History of the Quran
I Introduction
History of the Qur’an means a history of its
compilation and transmission in both oral and written mediums. In recent years
this topic has remained an area of intense research mostly by the western
scholars. The basic premise on which this history stands has been challenged by
them. Some of the questions they have raised are very pertinent. Moreover, some
scholars from the India and Pakistan have shed new light on the whole issue.
There is thus a great need to re-assess the history of the
Qur’an as put forth by the classical sources, to study new researches
that have been put forth on the subject and to analyze the objections raised by
Western Scholars.
This research project is an attempt of this very
assessment and analysis.
II The Premise
The basic premise on which the history of the Qur’an
stands is that the Qur’an has been preserved word for word ever since it
was revealed to Muhammad.
III Gravity of the Premise
The real debate with the Jews and Christians all boils
down to the fact that the Old and New Old Testaments are not preserved
documents. They must believe in the Quran since it is the final testament from
the Almighty. Hence if anything happens to this premise, Muslims have no basis
of calling the Jews and Christians to Islam. In fact they have little basis for
the veracity of their own religion.
IV The Classical Version
Let us now take a look at the classical version of the
history of the Quran with the help of the following chart:
During the life of the Prophet
(sws) (570-632
AD)
·
The verses were written by scribes, selected by
the Prophet (sws), on various suitable objects like leaves of trees, pieces of
wood, parchment or leather, flat stones, and shoulder blades of animals. The
Qur’an in the time of the Prophet (sws) was not bound in a single
volume because there was always a chance of the arrival of a new revelation.
Several hundred Companions memorized the Qur’an by heart.
During
the caliphate of Abu Bakr
(rta) (632-634
AD)
·
‘Umar (rta) urged Abu Bakr
(rta) to preserve and compile the Qur’an after many reciters had died in
the battle of Yamamah. At the directive of Abu Bakr (rta), Zayd
(rta), with the help of the companions who memorized and wrote verses of the
Qur’an, accomplished the task and handed Abu Bakr (rta) the first
authenticated copy of the Qur’an. The copy was kept in the residence of
Hafsah (rta), daughter of ‘Umar (rta) and wife of the Prophet
(sws).
During the caliphate of ‘Uthman (rta)
(644-656 AD)
·
‘Uthman (rta) ordered Zayd Ibn
Thabit (rta), Abdullah Ibn Zubayr (rta), Sa‘id Ibn ‘As (rta)
and Abdu’l-Rahman Ibn Harith Ibn Hisham (rta) to make perfect copies
of the authenticated copy kept with Hafsah (rta). This was due to the
rapid expansion of the Islamic state and concern about differences in
recitation. Copies were sent to various places in the Muslim world. The original
copy was returned to Hafsah (rta).
V The Questions
Let us now look at the questions which arise on this view
1. Narratives of
Qur’anic History are Questionable
There are a number of questions which arise on these
narratives; For brevity, we shall confine ourselves to two which arise on their
chain of narrators.
·
These reports are Gharib which means that
each rung of the chain has only one narrator. There is only one narrator
in each of its first three links. Only Zayd Ibn Thabit (rta) narrates it.
From Zayd (rta), only ‘Ubayd Ibn Sabbaq narrates it, and
from ‘Ubayd Ibn Sabbaq, only Ibn Shihab Zuhri narrates it. In other words, for almost three generations this report was only known
to very few people.
·
These reports mention that the Qur’an was
compiled by Zayd Ibn Thabit (rta) three times: in the life of the
Prophet (sws), in the reign of Abu Bakr (rta) and in the reign of Uthman (rta).
The earliest extant history of Islam is the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa‘ad which
was authored about twenty five yrs before Bukhari. It contains biographies of
Abu Bakr (rta), Uthman (rta), Zayd Ibn Thabit (rta) and
‘Umar (rta). None of them mentions any collection done by Zayd (rta).
2.
Incompleteness of the Qur’an
Many passages from Islamic source books on the history of
the Qur’an can be quoted which show that the Qur’an we have today
is incomplete. A few of them are quoted below:
‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar reports: Let none of you say
that I have got the whole of the Qur’an. How does he know what all of it
is? Much of the Qur’an has gone. Let him say instead: I have got what has
survived. (Suyuti, Itqan Fi Ulumil Quran)
Ibn Abi
Maryam related to us from Ibn Luhy‘a from Abu’l-Aswad from
‘Urwa b. az-Zubair from ‘A^’isha
who said; “Surat al-Ahzab (xxxiii) used to be recited in the time of the
Prophet with two hundred verses, but when ‘Uthman wrote out the Codices
he was unable to procure more of it than there is in it today.” (Abu Ubaid Qasim
Ibn Salam, Fada’il al-Qur’an)
Many (of the passages) of the Qur’an that were sent
down were known by those who died on the day of Yamamah ... but they were
not known [by those who] survived them, nor were they written down, nor had
Abu Bakr, ‘Umar or Uthman [by that time] collected the
Qur’an, nor were they found with even one [person] after them. (Ibn Abi
Dawud, Kitabu’l-Masahif,).
3. The Uthmanic
Copies were not identical
It is known that the Uthman (rta) sent out copies of the mushaf he had
compiled to various cities. Source books on Qur’an history say that these
five copies differed from one another in various places. Here are some examples
of these differences:
Madinan Codex
Kufan and Basran Codex
وَوَصَّى
بِهَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ (132:2)
وَأَوْصَّى بِهَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ (132:2)
Kufan Codex
Madinan and
Basran Codex
وَصَّيْنَا
الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حُسْنَا
(15:46)
وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ إِحْسَانًا (15:46)
Syrian Codex
Iraqi Codex
هُوَ
الَّذِي يُسَيِّرُكُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ (22:10)
ُوَ الَّذِي يُنشِرُكُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ (22:10)
4. Order of the
Surahs
According to the opinion of the majority scholars, the
surahs of the Qur’an were not arranged by the Prophet and that the
whole sequence is based on Ijtihad. The reason was a difference in the
sequence in the codices of the companions. Following is the order of three
important masahifs as mentioned by Suyuti and Ibn Nadim.
Order of
the Ibn Mas‘ud’s codex
2, 4, 3,
7, 6, 5, 10, 9, 16, 11, 12, 18, 17, 21, 20, 23, 26, 37, 33, 22, 28, 27, 24, 8,
19, 29, 30, 36, 25, 22, 15, 13, 34, 35, 14, 38, 47, 31, 39, 40, 43, 41, 42, 46,
45, 44, 48, 59, 32, 65, 68, 49, 67, 64, 63, 62, 61, 72, 71, 58, 60, 66, 55, 53,
51, 52, 51, 54, 56, 79, 70, 74, 73, 83, 80, 76, 77, 75, 78, 81, 82, 88, 87, 92,
89, 85, 84, 96, 90, 93, 86, 100, 107, 101, 98, 91, 95, 104, 105, 106, 102, 97,
103, 110, 108, 109, 111, 112, 94
Order of
Ubayyi’s Codex
1, 2, 4,
3, 6, 5, 10, 8, 9, 11, 19, 26, 22, 12, 15, 16, 33, 17, 39, 20, 21, 24, 23, 34,
29, 40, 13, 28, 27, 37, 38, 36, 15, 42, 30, 57, 48, 47, 41, 46, 50, 55, 56, 72,
53, 70, 73, 74, 44, 31, 45, 52, 51, 68, 69, 59, 60, 77, 78, 75, 81, 65, 79, 64,
80, 83, 84, 95, 96, 49, 63, 62, 66, 89, 90, 92, 82, 91, 86, 87, 88, 61, 98, 93,
101, 102, 103, 104, 99, 100, 105, 106, 107, 108, 97, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113,
144.
Sequence
of Ibn ‘Abbas’s Codex
96, 68,
93, 73, 74, 1, 111, 81, 87, 92, 89, 94, 55, 103, 108, 102, 107, 105, 109, 112,
53, 80, 97, 91, 85, 95, 106, 101, 75, 104, 77, 50, 90, 86, 54, 38, 7, 72, 36,
25, 35, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, 17, 10, 11, 12, 15, 6, 37, 31, 34, 39, 40, 41, 42,
43, 44, 45, 45, 51, 88, 18, 16, 71, 14, 21, 23, 13, 52, 67, 69, 70, 78, 79, 82,
84, 30, 29, 83, 2, 8, 3, 59, 33, 24, 60, 48, 4, 99, 22, 57, 47, 76, 65, 98, 62,
32, 63, 58, 49, 66, 64, 61, 5, 9, 110, 56, 100, 113, 114.
The conclusion is that if some one re-arranges the order
of the Quranic Surahs (which many western scholars have), then this
re-arrangement cannot and should not be objected to.
5. The Extant
Samarkand Codex at Tashkent
Many
Muslims scholars believe that the Samarkand Codex preserved at the Tashkent
Library is the one compiled by ‘Uthman (rta). A close examinatikon of the
text of this mushaf has shown that it cannot be – since it is different
from the codex we have in our hands today.
Page 90:
-In line 1 there is no
word present in the Samarqand ‘original’ of Q2:283 where the modern
Arabic version has the word Allah!!
-In line 8 we find the
pronoun huwa [he] is present in the Samarqand ‘original’ of Q2:284,
whereas the modern Arabic version has the word Allah!!
Page 652:
-In line 2 the ‘original’
of Q37:103 has waw then mim-alif, while the modern version has
fa-lam-mim-alif (see p. 67 of main text)
-In line 4 the ‘original’
of Q37:105 is without sad which the modern version has, and it has alif
while the modern version has ta.
-In line 6 the ‘original’
of the same aya is without nun while the modern version has nun.
-In line 7 while the
‘original’ of Q37:106 is without waw the modern version has waw.
-In line 8 the ‘original’
(same aya) is without ba which the modern version has.
6. The Changes
made by Hajjaj
It is alleged that Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf made eleven
changes in the Qur’an. The changed versions occur in the respective first
lines:
لَمْ
يَتَسَنَّهْ وَانظُرْ (259:2)
لَمْ يَتَسَنَّ وَانظُرْ (259:2)
شِرْعَةً
وَمِنْهَاجًا (48:5)
شِرْيعَةً وَمِنْهَاجًا (48:5)
نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَعِيشَتَهُمْ (32:43)
نَحْنُ
قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَعِايشَهُمْ (32:43)
مِنْ مَاءٍ غَيْرِ
آسِنٍ (15:47)
مِنْ مَاءٍ غَيْرِ ياسِنٍ (15:47)
7.
The Qira’at of Imam Nafi‘ in North Africa
Some North African countries like Morocco, Sudan,
Mauritania and Libya countries have a different version of the Qur’an.
According to Islamic literature, the Qur’an can be read in any number of
ways as long as it conforms to certain criteria. The Prophet has sanctioned all
such readings.
In Morocco the reading of the Qur’an as subscribed
to Imam Nafi‘ is adhered to which is different from the Qur’an
which is found elsewhere several hundred of places. To catch small glimpse of
the nature of these differences, consider the following: (In all these examples
the second lines gives the reading of Imam Nafi‘ , while the first lines
show the reading, the rest of the Muslim Ummah is accustomed to.)
a. Change
/Deletion of Words
وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا
(15:91)
فَلَا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا
(15:91)
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ
(24:57)
فَإِنَّ
اللَّهَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ
(24:57)
b.
Difference in Singular or Plural
وَصَدَّقَتْ بِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّهَا وَكُتُبِهِ وَكَانَتْ مِنْ
الْقَانِتِينَ
(12:66)
وَصَدَّقَتْ بِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّهَا وَكِتَابِهِ وَكَانَتْ مِنْ
الْقَانِتِينَ
(12:66)
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِشَهَادَاتِهِمْ قَائِمُونَ(33:70)
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ بِشَهَادَتِهِمْ قَائِمُونَ(33:70)
c.Differences in Verbs
يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّا أَنفُسَهُمْ
وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ(9:2)
يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يُخَادِعُونَ إِلَّا أَنفُسَهُمْ
وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ(9:2)
وَإِذْ أَنجَيْنَاكُمْ مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ
يُقَتِّلُونَ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَاءَكُمْ (141:7)
وَإِذْ أَنجَيْنَاكُمْ مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ
َيقْتُلُوْنَ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَاءَكُمْ (141:7)
d.
Differences in Declensions
حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ
فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِنْ مَسَدٍ(4:111)
حَمَّالَةُ الْحَطَبِ
فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِنْ مَسَدٍ(4:111)
فِي لَوْحٍ مَحْفُوظٍ
(22:85)
فِي لَوْحٍ مَحْفُوظٌ
(22:85)
8. The
Variant Readings
Let us now take a look at other permissible readings. They run into thousands.
Here is just one page of the Qur’an which describes them.
