Hadiths=Lies

[Nonson]

THE COLLECTION OF THE QUR'AN - from the hadiths









2 The first collection of the Qur'an

2.1 Not assembled during the time of Muhammad but copies available

[Zaid b. Thabit said:] 'The Prophet died and the Qur'an had not been assembled into a single place.' (p. 118, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 9)


when people came to Medina to learn about Islam, they were provided with copies of the chapters of the Qur'an, to read and learn them by heart. (Hamidullah, "Sahifa Hammam ibn Munabbih", 1070, p. 64)


2.2 By Salim

Salim had already 'collected the Qur'an into a single volume' -- he was the first to collect the Qur'an, and gave it the name mushaf, a word he had heard in Ethiopia, (p. 121, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 58)


2.3 By Abu Bakr

The Muslim sources are thus quite clear that Abu Bakr and `Umar were responsible for the first collection of the Qur'an texts following the death of the Muhammad. Discordant voices were nonetheless heard, Abu Bakr died and the Qur'an had not been collected; `Umar was killed and the Qur'an had not been collected.' (p. 229)


Zaid reports, 'Abu Bakr sent for me on the occasion of the deaths of those killed in the Yemama wars. I found `Umar b. al Khattab with him. Abu Bakr said, "`Umar has just come to me and said, 'In the Yemama fighting death has dealt most severely with the qurra' and I fear it will deal with equal severity with them in other theatres of war and as a result much of the Qur'an will perish [d h b]. I am therefore of the opinion that you should command that the Qur'an be collected.'" Abu Bakr added, "I said to `Umar, 'How can we do what the Prophet never did?' `Umar replied that it was nonetheless a good act. He did not cease replying to my scruples until God reconciled me to the undertaking." Abu Bakr continued, "Zaid, you are young and intelligent and we know nothing to your discredit. You used to record the revelations for the Prophet, so pursue the Qur'an and collect it all together." By God! had they asked me to remove a mountain it could not have been more weighty than what they would now have me do in ordering me to collect the Qur'an. I therefore asked them how they could do what the Prophet had not done but Abu Bakr insisted that it was permissible. He did not cease replying to my scruples until God reconciled me to the undertaking as He had already reconciled Abu Bakr and `Umar. I thereupon pursued the Qur'an collecting it all together from palm-branches, flat stones and the memories of men. I found the last verse of sura al Tawba in the possession of Abu Khuzaima al Ansari, having found it with no one else, "There has now come to you..." to the end of the sura.
The sheets [suhuf] that Zaid prepared in this manner remained in the keeping of Abu Bakr. On his death, they passed to `Umar who then bequeathed them on his death to his daughter Hafsa. (p. 118-119, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 9. Also Sahih Bukhari vol. VI:509, 510)



Zuhri reports that when slaughter befell the Muslims in the Yemama it was Abu Bakr who feared that many of the qarra' would perish. (p. 120, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 12)


It is said that upward of 700 Companions fell in the Yemama. Sufyan reports that when Salim was slain `Umar hastened to Abu Bakr. (p. 120, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 9)


The first to collect the Qur'an between two covers was Abu Bakr. awwal man jama`a al Qur'an baina lawhain. (p. 122, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 6)


`Ali said, 'God bless Abu Bakr! He was the first to collect the Qur'an between two covers', (p. 122, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 6)
and again,
'the greatest reward in respect of the masahif will fall to Abu Bakr for he was the first to collect the text between the two covers.' (p. 122, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 5)


Hisham b. 'Urwa reports his father as saying,
'Abu Bakr collected the Qur'an after the death of the Prophet.' (p. 122, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 6)


Elsewhere we are assured that Zaid first wrote out the Qur'an for Abu Bakr on scraps of leather and on palm-branches. On the death of Abu Bakr, `Umar appointed Zaid to transcribe his materials into the sahifa which remained in `Umar's possession. (p. 123, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 12)

Zaid says that they had been accustomed to organising the Qur'an from these scraps in the presence of the Prophet. (p. 123, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 57)


Abu Bakr ordered `Umar and Zaid to sit in the gate of the mosque and to include in the mushaf only what was vouched for by the testimony of two men. (p. 125, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 11)


2.4 By `Umar

On the discovery of two closing verses of Q 9, `Umar is said to have remarked,
'Had they been three verses, I would have made them a separate sura', (Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 61)
a report which disturbed some scholars. (p. 215)


`Umar b. al Khattab enquired about a verse of the Book of God. On being informed that it had been in the possession of so-and-so who had been killed in the Yemama wars, `Umar exclaimed the formula expressing loss, 'We are God's and unto Him is our return.' `Umar gave the command and the Qur'an was collected. He was the first to collect the Qur'an. (p. 120, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 10)


`Umar was the first to collect the Qur'an into a single volume [mushaf]... `Umar desired to collect the Qur'an. He address the people, 'Whoever among you received any part of the Qur'an directly from the very mouth of the Prophet let him bring it here to us.' (p. 122, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 10)


Omitting the words, 'between two covers' or 'into a single volume', and supposing the transmission to be accurate, the meaning of jama`a al Qur'an would be 'memorised the Qur'an.' (p. 122, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 10)
Similarly, where used of ``Umar, the root j m ` signifies asara bi jam`ihi, 'advised its collection.' (p. 122-3, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 10; Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 10)


`Umar decided to collect the Qur'an. He addressed the people, 'Let whoever received direct from the mouth of the Prophet any part of the Qur'an now bring it here to us.' They had written what they had heard on sheets, tablets and palm-branches. `Umar would not accept anything from anyone until two witnesses bore testimony. He was assassinated while still engaged on his collection. His successor, `Uthman addressed the people, 'Let whoever has anything of the Book of God bring it here to us.' `Uthman would accept nothing from anyone until two witnesses bore testimony. Khuzaima b. Thabit said, 'I see that you have omitted two verses. You have not written them.' They asked what they were and he said, 'I had direct from the Prophet: "There has come to you....". `Uthman said, 'And I bear witness that these verses come from God.' He asked Khuzaima where they should enter them. He replied, 'Make them the close of the latest Qur'anic revelation.' Thus was Bara'a sealed with these words. (p. 123, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 10)


When `Umar determined to write out the imam, he ordered a group of the Companions to set to work and advised them that, if they disagreed linguistically, they should write it in the language of Mudar, since it had been revealed to a man of Mudar. (p. 153, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 11)


2.5 By `Uthman

The collection of the Qur'an ab initio (jam` al Qur'an fi sahifa, fi suhuf, fi mushaf, baina lawhain) is a distinctive activity and has, we have seen, been ascribed to numerous individuals among the Companion generation, including each of Muhammad's four immediate successors as Head of State, Abu Bakr, `Umar `Uthman, and `Ali.
The provision of a textus receptus (jam` al masahif `ala mushaf wahid, jam` al nas `ala mushaf) in which the root j m ` abandons the meaning 'to collect' to take on the force of 'collating', 'reconciling', is a different activity and has been attributed to only one of Muhammad's successors, `Uthman b. `Affan (A.D. 644-56). (p. 139)



The alternative jam` al masahif view requires our assent to the contrary proposition. Not only had the Qur'an texts been organised, preserved and collected at a much earlier date, but this had been done on innumerable occasions and by innumerable persons. On the accession of the Prophet's third successor there existed such an unwieldy body of materials that it was not only possible but essential to establish a textus receptus ne varietur while many of those best qualified to bring this vital undertaking to a successful conclusion were still happily alive. (p. 140)
See section 3 and 4


2.6 By `Ali

[On the death of Muhammad, Ali] 'vowed that he would not don outdoor clothes until he had collected the Qur'an into a single volume.' (p. 121, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 10)


In one version of the report on `Ali's vow, we read, 'until I collected the Qur'an between two covers'.
The commentators assure us that this version is erroneous. Only a single transmitter credits `Ali with a collection ab initio. The report is isolate. (p. 122, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 9)



2.7 Khuzaima and Q 9:128-129
[Note: Khuzaima was credited with the bringing of Q9:128-129 when it was compiled. Either one Khuzaima offered the verses on more than one different occasion or three different Khuzaima's did that.]



They collected the Qur'an into a mushaf in the reign of Abu Bakr, some men writing to the dictation of Ubayy. When they reached Q 9.127 some supposed that that was the last part of the Qur'an to have been revealed. But Ubayy pointed out that the Prophet had taught him two verses more and, since they were the last of the Qur'an to be revealed, the Book should close on the note on which it had begun. (p. 124, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 10)


[Zaid reports:] I found the last verse of sura al Tawba in the possession of Abu Khuzaima al Ansari, having found it with no one else, "There has now come to you..." to the end of the sura. (p. 119, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 9)


Khuzaima b. Thabit said, 'I see that you have omitted two verses. You have not written them.' They asked what they were and he said, 'I had direct from the Prophet: "There has come to you....". `Uthman said, 'And I bear witness that these verses come from God.' He asked Khuzaima where they should enter them. He replied, 'Make them the close of the latest Qur'anic revelation.' Thus was Bara'a sealed with these words. (p. 123, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 10)


A further hadith features one al Harith b. Khuzaima who brought this very verse to `Umar. (p. 125, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 30)


Unhappily, however, the elegance of this rationalisation is marred by uncertainty as to the man's identity.

'Khuzaima was known as du al sahadatain. The Prophet had declared his testimony equal to that of two men. (Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 29)
(p. 128)


'The Prophet had declared his evidence to equal that of two men.' (p. 126, Badr al Din Muhammad b. `Abdullah al Zarkasi, "K. al Burhan fi `ulum al Qur'an, 4 vols., Halabi, Cairo, 1957/1376, vol. 1, p. 234)


Zaid's words, 'I did not find with anyone else', were interpreted to mean that he had not found the verse in writing with anyone else. (Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 12)


2.8 Reconciliation of different reports

That task, whoever first accomplished it, was merely one of assembling the Qur'an which 'already in the lifetime of the Prophet was recorded in writing. Abu Bakr's contribution was to arrange for the transfer of these sheets, then scattered about Medina, into a single volume.' God informs us that in Muhammad's day the Qur'an was written on 'pure sheets from which he recites.' (Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 10) Q 98.2 may or may not refer to Muhammad. In either event, the remark is exegetical rather than historical. (p. 121)


2.9 Personal codices of the Qur'an

'They collected the Qur'an from the codex prepared by Ubayy.' (Masahif, p. 30)


They collected the Qur'an into a mushaf in the reign of Abu Bakr, some men writing to the dictation of Ubayy. When they reached Q 9.127 some supposed that that was the last part of the Qur'an to have been revealed. But Ubayy pointed out that the Prophet had taught him two verses more and, since they were the last of the Qur'an to be revealed, the Book should close on the note on which it had begun. (p. 124, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 10)


Other attributions [ie. compiled Qur'an] include the Prophet's widows: `A'isha, Hafsa and Umm Salama. Among the Companions were named Miqdad (or Mu`ad), Abu Musa, `Abdullah, `Ubada and Zaid b. Thabit. (p. 165, A. Jeffery, "Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur'an, Leiden, 1937, p. 17. CF. Abu Muhammad `Abdullah b. `Abdul Rahman al Darimi, "K. al Sunan", Cairo, 1966/1386, p. 55)


We are told by Muslim traditionists that other people also memorized and collected large portions of the Qur'an. Among the Ansaris were Ubayy ibn Ka`b, Mu`adh ibn Jabal Abu Zaid, Abu Zaid and Abu-ad-Darda (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 6, pp. 488-489)


`Abdullah ibn Mas`ud, who had been with Muhammad from the very beginning in Mecca, had collected more than ninety of the one hundred fourteen surahs, learning the rest from Mujammi ibn Jariyah (Ibn Sa`d, "Kitab al Tabaqat", vol. 2, p. 457)


Narrated Qatada: I asked Anas bin Malik: 'Who collected the Quran at the time of the prophet?' He replied, 'Four, all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubai bin Ka`b, Muadh bin Jabal, Zaid bin Thabit and Abu Zaid.'" (Sahih Bukhari, vol. vi, no. 525)

[Nonson]

THE COLLECTION OF THE QUR'AN - from the hadiths









4. The `Uthmanic collection

4.1 Reason for collection - Unity of the Muslims

`Uthman's purpose and achievement was to unite the Muslims on the basis of a single agreed Qur'an reading. (p. 143, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 15)


Abu Bakr's aim had been to collect the Qur'an between two covers. `Uthman's was to collect those readings attested as coming from the Prophet and to reject all non-canonical readings. He aimed to unite the Muslims on the basis of a single text, containing no interpolations and no Qur'an provisions whose wording had been withdrawn but which still appeared in the written text with verses whose inclusion in the final version of the text had been endorsed and thus preserved as required to be publicly recited [at prayer]. (p. 161, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 60)



By God! he did not act on the mushaf except in the fullest consultation with us, for he said, 'What is your view in this matter of reading? I have heard that some even say, "My reading is superior to yours." That is tantamount to heresy.' We asked him, 'What are you thinking to do?' He replied, 'My view is that we should unite the Muslims on the basis of a single mushaf. That way, there will be no disagreement, no segmentation.' We replied, 'An excellent idea!' Someone then asked, 'Whose is the purest Arabic? and whose the greatest acquaintance with the recitation [alt. Qur'an]?' They said that the purest Arabic was that of Sa`id b. al `As and that the one most acquainted with the recitation [Qur'an] was Zaid b. Thabit.
`Uthman said, 'Let the one write and the other dictate.' The two then set to work and in this way `Uthman united the Muslims on the basis of a single text.

`Ali concludes his report with the declaration, 'Had I been in power, I should have done just what `Uthman did.' (p. 144, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 22)



Hudaifa said to `Uthman, 'Whatever you would do if you heard someone talking of the reading of so-and-so, and reading of another, as the non-Muslims do, then do it now.' (p. 146, Anu `Amr `Uthman b. Sa`id al Dani, "K. al Muqni`", ed. O. Pretzl, Istanbul, 1932, p. 9)


`Uthman organised the suras in the order we are now familiar with. In addition, he restricted the reading to a single dialect -- that of Qurais in which it had been revealed. Hitherto, there had been a concession permitting the reciting of the Qur'an in dialects other than that of Mecca so that the burden of scruple imposed upon converts at the outset of the new revelation should be minimal. Those days were now recognised by `Uthman to be gone, not least since much danger was to be feared from the continuation of that freedom and especially since some overliteralness in the local attachment to a particular reading might give the impression of, or even lead to, the fragmentation of the Islamic unity. (pp. 155-156, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 60)

4.2 Different reactions to the collection

... Ubayy stoutly refused to abandon any part of the Qur'an wording he had received direct from the Prophet. Ubayy, we are told, would have none of the doctrine of the withdrawal of any part of the Qur'an text. (p. 179, Bukhari, "K. al Tafsir", ad Q 2.106 and commentaries)


'The Prophet taught me [ie. ibn Mas`ud] to recite seventy suras which I had mastered before Zaid had even become a Muslims.' (p. 166, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 17)


'Am I [ie. ibn Mas`ud] to be debarred from copying the mushafs and the job given to a man who was an infidel in his father's reins when I first became a Muslim?' (p. 166, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 17)


ibn Mus`ud, the eponym of the Qur'an of the Kufans, is reported to have burst out,
'I recited from the very mouth of the Prophet some seventy suras while Zaid still had his ringlets and was playing with his companions.' (p. 166, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 14)


`Abdullah is supposed to have enjoined his followers,
'Lay up your Qur'an's! How can you order me to recite the reading of Zaid, when I recited from the very mouth of the Prophet some seventy suras?"
'Am I,' asks Abdullah, 'to abandon what I acquired from the very lips of the Prophet?' (pp. 166-167, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 15)



I went to Abu Musa's house and saw there `Abdullah and Hudaifa. I sat with them. They had a mushaf that `Uthman had sent ordering them to make their Qur'an conform with it. Abu Musa declared that anything in his mushaf and lacking in `Uthman's was not to be omitted. Anything in `Uthman's and lacking in his own was to be added. Hudaifa asked, 'What is the point of all our work? Nobody in this region will give up the reading of this saikh, meaning `Abdullah, and nobody of Yemeni origin will give up the reading of Abu Musa.' Hudaifa it was who had advised `Uthman to unite the mushafs on the basis of a single mushaf. (p. 167, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 35)


4.3 `Uthman allowed variant readings

That his [ie. `Uthman's] initiative in this direction was a total failure is, however, admitted in further hadiths which show `Uthman either resignedly permitting, or himself using, readings at variance with those enshrined in the mushaf associated with his name. (p. 168, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 39)


`Uthman sent for `Ali for information on the grievances of the rebels. Among these was resentment at his having 'expunged the mushafs'. `Uthman replied,
'The Qur'an came from God. I prohibited the variant readings since I feared dissension. But now, read it as you please.' (p. 168-169, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 36)


4.4 `Uthman's complaint about Zaid's text

It is said that when `Uthman received the completed mushaf, he noticed certain linguistic irregularities.
'Had he who dictated it been of Hudail and the scribe of Thaqif,' he said, 'this would never had happened.' (p. 169, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 33)
Note: `Abdullah was Hudail.


4.5 The destruction of the codex of Hafsa

After Othman's death, Marwan the Governor of Medina sent to Hafsa and demanded it. She refused to give it up so it stayed with her until she died. But Marwan was so concerned to have it that as soon as he returned from her funeral, he immediately sent to get it. The story is recorded by Ibn Abi Dawud (died 316 AH) in his Kitab Al-Masahif. He gives the Isnad down to Salem ben Abdullah who said,
When Hafsa died and we returned from her funeral, Marwan sent with firm intention to Abdullah ben Omar (Hafsa's brother) that he must send him those pages, and Abdullah ben Omar sent them to him, and Marwan ordered it and they were torn up. And he said, I did this because whatever was in it was surely written and preserved in the (official) volume and I was afraid that after a time people will be suspicious of this copy or they will say there is something in it that wasn't written.
(William Campbell, "The Quran and the Bible in the Light of History and Science", Section Three, III.C)


4.6 Others

The dialect problem had apparently not been overcome by the very work ascribed by `Uthman, as we have just seen. Nor had the reading problem been settled by his supposed provision of a uniform consonantal matrix. Goldziher has signaled a disputed vocalic reading for the very Tawba verse which Zaid is said to have reinstated: There has now come to you a prophet from amongst your own number (anfusikum); from amongst the most precious among you (anfasikum). The variant has been ascribed, not merely to Companions, but even to the Prophet himself! (p. 170, I. Goldziher, Die Richtungen de Islamischen Koranauslegung, Leiden, 1952, p. 35)


`Ali is said to have arranged his mushaf in the chronological order of the revelation and to have included his notes on the nasikh and the mansukh. (Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 58)
The importance of this work would have been immense, but all Muhammad b. Sirin's efforts to locate this work in Medina came to nothing. (p. 216)

[Nonson]

Mushaf `Uthmani

5.1 Some missing verses

5.1.1 The missing Bismillah

ibn `Abbas asked `Uthman what possessed him to place surat al Anfal, one of the mathani, with Bara'a, one of the mi'in, join them with no bismillah between them and place them among the seven lengthy suras. `Uthman replied that often the Prophet received quite long revelations. He would call for one of the scribes and say, 'Put these verses in the sura in which so-and-so occurs.' Anfal was among the first of the Medina revelations and Bara'a among the last. Since its contents resembled those of Anfal, `Uthman took it to belong with it, for the Prophet had died without explaining that it was part of it. (p. 164, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 60)


Malik had a shorter explanation for the absence of this bismillah. The beginning of Bara'a fell out and its bismillah fell out with it. (p. 164-165, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 65)



5.1.2 The Stoning Verse on penalty for adulterers/adulteress

... the majority of the madahib are unanimously of the view that in certain circumstances, the penalty for adultery is death by stoning. Now, we know that this penalty is not only nowhere mentioned in our texts of the Qur'an, it is totally incompatible with the penalty that is mentioned: al zaniyatu wa al zani fajlidu kulla wahidin minhuma mi'ata jaldatin (The adulteress and the adulterer, flog each one of them one hundred strokes) (Q 24.2). (p. 72)


5.1.2.1 Source is the sunna (also believed inspired)

The 'basic form' of the report [of `Ubada] runs as follows:
The Prophet said, 'Take it from me! God has now appointed a way for women: the virgin with the virgin, one hundred strokes and a year's banishment; the non-virgin with the non-virgin, one hundred strokes and stoning.' (p. 74, Safi`i, "Risalah", p. 20)


The descent of inspiration [wahy] was troublesome to the Prophet. His face would go ashen in colour. One day inspiration came down upon him and he showed the usual signs of distress. When he recovered, he said, 'Take it from me! God has now appointed a way for women: the non-virgin with the non-virgin and the virgin with the virgin. The non-virgin, one hundred strokes and death by stoning, the virgin, one hundred strokes and banishment for a year.' (p. 74, Ahmad b. al Husain al Baihaqi, "al Sunan al Kubra", 10 vols., Haiderabad, 1925-38/1344-57, vol. 8, p. 210)


We could tell when the inspiration descended upon the Prophet. When the words, 'or until God appoint a way', were revealed, and the inspiration ascended, the Prophet said, 'Take heed! God has now appointed the way: the virgin with the virgin, one hundred strokes and banishment for a year; the non-virgin with the non-virgin, one hundred strokes and death by stoning.' (pp. 74-75, Sulaiman b. Da'ud al Tayalisi, "Sunan", Haiderabad, 1904/1321, p. 79)


It is related that when a woman guilty of adultery was brought before `Ali, he flogged her and then had her stoned. Someone protested: 'but you have inflicted two penalties!' `Ali replied, 'I stoned her in accordance with the Sunna of the Prophet and flogged her in accordance with the Book of God.' (p. 75, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 12, p. 103)


[`Umar said: ] Do not complain about stoning. It is a just claim and I am minded to write it in the mushaf. I fear that with the passage of time some will say, 'We do not find stoning in the Book of God', and on that pretext they will neglect a divine ruling which God revealed. Stoning is a just claim against the married person who fornicates, when there is adduced valid proof, or pregnancy ensues, or a confession is offered. (p. 77, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 12, p. 119)


5.1.2.2 Verse was in Book of God and recited


`Ali reported that the stoning verse had been revealed but those who bore it together with other verses in their memories perished in the Yemama. (p. 121, Burhan al Din al Baji, "Jawab", MS Dar al Kutub, Taimur "majami`", no. 207, f. 14)


ibn `Abbas reports a sermon by `Umar in the course of which he said, 'Men! stoning is a penalty laid down by God. Do not neglect it. It is in the Book of God and the Sunna of your Prophet. The Messenger of God stoned; Abu Bakr stoned, and I have stoned.' (p. 75, Sulaiman b. Da'ud al Tayalisi, "Sunan", Haiderabad, 1904/1321, p. 6)


Malik reports ibn `Abbas as declaring, 'I heard `Umar b. al Khattab say, "Stoning in the Book of God is a just claim against the non-virgin, man or woman, who fornicates, when valid proof is adduced, or pregnancy ensues, or self-condemnation is volunteered."' (p. 75, Malik b. Anas, "al Muwatta'", K. al Hudud.)


[`Umar] announced from the Prophet's pulpit, God sent Muhammad with the truth and revealed to him the Book. Part of what God revealed was the stoning verse. We used to recite it and we memorised it. The Prophet stoned and we have stoned after him. I fear that with the passage of time some will say, 'We do not find stoning in the Book of God', and will therefore neglect a divine injunction which God revealed. Stoning is a just claim.... (p. 77-78, Ahmad b. al Husain al Baihaqi, "al Sunan al Kubra", 10 vols., Haiderabad, 1925-38/1344-57, vol. 8, p. 210)


In a variant version `Umar fears that with the passage of time some will say, 'We do not find the stoning verse in the Book of God.' (p. 78)


[Umar said:] Allah sent Muhammad with the Truth and revealed the holy book to him, and among what Allah revealed, was the verse of Rajam (the stoning of married persons, male and female, who commit adultery) and we did recite this verse and understood and memorized it. Allah's Apostle 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's Book", we do not find the Verse of Rajam in Allah's Book, and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation which Allah has revealed. (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 8, p. 539)


In the Mabsut, Sarakhsi reports,
`Umar said from the pulpit, '... and part of what was revealed in the Qur'an read, "the saikh and the saikha, when they fornicate, stone them outright". Some will repudiate this, and but that men would say, "`Umar has added to the Book of God," I will write it on the margin of the mushaf.' (p. 78-79, al Sarakhsi, "Mabsut", 30 vols., Cairo, 1324, vol. 9, p. 36)


Malik reports also the celebrated hadith of the hired hand:
Two men brought a case before the Prophet. One of them said, 'Messenger of God, judge between us in accordance with the Book of God.'
The other, who was more familiar with litigation, said, 'Yes, Messenger of God, judge between us in accordance with the Book of God and let me speak first. My son served as a hired hand under this man, but he fornicated with his employer's wife. The man, informing me that my son had incurred the stoning penalty, I ransomed him from that penalty with 100 sheep and a slavegirl I had. Subsequently I enquired of the learned who informed me that the stoning penalty lay on the man's wife.'

The Messenger of God said, 'By Him in Whose hand is my soul! I will judge between you in accordance with the Book of God. Your cattle and slave girl are to be restored to you.' (Malik b. Anas, "al Muwatta'", K. al Hudud)

At this point, the direct speech ends, but the hadith continues, 'He awarded the son 100 strokes and banished him for a year. He ordered Unais al Aslami to go to the employer's wife, and in the event that she confess, imposed the stoning penalty. She confessed, and Unais stoned her.'
There are strong grounds for considering this continuation foreign and irrelevant to the hadith. ibn Hajar, for example, comments,


The Book of God might refer to the verdict of God. It has also been held that it refers to the Qur'an. ibn Daqiq al `Id suggested that the first explanation was preferable since neither stoning nor banishment is mentioned in the Qur'an, part from the general injunction to obey the Prophet's commands. One might also consider the possibility that the reference is to God's words, 'or until God appoint a way'. The Prophet showed that the way was the flogging and banishment of the virgin, and stoning the non-virgin. A further possibility, it may be, is that the Book of God is a reference to a verse whose wording has been withdrawn, that is, the stoning verse, although the verse also fails to mention banishment. Finally, the reference may be to the Qur'an prohibition of wasting another's property without legal title to it. The man had taken possession of the other's cattle and slavegirl, but the Prophet insisted that they be returned. (p. 76-77, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 12, p. 115)
The last suggestion may imply that the hadith at one time terminated with the words 'Your cattle and slavegirl are to be restored to you.'


The aunt of Abu Usama b. Sahl told him that the Prophet had instructed them in the reciting of the stoning verse. (p. 82, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 25)


God sent Muhammad and sent down the Scripture to him. Part of what he sent down was the passage on stoning, we read it, and we heeded it. The apostle stoned and we stoned them after him. I fear that in time to come men will say that they find no mention of stoning in God's book and thereby go astray in neglecting an ordinance which God has sent down. Verily stoning in the book of God is a penalty laid on married men and women who commit adultery. (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasulullah, p. 684)


see also next section



5.1.2.3 The actual words of the stoning verse


Malik reports that when `Umar returned from the pilgrimage, he addressed the people of Medina,
Men! the Sunna has been established, the obligatory duties imposed and you have been left in no uncertainty. Beware lest you neglect the stoning verse on account of those who say, 'We do not find two penalties in the Book of God.' The Prophet stoned, and we have stoned. By Him Who holds my soul in His Hand! but that men would say, '`Umar has added to the Book of God', I would write it in with my hand, 'The saikh and the saikha, when they fornicate, stone them outright.' (Malik b. Anas, "al Muwatta'", K. al Hudud, cf. "Fath", vol. 12, p. 119)

The version that occurs in the Hulya reads, 'I would write at the end of the Qur'an.' (p. 78)

Abu Ma`sar has,

But that men would say, '`Umar has written what is not the Book of God', I would write it in, for we used to recite it, 'The saikh and the saikha, when they fornicate, stone them outright, as an exemplary punishment from God. God is mighty, wise.' (p 78)


ibn Hajar compares two versions of the `Umar hadith, one related by `Ali b. `Abdullah, teacher of Bukhari, and to other related by Bukhari himself. In `Ali's version, we find
`Umar declared, 'I fear that with the passage of time some will say, "We do not find stoning in the Book of God", and will neglect a divine injunction revealed by God. Stoning is a just claim against the non-virgin fornicator when valid proof is brought, or pregnancy occurs, or confession is made. We used to recite it, "the saikh and the saikha, when they fornicate, stone them outright." The Messenger of God stoned and we have stoned.'
Bukhari's version stops at confession is made', and ibn Hajar suggests that Buhkari deliberately ignored the remainder of the hadith.
Nasa'i stated that he knew of no transmitter who included the words of the 'verse' in his hadith, apart from Sufyan who here transmits the report as from Zuhri to `Ali b. Abdullah. Nasa'i took Sufyan's version to be erroneous, as numerous transmitters relate the hadith from Zuhri without this addition.
But ibn Hajar reminds that the report is transmitted by Malik and by others in this form which he judges to be 'correct'. (p. 79, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 12, p. 119)



... but Noldeke observed that the terms saikha and battata are alien to the vocabulary of the Qur'an. (p. 79, GdQ2, vol. 1, p. 251, n. 3)


An improved version had, 'as an exemplary punishment from God and His apostle.' (Sulaiman b. Da'ud al Tayalisi, "Sunan", Haiderabad, 1904/1321, p. 540)


5.1.2.4 Not added to the mushaf but in margins

We have a report from `Umar that he said,
'The Messenger of God stoned, Abu Bakr stoned and I have stoned. I am not prepared to add to the Book of God, otherwise I would write it into the mushaf, for I fear that there will come some people who, not finding it, will not accept it.' (Ahmad b. al Husain al Baihaqi, "al Sunan al Kubra", 10 vols., Haiderabad, 1925-38/1344-57, vol. 8, p. 213)


[`Umar summoned] a group of the Muhajirs and the Ansar and inscribe[d] their testimony on the margin of the mushaf: 'The testimony of `Umar and of NN that the Messenger of God stoned adulterers.' (K. al Mabani", in A. Jeffery, "Two Muqaddimahs", Cairo, 1954, p. 78)


Sarakhsi reports, `Umar said from the pulpit, '... and part of what was revealed in Qur'an read, "the saikh and the saikha, when they fornicate, stone them outright". Some will repudiate this, and but that men would say, "`Umar has added to the Book of God," I will write it on the margin of the mushaf.' (p. 78-79, al Sarakhsi, "Mabsut", 30 vols., Cairo, 1324, vol. 9, p. 36)

see also next section



5.1.2.5 Where it used to be in the Qur'an

Ubayy asked Zirr b. Hubais, 'How many verses do you recite in surat al Ahzab?' Zirr replied, 'Seventy-three verses.' Ubayy asked if that was all. 'I have seen it,' he said, 'when it was the same length as Baqara. It contained the words "The saikh and the saikha, when they fornicate, stone them outright, as an exemplary punishment from God. God is might, wise."' (p. 78-79, Ahmad b. al Husain al Baihaqi, "al Sunan al Kubra", 10 vols., Haiderabad, 1925-38/1344-57, vol. 8, pp. 210-11)


Ubayy said, 'It used to equal the length surat al Baqara and we used to recite in Ahzab the stoning verse.' Zirr asked, 'What is the stoning verse?' Ubayy recited, 'If the saikh and the saikha fornicate, stone them outright as an exemplary punishment from God. God is might, wise.' (p. 80, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 25)


Ahzab was identified as the sura originally containing the stoning verse, and, in addition to Ubayy and Abu Musa, `A'isa reports that Ahzab used to be recited, in the lifetime of the Prophet, as having 200 verses, but when `Uthman wrote out the mushafs, all they could find was its present length. (Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 25) A variant of this hadith speaks of writing out the mushaf with, however, no mention of date or attribution. ibn al Anbari concluded from `A'isa's report that God withdrew from the sura everything in excess of its present length, and Mekki reminds us that withdrawal is one of the modes of naskh. (p. 84, Burhan al Din al Baji, "Jawab", MS Dar al Kutub, Taimur "majami`", no. 207, f. 10) Ahzab has only seventy-three verses in today's mushaf. (p. 84)


5.1.2.6 Reasons it was not in the mushaf

Zaid b. Thabit and Sa`id b. al `As were writing out the mushaf. When they came to this verse, Zaid said, 'I heard the Prophet say, "the saikh and the saikha."' `Umar stated, 'When it was revealed, I went to the Messenger of God and said to him, "Shall I write it?" but he seemed to disapprove.' `Umar added, 'Don't you see that the mature, if unwed, would only be flogged in the event of fornication, yet the youth, if wed, would be stoned?' (p. 80, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 12, p. 119; Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 26)


Marwan b. al Hakam asked Zaid why he would not write the verse in the mushaf. Zaid replied, Don't you see that the youth if married is stoned? We raised this question with `Umar and he said, 'I'll see to it.' He went to the Prophet and asked his permission to record the verse. The Prophet said he could not permit that. (p. 81-82, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 12, p. 131; Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 26-7)


`A'isa explains how the wording came to be omitted from the mushaf:
The stoning verse and another verse were revealed and recorded on a sheet (sahifa) which was placed for safe-keeping under her bedding. When the Prophet fell ill and the household were preoccupied with nursing him, a domestic animal got in from the yard and gobbled up the sheet. (p. 86, Burhan al Din al Baji, "Jawab", MS Dar al Kutub, Taimur "majami`", no. 207, f. 15)


Safi`i ... knew and used the hadith about the stoning verse that had once figured in the Qur'an before the collection of the texts into the mushaf. (p. 86, Ikhtiflaf al Hadith, margin of Umm, vol. 7, p. 251)


5.1.2.7 Reconciliation of hadith reports

The source conflict is acknowledged by ibn Hajar, who comments that the reason for the withdrawal of the stoning verse was that the Fiqh was at variance with the apparently general wording of the verse. (p. 81, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 12, p. 131; Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 26-7)


This observation may perhaps also explain why Malik, who does not present the text of the `Ubada report, nevertheless glosses the term saikh and saikha as thayyib and tayyiba (sc. non-virgin), reducing thereby the meaning of the stoning verse to coincide with the meaning of the `Ubada hadith. (p. 81)


Further, ibn Hajar concluded that the reason for the withdrawal of the wording of the verse was conflict of opinion among the Companions. He reports that `Umar addressed the people saying,
Do not complain about stoning. It is a just claim and I was minded to write it into the mushaf, so I consulted Ubayy. But he said, 'Didn't you come to me once before, when I was asking the Prophet for permission to recite the verse? You shoved me in the chest with the words, "Are you asking him to permit the recitation of the stoning verse when the people are randy as donkeys?"' (p. 81, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 12, p. 131; Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 26-7)


Safi`i took the view that the source of the stoning penalty had been the Sunna of the Prophet. Other scholars fell into several classes. (Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Isma`il al Saffar, al Nahhas, "K. al nasikh wa al mansukh fi al Qur'an al Karim", Cairo?, pub. Zaki Mubarak, n.d., pp. 6-7) We know of those who, finding no reference to the stoning penalty in the Qur'an simply rejected it. They insisted on acknowledging only the Qur'an's flogging penalty. (Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 12, introduction to K. al Muharabin)


In the 'hired hand' hadith, the Prophet said, 'I shall judge in accordance with the Book of God.' He therefore inflicted the stoning penalty, of which there is no mention in the Book of God. He must have meant, therefore, by the expression the Book of God, the hukm, the verdict of God, revealed in the manner stated. (p. 103, "K. al Mabani", in A. Jeffery, "Two Muqaddimahs", Cairo, 1954, p. 81)


ibn Zafar in the Yanbu` considered that this case ought not be included in the list of ayas withdrawn in respect of their wording alone. It was the subject of khabar al wahid which gives no basis for statements as to the text of the Qur'an. In an undisguised reference to the parallel quarrels as to the wording of Q 2.106, and its interpretation, he argues that, in any event, stoning is not an instance of naskh. It is an example of raf` or of nasa' - deliberate omission from the mushaf. The rulings of verses of this kind can be known from sources other than the original texts. (Burton: The term used, munsa'/mansa', derives from reading Q 2.106 as: aw nansa'.)
Suyuti rejects Zarkasi's convenient solution. Stoning cannot be considered from the angel of khabar al wahid. `Umar had received his Qur'an text directly from the Prophet. His own solution is merely apologetic: the reason for the withdrawal of this wording is the divine solicitude for the welfare of the Muslims. Non-recording of the verse means non-dissemination of the ruling. Where committed, the offense is best left undisclosed (a detail which has some measure of support in a source as distant in time as Malik, K. al Hudud).

Zurqani improves even on Suyuti's banality by adding that the Qur'an, the Word of God, is inimitable in, among other respects, its brevity -- hence the omission of this verse! (Muhammad `Abdul `Azim al Zurqani, "Manahil al `Irfan fi `ulum al Qur'an", 2 vols., Halabi, Cairo, 1954, vol. 2, pp. 115-16)


Besides, he argues, such things are unseemly, not merely to perform, but even to mentioned in so holy a book. (Muhammad `Abdul `Azim al Zurqani, "Manahil al `Irfan fi `ulum al Qur'an, 2 vols., Halabi, Cairo, 1954, vol. 2, pp. 115-16)

5.1.3 The ibn Adam verses

5.1.3.1 Recited before `Uthman's collection

Ubayy reports, 'The Messenger of God said to me, "God has commanded me to instruct you in the reciting of the Qur'an." He then recited: "Did not those who rejected the Prophet among the people of the Book and the associators..." The verse continued, "Did ibn Adam possess a wadi of property", or, "Were ibn Adam to ask for a wadi of property and he received it, it would asked for a second, and if he received that, he would demand a third wadi. Only dust will fill the maw of ibn Adam, but God relents to him who repents. The very faith in God's eyes is the Hanifiya, not Judaism nor Christianity. Whoso does good, it will never be denied him." (p. 82-83, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 25)


ibn `Abbas said, 'Did ibn Adam possess two wadis of pelf, he would desire a third. Only dust will fill the maw of ibn Adam, but God relents to him who repents.' `Umar asked, 'What is this?' ibn `Abbas replied that Ubayy had instructed him to recite this. `Umar took ibn `Abbas to confront Ubayy. `Umar said, 'We don't say that.' Ubayy insisted that the Prophet instructed him. `Umar asked him, 'Shall I write it into the mushaf, in that case?'
Ubayy said, 'Yes.' This was before the copying of the `Uthman mushafs on the basis of which the practice now rests. (p. 83, Burhan al Din al Baji, "Jawab", MS Dar al Kutub, Taimur "majami`", no. 207, f. 17)



Abu Musa al An`sari reports, 'There was revealed a sura the like of Baqara, but it was later withdrawn.' He recalled of it, 'God will assist this polity with peoples who have no share in the Hereafter. Did ibn Adam posses two wadis of property, he would crave a third. Nothing will fill the maw of ibn Adam but dust, but God will relent to him who repents.' (p. 83, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 25)


Abu Waqid al Laithi reports, 'When inspiration came upon the Prophet, we would go to him and he would instruct us in what had been revealed. I went to him once and he said, "God says, 'We sent down wealth for the upkeep of prayer and alms-giving. Were ibn Adam to possess a wadi he would desire another like it, which, if he had, he would desire yet another. Nothing will fill the maw of ibn Adam but dust, but God relents to him who repents.'"' (p. 83, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 25)


5.1.3.2 Where it used to be in the Qur'an

Buraid claims to have heard the Prophet recite ibn Adam at prayer. The aya was in surat Yusuf. (p. 83, Burhan al Din al Baji, "Jawab", MS Dar al Kutub, Taimur "majami`", no. 207, f. 18)


Abu Musa said, 'We used to recite surat al Ahzab, likening it for length and severity with Bara'a. But I have been caused to forget it, except that I recall the ibn Adam verse. (p. 83-84, Abu al Fadl Sihab al Din Mahmud b. `Abdullah al Alusi, "Ruh al Ma`ani", 6 vols., idarat al taba`a al muniraya, Cairo, n.d., vol. 1, p. 315)


5.1.3.3 Uncertainty

Anas was unable to say whether ibn Adam was a Qur'an verse or not. He reports from Ubayy, 'We supposed that ibn Adam was a Qur'an verse until surat al takathur was revealed.' (p. 84, Sulaiman b. Da'ud al Tayalisi, "Sunan", Haiderabad, 1904/1321, no. 1983) This report reduces ibn Adam from ever having been a Qur'an verse, to being merely a tafsir of Takathur. (p. 84, Bukhari, K. al Tafsir, ad Q 2.106)


5.1.4 The Suckling Verse

5.1.4.1 Recited before `Uthman's collection

Narrated Aisha:
It had been revealed in the Qur'an that ten clear sucklings make the marriage unlawful, then it was abrogated (and substituted) by five sucklings and Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) died and it was before that time (found) in the Qur'an (and recited by the Muslims). (Sahih Muslim, book 8, no. 3421)
`A'isa reported, 'In what was revealed, ten attested sucklings were required to established the ban. The ten were later replaced by five. The Prophet died and the five were still being recited in the Qur'an.' She used to say, 'The Qur'an was revealed with ten attested sucklings setting up the bar. These later became five.' No man ever called upon her who had not completed a course of five sucklings.
`Abdullah b. al Zubair reports, 'The Prophet said, "Not one and not two sucklings constitute the bar, nor one nor two sucks."' `Urwa reports that the Prophet commanded the wife of Abu Hudaifa to nurse Salim five times to set up the bar. She did so and always considered Salim a son.

Salim b. `Abdullah reports that `A'isa sent him away and refused to see him. He was being suckled by her sister Umm Kulthum who had fallen ill after suckling him only three times. Salim said, `I could never visit `A'isa, since I have not completed the course of ten.' ... Safi`i adopted the rule of five sucklings as coming from the Prophet on the strength of the `A'isa report that the five were Qur'anic and constituted the ban. (Abu `Abdullah Muhammad b. Idris al Safi`i, al Mutaalibi, K. Jima` al `ilm, in "Umm", 7 vols., Bulaq 1324, vol 5, pp. 23-4, and pp. 87-88, Mekki, "bab aqsam al naskh")



Hafsa sent `Asim b. `Abdullah b. Sa`d to her sister Fatima to be nursed ten times. This was to enable him to visit her. (p. 88, Abu `Abdullah Muhammad b. Idris al Safi`i, al Mutaalibi, K. Jima` al `ilm, in "Umm", 7 vols., Bulaq 1324, vol 7, p. 208)


ibn Qutaiba (A.H. 276) ... addresses himself to the comparison between that hadith as reported by Muhammad b. Ishaq and the 'sounder' version from Malik.
In the opinion of the Hadith specialists, Malik was by far the more reliable transmitter. He reported from `Abdullah b. abi Bakr from `Amra from `A'isa that she said,

Among what had been revealed in the Qur'an was the provision that ten attested sucklings set a bar to marriage. The ten were subsequently replaced by the rule that five attested sucklings set up the bar. The Prophet died and the five were still being recited as part of the Qur'an. (p 95, Abu Muhammad `Abdullah b. Muslim, ibn Qutaiba, "K. ta'wil mukhtalif al Hadith", Cairo, 1966/1386, pp. 310-15)



5.1.4.2 Effects on Fiqh

Among the fuqaha' who adapted their Fiqh to this report were Safi`i and Ishaq (b. Rahawaih), both of whom made five the minimum line of demarcation between what does and what does not establish a bar to marriage. (p. 95)


5.1.4.3 Interpretations

Suyuti intervened to suggest one of the two interpretations of `A'isa's report:
the Prophet's death approached and these words were still being recited as part of the revelation;
the Prophet died and it was some time before all the people came to hear of the abrogation of the verse.
(p. 97, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 22)



5.1.5 Other missing verses

[Hudaifa's remarked] 'They don't recite a quarter of al Bara'a today.' (p. 130)


Zuhri reports, 'We have heard that many Qur'an passages were revealed but that those who had memorised them fell in the Yemama fighting. Those passages had not been written down, and following the deaths of those who knew them, were no longer known; nor had Abu Bakr, nor `Umar nor `Uthman as yet collected the texts of the Qur'an. (Burton: The published text ought here to be amended: for "fa lamma jama`a Abu Bakr", I propose to read: "wa lamma yajma` Abu Bakr", to follow: "lam yuktab".) Those lost passages were not to be found with anyone after the deaths of those who had memorised them. This, I understand, was one of the considerations which impelled them to pursue the Qur'an during the reign of Abu Bakr, committing it to sheets for fear that there should perish in further theatres of war men who bore much of the Qur'an which they would take to the grave with them on their fall, and which, with their passing, would not be found with any other. (pp. 126-127, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 23)


Anas is reported in the two Sahih's as declaring:
'There was revealed concerning those slain at Bi'r Ma`una a Qur'an verse which we recited until it was withdrawn: "Inform our tribe on our behalf that we have met with our Lord. He has been well pleased with us and has satisfied our desires."' (pp. 48-49, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 26)

Anas ibn Malik said:

We used to read a verse of the Qur'an revealed in their connection, but later the verse was cancelled. It was: "convey to our people on our behalf the information that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us, and has made us pleased." (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 5, p. 288)


`Abdullah b. Mas`ud reported that the Prophet had taught him to recite a particular Qur'an verse which he learned by heart and copied out in his personal mushaf. When night came, and `Abdullah rose to pray, he desired to recite that aya but could not recall a syllable. 'In the morning he consulted his mushaf, only to find the page blank! He mentioned this to the Prophet who told him that that verse had been withdrawn that very night. (p. 133, 199)


For Q 2.106 at least a dozen suggested reading have been recorded -- ample evidence of the extent, and hence of the significance, of the dispute as to the meaning. What was eventually settled as the joint exegesis of Q 87 and Q2 (the interpretation of each of these verses operating upon that of the other) was that there was indeed verses once revealed to Muhammad as part of the 'total Qur'an revelation' which, however, have been omitted from the collected texts of the Qur'an, the mushaf. That had by no means occurred from Muhammad's having merely forgotten them. Q 87 refers to God's will and Q 2 uses the root n.s.y. in the causative. God had caused Muhammad to forget in conformity with the mysterious divine intention as to the final contents of the Book of God. (p. 48)


He instances the report from Abu Musa as to the sura like Bara'a which was revealed, but later withdrawn. Abu Musa recalled something of it, but Mekki resolutely refuses to go into further detail. The Qur'an text cannot be established on the basis of reports. The many examples of this category he would therefore prefer to pass over in silence. God alone knows the truth of the matter. (p. 85, Mekki, "bab aqsam al naskh")


The extreme Sh`ia, the Rafidis, alleged that the impious rulers had expunged from the mushaf some 500 verses including those which most unambiguously marked out `Ali as the appointed successor to the Prophet.... The rebels against `Uthman, justifying their revolt, enumerated amongst their grievances their resentment at his 'having expunged the mushafs.' (Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 36)


5.2 Some variant verses

5.2.1 The hajj ritual, tawaf

Farra' (A.H. 207) reports: 'Some Muslims read Q 2.158: "There shall be no blame on him if he do not perform the tawaf."' (p. 31, Safi`i, "Risalah", p. 17) He comments that this reading can be explained in one of two ways:
That the negative is linguistically inoperative. cf. Q 7.12: 'ma mana'ak an la tasjuda', which of course means an tasjuda.
Alternatively, the tawaf may be entirely optional. But the first explanation is the basis of the practice.


`Ata' regarded the tawaf as entirely optional. This view, Tabari explains, was explicitly derived from the variant reading of Q 2.158 transmitted in the mushaf of `Abdullah b. Mas`ud. The same is reported from Anas, ibn `Abbas and Mujahid. (p. 31, Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al Tabari, "Jam` al Bayan `an ta'wil ay al Qur'an", ed. Sakir, 15 vols. to date, Cairo, 1954-, vol. 3, p. 320)


5.2.2 The penalty for breach of oaths

5.2.2.1 The variant

Q. 589 regulates the penalties for breach of oaths. Among these is a three day's fast and the Hanafis argue that the fast should be consecutive. `Abdullah is said to read, 'a fast of three [consecutive] days.' (p. 34, Abu Hamid Muhammad b. Muhammad al Gazali, "K. al Mustasfa", 2 vols., Bulaq, 1322, vol. 1, p. 102)


The same variant reading was attributed to Ubayy ... [and also talks about mut`a marriages] (p. 35)


On the basis of a variant consonantal reading of Q 2.106 ... Safi`i interpreted the verse to mean: 'Whatsoever verse We replace and whatsoever revelation We postpone to a later time, We shall bring another like it, or better than it in the meantime.' This reading, nansa', like the reading adopted by the majority, nunsi, represents equally the flight from a reading of the script which provoked serious theological compunction for the Muslims, that is, nansa (we forget). God does not forget! (p. 63, Safi`i, "Risalah", p. 17)


5.2.2.2 Various views

Sarakhsi (AH 490), a Hanafi, argued,
The fast in expiation of a breach of oath is consecutive on the basis of `Abdullah's reading which was in circulation as late as the time of Abu Hanifa, but did not turn out to be mutawatir, the sole criterion for inclusion in the mushaf. No one can question `Abdullah's veracity, nor his memory. We can but conclude that the word 'consecutive' was part of the original wording of the Qur'an and has been preserved in `Abdullah's reading. The word was apparently withdrawn in the lifetime of the Prophet. The Muslims were caused to forget it, with the exception of `Abdullah who was honoured with its preservation, in order to preserve the ruling. The isolate sunna-hadith may establish a practice; the isolate Qur'an-hadith can do no less. (p. 35, Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Ahmad al Sarakhsi, "Usul", 2 vols., Haiderabad, 1372, vol 2, p. 81)
Sarakhsi argued that God had caused the other Companions to forget his reading, but permitted `Abdullah to transmit it so that the ruling might be preserved. (p. 172)


Safi`i argued that, as the Qur'an did not stipulate that it should be consecutive, the Muslim was free to decide whether to fast on consecutive of separate days. The Q 5.89 fast should be read on the analogy of the substitute fast imposed for breach for Ramadhan. The Qur'an merely says 'a similar number of days.' (Q 2.183) (p. 34, Abu `Abdullah Muhammad b. Idris al Safi`i, al Mutaalibi, K. Jima` al `ilm, in "Umm", 7 vols., Bulaq 1324, vol 7, p. 60)

Gazali argues,

The fast in expiation for a breach of one's oath need not be consecutive, even if `Abdullah did read, 'three [consecutive] days'. This reading is not universally acknowledged to be the Qur'an text. Perhaps `Abdullah adduce this reading in order to elucidate what he took to be a justifiable exegesis. Or, perhaps he may have attracted to Q 5.89, by analogy, the word 'consecutive', which does occur in Q 58.4. Abu Hanifa, conceding that the reading is not Qur'anic, accepted it, but as a Hadith. The practice, however, should be based exclusively on what is explicitly attributed to the Prophet. (p. 35, Gazali, vol. 1, p. 102)


... He further adduced `Abdullah's reading in arguing that the fast in expiation of the breach of an oath is consecutive. We do not accept this view because that reading has been repealed. (p. 37, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 82)


5.2.3 On mut`a marriages

[Ubayy] was credited with reading Q 4.24, a verse charged with significance for the Muslim law on marriage, in a variant version: fa ma stamta`tum bihi minhunna [ila ajalin musamman] (p. 35, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 53)


We argued that it was irrelevant to the revealed status of the Qur'an document whether one read: aswabu, aqwamu or ahya'u (Q 73.6); saiha or zaqya (Q 36.29).
On the other hand, it was of the highest significance for the history of the development of the Islamic Law and to the attendant school polemic whether one read fa ma stamta`tum bihi minhunna (Q 4.24) with or without the attempted interpolation ila ajalin musamman. (p. 178, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 53)

[Note: Burton believes that variant readings are interpolations.]



5.2.4 On Wudu

Two opposing doctrines -- the invalidation of the ritual purity [wudu] and the contrary doctrine -- could both be referred to the Qur'an, according as the contending fuquha read: lamastum / laamastum or the permissibility of sexual intercourse with the menstruating woman at the expiry of her period but before she has cleansed herself, and the contrary doctrine, according as they read either yathurna or yattahirna.
There is an interesting discussion on verses yielding two-fold readings. Abu al Laith reported two views: 1. God had uttered them both; 2. God had uttered only one, but permitted the verse to be read in two possible ways. Samarqandi's own view was that if each of the two readings was susceptible of a distinct interpretation and legal application, God had uttered both. In such instances, the two readings were the equivalent of two distinct revelations. If the two readings yielded a single meaning, God had uttered only one reading, but permitted the other, owing to the differences between the dialect of the peninsula Arabs. (Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 82)

Q 5.6, the verse imposing the wudu yielded a two-fold reading, the distinction this time residing in the vowelling. 'The verse was revealed to sanction two distinct legal doctrines:


arjulakum - enjoined the washing of the feet
arjulikum - permitted the wiping of the feet'
(p. 36-37)


5.2.5 Other variants

The Muslims were fully alive to the import of variant readings:
'The differences in the readings indicate the differences in the legal rulings.' (p. 36, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 82)


Anas recited: hiya asaddu wat'an wa aswabu qilan. Some one pointed out that the 'correct' reading was aqwamu; aqwamu, he retorted, aswabu, ahya'u --- they're all the same. (p. 34, Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al Tabari, "Tafsir", vol. 1, p. 54)


Another case in point is `Abdullah's reading of Q 5.38: faqta'u aimanahum (for aidiyahum). (p. 38, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 82)


... and our madhab adduce as evidence of the legitimacy of basing a ruling on a variant reading the practice of cutting off the right hand of the thief on the ground of `Abdullah's reading, also adduced by Abu Hanifa. (p. 37, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 82)
[Note: Q 5:38 says only say cut off hands]



It is reported of Ubayy that he read: kullama ada'a lahum masaw fihi [marru fihi sa`aw fihi] and from `Abdullah that he read lilladina amanu anziruna [amhiluna akhhiruna] (p. 39, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 47)
Related to the reading just attributed to Ubayy, is the statement that the transmission of the reading, famdu ila dikr allah, showed that the meaning of the Qur'an fas`aw is 'go!' rather than 'run!' or 'hurry!'. (p. 39, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 82)



`A'isa's reading, which she shared with Hafsa: wa al salat al wusta salat al'asr (p. 37, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 82)


[Q 2.106: ma nansakh min ayatin aw nunsi ha na'ti bi khairin min ha aw mithli ha.] Sa`d b. abi Waqqas recited Q 2.106: aw tansa ha. His reading was challenged, on the ground that Sa`id b. al Musayyab read: aw tunsa ha. Sa`d countered with a reference to two further verses, Q 87.6-7: sa nuqri'uk fa la tansa [illa ma sa'a allah] and Q 18.24 udkur rabbaka ida nasita. Sa`d, a Meccan, in addition, challenged the isnad of the reading of Sa`id, a Medinese. (p. 64, Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al Tabari, "Tafsir", vol. 2, p. 535)


Q 4.101 apparently indicates that travelers may abbreviate the ritual prayer if threatened with attack. That the restriction is absolute, in the sense that the prayer might be cut short only if the Muslims had reason to fear attack, was a view attributed by some of the fuqaha' to `A'isa. `Ali is the authority for the contrary view that the ritual prayer may be shortened by travelers. Appealing to asbab al nuzul, `Ali claimed that the first half of the verse had been revealed to the Prophet in reply to a question put to him on the subject. The answer, as revealed, read 'No blame is incurred if, when traveling, you shorten the prayer.' Only a year later, on the occasion of a fresh revelation, was the context extended to include the reference to fear of attack. The addition, however, bears only upon the second half of the verse. (p. 150, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 90-1)


According to Ubayy b. Kab, one of the secretaries of Muhammad, the verse reads: "O children of Israel, I am God's messenger to you, and I announce to you a prophet whose community will be the last community and by which God will put the seal on the prophets and messengers." where "Ahmad" is not mentioned. (Abdul Haqq)

"Among things which have reached me about what Jesus of Mary stated in the Gospel which he received from God for the followers of the Gospel, in applying a term to describe the apostle of God, is the following. It is extracted from what John the apostle set down for them when he wrote the Gospel for them from the Testamant of Jesus son of Mary: "He that hateth me hateth the Lord. And if I had not done in their presence works which none other before me did, they had not sin: but from now they are puffed up with pride and think that they will overcome me and also the Lord. But the word that is in the Law must be fulfilled, 'They hateh me without a cause' [ie. without reason]. But when the Comforter has come whom God will send to you from the Lord's presence, and the spirit of truth which will have gone forth from the Lord's presence he [shall bear] witness of me and ye also, because ye have been with me from the beginning. I have spoken unto you about this that you should not be in doubt." The Munahhemna [God bless and preserve him] in Syriac is Muhammad, in Greek his is the Paraclete. (Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, tr. Guillaume, pp. 103, 104)


'Yazid b. Ma`awiya was in the mosque in the time of al Walid b. `Uqba, sitting in a group among them was Hudaifa. An official called out, 'Those who follow the reading of Abu Musa, go to the corner nearest the Kinda door. Those who follow `Abdullah's reading, go the corner nearest `Abdullah's house.' Their reading of Q 2.196 did not agree. One group read, 'Perform the pilgrimage to God.' The others read it 'Perform the pilgrimage to the Ka`ba.' Hudaifa became very angry, his eyes reddened and he rose, parting his qamis at the waits, although in the mosque. This was during the reign of `Uthman. Hudaifa exclaimed, 'Will someone go the Command of the Faithful, or shall I go myself? This is what happened in the previous dispensations.' He came over and sat down, saying, 'God sent Muhammad who, with those who went forward, fought those who went back until God gave victory to His religion. God took Muhammad and Islam made strides. To succeed him, God chose Abu Bakr who reigned as long as God chose. God then took him and Islam made rapid strides. God appointed `Umar who sat in the midst of Islam. God then took him also. Islam spread rapidly. God next chose `Uthman. God's oath! Islam is on the point of such expansion that soon you will replace all other religions.' (p. 143, Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif", ed. A. Jeffery, Cairo, 1936/1355, p. 11)


Sura 33:6 "The Prophet is closer to the Believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers..."
"... in some Qiraats, like that of Ubai ibn Kab, occur also the word "and he is a father to them...." (A. Yusuf Ali, "The Holy Quran", 1975, note 3674)


Sura 5:63

"Shall I tell you of an evil worse than that, for retribution with God? He who God cursed him, and was angry with him, and made some of them into monkeys and pigs, and worshiped (the idol) al-taghut."
Jeffery has found record of 19 alternate readings; seven attributed to Ibn Mas`ud, four to Ubai b. Ka`b, six to Ibn Abbas, and one each to `Ubaid b. `Umair and Anas b. Malik.... Here are the readings attributed to Ibn Mas`ud.


wa man `abadu al-taghuta,
wa `abadata al-taghuti,
wa `ubada al-taghutu,
wa `abuda al-taghutu,
wa `ubuda al-taghuti,
wa `ubidati al-taghutu,
ubbada al-taghuta
(translation by William Campbell, "The Quran and the Bible in the Light of History and Science", Section Three, III.C)

sura 3:19:

`Abdullah has "The way of the Hanifs" instead of "Behold, the [true] religion (din) of God is Islam. (Arthur Jeffery, Materials, Leiden, 1937)
sura 3:39:

`Abdullah has "Then Gabriel called to him, 'O Zachariah'", instead of the Uthmanic reading: "Then the angels called to him as he stood praying in the sactuary." (Arthur Jeffery, Materials, Leiden, 1937)

sura 9:

`Abdullah's codex for sura 9 begins with the Bismilah, while the `Uthmanic text does not. (Arthur Jeffery, Materials, Leiden, 1937)


`Abdullah's codex contained Shi'ite readings in suras 5:67; 24:35; 26:215; 33:25,33,56; 42:23; 47:29; 56:10; 59:7; 60:3; 75:17-19. (Arthur Jeffery, Materials, pp. 40, 65, 68, Leiden, 1937)


Goldziher has signaled a disputed vocalic reading for the very Tawba verse which Zaid is said to have reinstated: There has now come to you a prophet from amongst your own number (anfusikum); from amongst the most precious among you (anfasikum). The variant has been ascribed, not merely to Companions, but even to the Prophet himself! (p. 170, I. Goldziher, Die Richtungen de Islamischen Koranauslegung, Leiden, 1952, p. 35)


5.3 Variant sura orders / number of suras

`Abdullah reports, 'We differed about a sura, as to whether it consisted of thirty-five or thirty-six verses, so we went to the Prophet who was engaged in conversation with `Ali. When we told him we disagreed over the reading, his face reddened as he replied, "Those before you perished through their disagreements." He whispered something to `Ali who said, "The Prophet commands you to recite as you were taught."' (p. 149, Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al Tabari, "Tafsir", pp. 23-4)


Ubai's codex was known to contain two Suras not found in the Othmanic text -- Surat al-Khal` and Surat al-afd, as well as verse on men's greed following Sura 10:24. (William Campbell, "The Quran and the Bible in the Light of History and Science", Section Three, III.B) [Note: surat al-Khal has three verses, and surat al-Hafd has six, Jeffery p. 180ff]


In addition to these two men, Islamic history and Hadiths mention primary collections made by Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's son-in-law, whose codex was arranged in chronological order starting with Sura 96; by Ibn Abbas, whose codex is mentioned by Al-Suyuti (Itqan, 154) as including the two extra Suras of Ubai; and by Abu Musa, whose codex was used by the people of Basra. It also contained the two extra Suras of Ubai (Itqan 154) as well as the verse on the greed of men (Sahih Muslim, 1, 285-286). (William Campbell, "The Quran and the Bible in the Light of History and Science", Section Three, III.B)


The Qadi `Iyyad reports that in the night prayer the Prophet recited Q 4 before Q 3 and that that was the order of the two chapters in the mushaf of Ubayy. This led the Qadi to conclude that the sura order had not been fixed by the Prophet, but had been left to the discretion of the Companions. (p. 216, Ahmad b. `Ali b. Muhammad al `Asqalani, ibn Hajar, "Fath al Bari", 13 vols, Cairo, 1939/1348, vol. 9, p. 32)


Baqillani, nothing that the order of the suras is not insisted upon for the purposes of prayer, private study or public instruction, supposed that this explained the different ordering reported to have occurred in the Companion codices. (p. 216-217)


The codex ascribed to `Abdullah is said to lack three of the suras present in our (the `Uthmanic) text. The codices ascribed to ibn `Abbas, Ubayy and Abu Musa are said to contain two suras which the `Uthmanic text lacks. (p. 220, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 65)


The Mu`tazili scholar al Nazzam is reported to have impugned `Abdullah's memory on the ground that he had denied two suras (sic) which are part of the Book of God....
This is a reference, says ibn Qutaiba, to Q 113 and Q 114 ... What induced `Abdullah to refrain from recording the two suras in his mushaf was that he observed that the Prophet used the chapters as charms to invoke the divine protection upon his grandsons, al Hasan and al Husain. (pp. 220-221, Abu Muhammad `Abdullah b. Muslim, ibn Qutaiba, "K. ta'wil mukhtalif al Hadith", Cairo, 1966/1386, pp. 31)



A similar cause led Ubayy, on the contrary, to copy into his mushaf the two qunut prayers which he noted the Prophet recited at the ritual service. `Abdullah, taking two chapters to be prayers, thought them to be no part of the Qur'an, while Ubayy, talking two prayers to be suras, thought that they were part of the Qur'an. (p. 221)

[Fakhr al Din al Razi observes:]

The reports transmitted in certain ancient books to the effect that ibn Mas`ud denied that the Fatiha and the two charm suras are part of the Qur'an are troublesome. If we accept that a mutawatir tradition had been achieved in the days of the Companions, then the three chapters are part of the Qur'an and `Abdullah's denial amounts to disbelief [kufr]. If, on the other hand, we hold that tawatur had not been achieved in the days of the Companions, it follows that the Qur'an is not mutawatir. What springs most readily to mind is that the reports from `Abdullah are quite unfounded. This cuts the know of the dilemma. The Qadi Abu Bakr said, 'It is not soundly reported from `Abdullah that these three chapters are not part of the Qur'an. Such a statement has not been reported from him. What he did was merely to erase these chapters and omit them from his text since he did not approve of their being written. This does not imply that he denied that they were part of the Qur'an. The Sunna in his view was that they should record only what the Prophet had commanded to be recorded and `Abdullah did not have information that the Prophet had himself recorded these suras or commanded that they be recorded.'
al Nawawi says in his commentary on the Muhaddab, 'The Muslims are unanimously of the opinion that the three suras are part of the Qur'an and that anyone who denies one of them is an unbeliever. What has been reported about `Abdullah is groundless and thoroughly unsound.'

ibn Hazm said in the Muhalla, 'The thing is a lie fathered upon `Abdullah. Only the reading from `Abdullah as transmitted from `Asim from Zirr from ibn Mas`ud is authentic and in that reading, the three suras are present. (A. Jeffery, "Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur'an, Leiden, 1937, p. 21)

But ibn Hajar in the Fath accepts the reports about `Abdullah as sound. He states that both Ahmad and ibn Hibban report that `Abdullah would not write these chapters in his mushaf. Ahmad's son, in the supplement to the Musnad, al Tabarani and ibn Mardawaih all report from al A`mas and Abu Ishaq from `Abdul Rahman b. Yazid al Nakha`i that he said '`Abdullah used to erase the two charm suras from his records saying, "They are not part of the Book of God."' Similar reports are related by al Bazzar and al Tabarani with the addition that, as he erased them `Abdullah said, 'The Prophet merely commanded that they be used as charm prayers.' `Abdullah never recited them in his ritual prayers.

al Bazzar adds, 'None of the Companions concurred with this view of `Abdullah's. Further, it is ascertained that the Prophet recited them at his ritual prayers.' ibn Hajar concludes that the allegation that the whole thing is a lie fathered on `Abdullah must be dismissed. Attacks upon hadiths of unexceptionable isnad are quite unacceptable in the absence of further evidence. Since the isnads of these reports about `Abdullah are sound, they must be accepted without further ado. A means ought to be sought whereby they might be interpreted. The Qada and others took the reports to show `Abdullah's reluctance to write these suras into the mushaf. Here is an interpretation which commends itself, excepting that the sound report states that `Abdullah said, 'The charm prayers are not part of the Book of God.' Now, if one construes the words, 'Book of God' as a reference to the mushaf, this complements the interpretation.

Some have reviewed the drift of the reports felt this harmonisation to be somewhat far-fetched. ibn al Sabbag added that `Abdullah is not quite certain as to the status of the three chapters at the time when he first made his remarks. The consensus of the Companions as to the contents of the mushaf was first reached after that time. The three suras were first declared mutawatira during `Abdullah's lifetime. It was simply that they had not at first been mutawatira in his private opinion.

ibn Qutaiba, resuming his comment on `Abdullah's view of the matter, refrained from expressing any opinion as to whether `Abdullah or the Companions were right or wrong. As for the reports that he had omitted the Fatiha from his mushaf on the grounds that that chapter was not part of the Qur'an God forbid!

`Abdullah took the view that the Qur'an was to be recorded and to be assembled between the two covers to preclude any doubt and to obviate any forgetting, any addition or any loss. `Abdullah could see that all these things were quite inconceivably in respect of the Fatiha, on account of its brevity and given the fact that every Muslim is required to memorise it for the purpose of prayer. (pp. 222-224, Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 1, p. 79)

[kazanova3]

the tremendous efforts made by the scholars of Islam to preserve the sunnah of Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) through authentication of the ahadeeth (sing. hadeeth). We would like to mention a few words about the actual types of hadeeth collections along with a brief description of the six most authentic collections.

On the basis of available materials on hadeeth literature the books of hadeeth can be classified into the following categories:

Saheefah (pl. suhuf) - This comprises a collection of the sayings of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) as were written down by some of his companions (radiallahu 'anhum) during his lifetime or by their followers (at-taabi'een) in the next generation.

Musannaf (pl. musanafaat) - A large collection of ahadeeth in which ahadeeth relating to various topics are put together and arranged according to topic. The Muwatta of Imam Malik and the Saheeh of Muslim are in this category.

Musnad (pl. masaaneed) - This term was originally used for the hadith supported by a complete uninterrupted chain of authorities going back to a companion who related it from the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam). This term later came to be used in the general sense of reliable and authoritative ahadeeth. Therefore, this term is used for all reliable works in hadeeth literature. Technically speaking however, it is used only for those collections of ahadeeth that are arranged according to the names of the final authorities by whom they are related, irrespective of subject matter. The collection of Al-Bukhaari is called a musnad. Musnad collections differ in themselves in detail in their arrangement of the authorities who originally related them. Some are arranged by alphabetical order while others may be arranged according to the relative merits of the narrator in the acceptance of Islam or taking part in early important events during the mission of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Some collections compiled all available ahadeeth reported by the companions or by a special group of companions or by even a single companion (radiallahu ▒anhum ajma▓een).

Sunan - A collection of ahadeeth containing ahadeeth al-ahkaam (hadeeth of rulings and law) and arranged accordingly, to the exclusion of hadeeth about historical matters or beliefs (though a single hadeeth may contain matters overlapping into these areas). Examples are the Sunan of Abu Dawood and an-Nisaa'i.

Mu'jam (pl. ma'aajim) - This is commonly applied to works on various subjects that are arranged in alphabetical order. Those which are arranged under the names of companions in alphabetical order are known as Mu'jam As-Sahaabah. Technically speaking again however, this refers to collections of hadeeth that are arranged according to the one who narrated the hadeeth to the compiler himself.

Ajzaa - Collections of ahadeeth transmitted on the authority of one single individual whether they be a companion or someone thereafter.

Rasaa'il or kutub - Collections of hadeeth dealing with one of the following topics:
a) 'aqeedah (beliefs and tawheed)
b) ahkaam (laws) that include all the subjects of fiqh (jurisprudence)
c) raqaa'iq - those hadeeth dealing with matters of piety, asceticism
d) adaab - Etiquette in eating, drinking, travelling, etc.
e) tafseer - explanation and commentary on the Qur'aan
f) taareekh or siyar - Historical and biographical matters
g) fitan - crises
h) madh wa dhamm - appreciation and denunciation of people and places.

Mustadrak (pl. mustadrakaat) - Collection in which the compiler collects other ahadeeth fulfilling conditions previously laid down but were left out by them for some reason.
Mustakhraj (mustakhrajaat) - Where a compiler collects hadeeth previously compiled by another compiler however using fresh asaaneed (chains of transmission)
Jaami' - Collections relating to the various matters mention under rasaa'il (see vii). The Saheeh of Al-Bukhaari and the book of At-Tirmidhi are both called jaami'.
Arba'eeniyaat - Collections of forty ahadeeth relating to one or more subjects which may appear to be of special interest to the compiler. An example is An-Nawawi's Forty Hadeeth.

The Six Most Authentic Collections of Hadeeth (As-Sihaah As-Sittah)

In the third century of the Islamic Era six works were accomplished which came to be recognized as the most authoritative of all collections. This in no way implies that all authentic hadith in existence are to be found in these books alone, nor does it mean that each of these six are equal in the degree of authenticity. It also does not mean that each hadeeth collected in these books is authentic (with the exception of Al-Bukhaari and Muslim) as we will explain. The following is a list of these six works and a brief description of their most outstanding characteristics.

Al-Jaami' Al-Musnad As-Saheeh Al-Mukhtasar Min Umoor Rasoolillahi wa Sunanihi wa Ayyaamihi more popularly known as Saheeh Al-Bukhaari. This work was compiled over a period of 16 years by Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Ismaeel Ibn Ibraheem Ibn Al-Mugheerah al-Ju'fee from Al-Bukhaara, more popularly known as Imam Al-Bukhaari (b. 194 - d. 256 AH). Considered the most authentic book after the Qur'aan itself. He would pray two rakaats before recording each hadeeth and the collection comprises 2, 602 ahadeeth (not counting repetitions) sifted from over 600,000 ahadeeth. He would habitually take a portion of a hadeeth for the heading of chapter titles and may scholars point out that if one wishes to know Imaam Al-Bukhaari's positions on matters of fiqh, aqeedah, etc. he merely needs to look at the chapter titles.

He laid down the most strict conditions for acceptance of hadeeth. The narrator had to be of a very high grade of personal character, as well as literary and academic standard. There must be positive information that the narrators of a hadeeth had indeed met one another.

Hundreds of commentaries and explanations have been written on this book, some over 25 volumes the most famous of which is Fathul-Baari by Al-Hafiz Abu Fadl Ahmed Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalaani Ash-Shaafi'ee (773 - 852 A.H.).

Al-Musnad as-Saheeh Al-Mukhtasar min As-Sunan bin Naql Al-'Adl 'an Rasoolillah more popularly known as Saheeh Muslim by Abul Husain Muslim Ibn Al-Hajjaaj An-Nisaaboori (b. 204 - d. 261 AH). Generally recognized as equally authoritative as Al-Bukhaari with only slight differences in his criterion of acceptance of certain hadeeth thus giving it second in rank of authority. He differed from Imaam Al-Bukhaari in that if two scholars lived together where it was possible for them to learn from each other he would accept a hadeeth from them as long as the chain was unbroken and no tadlees (name substitution for a narrator) was practiced. It is considered by many as superior to Saheeh Al-Bukhaari in its arrangement of the hadeeth. Imaam Muslim would present his work to the scholars and critics of ahadeeth and if any fault was found with any hadeeth he would omit it in order to insure that he only included what was unanimously accepted as authentic by the hadeeth scholars. He was a student of Imaam Al-Bukhaari and held him in the highest esteem.
The number of hadeeth in his collection based on subjects is 3033 but this number would perhaps double if counted according to isnaad (chains of narrators). There are many commentaries on his book, the most famous of which is that of Imaam An-Nawawi (d. 676).

Sunan of Abu Dawood by Abu Dawood Sulaiman Ibn Al-Aash'ath Al-Azdi As-Sijistaani (b. 202 - d. 275 AH). He compiled this book over a period of twenty years and selected some 4800 ahadeeth out of 500,000. He was contented with one or two hadeeth in every chapter. All of the hadeeth recorded in his book are however, not authentic. Abu Dawood himself pointed out many weak ahadeeth in his collection while scholars counted others as weak. Abu Dawood was of the opinion that a weak hadeeth, if not very weak, was still better than the personal opinion of scholars. His book was considered to be the first of its type and is considered the best of the sunan collections.

Al-Jami' or As-Sunan of At-Tirmidhi by Muhammad Ibn'Isaa Ibn Saura Ibn Musa Ibn Ad-Dahhak At-Tirmidhi (b. 209 - d. 279 AH). He was a student of Abu Dawood who further improved the principles of criticism of hadeeth adopted by his teacher. His aims were to: a) systematically collect the ahadeeth b) discuss the legal opinions of early imams so as a general rule he only mentioned those ahadeeth which were mentioned by earlier scholars as the basis of their legal opinions c) discuss the quality of the ahadeeth. His book has been divided into 50 sub-books and contains 3956 ahadeeth.

As-Sunan Al-Mujtabaa or Sunan of An-Nisaa'i by Abu Abdur-Rahmaan Ahmad Ibn Shu'aib Ibn Ali Ibn Sinaan Ibn Bahr Al-Khurasaani An-Nisaa'i (b. 215 - d. 303 AH). This book is a collection from a larger work called As-Sunan Al-Kubraa. He recorded the different asaaneed (chains), then records the isnaad where some mistakes have been made by narrators, then explains what is correct. Therefore, he recorded weak as well as authenticated hadeeth, mostly to show what defect they had.

Sunan of Ibn Maajah by Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Yazeed Ar-Rabee' (Ibn Maajah) (b. 209 - 273 AH). His book is considered the lowest grade of the six and it contains 4341 ahadeeth, 3002 of which were already recorded by the authors of the previous five books mentioned. The remaining ahadeeth which he recorded are graded as follows: 428 authentic (saheeh), 199 good (hasan), 613 of weak isnaad (isnaad da'eef), 99 munkar or makdhoob (rejected or forged). Where the other narrators would note when they recorded a weak hadeeth Ibn Maajah would remain silent. For this reason there was much discussion among scholars about counting his work among the six principle works.

There is nothing reported from the early scholars that there ought to be six principle works. This occurred due to literary process over time. Hundreds of books were compiled in the third and fourth centuries, some more famous than others. Many books began to be written on the biographies of narrators whose ahadeeth had been recorded in a certain book. The reckoning of Ibn Maajah's work as being recognized as one of the six principle works was largely due to the writing of Al-Maqdisee (d. 600) in his book Al-Kamaal where he collected all the narrators who have been mention in any of the six books. This work in turn became the basis for many famous works on the dictionary of narrators.

Unparalleled Effort

The study of the collection of books on hadeeth reveals that it is the result of the continuous, hard and honest work of the scholars of hadeeth. These men observed a measure of care far beyond any other field of study. The moral conditions of reporters of hadeeth and their reported level of piety was investigated as were their powers of retention and accuracy in recording hadeeth. There level of intelligence and religious understanding was considered, as well as how many channels a report had come through.

There are many outstanding examples of this in Islamic scholarship and the tradition is continued to this day. We thank Allah for guiding us to this True path and making this Ummah distinguished among all others in the efforts to authenticate and preserve its sources.

[kazanova3]

Understanding The Qur'aan
The Difference Between Qur'aan & Hadeeth

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Islam is very clear on the concept of God and the concept of Prophet so that there is no confusion or ambiguity in the minds of Muslims between the two. Islam distinguished between a) The word of Allah brought by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) as revelation, known as the Qur'aan; and b) The words of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) which are known as the Hadeeth.

This separate identity of Allah and His creation is very vital if you study the history of old religions and Islam ensured that they were not mixed. How was this done?

How Was The Integrity Of The Qur▓aan Insured?

The companions (radiallahu ▒anhum) on the instruction of Prophet Mohammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam), wrote down the words of Allah as revealed and also kept them in memory, so as to ensure that from the time of revelation until now the word of Allah remains pure and untainted. However, the Prophet commanded the companions not to write down the hadeeth during the early period of Islam, and the wisdom behind this was not to mix the hadeeth with the word of Allah. It is very important for Muslims to understand the differences between the hadeeth, hadeeth Qudsi, and the Qur'aan.

There is another important aspect to hadeeth. The actions and sayings of the Prophet (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) provided clarification of the meanings of Qur'aan. When inquired about the character of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his wife Aisha (radiallahu ▒anhaaa) replied, His character is the Qur▓aan. This indicates that Prophet (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) gave further explanation of the Qur'aan with what he said or did during his lifetime. For example, the Qur'aan mentions prayer and the hadeeth or the Sunnah shows Muslims how and when to do it. The following details will help clarify the matter further.

Defining The Types Of Hadeeth

The meaning of Hadeeth is news, report or narration. They are reports about the Prophet (sallalahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) in the following:

What he said (qaul)
What he did (fi▓ l)
What he approved in other people▓s action (taqrir)
There are also reports about him i.e. what he was like (sifa)
There is agreement among most Muslim scholars, that the contents of the sunnah are also from Allah. However, these were expressed by the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) in his own words or actions. They are the words and actions of a human being transmitted by the companions and family members (radiallahu ▒anhum), who memorized the words or closely observed the actions of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) for the benefit of the Muslim Ummah.

Hadeeth Qudsi

Qudsi means holy or pure. There are some reports from Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) where he relates to the people starting with a statement "Allah (said) says" or "Allah (did) does", but this information is not part of the Qur'aan. These are called Hadeeth Qudsi. For example: Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari reported, that Allah▓s messenger related from his Rubb is that He said: O My slaves, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another┘O My slaves, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you. O my slaves, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you... [Reported by Muslim]

The Difference Between Hadeeth Qudsi and the Qur▓aan

While the common factor between Hadeeth Qudsi and the Qur'aan is that both contain words from Allah which have been revealed to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam), the main points of differences are:

1 . In the Qur'aan the precise wording is from Allah, while wording in the Hadeeth Qudsi is given by the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam);

2 . The Qur'aan has been brought to the Prophet (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) only by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel), while Hadeeth Qudsi may also have been inspired otherwise, such as e.g. a dream;

3 . The Qur'aan is inimitable and unique, while the Hadeeth Qudsi is not;

4 . Qur'aan has been transmitted by numerous persons (tawaatur), whereas the Hadeeth Qudsi is often only transmitted by a few or sometimes even by one individual. There are also Hadeeth Qudsi which are graded as Saheeh (highest authenticity), or hasan (authentic), or even da▓if (weakness in the transmission or text). There is no such doubt about any of the verses of the Qur'aan.

5 . Hadeeth Qudsi cannot be recited in the prayer.

The Qur'aan was recorded at the time of revelation and the verses and chapters were arranged on the instructions of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) during his lifetime. Every year during the month of Ramadhan the angel Jibreel came to the Prophet (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) and recited the Qur'aan with him, and during the year the Prophet (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) died, the angel Jibreel came twice and recited the Qur'aan with him. This was not so in the case of Hadeeth.

All chapters and verses of the Qur'aan were collected and arranged during the caliphate of Abu Bakr (radiallahu ▒anhu). They were written on sheets and bound together as a book during the caliphate of Uthman ( radiallahu ▒anhu) in the same order as shown by the Prophet Mohammad (sallallahu ▒alaihi wa sallam) himself. Additional copies of the Qur'aan were made during this occasion and sent to several Islamic cities. However, the compilation of hadeeth did not start until very much later and by that time, the Qur'aan was already available in the final form of a bound book.

The science of collecting, analyzing, compiling, grading and reporting of hadeeths became a special field of studies after the period of companions (radiallahu ▒anhum). The leading reports are from Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasai, Ibn Majah, and Abu Dawood which are known as the six most authentic books (As-Sihaahus-Sittah). The validity of a hadeeth depends solely on its agreement with the Qur'aan and the grading of a hadeeth depends on the reliability of the chain of narrators who reported it. In order to do this, the reporter studied the characters and the life of every single person who were mentioned in the chain of narrators. We notice that utmost care was exercised not only in reporting the exact words, but also sifting through the characters of persons who reported them. If a single person in the chain of narrators is reported to be of doubtful character or unreliable, then the entire hadeeth is either rejected or this fact is noted down and specifically mentioned.

The Imams who undertook this enormous task of compiling and reporting the hadeeths exercised great care in their lifetime effort, because these studies laid the foundation for the guidelines in understanding and practicing Islam in the life of every Muslim.

[kazanova3]

(2) The Great Challenge to Produce
One Chapter Like the Chapters
of the Holy Quran
God has said in the Quran:


And if you are in doubt about what We have revealed (the Quran) to Our worshiper (Muhammad ), then produce a chapter like it, and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides God if you are truthful. And if you do not do it, and you can never do it, then fear the Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones. It has been prepared for disbelievers. And give good news (O Muhammad) to those who believe and do good deeds, that for them are gardens (Paradise) in which rivers flow.... (Quran, 2:23-25)

Ever since the Quran was revealed, fourteen centuries ago, no one has been able to produce a single chapter like the chapters of the Quran in their beauty, eloquence, splendor, wise legislation, true information, true prophecy, and other perfect attributes. Also, note that the smallest chapter in the Quran (Chapter 108) is only ten words, yet no one has ever been able to meet this challenge, then or today.1 Some of the disbelieving Arabs who were enemies of the Prophet Muhammad tried to meet this challenge to prove that Muhammad was not a true prophet, but they failed to do so.2 This failure was despite the fact that the Quran was revealed in their own language and dialect and that the Arabs at the time of Muhammad were a very eloquent people who used to compose beautiful and excellent poetry, still read and appreciated today.



The smallest chapter in the Holy Quran (Chapter 108) is only ten words, yet no one has ever been able to meet the challenge to produce one chapter like the chapters of the Holy Quran.






_____________________________

[Nonson]

Kazanova,

Clear your head dung-pusher. There are works pre-dating the Qur'an by many thousands of years that are by far superior to anything found in the Book.

Apparently you are unable to read or understand Hadiths. Those given above, as per your request, puts the lie to your claims.

Care to explain why the Qur'an was not brought together in the Prophet's time?

Nonson