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iris89 (no login)
Posted Mar 20, 2009 11:37 PM
Part Two of Burning of the Quran by Caliph Uthman (RA)
Aishah had a problem with domestic animals before. In another instance, in order to resolve a scandal, a slave girl, Barirah, testified (al-Tabari, p.1523), The only fault I ever found in ishah is that, when I was kneading my dough and ordered her to watch it, she fell asleep over it, and the pet sheep (or a goat) came and ate it. Its very normal for a little child; however, a goat eating the Quran is a noteworthy phenomenon that will have an enduring effect on believers of Islam.
Evidently, those two verses were very important as they spelled out the punishment for adultery, but they dont exist in todays Quran. Narrated by Ibn Abbas: Umar said, I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, 'We do not find the Verses of the Rajm (stoning to death) in the Holy Book,' and consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah has revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajm be inflicted on him who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already married and the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession. Sufyan added, I have memorized this narration in this way. Umar added, Surely Allah's Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajm, and so did we after him (Sahih Al Bukhari V8.B82.N816).
The hadith has been confirmed by al-Tabari (p.1821) and also Ibn Ishaq quoted Umar saying (1015), Part of what he sent was the passage on stoning; we read it, we were taught it, and we heeded it. However, those verses simply disappeared because of a goat. Its unknown if the goat became pregnant after eating the verse; after all, the verses talked about pregnancy from an illicit relationship. I am assuming, without quoting any Islamic resource, that this shameful behavior of a goat may have motivated Muslims to slaughter millions of goats during the Eid festival. So much for Allahs guarantee, We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption) (Q15:9).
After Muhammads death in 632 AD, Abu Bakr became the ruler of the newly born Islamic nation. According to Sahi Bukhari (V6, B61, N509), narrated by Zaid bin Thabit, he was asked by Abu Bakr to collect the Quranic verses. Umar, the next ruler in line, brought this issue to Abu Bakrs attention because many of the Qurra (those who knew the Quran by heart) were killed in the battle of Yal-mama. Apparently, Mama Allah did not want to save them and the verses they memorized. Umar was afraid of losing a large part of the Quran if more Qurra died. Zaid bin Thabit was honest about his intention; he asked Abu Bakr a valid question, "How will you do something which Allah's Apostle did not do?" Abu Bakr made a political comment, "By Allah, it is a good project." Zaid bin Thabit collected verses, as much as he could, and Abu Bakr preserved the relics until he died.
Abu Bakr ruled only for 27 months and died in 634 AD. The second Caliph Umar took over and remained in power until 644 AD, when he was assassinated in an Islamic fashion. The relics stayed with him and passed to his daughter Hafsa, instead of giving them to the third Caliph Uthman. Finally, several years after Muhammads death, Uthman compiled the Quran and burned all other scriptures that existed. Ibn Abi Dawud records, Musab ibn Sad ibn Abi Waqqas to have testified: I saw the people assemble in large number at Uthman's burning of the proscribed copies; not a one spoke out against him. Ali commented, If I were in command in place of Uthman, I would have done the same.
Burning the Quran is a serious matter. If we try to burn a Quran today, Muslims will burn half of the world. Several people were killed when news broke out that a Quran had been flushed down the toilet, which, of course, is the right place for this book anyway. Yet nothing happened to Uthman when he burned a pile of Qurans. Even the original scriptures that carried the memory of the famous prophet of Islam were burned at a later time; this should break any pious Muslims heart. However, we do learn one significant lesson. The next time you are writing a thesis, burn all references that you have used; it will make your paper more authentic and free of challenge.
There are 114 suras in the Quran and they are set in order, which cannot be changed. These suras are not in chronological order. Some verses of the same sura were placed at the beginning, but events took place at a later time after the rest of the verses of the same sura. The hodgepodge setting and continuous inconsistency of verses only give a migraine headache to a reader. Its believed that Muhammad himself put those suras in order, which is possible. The intelligence used for arrangement indicates a disorderly, crazy person.
Islamic countries have an excellent reputation for corruption that includes students cheating on an exam. Naturally, students of Madrasas are not angels; they too use a little extra help when examination time comes. There are reports of Madrasa students placing pages of the Quran in the toilet and leaving them in this unholy place after glancing at the verses that they forgot, but no Muslims complain about disrespecting the Quran.
The Quran we see today is a copy of the Uthmanic Quran. The question is: Who gave Uthman the authority to edit the Quran? Did Allah send special instructions? We dont have any record of Allahs secretary, Gabriel, whispering in Uthmans ear. Most scholars of Islam agree that Uthman had to do this special task because people differed over the Quran. How do we know if the Uthmanic Quran is the right version? Many ahadith indicate that there were suras much longer than those we have in todays Quran.
Do we even have a copy of the Uthmanic Quran?
So far two known manuscripts of the Quran exist that have the possibility of being the Uthmanic Quran. One resides in Tashkent , Uzbekistan that only contains sura 2 to 43. Another is the Topkapi Manuscript of Istanbul , Turkey . Both were written on parchment and in the Kufic script. Modern Quranic experts, including Martin Lings and Yasin Hamid Safadi, agree that the Kufic script did not appear until 790 AD and later. So, these two books have the remote possibility of being one of Uthmanic books.
According to some scholars, if the Quran had been composed in the seventh century, it should have been written in either the Mail or Mashq script. There is one Quran in the British Library in London that was written in the Mail script and it is believed to be the oldest Quran in our possession today. However, Martin Lings, a practicing Muslim and the former curator for the manuscript of the British Library, certified that the Quran in question dates back to the end of the eighth century.
Several Islamic countries claim to have the Uthmanic Quran in their possession but none of them have been verified or have been carbon dated-14, known as the AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) test. In this special type of test, a mere 0.5 to 1.0 mg of material is required and the accuracy of the test may vary only for a few years. However, the idea of having the Quran tested is an uncomfortable and embarrassing situation for the faithful (more accurately faith-fools) of Islam.
To the best of my knowledge, none of these Uthmanic Qurans have any publishing date and Muslims have not claimed any. This is not a Quranic miracle but the usual Quranic stupidity. Wouldnt it be convenient for everyone if any of these Qurans had the name of the publisher and when was it published?
Now back to the fragility of the Quran...
How should Muslims handle the Quran?
They must, before touching the Quran, do 19 sit-ups, 19 pull-ups and 19 squats, since 19 is the miraculous number of the Quran.
On a serious note, Muslims cannot touch the Quran unless they have cleansed themselves. They dont go inside of a washer and a dryer but they are required to wash their face, hands and feet, as if a surgeon is preparing for a s |
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