The Qur'an and Its Study. Adnan Zarzour

A. Hārūn, Quṭūf Adabiyyah, pp. 541–542.

      120.Al-Qurṭubī, ibid, vol. 1, p. 54.

      121.Al-Sakhāwī, Al-Wasīlah, p. 67. These words occur in Verse 259 of Surah 2, while the word tābūt occurs in Verse 248 of the same surah.

      122.Al-Bukhārī quotes Ibn ‘Abbās: ‘‘Ukāẓ, Mijannah and Dhūl-Majāz were in pre-Islamic days seasonal markets. When people embraced Islam, they felt uneasy about trading during the pilgrimage season. A verse was revealed which included the statement: “It is no sin for you to seek the bounty of your Lord.’ Ibn ‘Abbās said it adding “during the pilgrimage season”. Al-Bukhārī, Hadith no. 4519.

      123.This refers to the story of Moses when he met a sage to whom God vouchsafed special knowledge. The sage allowed Moses to accompany him on the condition that Moses would not ask him about anything strange he might see him doing until he gave him its explanation. One of the strange things the sage did was to deliberately cause some damage to a boat. Subsequently, the sage explained to Moses why he did those strange things. The full story is given in the Qur’an: Surah 18, Verses 60–82. The reason for damaging the boat was: ‘As for the boat, it belonged to some needy people who toiled upon the sea – and I desired to slightly damage it because behind them there was a king who was taking every boat by force’ (18:79).

      124.Ḥamzah and al-Kisā’ī, whose recitals are among the seven most authentic variant recitals of the Qur’an, adopt the second variant, fatathabbatū, while the other reading is adopted by the other five.

      125.Al-Qurṭubī, Tafsīr, vol. 1, p. 54. Also, Manāhil al-‘Irfān, vol. 1, p. 252. Awṣā was written in the Madinan and Syrian copies, while waṣṣā was used in the other copies.

      126.Al-Qurṭubī, Al-Jāmi‘ li-Aḥkām al-Qur’an, vol. 1, p. 54.

      127.Ibn Abī Dāwūd, Al-Maṣāḥif, pp. 241–242; Al-Nawawī, Al-Tibyān, p. 111. This book quotes Abu ‘Amr al-Dānī as saying: Most scholars maintain that ‘Uthmān wrote four copies and sent one each to Basrah, Kufah and Syria, retaining one in Madinah. See also: Al-Sakhāwī, Al-Wasīlah, pp. 74–75.

      128.Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī, Jāmi‘ al-Usūl fī Aḥādīth al-Rasūl, vol. 3, pp. 506–507; Ibn Abī Dāwūd, Al-Maṣāḥif, vol. 2, pp. 199–200.

      129.Al-Qurṭubī, Tafsīr, vol. 1, p. 53.

      130.Muslim, Hadith no. 2462; al-Bukharī, Hadith no. 5000.

      131.Ibn Abī Dāwūd, Al-Maṣāḥif, vol. 1, p. 195. Zayd embraced Islam before the Prophet’s arrival in Madinah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not allow him to join the army that fought the Battle of Badr because he was too young. He did, however, take part in the Battle of Uḥud and the rest of the battles that took place during the Prophet’s lifetime. Ibn Mas‘ūd was in old age at the time of making these copies of the Qur’an. He was one of the very early Muslims, and took part in the migration to Abyssinia and also emigrated to Madinah. He died in year 32 AH/653 CE. Zayd died in year 51 AH/672 CE, or before that.

      132.Abū Shāmah, Al-Murshid al-Wajīz, p. 65. Ibn Abī Dāwūd, ibid, vol. 1, p. 218.

      133.Ibn Abī Dāwūd, ibid, vol. 1, p. 202. Some historians mention that Ibn Mas‘ūd was a governor of Kufah during the reign of ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, and that ‘Uthmān subsequently replaced him. We do not believe, however, that this had anything to do with his anger. For had it been relevant, it counts in Ibn Mas‘ūd’s favour, given he later agreed with what ‘Uthmān did. See: ‘Umar Farrūokh, Tārīkh Ṣadr al-Islām wal-Dawlah al-Umawiyyah, p. 117.

      134.When we discuss the different recitals, we will show that many recitals that could not be accommodated in the written version adopted by ‘Uthmān remained and were transmitted simply because they had already been learnt and memorised. The copies made by ‘Uthmān could not stop a recital a Companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him) had heard from him and which he kept reading after the Prophet’s death. How come, then, that the verses or surahs alleged to have been part of the Qur’an and deleted by ‘Uthmān (may God be pleased with him) were memorised by hundreds if not thousands of people. On the other hand, the variant recitals, or the different pronunciations of certain words of the Qur’an were known to a much smaller number of people, and yet they have been retained and used to the present day. Had they disappeared, nothing of the Qur’an would have been lost. Can any rational person claim that the Prophet’s Companions were more meticulous about these variants and different pronunciations than about the Qur’an itself?

      135.Ibn Mas‘ūd said: ‘I learnt from the Prophet’s mouth 72 surahs, or 73 surahs, and I read before him from the beginning of Surah 2, The Cow, up to the end of verse 222.’ Abū Isḥāq said: ‘Ibn Mas‘ūd learnt the rest of the Qur’an under Mujamma‘ ibn Khārijah, of the Anṣār.’ Al-Qurṭubī, vol. 1, p. 58.

      136.Ibn Abī Dāwūd, Al-Masahif, vol. 1, pp. 195–196. There are several other versions of what Ibn Mas‘ūd said.

      137.In Surah 9 alone, the Prophet’s Companions are praised in verses 20–22, 40, 88–89 and 100.

      138.M. Draz, Introduction to the Qur’an, p. 17. Quotation: Noldeke, Geschichte des Korans, vol. 2, p. 93.

      139.M. Draz, ibid, pp. 17–18. Quotations: Leblois, Le Koran, p. 54. Muir, Life of Mahomet, cited in Barthelemy-St.-Hilaire, Mahomet et le Koran, p. 33.

      140.M. Draz, ibid, p. 17, quoting Mirza Alexandre Kazem, Journal Asiatique, Dec. 1843. This is a clear verdict that applies to their scholars who hold a different view or allege that some distortion was introduced into the Qur’an. Prominent among these was Muhammad Bāqir al-Majlisī who makes this claim in his Biḥār al-Anwār and Ḥusayn ibn Muhammad Taqī al-Ṭubrusī al-Nūrī (died 1320 AH/1902). The latter wrote a book entitled Faṣl al-Khitāb fī Ithbāt Taḥrīf Kitāb Rabb al-Arbāb ‘The Ultimate Proof of Distorting God’s Book]. In his book, al-Nūrī claims that this view was widely held by the early Shī‘ah scholars. He lists 1,100 statements endorsing this claim. He then said: ‘In the light of all that we have said and quoted, which is the result of my limited research, it is possible to say that this was widely held by the early scholars, while those who disagree were only a few who will be mentioned presently.’ He quotes al-Jazā’irī (died 1112 AH/1701 CE), taking this ‘widely held’ view to the rank of tawātur, which makes it indisputable: ‘Al-Jazā’iri says in Al-Anwār al-Nu‘māniyyah what may be paraphrased as follows: Our companions are unanimous that the widely circulating reports, indeed the mutawātir reports making clear that the Qur’an was distorted in text, expression and case marking, are true and authentic’ (p. 30).

      Our own research in this area shows that ‘Alī ibn Ibrāhīm al-Qummī (died 307 AH/920 CE) was foremost in this. He is the leading figure in advancing the false claim that the Qur’anic text and interpretation were distorted at the same time. The same line was followed by his disciple Muhammad ibn Ya‘qūb al-Kulaynī (died 329 AH/941 CE). Al-‘Ayyāshī (died 320 AH/920 CE) attributes to the Imams the statement: ‘Had it not been for additions and omissions in God’s book our rights would not have been overlooked by any rational person.’ He attributes to al-Bāqir the saying: ‘The Qur’an was revealed in four portions: one portion about us, one about our enemy, one on duties and rulings and one on practices and examples. To us belongs the cream of the Qur’an.’ In another version: ‘The Qur’an was revealed in three portions: one about us and our enemy, one on practices and examples, and one on duties and rulings.’ Al-‘Ayyāshī, Tafsīr, vol. 1, p. 9; Al-Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 527. See also: A. Zarzour, ‘Salāmat al-Qur’an min al-Taḥrīf wa Tanzīhuh ‘an al-Bāṭil,’ “Proofs that the Qur’an is Free of Distortion and Immune to Falsehood”, Annual Review, no. 19, 2001, pp. 57–93, Also in vol. 5 of Zarzour’s Complete Works.

      141.Introduction to al-Ṭubrusī, Majma‘ al-Bayān, by M.J. al-Balāghī, p. 26.

      142.I‘tiqādāt al-Ṣadūq, pp. 101–102 (From a manuscript entitled Risālat al-I‘tiqādāt which is included in collection No. 23934