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Which Koran?
by Ibn Warraq (Feb. 2008)
"It is an extraordinary thing that we still have no critical text of the Qur`an
for common use'
--- Arthur Jeffery, 1937 [1]
There is no such thing as the Koran. There is no, and there never has been a,
textus receptus ne varietur of the Holy Book of the Muslims. We have two kinds
of evidence for this claim. One which comes from Muslims themselves. Many
Classical Muslim scholars-Koranic commentators, collectors of hadith, lexica
and Qirä'ät books, for example - have acknowledged not only that many verses
revealed to Muhammad have been lost, and hence the Koran that we possess is
incomplete, but also that the Koran assembled, whether by Abü Bakr, `Umar, `Alï
or `Uthmän, is capable of being read in different ways, in other words that
variants exist. There are a number of hadiths that recount "the loss,
withdrawal, or forgetting of this or that `verse' said to have been revealed to
the Prophet but not figuring"[2] in the Koran as it now exists. The other comes
from extant Koranic manuscripts, inscriptions and coins.
HADITH ON THE INCOMPLETNESS OF THE KORAN, VERSES MISSING, MUHAMMAD`S FAULTY
MEMORY
It is admitted by certain Muslim scholars that the Koran as we know it is
incomplete:
Al-Suyütï, Itqän fï `ulüm al-Qur'än, 2 vols., in 1, Halabï, Cairo, 1935 / 1354
, Pt.2 , p.25.
"`Abdulläh b. `Umar reportedly said, `Let none of you say, "I have got the
whole of the Koran." How does he know what all of it is? Much of the Koran
has gone [Arabic: Dahaba]. Let him say instead, "I have got what has
survived."' [3]
This sentiment is echoed by a hadith in Al-Sijistänï, `Abd Alläh b.Sulaymän
b.al-Ash`ath, Abü Bakr Ibn Abï Däwüd 's Kitäb al-Masähif:[4]
"`Umar b.al Khattäb enquired about a verse of the Book of God. On being
informed that it had been in the possession of so-andso who had been killed in
the Yemäma wars, `Umar exclaimed the formula expressing loss, `We are God's and
unto Him is our return.' `Umar gave the command and the Qur'än was collected.
He was the first to collect the Qur'än."
Clearly, many verses were lost when those Companions who had memorised parts of
the divine revelation perished during the Yemama wars.
Once again from Al-Sijistänï, `Abd Alläh b.Sulaymän b.al-Ash`ath, Abü Bakr Ibn
Abï Däwüd ''s Kitäb al Masähif:[5]
"Zuhrï reports, `We have heard that many Qur'än passages were revealed but that
those who had memorised them fell in the Yemäma fighting. Those passages had
not been written down and, following the deaths of those who knew them, were no
longer known; nor had Abü Bakr, nor `Umar nor `Uthmän as yet collected the
texts of the Qur'än.[6] Those lost passages were not to be found with anyone
after the deaths of those who had memorised them. This, I understand, was one
of the considerations which impelled them to pursue the Qur'än during the reign
of Abü Bakr, committing it to sheets for fear that there should perish in
further theatres of war men who bore much of the Qur'än which they would take
to their grave with them on their fall, and which, with their passing, would
not be found with any other."
Here is Bukhärï on a certain verse that used to be recited as a part of the
Koran but was somehow "cancelled ":
Bukhärï. al-Sahih. Vol.5 Book LXIV: Al-Maghäzï, Chapter 29 Hadith 4090 p.254.[7]
"Narrated Anas bin Mälik: The tribes of Ri `l, Dhakwän, `Usaiyya and Banï
Lihyän asked Alläh's Messenger to provide them with some men to support them
against their enemy. He therefore provided them with seventy men from the Ansär
whom we used to call Al-Qurrä' in their lifetime. They used to collect wood by
daytime and offer Salät (prayer) at night. When they were at the well of
Ma`üna, the infidels killed them by betraying them. When this news reached the
Prophet, he said Al-Qunüt for one month in the morning Salät (prayer), invoking
evil upon some of the Arab tribes, upon Ri `l, Dhakwän, `Usaiyya and Banï
Liùyän. We used to read a verse of the Qur'än revealed in their connection, but
later the verse was cancelled. It was: "convey to our people on our behalf the
information that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us, and has made
us pleased." Anas bin Mälik added: Alläh's Prophet said Al- Qunüt for one
month in the morning Salät (prayer), invoking evil upon some of the Arab
tribes, upon Ri `l, Dhakwän, `Usaiyya and Banï Lihyän. Anas added: Those
seventy Ansärï men were killed at the well of Ma`üna."
Both the Koran [LXXXVII,6-7] and certain hadiths imply that Muhammad himself
was capable of forgetting some verses:
Bukhärï, al-Sahih. Vol.6, Book LXVI Kitäb Fadä'il l-Qur'än, Chapter 25, Hadith
5037, p.449:
"Narrated `Ä'isha: The Prophet heard a man reciting the Qur'än in the mosque,
and he said, `May Allah bestow His Mercy upon him, as he has reminded me
such-and-such verses of such-and-such sura."
Narrated Hishäm: (The same hadith, adding): which I missed from such and such
sura.
Bukhärï. al-Sahih. Vol.6, Book LXVI Kitäb Fadä'il l-Qur'än, Chapter 25, Hadith
5038, p.449 [See also Muslim, Sahih Vol.1 Chapter CCLXXIV, Hadiths: 1720 &
1721, p.456.]
"Narrated `Ä'isha: Allah's Messenger heard a man reciting the Qur'än at night,
and said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy on him, as he has reminded me of
such-and-such verses of such -and such a Surah, which I was caused to forget."
Bukhärï. al-Sahih. Vol. 6, Book LXVI Kitäb Fadä'il l-Qur'än, Chapter 25, Hadith
5039, p.449
"Narrated `Abdulläh: The Prophet said, "Why does anyone of the people say, 'I
have forgotten such and such verses (of the Qur'än )?' He, in fact, is caused
to forget."
Muslim, Sahih. Vol.1 Kitäb al- al-Salät, Chapter CCLXXIX Hadith 1724, p.457.[8]
"`Abdullah reported Allah's Messenger (may be peace be upon him) as saying:
What a wretched person is he amongst them who says: I have forgotten such and
such a verse. (He should instead of using this expression say): I have been
made to forget it. Try to remember the Qur'än for it is more apt to escape from
men's minds than a hobbled camel."
Sunan Abü Däwüd: Book II: Kitäb al-Salät, Chapter 347 Number 1015 Vol. I,
pp.260-261.[9]
"Narrated `Abd Allah ibn Mas`üd: The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him)
offered prayer. The version of the narrator `Ibrähïm goes: I do not know
whether he increased or decreased (the rak`ahs of prayer). When he gave the
salutation, he was asked: Has something new happened in the prayer, Apostle of
Allah? He said: What is it? They said: You prayed so many and so many
(rak`ahs). He then relented his foot and faced the Qiblah and made two
prostrations. He then gave the salutation. When he turned away (finished the
prayer), he turned his face to us and said: Had anything new happened in
prayer, I would have informed you. I am only a human being and I forget just as
you do; so when I forget, remind me, and when any of you is in doubt about his
prayer he should aim at what is correct, and complete his prayer in that
respect, then give the salutation and afterwards make two prostrations."
If the Prophet was capable of forgetting, then it is not at all surprising that
his companions also avow to lapses of memory. Abü Müsä, for instance, confesses:
[Muslim, Sahih. Kitäb al- Zakät Vol.2, Hadith: 2286, pp.602 -603]
"Abü Harb b.Abu al-Aswad reported on the authority of his father that Abü Müsä
al-Ash`arï sent for the reciters of Basra. They came to him and they were three
hundred in number. They recited the Qur'än and he said: You are among the best
among the inhabitants of Basra, for you are the reciters among them. So
continue to recite it. (But bear in mind) that your reciting for a long time
may not harden your hearts as were hardened the hearts of those before you. We
used to recite a surah which resembled in length and severity to Surah Barä'at.
I have forgotten it with the exception of this which I remember out of it: "If
there were two valleys full of riches, for the son of Adam, he would long for a
third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son of Adam but dust."
And we used to recite a surah which resembled one of the surahs of
Mushabbihät,[10] and I have forgotten it, but remember (this much) out of it:
"O people who believe, why do you say that which you do not practise" (LXI, 2)
and "that is recorded in your necks as a witness (against you) and you would be
asked about it on the Day of Resurrection" (XVII, 13).
Mälik in his Muwatta also recounts how certain verses concerning prayers are
missing from the Koran as we know it:
Mälik Muwatta Book I: Kitäb al Salät Chapter 78, Hadith 307 p.64.[11]
Abü Yünus, freedman of `Ä'ishah, Mother of the Believers, reported: `Ä'ishah
ordered me to transcribe the Holy Qur'än and asked me to let her know when I
should arrive at the verse (II, 238)
häfizü `alä s-salawäti wa-s-Saläti-l-wustä wa qümü li-l-lähi qänitïn (Guard
strictly your (habit of) prayers, especially the Middle Prayer;[12] and stand
before God in a devout (frame of mind).)
When I arrived at that verse, I informed her and she ordered: Write in this way:
häfizü `alä s-salawäti wa-s-Saläti-l-wustä wa-s-Saläti l-`asri wa qümü
li-l-lähi qänitïn (Guard strictly your (habit of) prayers, especially the
Middle Prayer and the `aær prayer and stand before God in a devout (frame of
mind).)
She added that she had heard it so from the Apostle of Allah (mpbuh).
Mälik has another hadith very similar to the above but this time with Hafsah
making the addition to the Koranic verse: Mälik. Muwatta Book I: Kitäb al
Salät Chapter 78, Hadith 308 pp.64-65.
STONING VERSES
The above is a clear acknowledgement that certain passages of verses revealed
to the Prophet and memorised by his companions have been irrevocably lost. One
such passage lost [left out deliberately] from the Koran but preserved in the
hadith is the verse concerning stoning to death for adultery. The Sharia
prescribes the penalty for adultery as death by stoning which conflicts with
the penalty mentioned in the Koran XXIV.2, "The adulteress and the adulterer,
flog each one of them one hundred strokes." Verse 15 of Surah IV is also taken
to apply to adultery; women found guilty of adultery were to be confined "in
quarters until death release them or God appoint a way for them." The need to
explain this contradiction between the Koran and actual practice led to the
invention of hadith sanctioning the latter. John Burton has argued that the
story about the verse of stoning was put into circulation by the followers of
Shäfi`ï, "who did not accept that a sunna can abrogate a Quranic revelation and
were forced to find a source with higher authority for the lawfulness of
stoning for fornication."[13]
Muslim, Sahih, Kitäb al-Hudüd Chapter DCLXXXI Hadith 4194, p.1100.
"`Abd Alläh b. al-`Abbäs reported that `Umar b. al-Khattäb sat on the pulpit of
Allah's Messenger and said: Verily Allah sent Muhammad with truth and He sent
down the Book upon him, and the verse of stoning was included in what was sent
down to him. We recited it, retained it in our memory and understood it.
Allah's Messenger awarded the punishment of stoning to death [to the married
adulterer and adulteress] and, after him, we also awarded the punishment of
stoning. I am afraid that, with the lapse of time, the people (may forget it)
and may say: We do not find the punishment of stoning in the Book of Allah, and
thus go astray by abandoning this duty prescribed by Allah. Stoning is a duty
laid down in Allah's Book for married men and women who commit adultery when
proof is established, or if there is pregnancy, or a confession."
Bukhärï. al-Sahih. Vol. 8, Book 86: Kitäb al-Hudüd Chapter 31, Hadith: 6830
p431.
"Allah sent Muhammad (saw) with the Truth and revealed the Holy Book to him,
and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the Rajam (the stoning of
married persons, male and female, who commit adultery) and we did recite this
Verse and understood and memorized it. Allah's Apostle (saw) did carry out the
punishment of stoning and so did we after him. I am afraid that after a long
time has passed, somebody will say, 'By Allah, we do not find the Verse of the
Rajam in Allah's Book', and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation
which Allah has revealed."
Ibn Ishäq`s biography of Muhammad has `Umar saying, "Verily stoning in the book
of God is a penalty laid on married men and women who commit adultery, if proof
stands or pregnancy is clear or confession is made."[14]
The hadith collection of Mälik confirms that there was indeed a verse
concerning stoning that is missing from the actual Koran.
Mälik Muwatta Book XXIX: Kitäb al-Hudüd, Chapter 493, Hadith 1519:
Mälik related to me from Näfi` that `Abd Alläh ibn `Umar said, "The Jews came
to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and
mentioned to him that a man and woman from among them had committed adultery.
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked them,
'What do you find in the Torah about stoning?' They said, 'We make their wrong
action known and flog them. `Abd Allah ibn Saläm said, 'You have lied! It has
stoning for it, so bring the Torah.' They spread it out and one of them placed
his hand over the ayat of stoning. Then he read what was before it and what was
after it. `Abd Allah ibn Saläm told him to lift his hand. He lifted his hand
and there was the ayat of stoning. They said, 'He has spoken the truth,
Muhammad. The ayat of stoning is in it.' So the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, gave the order and they were stoned."
Mälik Muwatta Book XXIX: Kitäb al-Hudüd, Chapter 493, Hadith 1520.
Mälik related to me from Yahyä b.Sä`id from Sa`ïd ibn al-Musayyab that a man
from the Aslam tribe came to Abü Bakr as-Siddïq and said to him, "I have
committed adultery." Abu Bakr said to him, "Have you mentioned this to anyone
else?" He said, "No." Abü Bakr said to him, "Then cover it up with the veil of
Allah. Allah accepts tawba from his slaves." His self was still unsettled, so
he went to `Umar b. al-Khattäb. He told him the same as he had said to Abü
Bakr, and `Umar told him the same as Abü Bakr had said to him. His self was
still not settled so he went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, and said to him, "I have committed adultery," insistently. The
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, turned away from
him three times. Each time the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, turned away from him until it became too much. The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, questioned his family, "Does
he have an illness which affects his mind, or is he mad?" They said, "Messenger
of Allah, by Allah, he is well." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, "Unmarried or married?" They said, "Married,
Messenger of Allah." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, gave the order and he was stoned.
Mälik Muwatta Book XXIX: Kitäb al-Hudüd, Chapter 493, Hadith 1522.
Mälik related to me that Ibn Shihäb informed him that a man confessed that he
had committed adultery in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, and he testified against himself four times, so the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave the order and
he was stoned.
Ibn Shihäb said, "Because of this a man is to be taken for his own confession
against himself."
Mälik Muwatta Book XXIX: Kitäb al-Hudüd, Chapter 493, Hadith 1523.
Mälik related to me from Yaqüb ibn Zayd ibn Talha from his father Zayd ibn
Talha that `Abd Allah ibn Abï Mulayka informed him that a woman came to the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and informed him
that she had committed adultery and was pregnant. The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to her, "Go away until you give
birth." When she had given birth, she came to him. The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to her, "Go away until you have
suckled and weaned the baby." When she had weaned the baby, she came to him. He
said, "Go and entrust the baby to someone." She entrusted the baby to someone
and then came to him. He gave the order and she was stoned.
Mälik Muwatta Book XXIX: Kitäb al-Hudüd, Chapter 493, Hadith 1524.
Mälik related to me from Ibn Shihäb from Ubayd Allah ibn `Abd Allah ibn `Utba
ibn Mas`üd that Abü Hurayra and Zayd ibn Khälid al-Juhanï informed him that
two men brought a dispute to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace. One of them said, "Messenger of Allah! Judge between us by the
Book of Allah!" The other said, and he was the wiser of the two, "Yes,
Messenger of Allah. Judge between us by the Book of Allah and give me
permission to speak." He said, "Speak." He said, "My son was hired by this
person and he committed fornication with his wife. He told me that my son
deserved stoning, and I ransomed him for one hundred sheep and a slave-girl.
Then I asked the people of knowledge and they told me that my son deserved to
be flogged with one hundred lashes and exiled for a year, and they informed me
that the woman deserved to be stoned." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "By him in whose Hand myself is, I will judge
between you by the Book of Allah. As for your sheep and slave girl, they should
be returned to you. Your son should have one hundred lashes and be exiled for a
year." He ordered Unays al-Aslamï to go to the wife of the other man and to
stone her if she confessed. She confessed and he stoned her.
`Ä'ishah has an original explanation as to how the stoning verse came to be
omitted:
"The stoning verse and another verse were revealed and recorded on a sheet
(sahïfa) which was placed for safe-keeping under her bedding. When the Prophet
fell ill and the household were preoccupied with nursing him, a domestic animal
got in from the yard and gobbled up the sheet." [15]
SUCKLING VERSE
Muslim, Sahih Chapter DLXV: Kitäb al-Nikäh Hadith 3421
"Narrated `Ä'ishah: It had been revealed in the Qur'än that ten clear sucklings
make the marriage unlawful, then it was abrogated (and substituted) by five
sucklings and Allah's Apostle (pbuh) died and it was before that time (found)
in the Qur'än (and recited by the Muslims)."
DIFFERENT READINGS ALLOWED BY PROPHET: SEVEN READINGS
Various hadiths recount how the Koran was revealed to the Prophet in seven
different ways, in Arabic Sab`atu ahruf. The word ahruf is often translated as
'seven sets of
readings' or sometimes 'dialects,' though strictly speaking ahruf is simply the
plural of harf meaning "letter." By changing the inflections and accentuations
of words, it is claimed, the Koranic text may be read in the seven dialects of
the Quraysh, Ta'i, Hawäzin , Yaman , Saqïf , Hudhayl and Tamïm. More than
forty interpretations have been offered for this enigmatic word.[16]
Bukhärï. al-Sahih. Vol.6 Book LXVI: Kitäb Fad'il l-Qur'än, Chapter 5, Hadith
4992 p.428.
Narrated `Umar b. al-Khattäb: I heard Hishäm bin Hakïm bin Hizäm reciting
Surat-al-Furqän in a way different to that of mine. Allah's Messenger had
taught it to me (in a different way). So, I was about to quarrel with him
(during the prayer) but I waited till he finished, then I tied his garment
round his neck and seized him by it and brought him to to Allah`s Messenger and
said, "I have heard him reciting Surat-al- Furqän in a way different to the
way you taught it to me." The Prophet ordered me to release him and asked
Hishäm to recite it. When he recited it, Allah's Messenger said, "It was
revealed in this way." He then asked me to recite it. When I recited it, he
said, "It was revealed in this way. The Qur'än has been revealed in seven
different ways, so recite it in the way that is easier for you."
Bukhärï, al-Sahih Vol. 6 Book LXVI: Kitäb Fada'il l-Qur'än, Chapter 5, Hadith
4991 pp. 427-428.
Narrated `Abdullah bin `Abbäs: Allah's Messenger said, "Gabriel recited the
Qur'än to me in one way. Then I requested him (to read it in another way), and
continued asking him to recite it in other ways, and he recited it in several
ways till he ultimately recited it in seven different ways."
If we do interpret these hadiths to mean merely differences of pronunciation, a
question of different dialects - if truth be told, we have no idea what they
really mean - we must distinguish them, however, from the variants recorded by
Ibn Mas`üd, Ubayy Ibn Ka`b and others which testify to real differences of
substance and content, differences in the consonantal text, often lending
different meanings to the Koranic text. The latter could not be dismissed as
differences in pronunciation.
Ibn Mujähid (died 935 C.E.), the influential Imam of the readers in Baghdad,
basing himself on the above Hadith, banned the use of the codex of Ibn Mas`üd
and other uncanonical readings, and recognized seven readers as authorities. He
was supported by the government, and the courts. Some scholars, such as Ibn
Shannabüdh (died 939 C.E.), were literarily flogged into submission, others
were compelled, such as Ibn Miqsam (died 944 C.E.) to give up their own
readings. To add to the confusion, each of the accepted seven readings was
transmitted independently by two transmitters, giving us the following schema:
District Reader First Transmitter (Rawi)
Second Transmitter (Rawi)
Medina Näfi` (d.785) Warsh (812 )
Qälün (835)
Mecca Ibn-Kathïr (737) al-Bazzï (854)
Qunbul (903)
Damascus Ibn- `Ämir (736) Hishäm (859) Ibn-Dhakwän
(856)
Basra Abü `Amr (770) ad-Dürï (860)
as-Süsï (874)
Kufa `Asim (744) Hafs (805)
Shu`ba (809)
Kufa Hamza (772) Khalaf (843)
Khalläd (835)
Kufa al-Kisä'ï (804) ad- Dürï (860)
Abü-l-Härith (854)
However not all Muslim scholars accepted the restriction to these seven
readers, some spoke of ten readers (each with two transmitters), while others
spoke of fourteen. We may tabulate these as follows:
The Three After The Seven
District Reader First Transmitter
Second Transmitter
Medina Abü-Ja`far (747) `Ïsä Ibn Wirdän (776) Abü l-Rabï` ibn
Jummäz (786)
Basra Ya`qüb al-Hadramï (820) Ruways (852)[17] Rawù ibn `Abd-al-Mu'min
(848)
Kufa Khalaf (843) Ishäq al-Warräq (899) Idrïs al-Haddäd
(904)
The Four After The Ten
Mecca Ibn Muhaysin (740) al-Bazzï (854) Ibn Shannabüdh
(939)
Basra al-Yazïdï (817) al-Baghdädï (849) Abü Ja`far al-Baghdädï
(915)
Basra al-Hasan al-Basrï (728) al-Balkhï l- Baghdädï (806) al-Dürï
(860)
Kufa al-A `mash (765) al-Basrï (981) Shannabüdh l- Baghdädï
(998)
Western scholars have yet to make a systematic study of the entire problem of
these readings. Scholars sometimes omit to note that books composed on the
Eight Readers, the Eleven Readers, the Thirteen Readers include Readers not
mentioned in the above lists.Thus the Raudat al-Huffaz of al-Mu`addil includes
the readings of Humayd b.Qays , Ibn as- Sumayfi` and Talha b.Musarrif. The
Kämil of al-Hudhalï is said to have contained readings of forty extra
Readers.[18] Other writers who have preserved old variants representing a
different type of consonantal text from that of the Uthmanic text include al-
`Ukbarï (1219) of Baghdad, Ibn Khälawayh (980) of Aleppo, and Ibn Jinnï
(1002).[19] The Fihrist of al-Nadïm lists a host of readers "with odd
systems,"[20] organised geographically. Thus the people of al-Madinah boasted
five readers with their own readings; the people of Makkah had four readers
with their own readings, the people of Basrah, five; the people of al-Kufah,
five; the people of al-Sham, three; the people of al-Yaman, one, and so on. Not
only were there disagreements amongst the seven primary readers as recorded by
Abü Tähir in his book "The Disagreement between Abü `Amr and al-Kisä'ï " but
also between the primary readers and their own transmitters as recorded in the
same author`s "The Disagreement between the Adherents of `Asim and Hafs ibn
Sulaymän " [21]. Ibn Miqsam (died 944 C.E.) and Al-Naqqäsh (died 962 C.E.)
both expressed their disagreement with the Seven in books entitled "The Seven
with their Defects."[22] Al-Nadïm also lists more than thirty books[23] that
discuss the ambiguous or obscure passages in the Koran; presumably these
ambiguities can only be resolved by one or other of the countless readings
proposed by the hundred or more readers.
In the fourth Islamic century we have the works of Ibn al-Anbärï , Ibn Ashta
and Al-Sijistänï `Abd Alläh b.Sulaymän b.al-Ash`ath Abü Bakr Ibn Abï Däwüd ,
all of whom wrote works on the Old Codices, though only that of Al-Sijistänï,
`Abd Alläh b.Sulaymän b.al-Ash`ath, Abü Bakr Ibn Abï Däwüd has survived in its
entirety.[24]
VARIANTS
The Arabic term qirä'a can mean recitation (either of single parts of the Koran
or the entire Koran) , or a particular reading of a passage of the Koran, that
is, a variant (plural = qirä'ät) or even a particular reading of the entire
Koran. In the latter case, we often speak of the qirä'a of Ibn Mas`üd.[25]
As Jeffery[26] has pointed out, we cannot easily dismiss these variants, "for
its quite clear that the text which `Uthman canonized was only one out of many
rival texts, and we needs must investigate what went before the canonical
text
.[T]here is grave suspicion that `Uthman may have seriously edited the
text that he canonized. It was therefore worth attempting an assembling of all
the material that has survived from the rival texts
.Some of the variants seem
linguistically impossible, and indeed are occasionally noted as such in the
sources which quote them. Some give one the impression of being inventions of
later philologers who fathered their inventions on these early authorities The
great majority, however, merit consideration as genuine survivals from the
pre-`Uthmanic stage of the text, though only after they have passed the most
searching criticism of modern scholarship by scholars approaching them from
different points of view, shall we be free to use them in the attempted
reconstruction of the history of the text."
Jeffery came across by chance the manuscript of Al-Sijistänï, `Abd Alläh
b.Sulaymän b.al-Ash`ath , Abü Bakr Ibn Abï Däwüd 's Kitäb al -Masähif, "which
studied the state of the Qur'än text prior to its canonization in the standard
text of `Uthmän."[27] Jeffery, drawing upon Abï Däwüd `s work, and other
sources, established a list of fifteen primary codices and thirteen secondary
ones. That there were indeed written codices which differed from the so-called
Uthmanic text, or differed from manuscript to manuscript is confirmed by
al-Nadïm. The tenth century scholar,[28] al-Nadïm, in his celebrated work of
reference, al-Fihrist, gives a list of books devoted to discrepancies in the
various Koranic manuscripts: [29]
Books Composed about Discrepancies of the [Quranic] Manuscripts
The Discrepancies between the Manuscripts of the People of al-Madïnah,
al-Küfah, and al-Basrah, according to al-Kisä'ï ; book of Khalaf, Discrepancies
of the Manuscripts; Discrepancies of the People of al-Küfah, al-Basrah, and
Syria concerning the Manuscripts, by al-Farra'; Discrepancies between the
Manuscripts, by Abu Da'ud al-Sijistani; book of al-Mada'ini about the
discrepancies between the manuscripts and the compiling of the Qur'än;
Discrepancies between the Manuscripts of Syria, al-Hijäz, and al- `Iräq, by Ibn
`Ämir al-Yahsubï Amir al-Yahsubi; book of Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Rahmän
al-Isbahänï about discrepancy of the manuscripts."
The written codex of Ibn Mas`üd (died 653 C.E.) was well regarded in Kufa
whereas the codex of Ubayy ibn Ka`b (died 649 C.E. or 654 C.E.) was highly
esteemed in most parts of Syria. However, we do not possess any of the early
codices, the variant readings of Ibn Mas`üd or Ubayy ibn Ka`b have only come
down to us in the early scholarly literature.
Ibn Mas`üd:
"I have seen a number of Quranic manuscripts, which the transcribers recorded
as manuscripts of Ibn Mas`üd. No two of the Quranic copies were in agreement
"
The Fihrist of al-Nadïm.
Abdullah b. Mas`üd was a Companion of Muhammad, and claimed to have learnt
seventy suras directly from the mouth of the Prophet. According to tradition,
Ibn Mas`üd was the first to teach Koran reading. Later in Küfah, he became
famous as a traditionist and as an authority on the Koran. His Codex was
favoured by the Shï`a.
There are several remarkable features about Ibn Mas`üd's codex. First, it did
not contain Suras I (the Fätihah ) and the last two suras, Suras CXIII and CXIV
, known as the Mu`awwidhatän (since the the principal word in them is A`üdhu
(I take refuge). Second the order and even the name of the suras differed
considerably from the `Uthman recension. The two lists that give the order of
the suras do not agree either. The earlier list, that of al-Nadïm in the
Fihrist,[30] leaves out the suras 1,15,18,20,27,42,99,113,114., while the list
in the Itqän of as-Suyütï leaves out suras 1,113,114, 50,57,69. [31]
Here we give some of the variants from Ibn Mas`üd as collected by Arthur
Jeffery from written sources, since we do not possess any manuscripts of Ibn
Mas`üd `s version. The verses are quoted according to the Kufan verse numbering
given in the 1342 Cairo edition of the Koran followed by the number of the
verse in Flügel`s edition; where Flügel`s numbering agrees with the Kufan
numbering only one verse number is given. Jeffery prefaces his list of Ibn
Mas`üd`s variants with these explanatory notes:
"The variant readings which follow are necessarily arranged according to the
order of the present official text [1342 Cairo edition]. Sometimes in the
sources the variant is expressly said to come from the Codex of Ibn Mas`üd.
More often it is merely given as a reading (ùarf or qirä'a) of Ibn Mas`üd.
Occasionally also readings are given as coming from the Companions of Ibn
Mas`üd, but as these obviously represent the tradition as to his text they are
included here."[32]
The Koran according to Warsh, and other versions of the Koran available in 2005.
It is often a surprise for even educated Muslims to learn that there are
printed Korans in the Islamic world that differ from one another. The extreme
Muslim position as to the contents, form and status of the Koran is best
represented by Maududi [Mawdüdï, 1903- 1979], the very influential
Indo-Pakistani Islamist. He wrote, "The Qur'än
exists exactly as it had been
revealed to the Prophet; not a word - nay, not a dot of it - has been changed.
It is available in its original text and the Word of God has now been preserved
for all times to come."[33] He also wrote, " The Qur'än that we possess today
corresponds exactly to the edition which was prepared on the orders of Abü Bakr
and copies of which were officially sent, on the orders of `Uthmän, to various
cities and provinces. Several copies of this original edition of the Qur'än
still exist today. Anyone who entertains any doubt as to the authenticity of
the Qur'än satisfy himself by obtaining a copy of the Qur'än from any
bookseller, say in West Africa, and then have a häfiz (memorizer of the
Qur'än) recite it from memory, compare the two, and then compare these with the
copies of the Qur'än published through the centuries since the time of `Uthmän.
If he detects any discrepancy, even in a single letter or syllable, he should
inform the whole world of his great discovery!
"Not even the most sceptical person has any reason to doubt that the Qur'än as
we know it today is identical with the Qur'än which Muhammad (peace be on him)
set before the world; this is an unquestionable, objective, historical fact,
and there is nothing in human history on which the evidence is so
overwhelmingly strong and conclusive. To doubt the authenticity of the Qur'än
is like doubting the existence of the Roman Empire, the Mughals of India or
Napoleon! To doubt historical facts like these is a sign of stark ignorance,
not a mark of erudition and scholarship." [34]
The above claims are rather grand and also rather foolish. I have indeed
gathered Korans from various parts of the world, and some of my results are
presented below. It turns out to be surprisingly easy to refute Maududi`s
hyperboles.
Broadly speaking, the printed Korans now available fall into two transmission
traditions: the Warsh transmission represents the Medinan tradition, and is
found in West and North-West Africa; the Hafs transmission stems from Kufa, and
is found in the rest of the Islamic world. The so-called standard Egyptian
edition of 1342 A.H. / 1924 C.E. is essentially the Hafs transmission, and is
the most widely used Koran in the Islamic world. However, as Brockett has
pointed out, "In the last decade
even in central Muslim countries like Saudi
Arabia and Qatar, texts differing considerably in orthography from the 1342
Cairo text have been printed under official approval."[35]
For the basis of comparison between the Hafs and Warsh transmissions I have
used the following Korans in Arabic acquired in the Islamic world in the last
ten years:
1. The Noble Qur`än. Arabic Text with English Translation by Dr Al-Hilali
and Dr.Muhsin Khan. King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur`än,
Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1419 A.H. / 1998 C.E. [Saudi Koran]
2. The Noble Qur`än, Arabic Text with English Translation by Dr Al-Hilali
and Dr.Muhsin Khan, Published by Maktaba Darul Qur'an Chitli Qabar, Delhi,
India, 1993. [Saudi Koran II]
3. The Holy Qur`än Arabic Text, English Translation and Commentary,
Maulana Muhammad Ali. Ahmadiyyah Anjuman Isha`at Islam, Lahore, Inc., Columbus,
Ohio USA 1995. [Muhammad Ali Koran]
4. The Holy Qur`än Text, Translation & Commentary Abdullah Yusuf Ali,
Lahore (Pakistan), Shaikh Muhammad Ashraf, Kashmiri Bazar, 1938 C.E. [Yusuf Ali
Koran]
5. Uthmanic Qur`än Published Istanbul (Turkey) Arabic Text only. 1414
A.H. / 1993 C.E. [Istanbul Koran]
6. The Noble Qur`än Published Tehran (Iran), Arabic Text only. Gulban
Chap. 1978 C.E. [Iranian Koran]
7. The Noble Qur`än. Published Lahore (Pakistan), Arabic Text with
Interlinear Urdu Translation. Taj Limited Company. 1956 C.E. [Taj Koran ].
8. The Noble Qur`än as Transmitted by Warsh, Arabic Text only. Dar al
Qadriya, Damascus, Syria, Beirut, Lebanon; Dar Ibn Kathir, Damascus / Beirut
1419 A.H. / 1998 C.E. [Warsh I]
9. The Noble Qur`än as Transmitted by Warsh, Arabic Text only. Dar
Al-Musahif Sharif. (No Date / No Place of Publication. Bought in Morocco in
1999) [Warsh II]
10. L'Interpretation du Coran (Texte et Explication) D'Apres Ibn Kathïr
Traduit par Fawzi Chaaban, Arabic Text with French Translation by Fawzi Chaaban
6 Vols. Dar el Fiker, Beyrouth Liban (Lebanon) 1998 [Lebanese]
11. The Noble Qur`än as Transmitted by Qälün Arabic Text only. Tunis
(Tunisia) 1981 [Qälün]
12. The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an Text and Explanatory Translation.
Marmaduke Pickthall. Distributed by The Muslim World League, U.N. Office, 300
East 44th Street, New York , N.Y. 10017. 1977. [MWL]
13. Corani Textus Arabicus, ad fidem librorum manu scriptorum et impressorum
et ad preacipuorum interpretum lectiones et auctoritatem recensuit indicesque
triginta sectionum et suratarum [Arabic Text only] Gustavus Fluegel Editio
Stereotypa C.Tauchnitzii. Lipsiae 1883 [New Edition The Gregg Press Inc., New
Jersey, USA . 1965] [Flügel]
READINGS ACCORDING TO HAFS AND WARSH
Variants in Extant Printed Korans from the Islamic World.
[1] I.4: Mäliki is written defectively with a dagger alif in the Saudi Koran
I. According to Muhammad Ali (see Koran number 3 in above list), there is a
world of difference between mälik and malik, the former signifying master and
the latter king; a master being more than a king. God is more than a king, and
hence "master" is the correct translation. Many early Koranic manuscripts do
not have the plene alif.
[2] I.6: As-siräta is written defectively with a dagger alif in the Saudi Koran
I. The verb hada is differently vowelled, ihdina in the Istanbul Koran but
ahdina in the Saudi Koran.
[3] II.72: faddära'tum is written defectively with a dagger alif in the M. Ali
Koran, while Warsh II has the scriptio plena, i.e. the alifs in faddära'tum are
made explicit. There is also a discrepancy in the verse numbering, II.72 as
opposed to II.71 respectively.
[4] II.125: The Hafs is in the Imperative ['attakhidhü], and means, "Take [as
your place of worship the place where Abraham stood]. The Warsh is in the
simple past ['attakhadhü], meaning "They have taken ..."
[5] II.132: Yusuf Ali has wa -wassä as opposed to wa-'awsä. i.e., Yusuf Ali
Koran lacks an alif after the wäw at the beginning of the verse. Both Warsh
and Yusuf Ali have 'Ibrähïmu written defectively. As Puin pointed out, it is
clear that in a certain phase of the orthographic development of Arabic, it was
no longer understood that Yä' in the Arabic script was nothing other than /a:/
The original pronunciation of Abrähäm had to be altered, according to which
Yä' now stood for / i :/ or / ay/ .[36]
[6] II.140: 'am taqülüna as opposed to 'am yaqülüna, giving the meaning "do you
say ...?" or " do they say ...? respectively.
[7] II.259: nunsizuhä , as opposed to nunsiruhä.
[8] III.13: yarawnahum (they saw them) as opposed to tarawnahum (you saw them).
This verse is a said to be a reference to the miracle of the battle of Badr,
when Muslims putatively defeated forces twice their own number. However, this
interpretation is much easier if we read the verb as saying "you saw them"
tarawnahum, as in the Warsh reading, and not yarawnahum (they saw them) as in
the Hafs reading. Warsh gives us a miracle, Hafs gives us a confusion of
pronouns. See discussion of this verse above, p.17.
[9] III.37: yä maryamu is written defectively with a dagger alif in the Yusuf
Ali Koran, the alif is made explicit in the Istanbul Koran.
[10] III.80 / 81:
wa'id 'akhada l-lähu mïtäqa -n-nabiyyina lamä 'ataytukum M.Ali
Koran III,80
wa-'ida 'akhada l-lähu mïtäqa n-nabiyyina lamä 'ataynäkum Warsh I :
III,81.
wa-'id / wa-'ida ; 'ataytukum / 'ataynäkum ; mïtäqa written
defectively in Warsh I, and notice the difference in verse numbering.
[11] III.133: wa -säri`ü [M. Ali Koran III, 132] as opposed to säri`ü
[Warsh I:III,133]
[12]. III.146 [M. Ali Koran] Hafs: Simple past tense giving the reading "fought
"[qätala], while Warsh I is in the passive, meaning "were killed" [qutila]: an
enormous difference in meaning. "And how many a prophet have there been a
number of devoted men who fought (beside him)" or "...who were killed beside
him." respectively.
[13]III, 158: lä 'ila as opposed to la'ila; the extra alif connected with läm
in Yusuf Ali is not read. lä is normally the negative particle, and if read as
such would give the reading "not to God;" it is read as "certainly to God."
[14]III, 167: lä 'attaba`näkum as opposed to la-t-taba`näkum . See note for
III, 158 above.
[15] V, 53 / V, 56. Yusuf Ali [V, 56, note the difference of verse numbering]
has wa-yaqülu, Warsh I [V, 53] lacks the wäw in front of yaqülu.
[16]V, 54 / V, 57. Yusuf Ali has [V, 57] yartadda, and Warsh I [V, 54]
yartadid.
[17] VII. 57 MWL Koran has bushran [Good News] and Warsh I Nushran [spread out
/ diffuse]
[18]IX, 47: lä 'awda`ü as opposed to la'awda`ü. See note to III, 158 above.
[19]IX, 107: wa-l-ladïna as opposed to 'ilìïna.
[20]XVIII, 36: minhä as opposed to minhumä.
[21]XXI, 4: Istanbul: qäla; M.Ali: qäla written defectively with dagger
alif; Warsh I: qul.
[22] XXI, 112: Istanbul: qäla ; M.Ali: qäla written defectively with dagger
alif; Warsh I: qul.
[23] XXIII, 8: wa-l-ladïna hum li-'amänätihim wa- `ahidihim rä`üna, written
defectively in Muhammad Ali Koran. The scriptio plena of the Istanbul Koran in
the writing of li-'amänätihim and rä`üna. Note li'amänätihim as opposed to
'alimänätihim Warsh II.
[24] XXIII, 112 M. Ali: qäla, written defectively, translated by M. Ali as "He
will say"; Warsh: qäla, written with scriptio plena.
[25] XXIII, 114 M. Ali: qäla, written defectively, translated by M. Ali as "He
will say"; Warsh: qäla, written with scriptio plena
[26] XXVI, 217 wa tawakkal [M. Ali] as opposed to fa-tawakkal [Warsh I]
[27] XXVII, 21: lä- adbahannahu [M. Ali], where lä is not be read as the
negative particle; la-'aìbahannahu [Flügel]. Ibn Khaldün wrote: "No attention
should be
paid in this connection to the assumption of certain incompetent (scholars)
that (the men around Muhammad) knew well the art of writing and that the
alleged discrepancies between their writing and the principles of orthography
are not discrepancies, as has been alleged, but have a reason. For instance,
they explain the addition of the alif in la-'adbahannahu "I shall indeed
slaughter him" as an indication that the slaughtering did not take place (lä -
adbahannahu). The addition of the yä' in bi-ayydin "with hands (power),"
[LI,47, see below at 29. LI,47] they explain as an indication that the divine
power is perfect. There are similar things based on nothing but purely
arbitrary assumptions. The only reason that caused them to (assume such things)
is their belief that (their explanations) would free the men around Muhammad
from the suspicion of deficiency, in the sense that they were not able to write
well. "[37]
[28] XXXVII, 68 lä 'ila [M. Ali, with extra alif] la-'ila [Iranian]
[29] XL, 26 'aw 'an [M. Ali] as opposed to wa- 'an [Warsh I]
[30] XLII, 30 mä 'asäbakum ...fa-bi-mä [ M.Ali , scriptio plena for the word
Æaæäbakum, using the alif, while Warsh I has the defective alif; Warsh has
bi-mä as opposed to fa-bi-mä in M. Ali]
[31 ]XLIII, 68 yä `ibädi [M. Ali] as opposed to yä`ibädï [Warsh I, note the
long ï] [32] LI, 47 bi-'aydin [M. Ali] as opposed to bi-'ayydin [Warsh I,
has an extra yäÆ]. See Ibn Khaldün's comments above at 24. XXVII, 21.
[33] LVII, 24: huwa l-ghaniyyu [M. Ali, has an extra word huwa] as opposed to
al-ghaniyyu [Warsh I].
[34] LXXII, 16
M. Ali: wa 'an lawi staqämu `alä t-tarïqati la- 'asqaynähum mä'an ghadaqan
Istanbul: Has the plene alif for both staqämu and 'asqaynähum
Saudi 2.: Lacks the word Æan before lawi staqämu; the latter word is also
written
defectively, with a dagger alif.
[35] LXXXV, 22 [M. Ali] mahfüzin as opposed to mahfüzun [Warsh I].
The M. Ali Koran has mahfüzin, the genitive, giving the meaning "It is a
glorious Koran on a preserved tablet." This is a reference to the fundamental
Muslim doctrine of the Preserved Tablet. But the Warsh transmission has the
nominative ending -un, and we get "It is a glorious Koran preserved on a
tablet." Did the doctrine arise out of the reading, or did the doctrine
influence the choice of the reading?
[next month: The Significance of Koranic Variation]
[1] A. Jeffery .Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur`an.The Old
Codices.Leiden: E.J.Brill , 1937, p 4.
[2] John Burton , The Collection of the Qur'an, Cambridge , Cambridge
University Press, 1977 , p. 231
[3] Al-Suyüåï, Itqän fï `ulüm al-Qur'än , 2 vols., in 1 , Ùalabï, Cairo , 1935
/ 1354 , Pt.2 , p.25 ; quoted in John Burton , The Collection of the Qur'än ,
Cambridge , Cambridge University Press , 1977 , p.117.
[4] Al-Sijistänï, `Abd Alläh b.Sulaymän b.al-Ash`ath, Abü Bakr Ibn Abï
Däwüd.'Kitäb al -Maæäùif, ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936 /1355 , p. 10 ; quoted
in Burton , op.cit., p.120.
[5] Al-Sijistänï, `Abd Alläh b.Sulaymän b.al-Ash`ath, Abü Bakr Ibn Abï Däwüd'.
Kitäb al -Maæäùif, ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936 /1355 , p.23 ; quoted in Burton
, op.cit., p.127.
[6] John Burton`s footnote: "The published text ought here to be amended: for
fa lammä jama`a Abü Bakr jama`a Abu Bakr, I propose to read: wa lammä yajma`
Abü Bakr, to follow: lam yuktab ", in John Burton, The Collection of the
Qur'an, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1977, p.253.
[7] Bukhärï. al-Sahih, Translated by Dr.Muhammad Muhsin Khan . 9 vols.
Darussalam Publishers: Riyadh , Saudi Arabia , 1997 ,Vol.5 Book LXIV
:Al-Maghäzï , Chapter 29 Hadith 4090 p.254.
[8] Muslim Sahih .Translated by `Abdul Ùamïd Æiddïqï. Kitäb Bhavan, New Delhi,
Revised Edn. 2000.
[9] Sunan Abü Däwüd . English translation with Explanatory Notes by Professor
Ahmad Hasan .3 vols. Kitab Bhavan , New Delhi , Reprinted 1997 .
[10] Mushabbiùät ("those which give praise"): those suras from the so-called
Middle Medinan period , LVII,LIX,LXI,LXII,LXIV, so-named because they begin
with the phrase sabbaùa or yusabbiùu li' lläh.
[11] Mälik Muwattä' Translated by Professor Muhammad Rahimuddin, Kitab Bhavan:
New Delhi, 5 ed. 2003.
[12] Middle Prayer sometimes translated as "the best or the most excellent
prayer". e.g. by Muhammad Ali .
[13] Article Zinä in E.I. 2nd Edn.
[14] Ibn Ishaq The Life of Muhammad , trans. A. Guillaume Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1955. p.684
[15] Burton p. 86, Burhän al Dïn al-Bäjï, Jawäb, MS Där al Kutub, Taimür
majämï` no.207, f. 15
[16] R.Blachère.Introduction au Coran. Paris:Maisonneuve & Larose, p.124
[17] Muhammad Ibn al-Mutawakkil .
[18] A. Jeffery .Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur`an. The Old
Codices. Leiden: E.J.Brill , 1937, p.2
[19] Ibid. p.2-3 . Jeffery gives the full references to their works .
[20] The Fihrist of al-Nadïm , trans. B. Dodge , New York: Columbia University
Press, 1970, Vol.1 p.68ff.
[21] Ibid., p.73.
[22] Ibid., p.74.
[23] Ibid., pp76-77.
[24] A. Jeffery .Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur`an. The Old
Codices .Leiden: E.J.Brill , 1937, p.10
[25] The entire section on variants has relied upon the terse article Kira`a
by R. Paret in the EI 2nd Edn.
[26] A. Jeffery Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur`an .The Old
Codices.Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1937 pp.ix-x.
[27] Ibid., p.vii
[28] Al-Nadïm was probably born about 935 C.E.
[29] The Fihrist of Al-Nadïm , trans. Bayard Dodge , New York :Columbia
University Press ,1970,Vol.1 p.79.
[30] The Fihrist of Al-Nadïm, trans. Bayard Dodge , New York :Columbia
University Press ,1970,Vol.1 pp.53-58.
[31] A. Jeffery. Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur`an. The Old
Codices. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1937 pp.22-23
[32] A .Jeffery .Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur'än. The Old
Codices .Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1937 pp.24
[33] Abul A`la Maududi .Towards Understanding Islam. International Islamic
Federation of Student Organizations Gary, Indiana , 1970. p.109
[34] Abul Ala Mawdudi .Towards Understanding the Qur'än , Vol.1, translated and
edited by Zafar Ishaq Ansari, Leicester (U.K.): The Islamic Foundation , 1988
, p.22
See also: Abul Ala Maududi , Introduction , The Holy Qur'än, Islamic
Foundation , U.K., 1975, p.xxxv .I have not personally verified this citation
which is quoted in Brother Mark, A Perfect Qur'än, 2000 [ No place of
publication or name of publisher given; place: probably U.K.] p.13 : "The
Qur'än , which is now in use all over the world , is the exact copy of the
Qur'än which was compiled by the order of Hadrat Abü Bakr and copies of which
were officially sent by Hadrat `Uthmän to different places. Even today many
very old copies are found in the big libraries in different parts of the world
and if anyone has any doubt as to whether the Qur'än has remained absolutely
safe and secure against every kind of change and alteration, he can compare any
copy of the Qur'än with any of these copies and reassure himself. Moreover, if
one gets a copy of the Qur'än from any bookseller, say, Algeria in Africa in
the West and compares it with a copy obtained from a bookseller, say, of Java
in the East, one will find both copies to be identical with each other and also
with the copies of the Qur'än made during the time of Hadrat `Uthmän. If even
then anyone has any doubt left in his mind, he is advised to take any copy of
the Qur'än from anywhere in the world and ask anyone, out of the millions who
know the Qur'än by heart, to recite it word for word from the beginning to the
end . He will find that the recitation conforms word for word to the written
text. This is a clear and irrefutable proof of the fact that the Qur'än which
is in use today is the same Qur'än which was presented to the world by Muhammad
(Allah`s peace be upon him). A sceptic might entertain a doubt about its
revelation from Allah, but none can have any doubt whatsoever regarding its
authenticity and immunity and purity from any and every kind of addition or
omission or alteration, for there is nothing so authentic in the whole human
history as this fact about the Qur'än that it is the same Qur'än that was
presented by the Holy Prophet to the World."
[35] A.Brockett .Studies in Two Transmissions of the Qur`än Doctorate Thesis,
University of St. Andrews, Scotland, 1984, p.13.
[36] Gerd R-Puin. Neue Wege der Koranforschung :II.Uber die Bedeutung der
altesten Koranfragmente aus Sanaa (Jemen) fur die Orthographiegeschichte des
Korans, Universitat des Saarlandes Magazin Forschung , 1 (1999), 37-40.
[37] Ibn Khaldün The Muqaddimah Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2 edn.
1967 [2nd printing 1980] Vol. 2, pp .382-383.
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