In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Section One: The Story of the Compilation of the Quran:-
The Holy Quran was revealed in two stages; it was first revealed all at once on the Night of Decree, and then it was revealed gradually through Gabriel, peace be upon him, to the heart of Muhammad, peace be upon him, over a period of twenty-three years. It was necessary to compile and preserve the Quran in its entirety after the Prophet's death, with the consensus of all the companions, after most of the Quran's memorizers had passed away, due to the fear of it being lost.
The word "collection" has appeared several times in the Book of God, meaning "preservation with precise arrangement," such as in the verse where Allah addresses the last of His prophets and messengers, peace be upon him: { Do not rush your tongue with it to hurry on with it * Indeed, upon Us is its collection and its recitation * So, when We have recited it, follow its recitation; * then upon Us is its explanation. } [Al-Qiyamah: 16-19]. And this meaning was granted by Allah, the Exalted, to the Seal of His Prophets and Messengers, peace be upon him, and to a considerable number of his noble companions, and those who followed them among the righteous until today, and until the Day of Judgment. These individuals studied the Holy Quran, and they continue to study and memorize it, so that they can read it in the obligatory prayers, in the voluntary prayers, and in recitation. The term "collection" also appeared in the sense of "writing and recording." The compilation and recording of the Quran went through three stages:
First: The compilation of the Holy Quran in writing from the mouth of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
The companions continued to devote themselves to memorizing the Quran by heart, until the number of those who memorized it among them increased to an uncountable amount. And they transmitted it to those who came after them in two ways:
One of them: The writing of the Quran that was done by the order of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to specific individuals entrusted with this task, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not pass away until the entire Quran was written in his house.
The second method: memorization in the hearts through oral transmission from the senior reciters and memorizers among the Companions; who in turn received it from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him); who approved them on the pronunciation and performance.
Secondly: The compilation of the Holy Quran into a single manuscript during the time of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him:
Among the Muslim martyrs in the battle of Musaylimah the Liar in Yamama were many who had memorized the Quran. As a result, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, upon the advice of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, undertook the task of compiling the Quran. It was gathered from pieces of parchment, bones, palm fronds, and the hearts of men. Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, entrusted this great task and monumental civilizational project to the noble companion Zayd ibn Thabit al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him. And the manuscripts were with Abu Bakr during his lifetime until Allah took him, then with Umar during his lifetime until Allah took him, and then with Hafsa (daughter of Umar), may Allah be pleased with them.
One of the firsts of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, was that he was the first to compile the Holy Quran. Sa'sa'a ibn Suhan, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "He was the first to compile the Quran between two covers and to inherit the concept of kinsfolk." Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "May Allah have mercy on Abu Bakr, he was the first to compile the Quran between the two boards." Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, chose Zayd ibn Thabit for this great task because he was young, being only twenty-one years old, making him more active in fulfilling the task. He was more qualified and thus more aware of it. Whoever Allah grants a sound mind, He facilitates for them the paths of goodness. Additionally, since Zayd was a scribe of revelation, he had prior experience in this matter and practical practice, so he was not a stranger to this work nor an outsider to it.
Third: The compilation of the Holy Quran into several copies during the time of Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to `Uthman at the time when the people of Sham and the people of Iraq were Waging war to conquer Arminya and Adharbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur'an, so he said to `Uthman, "O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Qur'an) as Jews and the Christians did before." So `Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, "Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you." Hafsa sent it to `Uthman. `Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, `Abdullah bin AzZubair, Sa`id bin Al-As and `AbdurRahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. `Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, "In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Qur'an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur'an was revealed in their tongue." They did so, and when they had written many copies, `Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. `Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt. (Sahih al-Bukhari 4987)
And Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) gathered the Muhajireen and the Ansar, and consulted them on the matter, among them the notables of the Ummah, the leaders of the Imams, and the scholars of the Companions, foremost among them Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with them). Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) presented this dilemma to the elite of the Ummah and its guiding leaders, and they studied the matter together, discussed it, and debated it until they understood each other's opinions. They responded to his opinion with clarity that left no room for doubt in the hearts of the believers, and it became evident to people around the world who had reached a consensus on him. At that time, no one opposed him, nor did anyone deny him, and the Qur'an is not something that is hidden from the common people of the Ummah, let alone its scholars and prominent Imams.
- Do the Uthmanic manuscripts include all seven letters?
The pages of Al-Siddiq; which were originally for the Imam Mushaf by the consensus of Muslims; did not encompass the seven letters mentioned in the authentic hadiths regarding the revelation of the Quran upon them, but rather were one of them, which was the one used in the last recitation, and the matter was settled on it in the last days of the Prophet's (peace be upon him) life. The seven letters were initially for the sake of ease for the nation, and their ruling was lifted when the Quran became widespread, people mingled, and their dialects unified.
Imam al-Tahawi said: The allowance for people in the letters was due to their inability to take the Quran in other than their dialects, because they were illiterate, and only a few of them could write. When it was difficult for anyone with a dialect to switch to another dialect , and if they attempted it, it would only be possible with great difficulty; they were allowed to differ in wording as long as the meaning was agreed upon. They remained so until many of them could write, and their dialects returned to the tongue of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), so they were able to memorize his words. At that point, it was not permissible for them to read in any other way. And this script, in which the definitive consensus was written, and from which the authoritative manuscript was transmitted; it encompasses the readings of the seven reciters and others that people read, and it was transmitted mutawatirly (A successive narration) from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him); because the letters mentioned in the hadith are different from these readings.
- The number of copies of the Quran that Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, sent to the cities:
When Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, finished compiling the Qur'ans, he sent a copy to every region and ordered them to burn any Qur'an that differed from the one he sent to the regions. There was a disagreement about the number of Qur'ans he distributed in the cities; some said it was four, others said five, six, seven, or eight. He sent with each Qur'an someone to guide the people in its recitation according to the readings that were authentic and widely transmitted. Abdullah ibn Al-Sa'ib was with the Meccan Qur'an, Al-Mughira ibn Shuba was with the Sham Qur'an, Abu Abdur-Rahman As-Sulami was with the Kufi Qur'an, Amir ibn Qais was with the Basran Qur'an, and he ordered Zayd ibn Thabit to read to the people from the Madani Qur'an. From this overview, it is clear that the preservation of the Holy Quran has been carried out in a manner that no other book in the entire history of humanity has experienced, because it is Allah Almighty who has pledged to preserve it, saying: { Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [i.e., the Qur’ān], and indeed, We will be its guardian. }.
- The difference between the collection of Abu Bakr and the collection of Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them:
The difference between Abu Bakr's compilation and Uthman's compilation: Abu Bakr's compilation was out of his fear that something from the Quran would be lost with the death of its memorizers, as it was not compiled in one place. He gathered it in sheets, arranging the verses as the Prophet (peace be upon him) had instructed them.
The compilation of Uthman was due to the increasing differences in the methods of recitation, as they were reading it in their various dialects, which led to mutual errors among them. He feared the situation would worsen, so he copied those manuscripts into a single Quran, arranged by verses and chapters, and limited the dialects to the dialect of Quraysh, arguing that it was revealed in their dialect. Although he had initially allowed recitation in other dialects to avoid embarrassment (for non-Arabs) and difficulty, he saw that the need had ended, so he limited it to one dialect .
The Holy Quran has been preserved by God's protection since it was in the heavens, on its way to the earth, and when it descended to the earth. The writing of the Holy Quran during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Rightly Guided Caliphs went through stages, each completed with God's grace and assistance, each with its own characteristics and features as we have explained earlier.
Section Two: Doubts about the Alteration of the Quran:
The first doubt: The stoning verse:-
In the authentic Sunnah, both verbal and practical, with the consensus of all scholars, and only a few deviants have strayed from this saying, narrated by Umar ibn al-Khattab -may Allah be pleased with him- who said:
Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Nufaili narrated to us, Hisham narrated to us, al-Zuhri narrated to us, from Ubaidullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utbah, from Abdullah ibn Abbas.
And from Ubbay ibn Ka'b -may Allah be pleased with him- he said:
Ibn Qudamah said in Al-Mughni:
This means that the verse of stoning was abrogated in wording but its ruling remained, so the companions did not write it down. If its absence were a distortion, they would have fought among themselves, but they agreed and unanimously abrogated it.
The second suspicion: A sheep eating the Quran:-
This suspicion is weak from several angles:
1- This hadith is weak due to the presence of Muhammad ibn Ishaq in the chain, and he is known for his frequent use of tadlis (deception).
2- There is an authentic narration with the same chain of transmission but from Malik instead of Muhammad ibn Ishaq, which states the abrogation of the verse about breast feeding:
3- Logically, a sheep/goat cannot eat the minds of Quran memorizers to the point where they are unable to rewrite what was eaten.
The third doubt: The verse of five sucklings that is read in the Quran:
The explanation in this hadith indicates that the breastfeeding that prohibits marriage was initially ten feedings, as revealed in the Quran. Its wording and ruling were abrogated to five feedings that prohibit marriage. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) passed away while it was still being recited, as the revelation of the abrogating verse was delayed significantly, until it became unclear to some people, and they recited the abrogated verse as if it were part of the Quran.
People thought that it was still being recited in the Quran and were unaware of its abrogation (the abrogation of the text in the Quran and the abrogation of the ruling by a Hadith).
And His saying, "We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allāh is over all things competent?" [Al-Baqarah 106] does not mean that a verse must be abrogated by another verse; a verse can be abrogated by a Hadith.
Ibn Abbas said: "(We bring forth better than it or similar to it)" means: It is better for you in terms of benefit and more convenient for you.
It may be that a command from the Messenger abrogates a verse and is better than it in judgment, not in wording, because the verse is the word of God and His judgment, and the hadith is revelation and a command from God in the wording of His Messenger. This hadith may carry a command from God that is better than the judgment in the abrogated verse, so this is not putting the Messenger before God Almighty.
The fourth suspicion: The difference in the recitation of Umar ibn al-Khattab and Hisham ibn Hakim, may Allah be pleased with them, as they are both Qurashi and their dialect is the same.
They said: If the seven letters were seven dialects among the famous dialects of the Arabs, how did the recitation of Umar ibn al-Khattab and Hisham ibn Hakim differ, both being Qurashi and having the same dialects?
And the answer is: The criterion in reading the letters is hearing from the Prophet, peace be upon him, not that each person reads according to their own inclination, based on what is easy for them in their dialect. The denial of some by others was not because the denier heard something that was not in their dialect and denied it, but rather because they heard something contrary to what the Prophet, peace be upon him, recited. It is quite possible that one of them heard letters from the Prophet, peace be upon him, in a dialect other than that of the Quraysh and memorized them, while the other heard letters in the Quraysh dialect and memorized them. Each of them adhered to what they heard from the Prophet, and thus they differed despite both being Quraysh. It is well-known and commonly observed that some people know a dialect other than their original one, find it easy, and pronounce it as its native speakers do. Has anyone said:
Each of the Arabs was committed to reading in their own dialect and not in any other, to the point that it would have been questioned. If that were the case, Umar would have said to Hisham: "You have read in a dialect other than your people's," but that did not happen. Instead, he objected to certain letters that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had not taught him.
The fifth doubt: The saying of Uthman: "Whatever you disagree about - you and Zaid - write it in the dialect of Quraysh."
The statement of Uthman is based on the initial revelation, which is the first letter that Gabriel brought down, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) requested an addition to it. Gabriel first brought down this letter, and then he would come with the letters during the annual recitation of the Quran with the Prophet every Ramadan. Allah, the Exalted, would reveal in these recitations whatever He wished from the words of other dialects, as needed. Eventually, the matter settled after the necessity ceased on this letter, which is the dialect of Quraysh.
Or it could be meant by Uthman: that most of it and the majority of it was revealed in the dialect of Quraysh.
Imam Abu Shama narrated from some of his scholars that he said:
The Quran was first revealed in the dialect of the Quraysh and the eloquent Arabs who lived among them. Then, the Arabs were permitted to recite it in their own dialects, which they were accustomed to using, despite their differences in vocabulary and grammar. No one among them was required to switch from one dialect to another due to the difficulty, and because of their zeal and desire to facilitate understanding of the intended meaning, all while maintaining the same meaning. This explains their differences in recitation, as previously mentioned, and the Prophet Muhammad approved of each of them.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar commented: And the continuation of that is to say: The mentioned permissibility did not occur out of desire, meaning that each person changes the word to its synonym in their dialect, but what is considered in that is hearing from the Prophet, peace be upon him. This is indicated by the statement of both Umar and Hisham in the hadith of the chapter: The Prophet, peace be upon him, recited to me.
And His saying, the Exalted: " And never did We send any messenger but (he spoke) in the tongue of his people, that he may clarify for them. "
(Surah Ibrahim: 4).
The sixth doubt: In which part of the Quran do we find a single letter read in seven different dialects with different pronunciations but the same meanings, so that we can interpret the seven letters in seven different ways and dialects?
And the answer is: We did not claim that this exists today, but rather we said: This is the meaning of the hadith. Then circumstances and necessities arose that forced the nation to limit itself to one of them, which is the Quraish dialect. And I did not mention in the answer that there are verses in the Quran that can be recited in seven ways, such as: { وَعَبَدَ الطَّاغُوتَ }, { فَلا تَقُلْ لَهُمَا أُفٍّ }, and { جبريل }, because the differences in these are differences in recitations: it is the performance of the same word in different ways, and not differences in letters, meaning words and phrases, as we have explained in the chosen doctrine. The established recitations, despite their differences and variations, all revert to one letter, which is the letter of Quraysh, to which Uthman compiled the manuscripts.
The seventh suspicion: Where did the remaining six letters go? :-
If it is said: Where did the remaining six letters go, even though the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, read them and commanded them to be read, and Allah revealed them to His Prophet? Were these remaining six letters abrogated and lifted? And if so, what is the evidence for their abrogation and lifting?
The answer is that the remaining six letters were neither abrogated nor lifted, and the nation did not neglect them. Rather, the nation was commanded to preserve the Quran and was given the choice to memorize and recite it in any of those seven letters as it wished. Just as the nation was commanded that if it broke an oath while in a state of ease, it could atone with any of the three atonements it preferred: either by freeing a slave, feeding the poor, or providing clothing. If the entire nation had agreed to atone with one of the three atonements without prohibiting the others, it would have been a calamity, fulfilling its duty to God and being described as obedient and not disobedient. Similarly, the nation was commanded to preserve and recite the Quran, and it was given the choice to recite it in any of the seven letters as it wished. However, due to a certain reason, it was required to adhere to one letter—reciting it in one letter and abandoning the others.
So if it is asked, what is the reason? We say: it is as we have mentioned, that the seven letters, which were made for ease and to lift hardship, have become a cause for dispute and disagreement, even for takfir (declaring another Muslim a kafir, an infidel), as we have said before.
The eighth doubt: The wisdom behind the occasional differences in words in some readings:
The multiplicity of readings does not mean the Quran is different or altered, but the delusion among these claimants is that they know nothing about the science of readings. They mistakenly believe that multiplicity means difference, which is not the case. It is merely the pronunciation of the Quranic words as the Prophet – peace be upon him – pronounced them, with variations in inflection, grammatical case, and phonetic quality such as emphasis and reduction, opening and inclination, and so on.
Just as there are rulings for multiplicity, one of them is: facilitating for the nation with multiple dialects and diverse tongues; so that it is not difficult for them to adhere to a single way of recitation.
The multiple readings did not result in any differences in the fundamentals of religion or its branches; rather, they are phonetic variations more than grammatical or morphological ones, which did not lead to any differences in meanings or words.
The multiple readings are a revelation from God – the Almighty – that neither the Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him – nor his nation after him could have invented on their own. Rather, they are a facilitation and mercy from God to His servants. All of them were heard by Gabriel – peace be upon him – from the Messenger of God – peace be upon him – and from him to the general believers, then to the scholars of the Quran in the generations until God inherits the earth and all that is upon it.
The multiplicity of readings only includes a limited number of words in certain verses known to the experts in this field, and the words that are read in two or more ways each have an accepted meaning that enhances and enriches the interpretation.
The ninth doubt: The wisdom behind the occasional differences in the meanings of some words in certain readings due to a change in a letter or vowel.
This mentioned difference is not a contradiction, but rather an expansion in meaning, and here are some examples:
" وَاتَّخِذُوا مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى ۖ "
Translation:
"And take the standing place of Abraham as a place of prayer."
Alternate reading:
( وَاتَّخَذُوا مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى ۖ )
(And they took the standing place of Abraham as a place of prayer.)
And this difference in the pronunciation of the letter "khaa" means that we should take the station of Ibrahim as a place of prayer, just as they did.
" وَكَأَيِّن مِّن نَّبِيٍّ قَاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبِّيُّونَ كَثِيرٌ فَمَا وَهَنُوا لِمَا أَصَابَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَمَا ضَعُفُوا وَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا ۗ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الصَّابِرِينَ "
Translation:
"And how many a prophet [fought and] with him fought many religious scholars. But they never lost heart for what afflicted them in the cause of Allah, nor did they weaken or submit. And Allah loves the steadfast."
Alternate reading:
( قُتِلَ مَعَهُ رِبِّيُونَ كَثِيرٌ )
(And how many a prophet [was killed and] with him were many religious scholars.)
And this means that there have been many prophets who fought and were killed along with many companions. This was revealed during the Battle of Uhud, where dozens of companions were killed alongside the Messenger of Allah.
مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ
Translation: "Master of the Day of Judgment."
Alternate reading:
( ملك يَوْمِ الدِّينِ )
(King of the Day of Judgment.)
This is not a contradiction, but an expansion of meaning, for God is the Owner and King of the Day of Judgment.
And all these readings are originally a revelation from God.
And this short video explains in detail the differences in readings and the variations that sometimes appear among them. (Link 1), (Backup link)
And this too:
(link 1), (Backup link)
The tenth doubt: Is it obligatory for us to memorize the other recitations? And the reason for Ibn Mas'ud's objection:
Muslim 821
"So whichever mode they recite, they are correct."
Musnad Ahmad 17821
"So whichever of these [modes] you recite, you are correct. Do not argue about it, for arguing about it is an act of disbelief (kufr), or a sign of disbelief."
Sunan an-Nasa'i 940
"For every mode [of recitation] is healing and sufficient."
Ibn Taymiyyah says in Majmu' al-Fatawa:
Q: Are the seven readings a letter from the seven letters or not?
A: And this dispute must be based on the original question asked by the inquirer, which is whether the seven readings are a letter from the seven letters or not.
The majority of scholars from the predecessors and the imams hold that it is one of the seven letters; rather, they say that the Mushaf of Uthman is one of the seven letters, and it includes the final recitation that the Prophet (peace be upon him) presented to Gabriel. The well-known and widely transmitted hadiths and narrations support this view.
But regarding this statement: Is leaving out the six letters a distortion of the Quran or its loss? And the answer is: No.
Al-Tabari says in his interpretation: If someone asks: What about the other six letters that are not present, if the matter is as you described, and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught them to his companions, and commanded reading with them, and Allah revealed them to His Prophet (peace be upon him)? They were abrogated and lifted, so what is the evidence of their abrogation and lifting? Or did the nation forget them, which would be a neglect of what they were commanded to preserve? Or what is the story behind that?
It was said to him: It has not been abrogated to be lifted, nor has the nation neglected it, as it is commanded to preserve it. But the Ummah was commanded to preserve the Quran and was given the choice to read and memorize it in any of those seven letters as they wished. What is the evidence for Al-Tabari's statement that the nation is not commanded to memorize the Quran in all its dialects?
And the answer is: it is the consensus of the companions and the Muslims on this matter. So the doubt is about the validity of the consensus on this.
...
There is no loss in limiting oneself to one of the seven letters, for each letter is sufficient and comprehensive, as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Gabriel and Michael came to me. Gabriel sat on my right and Michael sat on my left. He said: 'Read on one letter.' Michael said: 'Increase your reading.' He said: 'Read the Quran on two letters.'" He said: "Ask for more," until it reached seven letters. He said: "And every word is sufficient." Narrated by Al-Nasa'i.
And this indicates that the original state is for the Quran to be in one dialect, and the multiplicity of these dialects is merely a matter of ease and concession, not an obligation or requirement. So how can one who adheres to the original be accused of negligence and abandonment?! And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "The Quran was revealed in seven letters, so recite what is easy of it." Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
We have been commanded to read what is easy, so whoever obliges the nation to memorize the seven letters is the one who needs to provide evidence.
In the Mushafs of Ibn Abi Dawood: Abdullah said: Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man narrated to us: Sa'id ibn Sulaiman narrated to us: Abu Shahab narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Abu Wa'il, who said:
Ibn Mas'ud addressed us from the pulpit and said: "And whoever betrays, he will come with what he betrayed on the Day of Resurrection." Betray your Qur'ans, and how can you command me to read according to the recitation of Zayd ibn Thabit, when I have read in the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) seventy-some surahs, and Zayd ibn Thabit would come with the boys having two braids, and by Allah, no verse of the Qur'an was revealed except that I knew in what context it was revealed. No one knows the Book of Allah better than me, and I am not better than you. If I knew a place where the camels could reach, knowing the Book of Allah better than me, I would have gone to it." Abu Wa'il said: "When he descended from the pulpit, I sat in the circles, and no one denied what he said."
As for the evidence of consensus on the correctness of what Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) did, it is valid. The narration of Ibn Mas'ud's disagreement does not negate this consensus, because Ibn Mas'ud's objection was not to the act itself but to the choice of who would carry it out and the consequences that would follow. Moreover, he later aligned with the group. Therefore, Ibn Abi Dawood, in his book on the Mushafs, dedicated a chapter to "The Agreement of the People with Uthman on Collecting the Mushafs," followed by a chapter on "Abdullah ibn Mas'ud's Dislike of That," and then a chapter on "Abdullah ibn Mas'ud's Approval of Uthman's Collection of the Mushafs." .. Read it for further benefit.
Al-Qurtubi narrated in his Tafsir from Abu Bakr Al-Anbari who said: What appeared from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud as disapproval of that was a result of anger, and it is not acted upon, nor taken into account. There is no doubt that he -may Allah be pleased with him- recognized after the anger subsided the good choice of Uthman and those with him from the companions of the Messenger of Allah -peace be upon him-, and he remained in agreement with them and refrained from disputing with them. End of quote.
Ibn Kathir said in "The Virtues of the Quran": Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) gathered the people on one recitation so that they would not differ in the Quran, and all the companions agreed with him. It was only reported that Abdullah ibn Mas'ud showed some displeasure because he was not among those who wrote the Mushafs... Then Ibn Mas'ud returned to agreement, until Ali ibn Abi Talib said: If Osman had not done that, I would have done it myself. End of quote.
Ibn Abi al-Izz al-Hanafi said in his commentary on the Tahaawiya regarding Uthman's compilation of the people onto one Mushaf:
If it is asked: How could the companions abandon the six dialects that the Messenger -peace be upon him- commanded to read the Quran with, and limit themselves to one dialect? It was said: His command to them was not a command of obligation and duty, but rather a command of permissibility and concession. And if that was not the case, the people would not have left the other letters, neglecting what they were supposed to transmit. Rather, it was obligatory for them to perform the duty with one of these letters. So if they memorized it and transmitted it; They did what they were tasked with.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, explained the gathering of people on a single letter, and he was right when he said:
And what also appears to me as a response to those with doubts:
1- Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) did not oppose the permissibility of gathering people on one recitation; rather, he refused to abandon the recitation he had learned. He did not declare them disbelievers or accuse them of altering the Quran. Since gathering people on one recitation was permissible, and not gathering was also permissible, he maintained his opinion. Al-Shatibi says in "Al-I'tisam":
No one disagreed on the issue except Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, who refused to abandon his recitation that differed from the Mushafs of Uthman... So reflect on his words, for he did not disagree on the compilation, but rather on another matter.
2- Ibn Mas'ud's opposition - may Allah be pleased with him - was not to gathering the people on one reading, but because he was not part of the committee for compiling the Qur'ans. This is evidenced by his objection to leaving his reading for Zaid's reading. If there were distortion and loss in the matter, the objection to Uthman's gathering on one reading would have been more appropriate than the objection to his choice of Zaid, because this partial objection indicates acceptance of the general principle of gathering on one reading.
Doubt 11: Is Hafs a liar? :-
No, this is a statement attributed to Ibn Ma'in and Ibn Khurash, and it is too detailed to mention all the specifics. But in short, Hafs ibn Sulayman al-Qari is an established imam in recitation, whereas in hadith, he is abandoned and his narrations are not accepted. As for the accusation of lying in the sense of deliberate deceit, this is false; he is simply weak in hadith.
The scholar may be strong and proficient in one branch of knowledge, mastering it and being accepted in it, yet he himself may not master another branch and have many misconceptions in it, so his word in that branch is not accepted.
And how eloquent was Al-Dhahabi's saying in "Tadhkirat al-Huffaz" (3/157):
Doubt 12: The loss and forgetfulness of the verse "If the son of Adam had two valleys of gold..." Suspicion 12: The loss and forgetfulness of the verse "If the son of Adam had two valleys of gold..."
Imam Al-Qurtubi (who is the teacher of Al-Qurtubi the commentator) said in the book "Al-Mufhim" (3/93):
Al-Suyuti said in the prologue to Sahih Muslim by Al-Hajjaj (3\129):
Similarly, in the book "Delail al-Nubuwwah" and the book "History of Islam," it is mentioned in the section on the compilation of the Quran from the hearts of men.
As for the phrase mentioned in the hadith: "If the son of Adam had two valleys of wealth, he would seek a third, and nothing fills the belly of the son of Adam except dust, and Allah accepts the repentance of whoever repents."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to say it, and the companions transmitted it as a saying of him, peace be upon him, and this is established without dispute.
It has been narrated by a group of the companions from the Prophet, peace be upon him, from his saying.
Al-Bukhari included it in his "Sahih" (6436) from the narration of Ibn Abbas, and also in his "Sahih" (6438) from the narration of Al-Zubair, and Muslim in his "Sahih" (1048) from the narration of Anas, all of whom say: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said.
The disagreement is in its origin: Was it a verse that was then abrogated in recitation, which is the opinion of the majority of scholars, or was it a sacred hadith, or was it a saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him, from the very beginning, which some of the companions thought was a verse but later realized otherwise, with their consensus that it is not part of the preserved Book of Allah, and it was not written down by consensus of the companions, including Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him
And what led to the disagreement among scholars on this issue was the differing narratives reported about it.
And in conclusion, we mention a hadith about the compiler of the Quran, Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah have mercy on him:
Why? because the Mushaf (compiled Quran) of Uthman was the Quran that the prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) left it with us, which Gabriel, peace be upon him, presented to Muhammad in the year of his death twice, and Zayd ibn Thabit learned it.
And God knows best.
Additional:
[1] Suspicion of distortion (And He created the male and female)
[2] Unconventional readings (backup)
[3] The suspicion regarding the Hadith of Ibn Umar: None of you should say, “I have taken the whole Quran.”
[4]
Post ID: 13
Author: Ayman