for him who gives out and is godfearing and confirms the Good…’ (92:5-10)” (Ibid.)

Muhammad cited Q. 92:5-10 to prove that Allah has already determined beforehand all who will go to hell and paradise, and predestined the actions that each individual will commit in order to then damn them to everlasting torture or grant them everlasting bliss.

FURTHER READING

The Third Caliph’s Abuse of the Quran’s Greatest Compiler

THE IMPERFECTLY PRESERVED QURAN

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