Note : This article is written by eminent Shia Scholar Allamah Sayyed Saeed Akhtar Rizvi in reply to RIZWAN Editor.
Tabari and Abd bin Hamid have narrated through a correct chain of narrators (each of whose narrator was a narrator of Bukhari) that Ibne Abbas used to read the verse:
“Have not yet those who believe known (Afalam yayasa) that if Allah please He would certainly guide all the people?”[1]
“Have not yet those who believe known (Afalam yayasa) that if Allah please He would certainly guide all the people?”[1]
[1] Surah Ra’ad 13:31
as ‘Afalam yattabin’. He used to say that the scribe made a mistake since he was feeling very sleepy.
This narration is also mentioned by Allamah Suyuti in Durre Manthur, Ibne Jurair Tabari and Ibne Anbari.
It is regretful that space does not permit me to dwell further on this topic and I have to restrain my pen, otherwise, there are hundreds of narrations that could be presented on this subject.
After this long preamble, I would only like to say that even if the people having same opinion as that of the Rizwan editor express aloofness from the belief of distortion of Quran out of the fear of Shias, they will in any case have to agree that their religious leaders were of the opinion that there are additions, omissions, changes, and mistakes due to the drowsiness of calligraphists in Quran. The commentators and narrators of Ahle Sunnat have quoted so many narrations on this topic (in which the most authentic book after the book of God, Sahih Bukhari is also included) that these people cannot succeed in calling them wrong, rare, weak or incorrect. Also there is no possibility to interpret them differently because their position and identification is mentioned clearly that all these verses are of Quran and nothing else.
Now read this sentence of the Rizwan editor once again: “Muslims all over the world believe that the Quran in our hands is the one revealed by Allah. It is exactly as it was revealed upon the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.).”
Consider this sentence of a famous Ahle Sunnat scholar, Qazi Ayaz, which he has mentioned in Shifa:
Know that one who dishonors the Quran or any of its parts, or talks ill about Quran or its part or rejects the Quran or falsifies a command of Quran or makes something permissible that Quran has prohibited or make a permissible thing prohibited or doubts the Quran or its laws or its contents, then according to the scholars, he is a disbeliever (Kafir). Allah says,
“Falsehood shall not come to it from before it nor from behind it; a revelation from the Wise, the Praised One.”[1]
[1] Surah Ha Mim 41:42
Now if the Rizwan editor has any Islamic modesty remaining he should boldly declare:
“Since it is the faith of the world Muslims that the Quran in our hands is the one revealed by Allah, and it is exactly as it was revealed upon the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.); and according to the clarification of Qazi Ayaz one who doubts a verse or even a single alphabet of Quran or one who falsifies or disgraces it, is a disbeliever, hence all the above leaders of Islam and all those who have a similar opinion are excluded from the limits of Islam and are disbelievers according to the unanimity of the scholars.”
Now read these sentences of the Rizwan editor:
“Since it is the faith of the world Muslims that the Quran in our hands is the one revealed by Allah, and it is exactly as it was revealed upon the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.); and according to the clarification of Qazi Ayaz one who doubts a verse or even a single alphabet of Quran or one who falsifies or disgraces it, is a disbeliever, hence all the above leaders of Islam and all those who have a similar opinion are excluded from the limits of Islam and are disbelievers according to the unanimity of the scholars.”
Now read these sentences of the Rizwan editor:
“However the Shia belief is exactly opposite; that the existing Quran is a fabricated one. It has been distorted while the real Quran is with the Hidden Imam who is hiding in a cave. He will come with the real Quran sometime before the Day of Judgment.
All right sir! So this is a forged Quran. But how sensible is this Hidden Imam that he has hidden the real Quran and does not guide the creatures of God?
It is narrated on page 271 of Usul al-Kafi that Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (s) said, “The Quran that Jibraeel (s) brought to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) had seventeen thousand verses in it.”
On the same page of this book another tradition is narrated that Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (s) brought out the Quran inscribed by Imam Ali (s) and said, “By Allah, after this day you will never see the Quran.”
In the above statements of Rizwan, some point are worthy of discussion:
Firstly, the existence of Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.) is mentioned in a taunting manner. I would have proved the belief in existence of my Master (s) in the words of the Rizwan editor’s ancestors at this place itself but since some objections were made under the topic of ‘Shia and Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.)’, therefore I reserve my explanation for that section.
Secondly, Shias are blamed of such a belief, which they can never accept. The editor of Rizwan should, at first, learn to speak. Come, let me explain to him some manners of writing. Just now, I have quoted hundreds of narrations about the distortion of Quran through different sources from the books of Ahle Sunnat. If I were a sensible man like you, I would have immediately written: ‘Hence it is proved that all Ahle Sunnat are believers of distortion (of Quran).’
What did you do? You flew away with a narration of Usul al-Kafi (whose meaning was difficult for you to understand) and said that ‘this is a belief of Shias’. Come; let me explain to you the belief of Shias.
Shaykh Abu Ja'far Saduq said, “Our belief is that Quran which was revealed by Allah upon the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) is one between the two covers (of the book) in the hands of people. It is not more than that. One who says that our belief is that Quran is more than this, is a liar.”
If the Rizwan editor believes in the Holy Quran, he should remember that the “curse of Allah (be) on the liars.”[1]
[1] Surah Aale Imran 3:61
Thirdly, the Rizwan editor has omitted the actual text of Usul al-Kafi, so let us first see the actual narration and then applaud his honesty.
“Saalim bin Salma states that a person recited some letters (words) of Quran in a way different from the usual recitation in the presence of Imam Ja'far Sadiq (s). Imam (s) said, “Refrain from such recitation and recite like the common people. When Imam of Age (a.t.f.s.) would reappear, he will recite the Quran to its limits. He will present the copy inscribed by Imam Ali (s).” Then Imam (s) said, “After completing the inscription of the Holy Quran, Imam Ali (s) presented it before the people and said, ‘This book of God is in the same order as it was revealed upon Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) by Allah. I have compiled it from two tablets.’ The people replied, ‘We have a written copy in which Quran is compiled. Thus, we do not need (your) Quran.’ Imam Ali (a.s) said, ‘Beware, by Allah, you will never see this hereafter. It was incumbent upon me to compile and inform you so that you may recite it.’”
The editor of Rizwan writes this narration as: ‘Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (s) brought out the Quran inscribed by Imam Ali (s).’ This is mentioned nowhere in the original narration. We do not know why the senses of the editor failed him while writing thus. Was it something pricking at his conscience due to his dishonesty?Because in the beginning of the tradition, Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (s) has opposed the recitation of Quran in any way other than the usual one. Imam Ali (s) has also declared in between the narration that the Quran compiled by him was in sequence of revelation. (While it is a confirmed fact that the present Quran is not in sequence of revelation). Does the Quran of Ali (s) become different just due to a different method of compilation? Imam Ali (s) has also clarified at the end of narration that he was merely fulfilling his duty and was not trying to make it customary. Hence, the people would not see it thereafter.
In any case, Allamah Majlisi (a.r.) has clarified about this narration in Sharh Usul al-Kafi that this is a rare report,[1] and a rare narration can neither be presented in an argument nor is it acted upon.
“Saalim bin Salma states that a person recited some letters (words) of Quran in a way different from the usual recitation in the presence of Imam Ja'far Sadiq (s). Imam (s) said, “Refrain from such recitation and recite like the common people. When Imam of Age (a.t.f.s.) would reappear, he will recite the Quran to its limits. He will present the copy inscribed by Imam Ali (s).” Then Imam (s) said, “After completing the inscription of the Holy Quran, Imam Ali (s) presented it before the people and said, ‘This book of God is in the same order as it was revealed upon Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) by Allah. I have compiled it from two tablets.’ The people replied, ‘We have a written copy in which Quran is compiled. Thus, we do not need (your) Quran.’ Imam Ali (a.s) said, ‘Beware, by Allah, you will never see this hereafter. It was incumbent upon me to compile and inform you so that you may recite it.’”
The editor of Rizwan writes this narration as: ‘Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (s) brought out the Quran inscribed by Imam Ali (s).’ This is mentioned nowhere in the original narration. We do not know why the senses of the editor failed him while writing thus. Was it something pricking at his conscience due to his dishonesty?Because in the beginning of the tradition, Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (s) has opposed the recitation of Quran in any way other than the usual one. Imam Ali (s) has also declared in between the narration that the Quran compiled by him was in sequence of revelation. (While it is a confirmed fact that the present Quran is not in sequence of revelation). Does the Quran of Ali (s) become different just due to a different method of compilation? Imam Ali (s) has also clarified at the end of narration that he was merely fulfilling his duty and was not trying to make it customary. Hence, the people would not see it thereafter.
In any case, Allamah Majlisi (a.r.) has clarified about this narration in Sharh Usul al-Kafi that this is a rare report,[1] and a rare narration can neither be presented in an argument nor is it acted upon.
[1] Refer Muntahaiul Kalam, Haider Ali, a great Ahle Sunnat scholar
The editor of Rizwan most probably does not know that Shias do not consider Usul al-Kafi as the most authentic book after the Holy Quran. Neither do they believe that there are no weak and incorrect narrations in it. They investigate the reliability of each narrator quite seriously and then check the tradition in view of the science of criticism. They accept a narration only if it passes all these tests. This method is not confined to Usul al-Kafi but to all the tradition compendiums. They do not like the Sunnis, believe that everything in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is absolutely correct and there is no scope of asking ‘how’ and ‘why’, as Allamah Nawawi declares in the Sharh of Muslim:
As the nation has accepted both these books (Sahih Muslim and Bukhari), it is obligatory on them to follow the narrations mentioned in it and this is a unanimous decision. Because apart from these two books, it is obligatory to follow the solitary tradition in other books only if the chain of its narrators is correct and that narration will be useful in conjecture. The same rule applies for ‘the two Sahihs’ also but the only difference is that the narrations in these two books are surely correct and there is no need for further observation of their chain of narrators, rather it is obligatory to follow them. On the contrary narrations of other books cannot be followed without investigation and without confirming their correctness.[1]
[1] Sharh Sahih Muslim, Allamah Nawawi
In other words, the presence of a tradition in Usul al-Kafi is not a proof of its correctness and there is no obligation to follow it. However, a narration recorded in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is absolutely correct according to Ahle Sunnat, and it is obligatory to follow it. Therefore you cannot disregard narrations about the belief in distortion of Quran that I have quoted from Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. It is obligatory for you to have faith in distortion of Quran.
Fourthly, even if we consider that this narration is not rare, it’s meaning is not the same as understood by our critic. After the passage of Shaykh Saduq (a.r.) quoted by us above from E’tiqaadiyyah he further writes:
“On the contrary we say that so much of revelation has come down, which is not embodied in the present Quran, that if it were to be collected, its extent would undoubtedly be 17000 verses. And this, for example, is like the saying of Jibraeel to the Prophet:
Allah says to thee, O Muhammad, act gently with My creatures, in the same manner as I do.
Fourthly, even if we consider that this narration is not rare, it’s meaning is not the same as understood by our critic. After the passage of Shaykh Saduq (a.r.) quoted by us above from E’tiqaadiyyah he further writes:
“On the contrary we say that so much of revelation has come down, which is not embodied in the present Quran, that if it were to be collected, its extent would undoubtedly be 17000 verses. And this, for example, is like the saying of Jibraeel to the Prophet:
Allah says to thee, O Muhammad, act gently with My creatures, in the same manner as I do.
Or his (Jibraeel’s) saying: Be careful of the bitter hatred of the people and their enmity.
Or his (Jibraeel’s) saying: Live as you desire, for verily you shall die. Love what you will, for verily you shall be separated. Act how you will, for verily you shall be faced with it. The nobility of man is his prayer by night; his honor is refraining from injury to human beings.
Or like the saying of the Prophet: Jibraeel never ceased enjoining me (to use) the toothbrush (siwak) until I feared it would chafe (my gums) or make me toothless. And he (Jibraeel) never ceased enjoining me (to be good) to the neighbor until I thought he would make him my heir; and he never ceased enjoining me about the wife, to the extent that I thought it would be improper to divorce her; and he never ceased enjoining me about the slave, until I thought that he would fix a period within which he should be freed.
Or like the saying of Jibraeel, when the battle of the Moat (Khandaq) was over: O Muhammad, verily Allah, Exalted and Blessed is He above all, commands you not to say the Asr (afternoon) prayer, except with the Banu Quraiza.
Or like his saying (the Prophet’s): My Lord commanded me to deal gently with the people, in the same manner as He asked me to perform the obligatory acts.
Or like his saying; verily we prophets were ordered not to speak to people except in accordance with their intelligence.
Or like his saying: Verily Jibraeel brought a command to me from my Lord, which cooled my eyes and brought joy to my breast. He (Jibraeel) said: Verily Allah the Mighty and Glorious says that Ali is the Prince of Believers, and the leader of the bright-faced ones.
Or like his saying: Jibraeel came to me and said: O Muhammad, verily Allah the Blessed and Exalted, has given Fatima in marriage to Ali in front of His Throne (Arsh), and made select angels bear witness to the marriage. So marry her to him in this world and make the select amongst your people bear witness to it. There are many such (traditions), all of which are revelations, but do not form part of the Quran; and if they did, they would surely have been included and not excluded from it.
[Dhahabi and others have offered the same kind of explanation regarding the saying of Umar: “The Quran has a million and a hundred and twenty-seven thousand letters,” and stated that the present Quran does to reach the extent mentioned by Umar.][1]
Now the meaning of this narration (about sequence of revelation) must have become clear to you. For further explanation, let me also mention that the various laws the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) used to teach on different occasions, though not included in the Quran, you will agree that it was done at the behest of the Almighty. For example, the number of units and the method of prayer; selection of invocations, etc. All these were in accordance to the verse:
“Nor does he (Muhammad) speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed,”[2]
However all the revelations were not Quran but only part of them constituted the Quran. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) was commanded to convey many other revelations to us in the form of Hadith Qudsi and Hadith Nabawi. Imam (s) has elucidated the same point, that if all the revelations, consisting of Quran and Hadith Qudsi etc. are compiled, it would be equal to seventeen thousand verses. What made you think that he is proclaiming that the existing Quran is incomplete from this point?
Or his (Jibraeel’s) saying: Live as you desire, for verily you shall die. Love what you will, for verily you shall be separated. Act how you will, for verily you shall be faced with it. The nobility of man is his prayer by night; his honor is refraining from injury to human beings.
Or like the saying of the Prophet: Jibraeel never ceased enjoining me (to use) the toothbrush (siwak) until I feared it would chafe (my gums) or make me toothless. And he (Jibraeel) never ceased enjoining me (to be good) to the neighbor until I thought he would make him my heir; and he never ceased enjoining me about the wife, to the extent that I thought it would be improper to divorce her; and he never ceased enjoining me about the slave, until I thought that he would fix a period within which he should be freed.
Or like the saying of Jibraeel, when the battle of the Moat (Khandaq) was over: O Muhammad, verily Allah, Exalted and Blessed is He above all, commands you not to say the Asr (afternoon) prayer, except with the Banu Quraiza.
Or like his saying (the Prophet’s): My Lord commanded me to deal gently with the people, in the same manner as He asked me to perform the obligatory acts.
Or like his saying; verily we prophets were ordered not to speak to people except in accordance with their intelligence.
Or like his saying: Verily Jibraeel brought a command to me from my Lord, which cooled my eyes and brought joy to my breast. He (Jibraeel) said: Verily Allah the Mighty and Glorious says that Ali is the Prince of Believers, and the leader of the bright-faced ones.
Or like his saying: Jibraeel came to me and said: O Muhammad, verily Allah the Blessed and Exalted, has given Fatima in marriage to Ali in front of His Throne (Arsh), and made select angels bear witness to the marriage. So marry her to him in this world and make the select amongst your people bear witness to it. There are many such (traditions), all of which are revelations, but do not form part of the Quran; and if they did, they would surely have been included and not excluded from it.
[Dhahabi and others have offered the same kind of explanation regarding the saying of Umar: “The Quran has a million and a hundred and twenty-seven thousand letters,” and stated that the present Quran does to reach the extent mentioned by Umar.][1]
Now the meaning of this narration (about sequence of revelation) must have become clear to you. For further explanation, let me also mention that the various laws the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) used to teach on different occasions, though not included in the Quran, you will agree that it was done at the behest of the Almighty. For example, the number of units and the method of prayer; selection of invocations, etc. All these were in accordance to the verse:
“Nor does he (Muhammad) speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed,”[2]
However all the revelations were not Quran but only part of them constituted the Quran. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) was commanded to convey many other revelations to us in the form of Hadith Qudsi and Hadith Nabawi. Imam (s) has elucidated the same point, that if all the revelations, consisting of Quran and Hadith Qudsi etc. are compiled, it would be equal to seventeen thousand verses. What made you think that he is proclaiming that the existing Quran is incomplete from this point?
[1] Refer Itqan, Allamah Jalaluddin Suyuti, Part One, Pg. 72
[2] Surah Najm 53:3-4
Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (s) himself says:
“Quran is one. It has been revealed upon the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) from One God. Whatever differences are there, they are to due to the narrators.”[1]
[1] Itiqadiya, Shaykh Sadooq
Fifthly, Rizwan quotes the tradition:
“Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (s) brought out the Quran inscribed by Imam Ali (s) and said, “By Allah, after this day you will never see the Quran.”
Rizwan then tries to conclude from it that according to Shias the present Quran is not a Quran but his wonderful knowledge of Arabic has become obvious from this. So just pay attention to this:
You may probably not know that if a pronoun refers to a compound then the whole compound antecedent should be considered in translation (I have used simple terminology! Hope you don’t find them difficult). I intend to say that the pronoun ‘it’ in the tradition refers to the Quran inscribed by Ali (s) you should have translated it as: ‘By Allah! You will never see the Quran written by Imam Ali (s) after today.’ While you have simply mentioned: ‘You will never see the Quran.’ As if the Quran, we see today, is not Quran.
Now when you have read the corrected translation of this narration report do you find anything objectionable? You may know it or not but it is a fact that after the passing away of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.), Imam Ali (s) swore that he would not put the robe on his shoulders till he compiles the Quran. At last, he compiled the Quran in the sequence of revelation and brought it before the caliphate. The caliphs said that they were not in need of the Quran compiled by him. Imam Ali (s) returned saying, “You will never see this Quran after today.” It was the same Quran, which Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (s) showed to his Shias and said that they would not see it thereafter. But how does this prove that the Quran in our hands is not the discourse of Almighty?
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