I continue from where I previously left off: THE FRAUD THAT IS ALI ATAIE: THE SATANIC VERSES PT. 1.

In this post I will refute Ataie’s assertion that Q. 22:52 was “sent down” eight years after Muhammad recited the verses which Satan caused him to utter.

THE QURAN’S DISJOINTED AND HAPHAZARD COMPOSITION

What Ataie deceitfully withheld from his audience and what he dishonestly failed to mention is that the Islamic sources clearly attest that particular verses would be added later on to specific surahs which were composed or recited separately or independently from the texts in question.

As Christian apologist John Gilchrist noted in his response to this very same objection raised by another Muhammadan:

Zafrulla Khan, in one of his typically bold but completely inaccurate statements, says: “The Holy Quran excludes emphatically any idea of Satan being capable of influencing any righteous person, let alone a prophet or messenger” (Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets, p. 45). This claim is seriously undermined by Surah 22.52 which makes the exact point that the writer is at pains to deny. Another somewhat more credible defence is offered by a Muslim commentator on this verse:

Moreover, it is absolutely inconceivable that such an important incident as the Prophet’s having accepted the intercession of idols should have been mentioned in the Qur’an eight years after it happened. The 53rd chapter, in which the change is said to have taken place, was revealed before the fifth year of the Prophet’s call, while this chapter was revealed on the eve of the Prophet’s departure from Makkah. (Ali, The Holy Qur’an, p. 658).

The argument, however, does not take into account the well-established fact that most of the Surahs of the Qur’an are composite chapters of various passages dating from different periods, often made up of both Meccan and Medinan verses. In an introduction to Surah 22 in his translation of the Qur’an, Richard Bell says:

The surah has in fact become quite disjointed. Vv. 51-53, addressed to the prophet personally, are quite out of connection. (Bell, The Qur’an Translated, Vol. 1, p. 316).

He goes on to give possible occasions for the inclusion of the verses mentioned and allows for an earlier date than the main body of the Surah. It is therefore quite possible that Surah 22.52 dates prior to the rest of the Surah and refers directly to the occasion of the “satanic verses“. W. M. Watt, in another book, comments on the same verse:

This passage is a justification for some previous alteration in the text of the Qur’an; one strand of tradition holds that it applies to verses originally proclaimed as following 53.19,20. (Watt, Companion to the Qur’an, p. 156).

The strand referred to is the Ibn Ishaq/Tabari source aforementioned. We must surely conclude that Surah 22.52 is a Qur’anic reference and clue to the story of the concession to the pagan Meccans when we consider that there is no other occasion suggested in the Islamic tradition literature for the revelation of this verse. Muslim commentators who reject the link identified in the Ibn Ishaq/Tabari strand nevertheless cannot suggest an alternative incident or event which can explain the statements made in the verse.

The other verse which appears to allude to the occasion of the “satanic verses” is this one which helps us in some measure to see the inner workings of Muhammad’s mind:

And their purpose was to tempt thee away from that which We had revealed unto thee, to substitute in Our name something quite different: (In that case), behold! They would certainly have made thee (their) friend! And had We not given thee strength, thou wouldst nearly have inclined to them a little. Surah 17. 73-74.

This verse also appears to refer to the same occasion, in particular the yearnings felt by Muhammad for a reconciliation with his kinsmen which led to the ejaculation in favour of their goddesses. Once again no reasonable alternative suggests itself. There is no other occasion in Muhammad’s life referred to in the sources to which these enlightening verses can relate. Furthermore, as with Surah 22.52, we are not proposing a convenient link between the verses and the story. Ibn Sa’d plainly states that they were revealed in consequence of Muhammad’s concession to the pagan goddesses and his subsequent reversion to his original position (Ibn Sa’d, Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabir, Vol. 1, p. 237). (Gilchrist, Muhammad and The Religion of Islam, 3. THE NATURE OF MUHAMMAD’S PROPHETIC EXPERIENCE, C. Satan’s Interjection and its Implications, 4. Support for the Story in the Qur’an.; bold emphasis mine)

The following ahadith and Islamic sources corroborate Gilchrist’s point:

Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas: “I said to ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan:

‘What was your reasoning with Al-Anfal – while it is from the Muthani (Surah with less than one-hundred Ayat), and Bara’ah while it is from the Mi’in (Surah with about one-hundred Ayat), then you put them together, without writing the line Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim between them, and you placed them with the seven long (Surah) – why did you do that?’ So ‘Uthman said: ‘A long time might pass upon the Messenger of Allah without anything being revealed to him, and then sometimes a Surah with numerous (Ayat) might be revealed. So when something was revealed, he would call for someone who could write, and say: “Put these Ayat in the Surah which mentions this and that in it.” When an Ayah was revealed, he would say: “Put this Ayah in the Surah which mentions this and that in it.” Now Al-Anfal was among the first of those revealed in Al-Madinah, and Bara’ah among the last of those revealed of the Qur’an, and its narrations (those of Bara’ah) resembled its narrations (those of Al-Anfal), so we thought that it was part of it. Then the Messenger of Allah died, and it was not made clear to us whether it was part of it. So it is for this reason that we put them together without writing Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim between them, and we put that with the seven long (Surahs).’”

Grade: Hasan (Darussalam)

English reference: Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3086

Arabic reference: Book 47, Hadith 3366 (suunah.com https://sunnah.com/urn/640920; emphasis mine)

Narrated Uthman ibn Affan:

Yazid al-Farisi said: I heard Ibn Abbas say: I asked Uthman ibn Affan: What moved you to put the (Surah) al-Bara’ah which belongs to the mi’in (surahs) (containing one hundred verses) and the (Surah) al-Anfal which belongs to the mathani (Surahs) in the category of as-sab’u at-tiwal (the first long surah or chapters of the Qur’an), and you did not write “In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful” between them? Uthman replied: When the verses of the Qur’an were revealed to the Prophet, he called someone to write them down for him and said to him: Put this verse in the surah in which such and such has been mentioned; and when one or two verses were revealed, he used to say similarly (regarding them). (Surah) al-Anfal is the first surah that was revealed at Medina, and (Surah) al-Bara’ah was revealed last in the Qur’an, and its contents were similar to those of al-Anfal. I, therefore, thought that it was a part of al-Anfal. Hence I put them in the category of as-sab’u at-tiwal (the seven lengthy surahs), and I did not write “In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful” between them.

Grade: Da’if (Al-Albani)

Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 786

In-book reference: Book 2, Hadith 396

English translation: Book 3, Hadith 785 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/abudawud/2/396; emphasis mine)

Ahmad narrated in al-Musnad (4/218) with a hasan isnaad from ‘Uthmaan ibn Abi’l-‘Aas that he said: “I was sitting with the Messenger of Allaah when he fixed his gaze on something, then lowered his gaze until he was almost looking at the ground, then he gazed at something. He said, ‘Jibreel came to me and told me to put this aayah in this place in this soorah:

“Verily, Allâh enjoins Al-‘Adl (i.e. justice and worshipping none but Allâh Alone Islâmic Monotheism) and Al-Ihsân [i.e. to be patient in performing your duties to Allâh, totally for Allâh’s sake and in accordance with the Sunnah (legal ways) of the Prophet in a perfect manner], and giving (help) to kith and kin (i.e. all that Allâh has ordered you to give them, e.g., wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other kind of help), and forbids Al-Fahshâ’ (i.e. all evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual acts, disobedience of parents, polytheism, to tell lies, to give false witness, to kill a life without right), and Al-Munkar (i.e. all that is prohibited by Islâmic law: polytheism of every kind, disbelief and every kind of evil deeds), and Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppression). He admonishes you, that you may take heed.” [al-Nahl 16:90 – interpretation of the meaning].’”…

Al-Qaadi Abu Bakr said in al-Intisaar: “The order of the aayahs is something that is obligatory and binding. Jibreel used to say (to the Prophet), ‘Put such and such an aayah in such and such a place.’”…

Al-Baghawi said in Sharh al-Sunnah: “The Messenger of Allaah used to instruct his companions and teach them what was revealed to him of the Qur’aan in the order in which it appears in our Mus-hafs now, the order which Jibreel taught him. When each aayah was revealed, Jibreel would tell him, this aayah is to be written after such and such an aayah in Soorah such and such. Thus it is clear that the efforts of the Sahaabah were limited solely to gathering the Qur’aan in one place, not to arranging its order. The Qur’aan is written on al-Lawh al-Mahfooz in this order, then Allaah sent it down in its entirety to the first heaven, whence it was revealed in stages as it was needed, and the order in which it was revealed is not the order in which it is recited.” (Islamqa, The order of Soorahs and Aayahs in the Qur’aan)

And here are a couple of hadiths that affirm that, despite the ninth chapter being the last surah that Muhammad composed, the last verse he recited was actually Q. 4:176:

Narrated Al-Bara: The last Sura that was revealed was Bara’a, and the last verse that was revealed was: “They ask you for a legal verdict, Say: Allah’s directs (thus) about those who leave no descendants or ascendants as heirs.” (4.176) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 129 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=60&translator=1&start=0&number=129)

Narrated Al-Bara: The last verse that was revealed was: ‘They ask you for a legal verdict: Say: Allah directs (thus) about Al-Kalalah (those who leave no descendants or ascendants as heirs).’ And the last Sura which was revealed was Baraatun (9).  (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 177 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=60&translator=1&start=0&number=177)

Other traditions state that the last verse Muhammad recited was the one on usury (Riba) in Q. 2:275:

Narrated Ibn Abbas: The last Verse (in the Quran) revealed to the Prophet was the Verse dealing with usury (i.e., Riba). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 67, https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=60&translator=1&start=0&number=67)

11 Business Transactions

(4c) Chapter: Usury – Section 3

‘Umar b. al-Khattab said:

The last verse to be sent down was that on usury (Al-Qur’an 2:275) but God’s Messenger was taken without having expounded it to us; so leave aside usury and whatever is doubtful. Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

Reference: Mishkat al-Masabih 2830

In-book reference: Book 11, Hadith 69 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/mishkat/11/69)

Whatever the case maybe, the fact that Q. 2:275 and 4:176 were only added after these respective surahs were compiled lends support to Q. 17:73-75 and 22:52 being initially composed to address the fact of Satan causing Muhammad to magnify the pagan goddesses, and were therefore originally separate from the surahs which they came to be placed in.

In other words, these verses were only added much later into the surahs that presently contain them.

Moreover, Muhammad would even go so far as to correct and modify certain verses due to his changing circumstances and/or unforeseen problems that caught him by surprise, as we find in the following examples:

Q. 2:284-286

(The messenger believeth in that which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord…) [2:285]. The Imam Abu Mansur ‘Abd al-Qahir ibn Tahir informed us> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Ali ibn Ziyad> Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Bushanji> Umayyah ibn Bistam> Yazid ibn Zuray‘> Rawh ibn al-Qasim> al-‘Ala’> his father> Abu Hurayrah who said: “When Allah, exalted is He, revealed to His Messenger the verse (… and whether ye make known what is in your minds or hide, Allah will bring you to account for it…) [2:284], the prophetic Companions found this hard to cope with. They went to the Messenger and said: ‘We have been entrusted with works that we can not bear: the prayer, fasting, Jihad, almsgiving; and now Allah has revealed to you this verse which we are not able to bear’. The Messenger of Allah said to them: ‘Do you want to say as the people of the two Scriptures said before you? — the narrator said: I think he quoted the verse (We hear and we rebel!) [2:93] — Say, rather, (We hear, and we obey. (Grant us) Thy forgiveness, our Lord. Unto Thee is the journeying)’. When they heard this, they did not answer. Allah revealed after this (The messenger believeth in that which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord…) the whole verse, and Allah ABROGATED it by His revelation (Allah tasketh not a soul beyond its scope…) [2:286] to the end of the verse”. This report was narrated by Muslim from Umayyah ibn Bistam. Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya informed us> his father> Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Thaqafi> ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar and Yusuf ibn Musa> Waki‘> Sufyan> Adam ibn Sulayman who said: “I heard Sa‘id ibn Jubayr relating from Ibn ‘Abbas who said: ‘When the verse (… and whether ye make known what is in your minds or hide, Allah will bring you to account for it…) was revealed, objection crept into the hearts of the prophetic Companions as it never did before. The Prophet said to them: Say, ‘we hear and we obey’. Allah then revealed (Allah tasketh not a soul beyond its scope), up to His saying (or miss the mark) upon which he said: You did. (Al-Wahidi https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=86&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=285&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold and capital emphasis mine)

He repeated this with each sentence of this verse until the end of it’”. This was narrated Muslim from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah from Waki‘. The commentators of the Qur’an said: “When the verse (and whether ye make known what is in your minds or hide, Allah will bring you to account for it) was revealed, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf, Mu‘adh ibn Jabal and a group from the Helpers all went to the Prophet. They kneeled down and then said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! By Allah no other revealed verse of the Qur’an is harder on us than this one. One of us speaks to himself with things that he does not like to remain in his heart even in exchange for the world and all that it contains. And now we are taken to task for the things that we speak to our own selves. By Allah, we are doomed’. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘This is how it was revealed!’ They said: ‘We are ruined; we have been bound by that which we cannot possibly bear’. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Are you going to say as the Children of Israel said to Moses (We hear and we rebel!); say rather: We hear and we obey’. They said: ‘We hear and we obey’. This was extremely hard on them, and they remained in this situation FOR A YEAR upon which Allah, exalted is He, sent down relief and repose with His saying (Allah tasketh not a soul beyond its scope…) WHICH ABROGATED THE VERSE BEFORE IT. The Prophet said: ‘Allah has pardoned my community for the things with which they speak to themselves as long as they do not act upon them or speak about them to others’ ”. (Ibid. https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=86&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=285&tDisplay=yes&Page=2&Size=1&LanguageId=2; bold and capital emphasis mine)

Q. 4:95

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.” (Q. 4:95) The Prophet said, “Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the inkpot and the scapula bone.” Then he said, “Write: Not equal are those Believers who sit …”, and at that time ‘Amr bin Um Maktum, the blind man was sitting behind the Prophet. He said, “O Allah’s Apostle! What is your order for me (as regards the above Verse) as I am a blind man?” So, instead of the above verse, the following verse was revealed: “Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) except those who are disabled and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah.” (Q. 4:95) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 512 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=61&translator=1&start=0&number=512)

Q. 8:65-66

Then He said: ‘O prophet, God is sufficient for thee and the believers who follow thee. O prophet, exhort the believers to fight. If there are twenty steadfast ones among you they will overcome a thousand unbelievers for there are hundred of you they will overcome a thousand unbelievers for they are senseless people,’ i.e. they do not fight with a good intention nor for truth nor have they knowledge of what is good and what is evil. Abdullah b. Abu Najih from ‘Ata’ b. Abu Ribah from ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas told me that WHEN THIS VERSE CAME DOWN it came as a shock to the Muslims who took it hard that twenty should have to fight two hundred, and a hundred fight a thousand. So God relieved them AND CANCELED THE VERSE WITH ANOTHER SAYING: ‘Now has God relieved you and He knows that there is weakness amongst you, so if there are a hundred steadfast they shall overcome two hundred, and if there are a thousand of you they shall overcome two thousand by God’s permission, for God is with the steadfast.’ (‘Abdullah) said, ‘When they numbered half of the enemy it was wrong for them to run from them; but if they were less than half they were not bound to fight and it was permissible for them to withdraw.’ (The Life of Muhammad, A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Karachi Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth Impression 1995], p. 326; bold and capital emphasis mine)

Allah said next, commanding the believers and conveying good news to them…

<If there are twenty steadfast persons among you, they will overcome two hundred, and if there be a hundred steadfast persons, they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve.>

The Ayah says, one Muslim should endure ten disbelievers. Allah abrogated this part later on, but the good news remained. `Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak said that Jarir bin Hazim narrated to them that, Az-Zubayr bin Al-Khirrit narrated to him, from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas, “When this verse was revealed…

<If there are twenty steadfast persons among you, they will overcome two hundred…> it became difficult for the Muslims, when Allah commanded that one Muslim is required to endure ten idolators. Soon after, this matter was made easy…

<Now Allah has lightened your (task)>, until…

<they shall overcome two hundred…>

Allah lowered the number [of adversaries that Muslims are required to endure], and thus, made the required patience less, compatible to the decrease in numbers.” Al-Bukhari recorded a similar narration from Ibn Al-Mubarak. Muhammad bin Ishaq recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, “When this Ayah was revealed, it was difficult for the Muslims, for they thought it was burdensome since twenty should fight two hundred, and a hundred against a thousand. Allah made this ruling easy for them and abrogated this Ayah with another Ayah…

<Now Allah has lightened your (task), for He knows that there is weakness in you…>

Thereafter, if Muslims were half as many as their enemy, they were not allowed to run away from them. If the Muslims were fewer than that, they were not obligated to fight the disbelievers and thus allowed to avoid hostilities.” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir http://www.alim.org/library/quran/AlQuran-tafsir/TIK/8/64; bold emphasis mine)

Q. 25:68-70

Narrated Said bin Jubair: Ibn Abza said to me, “Ask Ibn ‘Abbas regarding the Statement of Allah: ‘And whoever murders a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell.’ (4.69) And also His Statement: ‘…nor kill such life as Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause …..except those who repent, believe, and do good deeds.’ ” (25.68-70) So I asked Ibn ‘Abbas and he said, “When this (25.68-69) was revealed, the people of Mecca said, “We have invoked other gods with Allah, and we have murdered such lives which Allah has made sacred, and we have committed illegal sexual intercourse. So Allah revealed: ‘Except those who repent, believe, and do good deeds and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ (25.70) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 288 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=60&translator=1&start=0&number=288)

It, therefore, makes absolute sense and perfectly fits Muhammad’s pattern that he would immediately correct his glorification of the three chief goddesses of the Meccans, thereby lapsing into idolatry, by expunging his praise of them and replacing that with a strict denunciation of their existence and worship.

With the foregoing in perspective, we are now ready to proceed to the final part of my response: THE FRAUD THAT IS ALI ATAIE: THE SATANIC VERSES PT. 3.  

This is the material that I am preparing for my forthcoming sessions exposing the lies and misinformation of Muhammadan Ali Ataie in respect to the veracity of the “satanic verses”.

In these posts I will address Ataie’s two main contentions, which are:

There are no manuscripts of the Quran that contain the satanic verses, not a single one. And there are no variant Arabic readings (qiraat) which them either.

Q. 22:52, which is supposed to have been “revealed” concerning this incident, wasn’t “sent down” until eight years later in Medina. Therefore, it makes no sense that Muslims were reciting the satanic verses as part of Q. 53:19-20 for eight more years without anyone raising an eyebrow or objecting seeing how these verses contradict the Quran’s express condemnation of the worship of any other deity besides Allah.

Here I will address Ataie’s first main objection.

WHOLESALE DESTRUCTION OF THE QURANIC CODICES

The first problem with Ataie’s claim is that he erroneously assumes that Muhammad and his cronies would not have immediately expunged the satanic verses from the written materials in their possession, the very moment his prophet admitted that Satan had inspired him to utter these statements, thereby committing the unforgiveable sin of idolatry.

This brings us to the second problem with Ataie’s pathetic assertion. Another reason why there are “zero manuscripts (MSS)” which still have the verses which Satan inspired Muhammad to recite is because the Islamic sources attest that the Muslims pretty much destroyed the copies which were written down by Muhammad’s followers, which resulted in the loss of a great bulk of the Quran.

Note, for instance, the following tradition from al-Bukhari:

Narrated Zaid bin Thabit:

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq sent for me when the people! of Yamama had been killed (i.e., a number of the Prophet’s Companions who fought against Musailama). (I went to him) and found ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab sitting with him. Abu Bakr then said (to me), “Umar has come to me and said: “Casualties were heavy among the Qurra’ of the! Qur’an (i.e. those who knew the Quran by heart) on the day of the Battle of Ya’mama, and I am afraid that more heavy casualties may take place among the Qurra’ on other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Qur’an MAY BE LOST. Therefore I suggest, you (Abu Bakr) order that the Qur’an be collected.” I said to ‘Umar, “How can you do something which ALLAH’S APOSTLE DID NOT DO?” ‘Umar said, “By Allah, that is a good project. “Umar kept on urging me to accept his proposal till Allah opened my chest for it and I began to realize the good in the idea which ‘Umar had realized.” Then Abu Bakr said (to me). ‘You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicion about you, and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah’s Apostle. So you should search for (the fragmentary scripts of) the Qur’an and collect it in one book).” By Allah If they had ordered me to shift one of the mountains, it would not have been heavier for me than this ordering me to collect the Qur’an. Then I said to Abu Bakr, “How will you do something which Allah’s Apostle did not do?” Abu Bakr replied, “By Allah, it is a good project.” Abu Bakr kept on urging me to accept his idea until Allah opened my chest for what He had opened the chests of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. So I started looking for the Qur’an and collecting it from (what was written on) palmed 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. The Verse is: ‘Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty… (till the end of Surat-Baraa’ (At-Tauba) (9.128-129) Then the complete manuscripts (copy) of the Qur’an remained with Abu Bakr till he died, then with ‘Umar till the end of his life, and then with Hafsa, the daughter of ‘Umar. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 509 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=61&translator=1&start=0&number=509)

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to Uthman at the time when the people of Sham and the people of Iraq were Waging war to conquer Arminya and Adharbijan. Hudhaifa WAS AFRAID OF THEIR (the people of Sham 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 (Quran) 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 bin Thabit, ‘Abdullah bin AzZubair, Said bin Al-As and ‘AbdurRahman 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 Quraish, 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. Said bin Thabit added, “A Verse from Surat Ahzab was missed by me when we copied the Qur’an and I used to hear Allah’s Apostle reciting it. So we searched for it and found it with Khuzaima bin Thabit Al-Ansari. (That Verse was): ‘Among the Believers are men who have been true in their covenant with Allah.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 510 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=61&translator=1&start=0&number=510)

Here’s an alternate rendering of the aforementioned hadiths:

III: The Collection of the Qur’an

4702. It is related that Zayd ibn Thabit said, “After the slaughter of people in the Battle of Yamama, Abu Bakr sent for me. ‘Umar was with him. Abu Bakr said, ”Umar came to me and said, “Many Qur’an reciters were killed in the Battle of Yamama, and I fear that heavy casualties will be inflicted on the Qur’an reciters in other places and therefore MUCH OF THE QUR’AN WILL BE LOST. I think that you should collect the Qur’an together.”‘ Abu Bakr said, ‘I said to ‘Umar, “How can I do something which the Messenger of Allah did not do?” ‘Umar said, “By Allah, it is better.” ‘Umar kept at me about it until Allah opened my breast to that. I think what ‘Umar thinks about that.'”

Zayd continued, “Abu Bakr said, ‘You are an intelligent young man and we have no suspicion about you. You used to write down the revelation for the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Therefore you are to search out the Qur’an and collect it.’ By Allah, if he had obliged me to move one of the mountains, that would not have been weightier for me than what he commanded to do of collecting the Qur’an. I said, ‘How can you do something which the Messenger of Allah did not do?‘ Abu Bakr said, ‘By Allah, it is better.’ Abu Bakr continued to keep at me until Allah opened my breast to what Allah had opened the breasts of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. So I began to search out the Qur’an and collect it from the palm stalks, thin white stones, and the breasts of men until I found end of Surat at-Tawba with Khuzayma al-Ansari which I did not find with anyone else: ‘A Messenger has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering is distressful to him…’ (9:128)” The copy of the Qur’an in which the Qur’an was collected remained in the possession of Abu Bakr until Allah took him, and then it was with ‘Umar until Allah took him, and then it was with Hafsa bint ‘Umar.”

4703. Anas ibn Malik reported that Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman came to ‘Uthman while the people of Syria were conquering Armenia and Azerbaijan with the people of Iraq. Hudhayfa WAS ALARMED BY THE DIFFERENCE IN THEIR RECITATION. Hudhayfa said to ‘Uthman, “Amir al-Mu’minin! Deliver this Community before they disagree about the Book as the Jews and Christians differed!” So ‘Uthman sent a message to Hafsa, saying, “Send us the pages in your possession and we will copy them and then return them to you.” So Hafsa sent them to ‘Uthman. He ordered Zayd ibn Thabit, ‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr, Sa’id ibn al-‘As, and ‘Abdu’r-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham to transcribe copies. ‘Uthman said to the group of the three Qurashis, “When you and Zayd ibn Thabit disagree about any of the Qur’an, write it in the dialect of Quraysh. It was revealed in their language.” They did that. When they had copied it out, ‘Uthman returned the pages to Hafsa and he sent a copy of what they had copied out to every region and commanded that every sheet or copy which had any other form of the Qur’an should be burned.

Kharija ibn Zayd ibn Thabit added that he heard Zayd ibn Thabit say, “I missed one ayat of Surat al-Ahzab when we copied out the Qur’an which I used to hear the Messenger of Allah recite. So we searched for it and found it with Khuzayma ibn Thabit al-Ansari: “Among the believers there are men who have been true to the contract they made with Allah.” (33:23) (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 69. Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an; emphasis mine)

Moreover, the Islamic sources are emphatic that there are many verses that have disappeared:

“Umar bin al-Khattab asked about a verse of Allah’s book, they answered: ‘It was with a man who got killed on day of Yamama (battle)’. He (Umar) said: ‘We all shall return to Allah’. Then he ordered to collect the Quran, therefore he was the first one who collected it in one book.” (Kanz ul Ummal, Volume 2, p. 574) 

Umar was once looking for the text of a specific verse of the Qur’an he vaguely remembered. To his deep sorrow, he discovered that the only person who had any record of that verse had been killed in the battle of Yamama and that the verse was consequently lost. (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif, p. 10 – see also as-Suyuti’s al-Itqan fi ‘ulum al-Quran, volume 1, p. 204) 

In the Muqaddamah of Q. 33, Jalaluddin as-Suyuti recorded a statement from Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161 A. H), as narrated by his student Abd al-Razaq al-Sanani (d. 211 A. H.):

 وأخرج عبد الرزاق عن الثوري قال : بلغنا ان ناسا من أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم كانوا يقرأون القرآن أصيبوا يوم مسيلمة فذهبت حروف من القرآن  

“Abd al-Razaq narrated from Al-Thawri that he said: ‘I have come to know that people from the Sahaba of the Prophet who used to recite the Quran were killed on the day of Musaylama and with their deaths LETTERS FROM THE QURAN WERE LOST (Zahab).’” (Tafsir Dur al-Manthur, Muqaddamah of Surah Ahzab, Volume 6, p. 558) 

And here are several reports which speak of the missing verses of adult breast feeding and stoning in connection with the loss of much of the Quran: 

9 The Chapters on Marriage

(36) Chapter: Breastfeeding an adult

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said:

“The Verse of stoning and of breastfeeding an adult ten times was revealed¹, and the paper was with me under my pillow. When the Messenger of Allah died, we were preoccupied with his death, AND A TAME SHEEP CAME AND ATE IT.”

¹: These verses were abrogated in recitation but not ruling. Other ahadith establish the number for fosterage to be 5.

Grade: HASAN (Darussalam)

Reference: Sunan Ibn Majah 1944

In-book reference: Book 9, Hadith 100

English translation: Vol. 3, Book 9, Hadith 1944 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:1944; emphasis mine)

How ironic that a sheep proved to be too powerful for Ataie’s god since he prevented Allah from preserving the only copy which contained these specific verses, resulting in their wholesale disappearance!  

And: 

Zirr ibn Hubaish reported: “Ubayy ibn Ka’b said to me, ‘What is the extent of Suratul-Ahzab?’ I said, ‘Seventy, or seventy-three verses’. He said, ‘Yet it used to be equal to Suratul-Baqarah and in it we recited the verse of stoning’. I said, ‘And what is the verse of stoning’? He replied, ‘The fornicators among the married men (ash-shaikh) and married women (ash-shaikhah), stone them as an exemplary punishment from Allah, and Allah is Mighty and Wise.”‘ (Al-Itqan fi ‘ulum al-Quran, p. 524)

This is what Jalaluddin as-Suyuti wrote in the preface of his book Dur al-Manthur concerning the veracity of the reports found all throughout: 

“Praise be to Allah… who has given me the ability to conduct a commentary of his great book based on what I have received of the transmitted reports with high valued chains.” 

This explains why Muslims have admitted that much of the Quran’s contents is completely gone, lost to the vestiges of time, never to be recovered or found ever again:   

“Abd al-Razzak in Al-Musannaf from Ibn Abbas said: Umar bin Al-Khattab ordered a person to gather people for Salat of Jama’at. He then ascended on a pulpit, praised Allah and said: ‘O people! Do not get afraid about the verse of Al-Rajm because it is a verse that was revealed in the book of Allah and we recited it but it was lost [Zahab], WITH MUCH OF THE QURAN GONE WITH MUHAMMAD; and the proof of that is that the prophet would stone, and Abu Bakr would stone, and I have stoned and there will come people from this nation who would deny the stoning.’” (Tafsir Dur al-Manthur, Muqadmah of Surah Ahzab) 

“Ismail bin Ibrahim narrated from Ayub from Naf’i from Ibn Umar who said: ‘Verily among you people one would say that he has found the Quran while 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.’” (Fadhail al-Quran, by Qasim bin Salam (d. 222 A.H.), Volume 2, p. 135) 

The following authorities all cite this particular narration: 

Tafsir Dur al-Manthur Volume 1, p. 106. 

Tafsir Ruh al-Mani, Volume 1, p. 25. 

Al-Itqan fi ‘ulum al-Quran by Suyuti, rendered into Urdu by Maulana Muhammad Haleem Ansari, Volume 2, p. 64 (Idara Islamiat, Lahore).

Here is an English translation of this specific report taken from another version of the Itqan: 

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.’” (Al-Itqan, p. 524) 

And here is what the scholars said about the transmitters of the foregoing report: 

Ismail bin Ibrahim  

Dahabi said, “Hujja” (Al-Kashif, Volume 1 p. 242). 

Ibn Hajar said, “Thiqah” (Taqrib al-Tahdib, Volume 1, p. 90).  

Ayyub al-Sakhtiani

Dahabi said, “The master of scholars’ (Siar alam al-nubala, Volume 6, p. 15). 

Ibn Hajar said, “Thiqah Thabt Hujja” (Taqrib al-Tahdib, Volume 1, p. 116).  

Naafi 

Dahabi said, “The Imam of Tabi’in” (Al-Kashif, volume 2, p. 315). 

Ibn Hajar said, “Thiqah Thabt” (Taqrib al-Tahdib, Volume 2, p. 239). 

The words Thiqah, Thabt and Hujja are used to describe men of integrity who were deemed to be completely reliable and trustworthy in narrating hadiths. 

Finally, and more importantly, the Quran testifies to its own corruption:

Like as We sent down on the dividers, Those who made the Quran INTO SHREDS. So, by your Lord, We would most certainly question them all, As to what they did. S. 15:90-93 Shakir

Here are some of the various ways that Q. 15:91 has been translated:

(So also on such) as have made Qur’an into shreds (as they please). Y. Ali

Those who break the Qur’an into parts. Pickthall

who dismember the Qur’an. Palmer

who have broken the Koran into fragments. Arberry

Who splintered the Quran into diverse parts. Tarif Khalidi

Those who divided the Qur’an into parts. Maulana Muhammad Ali

Those who break the Quran into separate parts. Hamid S. Aziz

Those who have broken the Qur’an into fragments (as they please). Ali Unal

and also divided the Quran believing in some parts and rejecting others. Muhammad Sarwar

and who have broken the Scripture into fragments— Wahiduddin Khan

And severed their Scripture into fragments. Muhammad Ahmed-Samira

It is thus clear from this verse that the words of the Quran were being changed.

As the late Islamic Scholar Alphonse Mingana explained:

“Finally, if we understand correctly the following verse of Suratul-Hijr (xv. 90-91): ‘As we sent down upon (punished) the dividers (of the Scripture?) who broke up the Koran into parts,’ we are tempted to state that even when the Prophet was alive, some changes were noticed in the recital of certain verses of his sacred book. There is nothing very surprising in this fact, since Muhammad could not read or write, and was at the mercy of friends for the writing of his revelations, or, more frequently, of some mercenary amanuenses.” (Mingana, “Three Ancient Korans”, The Origins of the Koran – Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book, edited by Ibn Warraq [Prometheus Books, Amherst NY, 1998], p. 84; bold emphasis mine)

The evidence also shows that such corruptions to the text continued long after Muhammad’s death. For instance, Mingana records the Muslim reaction to Uthman b. Affan’s burning and wholesale destruction of primary, competing Quranic codices:

“The book, drawn up by this method, continued to be authoritative and the standard text till 29-30 A.H. under the caliphate of ‘Uthman. At this time the wonderful faithfulness of Arab memory was defective, and according to a general weakness of human nature, the Believers have been heard reciting the verses of the Koran in a different way. This fact was due specially, it is said, to the hundreds of dialects used in Arabia. Zaid was again asked to put an end to these variations which had begun to scandalize the votaries of the Prophet. That indefatigable compiler, assisted by three men from the tribe of Quraish, started to do what he had already done more than fifteen years before. The previous copies made from the first one written under Abu Bakr were all destroyed by special order of the caliph: the revelation sent down from heaven was one, and the book containing this revelation must be one. The critic remarks that the only guarantee of the authenticity of the Koran is the testimony of Zaid; and for this reason, a scholar who doubts whether a given word has been really used by Muhammad, or whether it has been only employed by Zaid on his own authority, or on the meagre testimony of some Arab reciters, does not transgress the strict laws of high criticism. If the memory of the followers of the Prophet has been found defective from the year 15 to 30 A.H. when Islam was proclaimed over all Arabia, why may it not have been defective from 612 to 632 C.E. when the Prophet was often obliged to defend his own life against terrible aggressors? And if the first recension of Zaid contained always the actual words of Muhammad, why was this compiler not content with re-establishing it in its entirety, and why was the want of a new recension felt by ‘Uthman? How can it be that in the short space of fifteen years such wonderful variants could have crept into the few copies preceding the reign of the third caliph that he found himself bound to destroy all those he could find? If ‘Uthman was certainly inspired only by religious purposes, why did his enemies call him ‘THE TEARER OF THE BOOKS’ and why did they fasten on him the following stigma: ‘He found the Korans many and left one; HE TORE UP THE BOOK’? …” (Ibid., p. 84-85; bold and capital emphasis mine)

In another article, Mingana cites Muslim historian al-Tabari who wrote that:

“… ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, and ‘Uthman b. Affan wrote the Revelation to the Prophet; but in their absence it was Ubai b. Ka’b and Zaid b. Thabit who wrote it.’ He informs us, too, that the people said to ‘Uthman: ‘The Koran was in MANY BOOKS, and thou discreditedst them all but one’; and after the Prophet’s death, ‘People gave him as successor Abu Bakr, who in turn was succeeded by ‘Umar; and both of them acted according to the Book and the Sunnah of the Apostle of God – and praise be to God the Lord of the worlds; then people elected ‘Uthman b. ‘Affan WHO … TORE UP THE BOOK.’” (Ibid., The Transmission of the Koran, p. 102; bold and capital emphasis mine)

Muslims have disagreed on who compiled the Quran. They said that the four men mentioned earlier died, and so it was not compiled. Sometimes they said it was Zaid b. Thabit who compiled it, or Salim, the servant of Abu Hudsaifa. Some say that Ali swore not to put on a cloak, except for prayer, until he had compiled the Quran. Once the Quran had been compiled, people wondered what to call it. Some suggested calling it Sifr (“the Book”), But Ali refused, because that is a Hebrew word. Later Ali said: “I saw one like it in Abyssinia called Al-Mushaf“; so this is what it was called (Darwaza, Al-Qur’an al-Majid, p. 53).

I now conclude this part by citing the following Christian reference’s superb summation of the issues concerning the imperfect and chaotic compilation of the Muslim scripture:

… Further, al-Bukhari narrated what he heard from Qatada. He said: “I asked Anas b. Malik: ‘Who compiled the Quran during the lifetime of the Prophet?’ ‘Four,’ he replied, ‘and all of them are from the Ansar: Ubai b. Ka’b, Muads b. Jabal, Zaid b. Thabit, and Abu Zaid.’ I asked: ‘Who is Abu Zaid?’ ‘One of my uncles,’ he answered” (see al-Bukhari, Fadhail al-Qur’an 3).

It is also narrated by Anas via Ibn Thabit: “The Prophet died, and only four compiled the Quran, including Abu Al-Darda, Muads b. Jabal, Zaid b. Thabit and Abu Zaid.” As such, this hadith disagrees with Qatada’s in the sense of confinement regarding the four; the other hadith mentions Abi Al-Darda instead of Ka’b b. Ubai. A number of Imams (leaders) resented this sense of confinement to the four only; yet some unbelievers held on tenaciously to Anas’ claim, implying that a great portion of the Quran had been lost – especially verses that back up their party. In fact, these four died before the Quran was compiled. They also asserted that many reciters of the Quran had died before the Quran was compiled. Al-Qurtubi said: “During the Battle of Yamama, 450 RECITERS OF THE QURAN WERE KILLED.” THE SAME NUMBER WAS KILLED at Mauna Well during the Prophet’s time (see Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya by Ibn Kathir; chapter on Battle of Yamama).

Abu Bakr was overwhelmed by sadness over the loss of the Quran. Al-Bukhari’s narration, based on what Zaid b. Thabit related, said that Zaid said: “Abu Bakr sent someone to call me when the Yamama people were killed. Umar was there with him. Abu Bakr said: ‘On the Day of Yamama, Umar came to me saying that reciters of the Quran were killed. He was afraid that others might be killed elsewhere. This indicates the loss of much of the Quran. He suggested that I command that the Quran be compiled.’…

Another version says that Abu Bakr asked Zaid b. Thabit to compile the Quran. Zaid refused until he was assisted. Yet another version claims that Abu Bakr asked Zaid b. Thabit to compile the Quran, with Zaid refusing until he was helped by Umar. Maghazi (“Campaigns”) by Musa b. Uqba, Ibn Shihab said: “When Muslims in the Yamama combat were injured, Abu Bakr panicked. He was afraid that a portion of the Quran would be lost. Therefore, people came with what they already had with them” (Al-Qur’an al-majid by Darwaza, pg. 54)…  

Abu Bakr said to Umar and Zaid: “Sit at the door of the mosque, so that if someone comes with two witnesses and has something of the Book of Allah, then you can write it.” So Zaid did not write a verse unless it was backed up by two just witnesses. The end of Sura al-Tawba was found only with Abu Khuzaima b. Thabit, but since his witness was considered equal to that of two men, what he had brought was written down. But Umar brought a verse about stoning (ayat al-rajm) which was not written down, for he was alone. The reason behind all this is that the Quran was divided among shoulder bones, palm branches, etc. (Al-Itqan by al-Suyuti; chapter on compiling the Quran)…

An evidence that the Quran had undergone some increase in volume is what Muhammad b. Sirin quotes Ikrima as having said: “After Abu Bakr had been paid homage to, Ali b. Abu Talib stayed home. So people said to Abu Bakr: ‘He hates to pay you homage.’ Therefore, Abu Bakr sent for Ali and asked: ‘Do you really hate paying me homage?’ ‘No,’ replied Ali. ‘Why then have you not come to me?’ asked Abu Bakr. Ali said: ‘I SAW THE BOOK OF ALLAH BEING ADDED TO. This led me to make up my mind not to put on my cloak, except for prayer, until I compile the Quran.’ Abu Bakr then stated: ‘Yes. What you have said is right!’” Muhammad b. Sirin continued: “Then I said to Ikrima, ‘Put it together as it was revealed, the first revelation comes first.’ He said: ‘If jinn and men had gathered to put it together in such a way, they could never have done it.’”  This clearly indicates that the Quran was not recorded in the sequence of its revelation. Rather, the caliphs and others put it together according to their own tastes, for it consisted of scattered fragments (Al-Itqan by al-Suyuti; chapter on compilation)…

This is a summary of the history of the Quran in Abu Bakr’s and Umar’s time, and from it we gather that the Quran had not yet been compiled. Consider the following:  

1. Ibn Ashtah produced the following account in the Al-Mushaf, having it authentically supported as he heard it from Muhammad b. Sirin. He said: “Abu Bakr died, and the Quran was not compiled then. Umar was killed, and the Quran was not compiled then.” Ibn Ashtah commented: “The entire Quran was not completely memorised; neither was the compilation of the three Masahif (plural form of al-Mushaf) completed” (Al-Itqan by al-Suyuti; chapter on compilation). This implies that many groups had their own Quran. There was a Quran that included the Nasikh and the Mansukh (“the Abrogative and the Abrogated”). Another edition was arranged in chronological order. If these copies had been identical, Uthman would not have had them burned.   

2. The Muslims disagreed about the variant editions of the Quran, so Uthman burned them, being so advised by Hudsaifa. Al-Bukhari narrated that Anas said that Hudsaifa was appalled at the differences in reading…

Ibn Ashtah produced the following narration via Ayyub b. Abi Qulaba He said: “Ibn Malik, a man from Banu Amir, told me they disagreed on the Quran during Uthman’s time, until boys and teachers ended up killing each other.” When Uthman found out about this, he said: “Here, in my presence, you lie in the Quran and make it full of grammatical mistakes. O followers of Muhammad, gather together and write a main copy for the people”; so they did. Whenever anyone disagreed with someone on a verse, they would say: “The prophet of Allah had so and so read it.” They sent three people to ask him: “In what way did the prophet of Allah read such and such a verse to you?” He would answer: “As such and such.” Then they wrote it down, not that they had left a space for it.   

Ibn Abi Dawud said via Muhammad b. Sirin, that when Uthman wanted to write out the Masahif, he gathered together twelve men, Quraishites and Ansar: “They asked for the copy at Umar’s house, and it was brought. Uthman was overseeing them. Therefore, if they disagreed on something, they would delay recording it. I thought they were delaying it to see if someone had heard it as Muhammad had said it the last time. Then they would finally write it down as such” (Al-Masahif by al-Sijistani; chapter on Uthman’s compilation of the Quran).

From these accounts, it is evident that whenever Uthman sensed that they were in for a civil war or dissension as a result of the people’s disagreement over the Quran, he would hold meetings to appoint an imam for the people…

As for the compilation of the Quran, consider the following:

1. The people who undertook the compilation of the Quran were known for their treachery and lying. Uthman was murdered because he was a treacherous liar. The compilers were not filled with God’s Spirit, so they could not tell which writings, if any, were inspired. They quoted Arabs who did not know much about worldly or divine knowledge. The Quran itself says: “The Arabs are the worst in unbelief and hypocrisy, and most fitted to be in ignorance of the command which Allah has sent down to his apostle” (Sura al-Tawba 9:87).

2. When the Bible was revealed, no one tried to kill anyone else, because the writings were scattered in bits and pieces, needing to be gathered. But in Uthman’s time there were different ways to read the Quranic verses, according to different dialects. This led them to mistakenly blame one another of being in grave error. Uthman became afraid as to how far this would go; so he had the verses written in one copy, preferring the dialect of the Quraish to others.

3. Honest Muslim theologians cannot deny the discrepancies in the Quran. There have been disagreements over the number of masahif that Uthman sent to remote parts; some claimed there were five, others four, still others seven. Uthman sent these copies to Mecca, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Basra, and Kufa. He kept one copy at Medina.  

Some maintain that when Uthman noticed the reciters’ disagreement, seeing that the evil had gone too far, he collected whatever versions of the Quran he could get. No one dared to take the copy that Ali b. Abu Talib had, neither did anyone hurt those who recited the Quran according to Ali’s copy. Yet Ka’b b. Ubai died before Uthman compiled the Quran. Ibn Mas’ud refused to hand over his own copy to Uthman, so they sent him out of Kufa; they used Abu Musa al-Ash’ari’s copy instead. For composing and mending the Quran, they appointed Zaid b. Thabit al-Ansari and Abdallah b. Abbas (others claim that the latter was Muhammad b. Abu Bakr). Both were still young. Uthman said to them: “If you disagree on something, at least write it in the language of the Quraish.”    

When the Quran was compiled, they sent a copy to Mecca. It was burned in the year 200 A.H. They sent a copy to Medina that was lost in the days of Yazid b. Muawiya. They sent a copy to Iraq that was lost in the days of al-Mukhtar. Another copy was sent to Syria. Then Uthman ordered the governors in the Islamic world to collect whatever copies of the Quran they could find. He SOAKED THEM ALL in boiling vinegar until nothing remained. Uthman threatened to punish anyone who disobeyed his orders (Al-Itqan by al-Suyuti; Kitab al-Masahif). (The True Guidance [Light of Life, Villach, Austria, First English Edition: 1994], Part Four. An Introduction to Quranic Studies, pp. 47-55)

The foregoing explains why there are no extant Quranic MSS that contain the satanic verses. I.e., Muslims destroyed the very primary codices produced by the companions of Muhammad, resulting in the irreparable loss of much of the original Quran!

I continue my refutation of Ataie’s misinformation in the next installment: THE FRAUD THAT IS ALI ATAIE: THE SATANIC VERSES PT. 2.

The Quran prohibits the consumption of wine,(1) classifying it as an abomination created by Satan for the express purpose of causing division, hatred and godlessness:

They will question thee concerning wine (al-khamri), and arrow-shuffling. Say: ‘In both is heinous sin; and uses for men, but the sin in them is more heinous than the usefulness.’ They will question thee concerning what they should expend. Say: ‘The abundance.’ So God makes clear His signs to you; haply you will reflect; S. 2:219 Arberry

O believers, wine (al-khamru) and arrow-shuffling, idols and divining-arrows are an abomination, some of Satan’s work; so avoid it; haply So you will prosper. Satan only desires to precipitate enmity and hatred between you in regard to wine (al-khamri) and arrow-shuffling, and to bar you from the remembrance of God, and from prayer. Will you then desist? S. 5:90-91 Arberry

And yet according to some of the so-called authentic reports Muhammad violated this directive by drinking a type of wine called nabidh:

36 The Book of Drinks

(9) Chapter: The permissibility of Nabidh so long as it has not become strong and has not become intoxicating

Ibn ‘Abbas reported that Nabidh was prepared for Allah’s Messenger in the beginning of the night and he would drink it in the morning and the following night and the following day and the night after that up to the afternoon. If anything was left out of that he gave it to his servant, or gave orders for it to be poured out. (Sahih Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 4971 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2004a)

Ibn ‘Abbas reported that Nabidh was prepared for Allah’s Messenger in the waterskin, Shu’ba said:

It was the night of Monday. He drank it on Monday and on Tuesday up to the afternoon, and if anything was left out of it he gave it to his servant or poured it out. (Sahih Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 4972 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2004b)

Ibn Abbas reported that Nabidh was prepared from raisins for Allah’s Messenger in the waterskin and he would drink it on that day and on the next day and the day following and when It was the evening of the third day, and he would drink it and give it to (his Companions) and if something was left over, he threw that away. (Sahih Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 4974 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2004d)

Yahya Abu ‘Umar al-Nakhai reported that some people asked Ibn Abbas about the sale and purchase of wine and its commerce. He asked (them):

Are you Muslims? They said, Yes. Thereupon he said: Its sale and purchase and its trade are not permissible. They then asked him about Nabidh and he said: Allah’s Messenger went out on a journey and then came back and some persons amongst his Companions prepared Nabidh for him in green pitcher, hollow stump and gourd. He commanded it to be thrown away, and it was done accordingly. He then ordered them (to prepare it) in a waterskin and it was prepared in that by steeping raisins in water, and it was prepared in the night. In the morning he drank out of that and on that day and then the next night, and then on the next day until the evening. He drank and gave others to drink. When it was morning (of the third night) he commanded what was left of that to be thrown away. (Sahih Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 4975 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2004e)

Thumama (i. e. Ibn Hazn al-Qushairi) reported:

I met ‘A’isha and asked her about Nabidh (that was served to the Holy Prophet). ‘A’isha called an Abyssinian maid (servant) and said: Ask her (about it) for it was he, who prepared the Nabidh for the Messenger of Allah. The Abyssinian (maid-servant) said: I prepared Nabidh for him in a waterskin in the night and tied its mouth and then suspended it; and when it was morning he (the Holy Prophet) drank from it. (Sahih Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 4976 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2005a)

‘A’isha reported:

We prepared Nabidh for Allah’s Messenger in a waterskin, the upper part of which was tied and it (the waterskin) had a hole (in its lower part). We prepared the Nabidh in the morning and he drank it in the evening and we prepared the Nabidh in the night, and he would drink it in the morning. (Sahih Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 4977 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2005b)

Anas reported:

I served drink to Allah’s Messenger in this cup of mine: honey, Nabidh, water and milk. (Sahih Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 4982 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2008)

Jabir b ‘Abdullah reported:

We were with Allah’s Messenger and he asked for water. A person said: Allah’s Messenger, may we not give you Nabidh to drink? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Yes (you may). He (the narrator) said: Then that person went out speedily and brought a cup containing Nabidh, whereupon Allah’s Messenger said: Why did you not cover it? – even if it is with a wood. He said that then he drank it. ((Sahih Muslim, Book 23, Hadith 4989 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2011a)

And here are a few snippets from Ibn Kathir’s biography on Muhammad:

What is well established is that when the Messenger of God arrived in Mecca, he circumambulated the ka’ba seven times while he was mounted. He then went to zamzam where Banu ‘Abd al-Muttalib were serving water to themselves and the people. From it he took a bucket from which he drank. It was then emptied over him.

As Muslim stated, “Muhammad b. Minhal al-Darir informed us, quoting Humayd al-Tawil, from Bakr b. ‘Abd Allah al-Muzani, who heard Ibn ‘Abbas say, while he was sitting with him at the ka’ba, ‘The Prophet arrived on his camel, with Usama mounted behind himself. They brought a vessel containing nabidh;¹²⁶ he drank from it and gave the remainder to Usama. He said, ‘You have acted correctly and done well. Continue in this way.”’

Ibn ‘Abbas went on, “And so we do not wish to change what the Messenger of God ordered.”

In an account from Bakr, a bedouin asked Ibn ‘Abbas, “How come I see your uncle’s folk pouring milk and honey, while you serve al-nabidh? Is this because of your poverty, or your miserliness?” Ibn ‘Abbas then related to him this hadith.

Ahmad stated that Rawh related to him, quoting Hammad, from Hunayd, from Bakr, from ‘Abd Allah (who said) that a bedouin asked Ibn ‘Abbas, “How come Mu’awiya’s kinsfolk serve water and honey, the family of so-and-so serves milk, while you serve al-nabidh? Is this due to your miserliness or your poverty?”

Ibn ‘Abbas replied, “We’re neither miserly nor poor; however, the Messenger of God came to us, Usama b. Zayd mounted behind himself, and asked to drink. We served him this” – meaning the nabidh – “and he drank from it. He said, ‘You have done well. Continue in this way.'”

126. Here “unfermented date juice”. (Ibn Kathir, The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya), translated by professor Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr. Ahmed Fareed [Garnet Publishing Limited, 8 Southern Court, south Street Reading RG1 4QS, UK; The Center for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, 1998], Volume IV, p. 277; bold emphasis mine)

And:

Imam Ahmad stated that Waki’ related to him, quoting al-Qasim b. al-Fadl, quoting Thumama b. Hazn, who said, “I asked ‘A’isha about al-nabidh¹⁹³ wine. She replied, ]This is the servant of the Messenger of God, ask her.” She was referring to an Abyssinian servant woman. She said, ‘I would press grapes into a waterskin in the evening and tie it closed. Next morning he would drink from it.'”

193. Unfermented grape-juice; the Companions were interested to know from the Prophet how long it could be stored and remain permissible for their consumption. (Ibid., p. 469; bold emphasis mine)

A Muslim will object and argue that what is condemned is wine that intoxicates, not unfermented drinks like nabidh.(1)

The problem with this assertion is that this is NOT what the verses teach. I.e., none of the passages claim that only intoxicating wine is prohibited, but simply forbid the consumption of wine in general.    

In fact, when we examine the Quran as a whole, within its overall context, we see that it condemns the consumption of wine AND OF praying in a state of drunkenness:  

O believers, draw not near to prayer when you are drunken (sukara) until you know what you are saying, or defiled — unless you are traversing a way — until you have washed yourselves; but if you are sick, or on a journey, or if any of you comes from the privy, or you have touched women, and you can find no water, then have recourse to wholesome dust and wipe your faces and your hands; God is All-pardoning, All-forgiving. S. 4:43 Arberry

However, the two are never equated, since the Muslim scripture never once states that Allah only forbids wine that gets an individual drunk or inebriated, whereas unfermented wine which doesn’t intoxicate is permitted.(1)

Therefore, as far as the Islamic scripture is concerned Allah has prohibited wine in general, wine in all its various states, which would also include nabidh.

This means that Muhammad once again went against the directives of his own so-called revelations by consuming, and permitting others to consume, a form of wine called nabidh.

It is apparent that Muhammad conveniently came up with a loophole to justify his craving for and drinking of certain types of wine, instead of simply taking the higher ground of submitting to the dictates of his own deity who prohibited wine in general, without making any exceptions. This is because Muhammad was a hypocrite who failed to practice what he preached, and did not live up to the very standards he opposed upon others.

I end this brief post by quoting the response of Christians to the typical objections and slanders leveled by Muhammadan polemicists in their jihad against God’s true Word:

Drinking wine is banned in Islam. YET MUHAMMAD DRANK WINE. On the authority of Ibn Abbas, Abd ur-Rahman related that Muhammad, with a hook-like staff, went around the Ka’ba on a camel while he was sick. When he passed the Black Stone, he touched it with his staff. When he finished circling the Ka’ba, he dismounted and prayed two prostrations. Then he approached the drinking place and said, “Give me a drink from this.” Al-Abbas asked him, “Should we not give you a drink from what is prepared at home?”  He answered, “No, but give me a drink from what the people drink.” A cup of wine was brought. He tasted it and frowned, saying, “Come and pour water in it.” Then he added, “If anyone of you does thus, let him do it like me.”

In his book, Al-Iqd al-Farid (Section 8), Ibn Abd Rabbuh indicates that God prohibited drinking wine for the sake of devotion, NOT ON ACCOUNT OF DRUNKENNESS OR FILTHINESS; otherwise, it would not have been permitted to earlier prophets and nations, nor would Noah have drunk it after he had departed from the ark, nor Jesus during the night of his ascension, nor the friends of Muhammad during the Islamic period. It has also been related that Sufyan al-Thawri used to drink pure wine which reddens the eyes.

On the authority of Masud al-Ansari, Yihya b. al-Yamani, relates that Muhammad became thirsty while he was going around the Ka’ba. Wine was brought to him from the drinking place and he smelled it. He then asked for a bucket of water from Zamzam (the sacred well of Mecca), diluted the wine, and then drank it. A man asked him, “Is this forbidden, O Messenger of God?” Muhammad answered, “No.”

In his book, Life of Muhammad (Section 4), Ibn Kathir tells us that the Prophet came on a camel, followed by Usaama. When he was given wine, he drank and offered Usaama a drink as well. Muhammad said, “You have done good to me, so do as I do.” (Sahih Muslim, Book of the Hajj).

Drinking wine was permissible in Islam, and the fact that Noah drank it is proof of the weakness of human nature. The amount which Jesus drank was small – once a year during the Passover – according to the law of Moses; all the sons of Israel drank a small amount in remembrance of the mercy of God upon them. (The True Guidance [Light of Life, Villach, Austria, 1^st English edition, 1991] Part One. The Infallibility of Revelation and the Sins of the Prophets, pp. 18-19; bold and capital emphasis mine)

And:

Muhammad forbade drinking wine. The on the Farewell Pilgrimage he drank it, as the books of Sira (his biography) tell us. Ibn Abbas said in a tradition quoted by Abdarrahman b. Sulaiman who received it from Yazid b. Abi Ziad who received it from Ikrima: “The prophet was looking around on his camel holding a staff. He got off and prayed to rak’ahs. Then he came over to the sakis [cup-bearers] in order to drink the wine of some dried grapes [raisins]. He said: ‘Give me something of this to drink.’ Al-Abbas said to him: ‘Shall we not give you what we make in our houses?’ ‘No,’ he replied, ‘just give me what people drink.’ They brought him a drinking bowl. He frowned and said: ‘Put in some more water!’ Again, he said: ‘Put in more: once, twice, or even three!’ At last, he said: ‘If someone does this for you, do the same for him.’”

Another hadith [tradition] is narrated by Yahya b. al-Yaman as he heard it from al-Thawri, who heard it from Mansur b. Khalid, who heard it from Said, who heard it from Ibn Mas’ud al-Ansari: “The Prophet felt thirsty while he was looking around the House. When they brought him some wine from the sakis [cup bearers], he smelled it and frowned. Then he asked for a bucket of water from Zamzam well. They added the water, and he drank and drank. One man asked him: “Is this unlawful, O Prophet of Allah?” He answered: “No” (see Ibn Abdirabbih’s Al-Iqd al-Farid).

It may be useful here to quote a tradition from the book, Al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba (chapter on Umm Ayman), by the great Sheikh of Islam, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani: “Umm Ayman said: ‘The Messenger of Allah said to me: “Bring me the wine from the mosque.” I said to him: “I am menstruating!” He answered: “Your menstruation is not on your hand.”’” (The True Guidance [Light of Life, Village, Austria, 1^st English edition, 1994], Part Five. Comments on Quranic Verses, p. 47; bold emphasis mine)

FURTHER READING

Muhammad’s Inconsistency (in making laws binding upon the Muslim community but granting exceptions to himself)

Muhammad’s Incorporation of Satan’s Handiwork

Satan’s Handiwork in Allah’s Garden?

Islam and Wine Consumption

Fully Detailed Or Incomplete?

The Quran’s Prohibition of Intoxicants

More of Shabir Ally’s Lies Exposed Pt. 1

More of Shabir Ally’s Lies Exposed Pt. 2

More of Shabir Ally’s Lies Exposed – Addendum

ENDNOTES

(1) There is a word which refers to strong drinks or intoxicants, and which the Quran employs, namely sakar:

And of the fruits of the date-palm, and grapes, whence ye derive strong drink (sakaran) and (also) good nourishment. Lo! therein is indeed a portent for people who have sense. S. 16:67 Pickthall

= Siin-Kaf-Ra = intoxicated, inebriated, drunken, violent/angry, full/still/motionless/calm, abolish, do away with, be dim, dazzled, rage against, be confused of judgement, bewildered, hindrance, bar, obstacle, obstruction, prevention, brake or stoppage between a person and his understanding and wits and he takes a wrong decision, become silly or blockhead, fail to understand, become cursed in intellect, lose one’s wits, dam, to shut or close up, burn/hot, dazzle/cover/confuse, grief, any disturbing element which may distract one’s attention or observe one’s reason, in a state of mental disequilibrium, one who has no sense as he is in raptures of love/passion/amour, sugar, sweet substance, very sweet date, sakr – sugar. (Project Root List http://www.studyquran.co.uk/20_SIIN.htm)

However, the term employed in the aforementioned texts is khamr, which literally means wine, not intoxicants/strong drinks. As such, the term is not specific to wine that is intoxicating, but rather refers to the consumption of wine in general, whether it intoxicates or not.

It’s time to turn the tables against Muhammadans by employing their own objection against the Holy Bible to their own sources, to show them how their texts fail to live up to their own standards and criteria.

In this post I will take the assertion that the Holy Bible slanders God’s prophets and messengers by accusing them of heinous sins, and apply it to both the Quran and ahadith to show that this precisely what Muhammad did.

JOSEPH

The Muslim scripture falsely accuses Joseph of having adulterous inclinations and of wanting to commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife:

For she desired him (hammat bihi); and he would have taken her (wahamma biha), but that he saw the proof of his Lord. So was it, that We might turn away from him evil and abomination; he was one of Our devoted servants. S. 12:24 Arberry

Here’s how the two Jalals interpreted this text:

And she certainly desired him she sought sexual intercourse with him and he would have desired her too he would have sought the same had it not been that he saw the proof of his Lord Ibn ‘Abbās said ‘Jacob was made to appear before him and he struck his Joseph’s breast whereupon his sexual desire withdrew from his body through his fingernails the response to lawlā ‘had it not been’ has been omitted understood to be la-jāma‘ahā ‘he would have lain with her’. So it was that We made him see the proof that We might ward off from him evil betrayal and lewdness the act of fornication. Truly he was of Our devoted servants in terms of obedience mukhlisīn a variant reading has mukhlasīn in other words ‘chosen/purified servants’. (Tafsir al-Jalalayn https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=12&tAyahNo=24&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold emphasis mine)

This is nothing other than a wicked lie since God’s true Word, the Holy Bible, refutes this charge of Joseph having lust for a married woman. As the following Christian source explains:

RESPONSE: Attributing the Holy Scriptures to the atheism and fornication of the prophets, as well as similar accusations, is mere slander. The prophets were free of blasphemy or lies when communicating the messages of God; they were infallible and did not convey imperfections or discrepancies. The Book of God declares that the Holy Spirit inspired the words and actions of the prophets; yet, it does not deny their humanity or the fact that they themselves were subject to errors, negligence, and forgetfulness in their ordinary daily affairs.

As evidence for the fallacy of these accusations, such prophets as Enoch, Elijah, Joseph the righteous, Daniel, and others are mentioned in the Bible, without any sin being attributed to them; yet, the Koran attributes to Joseph a sin which he did not commit. We read in Sura Joseph 12:24: “…She desired him; and he would have taken her….” In this verse in Arabic, the word hamma (“determined”) is used; it describes a person who is resolved to achieve that which he intends. In the Koranic account, the wife of Potiphar passionately desires Joseph and is determined to consummate a sexual relationship with him – and likewise he with her. However, Genesis 39:9 states that when his mistress asked him to have sex with her, Joseph answered, “…How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

Considering these verses from the Koran and the Bible, which book is it that attributes sin to Joseph? The Koran says that Joseph not only desired the woman, but that he also was determined to fulfill his intention. From the Gospel, we know that anyone who lustfully desires a woman in his heart is guilty of adultery (Matthew 5:28). (The True Guidance [Light of Life, Villach, Austria, 1^st English edition 1991], Part One. The Infallibility of Revelation and the Sins of the Prophets, p. 8)

ABRAHAM

The Islamic traditions even lies about Abraham, depicting him as a doubtful, dishonest, deceitful idolater. I quote at length from The True Guidance:

The Sins of Abraham, According to the Koran

The Koran ascribes sins such as idolatry, doubting, deceit, and divination to Abraham:

1. Idolatry: It is recorded in the Koran Sura Cattle 6:77, that Abraham called the moon his god: “When he saw the moon rising, he said, ‘This my Lord; this is greater!’ But when it set he said, ‘If my Lord does not guide me I shall surely be of the people gone astray.’” In verse 78 of that same sura, we read: “When he saw the sun rising, he said, ‘This is my Lord; this is greater!’”

If Abraham had said this in faith, that would have been either polytheism or a lie. Muslim scholars assert that this occurred prior to his full knowledge of God. They also question how long it was between this incident and his prophethood, for prophethood is unimaginable prior to the full grasp of the knowledge of God. They have yet another excuse: “Abraham said this by way of assumption, to show contrast: if the planets were gods as was claimed, then God would be changeable, and this is false.” But the Koranic statement conclusively exposes Abraham’s idolatry.

2. Doubting: The Koran states that Abraham questioned the might of God. It is written in Sura The Cow 2:263: “And when Abraham said, ‘My Lord, show me how Thou wilt give life to the dead.’ He said, ‘Why, dost thou not believe?” ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘but that my heart may be at rest.’”  

Muslim scholars say that it is blasphemy to question the might of God. Confirming the doubt of Abraham is the tradition that says: “We are entitled to doubt more than Abraham.”

3. Deceit: It is written in the Koran that Abraham lied. The exegetes say: “When Abraham destroyed the idols, Nimrod the tyrant and the notables of his people summoned him and asked: ‘Did you do that to our gods, Abraham?’ He answered: ‘No, but their elder did it; ask them if they can speak!’” On the authority of Abu Huraira, related by al-Bukhari and Muslim, the messenger of God said: “Abraham did not lie except thrice: two of them on the nature of God (when he said, ‘I am indeed sick,’ and ‘Their elder did it’) and his claim that Sarah was his sister, when the tyrant wanted to approach her” (The commentary of al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Ibn Kathir on The Rangers Sura 37:39).

4. Divination: Sura The Rangers 37:86 reads as follows: “And he cast a glance at the stars, and he said, ‘Surely I am sick.’”

Ibn Abbas records:

Abraham’s people used to practice astrology, so he dealt with them in accordance to their customs and observances. He did not want them to think that he was mocking them. It was his desire to convince them that idol worship was futile. Because they were to have a feast and an assembly the next day, they entered to worship their idols, offered their sacrifices, and presented their food prior to leaving for their festival. They claimed to have received blessings on the food, and they left to eat it as soon as they departed from their celebration. They said to Abraham: “Would you not like to come out with us to participate in our feast?” He consulted the stars and said, “I am indeed sick (smitten by a plague).” They used to keep as far away as possible from a victim of plague.

Muslim scholars declare” “Consulting stars is forbidden, and his claim to be sick was a lie” (al-Razi’s commentary on Surah The Rangers 37:86).

These quotations from the Koran show that Abraham worshiped the planets, questioned the might of God, lied several times, and consulted the stars. The people of the Book (Jews and Christians) do not accept any of these accusations, except that he lied twice out of fear. They call Abraham the Father of the faithful, and his faith is cited as a model worthy of emulation. He firmly believed in God and obeyed Him. The objector should have first removed the sins of Abraham from his Koran and traditions, before slandering the Holy Scriptures. (Ibid., pp. 27-29)

To confirm the accuracy of the references, I will quote the verses in question and the respective hadiths and/or commentaries along with them, if need be.

Q. 6:74-83

And when Abraham said to his father Azar, ‘Takest thou idols for gods? I see thee, and thy people, in manifest error.’ So We were showing Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and earth, that he might be of those having sure faith. When night outspread over him he saw a star and said, ‘This is my Lord.’ But when it set he said, ‘I love not the setters.’ When he saw the moon rising, he said, ‘This is my Lord.’ But when it set he said, ‘If my Lord does not guide me I shall surely be of the people gone astray.’ When he saw the sun rising, he said, ‘This is my Lord; this is greater (hatha Akbaru)!‘ But when it set he said, ‘O my people, surely I am quit of that you associate. I have turned my face to Him who originated the heavens and the earth, a man of pure faith; I am not of the idolaters.’ His people disputed with him. He said, ‘Do you dispute with me concerning God, and He has guided me? I fear not what you associate with Him, except my Lord will aught. My Lord embraces all things in His knowledge; will you not remember? How should I fear what you have associated, seeing you fear not that you have associated with God that whereon He has not sent down on you any authority?’ Which of the two parties has better title to security, if you have any knowledge? Those who believe, and have not confounded their belief with evildoing — to them belongs the true security; they are rightly guided. That is Our argument, which We bestowed upon Abraham as against his people. We raise up in degrees whom We will; surely thy Lord is All-wise, All-knowing. Arberry

Q. 2:260

And (remember) when Ibrahim (Abraham) said, “My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead.” He (Allah) said: “Do you not believe?” He [Ibrahim (Abraham)] said: “Yes (I believe), but to be stronger in Faith.” He said: “Take four birds, then cause them to incline towards you (then slaughter them, cut them into pieces), and then put a portion of them on every hill, and call them, they will come to you in haste. And know that Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.” Hilali-Khan

Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said…

<<We are more liable to be in doubt than Ibrahim when he said, “My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead.” Allah said, “Don’t you believe” Ibrahim said, “Yes (I believe), but (I ask) in order to be stronger in faith.”>>

The Prophet’s statement in the Hadith means, “We are more liable to seek certainty.”…

`Abdur-Razzaq recorded that Ma`mar said that Ayyub said that Ibn `Abbas commented on what Ibrahim said…

(but to be stronger in Faith), “To me, there is no Ayah in the Qur’an that brings more hope than this Ayah.” Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Muhammad bin Al-Munkadir said that `Abdullah bin `Abbas met `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As and said to him, “Which Ayah in the Qur’an carries more hope for you?” Ibn `Amr said…

(Say: “O `Ibadi (My servants) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not.”) (39:53).

Ibn `Abbas said, “But I say that it is Allah’s statement…

(And (remember) when Ibrahim said, “My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead.” He (Allah) said: “Do you not believe?” He (Ibrahim) said: “Yes (I believe)…)

Allah accepted Ibrahim’s affirmation when he merely said, `Yes.’ This Ayah refers to the doubts that attack the heart and the thoughts that Shaytan inspires.”

Al-Hakim also recorded this in Al-Mustadrak and said; “Its chain is Sahih but they did not record it.” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir https://www.alim.org/quran/tafsir/ibn-kathir/surah/2/260/; bold emphasis mine)

Q. 37:84-96

Of his party was also Abraham; when he came unto his Lord with a pure heart, when he said to his father and his folk, ‘What do you serve? Is it a calumny, gods apart from God, that you desire? What think you then of the Lord of all Being?’ And he cast a glance at the stars, and he said, ‘Surely I am sick.’ But they went away from him, turning their backs. Then he turned to their gods, and said, ‘What do you eat? What ails you, that you speak not? And he turned upon them smiting them with his right hand. Then came the others to him hastening. He said, ‘Do you serve what you hew, and God created you and what you make?’ Arberry

Narrated Abu Huraira: Abraham did not tell a lie except on three occasions. Twice for the Sake of Allah when he said, “I am sick,” and he said, “(I have not done this but) the big idol has done it.” The (third was) that while Abraham and Sarah (his wife) were going (on a journey) they passed by (the territory of) a tyrant. Someone said to the tyrant, “This man (i.e. Abraham) is accompanied by a very charming lady.” So, he sent for Abraham and asked him about Sarah saying, “Who is this lady?” Abraham said, “She is my sister.” Abraham went to Sarah and said, “O Sarah! There are no believers on the surface of the earth except you and I. This man asked me about you and I have told him that you are my sister, so don’t contradict my statement.” The tyrant then called Sarah and when she went to him, he tried to take hold of her with his hand, but (his hand got stiff and) he was confounded. He asked Sarah. “Pray to Allah for me, and I shall not harm you.” So Sarah asked Allah to cure him and he got cured. He tried to take hold of her for the second time, but (his hand got as stiff as or stiffer than before and) was more confounded. He again requested Sarah, “Pray to Allah for me, and I will not harm you.” Sarah asked Allah again and he became alright. He then called one of his guards (who had brought her) and said, “You have not brought me a human being but have brought me a devil.” The tyrant then gave Hajar as a girl-servant to Sarah. Sarah came back (to Abraham) while he was praying. Abraham, gesturing with his hand, asked, “What has happened?” She replied, “Allah has spoiled the evil plot of the infidel (or immoral person) and gave me Hajar for service.” (Abu Huraira then addressed his listeners saying, “That (Hajar) was your mother, O Bani Ma-is-Sama (i.e. the Arabs, the descendants of Ishmael, Hajar’s son).” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 578 https://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=55&translator=1&start=0&number=578; see also https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3358)

Qatadah said, “The Arabs say of one who thinks deeply that he is looking at the stars.” What Qatadah meant is that he looked at the heavens thinking of a way to distract his people. So he said…

(Verily, I am sick.) meaning, weak. Ibn Jarir narrated here a Hadith from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, stating that the Messenger of Allah said…

<<Ibrahim did not lie except in three cases. Two were for the sake of Allah: (one is) when he said, (Verily, I am sick); and (the second) when he said, (Nay, this one, the biggest (his wife) of them (idols) did it.) and (the third) when he said concerning (his wife) Sarah, “She is my sister.”>> This Hadith is recorded in the books of the Sahih and Sunan with various chain of narrations. But this is not the kind of real lie for which a person is to be condemned — Allah forbid! One calls it a lie for lack of a better word, because it is abstruse speech used for a legitimate religious purpose, and it was said that what was meant by the words…

(Verily, I am sick) was, `I am sick at heart of your worshipping idols instead of Allah.’ Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, “The people of Ibrahim went out to their festival and they wanted to make him go out too. So he lay down on his back and said…

(Verily, I am sick.) and he started looking at the sky. When they had gone out, he turned to their gods and broke them.” This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir https://www.alim.org/quran/tafsir/ibn-kathir/surah/37/88/; bold emphasis mine) 

Despite Ibn Kathir’s and the other Muslim scholars’ attempt of explaining away or justifying Abraham’s transgressions, the fact remains that the Muslim scripture slanderously accuses the father of the faithful of being a lying, deceitful, conniving idolater.

And to show why the Muhammadan excuses for the Quran’s portraying Abraham in such a negative fashion do not work, pay close attention to the following report where Muhammad allegedly claims that the reason why the patriarch will be forbidden from interceding for Muslims on the day of judgment is because of his sin of lying three times:

CCIII: “Descendants of those We carried with Nuh. He was a grateful slave.” (17:3)

4435. It is related that Abu Hurayra said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,was given some meat and was offered the leg, which he liked, and ate some of it. Then he said, ‘I will be the master of people on the Day of Rising. Do you know what that will entail? Allah will gather people, the first and the last on the same plain so that an observer will be able to see them and a speaker make them hear. The sun will be brought near to them and people will experience such sorrow and distress that they will not be able to bear or endure it. The people will say, ‘Do you not see what has come to you? Why do you not look for someone to intercede with your Lord on your behalf?’ People will say to one another, ‘You must have Adam!’ They will come to Adam, peace be upon him, and say, ‘You are the father of mankind. Allah created you with His hand and breathed some of His spirit into you and He ordered the angels to prostrate to you. He made you dwell in the Garden. Will you not intercede with your Lord on our behalf? Do you not see what we are suffering?’ Adam will say, ‘My Lord is angry today with such anger as has never existed before nor will again. He forbade me the Tree and I disobeyed. O my soul! My soul! My soul! Go to someone else. Go to Nuh.’

“They will go to Nuh and say, ‘O Nuh! You are the first of the Messengers to be sent to the people of the earth and Allah called you a thankful slave. Intercede with your Lord on our behalf Do you not see what has happened to us?’ He will say, ‘My Lord is angry today with such anger as has never existed before nor will again. I made a supplication on behalf of my people. O my soul! My soul! My soul! Go to someone else! Go to Ibrahim.’

“They will go to Ibrahim and say, ‘O Ibrahim! You are the Prophet of Allah and His close friend among the people of the earth. Intercede with your Lord on our behalf. Do you not see what we are suffering?’ He will say to them, ‘My Lord is angry today with such anger as has never existed before nor will again. I TOLD THREE LIES (And Abu Hayyan mentioned them in the hadith.). O my soul! My soul! My soul! Go to someone else. Go to Musa.’

“They will go to Musa and say, ‘O Musa, you are the Messenger of Allah. Allah preferred you with His message and His Word above all other people. Intercede with your Lord for us. Do you not see what we are suffering?’ He will say, ‘My Lord is angry today with such anger as has never existed before nor will again. I killed a soul which I was not commanded to kill. Go to someone else. Go to ‘Isa.’

“They will go to ‘Isa and say, ‘O ‘Isa! You are the Messenger of Allah and His Word which He cast to Maryam and a spirit from Him. You spoke to people while in the cradle. Intercede with your Lord on our behalf. Do you not see what we are suffering?’ ‘Isa will say, ‘My Lord is angry today with such anger as has never existed before nor will again,’ AND HE DID NOT MENTION A SIN. ‘O my soul! My soul! My soul! Go to someone else. Go to Muhammad.’ (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, 68. Book of Tafsir http://bewley.virtualave.net/bukhari31.html; emphasis mine)

{It is interesting that Muhammad disqualifies Jesus from being able to intercede for others when he acknowledges that Christ is without any sin, unlike both the true prophets and himself. Muhammad knew himself enough to recognize that he was a transgressor who could never lay claim to being sinless.}

The above narrative sufficiently refutes the Muslim lie that these were not serious transgressions since Muhmmad himself appealed to these very lies as the reason why Abraham shall be prevented from interceding!

Hence, it is the Quran and sunnah that falsely attribute heinous sins and evil actions to God’s true prophets and the faithful, transgressions that God’s true Word, the Holy Bible, denies that these righteous servants ever committed.

FURTHER READING

Islam and the Sins of the Prophets