-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
/
Copy pathtq1.html
501 lines (494 loc) · 34.4 KB
/
tq1.html
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, minimumscale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0" />
<meta name="keywords" content="it, web development, web dev, techknowlogy, marc manley">
<meta name="description" content="IT Support Specialist and Web Developer">
<meta name="author" content="Marc Manley">
<meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="css/style.css" type="text/css" media="screen">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="css/green-white-black.css" type="text/css" media="screen">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="css/print.css" type="text/css" media="print">
<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Days+One' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Andada' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
<link rel="stylesheet" media="screen" href="http://openfontlibrary.org/face/scheherazade" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/>
<link rel="stylesheet" media="screen" href="http://openfontlibrary.org/face/thabit" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/>
<link rel="stylesheet" media="screen" href="http://openfontlibrary.org/face/droid-arabic-naskh" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/>
<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Signika' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
<!--[if lt IE 9]>
<script src="//html5shiv.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/html5.js"></script>
<![endif]-->
<script type='text/javascript' src='scripts/respond.min.js'></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.7.2/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="fancybox/jquery.fancybox.js?v=2.0.6"></script>
<title>Marc Manley | Information Technology & Web Development Specialist</title>
</head>
<body>
<div class="color-band"></div>
<div id="wrapper">
<div class="job">
<h2>Selections from the
Introduction of Tafsir
al-Qurtubi</h2>
<p><em>In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, Most Merciful</em><p>
<p>The meaning of the words of the Prophet, <em>"The Qur'an was revealed
in seven ahruf (dialects/modes)."</em></p>
<p>In the Sahih of Muslim, Ubayy ibn Ka'b reported that the Prophet, peace be
upon him, was with the Banu Ghifar when Jibril came to him and said, "Allah
commands you to recite the Qur'an to your Com-munity in one mode." He said,
"I ask Allah for His pardon and forgiveness. My Community will not be able
to do that." Then he came a second time and said, "Allah commands you to
recite the Qur'an to your Community in two modes." He said, "I ask Allah
for His pardon and forgiveness. My Community will not be able to do that."
He came a third time and said, "Allah commands you to recite the Qur'an to
your Community in three modes." He replied, "I ask Allah for His pardon and
forgiveness. My Community will not be able to do that." He came a fourth
time and said, "Allah commands you to recite the Qur'an to your community
in seven modes. Whichever mode they recite, it is correct." At-Tirmidhi reported
that Ubayy said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, met Jibril and said, 'Jibril, I was sent to an illiterate community.
Some of them are old women and old men, boys and girls, and men who do not
read at all.' He said to him, 'Muhammad, the Qur'an was revealed in seven
modes." (<em>sahih</em>) This story is confirmed in the main authorities:
al-Bukhari, Muslim, the <em>Muwatta</em>', Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i and other books
in the form of the story about Hisham ibn Hakim with 'Umar which we will
mention later.</p>
<p>Scholars disagree about what is meant by the seven modes, and there are
thirty-five things mentioned by al-Busti. We will mention five of them here:</p>
<blockquote>-This is the position of most of the people of knowledge, such as Sufyan
ibn 'Uyayna, 'Abdullah ibn Wahb, at-Tabari, at-Tahawi and others. What is
meant are the seven manners of synonyms with different expressions, like
<em>aqbala</em>, <em>ta'ala </em>and <em>halluma</em> (all of which mean "come
here"). At-Tahawi said, "The clearest elucidation of that is what is mentioned
in the <em>hadith</em> of Abu Bakra, 'Jibril came to the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Recite in one mode." Mika'il said,
"Increase it." He said, "Recite it in two modes." Mika'il said, "Increase
it," until it was seven modes. He said, "Recite it. Each is adequate unless
you confuse an <em>ayat</em> of mercy for an <em>ayat</em> of punishment or an
<em>ayat </em>of punishment with an <em>ayat</em> of mercy."' That is like
<em>halluma</em>, ta'ala, <em>aqbala</em>, <em>adhhaba</em>, <em>asra'a </em>and
<em>'ajjala</em>. It is related from Ibn 'Abbas that Ubayy ibn Ka'b used to
recite "wait for us" (57:13) <em>"undhuruna"</em> as "umhuluna",<em>
"akhkhiruna"</em>, and <em>"arqubuna"</em>. With the same <em>isnad</em>, it is
reported that Ubayy recited in 2:19 <em>"marru" </em>instead of<em> "mashaw"
</em>and <em>"sa'aw</em>" (they walk). In al-Bukhari, az-Zuhri said, "These
modes are about the same matter. They do not differ in respect of the
<em>halal</em> and <em>haram</em>."</blockquote>
<p>At-Tahawi said,</p>
<blockquote>"There was scope for people in the letters since they were
unable to take the Qur'an in other than their dialects because they were
illiterate and only a few of them could write. It was hard for someone with
a dialect to change to another. If he wanted to do that, it would have entailed
great hardship and so they were given scope regarding different expressions
as long as the meaning was the same. They remained like that until many of
them could write and the dialects reverted to that of the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Then they were able to memorise
those words and they no longer had the allowance to recite differently."
Ibn 'Abdu'l-Barr said, "It is clear that scope for the seven modes was at
a particular time out of necessity. When that necessity was removed, the
ruling of the seven was removed, and the Qur'an was recited in one mode."
</blockquote>
<p>Some people say that the seven dialects in the Qur'an are the seven dialects
of all the Arabs, both Yamani and Nizar, because the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was not ignorant of any of them.
He was "given all the words". It does not mean that the one mode has seven
aspects, but these seven dialects are in different parts of the Qur'an. Some
of it is in the dialect of Quraysh, some in that of Hudhayl, some in Hawazin,
and some in Yamani. Al-Khattabi said, "That is how the Qur'an is recited
in seven ways." This is the meaning of the Qur'an being revealed in seven
modes. Al-Qasim ibn Sallam believed that and Ibn 'Atiyya preferred it. Some
tribes used writing more than others. Anas mentioned that when 'Uthman told
them copy out the Qur'an, he said, "When you and Zayd differ, then write
in the dialect of Quraysh. It was revealed in their dialect." (al-Bukhari)</p>
<p>Qadi Ibn at-Tayyib (al-Baqillani) said,</p>
<blockquote>"The meaning of 'Uthman's words that
it was revealed in the dialect of Quraysh, means most of it. It is not a
definitive proof that it is all in the dialect of Quraysh since there are
words and letters which differ from the dialect of Quraysh. This indicates
that it was revealed in all the language of the Arabs, and no one can say
that it was just Quraysh or one part of the Arabs rather than others. Ibn
'Abdu'l-Barr said that this meant that most of it was revealed in the dialect
of Quraysh because other than the dialect of Quraysh exists in sound readings
with the use of the <em>hamzas</em> and the like. Quraysh did not use the
<em>hamza</em>. Ibn 'Atiyya said that the meaning of the "seven modes" is that
the expressions of the seven tribes are in it."</blockquote>
<p>These seven dialects are all from the tribes of Mudar. Some people said
that. They used as evidence what 'Uthman said, "The Qur'an was revealed in
the language of Mudar." They said, "It is possible that part of it is that
of Quraysh, part Kinana, part Asad, part Hudhayl, part Taym, part Daba, and
part Qays. They said these tribes of Mudar contain the seven dialects in
these ranks. Ibn Mas'ud used to like those who copied out the Qur'ans to
be from Mudar. Others objected to the idea that it was all from Mudar and
said that there are rare usages in Mudar with which it is not permitted to
write the Qur'an.</p>
<p>What is related from some scholars is exemplified by Qadi Ibn at-Tayyib
who said, "I have reflected on the aspects of the differences in recitation
and have found them to be seven. Some involve changes of voweling while the
meaning and form remain, like <em>atharu</em> and <em>athara</em> in 11:78; some
do not change their form but change their meaning through inflection, as
in 36:19, reading <em>ba'id</em> or ba'ida; some retain their form and change
their meaning with different letters; some change the form while the meaning
remains as in 101:5 where both<em> 'ahn</em> and <em>suf</em> mean wool; some
change their form and meaning; some entail a change of order; and some consist
of addition or reduction.</p>
<p>What is meant by the seven modes are meanings in the Book of Allah: command
and prohibition, promise and threat, stories, arguments and parables. Ibn
'Atiyya says that this is weak because that is not called <em>ahruf</em>.
Furthermore there is consensus that it does not occur in making the lawful
lawful or changing any of the meanings. Qadi Ibn at-Tayyib mentioned a
<em>hadith</em> along these lines from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, and then said, "This is not part of what it is allowed for
them to recite." <em>Harf</em> in this means 'manner' as Allah says, <em>'one
who worships Allah on an edge.' </em>(22:11). That is the meaning of the
<em>hadith</em> about the seven means of allowing and forbidding and the like.</p>
<p>It is also said that what is meant by the seven <em>ahruf</em> are the seven
readings that we have because all of that is sound as the Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, stated. This, however, is not correct, as
we will now explain.</p>
<h3>Section on the seven readings</h3>
<p>Most scholars, like ad-Dawudi, Ibn Abi Sufra and others said that these seven
readings which are ascribed to the seven readers are not the seven
<em>ahruf</em> for which the Companions had allowance to recite. They refer
merely to one harf of those seven, which is what 'Uthman collected in the
copy of the Qur'an which he authorised. Ibn an-Nahhas and others mentioned
that. These seven famous readings (<em>qira'at</em>) are the selections of
those Imams of recitation. That is because each of them chose what he related
and the aspect he knew of the recitations which he considered to be the best
and most appropriate. Each held to a path, related and recited it, and became
famous for it. He is known for it and it is ascribed to him, like the mode
of Nafi' and the mode of Ibn Kathir. One of them did not forbid choosing
another nor object to it. He allowed it. Each of those seven has two or more
choices related from him. All are sound.</p>
<p>Muslims at this time have agreed to rely on what is sound from these imams.
That which they related of the readings and wrote in books. The consensus
remains that they are correct, and the preservation of the Book which Allah
promised has been secured. This is the position of the earlier imams and
excellent reliable men like Qadi Abu Bakr ibn at-Tayyib, at-Tabari and others.
Ibn 'Atiyya said, "These seven readings have lasted through different times
and places and the prayer is performed using them as their soundness is
established by consensus. As for the rare (<em>shadhdh</em>) readings, the
prayer is not performed using them because there is no consensus on that.
As for what is related from the Companions and the Followers about that,
it can only be believed that they transmitted that. As for what is related
from Abu's-Sammal and those connected to him, one does not rely on it."</p>
<p>Someone else said, "As for the rare (<em>shadhdh</em>) readings of the copies
of the transmitted Qur'an, they are not considered to be the Qur'an, and
are not acted on as if they were part of it. It is most probable that they
are clarification of the interpretation of the position of the one to whom
they are ascribed, like the reading of Ibn Mas'ud. If the transmitter is
explicit about having heard it from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, then scholars have two positions about acting on
it: negative or positive . The negative position is based on the fact that
the transmitter did not relate it as a hadith, but as Qur'an, and it is not
affirmed as such and so is not confirmed. The positive position is that even
if it is not affirmed as Qur'an, it is affirmed as sunna, and that obliges
action, just as the case with all single <em>ahadith</em>.</p>
<h3>Section: The <em>hadith</em> of 'Umar and Hisham</h3>
<p>Ibn 'Atiyya said, "Allah allowed these seven modes to His Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, and Jibril brought them to him in a way which
ensured inimitability and precise cohesion. His words,<em> 'Recite what is
easy of it,' </em>did not permit any of the Companions to change any expression
in one of these dialects as he wished. If that had been the case, then the
Qur'an would not have been inimitable, as people would have changed this
and that and then it would have become other than what was revealed from
Allah. The permission was for the seven modes of the Prophet, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, in order to give ample scope to his Community. Once
he recited to Ubayy what Jibril brought him, and once to Ibn Mas'ud what
had been presented to him.</p>
<p>This was the crux of the difference between 'Umar ibn al-Khattab's reading
of Surat al-Furqan and that of Hisham ibn Hakim. Otherwise how was it proper
for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to say about the
recitation of each of them which differed, 'That was how Jibril recited it
to me.' Was it only that he recited it once like that and once like this?
This is the meaning of what Anas said when he recited '<em>aswab</em>' instead
of '<em>aqwam</em>' in <em>Surat al-Muzzammil</em> (73:5) meaning "more conducive".
He was told, 'We recite it "<em>aqwam</em>".' He replied, '"<em>Aswab</em>",
"<em>aqwam</em>" and "<em>ahya</em>'" are all the same." This is the sense of
what is reported from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
If anyone had been permitted to do that, that would have invalidated the
words of Allah, <em>'It is We who have sent down the Reminder and We will
preserve it.'</em> (15:9)."</p>
<p>Al-Bukhari, Muslim and others related that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "I
heard Hisham ibn Hakim reciting <em>Surat al-Furqan</em> in a different way
from how I read it, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, himself had recited it to me. I almost grabbed him, but I waited
until he had finished. Then I got him by his cloak and took him to the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. I said, 'Messenger of
Allah, I heard this one reciting <em>Surat al-Furqan</em> differently to how
you recited it to me!' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, 'Let him recite.' He recited it as I had heard him recite
it. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
'That is how it was revealed.' Then he told me, 'Recite.' I recited it and
he said, 'That is how it was revealed. This Qur'an was revealed in seven
modes, so recite whatever you find easy of it.'"</p>
<p>Similar to this hadith is what Muslim transmitted from Ubayy ibn Ka'b. He
said, "I was in the mosque when a man came in to pray. He recited a reading
to which I objected. Then another man entered and recited a different recitation
to that of his companion. When they finished the prayer, we all went to the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and I said,
'This one recited a reading to which I objected and the other entered and
used a different recitation to that of his companion.' The Prophet, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, commanded them to recite, and the Prophet
commended what they done. Then doubt entered my heart such as had not even
affected me in the <em>Jahiliyya</em>. When the Prophet, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, saw what had overpowered me, he struck my chest and
I started to sweat, feeling alarm as if I had been looking at Allah. He said
to me, 'Ubayy, I was sent a message to recite the Qur'an in one mode and
I replied that I wanted it to be made easy for my community. A second message
commanded me to recite it in two modes, and I replied that I wanted it to
be made easy for my community. Then I was told the third time, "Recite it
in seven modes. You can ask for something for each time you returned to ask."
I said, "O Allah, forgive my Community! O Allah, forgive my Community!" I
delayed the third until a Day when all creation even Ibrahim, peace be upon
him, will ask of me.'"</p>
<p>Ubayy meant that he felt confusion and astonishment, in other words he had
an impulse from Shaytan which sullied his state and muddied his mind at that
moment. The difference of the readings seemed terrible to him while it was
not in itself terrible. Otherwise what would entail denial of the difference
in the recitations, when that is not necessary? Praise be to Allah who abrogated
what is greater than a reading! When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, saw the thought that occurred to him, he woke him up by
striking his chest. The result of that was the expansion of his breast and
inward illumination so that the unveiling and expansion took him to a state
of vision. When the ugliness of that thought was clear to him, he feared
Allah and sweated profusely out of shame before Allah. This thought is the
type of thing about which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, spoke when they said to him, "We find things in ourselves which one
of us finds too terrible to speak about." He asked, "Do you experience that?"
"Yes," they replied. He said, "That is clear faith." (Muslim from Abu Hurayra)</p>
<p>The collection of the Qur'an and the reason 'Uthman had copies of
the Qur'an copied out and burned the rest. The memorisation of the Qur'an
by the Companions in the time of the Prophet</p>
<p>In the time of the Prophet, the Qur'an was scattered in the breasts of men.
People wrote some of it in on pages, on skins and on white stones and flat
stones, scraps and other things. Then a great number of the reciters were
killed in Battle of Yamama in the time of Abu Bakr. Something like 700 of
them were killed in a single day and 'Umar ibn al-Khattab suggested to Abu
Bakr to collect the Qur'an out of fear that the shaykhs of the reciters such
as Ubayy, Ibn Mas'ud and Zayd would all die. Zayd ibn Thabit recommended
that, and so after great effort. he collected it together without putting
the <em>suras</em> in order.</p>
<p>Al-Bukhari reports that Zayd ibn Thabit said, "After the slaughter in the
war of Yamama, Abu Bakr sent for me, and 'Umar was with him. Abu Bakr said,
''Umar has come to me and said, "Many people were killed in the Battle of
Yamama, and I fear that many Qur'an reciters will be killed in other places
and so much of the Qur'an will be lost unless you collect it. I think that
you should collect the Qur'an together."' Abu Bakr said, 'I said to 'Umar,
"How can I do something which the Messenger of Allah did not do?" 'Umar said,
"By Allah, it is better." 'Umar kept on at me about it until Allah opened
my breast to it. I think what 'Umar thinks.'" Zayd ibn Thabit continued,
"'Umar was sitting with him, not speaking. Abu Bakr said, 'You are an intelligent
young man and we have no doubts about you. You used to write down the revelation
for the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Therefore
you are to search out the Qur'an and collect it.' By Allah, if he had obliged
me to move one of the mountains, that would not have been weightier for me
than his command to me to collect together the Qur'an. I replied, 'How can
the two of you do something which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, did not do?' Abu Bakr said, 'By Allah, it is better.'
He continued to keep on at me until Allah opened my breast to that which
Allah had opened the breasts of Abu Bakr and 'Umar. So I began to search
out the Qur'an and collect it from the parchments, shoulder-blades, palm
fronds and the breasts of men until I found two ayats of <em>Surat at-Tawba
</em>with Khuzayma al-Ansari that I did not find with anyone else: <em>'A Messenger
has come to you from among yourselves...' </em>(9:128) The copy of the Qur'an
in which the Qur'an was collected remained in the possession of Abu Bakr
until Allah took him, and then it was with 'Umar until Allah took him, and
then it was with Hafsa bint 'Umar."</p>
<p>If it is asked what was the point of 'Uthman unifying people under a single
copy of the Qur'an when Abu Bakr had already achieved that, then the response
is that the aim of 'Uthman was not to gather people in order to compile the
Qur'an. Do you not see that he sent to Hafsa to ask her to give him the copy
of the Qur'an so that it could be copied out and then returned to her? 'Uthman
did that because people were disagreeing about the various recitations owing
to the fact that the Companions had spread to different areas and had begun
to strongly disagree, such as the conflict which took place between the people
of Iraq and the people of Syria according to Hudhayfa.</p>
<p>They joined an expedition to Armenia and each group recited what had been
transmitted to them. They disagreed and quarrelled and some of them called
the others unbelievers, renouncing them completely, cursing one another.
Hudhayfa was alarmed at what he saw. As soon as he arrived back to Madina,
according to al-Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi, before returning to his house he
went to 'Uthman and said, "This Community has reached the stage where it
will be destroyed!" "Why?' asked 'Uthman. He said, "It is about the Book
of Allah. I was on this expedition and some of the people of Iraq, Syria
and the Hijaz came together." Then he described what had happened and said,
"I fear that they will differ about their Book as the Jews and Christians
differed."</p>
<p>This is evidence of the falseness of those who say that the seven
<em>ahruf</em> are the seven present readings because there is no disagreement
about them. Suwayd ibn Ghafala reported from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib that 'Uthman
said, "What do you think about the copies of the Qur'an? The people have
disagreed about the reciters until a man says, 'My reading is better than
your reading. My reading is more excellent than your reading.' This is equivalent
to disbelief." He replied, "What is your view, Amir al-Mu'minin?" He said,
'I think that we people should agree on one reading. If you differ today,
those after you will disagree more strongly." 'Ali said, "The correct opinion
is yours, Amir al-Mu'minin." So 'Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, "Send
us the pages in your possession and we will copy them and then return them
to you." She sent them to him and he ordered Zayd ibn Thabit, 'Abdullah ibn
az-Zubayr, Sa'id ibn al-'As, and 'Abdu'r-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham
to make copies of them. 'Uthman told the group of Qurayshis, "When you and
Zayd ibn Thabit disagree about any of the Qur'an, write it in the dialect
of Quraysh. It was revealed in their language." They did that. When they
had copied it out, 'Uthman returned the pages to Hafsa and he sent a copy
of what they had copied out to every region and commanded that every sheet
or copy which had any other form of the Qur'an should be burned. 'Uthman
did this after gathering the Muhajirun and Ansar and a group of Muslims and
consulting them about it. They agreed to collect what was sound and firm
of the well-known readings from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, and discard anything else. They thought that what he decided was
right and correct. May Allah have mercy on him and all of them."</p>
<p>Ibn Shihab said that he was told by 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Abdullah that 'Abdullah
ibn Mas'ud disliked Zayd ibn Thabit copying out the Qur'an and said, "Company
of Muslims, withdraw from making copies and entrusting it to one man. By
Allah, I became Muslim while he was in the loins of an unbelieving father!"
meaning Zayd ibn Thabit. That is why 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "People of
Iraq, conceal the copies of the Qur'an you have and conceal them. Allah says,
<em>'Those who misappropriate will arrive on the Day of Rising with what they
have misappropriated.' </em>(3:161). Meet Allah with the copies of the Qur'an."
(at-Tirmidhi)</p>
<p>Abu Bakr al-Anbari said, "The fact that Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman chose
Zayd in the matter of collecting the Qur'an does not mean that they were
putting him over 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud. 'Abdullah was better than Zayd, older
in Islam, had attended more battles and possessed more virtues. Zayd, however,
knew more of the Qur'an than 'Abdullah since he had memorised it all during
the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, whereas 'Abdullah had only memorised about seventy suras while the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was alive and
learned the rest after his death. The one who knew the entire Qur'an and
memorised it while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, was alive was more entitled to compile the Qur'an and to be preferred
and chosen to do so. No ignorant person should suppose that this is an attack
on 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud since the fact that Zayd had the better memory of
the Qur'an of the two does not mean that he should be preferred to him in
general terms because Zayd also knew more Qur'an than Abu Bakr and 'Umar,
and he was certainly not better than them or equal to them in virtue."</p>
<p>Abu Bakr al-Anbari said, "The objection which 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud made was
done in anger and is not acted upon or accepted. There is no doubt that once
he was no longer angry he was satisfied with the excellence of the decision
of 'Uthman and the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, and concurred with their agreement and abandoned
his opposition to them."</p>
<p>One scholar said that 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud died before learning all the Qur'an.
Yazid ibn Harun said, "The two <em>suras</em> of refuge have the same status
as <em>al-Baqara</em> and <em>Al 'Imran</em>. Anyone who claims that they are
not part of the Qur'an has rejected Allah Almighty." He was asked, 'What
about what 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud says about them?" He replied, "There is no
disagreement among the Muslims that 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud died before memorising
all of the Qur'an." This requires some investigation, as will come.</p>
<p>Hammad said – I think quoting Anas ibn Malik – "They disagreed
about an ayat and would say, 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, recited it to so-and-so.' He might be three days from
Madina and he would be sent for and would be asked, 'How did the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recite such-and-such an
ayat to you?' and they would write it as he said." Ibn Shihab said, "One
day they disagreed about <em>tabut</em>. Zayd said <em>tabuh</em>. Ibn az-Zubayr
and Sa'id ibn al-'As said, <em>tabut</em>. The disagreement was taken to 'Uthman
who said, 'Write it with <em>ta'</em>. It was revealed in the language of Quraysh."
(al-Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi)</p>
<p>'Uthman had several copies of the Qur'an made. Some say there were seven
while the majority say that there were four. They were sent to various areas.
Matrix copies were sent to Iraq, Syria and Egypt, and the reciters of the
cities relied on them and none of them differed from the original copy in
the manner in which it was conveyed. There is not found among the seven reciters
any real difference in the words, neither more nor less. That is because
they all relied on what was conveyed in 'Uthman's copy.</p>
<p>Al-Anbari quoted Suwayd ibn Ghafala in <em>Kitab ar-Radd</em>, "I heard 'Ali
ibn Abi Talib say, 'Company of people! Fear Allah and beware of excess about
'Uthman and calling him "The burner of Qur'ans". By Allah, he only burned
them on the basis of the advice of a council of us, the Companions of Muhammad,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace.'" It is also reported that 'Ali
said, "If I had been ruler at the time of 'Uthman, I would have done to the
copies of the Qur'an the same thing that 'Uthman did."</p>
<h3>Section</h3>
<p>Our scholars say that what 'Uthman did refutes the Hululis and Hashwites
who say that the letters and sounds are eternal and that recitation and reading
are eternal and that faith is eternal and the <em>ruh</em> is eternal. The
Community and all groups of the Christians, Jews and Brahmans believe –
and indeed, every theist and unitarian – that that which is eternal
is unaffected by any event, and no one's power can affect it by any aspect
or means. Non-existence is not possible for the eternal and the eternal does
not become temporal and the temporal does not become eternal. As for the
eternal, there is no beginning to its existence whereas the temporal is that
which exists after it was not.</p>
<h3>Section</h3>
<p>The Rafidites attack the Qur'an and say, "One person is sufficient to confirm
the transmission of an ayat and mode just as you have done. You confirmed
the statement of a single man, Khuzayma ibn Thabit, in reporting about the
end of Surat al-Tawba and the <em>ayat</em> in <em>Surat al-Ahzab 'Among the
believers are menÉ' </em>(33:23)." The reply to them is that when Khuzayma
mentioned these words, many of the Companions remembered them and Zayd himself
recognised them. That is why he said, "The last two <em>ayats</em> of <em>Surat
at-Tawba </em>were missing." If he had not already known them, he would not
have known that anything was missing. So the <em>ayat</em> was in fact established
by consensus, not by Khuzayma alone. The second answer is that it was established
by the testimony of Khuzayma alone and the evidence of its soundness is found
in the description of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
and so has no need for another witness, which is not the case of the
<em>ayat</em> in <em>al-Ahzab</em>. That is established by the testimony of Zayd
and Abu Khuzayma who heard it from the Prophet. It is mentioned that Abu
Khuzayma is not the same Khuzayma with whom the <em>ayat</em> of <em>at-Tawba
</em>found and he was known among the Ansar. Anas knew him. The one with whom
the <em>ayat</em> of <em>al-Ahzab</em> was found was Khuzayma ibn Thabit. There
is no confusion in the story.</p>
<p>In Muslim and al-Bukhari, Anas ibn Malik said, "The Qur'an was gathered together
in the time of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, by four,
all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubayy, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, Zayd ibn Thabit,
and Abu Zayd." Anas was asked, "Who is Abu Zayd?" and he replied, "One of
my paternal uncles." Also in al-Bukhari, Anas said, "When the Prophet died,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, only four knew all the Qur'an:
Abu'd-Darda', Mu'adh, ibn Jabal, Zayd and Abu Zayd."</p>
<p>Ibn at-Tayyib said, "These traditions do not indicate that the Qur'an was
not memorised in the time of the Prophet and that only four of the Ansar
knew it by heart as Anas stated. It is confirmed by multiple paths of
transmission that the entire Qur'an was also known by 'Uthman, 'Ali, Tamim
ad-Dari, 'Ubada ibn as-Samit, and 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As." Anas' words
mean that only these four took it directly from the mouth of the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Most of them learned it
from one another.</p>
<p>The Qadi did not mention 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and Salim, the client of Abu
Hudhayfa, although they were among those who knew the entire Qur'an. It is
reported that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "I was with the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and with him were Abu Bakr and whomever
Allah wished. We passed 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud who was praying. The Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked, 'Who is reciting
the Qur'an?' He was told, ''Abdullah ibn Umm 'Abd.' He said, ''Abdullah recites
the Qur'an fresh as it was revealed.'"</p>
<p>One scholar said that this meant that he recited the first <em>harf</em> in
which the Qur'an was revealed rather than the other seven which the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was allowed after the
Messenger of Allah, Jibril, recited the Qur'an to him in Ramadan. It is related
that Abu Æubyan said, "'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas asked me, 'Which of the
recitations do you recite?' I replied, 'The first recitation, that of Ibn
Umm 'Abd.' He told me, 'Rather it was the last. The Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to present the Qur'an to Jibril
once a year. In the year that he died, the Messenger of Allah read it to
him twice. 'Abdullah was present and knew what was abrogated and changed
in that.'" In Muslim, 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr stated that he heard the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "Take the Qur'an
from four: Ibn Umm 'Abd – and he began with him – Mu'adh ibn Jabal,
Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Salim, the client of Abu Hudhayfa."</p>
<p>These reports indicate that 'Abdullah knew all the Qur'an in the lifetime
of the Messenger of Allah, contrary to what was said, and Allah knows best.
In <em>Kitab ar-Radd</em>, al-Anbari transmitted that 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
said, "I learned 72 (or 73) <em>suras</em> from the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, and I read to him from <em>al-Baqara</em>
as far as <em>'Allah loves those who repent' </em>(2:222)." Abu Ishaq says
that he learned the rest of the Qur'an from Mujammi' ibn Jariya al-Ansari.
If this is true, the consensus which Yazid ibn Harun mentioned is true and
that is why Qadi Ibn at-Tayyib did not mention him among those who knew the
Qur'an by heart in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace. Allah knows best.</p>
<p>Part of what will indicate the soundness of Ibn Mas'ud's knowledge of the
Qur'an is that the people with the readings among the people of the Hijaz,
Syria and Iraq all traced their readings which they chose back to one of
the Companions who read it to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace. 'Asim traced his reading to 'Ali and Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn
Kathir to Ubayy as did Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala', and 'Abdullah ibn 'Amir traced
his to 'Uthman. All of them said that they had read it to the Messenger of
Allah. The isnads of these readings are continuous and the transmitters are
reliable, as al-Khattabi stated.</p>
</div>
</div>
</body>