CHAPTER VI
THE TESTIMONY OF THE TRADITIONS TO THE QURĀN
The reader will remember that the Khalif ʿUsmān collected one copy of the Qurān, and then burnt all the rest. He then circulated his own compilation throughout the Muslim world. This action of the Khalif has ever since been condemned in the strongest terms by the Shiahs, who affirm that many passages referring to ʿAli and his family have been expunged from the Qurān. A complete chapter of the Qurān, now absent from the present copies, and containing many references to the supremacy of ʿAli, may still be seen. It is called "(Arabic characters)” "Two lights,” by which Muhammad and ʿAli are meant. The reader may find this remarkable Sūra quoted in full in pages 11–13 of the book “Tahqiq-al-Imān.” It is most probable that this Sūra was present in ʿAli’s copy of the Qurān; but unfortunately that is no longer available. The Shiahs, however, believe that when Al Māhdi, the last Imām, appears, the complete Qurān will once again be given to the world.
Any study of the traditions makes it clear that, in the time of Muhammad, the Qurān was very much larger than it is to-day. Thus a tradition of Abi-Abdulla recorded by Hasham-ibn-Shālam relates that,
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“There were 17,000 verses in that Qurān which Gabriel delivered to Muhammad, upon whom be blessing and peace.” But according to Baizāwi the present Qurān only contains 6,264 verses; so that we learn from this important tradition, which is supported by others to the same effect, that the present Qurān is only about two-thirds the size of the original volume!
In another tradition it is recorded that,
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"Muhammad-ibn-Nasar heard from him (Abi-Abdulla). He said, In Sūra Lam Yakin there were (once) the names of seventy Quraish, and the names of their fathers.” A search reveals the fact that this list of names has disappeared absolutely from the present copy of the Qurān. The obvious explanation is that they formed a part of that large portion of the Qurān which has been lost, and which is referred to in the tradition quoted above.
In the famous book called Itqān, and written by Jalāl-ud-Dīn, it is stated that there once existed a verse in Sūra Akhrāb in which the punishment for adultery was laid down. This famous verse, which is known as ‘Ayat Al-Rajam’, is referred to frequently in the traditions, and there is not the slightest doubt that it once formed a part of the Qurān.. The passage in the Itqān referred to above runs thus,
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"In it (Sūra Akhrāb) was Ayat Al-Rajam. He (Ibn-Kāb) said, ‘and what is Al-Rajam?’ He (Ibn-Jish) said, ‘If any married man or woman commit adultery, stone them’.” This verse is not found in the present copies of the Qurān; yet the evidence that it really formed a part of the original book is overwhelming. For instance, it is stated that ʿUmr knew it to be a genuine part of the Qurān, but as he was unable to find any Qurān reader to substantiate his opinion, he refused to incorporate it in the book. In the work Kitāb-fatah-al-Bari it is written,
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“ʿUmr said, He had evidence that Ayat Al-Rajam was a part of the Qurān; but on his own unsupported testimony he did not (dare to) put it in the book.” These traditions show us that the present ideas of the marvellous power of memory said to be possessed by men (Hāfiz) of the prophet’s day need to be seriously modified; for here we have an undoubted verse of the Qurān for the authenticity of which not a single Hāfiz could be found to vouch. There is, however, more than one tradition which records the testimony of Ayesha, the favourite wife of the prophet, with reference to this verse. One tradition runs thus,
"Ayesha said that the Sūra Akhrāb which she was reading was incomplete. In the time of the prophet it contained two hundred verses. And when ʿUsmān wrote the Qurān, he accepted nothing except what he found authenticated, and in it was Ayat Al-Rajam.” This testimony of the favourite wife of the prophet fully substantiates the statements made above as to the incompleteness of the present copy of the Qurān; for whereas Ayesha tells us that in the time of Muhammad Sūra Akhrāb contained two hundred verses, the present Qurān only contains seventy-three. Ayesha further adds her testimony to ʿUmr’s to the fact that Ayat Al-Rajam once existed in this Sūra; but, needless to say, no trace of it can be found in the present current edition of the Qurān. Another tradition, recorded in Kitāb Muhajarāt explains the disappearance of this celebrated verse. It is there recorded that,
“Ayesha said, Ayat Al Rajam and Ayat Rajaeta were sent down and committed to writing; but the paper was underneath my seat; and when the prophet (upon whom be blessing and peace) died, and we were busy with his funeral, a goat entered (the house) and ate it up”! We do not care to comment further upon this verse. The reader must either be devoid of all literary sense, or blinded by prejudice, if he fails to see how such facts as we have recorded above absolutely shatter all claims to a Divine protection of the Qurān. Lest this language should be deemed exaggerated, we quote a few more traditions from reliable authorities, which will enable the reader to see that we are only stating plain facts, There is a well-known tradition of Ibn-ʿUmr’s to the following effect,
"Ibn-ʿUmr said, Let no one of you say, ‘I have the whole Qurān’. That which is known is not the whole, for a great part has been taken from it; but say, I have that which has been saved (made manifest) from it.”
Yet another tradition runs to this effect,
"Ibn-Jīsh said, Ibn-Kāb said, ‘How many verses are there in Sūra Akhrāb?’ I said, ‘Seventy-two or seventy-three. ’ He said, ‘Sūra Akhrāb was (once) equal to Sūra Bakr’.” This well-known tradition is found in the famous work of Jalāl-ud-Dīn Seyuti, known as the Itqān. It tells us that Stūa Akhrab, now containing seventy-two or seventy-three verses, was once equal to Sūra Bakr which contains two hundred and eighty-six verses. Thus it is seen that from this one Sūra alone over two hundred verses have absolutely disappeared.
There is also a well-known tradition of Ibn-Abbas to the effect that,
</noinclude>“He (Ibn-Abbas) said, ‘I asked Ali-ibn-Abi Talib, why was not the Bismilla written in Sūra Barāt’. He said, ‘Because the Bismilla is for faith, but Sūra Barat was sent down for the sword (war). And there is a tradition from Mālik that when the first portion of Sūra Barat was destroyed, then the Bismilla was lost with it; but if it had been proved, then verily it would have been equal in length to Sūra Bakr’.”
In the traditions collected by Muslim, in the book Al-Jakāt, there is a tradition to the effect that a Qurān reader named Abū-Mūsā-Ashāri addressing a number of Qurān readers at Busra said,
“We used to read a Sūra equal in length and threatenings to Sūra Barat, then I forgot it wholly except one verse . . . . . . and we also used to read another Sūra that was equal to one of the Musabbehāt; so I forgot that too, saving one verse which I recollect.’’ Needless to say, none of these chapters appears in ʿUsmān’s collection.
In the history of the famous traditionist Al-Bukhārī another tradition affirms the total loss of a large number of verses from Sūra Akhrāb. It runs as follows,
"And Bukhārī has written in his history a tradition from Hazīfta that he said, I was reading Sūra Al-Akhrāb before the prophet, but I forgot seventy verses from it, and I did not obtain them (again).”
Yet one other tradition deserves to be inserted here before we bring this little book to a close. It concerns, not the past, but the future history of the Qurān. It is related from Ibn-Māja (Chapter Jahab-al-Qurān and Al-Alam) as follows:
"Hazīfta-ibn-Imān said, The prophet of God (on whom be blessing and peace) said, Islām will become worn out like the hem of an old garment, until (at last) people will not know what is the meaning of fasting, or prayer, or sacrifice or almsgiving; and in one night the word of God (Qurān) will disappear, and not a single verse of it will be left upon the Earth.”
We do not intend to comment further on the traditions we have quoted above. They are sufficient to reveal to every open-minded truth-seeker the present condition of the Qurānic text. Muslims are generally taught to believe that the Qurān has been Divinely protected from all change. Indeed the Qurān itself makes this weighty claim in these words:
“We have surely sent down the Qurān, and we will certainly preserve the same (from corruption)”.
Whilst in another place we read,
"This book, the verses whereof are guarded against corruption,. . . .is a revelation from the wise and knowing God.” The same preposterous claim is made in the traditions; and in the book Fazail-ul-Qurān we read, "Even if the Qurān were cast into the fire, if would not be burned”!
Let the reader judge of the value of these claims for the integrity of the Qurān in the light of the testimony from Muslim authors which has been adduced in this little book, and he will see that in claiming to be Divinely protected from all change the Qurān condemns itself, and proves its human origin. The reader desiring further information on this important topic may procure from the Panjab Tract Society, Lahore, the following Urdu publications: Hidāyat-ul-Muslimīn, Minār-ul-Haqq, Mizān-ul-Haqq, Tahqiq-ul-Imān, Tahrīf-i-Qurān and. Tawil-ul-Qurān. Let the reader, then, with all earnestness, pursue the study of this all-important subject; for those whose opinions and comments we have quoted are the foremost of the scholars of Islām, and their testimony cannot lightly be set aside. We have seen what men like Kāzī Baizāwi, Imām Husain, Muslim, Bukhārī and Jallāl-ud-Dīn have to say with regard to the Qurān. We have seen how, even in the life-time of Muhammad himself, grave differences arose in the various readings of the Qurān; we have traced the history of the unsuccessful attempts made to reduce them all to one uniform text; we have noted how gravely the recension of ʿUsmān differed from that of Abū Bakr and the copy of Ibn-Maʿsūd; and we have seen, upon the testimony of the greatest commentators of the Qurān, how the present text contains “innumerable” differences of reading, many of which entirely alter the meaning of the passages concerned; and, finally, we have noted the consensus of testimony, afforded by the traditions, to the fact that large portions of the Qurān have disappeared altogether. Such being the case, surely it is the highest wisdom for Muslims to turn to that scripture in the hands of the ‘People of the Book’ which Muhammad himself commanded men to believe and follow. Manifestly they were uncorrupted at the time of the Arabian preacher, as his repeated references to them clearly show; and that they have not been corrupted since that time is equally cerain; for copies still exist in the great Museums of Europe which were written long before the time of Muhammad, and these agree with the Gospels current to-day.
Let the reader, ere he closes this little book, consider carefully the Qurānic passage which adorns the title page. It is there written, “Ask those who are acquainted with the scripture, if ye know not.”’ Then is it not your highest wisdom, O Muhammadan reader, to follow this teaching of the Qurān, and seek in the Gospels the way of eternal life? Not only are Muslims in general thus advised to seek a solution of their doubts by a reference to Christians; but the Qurān pictures Muhammad himself as receiving the same admonition. In Sūra Jonas, verse 92, it is written,
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"If thou art in doubt concerning that which we have sent down unto thee (O Muhammad), ask them who are reading the Book before thee." We have seen, in the preceding pages, that there is ample reason to doubt the testimony of the Qurān as it exists to-day; let Muslims then, with fearless resolution, turn to the Gospels and learn from them of the wonderful love of God as revealed in Christ Jesus. Jesus Himself said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away.” It is in the Injīl that we have the perfect revelation of the character and will of God; it is in the Injīl that we find revealed the way of eternal life; for it is there we learn that God so loved the world that He gave the Lord Jesus Christ, that whosoever believeth on Him might not perish, but have everlasting life. Reader, listen to the loving invitation of the Saviour Himself, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”’
S. P. C. K. PRESS, VEPERY, MADRAS—1906.