In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Isma'il ibn Ibrahim narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, who said: 

“Let none of you say, 'I have taken (learned) the entire Qur'an.' And what would make him know what all of it is? A great deal of the Qur'an has gone (i.e., been abrogated), but let him say: 'I have taken from it what has appeared (i.e., what is extant and established).'”.(1)

And the basis for their argument was the statement of Ibn 'Umar: ”A great deal of the Qur'an has gone.“.

And to respond to this false accusation, I say: 

First: The narration is authentic:

This narration is authentic, with absolutely no issue in its chain of narration (sanad) or its text (matn). As for the chain of narration, it is authentic and connected between Sa'id ibn Mansur and Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both.

And as for the text, there is no blemish upon it.

Second: The narration was mentioned by Abu 'Ubayd under the chapter:

{Chapter on what was lifted (abrogated) from the Qur'an after its revelation and was not established in the Masahif (codices)}

Therefore, there are verses that were revealed to the Chosen One (al-Mustafa), peace and blessings be upon him, then they were lifted and abrogated by Allah, the Glorified and Exalted. And among these verses, by the agreement of all Muslims without any dissent, this hadith falls under this type of abrogation (naskh).

And I reiterate that there is no dissenter on this matter.

So, Imam Abu 'Ubayd placed this narration under this chapter:

{Chapter on what was lifted (abrogated) from the Qur'an after its revelation and was not established in the Masahif (codices)}

So it is not appropriate for an ignorant pseudo-scholar to come out to us and claim the loss of anything from the Holy Qur'an, using this narration as evidence.

And to you is the rest of the statements of the scholars which are in agreement with Abu 'Ubayd on this matter.

Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani says:

And Ibn al-Dhurays reported from the hadith of Ibn 'Umar that he disliked for a man to say, 'I have recited the entire Qur'an,' and he would say, 'Indeed, part of it is a Qur'an that has been lifted (abrogated)' 

And there is nothing in any of that which contradicts the hadith of the chapter, because all of that is from what had its recitation abrogated during the life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.(2)

Abu Bakr ibn al-Tayyib al-Baqillani (d. 403 H) relates in his brilliant book "Al-Intisar lil-Qur'an" (The Victory for the Qur'an) another narration in the same vein, then he reconciles between them, saying:

And similar to it is the narration of 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas from Ubayy that he heard him when a man said to him: “O Abu al-Mundhir, I have gathered (memorized) the Qur'an.” He replied to him: “What makes you know? Perhaps a great deal of the Qur'an has been dropped (abrogated) and was not found afterwards.”

Then he clarifies this by writing:

"It is not appropriate for anyone to claim that he has gathered all that was revealed of the abrogating (nasikh) and abrogated (mansukh) of the Qur'an, and their statement: 'from what was found afterwards' means we do not find today anyone who has memorized all that was abrogated and its recitation was dropped, and this is something that is unavoidable."

And al-Suyuti says in Al-Itqan:

The third type: what had its recitation abrogated but not its ruling... and the examples of this type are numerous.(3)

Then al-Suyuti mentioned this narration directly!

Abu 'Ubayd said: Isma'il ibn Ibrahim narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, who said: Let none of you say: 'I have taken the entire Qur'an,' and what would make him know what all of it is? A great deal of the Qur'an has gone, but let him say: I have taken from it what has appeared.

And the great scholar al-Alusi said:

[ They have unanimously agreed on the absence of any loss in what has been transmitted via mass narration (tawatur) as Qur'an, as it exists between the two covers (of the Mushaf) today. Yes, the Siddiq (Abu Bakr) omitted what was not transmitted via mass narration and what had its recitation abrogated... And upon this is how what Abu 'Ubayd narrated from Ibn 'Umar is to be interpreted. He said: "Let none of you say, 'I have taken the entire Qur'an.' And what would make him know what all of it is?! A great deal of the Qur'an has gone. But let him say: I have taken from it what has appeared." And the narrations in this chapter are too numerous to be counted, but they are all to be interpreted according to what we have mentioned ].(4)

And the verifier of Sunan Sa'id ibn Mansur said, while explaining and clarifying the meaning of the narration, although it is clear to every rational person, he said in summary:

(I have taken the entire Qur'an) meaning: all that was revealed to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, of what had its recitation abrogated and what remained established as recited. (A great deal of the Qur'an has gone) meaning: it was dropped during the life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, or was dropped in the two universally agreed upon collections after him due to not meeting the conditions for its establishment as Qur'an, according to the final review (al-'Ardah al-Akhirah) and other conditions.(5)

Third: The Prophet only left the Qur'an that is present between our hands:

It is established from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he did not leave after his death except what is between the two covers (mā bayna al-daffatayn), meaning what is between the two book covers.

And this is what al-Bukhari narrated from one of the Companions and one of the Tabi'in (Successors), may Allah be pleased with them.

Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih: from 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Rufay' who said:

Shaddad ibn Ma'qil and I entered upon Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both.

So Shaddad ibn Ma'qil said to him: Did the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, leave anything?

He said: He did not leave except what is between the two covers.

He said: And we entered upon Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and asked him:

And he said: He did not leave except what is between the two covers.(6)

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said:

[ And this chapter heading is to refute those who claimed that a great deal of the Qur'an was lost due to the perishing of its bearers ].(7)

Badr al-Din al-'Ayni said:

And he made a chapter heading for this chapter to refute the Rawafidh (a term for some Shi'a sects) who claimed that a great deal of the Qur'an was lost due to the perishing of its bearers and that the explicit designation of the imamate of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib and his right to the caliphate upon the death of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was established in the Qur'an, and that the Companions concealed it. And this is a false and rejected claim, and far be it from the Companions to do such a thing. His statement: (except what is between the two covers) means: the Qur'an.(8)

Fourth: It is impossible for anything from the Qur'an to be lost because Allah the Almighty has promised to preserve it

And Allah has promised the nation of Islam that He will preserve this Noble Book, so that nothing from it will ever be lost.

{..And indeed, it is a mighty Book. Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy.}.(9)

So the Book of our Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, remains as it is, it has not been distorted nor altered, in fulfillment and confirmation of the promise of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, to preserve it.

Fifth: Ibn 'Umar believed in the impossibility of changing a single letter of the Holy Qur'an:

And after a quick search, I found that this meaning has been narrated by two of the Imams of the Tabi'in (Successors) from Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both: Nafi' the mawla (freed slave) of Ibn 'Umar, and Khalid ibn Sumayr, and the chains of narration to both of them are authentic.

Ibn Sa'd narrated in his Tabaqat al-Kubra from al-Aswad ibn Shayban: Khalid ibn Sumayr narrated to us, he said:

Al-Hajjaj delivered a sermon and said: Indeed, Ibn al-Zubayr has distorted the book of Allah.

So Ibn 'Umar said: You have lied, you have lied! He is not able to do that, nor are you with him.

He (Al-Hajjaj) said: Be silent, for you have become senile, and your mind has gone. Soon an old man will have his neck struck, and he will fall with his testicles swollen, paraded around by the children of al-Baqi'. ]. Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra by Ibn Sa'd, vol. 4, p. 139, pub. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah – Beirut.

And al-Tabari narrated in his Tafsir with his chain from Ayyub, from Nafi', who said: "Al-Hajjaj prolonged the sermon, so Ibn 'Umar placed his head in my lap. Al-Hajjaj then said: 'Indeed, Ibn al-Zubayr has altered the book of Allah.' So Ibn 'Umar sat up and said: 'You are not able to do that, nor is Ibn al-Zubayr.' {No change can there be in the Words of Allah.} [Yunus: 64]. So al-Hajjaj said: 'You have indeed been given knowledge to do so.' Ayyub said: So when he turned to him regarding his own personal matter, he fell silent." Tafsir al-Tabari, vol. 12, p. 226, pub. Dar Hajar – Giza.

And this shows that Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, believed that no one, whoever they may be, is able to change anything from the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.

So our Book is not like the book of others from the Jews and Christians.

Riyad Yusuf Dawud says:

[ The book was copied by hand at the beginning of the Christian era, and they would copy with primitive writing tools from copied manuscripts. The scribes introduced many alterations and modifications to the texts, and some of it accumulated upon the other, so the text that ultimately reached (us) was burdened with various types of alterations that appeared in a large number of readings. No sooner was a new book issued than copies of it, laden with errors, were published ].(10)

So can one whose book is in such a state overstep his bounds without evidence, proof, or demonstration against the most noble, most precise, and most accurate of books?!

Sixth: Why did Ibn 'Umar call the abrogated verses 'Qur'an'?

Before finding an answer to this question, let's take another look at the narration of Ibn al-Dhurays:

"Ibn 'Umar disliked the person who says: 'Ibn 'Umar (narrated that) he disliked that a man should say I have read the entire Qur'an, and he would say إن منه قرآنا قد رفع (Indeed, part of it is a Qur'an that has been lifted/abrogated)'" 

Just like our interpretation of the narration we are discussing, this report shows that Ibn 'Umar referred to the abrogated verses as Qur'an. With the clarity of his last words, this narration takes all the rhetorical force of the question and reduces it to a mere inquiry that has no ability to raise doubts about the validity of the interpretation provided.

Dr. Sa'd ibn 'Abdullah al-Humayd comments on this hadith in his research on the Sunan of Sa'id ibn Mansur:

And it is understood from the words of Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: that in his view, the abrogated verses, after their abrogation, are also called Qur'an, or by virtue of what they once were.

And this is an understandable matter, for the Qur'an is nothing but the word of Allah, and the abrogated verses—although acting upon them is no longer required—were and still are a subject of veneration and respect due to their divine origin. In this regard, there is a fundamental difference between Ibn 'Umar and later generations like us. We, for lack of having the authority of mass-transmitted (mutawatir) narrations, cannot be on the same level of certainty as he was regarding some abrogated words having once been part of the Qur'an. However, we may refer to them as such for academic purposes, based on evidence that is less strong in its establishment. As for Ibn 'Umar, this was not the case, as he must have heard some verses from the Prophet ﷺ directly, and later learned that they were abrogated. Therefore, he was extremely scrupulous about the words that emanated from Allah Most High as part of the Qur'an, even if they were later abrogated.

Moreover, this is also indicative of a stance of extreme caution in such matters, which contains good on one hand, but may somehow lead to self-aggrandizement (self-conceit). One can see in this a similarity to the following hadith:

From Abu Bakrah who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: «Let none of you say I fasted all of Ramadan, and stood (in prayer for) all of it», and I do not know if he disliked self-praise (tazkiyah), or if he said: «There must be some sleep or a nap.»

We see that although it is natural for one who fasts the entire month of Ramadan to break his fast at night and also to sleep in addition to standing for the night prayer, there is an exceptional guidance not to make such a claim. The fact that Ibn 'Umar's narration is similar in essence to this matter, and also involves the idea of a claim, helps us understand the true purpose of Ibn 'Umar's words.

Seventh: Was 'a lot' of the Qur'an abrogated?

We know that the actual text includes the words "qur'anun katheerun" (a great deal of Qur'an), and therefore one might be inclined to translate it as "a lot of the Qur'an" with emphasis on the word "a lot". Indeed, one critic asks: "What kind of revelation is this where 'a lot' (not some) of it consists of abrogated verses?". This may seem like a very strong point, but in reality, it indicates a lack of proper understanding of the Arabic language.

The Arabic word "katheer" (كثير) does not mean "a lot" in a comparative sense. In a comparative context, it can even be used to mean less than what it is being compared to, as shown below. The same applies to the abrogation we are discussing. The abrogated portion of the Qur'an was certainly less than what remained of it.

The simple proof for this statement is the narration in which Sa'd ibn Waqqas asked the Prophet about the portion of his wealth he could give in charity when he feared he might die. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas himself narrated his conversation with the blessed Prophet about this matter:

I said: "O Messenger of Allah, shall I will away all of my property?" He said, "No." I said, "Then half?" He said, "No." I said, "A third?" He said, "A third, and a third is a lot (katheer)."

«I said: 'Should I give two-thirds of my wealth as charity?' He said: 'No.' I asked: 'Half?' He said: 'No.' Then he added: 'A third, and even a third is a lot (wa al-thuluthu katheerun)'».

Certainly, a third is not "a lot" in the comparative sense of being more than the remainder, and no rational person could ever claim that. Ibn 'Umar's goal was only to highlight the fact that verses of the Qur'an had been abrogated, and that no one should say he has memorized the entire Qur'an (including those verses) as it is in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz) with Allah. The Qur'an that is in our hands today between the two covers of the Mushaf, the Qur'an that the Messenger of Allah gave us, which Abu Bakr and 'Uthman collected, is the Qur'an that Allah revealed and decreed to remain as the guiding message for humanity until the Day of Judgment, without any addition, subtraction, or change.

And Allah knows best.

Research References:

(1) Fada'il al-Qur'an by Imam Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam, p. 320, pub. Dar Ibn Kathir, Damascus-Beirut.

(2) Fath al-Bari by Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, vol. 11, p. 253, pub. Dar Taybah, ed. Muhammad Nazr al-Faryabi.

(3) Al-Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an by Imam al-Suyuti, vol. 4, p. 1454, pub. King Fahd Complex – Saudi Arabia, ed. Center for Qur'anic Studies.

(4) Tafsir Ruh al-Ma'ani by Imam al-Alusi, vol. 1, p. 25, pub. Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi – Beirut.

(5) Sunan Sa'id ibn Mansur, vol. 2, p. 433, pub. Dar al-Sumaie – Riyadh, ed. Dr. Sa'd ibn 'Abdullah Al Humayd.

(6) Sahih al-Bukhari, p. 1282, hadith 5019, pub. Dar Ibn Kathir – Beirut.

(7) Fath al-Bari by Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, vol. 11, p. 251, pub. Dar Taybah – Cairo, ed. Muhammad Nazr al-Faryabi.

(8) 'Umdat al-Qari by Imam Badr al-Din al-'Ayni, vol. 20, p. 52, pub. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, ed. 'Abdullah Mahmud Muhammad.(9) The Holy Qur'an, Surah Fussilat, Verses (41,42) .(10) Madkhal ila al-Naqd al-Kitabi (An Introduction to Biblical Criticism) by Engineer Riyad Yusuf Dawud, p. 23, pub. Dar al-Mashriq – Beirut.

More:

https://www.icraa.org/meaning-of-ibn-umars-statement-much-of-the-quran-is-gone/#_ftnref2

https://www.antishubohat.net/2012/08/01/thahab/

Note: this research was written by humans, translated by AI.