THEHISTORYOF THEQUR'ANICTEXTTHEHISTORYOF THEQUR>ANICTEXTFrom RevelationtoCompilationA Comparative Study with theOld and NewTestamentsMUI:IAMMAD UK ISLAMICACADEMYLEICESTER ENGLANDFor my dear motlier, wlioseface Iwas tooyoungtoremember, whose greatest wislifor me(as I was latertold)was to memorise tlie Qur'an, and wlioI liope tomeet again in tlie gardens ofHeaven. :May)l[faliaccept from us our 6est deeds. Jlmeen.VITHEAUTHORMlJl:lAMMADMUHAFAA L - A ' ~ A M 1 , one of the world'spremier scholars ofHadith, was born in Mau, India in the early 1930s andreceived his educationsuccessively at Dar al-'Ulum Deoband, India (1952), al-Azhar University, Cairo(M.A., 1955), andUniversityof Cambridge(Ph.D., 1966). He is ProfessorEmeritus at King Sa'ud University (Riyadh) where he also chaired thedepartment ofIslamic Studies; he holds a Saudicitizenship. Al-A'zarni servedas curator ofthe National Public Library, Qatar; Associate Professor at Ummal-Qura University (Makkah); Visiting Scholar at University of Michigan (AnnArbor); Visiting Fellowat St. Cross College (University of Oxford); King FaisalVisitingProfessor forIslamicStudies at Princeton; andVisitingScholar atUniversity of Colorado (Boulder). He is alsoan Honorary Professor atUniversity of Wales (Lampeter). His publications includeStudies in Early /fadfthLiterature, Hadiih.Methodologyand Literature, OnSchacht's Origins qf MuhammadanJurisprudence, Diriisatfi al-Haditn an-Nabauii, Kuttab an-Nabi, Manhqj an-Naqd find al-Muhaddithin, and al-Muf;addithiin min al-Yamdmah. Among his edited works are al-'Ilal qf Ibn al-Madini, Klwbat-Tamyi; qf ImamMuslim, Maghiiz'i Rasiilulldh. qf'Unoahibn Zubayr, Miaoaua' ImamMalik, $aJ;1lJ ibn Khuzaimah, andSunanibnMiiJah. Many of al-A'zami's works have been translated internationally, and hisforthcomingworks include The Qyr'iinic Chal1nge: APromiseFulfilled, andTheIsniid!iJstem: ItsOriginsandAuthenticity. In1980hewasthe recipient of theprestigious King Faisal International Award for Islamic Studies.VllCONTENTSPREFACE1. The History oftheQjir'anic Textxv1. INTRODUCTION 32. EARLYHISTORYOFISLAM: ABRIEFLOOK 151. Pre-IslamicArabia 15i. The Geo-Political Condition 15ii. Ibrahlm and Makkah 16iii. Q u ~ a y y GainsFull Control ofMakkah 19iv. Makkah: A Tribal Society 20v. FromQ u ~ a y y to Muhammad~ 21vi. The Religious Conditions in Arabia 222. Prophet Muhammad (53 B.H.-ll A.H./571-632C.E.) 23i. The BirthofMuhammad :I 24ii. Muhammad ja, the Amin 24iii. Muhammad theMessenger ofAllah 25iv. AbuBakr and his Acceptance ofIslam 26v. The Prophet Preaches Openly 26vi. Quraish Offers Muhammad~ Great Temptations 27vii. Quraish Boycotts Muhammad :Iand his Clans 28viii. The Pledge of'Aqaba 29ix. The Plot to Assassinate theProphet 30x. Muhammad jain Madinah 30xi. Prelude to theBattle ofBadr 32xii. The Execution ofKhubaib bin'Adial-Ansari 33xiii. The Conquest ofMakkah 343. Death oftheProphet and Accession of AbuBakr 35i. AbuBakr Handles Widespread Apostasies 35ii. Military Advancesin Syria 374. The Countries and Provinces Conquered During theReignsof'Dmar and 'Dthman 375. Conclusion 39Vlll THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR' ANICTEXT3. REVELATIONSANDTHEPROPHETMUI:IAMMAD~ 411. The Creator and some of HisAttributes 42i. The Purpose Behind Mankind's Creation 43ii. The Message of theProphets 432. The Final Messenger 443. Receiving theRevelations 45i. The Beginning of Wal,J.y and theMiracle of Qur'an 47ii. The Impact of theProphet's Recitation onthePolytheists 484. The Prophet's RolesRegarding theQur'an 505. Recitation of theQur'an inTurns withJibrli 526. A Few Remarks onOrientalist Claims 537. Conclusion 544. TEACHINGTHEQUR'AN 551. Incentives forLearning, Teaching and Reciting theHolyQur'an 562. The Makkan Period 59i. The Prophet as Teacher 59ii. The Companions as Teachers 60iii. The Outcome of thisEducational Policy in theMakkan Period 613. The Madani Period 61i. The Prophet as Teacher 61ii. Dialects usedby theProphet for Teaching inMadinah 62iii. The Companions as Teachers 634. The Outcome of theEducational Activities: Huffaz 645. Conclusion 665. THERECORDINGANDARRANGEMENTOFTHEQUR'AN 671. During theMakkan Period 672. During theMadani Period 68i. Scribes oftheProphet 68ii. TheProphet's Dictation of theQur'an 69iii. Recording theQur'an was Very Common AmongCompanions 693. The Arrangement of theQur'an 70i. The Arrangement ofVerses Within Suras 70ii. The Arrangement of Suras 72iii. The Arrangement of Suras inSome Partial Mushafs 734. Conclusion 76CONTENTS ix6. THE WRITTENCOMPILATIONOF THEQUR'AN 771. Compilation of theQur'an During AbuBakr'sReign 78i. Appointment ofZaid binThabit as Compiler of theQur'an 78ii. Zaid binThabit's Credentials 78iii. Abu Bakr'sInstructions to Zaid binThabit 79iv. How Zaid bin Thabit Utilised theWritten Materials 81v. Zaid binThabit and theUseofOral Sources 82VI. Authentication of theQjir'an: The CaseoftheLastTwo Verses fromSura Bara'a 83vii. Placement of theSuhuf intotheState Archives 842. 'Umar's Role in theSpread oftheQjir'an 853. Conclusion 867. 'UTHMAN'SM U ~ l ; I A F 871. Disputes in Recitation and 'Uthman's Response 872. 'Uthman Prepares a Mushaf Directly fromtheSuhuf 883. 'Uthman MakesanIndependent Copy oftheMushaf 89i. Appointing a Committee ofTwelve to Oversee the Task 89ii. Arranging for anAutonomous Copy 89iii. 'Uthman Retrieves the Suhuf from 'A'isha for Comparison90iv. 'Uthman Retrieves the Suhuf from Hafsa for Verification 924. The Sanctioning and Distribution of 'Uthman's Mushaf 93i. The Final Copy Read to theCompanions 93ii. The Number ofCertified CopiesMade 94iii. 'Uthman Burns All Other Manuscripts 94iv. 'Uthman SendsReciters Along withMushafs 94v. 'Uthman's Instructions withtheMushafs He Sent 965. Studieson'Uthman's Mushaf 97i. Studies on the Mushaf of Malik bin Abi 'knir al-Asbahi 1006. Al-I:Iaiiaj and HisContribution to theMushaf 1027. Mushafs in theMarketplace 1058. Conclusion 1078. THEEVOLUTION OF READINGAIDS WITHINTHEM U ~ l ; I A F 1091. Sura Separators 1092. Ayah Separators III3. Conclusion 1149. THE HISTORY OFARABICPALAEOGRAPHY 1151. The Historical Background of Arabic Characters 1152. Studies inEarly Arabic Documents and Inscriptions 118x THEHISTORYOF THEQUR' ANICTEXTi. The Blurred LineBetween Nabataean and ArabicInscriptions 118ii. What Language Did theNabataeans Speak? 120iii. The Early Arabic Language Possessed a DistinctAJphabet 122iv.The Emergence ofVariousScriptsand theIssueofDating KnficMushafs 1253. Conclusion 12810.ARABICPALEOGRAPHY ANDORTHOGRAPHY INTHEQUR'AN 1291. Writing Styles During the Time of theProphet 1302. Studieson theOrthography of'Uthman's Mushaf 1313. The Nuqat (Dotting) Scheme in Early Mushafs 135i. Early Arabic Writingsand theSkeletal Dots 136ii. The Invention of theDiacritical Markings 139iii. Parallel Usageof Two Different Diacritical MarkingSchemes 1414. SourcesoftheSkeletaland Diacritical Dotting Systems 1435. Orthographic and Pa1aeographic 'Irregularities' in EarlyNon-Qur'anic Script 1456. Conclusion 14811. CAUSESOF VARIANTREADING 1511. The Qjra'at is Sunna 1522. The Need for Multiple Readings:SimplifyingRecitationfor Unaccustomed Masses 1533. Main Cause ofMultiple Readings(Variants): theOrientalist View 1554. Secondary Cause ofMultiple Readings(Variants) 1595. Altering a Word for its Synonym During Recitation 1626. Conclusion 16312. THE MUSLIMEDUCATIONAL METHODOLOGY 1651. The Hunger for Information 1662. Personal Contact: AnEssential Element for Learning 1673. Beginning and Development of theIsnad System 167i. The Phenomenon ofIsnad: Proliferation 1694. The Authentication of Isnad and Hadnh 172i. Establishing Trustworthiness 172ii. The Unbroken Chain 175iii. Supporting orNegating Evidence 176iv. A Test Casewitha Misleading Isnad 176CONTENTS Xl5. The First Generations of Scholars 1776. Preserving Books fromAdulteration: A Unique System 178i. Conditions for Utilising a Book 181ii. Glosses: theAddition of External Material 182iii. Establishing Authorship 1827. Certificates of Reading 184i. The Importance of Reading Notes 1868. Impact of Hadith Methodology on Other Branches 1919. Isnad and theTransmission of theQur'an 19210. Conclusion 19313. THESO-CALLEDOFIBNMAS'DDANDALLEDEDVARIANCESTHEREIN 1951. FirstPoint: The Arrangement of Ibn Mas'ud's Mushaf 1962. Second Point: The Text Differed fromOur 1973. Third Point:Three Suras wereOmitted 199i. Analysis of theContents ofIbn Mas'ud's Mushaf 200ii. Ibn Mas'ud's Beliefs 2014. When Can Any Writing be Accepted as Part of theQjir'an? 203i. Principles for Determining Whether a VerseBelongsto theQur'an 203ii. Examples of Scholars Punished for Violating theAbovePrinciples 2055. Conclusion 206II. The History oftheBiblical Scriptures14.EARLYHISTORYOF JUDAISM: ABRIEFLOOK 2111. Jewish History Prior to Establishing theKingdom 2112. Jewish History After Establishing theKingdom 218i. The Divided Kingdoms 219ii. The Destruction of theFirstTemple (586B.C.)andtheBabylonian Exile(586-538 s.c.) 224iii. The Restoration of Jerusalem and theEstablishment of theSecond Temple(515 s.c.) 224iv. The Hellenistic rule(333-168 s.o.) and theMaccabaean Revolt (168-135B.C.) 224v. The End of theMaccabaean Dynasty (63 B.C.),theRoman Ruleand theDestruction of theSecond Temple (70 C.E.) 2253. Conclusion 226XlI THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR'ANICTEXT15. THEOLDTESTAMENTANDITSCORRUPTION 2271. History of theOld Testament 227i. History of Torah According to Jewish Source 228ii. History of theTorah According to Modern Scholars 2302. The Sources of Jewish Literary Culture 232i. Original Language of theOld Testament was NotCalled Hebrew 232ii.The EarlyJewish Script: Canaanite and Assyrian 234iii. The Sources of theTorah 2353. History of theOral Law 2364. History of theHebrew Text: The Masorah 238i. Only Thirty-one Surviving Masorah Text of OT 2385. InSearch of anAuthoritative Text 240i. The Role of theCouncil of Jamnia - Late FirstCentury C.E. 241ii. The Old Testament Text was knownin a Variety ofDiffering Traditions 241iii. Approximately 6000Discrepancies Between theSamaritan andJewish Pentateuchs Alone 242iv. Unintentional Corruptions of theText 243v. NoQualms Felt in Altering theText when thereAppeared to be Adequate Doctrinal Reasons 244vi. NoSingle Authoritative OT TextExistedTill 100 C.E. 245vii. Jewish Scholars Established theTextof the OT in theTenth Century, Actively Destroying Earlier Manuscripts 246viii. The Masora and Textual Integrity 2466. The Jewish Revival: a Legacy of IslamicLiteraryAdvancements 247i. Pointing and Vocalization Induced by IslamicAchievements 247ii. Masoretic Activity Flourished in theWest UnderIslamic Influence 249iii. The Talmud and IslamicInfluence 2507. Establishing theDate for a Fixed, Authoritative OT Text 251i. Qumran and theDead SeaScrolls: The Western View 251ii. The Counter View: The Terminus Datum of Qumranand Other Cavesis False 2528. SomeMajor Examples of Deliberate Textual Corruption 2569. Conclusion 261CONTENTS Xlll16. EARLYHISTORYOFCHRISTIANITY: ABRIEFLOOK 2651. Did JesusExist? 265i. ReferencestoJesus in Non-Christian Books fromtheFirst Century 266ii. The Historical Christ in Christian Circles 266iii. Christ and His Mother-Tongue 268iv. Christ: the Moral Attributes ofGod? 2682. Jesus'Disciples 269i. Some Remarkson theTwelve Disciples 2723. Jesusand his Message: Repent, for theKingdom ofHeaven is at Hand 272i. Jesusand theScopeof his Message 273ii. Christian Creeds 273iii. The Implications ofthe Term 'Christian' intheEarly Days 2754. The Persecution ofEarly Christians 2765. Practicesand Belief in Early Christianity and itsAftermath 2776. Conclusions 27817. THENEWTESTAMENT: ITSANONYMOUSAUTHORSHIPANDCORRUPTION 2791. The Lost Gospel Q - A Challenge 2792. The Authorship ofthePresent Four Gospels 2803. Are theGospels Inspired? 2814. Transmission oftheNew Testament 282i. The Creation ofDifferent Text Types 283ii. Datesof Recensions 2845. Textual Corruption 285i. Variant Readingsin theNew Testament 285ii. Scribal Alterations 2886. The ErasmusBible and theCommaJohanneum 2907. Contemporary Corruption ofthe Text 2918. Early Manuscripts NegatesthePrevalent Christian Doctrines 2959. Conclusion 298XIV THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR'ANICTEXTIII. An Appraisal ofOrientalism18. THEORIENTALISTANDTHEQUR' AN 3031. The Necessity of Proving Distortions intheQur'an 3032. Orientalist Criticism oftheQur'an's Compilation 3043. Transmutation of Islam into Foreign Idioms 3054. Orientalist Accusations ofAppropriation 306i. Accusations ofBotched Appropriation 306ii. A Counterfeited Bible 3075. Deliberate Distortion of theQur'an 308i. Fliigel's Attempted Distortion of theQur'an 308ii. Blachere's Attempted Distortion oftheQur'an 309iii. Mingana's Attempted Distortion oftheQur'an 3116. Puin and theSan'a'Fragments 314i. AretheSanta'Fragments theOnly Proof oftheQur'an's Completion by theFirst Century? 3157. Conclusion 31819. ORIENTALISTMOTIVATIONS: ASTUDYOFSUBJECTIVITY 3211. TheJewish Analogue 321i. The Validity ofanAnti-Semitic Work 321ii. Can anAnti-judaic Scholar be Impartial When DealingwithaJewish Theme? 322iii. Are Jewish Scholars Free toStudyJewish Topics? 3232. The Muslim Counterpoint 325i. IsraeliSuppression ofPalestinian History 325ii. AnOrientalist Pioneer and Deceiver ofMuslims 3263. Searching for Impartiality 327i. A Historical Perspective: Jews, Christians, and Romans 327ii.Impartiality in Modern Studies 3304. Pressuresand Motives 331i. Colonialism and theDemoralisation ofMuslims 331ii. TheJewish Question and theErasure of History andFabrication ofa New One 3335. Conclusion 33920. CLOSINGREMARKS 341BIBLIOGRAPHY 347INDEX 357' 0 \ \ ~ \ \ ; t ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ /In the Name Q/ Alldh, Most Gracious, Most MercifulPREFACEThis work comprises a short introduction to the history of theQjir'an, itsrecording and its collection. Thereader may therefore bepuzzled as towhy one third of the material in this book tackles the Old Testament (O'T)and theNew Testament (NT), wondering what significancethishasontheQur'an's history. This significance shall, I hope, be made clear as thechapters progress, since I have attempted to present only those details whichhavea direct bearing onthecurrent subject matter.The idea of authoring a book about the Qur'an, about its collection andimmaculate preservation, had long germinated in my mind, and approx-imately threeand half years ago I finally began working on this book alongside another entitled Islamic Studies:VVhat Methodology? It was journalist TobyLester's article inThe Atlantic Monthl;y (january 1999) however, and the chaosit had the potentialtosow among Muslims, whichpromptedagreaterconcentrationonthiswork. His articlesuggested that Muslims, despitebelieving in the Qur'an as the unadulterated Book of Allah, were thoroughlyincapable of defending this view in any scholarly fashion. The gauntlet wasthrown, and I felt it necessary totakeonthischallengeandexplain thestringent methodology usedby early Muslim scholarsin accepting a textas genuine, or rejecting it as fake. This has lead to the unavoidable repetitionof somematerial in both books. As most ofthe scholars that Lester quotesare eitherJews or Christians, I also considered it fitting to cover the historiesofthe Old and New Testaments by way ofcomparison. This should helpthereader toregard thedisparity of opinions between Muslim and Ori-entalist scholarswith a fair measure of insight.With theirinsistence onapurely oraltransmission, mostOrientalistsreject all reports that cite recording and compilation of the Qur'an duringtheProphet Muhammad's lifetime. Many of them even deny that any [malcompilation occurred during AbuBakr's reign, while some accept theroleofthe third caliph 'Uthman in this regard. Onlyfifteen years lapsed betweentheProphet's death and 'Uthman's distributionof written copiesof theQur'an to different provinces of the Muslim world. Viewing this intervalXVI THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR' ANICTEXTwithserious misgivings, Orientalists have often focused onthe possibility ofdeep-seated corruptions crawling into the text within this time span. Stran-gely, manyBiblical scholarsdeemthe text ofthe Old Testament tobehistorically viableeventhough some oftheOT books were maintainedpurely as anoral tradition foruptoeight centuries.1TheOrientalist spotlight has also been cast ontheArabic script withdiscussions of its shortcomings, though it took only half a century fromtheProphet's death for the script to evolve and extinguish its initial ambiguities.They blame this period again for triggering textual distortions, though indoing so theycontradict themselves and negate their earlier emphasis onoral transmission (which is a fact, in that people were memorising the Qur'aneven whilethey possessed it in written form). Hence the'defective script'should not have had any impact within a span of fifty years. By contrast theHebrew script, transforming with thereturn ofJews from their captivityinBabylonto Palestine, was thoroughlydevoidofvowels andinfactremained so for two thousand years,until contact withtheMuslim Arabsspurred them on inthisregard. Tosupposethatthelapseof fifty yearsproveddamagingtothe Qjir'anictext whilst the OT, suffering fromaseverelydisjointed oral tradition and a vowel-less text fortwomillennia,deservesa more hearty benefit of thedoubt is totally unscientific,Along similar lines, there exist Mushafs in the Hejazi script from the earlyfirst century of Hijra (late 7th-early 8th C.E.)2 as well as dated manuscriptsof portions of theQur'an belonging tothefirst century. Discarding thevalue of these specimens, Orientalists claim that theyarestill toolatetoprove that the text is untainted by corruption; some choose to simply regardthem as fakes." By comparison theoldest complete and dated manuscriptof the Hebrew Bible belongs to the beginning of the11th century C.E.,4 and1 Even the existence of this oral transmission ishighly questionable; see Chapter 15.2 WheneverpossibleIwill useC.E. (commonera) asasubstitutefor A.D. (annoDomini), the latter ofwhichmeans 'year oftheLord.'3 M. Minovi in his article"Outline History ofArabic Writing,"claimed that theextant earlyQur'anicspecimensareall either forgeriesor suspect. [A. Grohmann,"The Problem ofDating EarlyQur'ans", DerIslam, Band33, Heft3, Sep. 1958, p.217].4 Inthewords of A.B.Beck inhisintroductiontotheLeningradCodex, "TheLeningrad Codex is theworld'soldestcomplete manuscript of theHebrew Bible ...Theonlyother extant manuscript of the'complete'Hebrew Bible fromthisscribaltraditionisthe Aleppo Codex, which isabout a centuryolder ... However, theAleppo Codexisnowfragmentaryandundated, while the Leningrad Codexiscomplete and dated1008 or 1009C.E." ["Introduction to theLeningrad Codex", inThe LeningradCodex: A Facsimile Edition, WB. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, pp. LX-x.]. For further detail see this work pp. 238-40.PREFACE XVIIthe earliestdatedGreek manuscripts oftheGospelswerewrittenc. the10thcenturyC.E.,5 yetthesesameconcernsdonot seemtoapplyhere.This discrepancy intheattitudestowardstheQur'an ontheonehand,and the01' and NTontheother, must beaddressed ifwearetofullyassess theQur'an's integrity.The established practice at the dawn of Islamic literary history was thatany religious texttqfsir,jiqh etc.) had to be transmitted by those whohad learned the work directly from its authors, they in turn teaching it tothe next generation. Full records of these transmissions were kept, allowingus to peer into the pedigree ofevery book regarding shan'a,6 at least in itsearly stages - a method ofauthentication unsurpassed in the worldevennow.7If we were to apply the tenets of Muslim literary transmission to anyrandom book at the local bookstall, proving its authenticity and authorshipwould in all likelihood be impossible. Despite all thebooks of the 01' andNT having been penned anonymously, however, Western scholarship fmdsit easier to grant them historical legitimacy than to the Muslim transmissionchains, which are often cast under suspicion or found altogether inadequate.After delving intoboth the Muslim and Western methodologies, I will letthereader decide which of thetwo is themost reliable.Judaism and Christianity are undoubtedly religions in history, but wherethe doubt does arise is on the authorship of the Old and New Testaments.The answer cannot in fact be established. The 01' was initially considereda work ofrevelation, but was later deemed thework of Moses; thelatesttheory isthat multiple sources (extending over approximately one thousandyears)contributed totheauthorshipof thefive books of Moses." Whoweretheseshadow writers? Howhonest andaccurate werethey?Howreliable wastheir knowledgeof the incidents involved?Didtheyeverparticipate in any of these incidents? And how did thesebooks eventuallyreach us? The only knownfacts arethat the01' booksappeared on thescene only to disappear promptly for a few hundred years, before abruptlyresurfacing?Againtheydisappearedwithouttracefor manycenturies,5According to B.M. Metzger, " ... one of the earliest dated Greek manuscripts ofthe Gospels.,.was written by a monk named Michael in the year of the world 6457(= A.D. 949). It is now in the VaticanLibrary (no. 354)."[TheText if the New Testament:Its Transmission, Corruption, andRestoration, 3rdenlargededition, OxfordUniv. Press,1992, p.56]. For more detail see this work pp. 285-6.6 Islamiclaw.7 See Chapter12.8Muslims believe that the Torah and the Zabur were revealed but were subsequentlylost or corrupted. A very small percentage ofthe current Old Testament may containthe original revelations, but it is scattered throughout the text. Recognising it is difficult;theonly criterion is that it must agreewith theteachings oftheQur'an and sunna.9 See 2 Kings 14-l6.XVlll THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR' ANICTEXTand were once again suddenly recovered. Compare thishistory with thatof a few thousand honest souls livingalongside theProphet and activelyparticipating with him in war and peace, in jest and misfortune, in hungerand ease, meticulously documenting every verseandevery hadith. Theirbiographies forma poignant chronicle though Orientalists dismissmuchof it as fiction; forthe Wansbroughschoolitis purely anexampleof a'salvation history', with nobearing onwhat really happened.Meanwhile other scholars are actively engaged in expunging their ownreligious narratives in favourof something new, which I can illustrate brieflyhere by referring tothe tale of Jesus'crucifixion. The Orthodox Jewishviewpoint statesthat,According to the Talmud,Jesus was executed by a proper rabbinicalcourt foridolatry, incitingother Jewstoidolatryandcontempt ofrabbinical authority. Allclassical Jewishsources which mentionhisexecution are quite happy to take responsibilityfor it: in the Talmudicaccount the Romans are not even mentioned. 10In addition to a series of scurrilous sexual allegationsagainstJesus,theTalmudstates that his punishment in hell is to be immersedinboiling excrement ... IIIronically, the NewTestament and modern Christianity are being cleansedof all such references even thoughthey exist inthe Talmud. What is thedefinition ofsacredness ifdeliberate shifts in wording and tone arebeingwrought within the Scriptures in this day andage?"Andwith suchgoings-on as a backdrop, how can some intellectuals accept]udaism andChristianity as historical religions whiledenying the same to Islam?"At issue here is not what Islam is or what Islamic sources say, but ratherhow Muslims perceive their own faith and how Orientalist research wantsthem to perceive it.Several years ago ProfessorC.E. Bosworth, oneof theeditors ofBrill's Encyclopaedia of Islam, delivered a lecture at the Universityof Colorado. Whenasked whyMuslimscholars, even those trainedinWestern institutions, were not invited to contribute to the Encyclopaedia'sessential articles (suchasQyr)iin, etc.), heresponded that this10Israel Shahak,Jewirh History, Jewirh Religion,Pluto Press, London, 1977, pp. 97-98. While the Qur'an categorically denies the crucifixion [Qur'an 4:! 57], it does recordtheJewishclaimof crucifYingJesus.11 ibid, pp. 20-2l.12 For details refer to thisworkpp. 291-2.13Andrew Rippen, "Literary analysisofQur'an, Tafsir, andSlra: TheMetho-dologiesof John Wansbrough", in R.C. Martin (ed.), ApproachestoIslamin ReligiousStudies, Univ. of ArizonaPress, Tuscan, 1985, pp.151-52.work was by theWestern pen for Western people. His answer though wasonly half correct: this work is not intended solely for Western consumption.Toquote something which Edward Said uses inhis work, Orientalism:"They cannot represent themselves; they must be represented." -KarlMarx. 14Here Marx is discussing theFrench peasantry,but theidea of mutinggreat swathes of people witha singlesentence and casting theburden ofrepresentation whollyupon outsiders is by nomeans a novelone.One last point before ending this preface. When acertain amount ofresearchfinallyyieldsatheory, academiadictatesthatthistheory mustface rigorous testing. If it fails then it must be either modified and retestedor abandonedaltogether. But studies of Islamareunfortunately litteredwithill-conceivedtheories that have ascendedto the point of almostbecoming hard fact, even when theyfail onseveral counts. The next twoexamples will clarify.Professor Wensinek comments onthefamous regarding the fivepillars of Islam:r\.,.PJ ,.t5")1.l.:: l."#->J':J411 u),7 QJ I: -J;,e W) (5;JT :ill"Alliihforgives notthat partners should be setupwithHim; butHeforgivesanything elseto whom Hepleases; whoever sets uppartners with Alliih hascommitted a most heinous sinindeed."i. The Purpose Behind Mankind's CreationAllahcreated humans solely that they may worship Him.",.,,>,JI -::.,,JI,,.,...... ...':JI ' '':JI' V),.. -, Jr"I have createdjinns andmen, on!Jthat thry mqy serve Me."43Given that food, water, shelter, reproduction and thousands of othermatters are inextricably tied to human survival, Islam has transformed allof theseintoacts of worship, so longas theintention behind them is tobetter serve Allah.ii. The Message of theProphetsWithinmankind, Allahinstilledanaturethat leadsinstinctivelytoHisworship alone, provided there is no external interference." To compensatefor suchinterferencesHe dispatchedmessengersfromtime totime, todisplace thewebsof idolatryandsuperstitionandguidepeopletotheproper way ofworship.6 Qur'an 39:53.7Qur'an 4:48.8 Qur'an 51:56.9 This is clearfrom thebadlth oftheProphet, "There is none born butis createdto his truenature[Islam]. Itis his parents whomakehima Jew or a Christian or aMagian... "[Muslim, SaI;lb, rendered intoEnglish by Abdul-Hamid Siddiqi, Sh. M.Ashraf, Kashmiri Bazar - Lahore, Pakistan, hadith no. 6423].THEHISTORYOF THEQUR' ANICTEXTf. ',; ,'" ." ,",...,").l-6J'I""Nor wouldVVesend downOur wrath until VVe hadsent a messenger(togive warning)."The Creator purgedHis messengers, paragons of virtueandpietywithoutexception, fromallevil. They weremodel examplesof humanbehaviour, andinstructedtheir respective communities tofollowtheirlead in the worship of Allah. Their coremessagethroughout history wasageless.11 JJ. ,.,4,; Q".t__ 'SJ ,...'" .... '" J?; "" J.J.? ."" ",... !-,...b\ 0-.:.1 jJ-'--l!:'i o: l::Ljl L.J t"Never didVVe dispatcha messengerbefore you without revealing to himthis: that there is nogodbut1; therefore worship andserve Me."And themessageof all theprophets was,J. f- ... uHlj....u1"So be minriful if Allah (proclaimed the messensers} 'andobey me."Theconcisephrase..151 -.11(there is nogodbut Allah)is the corebeliefunitingalltheprophetsfromAdamtoMuhammad; theQur'anapproachesthisthemetimeandagain, particularly calling theattentionofJews and Christians tothis point.2. The Final MessengerInthearid heat of Makkah, Prophet Ibrahim thought of the nomads whowould come tosettle inthat barren valley and entreated his Creator:WI, ',:'":...:....9)., J.,- ry- r") p-' .J U'I",... t,. ? (. '" J.13" (i"t'f' ;..,s::;JI ';",.::: II c.:, I -ili I '- c;"';",jn:-;:fi"OurLord! send amongst them aMessenger if their own) who shall rehearseYour Signstothem andinstruct them in the Book and Wisdom)andpuri.JYthemi for Youarethe Exalted in Might) theWise."And at a fixed time, in thesame barren land, Allah planted the fruit ofIbrahim's supplication in the form of Hislast messenger toall humanity.10 Qur'an17:15.Il Qur'an 21:25.12Qur'an26:108. See also the sarne Sura verses: 110, 126,131,144,150, 163 and179. This indicates that all the prophets have asked the same from theircommunity.13Qur'an 2:129.REVELATIONSANDTHEPROPHETMUJ:IAMMAD14,,( ':G.-'.&TJ .Jj I.r-..uj 4j\b. l.j ,,.. ....... ....15,,(--: \.

"uehave not sent you but [as a messenger] toall mankind, givingthemglad tidings andwarning them [against sin]; butpeople are ntm;;are."/ -- ...... " ... ., ".....:' ....... ....ll...:1:.b.L.'j'l.j "ue have notsentyou but as a mercy for all worlds."45And inverse 97:1,AsAllah Willed it, so it came tobe, that an unlettered shepherd shouldcarry the burden of receiving, teaching and disseminating a revelation thatwas intended to last till the end of history: a heavier responsibility than thatshouldered by all previous messengers combined.3. Receiving the RevelationsConcerning therevelation of the Qjir'an wefind verse2: 185,... y,",J.. ........ -:: '" ,::fy. Yo... l _ .-::....... ,........ y.... , i ..,.:,j--....>J...A ., .... ... ".... J .... ", tJ,,(rG'Y .Ji..iJ I ;;J..J .:u:J.rI[:,11. ,- I.,! fT"Behold,from on High ue bestowed this [divine writ] on the Nzght ifDestiny."Over a span of twenty-three years the Qur'an came toberevealed bit-by-bit according to the impending circumstances. Ibn 'Abbas (d. 68A.H.),one of the greatest scholars among the Companions, explains that the Qur'anwas sent inits entirety tothe lowest heaven ofthe world (Bait al-'Izza) inonenight, arriving from theretothe earth instages asnecessary,'?The reception of revelation (wal;y) is outside the realm of the commonperson's experiences. For the previous fourteen centuries no true messenger14 Qur'an 33:40.15 Qur'an 34:28.16 Qur'an 21:107.17 As-SUyU!l, al-Itqiin, i:117.46 THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR' ANICTEXThas existed,nor will therebe another, so to understand the phenomenonof wal[y we have to depend solely onthereports that comeauthenticallyfromtheProphet, and fromthose trustworthy individuals who witnessedhim." These narrations may perhaps mirror what other prophets experiencedas well, in thethroesofdivine communication.Al-Harith bin Hisham inquired, "0 Messenger of Allah, how doesthe revelation come to you?" He replied, "Sometimes it comes likethe ringing of a bell, and that is the hardest on me, then it leaves meand I retain what it said. Andsometimes the angel approaches mein human form and speaks to me, and I retain what he said."19 'A'isharelated, "Verily I saw theProphet when therevelation descendedupon him on a day severewith cold, before leaving him. And behold,his brow was streaming withsweat.'?"Ya'la once told 'Umar of his desire to observe the Prophet while hewas receiving wahy. At the next opportunity 'Umar called out to him,and he witnessed theProphet "with his face red, breathing withasnore. Then theProphet appeared relieved[ofthat burden],"21Zaid b. Thabit stated, "Ibn Um-Maktum came to the Prophet whilehe was dictating to metheverse,? '" ..... J ..... .......: 'Not equal are those believers who sit ... ' On hearing the verse Ibn Urn-Maktum said, '0 Prophet of Allah, had I the means I would mostcertainly have participated injihad.' He was a blind man. So Allahrevealed[the remainder of the verse] to the Prophet while his thighwas on mineand it became so heavy that I fearedmy thigh wouldbreak."23Clear physiological changes enmeshed the Prophet during the receptionofwahy, but at all other times his manner and speech were normal. He never18 There are many events that can be described to, but not fully comprehended by,someonewhoselimitedrangeof experiencesgetsintheway. Aneasyexampleisdescribing a landscape (let aloneits colours!) toa blindperson, orchirping ofbirdsto someone who is dear They may beableto appreciatesome ofthedescription, butnot to the full extent of someone blessed with hearing and eyesight. In the same sense,thedescriptions ofthewallyand how theProphet felt during its reception are, to therest ofus, matters beyond our full comprehension.19 Al-Bukhart, $ab'ib, Bad' al-Wahy: I.20ibid, Bad' al-Wahy.I.21Muslim, $abfb, Manasik.S.22Qur'an 4:95.23Al-Bukhari,$abfb,]ihad:30.REVELATIONSANDTHEPROPHETMUI:IAMMAD 47possessed any control as to when, where, and what therevelations wouldsay,as is evident from numerous incidents.I have chosen the following twoexamples arbitrarily:In the case of some people slandering his wife 'A'isha, and accusingher of mischief withaCompanion, theProphet received noim-mediate revelation. In fact he suffered for anentire month becauseof theserumours before Allahdeclared her innocence:, ' .. I ,r:. ' " I 1;1!IT,,' I", "I ", I' }..u.::,. ..l..T, . U L:..J.... JyJr, '"And wh); didyou not(0people), whenyou heard (the tumour),sqy, 'It is notright qf usto speak ofthis: gloryto 'You (our Lord) this isamost serious slanderl"Meanwhile, in the case of Ibn Um-Maktum's objection on accountof his blindness, theProphet received therevelation instantly:;tiJJ)>> ;)/".ailJ ! ., 25,,( , . 1' , . k L ;"Not equal arethosebelieverswhosit (at home)---exceptingthosewhoaredisabled-and those who strive andfight inthe cause qf Alliih withtheirgoodsandtheir lives."i. The Beginning of Wa1).y and theMiracle of Qur'an26Preparing thefutureprophet for his role was a gradual process, a timeinwhich puzzling occurrences and visions seemed to percipitate about him,and in which the Archangel]ibri:l repeatedly let his presence be known."Appearing before Muhammad suddenly onedaywhile hewas secludedin a cave, ]ibri:l commanded him to read; he replied that he did not knowhow to read. The angel repeated his demand thrice, and received the sameconfused and frightened answer thrice, before revealing to this unsuspectingProphet thevery first verses he was to hear of the Qur'an:24 Qur'an 24:16.25 Qur'an 4:95.26 In the following pages I will backtrackalittle, relatingsome incidentsfromMuhammad's first few yearsas Prophet. These differ fromthebiographical overviewof theprevious chapter inthat thefocushere is explicitly ontheQur'an,27 Ibn I:Iajar, Fatbul Ban, viii:716.48 THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR' ANICTEXTj.,'",.. t 'l,.,.J ..""" ...."7.J .... .. .... ..."" .... 1',.1 ... ,.I 'l"... .Ji}''llI}IrX -S;UI I}\,28,{ L.-siT"r-o; u-- -,: .."Read! inthename ifyour Lord and Cherisher, Who created. Createdman, outif a leech-like clot. Proclaim! Andyour Lordis Most Bountiful.He Who taught [the use if} the Pen) Trzught manthat which heknewnot."Shaken fromthisunexpected encounter and carrying thisgreatest ofburdens, Muhammad returned trembling to his wife Khadija and imploredher toconceal him, till some measure of calmness had returned tohim.As an Arab he was familiar with all sorts of Arabic expressions, with poetryandprose, but nothing boreresemblancetothese verses; hehadheardsomething thelikes of which he had never heard before. These ineffableWords, this Qur'an, became the first and greatest miracle bestowed uponhim. In another time and place Moses had been granted his own miracles- light emanating fromhishands, thetransformation of hisstickintoaslithering snake - as signs of his prophethood. Compare that to the subtletyof Muhammad's case: in thesolitude of a mountain cave an angel beckonsanunlettered man toread. His miracles included nosnakes, noplagues,no curing of lepers or raising of the dead, but Words unlikeanything thathad ever fallenonhuman ears.ii. The Impact of theProphet's Recitation onthePolytheistsThe passageof timehelped tosettlethe Prophet intohisnewrole, andas he busied himself expounding Islam to his closest companions by day,so Allah encouraged him to recite the Qur'an during thestillness of night.t... j. j..J t J"" '" P'....J ._. J ... 1J J. "'.... At.. ; '.1 rnl '.>\..Jj ...:;... '.=1:.1 .1 :tTY'.>\..Jj '11 1 II(QY-. : \I I" lI.J -{...I -... .. v - --! ...... :... .. .. I29,{,,"...:.t:.'"I..,p .;/\J .r: y-'..J-',."0 enwrapped one! Keepawake [inprayer] at night) all but a smallpartif one-half thereof - or make it a littlelessthanthat) or add to it [atwill]; and[during that time]recitetheQyriin calmly and distinctly, withyour mindattuned toits meaning. "Let us chronicle the effect of these recitations on the idolaters. Ibn Ishaqwrites:28Qur'an 96:1-5.29 Qur'an 73:1-4.REVELATIONSANDTHEPROPHETMUI:IAMMADMuhammad b. Muslim b. Shihab az-Zuhri told me that he was informedthat AbUSufyan b. Harb, AbUJahl 1. Hisham, and al-Akhnas 1. Shanqb. 'Amr b. Wahbath-Thaqafi (an ally of Bani:Zuhra), had ventured outby night to eavesdrop on the Prophet as he recited in his house. Eachofthethreechose an appropriate place,andnone knew the exact where-abouts of his comrades. So they passed the night listeningto him. At dawnthey dispersed and, meeting one another on the way back, each ofthemchided hiscompanions, "Do not repeat this again, lestone of the simpletonsspots you and becomes suspicious". Then they left, only to return on thesecond night, eavesdrop again, and chide each other at dawn. When thisrecurred on the third night, they confronted each other the next morningand said, "We will not leave until we take a solemn oath never to return".After thisoaththeydispersed. Afewhourslateral-Akhnas tookhiswalking stick and, approaching the houseof AbuSufyan,inquired hisopinion as to what they had heard fromtheProphet. He replied, "ByGod, I heard things whosemeanings I cannot comprehend, nor whatis intended by them". Al-Akhnassaid, "Such is also the case withme".Then he proceeded to Abti jahl's house and asked the same question. Heanswered, "What, indeed, did I hear! We andthe tribeof'Abd Manafhave always rivalled each other in honour. They have fed the poor, andso have we; they have assumed other people's troubles, and so have we;they have shown generosity, and so have we. We have matched each otherliketwostallions of equal speed. Then they proclaimed, 'We have a prophetwho receivesrevelationsfrom the heavens'. When will we acquire anythinglike that? By God, we will never believe him or call him truthful.T"49Despite the severity of their hatred the Prophet continued reciting, andthe eavesdroppers continued to increase till they constituted a sizeable portionof Quraish, each of them wary of having his secret exposed." The Prophetwas not asked to argue with his antagonists about Allah's Oneness becausethe Qur'an, clearly not the work of a man, contained within itself the logicalproof of the existence and Oneness of Allah.Yet ashisrecitations spilledfrom the stillness of night into the bustle of day and became public, Makkah'sanxieties werequickly brought tothe boil.With a popular fair fast approaching, some people from amongst Quraishapproached al-Walid bin al-Mughira, a man of some standing. He addressedthem, "The time of the fair has come round again and representatives ofthe Arabs will come to you. They willhave heard about this fellow of yours,soagree upononeopinion without disputeso that none will give the lieto the other." They said, "Give us your opinion about him," and hereplied,30 IbnHisham, Sira, vol. 1-2, pp. 315-16.31 IbnIshaq, as-Seyr wa al-Maghdei, pp. 205-6.50 THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR'ANICTEXT"No, you speak and I will listen." So they said, "He is a kahin Cr"'\5': clair-voyant)."al-Walld responded, "By God, he is not that, for hehas not theunintelligent murmuring and rhymed speechof thekahin", "Then he ispossessed." "No, he is not that. We have seen possessed ones, and here thereisno choking, no spasmodic movements or whispering." "Then he is a poet.""No, he is no poet, for we know poetry in all its forms and meters." "Thenhe is a sorcerer." "No, we haveseen sorcerers and their sorcery, and herethere is no spitting and no knots.""Then what are we to say, 0Abu'AbdShams?" He replied, "By God, his speechis sweet, his root is as a palm-treewhosebranches arefruitful, and everything youhavesaid would beknown as false. The nearest thing to thetruth is your sayingthat heis asahir (?l.:sorcerer), whohasbrought a messageby whichheseparatesa man fromhis father, orfromhis brother, orfromhis wife, orfromhisfamily."32We findthesamephenomenon inthecaseof AbuBakr, whobuilt amosque in Makkah next to his own houseand devoted himself to regularprayer and recitation of the Holy Qur'an. The polytheists approached IbnAddaghinna, who was responsible for protecting Abu Bakr, and asked himto prevent Abu Bakr from reading the Qur'an because, among other things,women and children were known to eavesdrop on his recitations, and werenaturally more susceptible to suchaninfluence."4. The Prophet)s RolesRegarding the OJtriinTheQur'anconsistently employs derivationsoftalii ("YU: recited): Jutlii)atlii, tatlu)Jatlu etc.(.J;., p, ~ i , ~ ) . We read this in verses 2:129,2: 151,3:164,22:30,29:45 and 62:2, among many others; all of them allude to theProphet's role of disseminating the revelations throughout the community.But recitation alone is insufficient if it is unaccompanied by instruction. TheProphet's responsibilities towards the Word of Allahareeasily discernedin the following verses, the first being from Prophet Ibrahnn's supplication:"OurLordi Send amongst them amessenger if their own) who shall rehearseYour Signs tothem andinstruct them in the Book and Wisdom)andpurijjthem."3432IbnIshaq, as-Seyr wa al-Maghiizi, editedbySuhailZakkar, p. 151; Ibn Hisham,Sira, vol. 1-2, pp. 270-7l.33Ibn Hisham, Sira, vol. 1-2, p. 373; al-Baladhuri, Ansiib, i:206.34 Qur'an 2:129.REVELATIONSANDTHEPROPHETMUJ:IAMMAD, '1;:' '., .. 1;-- y-!.IX Y"'J. cr :II'35" (. "t n.--;- J'J .. '"Allahhasconferred agreatfavour onthe Believers indeed, sending amongthem amessengerfiom amongst themselves who rehearses unto them the Signsif Allah, andpurifies them, andinstructs them in the Book andWisdom."'.i '.LiA V )..' I' y-!.Y"'J J r .,...il' L'j'" I' '.'1-'"A similar faoouryou have already received) in that VVe have sent amongyou a messenger ifyour own, rehearsingto youOurSigns, andpurijjingyou, andinstructingyou in the Book and Wisdom."And inSura al-Qiyama:

'''I J "",,?" 1""'[:' -:1 -;:I:U" :1..... -:.-.:i1. J-L......: compiled copies of theQur'an)33 used by Ubayy bin Ka'b and Ibn Mas'ud exhibited discrepanciesin their arrangement ofsuras, based on the universal norm. But nowheredo we findany reference to a disagreement in theordering of verses withina particular sura. The Qjir'an's unique format allows each sura to functionas anindependent unit; nochronology or narrative carries over fromonetothenext, and thereforeanychange inthesequence of surasis purelysuperficial. Such werethesediscrepancies,if indeedtheydid exist, thatthe message of the Qur'an remained inviolate. Variations in word order orthesequence of verses would be a different matter altogether - a profoundalteration that thankfully not eventhebest-known variant Mushafscanmake claims to.28 Al-Baqillani, ai-Intisiir, pp. 176-7.29 Muslim,30 Muslim, al-Fara'id.S.31 Al-Bukhari, Fada'il al-Qur'an: 10.32 Al-Bukhari, al-Wuqu':37; Muslim,Musafirm, no. 182. For detailssee Muslim, Kitiib at-Tamyiz; edited by M.M. al-A'zami, pp. 183-5.33 Literallyacollectionof sheets, heremeaning sheetsof parchment containingtheQjir'an. See pp. 84-85.THERECORDINGANDARRANGEMENTOFTHEQUR'AN 73Scholars unanimously agree that to follow the sura order in the Qur'anis not compulsory, whether in prayer, recitation, learning, teaching or mem-orisation." Each sura stands alone, and thelatter onesdo not necessarilypossess greater legal bearing than their earlier counter-parts;sometimesanabrogated (t--": naskh) verseappearsinasurathat is subsequent tothesura containing theverse that replaces it. Most Muslims begin mem-orisingtheQur'an fromthe end, starting fromthe shortest suras (Nos.114, 113, ... ) and working backwards. The Prophet oncerecited theSiirasofal-Baqara, an-Nisii' then Ali-'Imriin(suras No.2, 4 and3,respectively)within a single rak'a (w.J),35 contrary to their order of appearance in theQur'an.As far as I am aware, there are no hadiths in which the Prophet delineatesthe order of all the suras, Opinions differ, and can be summarised as follows:1. The arrangement of all thesuras, as it stands, harkens back to theProphet himself." This is the opinion that I subscribe to. The counter-viewdisagrees with this, citing thattheMushafsof certain Com-panions (such as Ibn Mas'ud and Ubayy b. Ka'b) supposedly differinsura order from theMushaf presently inour hands."2. Some believethat theentire Qjir'an was arranged by theProphetexcept for sura no. 9, which was placed by'Uthman.l"3. Another view credits the arrangement of all suras to Zaid b. Thabit,Caliph 'Uthman and the Prophet's Companions. Al-Baqillamadherestothis notion.P4. Ibn'Atiyya supportstheviewthat theProphet arranged someofthesuras whiletherest werearranged by theCompanions.t?iii. The Arrangement of Suras in Some Partial MushafsMuslim scholarly opinion unanimously holds that the present arrangementofsuras is identicaltothat of'Uthman'sMushaf.!' AnyonedesiringtocopytheQur'an inits entirety hasto follow that sequence, but forthosewho seek to copy only particular snras, following the arrangement outlinedin 'Uthman's Mushaf is no longer necessary. An analogous situation occurswhen I travel by air: I like totakemyworkwith me but, not wanting to34 Al-BaqillanI, al-Intisdr, p. 167.35 Muslim, $ a ~ f J ; , Musafirin, no. 203.36 See as-Suyutl, al-Itqiin, i:176-77; see also AbuDawud, Sunan,no. 786.37SeeChapter13, whichis specially devoted to Mushaf ofIbn Mas'ud.38 As-Suyutl, al-Itqdn, i:l77, quotingai-Baihaqi, Madklzal; seealsoAbuDawud,Sunan, no. 786.39 Al-Baqillani, al-Intisar, p. 166.40 Ibn'Attyya, al-Muharrar al-Wqjiz, i:34-35.41 See Chapter 7.74 THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR' A.NIC TEXTcarrybulkyvolumes inmysuitcase, I simplyphotocopy thoseportionsthat I need during my trip.In the early days Mushafs were scribed on parchment of course, usuallymuch heavier than paper, so that a full Mushaf may have weighed a fewkilograms. And we have many examples (for instance the Yemeni collection;see Figures 5.1-5.2) where the Qur'an is written in such largecalligraphythat anentire Mushaf''s thicknesswould easily exceed onemetre.Figure 5.1: A parchmentfromthe Yemeni collection. Dimensions are ~1Bem x 13cm. Courtesy: National Archive Museum ofYemen.Figure 5.2: Another parchmentfromthe Yemeni collection. Dimensionsare~ 13cm x Bem. Courtesy: National Archive Museum ofYemenTHERECORDINGANDARRANGEMENTOFTHEQUR'AN 75Taking the Mushaf that is printed by the King Fahd complex in Madinahas astandard, we findthat it containssomesix hundred pages(approx-imately 9,000 lines). Interestingly, the entire text of the parchment in Figure5.2is halfalineintheMushafprintedat Madinah, meaningthatanentire Mushaf written on that scalewould require18,000 pages. Voluminouscalligraphy is bynomeansrare, but it doesgenerally indicatethattheMushafconsisted of nomorethanahandfulof siiras. Library shelvesthroughout the world are filledwith partiallywritten Qjir'ans; listedbelow are a few dozen examples from just a single library, theSalarJungMuseum'? in Hyderabad, India.Manuscript No. qfOrder qf surasDate43No. suras244 29 36,48,55,56,62,67,75,76,78,93, c. Early11th94 72 97 and 99-114246 16 62 (first 8 ayahs only), 110, 1, 57, 113, c.Anearly10th,56,94, 114,64,48,47,89, 112,36, and late11th78 and67 centuryCODV1247 10 136 48 56,67 78 109 and112-114248 9 73,51,67,55,62, 109 and112-114 1076 A.H.(= 1666 C.E.)249 9 17,18,37,44,50,69,51,89 and 38 1181 A.H.(= 1767 C.E.)250 9 20 21 22 63 and 24-28 c. Earlv12th251 8 6 36 48 56 62 67 76 and78 c.Early11th252 8 1,6 18,34 35 56,67and 78 c.Early11th255 8 136 48 55, 67 73 56 and 78 c. Early14th253 8 36 48,56 62 67 71 73 and78 c.Late11th254 7 155 56 62 68 73 and88 c. Late12th256 7 36 48 78 56 67 55 and 73 c.Early11th257 7 36 48 78 67 56 73 and 62 c.Mid11th258 7 1832 36 48 56 67 and 78 c.Late11th259 7 1836 37 48 56 67 and 78 c.Late 11th260 7 36 48 56 67 7855 and 62 c.Late12th261 7 36 48 78 56 67 55 and 73 c. Late13th262 6 1,36,48,56,67 and78 1115 A.H.(= 1704 c.s.)42 MuhammadAshraf, ACatalogueqf Arabic ManuscriptsinSalar lungMuseum&Library, pp.166-234.43 Some Mushafs had the scribingdate written on them, while others are undated.For the latter, I copied the approximate date (A.H.) as per the catalogue and precededit with the circa symbol.76 THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR'ANICTEXTManuscript No. ofOrder qf suras DateNo. suras263 6 36, 48, 55, 56, 67 and68 1278 A.H. (=1862c.z.)264 6441,36,48,56,78 and 67 c.Early10th265 64518,36, 71, 78,56 and67 c. Late13th266 6 36, 55, 56,62, 63 and78 989 A.H. (=1581C.E.)267 5 36, 48, 56, 67 and 78 1075 A.H. (=1664 o.s.)268 5 36, 48, 56,67 and78 1104 A.H. (=1692 C.E.)270 5 36, 48, 56, 67 and78 1106 A.H. (=1694 C.E.)271 5 36,48,67, 72 and78 1198 A.H. (=1783C.E.)272 5 36, 48, 56, 67 and78 1200 A.H. (=1786C.E.)273 5 36,48,55,56 and67 1237 A.H.275 5 36, 78, 48, 56 and67 626 A.H. (=1228 C.E.).279 5 36,48,56,67 and78 Copied by Yaqut al-IMusta 'siml280 5 1,6, 18, 34 and 35 1084 A.H. (-1673C.E.)281 5 36, 48, 56, 59 and62 c. Early10th282 5 1,6, 18,34 and 35 c. Early10th284 5 6, 36,48, 56 and67 c. Late10th296 5 18,36,44,67 and78 c. Early12th308 4 6, 18,34 and 35 c. Early 9th310 4 6-9 c. Early12thWe canconclude that anyone desiring to scribe a partial Mushafwould have felt at liberty to place thesurasin whichever order he saw fit.4. ConclusionByunderstanding the need to document every verse, the Muslim community(already swelling withtheranks of the ~ z i f f i i ? ) was setting upboth an aidto memorisation, and a barrier to shield the text from corruptive influences.Even the grind of Makkan oppression could not dampen this resolve, andwhentheMuslimsatlast enjoyed theprosperity of Madinahtheentirenation, literate and illiterate alike, took this task to heart. At thecentre ofthis nation resided its energising focal point, the final Messenger, dictating,explaining, and arranging every verse through the divine inspiration whichwas his privilege alone, till all thepieceswerein place and theBook wascomplete. How thesacred text fared after theProphet'sdeath, and howthenation shunned complacency andexerted renewedeffortstoensuretheQur'an's integrity, are thefocuses of our next chapter.44 Six suras with some supplicationsin accordance with the Shiite creed.45 In addition to some supplicationsin accordance with the Shiite creed.CHAPTERSIXTHE WRITTENCOMPILATIONOF THEQUR'ANThough the Prophet enlisted all possible measures to preserve the Qjir'an,he did not bind all the suras together into one master volume, as evidencedby Zaid binThabit's statement that, "The Prophet was taken[from this life] whilst the Qur'an had not yetbeen gathered intoa book."Note the usage of the word 'gathered' rather than 'written'. Commentingon this, al-Khattabi says, "This quote refers to [the lack of] a specific bookwith specifictraits. The Qur'an had indeed been written down in its entiretyduring theProphet'slifetime, but had notbeen collected together nor werethe suras arranged."?Setting up a master volumemight have proved challenging; any divinenaskh abrogation) revealed subsequently, affecting the legal provisionsor wordings of certain verses, would have required proper inclusion. And aloose page format greatly simplified theinsertion ofnew verses and newsuras, for the revelations did not cease until a short time before the Prophet'sdeath. But with his death thewal[y ended forever: there would be no moreverses,abrogations or rearrangements, sothat the situation lent itself perfectlyfor the compilation of the Qur'an into a single, unified volume. No hesitationwas felt inarriving atthis decision; prudence compelled thecommunityto hasten in this task, and Allah guided the Companions to serve the Qur'anin suchfashionas to fulfil His promise of forever preserving His Book,,.... ,J ... J"- -t ., ... JJ ",,'" 3,,{(TI' 0 1 J:.J[:,1' 'j)1 L;j.: .[:,1 ).}Jf, 'Y..r ,Thave, without doubt, sent downthe message; andwill assuredlyguard it (from corruption)."1Ibn Hajar, Fathul Bari, ix:12; see also al-Bukhari,al-Qjrr'an, hadlthno. 4986.2As-Suyuti, al-Itqdn, i: 164.3Qur'an15:9.78 THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR' ANICTEXT1. Compilation if the Qyr'anDuring AbuBakr's Reigni. Appointment of Zaid binThabit as Compiler oftheQur'anZaid reports,Abu Bakr sent for me at a time when the Yarnama battles had witnessedthe martyrdom of numerous Companions. I found 'Umar bin al-Khattabwithhim. Abu Bakrbegan, '''Umar has just come to meand said, 'Inthe Yamama battles death has dealt most severely with thequrrii',4 andI fear it will deal with them with equal severity in other theatres of war.As a result much of the Qur'an will be gone(01.;11 ...,.......i.;). I am thereforeoftheopinionthat youshould command theQur'anbecollected.'"Abu Bakr continued,"Isaid to'Umar, 'How can we embark on whatthe Prophet never did?' 'Umar replied that it was a good deed regardless,and he didnot cease replying to my scruples until Allahreconciled meto the undertaking, and I became of the same mind as him. Zaid, youareyoung and intelligent, youusedtorecordthe revelationsfortheProphet, and we know nothing to your discredit. So pursue the Qur'anand collect it together." By Allah, had they asked me to move a mountainit could not have been weightier than what they requested ofmenow.Iaskedthem how theycould undertake what the Prophet had neverdone, but Abu Bakr and 'Umar insisted that it was permissible and good.They didnot ceasereplying to myscruples until Allah reconciled meto the undertaking, the way Allah had already reconciled Abu Bakr and'Umar."On being convened Zaid accepted themomentous task of supervisingthecommittee and 'Umar, who had proposed the project, agreed to lendhis full assistance."ii. Zaid binThabit's CredentialsInhis early twentiesat thetime, Zaid had been privileged enough to livein the Prophet's neighbourhood and serve as one of his most visiblescribes.He was also among theand the breadth of these credentials madehim an outstanding choice for this task. Abu. Bakr as-Siddlq listed his quali-ficationsin thenarration above:1. Zaid's youth (indicating vitality and energy).4 Qyrrii' [literally: reciters] is another term for thethose who had completelymemorised the Qur'an. The qurra', in their piety, alwaysfought in the front linesduringcombat andhence suffered greater losses than other soldiers.5 Al-Bukhari,al-Qur'an, hadithno. 4986; see also IbnAbI Dawl1d,pp. 6-9.6 See Ibn AbI Dawud, p. 6.THEWRITTENCOMPILATIONOFTHEQUR' AN 792. His irreproachable morals. Abo.Bakr specificallysaid: "Wedo not accuse you of any wrongdoing."3. His intelligence(indicatingthe necessarycompetence and awareness).4. His prior experience withrecording thewalgJ5. I may add one more point to his credit: Zaid was one of the fortunatefewwho attended the Archangel]ibril's recitations with the Prophetduring Ramadan."iii. Abo. Bakr's Instructions to Zaid binThabitLet me quote a brief case brought before AbuBakr while he was Caliph.An elderly woman approached him asking for her share in the inheritanceof her deceased grandson. He replied that the amount of a grandmother'ssharewasnot mentioned intheQjir'an, nordidherecall the Prophetmaking anystatements regarding this. Inquiring of thosein attendance,he received an answer from al-Mughira who, standing up, said he had beenpresent when the Prophet stated that a grandmother's share was one-sixth.Abo. Bakrasked ifanyotherscouldcorroborateal-Mughira, towhichMuhammad bin Maslama testified in the affirmative. Carrying the matterbeyond the realm of doubt meant that Abo.Bakr had to request verificationbeforeacting onal-Mughira'sstatement." Inthis regard AbuBakr(andsubsequently 'Uthman, as we shall see) were simply following the Qur'an'sedict concerning witnesses: 1'1 -:. - J :r.---I..t"' \,j.9'- . F .y-o""\\"= - 'J""wL""Jl.J1t.:;\b.' . - IJ ., . - J, , r""'"':":.... .... [. _.... "" / ,JI ., J, ",JI """ .,..illD .1.9..ill II' '"($, IJu t"Y'"' ,- ($,""Jl.J1 01:" . i'f W'f I". ;.',.. y.IJ J -, J,- ..... t,JI J1 J. ......... "..... }. .... J.......... J,g J..... ., .... .....J. .,..... AI 9l:i1;'ljrJ up0..L.T- ., t:. J t J.u\ , , v' L: "0you who have attained tofaith! Wheneveryou give ortakecreditfOr astated term, set it down in writing.... And call upon two ifyour men toact as witnesses; andiftwo. menare not available, then a man and twowomen.fromamong such as areacceptable toyou as witnesses, sothat if7See al-Bukhari, al-Qur'an, hadithno.4986; also IbnAbi Dawud,al-MafiiJ;ij, p. 8.STahir al-jaza'irt,at-Ttbyan, p. 126; see also A. Jeffery (ed.), al-Mabiini, p. 25.9Malik, al-Muuiatia', al-Fra'id-I, p. 513.80 THEHISTORYOFTHEQUR' ANICTEXToneQ/ themshould make a mistake, theothercould remindher. And thewitnesses mustnotrefuse [to give evidence) whenever thry are called upon. "10This law of witness played an essential role in the Qur'an's compilation(as wellas in badlth methodology), andconstituted thevery core of AbuBakr's instructionsto Zaid. Ibn Hajar relates:: -'ijJJ\i4\ 0\ '0..,;\ ,f ,.Jf J. ,u.... J:.)o ,f 4\ .>Jbw-!\ J.L,.:S1.; .wI yl::5"\)1 Ji ,yL;SJIJ..t2kl1 Cr.!,uW4.>1)\ 0l5' : 0'1 J\i 0i .>1)1 J\JY"),-?-'i0;!y p:J.1,-?-'i 0;!I.A l.J':" -L.....,. .Ut ,;."--! According toProfessor ShauqI Daif Bilal bin Rabah paced the streetsof Madinah requesting the attendance of any Companion who possessedverses recorded bythe Prophet's own dictation."The second opinion finds the most favour with me: acceptance of onlythose materials which, according to the sworn testimony of two others, hadbeen written inthe Prophet's very presence. Ibn Hajar's statement affirmsthis view, that "Zaid wasunwilling toaccept any written material forcon-sideration unless two Companions bore witness that the man received hisdictation from the Prophet himself.v"10 Qur'an 2:282. Thedecree of substitutingtwo women for one man may be dueto the former'slesserfluencywith general business procedures. See Muhammad Asad'stranslation of the Qur'an,Sura 2 footnote 273.II Ibn Abi Dawud, al-McqiiJ;ij, p. 6; see also Ibn Hajar, Fathul Ban, ix:14.12 Ibn Hajar, Fathul Ban, ix: 14-15.13 Ibn Hajar, Fathul Ban, ix:14. Forthe sourcesof collecting materials,seeal-Bukhari,Sa1J0,hadith no. 4936.14 Shauqi pall,Kitab as-Sab'a if Ibn Mujiihid, Introduction, p. 6.THEWRITTENCOMPILATIONOFTHEQUR'ANiv.How Zaid binThabit Utilised theWritten Materials81The normal procedure in collating manuscripts is for the editor to comparedifferent copies of the same work, though naturally not all copies will be ofequal value. In outlining manuscript gradations, which are most dependableand which are worthless, Bergstrasser set outa few rules among themostimportant of which are:1. Older copies aregenerally more reliablethan newer ones.2. Copies that were revised and corrected by the scribe, through com-parison withthemother manuscript, aresuperior tothosewhichlack this. 153. Iftheoriginal is extant, any copy scribed fromthis loses all signif-icance.l''BlachereandSauvaget reiteratethisthird point: should theauthor'soriginal autograph exist, ora copyrevisedby theauthor,then thevalueof all other copiesis negated.'? Likewise, intheabsence of theauthor'soriginal, any duplicate whose mother copy is availableis discarded.Autographed CopyLAx ZFigure 6.1:The lineagetreefir an author's autographed textSupposethat a manuscript's lineagefollows thetree above. Considerthesetwo scenarios:Assumethat theoriginal author only produced a single edition ofhis book. There were no second editions, or emendations to the fIrst.Three manuscripts of this work are uncovered:(1) the autographedoriginal(an entirecopy written intheauthor'shand); (2) a singlemanuscript whichwas scribedfromthe author's original (A forexample); and (3)another manuscript which is very late (Lperhaps).Obviouslythe secondandthirdmanuscripts are worthless andcannot betakenintoconsideration whenediting thework, sinceneither ofthemis of equal status tothe originalauthor'shand-written copy.isBergstrasser,Usid Naqdan-Nusii; waNashr al-Kutub (inArabic), Cairo, 1969, p. 14.16ibid, p. 20.17R. Blachereet J. Sauvaget, Regles pour editions et traductionsdetextesarabes. Arabictranslation by al-Miqdad, p. 47.82 THEHISTORY OF THEQUR' ANICTEXTAgain, assumeasingleeditionof the book. Failingtolocatetheautographedcopyhowever, the editor is forcedtorelyonthreeother manuscripts. Two manuscripts, written by the original author'sstudents, we designate as A and B. The third manuscript X is copiedfrom B. Here X hasno value. The editor must depend entirely onA and B, and cannot discard either of them since both haveequalbearing.Such are the underpinnings of textual criticismand editing as establishedby Orientalists in the20th century. Fourteen centuries ago, however, Zaiddid preciselythis. The Prophet's sojourn in Madinah had been a timeofintensescribal activity: manyCompanionspossessedverseswhichtheyhad copied from theparchments of friendsand neighbours.By limitinghimselftotheversestranscribed under theProphet'ssupervision, Zaidensured thatall if the material he was examining was if equal status, therebyguaranteeing the highest attainable accuracy. Having memorised the Qur'anand scribed much of it while seated before the Prophet, his memory andhis writingscould only be compared withmaterial of thesame standing,not with second- or third-hand copies. IS Hence the insistence of Abu Bakr,'Umar and Zaid onfirst-hand material only, with two witnessestobackthis claimand assure'equal status'.Spurred onby thezeal of its organisers, this project blossomed into atrue community effort:Caliph AbuBakr issuedageneralinvitation(oronemaysay, adecree) for every eligible person toparticipate.Theprojectwascarriedout inthe Prophet'sMosque, acentralgathering place.Followingthe Caliph'sinstructions, 'Umarstoodat the gates ofthe Mosque and announced that anyone possessing written versesdictated fromtheProphet must bring them. Bilal announced thesamething throughout the streetsofMadinah.v.Zaid bin Thabit and the Useof Oral SourcesIt appears that whilethe focus lay onthe written word, once the primarywritten source was found~ whether parchment, wooden planks, or palmleaves (-.,..-....II)etc. - thewritings were verifiednot only against each otherbut also against thememories of Companions who had learned directlyfrom theProphet. By placing the samestringent requirements for accep-tance of both the written and memorised verse, equal status was preserved.18Inestablishinganytext, itisacademicallyunacceptabletocomparebetweendifferent grades of manuscripts.THEWRITTENCOMPILATIONOFTHEQUR' AN 83In any case Zaid alludes to people's memories: "So I gathered the Qur'anfromvarious parchments and pieces of bone, and from thechests of men(JG:-)1j)..l.,o) [i.e. their memories]." Az-Zarakhshi comments,This statement has lead a few tosuppose that noonehad memorisedthe Qur'an in its entirety during the Prophet's lifetime, and that claimsofZaid and Ubayy bin Ka'b havingdone so are unfounded. But this iserroneous. What Zaid means in fact is that hesought out verses fromscattered sources, to collate them against the recollections of the&l{/fii?-.Inthis wayeveryone participatedinthe collectionprocess. No onepossessing any portion of it was left out, and so no one had reason forexpressingconcern about the verses collected, nor could anyone complainthat the texthad been gathered fromonlya select few.19Ibn Hajar draws special attention to Zaid's statement, "I found the lasttwo verses ofSura at-Bard:a with Abu Khuzaima al-Ansari," as demonstratingthat Zaid'sown writingsand memorisation werenot deemedsufficient.Everything required verification." Ibn Hajar further comments,OjY' y-....u; 21.u.o..:r-) r \..p,