4 - TEXTUAL HISTORY OF THE KORAN

BEHOLD THE BEAST

4 - TEXTUAL HISTORY OF THE KORAN

Almost every Muslim is taught from infancy to cling to the notion that

the Bible has been corrupted and changed, while the Koran is free

from corruption, perfectly preserved since the time of Muhammad.

But a thorough study of the textual history of the Koran will show

that it is not the Bible, but the Koran that has been changed. That is

what Islamic historians themselves bequeathed to us.

After the famous battle of Aqraba in 632 AD, during the Caliphate

of Abu Bakr, many Muslims who knew the Koran by heart were killed.

As a result, Umar B. Al-Khattab advised Abu Bakr of the need to compile

the Koran into a standardized text. Abu Bakr ordered the compilation to

be made by Zaid Ibn Thabit from inscriptions on palm leaves, stones and

from the remaining reciters.

When the compilation was done, it was kept by Abu Bakr until his

death. His successor, Umar, then took custody of it. Afterward, it came

into the possession of Hafsa, one of Muhammad's widows (a daughter of

Umar).1 The companions of the prophet also did their own compilations

and produced other manuscripts for use in various provinces. There were

four rival provinces, each using a different text of the Koran.2

During the reign of Khalif Uthman (the third Khalifah), reports

reached him that in various parts of Syria, Armenia and Iraq, Muslims

were reciting the Koran differently from the way it was being recited by

Arabian Muslims. Uthman immediately sent for the manuscript in Hafsa's

possession and ordered Zaid Ibn Thabit and three others, Abdullah Ibn

Zubair, Said Ibn Al-As and Abdullah Al-Rahman Ibn Harith B. Hisham to

make copies of the text and make corrections where necessary. When

these were completed, we read that Uthman took violent action

regarding other existing Koranic manuscripts:

______________________________

1 See Mishkatul Massabih, ch. 3

2 In Kufa, the manuscript of Abdullah ibn Masud was in use. That of Ubyy Ibn

Ka'b was in the possession of the Syrians. The one edited by Migdad Ibn Amr was

in circulation in the province of Hims. While that of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari was in use

____________________________________

"Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they

had copied and ordered that all the other koranic materials,

whether written in fragmentary manuscripts, whole copies, to

be burnt." (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 6 Page 479).

To eliminate variant readings and contradictions, all other manuscripts were indeed burned, but the Uthmanic edition itself was not perfect and met with a similar fate. When Marwan was governor of Medina, he ordered Hafsa's manuscript to be destroyed. The only reasonable conclusion one can have is that during Uthman's time, some of the contradictions in Hafsa's text were so glaring that a total destruction of it was called for rather than a revision. From then until now, conflicting passages and historical inaccuracies exist within the Koranic texts.

The Deedats, the Joommals, and the so-called Sheiks continue their unwarranted attack on the Bible while suppressing the fact that Khalif Uthman burned all the Koranic manuscripts apart from Hafsa's, and that Governor Marwan followed the example of Uthman by destroying the Hafsa text as well. Anyone with the slightest regard for truth would have to admit that the Textus Receptus of the Koran now in circulation is a far cry from the textus originalis! It is not too wild to suggest that were Muhammad alive at the time of these incidents, he would have received one of his usual "revelations" to back up those burnings.

Contrary to Muslim belief, there were more than just language differences between Uthman's text and the texts which were ordered to be burned. In every case, there were considerable verbal differences between them and the text Uthman determined (by whim) to be the final standardized version of the Koran.

These differences were real textual variants and not just language peculiarities as is often taken for granted. In several cases there were words and sentences found in some codices that were missing in others. In other instances, the variants concerned whole clauses and consonantal variants in certain words. No wonder Khalif Uthman had to resort to wholesale burning as his best option.1

____________________________________________

1 See Jeffery, Materials for the History of the Text of the Koran, pp. 24-114. The

author has gone to considerable effort to collect solid evidence from the many

Islamic sources that are documented in this book.

__________________________________

Evidence abounds to this day, that verses, indeed whole passages are

missing from the Koran that is in circulation today. For instance, the

second Khalifah, Khalif Umar, stated in his life-time that certain verses

prescribing stoning for adultery were recited by Prophet Muhammad

himself as part of the Koran:

"God sent Muhammad and sent down the scripture to him. Part

of what he sent down was the passage on stoning. We read it,

we were taught it, and we heeded it. The apostle stoned and we

stoned after him. I fear that in time to come men will say that

they find no mention of stoning in God's book and thereby go

astray in neglecting an ordinance which God has sent down.

Verily, stoning in the book of God is a penalty laid on married

men and women who commit adultery." (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat

The verse on stoning, no longer to be found in the Koran, is

incontrovertible proof that the Koran as it stands today is not the same

as the one spoken by Muhammad.

What the public does not know is that Jihad has many faces. Jihad

is not just slaughtering people for Islam, but it is also a systematic

suppression of truth and propagation of lies.1 If not, how can Muslims

boldly assert (despite hard historic evidence to the contrary) that the

Bible has been changed while the Koran has been perfectly preserved

since Muhammad's time?

__________________________________________

2 Archeological Note: In support of M. Ali's statement: the true site of Mt. Sinai was

found over two decades ago by the archeologist Ron Wyatt. Sinai is now known to

be Jebel el-Lawz on the Arabian Peninsula. It is right where the Bible has been

saying it was all along (see Galatians 4:25). However, the Saudi government has

surrounded the Mt. Sinai site with a chain-link fence and suppressed the

information, probably because of the devastating effect that discovery could have

on the validity of Islam and the Koran. If the information on that site were to be

released, it would discredit the Islamic claim that the Bible has been corrupted.

That site, the artifacts therein (and similar sites in Arabia such as Rephidim),

exactly fit the Bible's description of the Israelite wilderness wanderings. Those sites

prove the Bible to be both accurate and true. (Videos of that ancient site and many

others are available from Wyatt Archeological Research, 713 Lambert Dr.,

Nashville, TN 37220).

_______________________________________

You cannot tell me that Islamic scholars are ignorant of the many

defects in the Koran, nor of the havoc that the various Khalifs have done

to it.1 We, ourselves, are not in any way amazed for the Bible has said:

Such teachings [Propaganda] come through hypocritical liars,

whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

(1 Timothy 4:2, NIV)

The plain truth is that the Koran has been changed through

suppression and burning, and many of its passages have been deliber-

ately removed or altered.

_________________________________

1 M.O.A. Abdul, in his book entitled Studies in Islamic Series, vol. 3, pp. 19-20, 1st

printing 1971, mentioned the incidents that led Khalif Uthman to burn Koranic

_______________________________


	BEHOLD THE BEAST home \| Islam Reviewed 4 - TEXTUAL HISTORY OF THE KORAN Prior Chapter - Contents - Next Chapter Almost every Muslim is taught from infancy to cling to the notion that the Bible has been corrupted and changed, while the Koran is free from corruption, perfectly preserved since the time of Muhammad. But a thorough study of the textual history of the Koran will show that it is not the Bible, but the Koran that has been changed. That is what Islamic historians themselves bequeathed to us. After the famous battle of Aqraba in 632 AD, during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, many Muslims who knew the Koran by heart were killed. As a result, Umar B. Al-Khattab advised Abu Bakr of the need to compile the Koran into a standardized text. Abu Bakr ordered the compilation to be made by Zaid Ibn Thabit from inscriptions on palm leaves, stones and from the remaining reciters. When the compilation was done, it was kept by Abu Bakr until his death. His successor, Umar, then took custody of it. Afterward, it came into the possession of Hafsa, one of Muhammad's widows (a daughter of Umar).1 The companions of the prophet also did their own compilations and produced other manuscripts for use in various provinces. There were four rival provinces, each using a different text of the Koran.2 During the reign of Khalif Uthman (the third Khalifah), reports reached him that in various parts of Syria, Armenia and Iraq, Muslims were reciting the Koran differently from the way it was being recited by Arabian Muslims. Uthman immediately sent for the manuscript in Hafsa's possession and ordered Zaid Ibn Thabit and three others, Abdullah Ibn Zubair, Said Ibn Al-As and Abdullah Al-Rahman Ibn Harith B. Hisham to make copies of the text and make corrections where necessary. When these were completed, we read that Uthman took violent action regarding other existing Koranic manuscripts: ______________________________ 1 See Mishkatul Massabih, ch. 3 2 In Kufa, the manuscript of Abdullah ibn Masud was in use. That of Ubyy Ibn Ka'b was in the possession of the Syrians. The one edited by Migdad Ibn Amr was in circulation in the province of Hims. While that of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari was in use in Basra, Iraq. ____________________________________ Islam Reviewed 21 "Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied and ordered that all the other koranic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts, whole copies, to be burnt." (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 6 Page 479). To eliminate variant readings and contradictions, all other manuscripts were indeed burned, but the Uthmanic edition itself was not perfect and met with a similar fate. When Marwan was governor of Medina, he ordered Hafsa's manuscript to be destroyed. The only reasonable conclusion one can have is that during Uthman's time, some of the contradictions in Hafsa's text were so glaring that a total destruction of it was called for rather than a revision. From then until now, conflicting passages and historical inaccuracies exist within the Koranic texts. The Deedats, the Joommals, and the so-called Sheiks continue their unwarranted attack on the Bible while suppressing the fact that Khalif Uthman burned all the Koranic manuscripts apart from Hafsa's, and that Governor Marwan followed the example of Uthman by destroying the Hafsa text as well. Anyone with the slightest regard for truth would have to admit that the Textus Receptus of the Koran now in circulation is a far cry from the textus originalis! It is not too wild to suggest that were Muhammad alive at the time of these incidents, he would have received one of his usual "revelations" to back up those burnings. Contrary to Muslim belief, there were more than just language differences between Uthman's text and the texts which were ordered to be burned. In every case, there were considerable verbal differences between them and the text Uthman determined (by whim) to be the final standardized version of the Koran. These differences were real textual variants and not just language peculiarities as is often taken for granted. In several cases there were words and sentences found in some codices that were missing in others. In other instances, the variants concerned whole clauses and consonantal variants in certain words. No wonder Khalif Uthman had to resort to wholesale burning as his best option.1 ____________________________________________ 1 See Jeffery, Materials for the History of the Text of the Koran, pp. 24-114. The author has gone to considerable effort to collect solid evidence from the many Islamic sources that are documented in this book. __________________________________ 22 Islam Reviewed Evidence abounds to this day, that verses, indeed whole passages are missing from the Koran that is in circulation today. For instance, the second Khalifah, Khalif Umar, stated in his life-time that certain verses prescribing stoning for adultery were recited by Prophet Muhammad himself as part of the Koran: "God sent Muhammad and sent down the scripture to him. Part of what he sent down was the passage on stoning. We read it, we were taught it, and we heeded it. The apostle stoned and we stoned after him. I fear that in time to come men will say that they find no mention of stoning in God's book and thereby go astray in neglecting an ordinance which God has sent down. Verily, stoning in the book of God is a penalty laid on married men and women who commit adultery." (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasulullah p. 684) The verse on stoning, no longer to be found in the Koran, is incontrovertible proof that the Koran as it stands today is not the same as the one spoken by Muhammad. What the public does not know is that Jihad has many faces. Jihad is not just slaughtering people for Islam, but it is also a systematic suppression of truth and propagation of lies.1 If not, how can Muslims boldly assert (despite hard historic evidence to the contrary) that the Bible has been changed while the Koran has been perfectly preserved since Muhammad's time? __________________________________________ 2 Archeological Note: In support of M. Ali's statement: the true site of Mt. Sinai was found over two decades ago by the archeologist Ron Wyatt. Sinai is now known to be Jebel el-Lawz on the Arabian Peninsula. It is right where the Bible has been saying it was all along (see Galatians 4:25). However, the Saudi government has surrounded the Mt. Sinai site with a chain-link fence and suppressed the information, probably because of the devastating effect that discovery could have on the validity of Islam and the Koran. If the information on that site were to be released, it would discredit the Islamic claim that the Bible has been corrupted. That site, the artifacts therein (and similar sites in Arabia such as Rephidim), exactly fit the Bible's description of the Israelite wilderness wanderings. Those sites prove the Bible to be both accurate and true. (Videos of that ancient site and many others are available from Wyatt Archeological Research, 713 Lambert Dr., Nashville, TN 37220). _______________________________________ Islam Reviewed 23 You cannot tell me that Islamic scholars are ignorant of the many defects in the Koran, nor of the havoc that the various Khalifs have done to it.1 We, ourselves, are not in any way amazed for the Bible has said: Such teachings [Propaganda] come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. (1 Timothy 4:2, NIV) The plain truth is that the Koran has been changed through suppression and burning, and many of its passages have been deliber- ately removed or altered. _________________________________ 1 M.O.A. Abdul, in his book entitled Studies in Islamic Series, vol. 3, pp. 19-20, 1st printing 1971, mentioned the incidents that led Khalif Uthman to burn Koranic manuscripts. _______________________________ Prior Chapter - Contents - Next Chapter