Addressing the objections of a Muslim greenhorn
We continue from where we previously left off https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/01/the-quranic-affirmation-of-the-holy-bible-revisited-pt-1/.
Unfortunately for this greenhorn, his very own Islamic
traditions and scholars confirm that the Quran has been badly corrupted and is
missing much of its contents.
For instance, in the Muqaddamah of
Q. 33, Jalaluddin as-Suyuti recorded a statement from Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161
A. H), as narrated by his student Abd al-Razaq al-Sanani (d. 211 A. H.):
وأخرج عبد الرزاق عن الثوري قال
: بلغنا ان ناسا من أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم كانوا يقرأون القرآن أصيبوا
يوم مسيلمة فذهبت حروف من القرآن
“Abd al-Razaq narrated from Al-Thawri that he said: ‘I have come
to know that people from the Sahaba of
the Prophet who used to recite the Quran were killed on the day of
Musaylama and
with their deaths letters from the Quran were lost (Zahab).’” (Tafsir Dur al-Manthur, Muqaddamah of Surah Ahzab, Volume 6,
p. 558)
The Muhammadan has to contend with the fact according to the
foregoing narration, specific verses that were known only to a particular group
of Muslims disappeared when these individuals were killed in battle!
And here are two reports which speak of the missing verse of
stoning in connection with the loss of much of the Quran:
“Abd al-Razzak in Al-Musannaf from
Ibn Abbas said: Umar bin Al-Khattab ordered a person to gather people for Salat of Jama’at. He then
ascended on a pulpit, praised Allah and said: ‘O people! Do not get afraid
about the verse of Al-Rajm because
it is a verse that was revealed in the book of Allah and we recited it but it was lost [Zahab], WITH MUCH OF THE QURAN GONE
WITH MUHAMMAD; and the proof of that is that the prophet would
stone, and Abu Bakr would stone, and I have stoned and there will come people
from this nation who would deny the stoning.’” (Tafsir Dur al-Manthur, Muqadmah of Surah Ahzab)
And:
Zirr ibn Hubaish reported: “Ubayy ibn Ka’b said to me, ‘What is
the extent of Suratul-Ahzab?’ I said, ‘Seventy, or seventy-three verses’. He
said, ‘Yet it
used to be equal to Suratul-Baqarah and in it we recited the verse of stoning’.
I said, ‘And what is the verse of stoning’? He replied, ‘The fornicators among
the married men (ash-shaikh) and married women (ash-shaikhah), stone them as an
exemplary punishment from Allah, and Allah is Mighty and Wise.”‘ (Al-Itqan fi ‘ulum al-Quran,
p. 524)
In case this neophyte calls into question these reports on the
grounds that they happen to be false, we will merely quote what Jalaluddin
as-Suyuti himself stated in the preface of his book Dur al-Manthur concerning
the veracity of the reports found all throughout:
“Praise be to Allah… who has given me the ability to conduct a
commentary of his great book based on what I have received of the transmitted
reports with
high valued chains.”
There are other sources which confirm that much of the Quran has
been lost, never to be discovered again:
“Umar bin al-Khattab asked about a verse of Allah’s book, they
answered: ‘It was
with a man who got killed on day of Yamama (battle)’. He (Umar)
said: ‘We all shall return to Allah’. Then he ordered to collect the Quran,
therefore he was the first one who collected it in one book.” (Kanz ul Ummal, Volume
2, p. 574)
Umar was once looking for the text of a specific verse of the
Qur’an he vaguely remembered. To
his deep sorrow, he discovered that the only person who had any
record of that verse had been killed in the battle of Yamama and that the verse was
consequently lost. (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif, p.
10 – see also as-Suyuti’s al-Itqan
fi ‘ulum al-Quran, volume 1, p. 204)
Al-Bukhari corroborates the above reports:
III: The Collection of the Qur’an
4702. It is related that Zayd ibn Thabit said, “After the
slaughter of people in the Battle of Yamama, Abu Bakr sent for me. ‘Umar was
with him. Abu Bakr said, ”Umar came to me and said, “Many Qur’an reciters
were killed in the Battle of Yamama, and I fear that heavy casualties will be
inflicted on the Qur’an reciters in other places and therefore much of the
Qur’an will be lost. I think that you should collect the Qur’an together.”‘
Abu Bakr said, ‘I said to ‘Umar, “How can I do something which the Messenger
of Allah did not do?” ‘Umar said, “By Allah, it is better.” ‘Umar kept at
me about it until Allah opened my breast to that. I think what ‘Umar thinks
about that.'”
Zayd continued, “Abu Bakr said, ‘You are an intelligent young
man and we have no suspicion about you. You used to write down the revelation
for the Messenger of Allah. Therefore you are to search out the Qur’an and
collect it.’ By Allah, if he had obliged me to move one of the mountains, that
would not have been weightier for me than what he commanded to do of collecting
the Qur’an. I said, ‘How can you do something which the Messenger of
Allah did not do?‘ Abu Bakr said, ‘By Allah, it is better.’ Abu Bakr
continued to keep at me until Allah opened my breast to what Allah had opened
the breasts of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. So I began to search out the Qur’an and
collect it from the palm stalks, thin white stones, and the breasts of
men until I found end of Surat
at-Tawba with Khuzayma al-Ansari WHICH I DID NOT FIND WITH
ANYONE ELSE: ‘A
Messenger has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering is distressful
to him…’ (9:128)” The copy of the Qur’an in which the Qur’an
was collected remained in the possession of Abu Bakr until Allah took him, and
then it was with ‘Umar until Allah took him, and then it was with Hafsa bint
‘Umar.” (Aisha Bewley, The
Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, Chapter 69. Book of Virtues of the
Qur’an https://bewley.virtualave.net/bukhari34.html;
capital and underline emphasis ours)
Keep in mind Zaid’s claim that Q. 9:128-129 was not found with
anyone but a single Muslim named Khuzaima al-Ansari, since we’ll have more to
say about this text a little later.
Here is another tradition which testifies that most of the
original Quran’s contents no longer exist:
“Ismail bin Ibrahim narrated from Ayub from Naf’i from Ibn Umar
who said: ‘Verily among you people one would say that he has found the Quran
while he is unaware of what the total quantity of the Quran was, because most of the Quran has been
lost. Rather one should say that verily he has found the Quran
that has appeared.’” (Fadhail
al-Quran, by Qasim bin Salam (d. 222 A.H.), Volume 2, p. 135)
The following authorities all cite this particular narration:
Al-Itqan fi ‘ulum al-Quran by Suyuti,
rendered into Urdu by Maulana Muhammad Haleem Ansari, Volume 2, p. 64 (Idara
Islamiat, Lahore).
And here is an English translation of this specific report taken
from another version of the Itqan:
It is reported from Ismail ibn Ibrahim from Ayyub from Naafi
from Ibn Umar who said: “Let
none of you say ‘I have acquired the whole of the Qur’an‘. How
does he know what all of it is when
much of the Qur’an has disappeared? Rather let him say ‘I
have acquired what has survived.'” (Al-Itqan, p. 524)
Tafsir Dur
al-Manthur Volume 1, p. 106.
Tafsir Ruh al-Mani, Volume 1, p. 25.
And here is what the scholars said about the transmitters of the
foregoing report:
Ismail bin Ibrahim
Dahabi said, “Hujja” (Al-Kashif, Volume 1 p.
242).
Ibn Hajar said, “Thiqah” (Taqrib al-Tahdib,
Volume 1, p. 90).
Ayyub al-Sakhtiani
Dahabi said, “The master of scholars’ (Siar alam al-nubala,
Volume 6, p. 15).
Ibn Hajar said, “Thiqah
Thabt Hujja” (Taqrib
al-Tahdib, Volume 1, p. 116).
Naafi
Dahabi said, “The Imam of Tabi’in” (Al-Kashif, volume 2,
p. 315).
Ibn Hajar said, “Thiqah
Thabt” (Taqrib
al-Tahdib, Volume 2, p. 239).
The words Thiqah, Thabt and Hujja are used to
describe men of integrity who were deemed to be completely reliable and
trustworthy in narrating hadiths.
And just in case this same Muhammadan greenhorn wants to argue
that the word Zahab doesn’t mean
that verses of the Quran are lost or have disappeared, but rather that they
have been abrogated, here is that same narration from al-Bukhari,which we cited
earlier, that refutes this lie:
أرسل إلي أبو بكر مقتل أهل اليمامة وعنده عمر فقال أبو بكر إن عمر
أتاني فقال إن القتل قد استحر يوم اليمامة بالناس وإني أخشى أن يستحر القتل
بالقراء في المواطن فيذهب كثير من القرآن إلا أن تجمعوه وإني لأرى أن تجمع ۔۔۔
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 Yamama, 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 (Zahab). 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 Messenger. 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 Messenger 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) palm stalks, thin white stones and
also from the men who knew it by heart, till I found the last Verse of Surat
at-Tauba (Repentance) with Abi Khuzaima Al-Ansari, and I did not find it with anybody
other than him. The Verse is: ‘Verily there has come unto you
an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should
receive any injury or difficulty… (till the end of Surat-Baraa’ (at-Tauba)
(9.128-129). Then the complete manuscripts (copy) of the Qur’an remained with
Abu Bakr till he died, then with `Umar till the end of his life, and then with
Hafsa, the daughter of `Umar.” (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 509 https://sunnah.com/bukhari/66/8)
Umar was obviously not worried about verses being abrogated, but
was afraid that passages would vanish without a trace.
Sadly for Umar and the rest of the Muslims, his fears came true
since much of the Quran has been lost, never to be recovered again.
For instance, in the short section on the codex (mushaf) of Abdullah
Ibn Umar, in speaking of the differences in the readings between Abdullah ibn
Masud and the other companions of Muhammad, Muslim scholar Ibn Abi Dawud quotes
Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash as saying:
Many of the companions of the Prophet of Allah had their own
reading of the Qur’an, but they died and
their readings disappeared soon afterwards. (Ibn Abi
Dawud, Kitab
al-Masahif, p. 83)
And:
Many (of the passages) of the Qur’an that were sent down were
known by those who died on the day of Yamama… 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.
(Kitab al-Masahif,
p. 23)
According to Daraqutni, the author of the Book al-Masahif, Abdullah
bin Sulaiman bin Al-Ashath bin Ishaq Al-Sajastani, the son of Abu Dawud, who
was the author of Sunan
Abu Dawud, was Thiqa (Tadhkirat Al-Huffaz,
Volume 2, p. 771; Tarikh
Baghdad, Volume 9, p. 468).
Imam Dhahabi also declared him Thiqa (Al-Siar fi Al’am Al-Nubala, Volume 14, p.
505).
Abu Hamid bin Asad Al-Maktib said, “I never saw someone in
knowledge like Abdullah bin Al-Ashath” (Tarikh
Baghdad, Volume 9, p. 465).
Speaking of Abdullah ibn Masud, we are told that Muhammad
personally singled him out along with Ubayy ibn Kabb as two of the best men to
learn the Quran from:
Narrated Masriq:
‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr mentioned ‘Abdullah bin Masud and said, “I shall ever love that man,
for I heard the Prophet saying, ‘Take (learn) the Qur’an from four: ‘Abdullah bin Masud,
Salim, Mu’adh and
Ubai bin Ka’b.’” (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 61, Number 521 https://sunnah.com/bukhari/66/21)
And yet the Quran that this greenhorn reads omits and adds many
verses and phrases included or not contained in Abdullah’s mushaf (codex).
For instance, al-Bukhari reports that the following verse,
And the
creation of the male and the female, S. 92:3
Contains an extra clause, which was not recognized and accepted
by Abdullah and some other men who had learned the Quran directly from
Muhammad:
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 https://sunnah.com/bukhari/62/108)
And here is a case where a part of a verse is missing:
“The prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves,
and his wives are their mothers…” S. 33:6
The late Muslim translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali records that the
Quran of Ubayy b. Ka‘b, a companion of Muhammad and considered to be one of the
best reciters/readers,
Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas: ‘Umar said, Ubai was the best of us in the
recitation (of the Qur’an) yet we leave some of what he recites.’ Ubai says, ‘I
have taken it from the mouth of Allah’s Apostle and will not leave for anything
whatever.’ But Allah said: None of Our revelations do we abrogate or cause to
be forgotten but We substitute something better or similar (2.106).” (Sahih al-Bukhari,
Volume 6, Book 61, Number 527 https://sunnah.com/bukhari/66/27)
Included a clause that was attested by other Muslim readers:
“In spiritual relationship the Prophet is entitled to more
respect and consideration than blood-relations. The Believers should follow him
rather than their fathers or mothers or brothers, where there is conflict of
duties. He is even nearer – closer to our real interests – than our own
selves. IN SOME
QIRAATS, LIKE THAT OF UBAI IBN KA’B, occur also the words ‘and he is a father
to them,’ which imply his spiritual relationship and
connect on with the words, ‘and his wives are their mothers.’ Thus his
spiritual fatherhood would be contrasted pointedly with the repudiation of the
vulgar superstition of calling any one like Zaid ibn Haritha by the appellation
Zaid ibn Muhammad (xxxiii. 40): such an appellation is really disrespectful to
the Prophet.” (Ali, The
Holy Qur’an, p. 1104, fn. 3674; bold and capital emphasis ours)
The following renowned Muslim authority and jurist admitted
that:
… An unusual reading of the Qur’an includes, “He is a father to
them,” but it
is no longer recited since it is AT VARIANCE with the version of ‘Uthman.
(Muhammad Messenger of
Allah (Ash-Shifa of Qadi ‘Iyad), Qadi ‘Iyad Musa al-Yahsubi,
translated by Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley [Madinah Press, Inverness, Scotland,
U.K. 1991; third reprint, paperback], pp. 29-30; bold and capital emphasis
ours)
Interestingly, the late Muslim scholar and Quran translator
Muhammad Asad actually inserted this variant within brackets into his English
version:
“The Prophet has a higher claim on the believers than [they have
on] their own selves, [seeing that he is as a father to them] and his wives are
their mothers…”
Here is his reason why he chose to add this to his version:
Thus, connecting with the preceding mention of voluntary,
elective relationships (as contrasted with those by blood), this verse points
to the highest manifestation of an elective, spiritual relationship: that of
the God-inspired Prophet and the person who freely chooses to follow him. The
Prophet himself is reported to have said: “None of you has real faith unless I
am dearer unto him than his father, and his child, and all mankind” (Bukhari
and Muslim, on the authority of Anas, with several almost identical versions in
other compilations). The Companions invariably regarded the Prophet as the
spiritual father of his community. Some
of them – e.g., IBN MASUD (as quoted by Zamakhshari) or Ubayy ibn Kab, Ibn
Abbas and Muawiyah (as quoted by Ibn Kathir) – hardly ever recited the above
verse without adding, by way of explanation[sic], “seeing that he is [as] a
father to them”; and many of the tabi in – including Mujahid, Qatadah, lkrimah
and Al-Hasan (cf. Tabari and Ibn Kathir) – did the same: hence my
interpolation, between brackets, of this phrase. (However, see
also verse 40 of this surah and the corresponding note.) As regards the status
of the Prophet’s wives as the “mothers of the believers”, this arises primarily
from the fact of their having shared the life of God’s Apostle in its most
intimate aspect. Consequently, they could not remarry after his death (see
verse 53 below), since all the believers were, spiritually, their “children”.
(Bold and underline emphasis ours)
Hence, both of the top Quranic reciters and compilers that
Muhammad pointed people to had this clause in their recensions, which is
omitted from the Arabic versions of the Qurans that this greenhorn reads from!
In fact, the following narrations all claim that Q. 33 (Surah Ahzab) initially had
approximately one hundred thirty to two hundred more verses that are now all
gone and have disappeared from sight:
“Ubai bin Ka’ab inquired of someone: ‘How many verses were there
in the chapter of al-Ahzab?’ He replied, ‘72 or 73 verses.’ Ubai bin Ka’b then
said: ‘I had seen this Surah more or equal to Surah Baqarah.” (Tafsir Dur al-Manthur,
Volume 6, p. 558)
“Aisha narrated that during the lifetime of the prophet 200
verses were recited in Surah
Ahzab but when Uthman collected the Mushaf, he only
succeeded in locating the present number of verses.” (Tafsir Dur al-Manthur,
Volume 6, p. 560)
“Aisha narrates: ‘Surah Ahzab contained 200 verses during the
lifetime of Prophet but when the Quran was collected we only found the amount
that can be found in the present Quran.” (Tafsir
Qurtubi, Volume 7, p. 113)
The Muhammadan’s woes are far from over.
According to Imam Muslim, there was a chapter equal to the
length of Surah Bara’at (chapter
9) that has since disappeared:
Abu Harb b. Abu al-Aswad reported on the authority of his father
that Abu Musa al-Ash’ari sent for the reciters of Basra. They came to him and
they were three hundred in number. They recited the Qur’an and he said: You are
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) Bara’at. I have, however, 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 so recite a
surah which resembled one of the surahs of Musabbihat, and I have forgotten it,
but remember (this much) out of it: “Oh
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). (Sahih Muslim, Book
005, Number 2286 https://sunnah.com/muslim/12/156;
bold and underline emphasis ours)
Another source quotes Ubay ibn Kabb as claiming that Muhammad
told him:
“Certainly the Almighty commanded me to read the Quran before
you,” and he read, “The unbelievers from the people of the Book and should the
son of Adam ask for a valley full of wealth and I grant it to him, he would ask
for another valley. And if I grant him that, he would ask for a third valley.
Nothing would fill the abdomen of the son of Adam except the soil. God accepts
the repentance of anyone who repents. The religion in the eyes of God is the
Hanafiyah rather than Yahudiyya (Judaism) or Nasraniya (Christianity). Whoever
does good, his goodness will not be denied.” (Al-Mustadrak by al-Hakim, section of
commentary on the Quran, Volume 2, p. 224, Number 2889)
Al-Hakim stated that, “This is an authentic Hadith.” And in his
commentary on al-Mustadrak,
al-Dhahabi also considered it authentic.
We, thus, have an entire surah, which contained at least 127
verses, that has altogether vanished from the Quran, along with another chapter
that is long gone!
Speaking of Q. 9, certain reports claim that this surah was
approximately the same size as Q. 2, a chapter that contains 286 verses. And
yet surah 9 only has 128 verses, which means that it is missing over hundred
verses!
“Malik said among what had been narrated by Ibn Wahb and Ibn Al
Qasim and Ibn Abdul Hakam is that when the first part of Surat Bara’at was
lost, ‘Bismillah Al
Rahman Al Raheem’ was also lost along with it. It has also been
narrated from Ibn Ajlan that he heard that Surat Bara’at was equal to the
length of Surat Al
Baqarah or approximately equal to it, so the part was gone and
because of that ‘Bismillah
Al Rahman Al Raheem’ wasn’t written between them (between the lost
and the remaining part).” (Tafsir
al-Qurtubi, Volume 8, p. 62, Surah Bara`t [Chapter 9])
Jalaludin as-Suyuti, quoting scholars like Tabarani, Hakim and
Ibn Shaibah, stated that:
عن حذيفة رضي الله عنه قال : التي
تسمون سورة التوبة هي سورة العذاب والله ما تركت أحدا إلا نالت منه ولا تقرأون
منها مما كنا نقرأ إلا ربعها
“Hudhaifah narrated that the Surah which you call Tawbah is
actually Surah
‘Azaab [wrath] and you just recite ONE FOURTH of what we used
to recite.” (Tafsir Dur
al-Manthur, Volume 3 p. 208)
That’s not all. There are at least two modern Quran translations
that reject the textual veracity of 9:128-129, which are supposed to be the
last two verses of the chapter:
009:127 The numerical structure of the
Quran leads us to accept this chapter having 127 verses, rather than
129, and it rejects the additional statements found in modern manuscripts,
which are written here in italics. This major correction is imposed on us by
the Quran’s own testimony, by its authenticating system. The correction made by
the numerical structure of the Quran is also supported by numerous
historical events and repots. See, Chapter 74 and the Appendix On it
Nineteen (Quran – A
Reformist Translation, p. 163 http://www.studyquran.org/resources/Quran_Reformist_Translation.pdf;
underline)
And:
Nineteen years after the Prophet Muhammad’s death, during the
reign of Khalifa `Uthman, a committee of scribes was appointed to make several
copies of the Quran to be dispatched to the new Muslim lands. The copies were
to be made from the original Quran which was written by Muhammad’s hand
(Appendix 28).
This committee was supervised by `Uthman Ibn `Affaan, `Ali Ibn
Abi Taaleb, Zeid Ibn Thaabet, Ubayy Ibn Ka`ab, `Abdullah Ibn Al-Zubair, Sa`eed
Ibn Al-`Aas, and `Abdul Rahman Ibn Al-Haareth Ibn Heshaam. The Prophet, of
course, had written the Quran in its chronological order of revelation
(Appendix 23), together with the necessary instructions to place every piece in
its proper position. The last sura revealed in Medina was Sura 9. Only Sura
110, a very short sura, was revealed after Sura 9, in Mina.
The committee of scribes finally came to Sura 9, and put it in
its proper place. One
of the scribes suggested adding a couple of verses to honor the Prophet.
The majority of scribes agreed. `Ali
was outraged. He vehemently maintained that the word of God,
written down by the hand of His final prophet, must never be altered.
Ali’s protest is documented in many references, but I cite and
reproduce here the classic reference AL ITQAAN FEE ‘ULUM AL QURAN by Jalaluddin
Al-Suyuty, Al-Azhareyyah Press, Cairo, Egypt, 1318 AH, Page 59.
Translation: `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 the prayer, until the Quran is restored.”
The horrendous dimensions of this crime can be realized once we
look at the consequences:
1.
`Uthman was assassinated, and `Ali was
installed as the fourth Khalifa.
2.
A 50-year war erupted between the new
Khalifa and his supporters on one side, and the Mohammedan distorters of the Quran on the
other side.
3.
`Ali was martyred, and eventually his
family, the prophet Muhammad’s family, except for some women and children, were
killed.
4.
The disaster culminated in the infamous
Battle of Karbala, where `Ali’s son, Hussein, and his family were massacred.
5.
The Muslims were deprived of the pure,
unaltered, Quran for 1400 years.
The distorters of the Quran finally won the war,
and the “official” history that came to us represented the victors’ point of
view. This apparent victory for God’s enemies was, of course, in accordance
with God’s will. In just two decades after the Prophet’s death, the idol
worshipers who were defeated by the Prophet in the conquest of Mecca (632 AD)
reverted to idolatry. Ironically,
this time around their idol was the Prophet himself. Such idol
worshipers obviously did not deserve to possess the pure Quran. Hence the
blessed martyrdom of the true believers who tried to restore the Quran, and the
apparent victory for the distorters of God’s word.
The first peace time ruler after this lengthy and disastrous war
was Marwan Ibn Al Hakam (died 65 AH/684 AD). One of the first duties he
performed was
to destroy the original Quran, the one that was so scrupulously
written by the Prophet’s own hand, “fearing it might become the cause of NEW
disputes” [see `ULUM AL-QURAN, by Ahmad von Denffer, Islamic Foundation, Leicester,
United Kingdom, 1983, Page 56.]. The
question an intelligent person must ask is: “If the original Quran were
identical to the Quran in circulation at that time, why did Marwan Ibn Al-Hakam
have to destroy it?!“
Upon examining the oldest Islamic references, we realize that
the false injections, 9:128-129, were always suspect.
For example, we read in Bukhary’s famous Hadith, and Al-Suyuty’s famous Itqaan,
that every single verse in the Quran was verified by a multiplicity of
witnesses “except
Verses 128 and 129 of Sura 9; they were found only with Khuzeimah Ibn Thaabet
Al-Ansaary.” When some people questioned this improper exception, someone came
up with a Hadith stating that “the testimony of Khuzeimah equals the testimony
of two men!!!“
Strangely, the false injections 9:128-129 are labeled in the
traditional Quran printings as “Meccan”.
The Title Figure of Sura 9 from a standard Quran, showing that
this sura is Medinan, “except for the last two verses; they are Meccan”!!!
How could these `Meccan’ verses be found with Khuzeimah, a late
`Medinan’ Muslim?! How could a Medinan sura contain
Meccan verses, when the universal convention has been to label as `Medinan’ all
revelations after the Prophet’s Hijerah from Mecca??!! Despite these
discrepancies, plus many more glaring contradictions associated with Verses
9:128-129, no one dared to question their authenticity… (Rashad Khalifa, Tampering With the Word of God,
Part 1 https://submission.org/App24.html; bold
and underline emphasis ours)
What makes Khalifa’s Quran rather interesting is that in his
version, surah 9 ends at verse 127!
The greenhorn may wish to brush aside the claim of Khalifa and
his followers that Q. 9:128-129 are interpolations on the grounds that the
former was a heretic since he claimed to be the messenger, which the Quran
announced would eventually come to unlock the Quran’s so-called miraculous
mathematical structure of the number 19. (Sadly, Khalifa would eventually be
murdered in cold blood in a Tucson, AZ mosque for this claim by a devout
“orthodox” Muslim).
The problem that this neophyte faces is that Khalifa and those
who follow him weren’t/aren’t merely basing their argument on the so-called
number 19 code supposedly found in the Quran. As the excerpt from Khalifa’s
appendix shows, their objection is also based on specific Sunni narrations,
which amply testify that these verses were found with only one person, thereby
calling into question their textual veracity. In fact, we even cited a report
from al-Bukhari which plainly stated that that these verses were only found
among a single Muslim named Khuzaimi ibn Thabit al-Ansari. The readers can
scroll back to read this narration for themselves.
We conclude this part of our rebuttal with the following
embarrassing, in fact humiliating, tale:
Sunan Ibn Majah
The Chapters on Marriage
It was narrated that ‘Aishah said:
“The Verse of stoning and of breastfeeding an adult ten times
was revealed1, and the paper was with me under my pillow. When the
Messenger of Allah died, we were preoccupied with his death, and a tame
sheep came in AND ATE IT.”
1: These verses were abrogated in recitation but not ruling.
Other ahadith establish the number for fosterage to be 5.
Grade: HASAN (Darussalam)
English reference: Vol. 3, Book 9, Hadith 1944
Arabic reference: Book 9, Hadith 2020 (Sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/urn/1262630;
capital and underline emphasis ours)
Here is a narration that says a sheep devoured a chapter, which
contained the missing verses on stoning and on the issue of women allowing
adults to suckle their breasts ten times, none of which can be found in the
Quran anymore!
The reason why this proves to be so humiliating for Muhammadans
like this greenhorn is because the Quran claims that Allah has sworn to
preserve his revelations (cf. Q. 6:115; 15:9; 18:27; 75:16-19). And yet Allah
seemed to be utterly helpless in preventing a docile animal from destroying the
only copy of the Quran which contained two important verses that he sent down
for the benefit of his community!
So much for the Muslim claim that the Quran is the only
religious scripture that has been perfectly preserved.
Therefore, if this Muhammadan greenhorn applies his objection
consistently then he has to admit that his Quran cannot be the word of God
(which it isn’t but for other reasons). The Islamic tradition affirms that the
Muslim scripture has been so badly corrupted to the extent that neither this
neophyte nor any other Muhammadan can ever say with confidence that they have
the original Quran word for word, intact, in the exact same form in which
Muhammad composed it.
In other words, if Mark’s Gospel is inauthentic because certain
scholars question whether the longer ending is genuine then no Muslim can ever
trust the Quran and take what it says at face value.
For more on the corruption of the Quran, we recommend the
following articles and rebuttals:
The Irreparable Loss of much of the Quran https://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/quran_lost.html
The Quran testifies to its own Textual Corruption! https://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/corruption_testimony.html
The Incomplete and Imperfect Quran https://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/incomplete_imperfect.html
Another Open Challenge to Muslims Pt.
2. https://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/anonymousquran2.html,
Pt. 3 https://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/anonymousquran3.html
The Compilation and Textual Veracity of the Quran https://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/quran_compilation.html
The Seven Ahruf and Multiple Qiraat – A Quranic Perspective https://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/ahruf_quirat.html
Even More Proof for the Quran’s Textual Corruption https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/09/even-more-proof-for-the-qurans-textual-corruption/
Shiite Islam and the Corruption of the Quranic Text https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/17/shiite-islam-and-the-corruption-of-the-quranic-text/
We also highly recommend the following online resource:
Who believes the Quran has been a victim of Tahreef? http://www.shiapen.com/comprehensive/tahreef.html
Thanks to Mustafa Shahin’s Shia brothers for producing such a
comprehensive response where they quote authentic Sunni traditions to prove
that the Quran has been badly corrupted, citing Islamic sources which
emphatically testify that there are missing chapters, verses, words omitted
from certain verses etc., as well as things added that shouldn’t be there.
With that red herring out of the way we are ready to respond to
the rest of this neophyte’s nonsense.
IHS
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