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Rebuttal to Johnny Bravo: The Chaotic Structure and Textual Corruption of the Quran Revisited
The Chaotic Structure and Textual Corruption of the Quran Revisited
Addendum
[A], [B & C], [Addendum]
We have already exposed the Muslim propaganda lie that the Quran was arranged by Muhammad
himself, or by his Companions on the instructions of Muhammad, since if this were the case we would
not find conflicting arrangements amongst the competing codices. Here I would like to expose some
more of Bravo's misreading and fallacies regarding the arrangement of the Quran. Bravo writes:
Sam quotes the following:
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
(peace_be_upon_him), 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. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 3, Number 0785)
The above is a weak narration. Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi responds to it as follows:
This narration would be a very explicit
proof for those who hold this opinion, if it was not for the fact that the above
narration is weak.
354 Therefore, this narration cannot be taken as proof
in this matter.[47]
Footnore 354 states that
In its chain is Yazeed al-Farsee, whom
al-Bukhaaree mentioned in his ad-Du'afaa. Ahmad Shakir said of this hadeeth, "It
has no basis..."
[48]
Similarly, Prof. Ahmad states that
Finally, the hadith that ascribes to
'Uthman the arrangement of surahs 8 and 9 is said to lack authenticity and has been
criticized regarding its chain and its text. The chain includes a narrator, Yazid al
Farisi, who is unknown and regarded as weak by Bukhari and Tirmidhi. The text (matn) of
the hadith contradicts the authentic reports...
Muhammad Rashid Rida adopted the same opinion before Shakir, stating that a hadith
narrated just by a single man was not accepted as regards the arrangement of the Qur'an,
for which successive narration was neccessary. Elsewhere Rashid Rida says: "An
account narrated by a man like this, which is unique to him, is not sound and should not
be accepted for the arrangement of the Qur'an which is transmitted with tawatur." He
also says that it is impossible that all surahs were arranged except these two surahs. All
authorities state that the Prophet and his Companions recited surahs of the Qur'an in
their order in and out of prayer.
[49]
RESPONSE:
First, a weak hadith doesn't necessarily imply that it is a false hadith. Bravo needs
to face the music and explain why a Muslim would even come up with such a hadith in
the first place. The difficulty this hadith poses for the arrangement of the Quran argues
for its authenticity since we wouldn't expect Muslims to include incriminating and
damaging testimony against the Quran's arrangement.
If Bravo claims that there were hypocrites amongst the Muslims who sought to discredit
Islam, this only compounds the problem. If it is admitted that there were Muslims dishonest
enough to forge hadiths, then it is just as likely that there were dishonest Muslims who corrupted
the text of the Quran and got away with it. In light of the conflicting arrangements and
numbers of surahs this possibility becomes even more likely. In the words of Ali:
‘Ali was asked: "Why are you staying home?" He said, "Something
HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE QURAN, and I have pledged never to put on my street clothes,
except for prayer, until the Quran IS RESTORED." (Al-Itqan fii ‘Ulum
al-Qur’an, p. 59 as translated by Rashad Khalifah in Quran - The Final Testament
[Universal Unity, P.O. Box 15067 Fremont, CA 94539], p. 444; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Second, the claim that this hadith contradicts the sound hadiths is a non-argument
since even the sound hadiths contradict each other. Case in point:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "Once Solomon, son of David said, ‘(By Allah) Tonight
I will have sexual intercourse with ONE HUNDRED (OR NINETY-NINE) WOMEN
each of whom will give birth to a knight who will fight in Allah's Cause.’ On that an
Angel said to him, "Say, Allah willing" (i.e. if Allah wills) but he did not say, ‘Allah
willing.’ Therefore only one of those women conceived and gave birth to a half-man.
By Him in Whose Hands Muhammad's life is, if he had said, ‘Allah willing’,
(he would have begotten sons) all of whom would have been knights striving in Allah's
Cause." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 74i)
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "Solomon (the son of) David said, ‘Tonight I will sleep with
SEVENTY LADIES each of whom will conceive a child who will be a knight fighting for
"Allah's Cause."’ His companion said, ‘If Allah will.’ But Solomon did not
say so; therefore none of those women got pregnant except one who gave birth to a half
child." The Prophet further said, "If the Prophet Solomon had said it (i.e. ‘If
Allah will’) he would have begotten children who would have fought in Allah's Cause."
Shuaib and Ibn Abi Az-Zinad said, "NINETY (women) IS MORE CORRECT (than
seventy)." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 635)
Narrated Abu Huraira:
(The Prophet) Solomon son of (the Prophet) David said, "Tonight I will go round
(i.e. have sexual relations with) ONE HUNDRED WOMEN (my wives) everyone of
whom will deliver a male child who will fight in Allah's Cause." On that an Angel said to
him, "Say: ‘If Allah will.’" But Solomon did not say it and forgot to
say it. Then he had sexual relations with them but none of them delivered any child except
one who delivered a half person. The Prophet said, "If Solomon had said: ‘If Allah
will,’ Allah would have fulfilled his (above) desire and that saying would have made him
more hopeful." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 169)
Narrated Abu Huraira:
(The Prophet) Solomon said, "Tonight I will sleep with (my) NINETY WIVES,
each of whom will get a male child who will fight for Allah's Cause." On that, his
companion (Sufyan said that his companion was an angel) said to him, "Say, ‘If
Allah will (Allah willing).’" But Solomon forgot (to say it). He slept with all his
wives, but none of the women gave birth to a child, except one who gave birth to a
halfboy. Abu Huraira added: The Prophet said, "If Solomon had said, ‘If Allah
will’ (Allah willing), he would not have been unsuccessful in his action, and would
have attained what he had desired." Once Abu Huraira added: Allah apostle said,
"If he had accepted." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 79, Number 711)
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Prophet Solomon who had SIXTY WIVES, once said, "Tonight I will
have sexual relation (sleep) with all my wives so that each of them will become pregnant
and bring forth (a boy who will grow into) a cavalier and will fight in Allah's Cause."
So he slept with his wives and none of them (conceived and) delivered (a child) except one
who brought a half (body) boy (deformed). Allah's Prophet said, "If Solomon had
said; ‘If Allah Will,’ then each of those women would have delivered a
(would-be) cavalier to fight in Allah's Cause." (See Hadith No. 74 A, Vol. 4).
(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93, Number 561)
And:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
The Prophet performed ablution by washing the body parts only once.
(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 4, Number 159)
Narrated 'Abdullah bin Zaid:
The Prophet performed ablution by washing the body parts twice.
(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 4, Number 160)
Here is another example:
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
The Prophet was cupped while he was in the state of lhram, and also while he was
observing a fast. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 31, Number 159; see 160)
The translator states:
Hadith No. 159 CONTRADICTS the Hadith of Al-Hasan. Apparently
the Muslim jurists have given VARIOUS INTERPRETATIONS to discard THIS
CONTRADICTION: Ash-Shafi’i says, "Both Ahadith are correct,
but the one narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas is stronger as regards its series of narrators; yet it is
better to avoid cupping while observing Saum (fast). But the verdict is to be taken
from the Hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas. I have the knowledge that the Prophet's
companions and their followers and all Muslim scholars think that cupping does not break
one's Saum (fast)." Ibn Hazm thinks that Al-Hasan's Hadith is
INVALIDATED by another authentic Hadith narrated by Abu Sa’id which goes:
"The Prophet permitted cupping for a person observing Saum (fast)." (Fath
Al-Bari, Vol. 5, Pages 79-81). (Al-Imam Zain-ud-Din Ahmad bin Abdul Lateef Az-Zubaidi,
The Translation of the Meanings of Summarized Sahih Al-Bukhari Arabic-English,
Translated by: Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan [Maktaba Dar-us-Salam Publishers &
Distributors, Riyadh Saudi Arabia], p. 446; bold and capital emphasis ours)
The final contradiction includes:
Narrated Mujahid:
That when the people mentioned before Ibn 'Abbas that the Dajjal would have the word
Kafir, (i.e. unbeliever) or the letters Kafir (the root of the Arabic verb ‘disbelieve’)
written on his forehead, I heard Ibn 'Abbas saying, "I did not hear this, but the
Prophet said, ‘If you want to see Abraham, then look at your companion (i.e. the Prophet)
but Moses was a CURLY-HAIRED, brown man (who used to ride) a red camel, the reins
of which was made of fires of date-palms. As if I were now looking down a valley."
(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 574)
Narrated Ibn Umar:
The Prophet said, "I saw Moses, Jesus and Abraham (on the night of my Ascension to
the heavens). Jesus was of RED COMPLEXION, CURLY HAIR and a broad chest.
Moses was of brown complexion, STRAIGHT HAIR and tall stature as if he was from
the people of Az-Zutt." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 648)
Narrated Abdullah:
The Prophet mentioned the Massiah Ad-Dajjal in front of the people saying, Allah is not
one eyed while Messsiah, Ad-Dajjal is blind in the right eye and his eye looks like a
bulging out grape. While sleeping near the Ka'ba last night, I saw in my dream a man of
BROWN COLOR the best one can see amongst brown color and his hair was long that it fell
between his shoulders. His hair was lank and water was dribbling from his head and he
was placing his hands on the shoulders of two men while circumambulating the Kaba. I
asked, ‘Who is this?’ They replied, ‘This is Jesus, son of Mary.’
Behind him I saw a man who had very curly hair and was blind in the right eye, resembling
Ibn Qatan (i.e. an infidel) in appearance. He was placing his hands on the shoulders of a person
while performing Tawaf around the Ka'ba. I asked, ‘Who is this?’ They replied,
‘The Masih, Ad-Dajjal.’" (Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 4, Book 55, Number 649)
Narrated Salim from his father:
No, By Allah, the Prophet did not tell that Jesus was of red complexion but said,
"While I was asleep circumambulating the Ka'ba (in my dream), suddenly I saw a man
of BROWN COMPLEXION and LANK HAIR walking between two men, and water was
dropping from his head. I asked, 'Who is this?' The people said, 'He is the son of Mary.' Then I looked
behind and I saw a red-complexioned, fat, curly-haired man, blind in the right eye which
looked like a bulging out grape. I asked, ‘Who is this?’ They replied, ‘He
is Ad-Dajjal.’ The one who resembled to him among the people, was Ibn Qatan."
(Az-Zuhri said, "He (i.e. Ibn Qatan) was a man from the tribe Khuza'a who died in the pre-lslamic
period.") (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 650)
These examples of sahih ahadith show that Bravo's argument proves absolutely nothing.
Finally, the claim that a hadith narrated by one man cannot be accepted unless there are multiple
chains is actually laughable. As we have seen, the traditions themselves show that none of the
Muslims agreed with one another regarding the exact order and number of surahs and verses.
This means that the arrangement of the Quran must be rejected since it fails the test of multiple
attestation.
Bravo continues:
Furthermore, we read that
Rashid Rida refers to the following hadith:
"The Prophet used to recite the whole Qur'an to Jibril and Jibril to him during Ramadan
once every year, but in the last ramadan before the Prophet passed away he recited it twice to
Jibril and Jibril to him." He argues that the order of these two surahs (8 and 9)
must have been well known at the time. It is an accepted principle in the science of
the hadith that an isolated hadith is not accepted if it contradicts the verdict of reason
and the verdict of the Qur'an.
[50]
RESPONSE:
This tradition actually destroys Bravo's claim. Earlier, I had mentioned the fact
that ibn Masud had learned the arrangement and contents of the Quran directly from Muhammad
right after the latter's alleged final meeting with Gabriel:
Hashim Ibn al-Qasim informed us; (he said): al-Mas'udi informed us on the authority of
Qasim, i.e., 'Abd al-Rahman; he said: Gabriel used to descend before the Apostle of Allah,
may Allah bless him, and he recited the Qur'an before him once every year [P. 4] in
Ramadan, till the year when the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him, died; when
Gabriel made him recite the Qur'an twice. ‘Abd Allah said: I recited the Qur'an
as I have it FROM THE MOUTH of the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him, that year.
If I had known any one more well versed ... in the Book of Allah than me and camels had
borne me to him, surely I would have gone to him; but by Allah! I DO NOT KNOW ANY
SUCH PERSON. (Ibn Sa'ad, Kitab Al-Tabaqat Al-Kabir, Volume II, p. 244)
Abu Mu'awiyah al-Darir informed us: (he said): al-A'mash informed us on
the authority of Abu Zabyan, he on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, he asked:
Which of the two readings (of the Qur'an) do you prefer? He (Abu
Zabyan) said: WE replied: THE READING OF 'ABD ALLAH. Thereupon
he said: Verily the Qur'an was recited (by Gabriel) before the Apostle of
Allah, may Allah bless him, once in every Ramadan, except the year in which
he breathed his last, when it was recited twice. Then 'Abd Allah Ibn
Mas'ud came to him (Prophet) AND HE LEARNT WHAT WAS ABROGATED
OR ALTERED. (Ibid., p. 441; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Do notice how specific Muslims preferred Masud's reading of the Quran
precisely because he allegedly learned its exact contents directly from
Muhammad after Gabriel had supposedly reviewed it with the latter twice for
the final time. This means that Masud would have been most qualified to not
only know the exact arrangement and number of surahs in the Quran, but to
know its exact contents as well. Yet, Masud's arrangement and number of
surahs, as well as the number and specific reading of verses, conflict with
the Uthmanic recension, which further exposes the weakness in Bravo's
"rebuttal." Yet, sadly Bravo doesn't see it. It would have saved us
wasting a lot of time if he would only think through the issues before producing
tons of irrelevant material.
BRAVO:
Prof. Ahmad 'Ali al Imam also adds that
This opinion has been refuted
on the grounds that much evidence indicates that the surahs are arranged according to
revelation without a single exception. Here is some of the evidence as it has been
reported in books of the sunan.
1. In Madinah, a delegation came to the Prophet and one in the group, Abu Aws, reported
the Prophet as having said: "I did not want to come without completing the parts
of the Qur'an I recite daily."
They asked the Companions: "How do you divide the Qur'an for the
recitation?" They replied: "We divide them three surahs, five surahs, seven
surahs, nine surahs, eleven surahs, thirteen surahs, and the part of al Mufassal from
Surat al Qaf to the end."
2. Zayd Ibn Thabit, the scribe of the revelation, said: "We were compiling and
arranging the Qur'an from the fragments, in front of Allah's Apostle."
3. The basmalah was a sign for the sealing of the surahs. Ibn 'Abbas stated
the Prophet did not know that a surah had been sealed until the revelation came to him
with "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful"; when it was revealed
he knew that the surah was sealed.
Al Nisaburi (828/1424) in his Tafsir reports that whenever the Prophet
recieved a surah, he asked the scribe to put it in its place.
[51]
RESPONSE:
Let us expose the fallacies in Bravo's source. First, this still doesn't tell us when
each verse or surah was supposedly revealed. It only claims that they were arranged
according to revelation but doesn't even bother to give us the exact arrangement of the
surahs and verses. Had it been true that the Quran was arranged according to the revelation
then how does one account for Masud's and Kabb's conflicting arrangements of the surahs
and verses? Were they not informed about this alleged arrangement from their prophet?
Evidently not.
Second, the Companions' alleged response only complicates matters. Which three surahs
are they referring to? What are the five surahs that followed the three? Which seven
surahs, or nine surahs, or eleven surahs or thirteen surahs are they even talking about?
And which exact surahs come after Surah Al-Qaf [S. 50]? S. 51, 63, 110, 78 etc.? This
source fails to tell us the exact names of the surahs in their alleged groupings which
only complicates matters for Bravo. Take for example the following hadith:
Narrated Shaqiq:
Abdullah said, "I learnt An-Naza'ir which the Prophet used to recite in pairs in each
Rak'a." Then Abdullah got up and Alqama accompanied him to his house, and when
Alqama came out, we asked him (about those Suras). He said, "They are twenty Suras
that start from the beginning of al-Mufassal, according to the arrangement done by Ibn
Mas'ud, and end with the Suras starting with Ha Mim, e.g. Ha Mim (the Smoke), and
"About what they question one another?" (78.1) (Sahih Al-Bukhari,
Volume 6, Book 61, Number 518 )
What are the names of these twenty surahs which start from the beginning of Al-Mufassal
and with the surahs that start with Ha Mim? Which of the Ha Mim surahs go first? And is this
the arrangement of the Quran today? No. For instance, there are seven suras which begin with
the letters Ha Mim, namely surahs 40-46. Yet how does Bravo know that this is the right order?
How does he know that Surah 46 isn't actually first in the series, or 43, 42, 45 etc.? Take for
instance the order of the Ha Mim surahs in Ibn Masud's codex:
| The Praise-Giving Ha(H) Mim(M) Surahs: |
| Ha(H) Mim(M): Al-Mu'min (The Believer) | 40 |
| Ha(H) Mim(M): Al-Zukhruf (The Ornaments) | 43 |
| Ha(H) Mim(M): Al-Sajdah (The Worship) | 41 |
| Ha(H) Mim(M): Al-Ahqaf (The Sandhills) | 46 |
| Ha(H) Mim(M): Al-Jathiyah (The Kneeling) | 45 |
| Ha(H) Mim(M): Al-Dukhan (The Smoke) | 44 |
Ubayy's codex has the Ha Mim surahs scattered all over the place! This means
that Bravo doesn't know the exact arrangement of these Surahs, which only compounds
the problem for him since it exposes the mass confusion that surrounded the exact
arrangement of Muhammad's Quran.
Interestingly, the same hadiths claim that Ibn Masud also read verses
differently from that which we find today:
Narrated Alqama:
I went to Sham and was offering a two-Rak'at prayer; I said, "O Allah! Bless me with
a (pious) companion." Then I saw an old man coming towards me, and when he came
near I said, (to myself), "I hope Allah has given me my request." The man asked
(me), "Where are you from?" I replied, "I am from the people of Kufa."
He said, "Weren't there amongst you the Carrier of the (Prophet's) shoes, Siwak and
the ablution water container? Weren't there amongst you the man who was given Allah's
Refuge from the Satan? And weren't there amongst you the man who used to keep the
(Prophet's) secrets which nobody else knew? How did Ibn Um 'Abd (i.e. 'Abdullah bin
Mas'ud) use to recite Surat-al-lail (the Night:92)?" I recited:--
"By the Night as it envelops By the Day as it appears in brightness. And by
male and female." (92.1-3) On that, Abu Darda said, "BY ALLAH, the Prophet
made me read the Verse in this way after listening to him, but these people (of Sham)
TRIED THEIR BEST to let me say something different." (Sahih Al-Bukhari,
Volume 5, Book 57, Number 105)
Narrated Ibrahim:
The companions of 'Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) came to Abu Darda', (and before they arrived
at his home), he looked for them and found them. Then he asked them,: "Who among
you can recite (Qur'an) as 'Abdullah recites it?" They replied, "All of us."
He asked, "Who among you knows it by heart?" They pointed at 'Alqama.
Then he asked Alqama. "How did you hear 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud reciting Surat Al-Lail
(The Night)?" Alqama recited:
‘By the male and the female.’ Abu Ad-Darda said, "I TESTIFY
that I heard the Prophet reciting it likewise, but these people want me to recite it:--
‘And by Him Who created male and female.’ BUT BY ALLAH,
I WILL NOT FOLLOW THEM." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 468;
see also Volume 5, Book 57, Number 85)
Amazingly, this is the very same reading we find in Ibn Shanabudh's recension as
noted previously!
Third, if it is true that Zaid arranged the fragments in front of Muhammad then how
does one account for the following hadiths:
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 Yalmama, 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)
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. Zaid 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.’ (33.23) (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61,
Number 510)
Do notice that the reason for Uthman's standardization of the Quran WAS DUE TO
HUDHAIFA'S FEARS OVER THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CONFLICTING CODICES
IN CIRCULATION! Evidently, Hudhaifa wasn't informed about the seven ahrufs! Continuing
further:
Narrated Zaid bin Thabit:
Abu Bakr sent for me and said, "You used to write the Divine Revelations for
Allah's Apostle: So you should search for (the Qur'an and collect) it." I started
searching for the Qur'an till I found the last two Verses of Surat At-Tauba with Abi
Khuzaima Al-Ansari and I could not find these Verses with anybody other than him.
(They were):
‘Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves.
It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty ...’ (9.128-129) (Sahih
Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 511)
Narrated Kharija bint Zaid:
Zaid bin Thabit said, "When the Quran was compiled FROM VARIOUS WRITTEN
MANUSCRIPTS, one of the Verses of Surat Al-Ahzab was missing which I used to hear
Allah's Apostle reciting. I could not find it except with Khuzaima bin Thabit Al-Ansari,
whose witness Allah's Apostle regarded as equal to the witness of two men.
And the Verse was:-- "Among the believers are men who have been true to what they
covenanted with Allah." (33.23) (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 62)
These hadiths state that Zaid only collected the Quran upon the orders of Abu Bakr after
the death of Muhammad. The traditions are clear that Zaid undertook to do something
that Muhammad himself had not done, namely collect the Quran in one volume. If it were
true that Zaid had already arranged the fragments in front of Muhammad, there would have
been no need to search out the Quran. He would have already known its exact order and
contents.
Furthermore, how is it that Zaid missed several verses from the Quran if in fact he had
already arranged the Quran from Muhammad? Why is it that these verses were only found with
Khuzaima if, as Muslims claim, there were many Muslims who had perfectly memorized the
Quran? The claim that these hadiths are not denying that these verses had been memorized,
but is simply stating that they had not been written down is a farce. John Gilchrist responding
to a similar claim writes:
Siddique, in his article in Al-Balaagh (p.2), also claims that when Zaid said
"I could not find a verse" he actually meant he could not find it in writing. As
said before, there is nothing in the hadith text itself to yield such an interpretation.
From what source, then, do these learned authors obtain this view? It is derived from the
following extract which is taken from the Fath al-Baari fii Sharh al-Bukhari of
Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al-Asqalani ibn Hajar, the translation appearing in Burton's
The Collection of the Qur'an on pages 127 and 128:
It does not follow from Zaid's saying that he had failed to find the aya from surat
al Tawba in the possession of anyone else, that at that time it was not mutawatira
among those who had learnt their Qur'an from the Companions, but had not heard it direct
from the Prophet. What Zaid was seeking was the evidence of those who had their Qur'an
texts direct from the Prophet. ... The correct interpretation of Zaid's remark that he had
failed to find the aya with anyone else is that he had failed to find it in writing,
not that he had failed to find those who bore it in their memories. (Fath al-Baari, Vol. 9, p.12).
The source from which Desai and Siddique derive their opinions is not from the
earliest records of the compilation of the Qur'an but a much later commentary on the Sahih
al-Bukhari done by the famous Muslim author al-Asqalani ibn Hajar who was born in 773 A.H.
(1372 A.D.) and died in 852 A.H. The earliest source for the interpretation that Zaid
was looking for the verses only in authorised written sources thus dates no less than
EIGHT CENTURIES AFTER MUHAMMAD'S DEATH by which time, as is the case to this day, it had
become fashionable to hold the view that the Qur'an had been widely known to perfection by
all the companions of Muhammad who had memorised it. It is, therefore, a convenient
interpretation read into the text of the hadith to sustain a more recent supposition.
There is nothing in the text of the hadith itself, however, to support this
interpretation. The extract continues with some very interesting comments:
Besides, it is probable that when Zaid found it with Abu Khuzaima the other companions
recalled having heard it. Zaid himself certainly recalled that he had heard it. (Fath al-Baari, op.cit.).
While Desai boldly states that it was known "beyond the slightest shadow of
doubt" that the last two verses of Surat at-Tauba were part of the Qur'an and that
they were known by "hundreds of Sahaabah" in their memories and by others
who had recorded them in writing, his source only goes so far as to suggest that it is
"probable" that when Zaid produced them from Abu Khuzaima, the other companions
recalled having heard them. A cautious suggestion that the others may have recalled
having heard the verses has been transformed by Desai into a bold declaration that they
were known by hundreds of them without the aid of recollection "beyond the slightest
shadow of doubt". (Source; bold and
capital emphasis ours)
Furthermore, even if Hajar's claim were true this would only be further proof that the
Quranic codices were not uniform. If Khuzaima was the only one who included these verses
within his codex then this demonstrates that the other competing codices were both
imperfect and incomplete. Seeing also that these codices were compiled by the very men who
had allegedly committed the Quran to memory makes the problem even worse! How is it that
the memorizers "forgot" to include verses in their copies when these copies were
a result of their supposed perfect memorization of the Quran?
It seems that Muslims will invent and say anything in order to hide the clear evidence
exposing the textual corruption of the Quran.
And why should Khuzaima's testimony be equal to two witnesses whereas Umar's
testimony regarding stoning forming part of the Quranic text be considered any less
trustworthy, especially when he was one of the "rightly guided" Caliphs and
others like Ali concurred with him?:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
'Umar said, "I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say,
‘We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) in the Holy
Book,’ and consequently they may GO ASTRAY by leaving AN
OBLIGATION that Allah has revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of
Rajam be inflicted on him who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already
married and the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession."
Sufyan added, "I have memorized this narration in this way." 'Umar added,
"Surely Allah's Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajam, and so did we after
him." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 816)
... In the meantime, 'Umar sat on the pulpit and when the callmakers for
the prayer had finished their call, 'Umar stood up, and having glorified and
praised Allah as He deserved, he said, "Now then, I am going to tell you
something which (Allah) has written for me to say. I do not know; perhaps it
portends my death, so whoever understands and remembers it, must narrate it
to the others wherever his mount takes him, but if somebody is afraid that
he does not understand it, then it is unlawful for him to tell lies about me.
Allah sent Muhammad 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 person (male & female) who commits illegal sexual intercourse, and
we did recite this Verse and understood and memorized it. Allah's Apostle
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. And
the punishment of the Rajam is to be inflicted to any married person (male &
female), who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if the required evidence is
available or there is conception or confession. And then we used to
recite among the Verses in Allah's Book: ‘O people! Do not
claim to be the offspring of other than your fathers, as it is disbelief (unthankfulness)
on your part that you claim to be the offspring of other than your real father’ ..."
(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 817)
Note that this hadith mentions an additional verse which is not found in the Quran!
And:
Narrated Ash-Sha'bi:
from 'Ali when the latter stoned a lady to death on a Friday. 'Ali said,
"I have stoned her according to the tradition of Allah's Apostle."
(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 803)
Unless one wants to assume that Muhammad's tradition contradicts the
punishment prescribed in the Quran, Ali's act indicates that stoning was part of
what Allah had "sent down." Other Muslims who claimed that Muhammad
practiced stoning include:
Narrated Ash-Shaibani:
I asked 'Abdullah bin Abi 'Aufa about the Rajam (stoning somebody to death
for committing illegal sexual intercourse). He replied, "The Prophet
carried out the penalty of Rajam." I asked, "Was that before or after
the revelation of Surat-an-Nur?" He replied, "I do not know." (Sahih
Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 824)
Here is the verse in question:
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.’" (As-Suyuti, Al-Itqan fii Ulum al-Qur'an,
p. 524, as quoted in Gilchrist, Jam' al-Qur'an;
italic emphasis ours)
In light of the preceding evidence it is quite clear that the verse of stoning
should have been included within the Quran itself, and not simply relegated to
the hadith.
Returning to the topic of Zaid, it is amazing that years went by before Zaid
even realized that the codex which he had initially compiled during the caliphate
of Abu Bakr was missing S. 33:23! This shows that even Zaid's codex was imperfect.
Bravo may claim that these hadiths do not deny that Zaid knew the arrangement of the
Quran, but only highlight the fact that Zaid was looking for multiple attestation for the
arrangement from the other memorizers. If so, this still doesn't solve the problem for Bravo.
Since both Masud and Kabb were men who had committed the Quran to memory we would
expect to find their arrangement of the Quran agreeing with that of Zaid. Yet, as we have
shown, this is not the case.
In fact, one source records Ikrimah's claim that there was no one capable of
arranging the Quran in its exact chronological order:
"The Quran, according to what was narrated by Mohammad Bin Sereen, Ikrimah
says, 'After Abu Bakr was chosen [as a Khalifa], Ali bin Abi Talib stayed
at his home [meaning he didn't go to congratulate Abu Bakr]. So Abu Bakr
was told, 'He [Ali] is against you being chosen [as a Khalifa].' So Abu Bakr
summoned him and asked him, 'Are you against me being chosen [as a
Khalifa]?' Ali responded, 'By Allah no!' so Abu Bakr said, 'Why were you
away from me then?' Ali responded, 'I SAW THAT ADDITIONS ARE BEING
MADE TO THE BOOK OF ALLAH [the Quran] so I decided not to leave my house
except to pray until I collect all of it." Abu Bakr said, 'A wise decision.' So
Mohammad Bin Sereen told Ikrimah, 'Collect it [the Quran] in the order of
revelation.' Ikrimah said, 'BY ALLAH if all the Human Beings and all
the Djinn came together to collect the Quran [in chronological order] THEY WOULDN'T
BE CAPABLE OF DOING SO!" (Al-Itqaan fi Ouloom Al-Quran,
Volume 1, p. 164, Published by Daar Ihya' Al-Uloom, 1996, as quoted in
this article)
This means that either:
1. Muhammad gave conflicting arrangements of the Quran to the different memorizers,
leading to mass confusion regarding the exact arrangement of the Quran.
2. Zaid lied when he claimed to have arranged the Quran in front of Muhammad,
or suffered memory loss.
3. Masud and Kabb also lied or suffered memory loss.
4. The Quran we find today is not arranged in the manner which Zaid originally compiled it.
We will let Bravo figure this out.
Fourth, if Muhammad's claim is true that a surah is not sealed until the Basmalah comes
down, then this means that Sura 9 is incomplete and unsealed since it lacks the Basmalah.
This lends further support to Sunan Abu Dawud's report that Uthman thought that Surah 9
was actually part of Surah 8.
Bravo concludes:
Sam next quotes another hadeeth, however I wonder why he quoted that hadeeth, because
it cannot be used against the Qur'ân in any way shape or form. We refer to the hadeeth:
Narrated Yusuf bin Mahk:
While I was with Aisha, the mother of the
Believers, a person from Iraq came and asked, "What type of shroud is the best?"
'Aisha said, "May Allah be merciful to you! What does it matter?" He said,
"O mother of the Believers! Show me (the copy of) your Qur'an," She said,
"Why?" He said, "In order to compile and arrange the Qur'an according to
it, for people recite it with its Suras not in proper order." 'Aisha said, "What
does it matter which part of it you read first? (Be informed) that the first thing that
was revealed thereof was a Sura from Al-Mufassal, and in it was mentioned Paradise and the
Fire. When the people embraced Islam, the Verses regarding legal and illegal things were
revealed. If the first thing to be revealed was: 'Do not drink alcoholic drinks.' People
would have said, 'We will never leave alcoholic drinks,' and if there had been revealed,
'Do not commit illegal sexual intercourse,' they would have said, 'We will never give up
illegal sexual intercourse.' While I was a young girl of playing age, the following Verse
was revealed in Mecca to Muhammad: 'Nay! But the Hour is their appointed time (for their
full recompense), and the Hour will be more grievous and more bitter.' (54.46) Sura
Al-Baqara (The Cow) and Surat An-Nisa (The Women) were revealed while I was with
him." Then 'Aisha took out the copy of the Qur'an for the man and dictated to him the
Verses of the Suras (in their proper order). (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number
515)
So what precisely are we supposed to see in the above? May be I am missing something
here. I simply cannot see what is the objection to the above hadeeth. There is no
"critical" point that can be derived from the above hadeeth which can then be
used against the Qur'ân in anyway whatsoever! As for as the recitation of the
Qur'ân is concerned, then one can recite the Quran in any order! The Mother of the
Believers, Hazrat Aisha
(R) has given a proper reply in the above hadeeth, so there is nothing
more to add to it...
RESPONSE:
Let me highlight the part that Bravo missed:
Narrated Yusuf bin Mahk:
While I was with Aisha, the mother of the Believers, a person from Iraq came and asked,
"What type of shroud is the best?" 'Aisha said, "May Allah be merciful to
you! What does it matter?" He said, "O mother of the Believers! Show me (the
copy of) your Qur'an." She said, "Why?" He said, "In order to
COMPILE AND ARRANGE the Qur'an according to it, FOR PEOPLE RECITE IT WITH ITS
SURAS NOT IN PROPER ORDER." 'Aisha said, "What does it matter which
part of it you read first? (Be informed) THAT THE FIRST THING THAT WAS
REVEALED thereof was a Sura from Al-Mufassal, AND IN IT WAS MENTIONED
PARADISE AND THE FIRE. When the people embraced Islam, the Verses regarding
legal and illegal things were revealed. If the first thing to be revealed was: ‘Do not
drink alcoholic drinks,’ people would have said, ‘We will never leave alcoholic
drinks,’ and if there had been revealed, ‘Do not commit illegal sexual intercourse,’
they would have said, ‘We will never give up illegal sexual intercourse.’
While I was a young girl of playing age, the following Verse was revealed in Mecca to
Muhammad: ‘Nay! But the Hour is their appointed time (for their full recompense),
and the Hour will be more grievous and more bitter.’ (54.46) Sura Al-Baqara (The Cow)
and Surat An-Nisa (The Women) were revealed while I was with him." Then 'Aisha
took out the copy of the Qur'an for the man and dictated to him the Verses of the Suras (in
their proper order). (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 515)
This hadith indicates that there were Muslims who had conflicting arrangements of the
Quran. Bravo erroneously presumes that ‘recite’ here refers to the oral recitation
yet ignores the statement regarding improper arrangement of the Surahs! If Bravo is correct,
then there would have been no need for Aisha to take out her copy of the Quran AND DICTATE
THE PROPER ARRANGEMENT OF THE SURAS!
That Bravo missed the point of the hadith further exposes his inability to read and/or
understand the points carefully and clearly. I would advise Bravo to take a step back and
think through the issues before attempting to write rebuttals that offer little substance.
It would save us a lot of wasted time and save him the embarrassment of being exposed for
his gross errors.
This hadith also presents additional evidence that the Quran is not compiled
according to the chronology of the alleged "revelation." Aisha claims that the first
Surah which was revealed included reference to Paradise and Fire. Yet, according to
the Orthodox position the first verses supposedly "revealed" to Muhammad are
S. 96:1-5. This surah has no reference to Paradise and Fire. Again, we leave it
to Bravo to make sense out of this chaos and confusion.
I would like to conclude with a final remark. The NT is unlike the Quran in that
the former is a collection of 27 books written by different authors. In light of the fact that
the 27 books of the NT were written by different authors at different times and
in different places it would only be natural that there would be debate over the
canon. Not every Church father would have received the information regarding
a particular book and would naturally have certain doubts about its authenticity.
Yet, the Quran was supposedly transmitted by one man to his followers. In light of
this, we would not expect any confusion regarding the contents and arrangement of the
Quran. Yet, what we do find is rampant chaos and confusion all over the place. This again
demonstrates the vast superiority of the NT over the Quran. The Quran is nothing but a
cheap imitation which fails to compare to the real deal in both its transmission and
history. To conclude with the words of a Shiite source:
I heard Abu Ja'far (AS) saying: "No one (among ordinary people) claimed that he
gathered the Quran completely as it was revealed EXCEPT A LIAR; (since) no one
has gathered it and memorized it completely as revealed by Allah, the Most High, except Ali
Ibn Abi Talib (AS) and the Imams after him (AS)". (Usul al-Kafi, v1, p228, Hadith
#1). (Source)
Since we don't have Ali's copy, then according to this Muslim source Bravo is a liar!
Sam Shamoun
Responses to Bismikaallahuma
Answering Islam Home Page