Now let's get down to reality On The Bible, The Quran Without Word Games:
FIRST, There exist NO original copies of the Bible, NOR of the Bible takeoff, the Qur'an.
SECOND, Today there exist over 30,000 fragments, Codex's, scrolls, manuscripts of the Bible, one of the most famous of course is the Dead Sea Scrolls and this has been rigorously compared to modern Bible translations/versions and NO substantial variations with the modern exist. Whereas, there are NO ancient fragments, Codex's, manuscripts, scrolls, etc. of the Qur'an before it was trashed by the third Caliph, Caliph Uthman. So although the present modern translations/versions can be checked for accuracy against many ancient documents; this is absolutely impossible with respect the Qur'an. Therefore, there is NO way of checking the accuracy of any translation/version of the Qur'an against any ancient copy before Caliph Uthman - thus accuracy is completely unknown.
THIRD, The only possible way of checking the accuracy of the current Qur'an against the original would be to check it against the the inspired word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, of the translation/version used by the so called Prophet Muhamad to write the Qur'an, and these still do exist.
So as can readily be seen, when a member of Islam says,
"what you are talking about these are translation of quran and there is not difference in original text."
They are NOT talking with honesty as has been clearly shown. Reality, they, Islam, do NOT have an original text so they have NO way of knowing this. Also, as previously shown, they have no ancient manuscripts or documents earlier than the third Caliph, Caliph Uthman, in the late 7 th. Century.
FOURTH, With respect to the 'play on words' it is quite clear that many in Islam do NOT really understand the significance of the word 'sect.' Now let's look at the meaning of this word instead of getting caught up into words.
SECT
[1] One Look Dictionary = noun: a subdivision of a larger religious group.
[2] Compact Oxford English Dictionary = noun a group of people with different religious beliefs (typically regarded as heretical) from those of a larger group to which they belong.
[3] Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary = noun [C] USUALLY DISAPPROVING, a religious group which has developed from a larger religion and is considered to have extreme or unusual beliefs or customs:
[4] The American Heritage(r) Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition = noun 1. A group of people forming a distinct unit within a larger group by virtue of certain refinements or distinctions of belief or practice. 2. A religious body, especially one that has separated from a larger denomination.
[5] Online Etymology Dictionary = c.1300, "distinctive system of beliefs or observances; party or school within a religion," from O.Fr. secte, from L.L. secta "religious group, sect," from L. secta "manner, mode, following, school of thought," lit. "a way, road," from fem. of sectus, variant pp. of sequi "follow," from PIE *sekw- "to follow" (see sequel). Confused in this sense with L. secta, fem. pp. of secare "to cut" (see section). Meaning "separately organized religious body" is recorded from 1577. Sectarian first recorded 1649, originally applied by Presbyterians to Independents, from M.L. sectarius, from secta.
[6] Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia = noun: (etymology) The word sect comes from the Latin secta (from sequi to follow), meaning (1) a course of action or way of life, (2) a behavioural code or founding principles, (3) a specific philosophical school or doctrine. Sectarius or sectilis also refer to a scission or cut, but this meaning is, in contrast to popular opinion, unrelated to the etymology of the word. A sectator is a loyal guide, adherent or follower.
There are several different sociological definitions and descriptions for the term.[2] Among the first to define them were Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch (1931).[2] In the church-sect typology they are described as newly formed religious groups that form to protest elements of their parent religion (generally a denomination). Their motivation tends to be situated in accusations of apostasy or heresy in the parent denomination; they are often decrying liberal trends in denominational development and advocating a return to true religion. The American sociologists Rodney Stark and William Sims Bainbridge assert that "sects claim to be authentic purged, refurbished version of the faith from which they split".[3] They further assert that sects have, in contrast to churches, a high degree of tension with the surrounding society.[4]
Sectarianism is sometimes defined in the sociology of religion as a worldview that emphasizes the unique legitimacy of believers' creed and practices and that heightens tension with the larger society by engaging in boundary-maintaining practices.[5]
A religious or political cult, by contrast, also has a high degree of tension with the surrounding society, but its beliefs are, within the context of that society, new and innovative. Whereas the cult is able to enforce its norms and ideas against members, a sect normally doesn't strictly have "members" with definite obligations, only followers, sympathisers, supporters or believers.
Mass-based socialist, social-democratic, labor and communist parties often had their historical origin in utopian sects, and also subsequently produced many sects, which split off from the mass party. In particular, the communist parties from 1919 experienced numerous splits; some of them, it is argued, were sects from their foundation.
One of the main factors that seems to produce political sects is the rigid continued adherence to a doctrine or idea after its time has passed, or after it has ceased to have clear applicability to a changing reality.
The English sociologist Roy Wallis[6] argues that a sect is characterized by "epistemological authoritarianism": sects possess some authoritative locus for the legitimate attribution of heresy. According to Wallis, "sects lay a claim to possess unique and privileged access to the truth or salvation and "their committed adherents typically regard all those outside the confines of the collectivity as 'in error'". He contrasts this with a cult that he described as characterized by "epistemological individualism" by which he means that "the cult has no clear locus of final authority beyond the individual member."[
Sects in Islam [note: they are NOT supposed to exist, but do; Islam instead calls them movements and/or schools.] Over the period of time after the death of the last Prophet of Islam, Muhammed, there have arisen distinctions by means of schools of thought, traditions, and related faiths.[1][2]
However, the central text of Islam, the Qur'an ordains that Muslims are not to be divided into divisions or sects and rather be united under a common goal of faith in one God alone - Allah[Qur'an 3:103], failure to do which has also been deemed a sin by God and thus forbidden.[6:149][6:159] The Qur'an also ordains that the followers of Islam need to "obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Prophet Muhammad)" stressing on the importance of keeping the commandments mentioned in the Qur'an by Allah, and following all the teachings of Muhammad,[4:59]; labeling everyone who concurs as a 'Muslim'[22:78] as a part of the "best of communities brought forth from mankind".[3:110]
Sunnah wa'l-Jama'h or Ahl as-Sunnah, are the largest denomination of Islam.
The word Sunni comes from the word Sunnah, which means the teachings and actions or examples of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Therefore, the term Sunni refers to those who follow or maintain the Sunnah of the prophet Muhammad. It is also found in some books that the word sunni comes from a movement "Am-ul-sunnah" started by Mu'awiya.
The Sunni believe that Muhammad did not specifically appoint a successor to lead the Muslim ummah (community) before his death, and after an initial period of confusion, a group of his most prominent companions gathered and elected Abu Bakr Siddique, Muhammad's close friend and a father-in-law, as the first Caliph of Islam. Sunni Muslims regard the first four Caliphs, Abu Bakr, `Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman Ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abu Talib as the al-Khulafa'ur-Rashidun or "Rashidun" ('The Rightly Guided Caliphs'). Sunnis also believe that the position of Caliph may be democratically chosen, but after the first four Rightly Guided Caliphs the position turned into a hereditary dynastic rule. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, there has never been another as widely recognized Caliph in the Muslim world.
Schools of Fiqh (Law)
Main article: Madh'hab
Madhhab is an Islamic term that refers to a school of thought or religious jurisprudence, or fiqh, within Sunni Islam. Each of the Sahaba had a unique school of jurisprudence, but these schools were gradually consolidated or discarded so that there are currently four recognized schools. The differences between these schools of thought manifest in minor practical differences, as most Sunni Muslims consider them all fundamentally the same. Sunnis generally do not identify themselves with a particular of the following schools of thought - simply calling themselves "Sunnis".
Hanafi
Main article: Hanafi
Founded by Imam Abu Hanifa an-Nu'man, Hanafi is considered to be the school most open to modern ideas. It is predominant among Sunni Muslims in Pakistan, northern Egypt, the Indian subcontinent, Iraq, Turkey, Balkans and in many western countries.
Maliki
Main article: Maliki
The Maliki school derives from the work of Imam Malik ibn Anas. Maliki is practiced in North and West Africa. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims.
Shafi'i
Main article: Shafi`i
Shafi`i was founded by Imam Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i, and has adherents among many high ranking Islamic scholars. It is practiced throughout the Ummah, but is most prevalent in Egypt, Somalia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines, and is the school of thought officially followed by the government of Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia. It is followed by approximately 15% of Muslims world-wide.
Hanbali
Main article: Hanbali
Hanbali is considered to be the most conservative of the four schools and the one that relies on Hadith the most. The school was started by the students of Imam Ahmad. Hanbali jurisprudence is predominant among Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula.
Schools of Aqidah (Belief)
Main article: Aqidah
Aqidah is an Islamic term meaning creed or belief. Any religious belief system, or creed, can be considered an example of aqidah. However this term has taken a significant technical usage in Muslim history and theology, denoting those matters over which Muslims hold conviction. The term is usually translated as 'theology'. Such traditions are divisions orthogonal to sectarian divisions of Islam, and a Mu'tazili may for example, belong to Jafari, Zaidi, or even a Hanafi sect/jurisprudence school, though the latter is usually a rare occurrence.
Ash'ari
Main article: Ash'ari
Ash'ari is a school of early Islamic philosophy founded in the 10th century. It was instrumental in drastically changing the direction of Islam and laid the groundwork to "shut the door of ijtihad" centuries later in the Ottoman Empire. The Asharite view was that comprehension of the unique nature and characteristics of God were beyond human capability.
Maturidi
Main article: Maturidi
A Maturidi is one who follows Abu Mansur Al Maturidi's theology, which is a close variant of the Ash'ari school. Points which differ are the nature of belief and the place of human reason. The Maturidis state that belief (iman) does not increase nor decrease but remains static; it is piety (taqwa) which increases and decreases. The Ash'aris say that belief does in fact increase and decrease. The Maturidis say that the unaided human mind is able to find out that some of the more major sins such as alcohol or murder are evil without the help of revelation. The Ash'aris say that the unaided human mind is unable to Murjite
Main article: Murji'ah
Murji'ah (Arabic ???????) is an early Islamic school, whose followers are known in English as Murjites or Murji'ites (Arabic ????????). During the early centuries of Islam, Muslim thought encountered a multitude of influences from various ethnic and philosophical groups that it absorbed. Murji'ah emerged as a theological school that was opposed to the Kharijites on questions related to early controversies regarding sin and definitions of what is a true Muslim.
They advocated the idea of "delayed judgement". Only God can judge who is a true Muslim and who is not, and no one else can judge another as an infidel (kafir). Therefore, all Muslims should consider all other Muslims as true and faithful believers, and look to Allah to judge everyone during the last judgment. This theology promoted tolerance of Umayyads and converts to Islam who appeared half-hearted in their obedience. The Murjite opinion would eventually dominate that of the Kharijites.
The Murjites exited the way of the Sunnis when they declared that no Muslim would enter the hellfire, no matter what his sins. This contradicts the traditional Sunni belief which states that some Muslims will enter the hellfire temporarily. Therefore the Murjites are classified as Ahlul Bid'ah or "People of Innovation" by the majority of other Muslims.
Mu'tazili
Main article: Mu'tazili
Mu'tazili theology originated in the 8th century in al-Basrah when Wasil ibn Ata left the teaching lessons of Hasan al-Basri after a theological dispute. He and his followers expanded on the logic and rationalism of Greek philosophy, seeking to combine them with Islamic doctrines and show that the two were inherently compatible. The Mu'tazili debated philosophical questions such as whether the Qur'an was created or eternal, whether evil was created by God, the issue of predestination versus free will, whether God's attributes in the Qur'an were to be interpreted allegorically or literally, and whether sinning believers would have eternal punishment in hell.
Athari
Main article: Athari
Athari is a school that derives its name from the Arabic word Athar, meaning "Narrations". The Athari methodology is to avoid delving into extensive theological speculation. They use the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and sayings of the Sahaba.
Zahiri
Main article: Zahiri
A school of thought which literally translates as literalist, who were regarded as heteredox among many Muslim for rejecting qiyas and arguing that Allah's attributed were to be regarded as literal.
Movements Within Sunni Islam
] Barelwi
Main article: Barelwi
The Barelwi are one of the two major divisions of the Hanafi school of law on the Indian Subcontinent. It was founded by Ahmed Raza Khan of Bareilly, Rohilkhand India (hence the term Barelvi). Barelvis are a sizable portion of the Hanafi Muslim communities in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa and the United Kingdom, besides having a presence in other places around the world.
Deobandi / Tablighi Jamaat
Main article: Tablighi Jamaat
The Deobandi is one of the two major divisions of the Hanafi school of law on the Indian Subcontinent. Deobandi are Muslims of South Asia and Afghanistan, and have more recently spread to other countries such as South Africa and the United Kingdom. Deobandis follow the fiqh of Imam Abu Hanifa and the Maturidi school of aqidah. It is a reformist movement within the Hanafi school of fiqh that advocates a return to the early days of Islam, quite like the Salafis and Ahle Hadith. The Taliban are reputed to follow the teachings of the Deoband school, although a strict and simplistic version of the school's teachings.
Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimoon
Main article: Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimoon
Translated as The Muslim Brotherhood, this organisation was founded by Egyptian Scholar Hassan al-Banna who graduated from Dar al-Ulum. With it's various branches it is the largest Sunni movement in the Arab world, with an affilaite usually being the largest opposition party in many Arab nations. The Muslim Brotherhood is not concerned with theological differences, accepting Muslims of any of the four Sunni schools of thought, it is the world's oldest and largest Islamist group. It's aims are to re-establish the Caliphate and in the mean time push for more Islamisation of society. The Brotherhood's stated goal is to instill the Qur'an and Sunnah as the "sole reference point for ... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community ... and state"
Jamaat-e-Islami
Main article: Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist political party in the Indian Subcontinent. It was founded in Lahore, India, by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi on 26 August 1941,[1] and is the oldest religious party in Pakistan & India.[1] Today sister organizations with similar objectives and ideological approaches exist in India, (Jamaat-e-Islami Hind), Bangladesh (Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh), Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, and there are "close brotherly relations" with the Islamist movements and missions "working in different continents and countries", particularly those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood or Akhwan-al-Muslimeen.[1] The JI envisions an Islamic government in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan governing by Islamic law. It opposes Westernization--including capitalism, socialism, or such practices as bank interest, and favours and Islamic economic order and Caliphate.
Wahhabism or Salafism
Main article: Wahhabism
Wahhabism was revived by the 18th century teacher Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab in the Arabian peninsula, and was instrumental in the rise of the House of Saud to power. Wahhabism is a puritanical and legalistic Islamic movement under the Sunni umbrella, and is the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia. The terms "Wahhabism" and "Salafism" are often used interchangeably. In addition to the Qur'an and hadith, and the works of earlier scholars like Ibn Taymiyya for religious guidance. They are often associated with the Hanbali madhhab, although they generally reject the following of a traditional mazhab. Salafis preach Islamic monotheism (tawhid), and claim teachings from Ibn Taymiyyah, a 14th century Syrian scholar. Salafism is in general opposed to Sufism and Shi'a Islam, which they regard as heresies. They see their role as a movement to restore Islam from what they perceive to be innovations, superstitions, deviances, heresies and idolatries.
Jamaat al-Muslimeen
Main article: Jamaat al-Muslimeen
Jamaat ul-Muslimeen is an movement in Sunni Islam revived by the Imam Syed Masood Ahmad in the 1960s.[1] Now the present leader of this group is Muhammad Ishtiaq[2]. The group's reformers were previously part of Salafism and all the followers were previously part of different Sunni and Shi'ite Denominations. After the exodus they reformed the Jamaat (community) based purely upon Islamic Principals and Laws namely Quran and the Tradition (ar. Sunnah) of Muhammad
References:
1. ^ So Many Different Groups of Muslims by Sheikh Yusuf Estes
2. ^ Why are Muslims divided into different Sects/Schools of Thought by Dr. Zakir Naik on IRF.net
3. ^ Corbin (1993), pp. 45 - 51
4. ^ Tabatabaei (1979), pp. 41-44
5. ^ Dakake (2008), pp.1 and 2
6. ^ pewforum.org
7. ^ New York Times: Religious Distribution in Lebanon
8. ^ How many Shia?
9. ^ Demographics of Kuwait
10. ^ Demographics of Turkey
11. ^ Demographics of Albania
12. ^ Discrimination towards Shia in Saudi Arabia
13. ^ Tabatabae (1979), p. 76
14. ^ The Revenge of the Shia
15. ^ Religious Minorities in the Muslim World
16. ^ A History of Islam from a Baha'i Perspective
17. ^ International Crisis Group. The Shiite Question in Saudi Arabia, Middle East Report N°45, 19 September 2005
18. ^ Alawi Islam
19. ^http://www.islamicvoice.com/september.98/features.htm
20. ^ Overview of Kharijite islam
21. ^ Trimingham (1998), p.1
22. ^ a b "Invitation to Ahmadiyyat" by Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad Part II, Argument 4, Chapter "Promised Messiah, Promised One of All Religions"
23. ^ The motto "Love for All, Hatred for None" was mentioned by Mirza Nasir Ahmad in his speech in the occasion of laying the foundation stone for the Basharat Mosque in Spain. See "Pathway to Paradise", Chapter 7
24. ^ "Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib of Qadian never claimed prophethood (in the light of his own writings)", Accusations Answered, The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement
25. ^ 9:128-129 Two False Verses Removed from the Quran
26. ^ Masjid Tucson (Mosque of Tucson)- Official Website
27. ^ Religious Dissidence and Urban Leadership: Bahais in Qajar Shiraz and Tehran, by Juan Cole, originally published in Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies 37 (1999): 123-142
[7] 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica = a body of persons holding distinctive or separate doctrines or opinions, especially in matters of religion; thus there are various sects among the Jews, [b] the Mahommedans,[/b] and the Buddhists, &c. In the Christian Church it has usually a hostile or depreciatory sense and is applied, like "sectary," to all religious bodies outside the one to which the user of the term belongs.
The latter use has been influenced by the false etymology which makes the word mean "cut off" (Lat. secare, to cut). The derivation has been long a matter of dispute. The Latin secta was used in classical Latin first of a way, a trodden or beaten path; it seems to be derived from secare, to cut, cf. the phrase secare viam, to travel, take one's way, Gr. Teµvecv bobv. From the phrase sectam sequi, to follow in the footsteps of any one, the word came to mean a party, following, faction. Another transferred sense is a manner or mode of life, so hanc sectam rationemque vitae. .. secuti sumus (Cic. Cad. 17, 40). It was also the regular word for a school of philosophy and so translates aipeacs, lit, choice (aipao-Oat, to choose), from which is derived "heresy" (q.v.). The Vulgate (N.T.) translates atpeass sometimes by secta, sometimes by haeresis. In Med. Lat., besides these uses we find secta meaning a suit at law, a suit of clothes, and a following or suite. These meanings point to the derivation of secta adopted by Skeat (Etym. Dict., 1910); which connects the word with sequi, to follow. Whichever derivation is accepted a "sect" does not mean a part "cut off" from the church.
FOURTH, So as can readily be seen, from the definitions given in THIRD above, that when members of Islam say,
"you are not right again please note that sect is not allowed in islam, what we practiced is fiq[h]."
They are just trying to mislead. Islam in actuality has many, many sects, but they call them schools or movements and not sects. Just a cursory look, however, at the meaning of 'sect' immediately shows that all members of Islam are doing is making a play on words, but this in no way changes reality.
FIFTH:
As has been shown, Islamic claims such as their present Qur'an, all present versions/translations can NOT be checked with respect conformity with the original. Why?
Simple, Islam's 'history' claims that in 30 AH, some 18 years after Muhammad's death, during Caliph 'Uthman's reign, there was much contention amongst certain followers of Islam concerning the recitation of the Qur'an [[Mention has not been made of the first collection of the Qur'an, generally said to have been made under the first Caliph Abu Bakr, passed to the second Caliph `Umar, and left at his death to his daughter Hafsah, one of Muhammad's wives. Part of the text of Bukhari, Vol. 6, #509, reads:
"Narrated Zaid bin Thabit; Abu Bakr as-Saddiq sent for me when the people of Yamama had been killed... (I went to him) and found `Umar bin Al-Khattab sitting with him. Abu Bakr then said (to me); "Umar has come to me and said; "Casualties were heavy among the Qurra of the Qur'an (i.e. those who knew the Qur'an by heart) ...and I am afraid that more heavy casualties may take place... whereby a large part of the Qur'an may be lost. Therefore I suggest, you (Abu Bakr) order that the Qur'an be collected." I said to `Umar, "How can you do something which Allah's Messenger did not do?"... "Umar kept urging me until Allah opened my chest for it and I began to realise the good idea which `Umar had realised."... "then Abu Bakr said (to me).'...So you should search for (the fragmentary scripts of) the Qur'an and collect it (in one book)."...So I started looking for the Qur'an and collecting it... Then the complete manuscripts (copy) of the Qur'an remained with Abu Bakr till he died, then with `Umar till the end of his life, and then with Hafsa, the daughter of `Umar."]].
It is recorded that he commanded copies to be made of one consonantal symbol text, and sent these to the centres of the Islamic empire with the command that all texts that varied from those copies were to be burnt. [[/ The Hizb ut-Tahrir state almost the same thing:
"Abu Bakr instructed Zaid bin Thabit to collect the Qur'an... The compiled Qur'an was kept by Abu Bakr (ra) until he died, then by Umar bin Khattab, and when he died it was given to his daughter Hafsa (ra).... During the time of Uthman (ra) differences in reading the Qur'an became obvious and after consultation with the companions, Uthman had a standard copy made for [edit.- from] the Suhuf (pages) of Abu Bakr (ra) that were with Hafsa (ra). the copy was prepared by Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah..., Said..., and Abdur-Rahman Harith bin Hisham. Copies were made and distributed, 2 of these copies can today be found in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul and in Tashkent." (What is The Qur'an?, Al Khalifah Publications)]].
"During the time of 'Uthman differences in reading the Qur'an became obvious, and after consultation with the Companions, 'Uthman had a standard copy prepared from the suhuf of Abu Bakr kept with Hafsa at that time.
The following is the report transmitted in Sahih Bukhari:
"Narrated Anas bin Malik: Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to 'Uthman at the time when the people of Sham and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Arminya and Adharbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur'an, so he said to 'Uthman, 'O chief of the Believers! Set this people right before they differ about the Book (Qur'an), as the Jews and the Christians did before'. Then 'Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, 'Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may copy the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you. Hafsah sent it to 'Uthman. 'Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah bin az-Zubair, Sa'id bin Al-'As and Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. 'Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, 'In case you disagree with Zayd bin Thabit on any point in the Qur'an, then write it in the dialect of the Quraish, as the Qur'an was revealed in their tongue'. They did so, and when they had written many copies, 'Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsah. 'Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt...."" [Reference - Sahih Bukhari, Vol.6, #510, p. 479).(Ulum, p.52f)].
SIXTH, Caliph Uthman's solution to the great diversity of early Qur'ans was Caliph Uthman came up with a "solution" with regard to these differences that rendered any future checking of corruption of the Qur'an impossible. He burnt all other copies to prevent cross checking for corruption. One Encyclopedia says, <<" There is no proof of purity - yes, the Qur'an has remained unchanged since the time of Uthman but prior to him various versions of the Qur'an existed. This is a fact.
<br>
The reason for the existence of the various versions was that Mohammed's saying were NOT written but commited to memory alone. It is only since Islamic scholars "harmonised" the various verions of the Qur'an as ordered by Uthman that the Qur'an has remained unchanged.
perhaps; but there is no shame in that. And your faith in man's ability to memorise is misplaced.
As said above - the Qur'an when commited to the memory of men was subject to change and variation. It was due to this fact that the Caliph Uthman decreed that the various records be harmonised and written. And all the prior text were destroyed by fire. So just be honest - and
If EVERY Qur'an on the earth were to be destroyed - and if the Qur'an were to be transmitted by memorisation alone - in 100 years there would be 100's, if not 1,000's, of variations in the text.
IS only one version of the Qur'an. But that fact is there WERE many versions. If there were not then the Caliph Uthman would never have gathered a council of Islamic scholars to harmonise the differing version to come up with a standard.
And the fact that it is in Arabic is neither here nor there. God can speak any language. Nothing special bout Arabic or any other language for that matter.
"Please show us the different versions you have insinuated". This is no "insinuation" but a fact that is well known to Imams and Islamic scholars. The fact of the matter is that the Caliph Uthman ordered the burning of ALL pre-existant Qur'an - an order which was carried out - again a fact know to Islamic scholars.
"I await the different versions"...... stupidity. As you very well know they were all destroyed by the command of Caliph Uthman. And what happens if a Christian or some other poor soul happens to deface or destroy the Qur'an ? they get executed!! Was Caliph Utham executed for the same? NO!! So were is Islamic justice??[Source - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]>>>.
So given this course of events, it can be seen there is no possibility that the Qur'an can be "pure." In fact many writers have presented proof with respect two missing Suras that were in the original. Let's look at some of the sources for this statement and facts on other missing items.
Muslims attack the Bible on the grounds that it sometimes has conflicting wording from different manuscripts. Yet this is exactly the case with the text of the Quran. There are many conflicting readings on the text of the Quran as Arthur Jeffery has demonstrated in his book, Material for the History of the Text of the Quran (New York, Russell F. Moore, 1952).[source - Material for the History of the Text of the Quran, by Arthur Jeffery, New York, published by Russell F. Moore, 1952].
At one point Jeffery gives 90 pages of variant readings on the text. For example, in Sura 2 there are over 140 conflicting and variant readings on the text of the Quran. ).[source - Material for the History of the Text of the Quran, by Arthur Jeffery, New York, published by Russell F. Moore, 1952].
All Western and Muslim scholars admit the presence of variant readings in the text of the Quran [Sources - Dashti, 23 Years, p. 28; Mandudi, Meaning of the Quran, pp. 17-18; McClintock and Strong, Cyclopedia, V152)].
Guillaume points out that the Quran at first "had a large number of variants, not always trifling in significance" [Source - Islam, by Professor Guillaume, p. 189].
"It is interesting to note that in scholarly Muslim journals, there is beginning to be a grudging acknowledgment of the fact that there are variant and conflicting readings on the text of the Quran" [Reference - One example would be Saleh al-Wahaihu, "A Study of Seven Quranic Variants," International Journal of Islamic and Arabic Studies, Vol. V (1989), #2, pp. 1-57)].
According to Professor Guillaume in his book, Islam, (pp. 191ff.), some of the original verses of the Quran were lost. [Source - Islam, by Professor Guillaume, pp. 191ff.]
For example, one Sura originally had 200 verses in the days of Ayesha. But by the time Uthman standardized the text of the Quran, it had only 73 verses! A total of 127 verses had been lost, and they have never been recovered.[source - The Islamic Invasion," by Dr. Robert Morey; Harvest Home Publishers, 1992. ISBN 0-89081-983-1].
The Shiite Muslims claim that Uthman left out 25 percent of the original verses in the Quran for political reasons [McClintock and Strong, Cyclopedia, V:152)].
That there are verses which got left out of Uthman's version of the Quran is universally recognized [References - Shorter Encyclopedia off Islam, pp. 278-282; Guillaume, Islam, p. 191; Wherry, A Comprehensive Commentary on the Quran, pp. 110-111)].
[Other References - John Burton's book, The Collection of the Quran, which was published by Cambridge University, documents how such verses were lost (London University Press, 1977, pp. 117ff. See also Arthur Jeffery, Islam: Muhammad and His Religion, New York; Liberal Arts Press, 1958, pp. 66-68)].
Burton states concerning the Muslim claim that the Quran is perfect:
"The Muslin accounts of the history of the Quran texts are a mass of confusion, contradiction and inconsistencies" [Source, The Collection of the Quran, by John Burton, published by Cambridge University, page. 231].
In fact Caliph Ultman had verses added to the Qur'an, let's look at that:
Not only have parts of the Quran been lost, but entire verses and chapters have been added to it.
For example, Ubai had several Suras in his manuscript of the Quran which Uthman omitted from his standardized text.
Thus there were Qurans in circulation before Uthman's text which had additional revelations from Muhammad that Uthman did not find or approve of, and thus he failed to place them in his text.
Also, there are No Originals:
As to the claim that the original manuscript of the Quran is still in existence, we have already pointed out there was no single "manuscript" of the Quran.
Caesar Farah in his book on Islam, states:
"When Muhammad died there existed no singular codex of the sacred text" [source - Caesar Farah, Islam: Beliefs and Observations, New York; Barrons, 1987, p. 28)].
"One thing only is certain and is openly recognized by tradition, namely, that there was not in existence any collection of revelations in the final form, because, as long as he was alive, new revelations were being added to the earlier ones" [source - The Shorter Encyclopedia off Islam comments: (p. 271)].
Clearly, today, no-one has any valid idea what the real original Qur'an was; whereas, there is excellent backup with respect what the original Bible was.
CONCLUSION:
Part 1, It should be readily clear to all that no-one really knows what the original Qur'an was, but with respect the inspired word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, the Bible, its accuracy is readily checkable. Now let's briefly look at the facts once more.
From earliest of times many versions, of the Qur'an, were in circulation that did NOT agree with each other. Caliph Uthman wanted to eliminate this situation, but the way he did ensured the permanent corruption of the Quran by eliminating all checks and balances. He made an "official" version, not the original, and burned all others to prevent cross checking for errors and corruption; whereas, with the inspired word of the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, and Jacob, creator of all there is, the Bible, there are over 30,000 ancient Manuscripts, Codex's, fragments, and scrolls that permit checking for errors and corruption's and which make possible the correction of any corruption.
Part 2, Many sects exist within Islam today, but many in Islam are deceptive about this and claim no sects exist. However, the truth is quite different, they just call them something different; to wit, schools or movements. Yet on examination, it can readily be seen what they call schools or movements based on each groups understanding of the 'law' (figh) is in reality NOTHING BUT A SECT.
Reply to a Nonsense Post by a Member of Islam on Another Forum
March 20 2009, 5:39 AM
Reply to one member of Islam to my article, and here it is:
You need to learn reality instead of trying to insult me by saying such things as,
need some mental treatment.
Just because I present you with facts that you do NOT like, but of course that is my job as an independent researcher to go out and dig out the facts and then present them in the most honest and balanced way possible. Now here are the facts of the rabid land stealer and corrupter of the Quran, Caliph Uthman from the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Also, your statement,
baseless and rediculas comments on quran.
As everything I said is well backed up with evidence and proof in the honest and balanced way required of good independent researchers.
Now, may I remind you that you said there were no sects in Islam, but I proved that you were not being honest in that sects definitely exist in Islam and are called schools or movements but of course what you said was just a play on words, not facts. Why? Schools or movements are just other names for sects, just as fatwa is just another name for decree. Stop trying to mislead with a play on words remember I can see right through this child-play.
<<Early life
<br>
Uthman was born in Taif, which is situated on a hill, and the presumption is that Uthman was born during the summer months, since wealthy Meccans usually spent the hot summers in the cooler climate of Taif. He was born into the wealthy Umayyad (Banu Umayya) clan of the Quraysh tribe of Mecca, seven years after Muhammad. Uthman's father, Affan, died young while traveling abroad but left a large inheritance to Uthman. Uthman followed the same profession as his father, and his business flourished, making him one of the richest men among the Qurayshi tribe.[1]
Conversion to Islam
Uthman was an early convert to Islam and is said to have spent a great deal of his wealth on charity. On returning from a business trip to Syria in 611, Uthman found out that Muhammad had declared his mission. Uthman, after a discussion with his friend Abu Bakr, decided to convert to Islam, and Abu Bakr took him to Muhammad to whom he declared his faith. Uthman thus became the third male to convert to Islam, after Ali (the first male Muslim at the age of nine) followed by Abu Bakr. His conversion to Islam angered his clan, who strongly opposed Muhammad's teachings.[2] The only two people who supported Uthman's decision were Saadi, a maternal aunt of Uthman, and Umm Kulthum, who was his stepsister and who had also converted to Islam. Because of his conversion to Islam, Uthman's wives deserted him, and he subsequently divorced them. Muhammad then asked Uthman to marry his daughter Ruqayyah bint Muhammad.
Migration to Abyssinia
Uthman and his wife Ruqayya migrated to Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia) in 614-615, along with 11 men and 11 women, all Muslims. As Uthman already had some business contacts in Abyssinia, he continued to practice his profession as a trader. He worked hard, and his business soon flourished. After two years, the news spread among the Muslims in Abyssinia that the Quraysh of Mecca had accepted Islam, and that convinced Uthman, Ruqayya, and some other Muslims to return. When they reached Mecca however, it transpired that the news about the Quraysh's acceptance of Islam was false. Some of the Muslims who had come from Abyssinia returned, but Uthman and Ruqayya decided to stay. In Mecca, Uthman had to start his business afresh, but the contacts that he had already established in Abyssinia worked in his favour, and his business prospered once again.[3]
Migration to Medina
In 622, Uthman and his wife, Ruqayya, migrated to Medina. They were amongst the third batch of Muslims who migrated to Medina. On arrival in Medina, Uthman stayed with Abu Talha ibn Thabit of the Banu Najjar. After a short while, Uthman purchased a house of his own and moved there. Being one of the richest merchants of Mecca, and having amassed a considerable fortune, Uthman did not need any financial help from his Ansari brothers, as he brought all his wealth with him to Medina. In Medina, the Muslims were generally farmers and were not very interested in trade, and thus most of the trading that took place in the town was handled by the Jews. Thus, there was considerable space for the Muslims in promoting trade and Uthman took advantage of this position, soon establishing himself as a trader in Medina. He worked hard and honestly, and his business flourished, soon becoming one of the richest men in Medina.[4].
Life in Medina
In 624, some Muslims from Medina departed to assist in the capture of a Quraysh caravan. At this time, Uthman's wife Ruqayya suffered from malaria and then caught smallpox. Uthman stayed at Medina to look after the ailing Ruqayya, and did not join those who left with Muhammad. Ruqayya died during the time the Battle of Badr was being fought, and the news of the victory of Badr reached Medina as Ruqayya was being buried. Because of the battle Muhammad could not attend the funeral of his daughter. Uthman and his men about 500 persons did not participate in the Battle of Uhud which was fought in 625. He felt uncomfortable to fight Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and other leaders whom were close relatives.
Uthman Ibn Muhab narrated that a man come people perform the Hajj to (Allah's) house. Seeing some people sitting, he said, "Who are these sitting people?" Somebody said, "They are the people of Quraish." He said, "Who is the old man?" They said, "Ibn Umar." He went to him and said, "I want to ask you about something: will you tell me about it? I ask you with the respect due to the sanctity of this (Sacred) House, do you know that Uthman Ibn Affan fled on the day of Uhud?" Ibn Umar said, " Yes." He said. "Do you know that he was absent from the Battle of the Badr and did not join it?" Ibn Umar said, "Yes." He said, "Do you know that he failed to be present at the Ridwan pledge of allegiance (i.c., pledge of allegiance at ( Hudaibiyah ) and did not witness it?" Ibn Umar replied, "Yes" He then said, "Allahu-Akbar (Allah is the Greatest)!" Ibn Umar said, "Come along: I will inform you and explain to you what you have asked. As for the flight (of Uthman) on the day of Uhud, I testify that Allah forgave him. As regards his absence from the Badr, he was married to the daughter of Allah Messenger and she was ill, so that Prophet said to him, 'You will have such reward as a man who has fought the Badr battle will get, and will also have the same share of the booty.' As for his absence form the Ridwan Pledge of allegiance, if there had been anybody more respected by the people of Mecca than Uthman Ibn Affan, The Prophet would surely have sent that man instead of Uthman. So the Prophet ( i.e., Uthman to Mecca) and the Ridwan Pledge of allegiance took place after Uthman had gone to Mecca. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) raised his right hand saying, "This is the hand of Uthman." and clapped it over his other hand and said, "This is for Uthman.' " Ibn Umar than said (to the man), "Go now, after taking this"
After the Battle of Uhud he married Muhammad's second daughter, Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad. The next year, Uthman and Ruqayyah's son, Abd-Allah ibn Uthman died. When the Battle of the Trench was fought in 627, Uthman was in charge of a sector of Medina. After the Battle of the Trench a campaign was undertaken against the Jews of Banu Qaynuqa, and when the Jews were taken captive, the question of the disposal of the slaves became a problem. Uthman solved the issue by purchasing all the slaves, and depositing their price in the Bayt al-mal (Treasury). Any of these slaves who accepted Islam were set free by Uthman in the name of Allah. Slaves were granted equality, given shelter and food under Islamic rule.
Treaty of Hudaibiyah
Main article: Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
In March of 628 (6 Hijri), Muhammad set out for Mecca to perform the ritual pilgrimage of Hajj. The Quraysh denied the Muslims entry into the city and posted themselves outside Mecca, determined to show resistance, even though the Muslims had no intention or preparation for battle. Muhammad camped outside Mecca, at Hudaybiyyah, and sent Uthman as his envoy to meet with the leaders of Quraysh and negotiate Muslim entry into the city. The Quraysh made Uthman stay longer in Mecca than he originally planned and refused to inform the Muslims of his whereabouts. This caused the Muslims to believe that Uthman had been killed by the people of Quraysh. On this occasion, Muhammad gathered his nearly 1,400 soldiers and called them to pledge to fight until death and avenge the rumoured death of Uthman, which they did by placing a hand on top of Muhammad's. It is reported that Muhammad placed one of his hands on top of the other and pledged on behalf of Uthman as well. This pledge took place under a tree and was known as the Pledge of the Tree and was successful in demonstrating to the Quraysh the determination of the Muslims. They soon released Uthman and sent down an ambassador of their own, Suhail ibn Amr to negotiate terms of a treaty that later became known as the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.
Muhammad's last years
In 629, Uthman fought in the Battle of Khaybar and later that year, he followed Muhammad to perform Umrah in Mecca. While in Mecca he visited his mother and found that his family was not as hostile to Islam as they used to be. In 630, the Quraysh broke the treaty of Hudaibiyah, and the Muslims attacked and conquered Mecca. General amnesty was granted to the people of the city, although an exception was made in the case of half a dozen people. Amongst those not granted amnesty was Abdullah ibn Saad, a foster brother of Uthman. Later, following an appeal by Abdullah's mother to Uthman, he was forgiven by Muhammad. Following the Conquest of Mecca Uthman's family converted to Islam and he rejoined his mother and siblings. Two weeks later, under the command of Muhammad, he participated in the Battle of Hunayn which was followed by the Siege of Ta'if.
To Uthman, the conquest of Mecca and Taif were of particular significance, as he had considerable property in both cities, and he could now profitably develop them. He was also able to set up sub-offices for his businesses at Mecca and Taif. Uthman's wife, and the daughter of Muhammad, Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad, died soon after the conquest of Mecca.
In 630 Muhammad decided to lead an expedition to Tabuk on the Syrian border. In order to finance the expedition Muhammad invited contributions from his followers. Uthman made the largest contribution: 1,000 dinars in cash, 1,000 camels for transport, and horses for the cavalry, which Muhammad greatly appreciated. In 631, Uthman, along with other Muslims moved, to Mecca to perform Hajj under Abu Bakr while Muhammad stayed in Medina. In Mecca, Uthman married Umm Saeed Fatima bint Al Walid b Abd Shams, a Qurayshi lady and returned to Medina with her.
In 632 Uthman, along with Muhammad, participated in the The Farewell Pilgrimage.[1] In 632 Muhammad died, and Uthman, like other Muslims, was griefstricken.
Khalifa Abu Bakr's era (632634)
Uthman had a very close relationship with Abu Bakr, as it was due to him that Uthman had converted to Islam. When Abu Bakr was elected as the Caliph, Uthman was the first person after Umar to offer his allegiance. During the Ridda wars (Wars of Apostasy), Uthman remained at Medina, acting as Abu Bakr's adviser. On his death bed, Abu Bakr dictated his will to Uthman, saying that his successor was to be Umar.[5]
Khalifa Umar's era (634644)
Uthman was the first person to offer his allegiance to Umar. During the reign of Umar, Uthman remained at Medina as his adviser, and a member of his advisory council. Umar did not allow the companions, including Uthman, to leave Medina. The reason for this was that Umar didn't wish for the companions, who were famous and respected among the Muslims, to spread and have their own followers, which would, it was felt, have resulted in unnecessary divisions in Islam.
During the reign of Umar, considerable wealth flowed into the public treasury. Uthman advised that some amount be reserved in the treasury for future needs, instead of giving all of it as stipends to the Muslims, and this was accepted by Umar. A controversy then arose about the land in conquered areas. The army was of the view that all lands in conquered territories should be distributed among the soldiers of the conquering army, but others thought that the lands should remain as the property of the original owners, and the lands without claimants should be declared as state property. Uthman supported the latter view and this view was ultimately accepted.
At the time of the conquest of Jerusalem the Christians asked that Umar come to Jerusalem to accept the surrender of the city. Uthman was of the view that it was not necessary for the Caliph of the Muslims to go to Jerusalem and that the enemy, when defeated, would surrender the city unconditionally. There was much force in Uthman's argument, but in order to win the good will of the Christians, Umar decided to go to Jerusalem to accept the surrender of the city. In the time of Umar, a severe famine broke out in the country and a large caravan belonging to Uthman that was carrying a large supply of food grains served the poor well.
Election of Uthman
Umar, on his death bed formed a committee of six people to choose the next Caliph from amongst themselves.
This committee was:
· Ali
· Uthman ibn Affan
· Abdur Rahman bin Awf
· Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas
· Al-Zubayr
· Talhah
Umar asked that, after his death, the committee reach a final decision within three days, and the next Caliph should take the oath of office on the fourth day. If Talhah joined the committee within this period, he was to take part in the deliberations, but if he did not return to Medina within this period, the other members of the committee could proceed with the decision. Abdur Rahman bin Awf withdrew his eligibility to be appointed as Caliph in order to act as a moderator and began his task by interviewing each member of the committee separately. He asked them for whom they would cast their vote. When Ali was asked, he didn't reply. When Uthman was asked, he voted for himself, Zubayr said for Ali or Uthman. and Saad said for Uthman.[5]
After Abdul Rahman consulted the other leaders of public opinion in Medina, who were in favour of Uthman, he arrived at the conclusion that the majority of the people favoured the election of Uthman. On the fourth day after the death of Umar, 11 November 644, 5 Muharram 24 Hijri, Uthman was elected as the third Caliph, with the title "Amir al-Mu'minin."
Reign as a Khalifah (644656)
On assuming office, Uthman issued a number of directives to the officials all over the dominions, ordering them to hold fast the laws made by his predecessor Umar. Uthman's realm extended in the west to Morocco, in the east to South east Pakistan, and in the north to Armenia and Azerbaijan. During his caliphate a navy was organized, administrative divisions of the state were revised, and many public projects were expanded and completed.
Uthman sent prominent sahabas ("companions of Muhammad") as his personal deputies to various provinces to scrutinize the conduct of officials and the condition of the people. In total, Uthman ruled for twelve years. The first six years were marked by internal peace and tranquillity, and he remained the most popular Caliph among the Rashidun; but during the second half of his caliphate a rebellion arose.
Uthman had the distinction of working for the expansion of Islam, and he sent the first official Muslim envoy to China in 650. The envoy, headed by Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, arrived in the Tang capital, Chang'an, in 651 via the overseas route. The Hui people generally consider this date to be the official founding of Islam in China. The Ancient Record of the Tang Dynasty recorded the historic meeting, in which the envoy greeted Emperor Gaozong of Tang and tried to convert him to Islam. Although the envoy failed to convince the Emperor to embrace Islam, the Emperor allowed him to proselytize in China and ordered the establishment of the first Chinese mosque in the capital to show his respect for the religion. Uthman also sent official Muslim envoys to Sri Lanka.
Reforms of Uthman's era
Economic reforms
Uthman was a shrewd businessman and a successful trader from his youth, which contributed a lot to the Rashidun Empire. Umar had fixed the allowance of the people and on assuming office, Uthman increased it by 25%. Umar had placed a ban on the sale of lands and the purchase of agricultural lands in conquered territories.[6] Uthman withdrew these restrictions, in view of the fact that the trade could not flourish. Uthman also permitted people to draw loans from the public treasury. Under Umar it had been laid down as a policy that the lands in conquered territories were not to be distributed among the combatants, but were to remain the property of the previous owners. The army felt dissatisfied at this decision, but Umar suppressed the opposition with a strong hand. Uthman followed the policy devised by Umar and there were more conquests, and the revenues from land increased considerably.[5] The army once again raised the demand for the distribution of the lands in conquered territories among the fighting soldiers but Uthman turned down the demand and it favoured the Dhimmis (non-Muslims in Islamic state).
The coins were of Persian origin, and had an image of the last Persian emperor, Muslim added the sentence Bismillah to it.
In 651, the first Islamic coins were struck during the caliphate of Uthman, these were the Persian dirhams that had an image of the Persian emperor Yazdgerd III with the addition of the Arabic sentence Bismillah ( ) (in the name of Allah). However the first original minting of the Islamic dirham was done in 695 during Umayyad period.
Umar, the predecessor of Uthman was very strict in the use of money from the public treasury. Apart from the meagre allowance that had been sanctioned in his favour, Umar took no money from the treasury. He did not receive any gifts, nor did he allow any of his family members to accept any gift from any quarter. During the time of Uthman there was some relaxation in such strictness. Uthman did not draw any allowance from the treasury for his personal use, nor did he receive a salary, he was a wealthy man with sufficient resources of his own, but unlike Umar, Uthman accepted gifts and allowed his family members to accept gifts from certain quarters.[1] Uthman honestly felt that he had the right to utilize the public funds according to his best judgment, and no one had the right to criticize him for that. The economic reforms introduced by Uthman had far reaching effects; Muslims as well as non-Muslims of the Rashidun Empire enjoyed an economically prosperous life during his reign.[7].
Public works
Under Uthman the people became economically more prosperous, and they invested their money in the construction of buildings. Many new and larger buildings were constructed throughout the empire. During the caliphate of Uthman as many as five thousand new mosques were constructed. Uthman enlarged, extended, and embellished the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi at Medina and the Kaaba as well. With the expansion of the army, the cantonments were extended and enlarged, more barracks were constructed for the soldiers and stables for the cavalry were extended. Uthman provided separate pastures for state camels.
During the caliphate of Uthman, guest houses were provided in main cities to provide comfort to the merchants coming from faraway places. More and more markets were constructed and Uthman appointed Market Officers to look after them. In Iraq, Egypt and Persia numerous canals were dug, which stimulated agricultural development. In the cities, particular attention was directed towards the provision of the water supply. In Medina, a number of wells were dug to provide drinking water for the people and in Mecca the water supply was also improved. Water was brought to Kufa and Basra by canals. Shuaibia was the port for Mecca but it was inconvenient, so Uthman selected Jeddah as the site of the new seaport, and a new port was built there. Uthman also reformed the police departments in cities.
Administration
In his testament, Umar had instructed his successor not to make any change in the administrative set up for one year after his death. For one year Uthman maintained the pattern of political administration as it stood under Umar, later making some amendments.
Under Umar, Egypt was divided into two provinces, Upper and Lower Egypt. Uthman made Egypt one province and created a new province for North Africa. Under Umar, Syria was divided into two provinces but Uthman made it one province. During Uthmans reign the empire was divided into twelve provinces. These were:
1. Medina
2. Mecca
3. Yemen
4. Kufa
5. Basra
6. Jazira
7. Fars
8. Azerbaijan
9. Khorasan
10. Syria
11. Egypt
12. North Africa
The provinces were further divided into districts (more than 100 districts in the empire) and each district or main city had its own Governor, Chief judge and Amil (tax collector). The governors were appointed by Uthman and every appointment was made in writing. At the time of appointment, an instrument of instructions was issued with a view to regulating the conduct of the governors. On assuming office, the governor was required to assemble the people in the main mosque, and read the instrument of instructions before them. Uthman appointed his kinsmen as governors of four provinces: Egypt, Syria, Basra and Kufa.[8] The kindest explanation for this reliance on his kin is that the Rashidun Empire had expanded so far, so fast, that it was becoming extremely difficult to govern, and that Uthman felt that he could trust his own kin not to revolt against him. However Shia Muslims did not see this as prudence; they saw it as nepotism, and an attempt to rule like a king rather than as the first among equals.
Qur'an
Uthman is perhaps best known for forming the committee which compiled the text of the Quran as it exists today. The reason was that various Muslim centres, like Kufa and Damascus, had begun to develop their own traditions for reciting and writing down the Qur'an.
This copy of the Qur'an is believed to be one of the oldest, compiled during Caliph Uthman's reign.
Uthman feared that the nascent Rashidun Empire would fall apart in religious controversy if everyone did not have access to a common text of Qur'an. Towards the end of his reign, the committee finished compiling the text, and Uthman had it copied and sent to each of the Muslim cities and garrison towns, commanding that alternate versions of the Qur'an be destroyed, and only the official version used. Uthman is said to have been reviewing a copy of the Qur'an when he was assassinated.
While Shi'a and Sunni accept the same sacred text, the Qur'an, some claim that Shi'a dispute the current version, i.e. they add two additional surahs known as al-Nurayn and al-Wilaya.[9] Nonetheless, Shi'as claim that they are falsely accused of this, as they believe, like Sunnis, that the Qur'an has never been changed and it is with reference from sunni hadeeth books that this inference is drawn not only by uninformed shias but sunnis too.[10][11]
Zayd ibn Thabit was put in charge of the operation.[6](Note that John Wansbrough and some Western historians believe that the Qur'an was completed later than Uthman's time; theirs is a minority opinion.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The third Caliph, Uthman, commissioned a committee to produce a standard copy of the text of Quran (see Origin and development of the Qur'an). Five of these original Qur'ans were sent to
It is believed that this Qur'an, present at museum in Toshkent, has the blood spots of Uthman.[citation needed]
Raising her hand to protect him she had her fingers chopped off and was pushed aside, and further blows were struck until he was dead. The slaves of Uthman then counterattacked the assassins and, in turn, killed them. There was further fighting between the rebels and the slaves of Uthman, with casualties on both sides, after which the rebels looted the house.[31]
After the assassination of Uthman, the rioters wanted to mutilate his body and were keen that he be denied burial. When some of the rioters came forward to mutilate the body of Uthman, his two widows, Nailah and Ramlah bint Sheibah, covered him, and raised loud cries which deterred the rioters.
When the women raised loud lamentations over the body of Uthman, the rebels left the house and the supporters of Uthman at gate hearing it, entered, but it was too late.[32]
Thereafter the rioters maintained a presence round the house in order to prevent the dead body from being carried to the graveyard.
The funeral
After the body of Uthman had been in the house for three days, Naila, Uthman's wife, approached some of his supporters to help in his burial, but only about a dozen people responded. These included Marwan, Zayd ibn Thabit, 'Huwatib bin Alfarah, Jabir bin Muta'am, Abu Jahm bin Hudaifa, Hakim bin Hazam and Niyar bin Mukarram.[33] The body was lifted at dusk, and because of the blockade, no coffin could be procured. The body was not washed, as Islamic teaching states that martyrs' bodies are not washed before burial. Thus Uthman was carried to the graveyard in the clothes that he was wearing at the time of his assassination.[34]
According to one account, permission was obtained from Ali to bury the body. According to another account, no permission was obtained, and the body was carried to the graveyard in secret. Yet a third account states that when the rioters came to know that the body was being carried to the graveyard they gathered to stone the funeral, but Ali forbade them to resort to any such act, and they withdrew.
Some people say that Ali attended the funeral, but there is, however, overwhelming evidence to the effect that Ali did not.[35] Naila followed the funeral with a lamp, but in order to maintain secrecy the lamp had to be extinguished. Naila
References
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2. ^ a b c Uthman bin Affan, the Third Caliph of Islam by Ahmad, Abdul Basit. (Riyadh: Dar-us-Salam Publications, 2000).
3. ^ Hazrat Usman ¨C by Rafi Ahmad Fidai, Publisher: Islamic Book Service Pages: 32
4. ^ Talhah bin 'Ubaydullah R
5. ^ a b c The Early Islamic Conquests, Fred Donner, Princeton 1981
6. ^ a b A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims on Al-Islam.org referencing Al-Fitna Al-Kubra (The Great Upheaval), published by Dar-ul-Ma'arif, Cairo, 1959, p. 47:)
7. ^ The Gold Coins of Muslim Rulers
8. ^ a b c The Cambridge History of Islam, ed. P.M. Holt, Ann K.S. Lambton, and Bernard Lewis, Cambridge, 1970
9. ^ The Shi'i Qur'an: an Examination of Western Scholarship by Jonah Winters
10. ^ Tahr¨Şf refers to tampering with the letters or words of the verses of the Holy Qur'¨˘n, changing them from the original revealed form
11. ^ Tahrif al-Qur'an
12. ^ See: History of the Prophets and Kings (Tarikh al-Tabari)
13. ^ See: Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah (Tarikh ibn Kathir)
14. ^ a b History of the Prophets and Kings (Tarikh al-Tabari) Vol. 04 The Ancient Kingdoms: pg:183
15. ^ History of the Prophets and Kings (Tarikh al-Tabari) Vol. 03 The Children of Israel. pg: 360
16. ^ Ibn Asir vol: 3 page no: 38
17. ^ Ibn Aseer vol: 3 page no: 17
18. ^ Fatu al Buldan page no:384
19. ^ Tabqat ibn Saad vol: 8 pg: 471
20. ^ Fatuh al buldan pg:386
21. ^ Tabri vol: 4 page no: 180-181
22. ^ Tarikh al Khulfa vol: 1 pg:197
23. ^ a b Sirat-i-Hazrat Usman-i-Ghani, by Mohammad Alias Aadil. Publishers: Mushtaq Ahmed Lahore
24. ^ a b Muhammad and the Conquests of Islam, Francesco Gabrieli, London 1968
25. ^ A Chronology of Islamic History, 570-1000 CE By Habibur U. Rahman. ISBN 0816190674
26. ^ Abu Nu`aym, Hilya al-AwliyaˇŻ 1:92-100 #3; al-Dhahabi, Siyar A`lam al-NubalaˇŻ 1/2: 566-614 #4.
27. ^ `Uthman ibn `Affan
28. ^ a b c The Murder of the Caliph `Uthman, M. Hinds, in International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 1972
29. ^ Al Nahaya, Volume 5 page 80 ; Qamus, page 500 "lughut Nathal" by Firozabadi ; Lisan al Arab, Volume 11 Chapter "Lughuth Nathal" page 670 ; Sharh Nahjul Balagha Ibn al Hadeed Volume 2 page 122 ; Sheikh al-Mudhira, by Mahmoud Abu Raya, p170 (foot note) ; Al-Imama wa al-Siyasa, Volume 1 page 52 ; Tarikh Mukhtasar al-Duwal, by Ibn Al-Ebrei, v1 p55 ; Al-Mahsol, by al-Razi, v4 p343 ; Ansab al-Ashraf, Volume 6 pages 192-193 ; History of Tabari [English translation] Volume 15 pages 289-239.
30. ^ The Many Faces of Faith: A Guide to World Religions and Christian Traditions By Richard R. Losch
31. ^ The Martyrdom of Uthman ibn Affan, by Shaykh Zahir. ISBN : 58
32. ^ Uthman ibn Affan
33. ^ Hazrat Usman
34. ^ `Uthman ibn `Affan: The Man With Two Lights (Part Two)
35. ^ Makers of Arab History By Philip Khuri Hitti. Publishers St. Martin's Press 1968. Original from the University of Michigan. Digitized 21 Nov 2006
36. ^ Textual Sources for the Study of Islam By Knappert, Jan, Andrew Rippin
37. ^ The Encyclopaedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged By Peter N. Stearns, William Leonard Langer
38. ^ ibn Hasham, vol:1 page 150
39. ^ The Arabs in History, p 59, Oxford University Press, 2002
Also:
ˇ¤ Levi Della Vida, G. and R.G. Khoury. "ˇ®Uthm¨ˇn b. ˇ®Aff¨ˇn." Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Eds. P.J. Bearman et al. 12 Vols. Brill, 2004. 30 October 2005
ˇ¤ Radhia Allahu Anaha (The third Caliph 644-656 C.E.) ˇ°>>>
Last, you just make unbacked up statements which is just absurdity and shows a lack of knowledge of the subject under discussion. I do not, I research the subject and make an accurate compilation.
More compiled evidence from highly reliable sources clearly showing that Caliph Uthman trashed the Qur'an and that today no-one has the original nor does anyone know what was in the original. Now let's look at some of these sources:
<<" Is the Qur'an Pure?
<br>
Why did Muhammad's close companions write unique versions of the Qur'an?
Why were these unique versions
of the Qur'an later destroyed by fire?
When Muhammad died in 632 CE, the Qur'an had not been recorded and collected into a book. Instead, Muslims memorized large portions of the Qur'an. This was especially true of people who knew Muhammad in person. The Qur'an means to recite. It is possible that some of the verses had been recorded on bones, rocks, or hides before Muhammad died. Regardless, it didn't take long for the early Muslims to decide that they needed to have the Qur'an collected into a book.
The original Qur'an was completed by 634 CE. It is important to understand that a political process is what produced the Qur'an. In 633 CE, a military battle caused 700 Muslims to be killed. A close friend of Muhammad (named Salim) that could recite a large portion of the Qur'an was killed. What would happen if all the close followers of Muhammad were killed? Early Muslims wanted to maintain the purity of the Qur'an as Muhammad had spoken it.
So the original Qur'an of 634 CE was created during the political reign of Abu Bakr. This original Qur'an came to be known as the Hafsah codex (about 10 years later when Hafsah began to maintain it). However, this most important original manuscript of the Qur'an was destroyed by Muslim leaders in 667 CE. (Hafsah was one of Muhammad's wives. She maintained the original Qur'an until her death in 667 CE. Muslim leaders wanted to destroy the original Qur'an before Hafsah died. But she refused to hand over the codex for burning. She was successful until her death [Refer to Al-Masahif 24] It is most important to ask, "Why did Hafsah not wish to have this most important original manuscript of the Qur'an to be burnt?").
Based on Muslim sources alone, it appears that the Hafsah codex was one of the last Qur'ans to be willingly destroyed by Muslims. Since the original Qur'an was not accepted, what happened to cause such a drastic change that required the original Qur'an to be destroyed? Why wasn't the Hafsah codex maintained since it was created (in 634 CE) within two years after Muhammad died (in 632 CE)?
To begin, an excellent procedure was in place during the collection of the original Qur'an. Abu Bakr ordered that the Qur'an could only include words that were vouched for by the testimony of two men. The earliest version of the Qur'an would have been most fresh in the minds of Muhammad's followers in 634 CE. Is it any wonder why Hafsah refused to release the original manuscript?
The history of how the Qur'an came to be recorded comes from reliable Muslim source materials. These are called the Hadith. Problems for the Qur'an began to occur during the reign of the 3rd political leader of Islam, whose name is Uthman (644 TO 656 CE). It appears that as the Islamic faith spread with military conquest across a large area, the soldiers were reading different versions of the Qur'an. These men wondered, "Is the Qur'an truly as pure as those close to Muhammad believed and taught?"
The 2nd most trusted Hadith is called Sahih Bukhari. In Volume 6, Book 61, Number 510, the story about Muslim soldiers arguing about different versions of the Qur'an reads as follows: [Search on the referenced site to find the number "510" if you want to verify the written literature].
"Hudhaifa was afraid of the different recitations of the Qur'an, so he asked 'Uthman, "O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Qur'an as Jews and the Christians did before."
In response to the request, the Caliph Uthman sent a message to Hafsah since she had the most important original manuscript sheets collected about 634 CE. We find written:
"Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you." Hafsah sent copies to Uthman.
Caliph Uthman had men who knew the Qur'an to assemble it again. We find written:
Uthman then ordered four men to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. After this had been done, the Hafsah codex was returned to her. "Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsah."
Having obtained this new version, Uthman ordered all other Qur'ans to be destroyed by fire. We find written:
Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt.
This means that drastic changes occurred. After all, "Why were the other copies and fragments ordered to be burnt?" The answer is found in the original statement: "Hudhaifa was afraid of the different recitations of the Qur'an"
Hudhaifa did not want different versions of the Qur'an. To Hudhaifa, unity of the Qur'an meant unity of all Muslims. If Muslims troops were not united, Islam would crumble.
Since all other copies of the Qur'an were ordered to be burned, what was wrong with them? Is the Qur'an pure as believed by modern day Muslims? Since the decision to burn all other Qur'ans was politically motivated, the Qur'an of today reflects the political whims of early Muslim political leaders, not the prophet Muhammad. Questions like this will never be answered. But it is certain that the Qur'an of today is not the original Qur'an recorded only 2 years after Muhammad died. It is certain that the Hafsah codex would have been the most accurate and original Qur'an of all time. But Muslim political leaders made sure that it was destroyed. So what actually happened in the early years of Islam?
Evidence of Multiple Qur'anic Versions
Muslim source materials report that at least four different versions of the Qur'an existed before the political order was given to have them burned. (Refer to "Al-Tamhid 2, 247).
The four versions were written by people who knew Muhammad in person. Each person created their unique version of the Qur'an. Based on Muslims sources, the differences were serious enough to cause Muslims to be divided. The Islamic source "K. al Masahif" reports differences so serious as to cause one Muslim group to call another group heretics:
During the reign of `Uthman, teachers were teaching this or that reading to their students. When the students met and disagreed about the reading, they reported the differences to their teachings. They would defend their readings, condemning the others as heretical.'[Abu Bakr `Abdullah b. abi Da'ud, "K. al Masahif]
So a political decision was made to have only one Qur'an. This did not go over well with the original people who created their unique version of the Qur'an. Who were these chosen people?
Muslim source materials reveal some of these select people who are known to have created their unique version of the Qur'an. (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 58, Number 150). [Search on the referenced site to find the number "150" if you want to verify the written literature].
I heard the Prophet saying, "Learn the recitation of Qur'an from four persons: (1)Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, (2)Salim (who was killed in the 633 CE battle), the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa, (3)Ubayy B. Ka'ab and (4)Muadh bin Jabal."
So a few select people close to Muhammad thought they knew the Qur'an and collected their personal version. These versions of the Qur'an became widely distributed and used. This is why Muslim soldiers were arguing and calling one another heretics.
After the "official" Qur'an was released and the order was given to burn all other versions, some very bad feelings came out. The following information from Muslim sources is probably the most important information you can learn about people who actually knew Muhammad in person. Let's begin with Mas'ud, who was asked to burn his personal version of the Qur'an.
"How can you order me to recite the reading of Zaid, when I recited from the very mouth of the Prophet some seventy Surahs?" "Am I," asks Abdullah, "to abandon what I acquired from the very lips of the Prophet?" (Masahif" by Ibn abi Dawood, 824-897 AD, pp. 12, 14).
Would Mas'ud accept the Qur'an of today as being pure since he refused to destroy his unique version? Since Mas'ud did not want to have his unique version of the Qur'an destroyed, it is doubtful that Mas'ud would honestly answer that the Qur'an is pure. It is important to ask, "Why did Mas'ud refuse to give in and destroy his version of the Qur'an?"
Mas'ud was a close companion and personal servant of Muhammad. The prophet Muhammad taught the Qur'an to Mas'ud in person. Due to his close relationship with Muhammad, Mas'ud would have had confidence that he was qualified to create his unique version of the Qur'an.
Mas'ud, moved to Kufa, Iraq where he completed his unique version of the Qur'an (commonly called the Kufan Codex). The unique Qur'an created by Mas'ud was completed years after the most important original manuscript (634 CE) that Hafsah kept until she died in 667 CE. In addition, the Qur'an version created by Mas'ud did not have chapters 1, 113, and 114 that are in the "official" Qur'an of today. Is the Qur'an truly pure as believed by Muslims today?
Another unique Qur'an was created by Ubayy B. Ka'ab. He was a close companion of Muhammad and served as a secretary to Muhammad. Ubayy could recite much of the Qur'an, which he had learned from the prophet Muhammad. Scholars have found that Ubayy's version differed from the "official" Qur'an with two additional chapters (entitled: Surat Al-Khal and Surat Al-Afd). Since Ubayy was taught the Qur'an by the prophet Muhammad, why doesn't the "official" Qur'an contain the two additional chapters?
Ubayy died during the reign of Umar, which was before the "official" Qur'an was created by Uthman. Therefore, Ubayy did not have to witness that his version of the Qur'an was burned by Uthman's order. Since Ubayy created a unique version of the Qur'an and had learned from the mouth of the prophet Muhammad, would he have agreed with Mas'ud by refusing to give in and destroy his version of the Qur'an?"
Due to Uthman's decision to create an "official" version of the Qur'an, Ubayy's version of the Qur'an was destroyed. It is important to ask, "Is the Qur'an pure?"
Now consider the original Qur'an called the Hafsah Codex. It was destroyed by Muslims leaders immediately after Hafsah died. It is most important to ask, "Why did Hafsah not wish to have this most important original manuscript of the Qur'an to be burnt?"
The "official" Qur'an version of today comes from Zaid ibn Thabit, who was the youngest writing member. Zaid, being very young, outlived the older people who had spent more time with Muhammad. However, in the end it was Zaid's version of the Qur'an that was selected by Uthman for the "official" Qur'an version.
Muslims who had been close to Muhammad became righteously angry when Uthman insisted that only one version of the Qur'an be used. Islamic sources show that the purity of the Qur'an from the days of Muhammad appears to have been compromised. If no variants existed, then no burning party would have been held.
Muslims believe that seven versions of the Qur'an exist but that only Uthman's Qur'an is correct. So Muslims disregard the "official" book burning party cited in Muslim source materials. However, it takes "blind faith" to believe and accept this viewpoint.
If Muhammad could consistently foretell the future, then the Qur'an could be regarded as coming from God. However, this has not been demonstrated. The politically motivated book burning party of early Muslim leaders confirms the Qur'an is from a false Gabriel.
The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that the book of Daniel has not been changed. Let's move forward to address other Muslim misgivings about the Christian faith. Muslims believe that the Bible foretold of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.
[SOURCE - Is the Qur'an Pure?
Why did Muhammad's close companions write unique versions of the Qur'an?, http://www.harvardhouse.com/quran_purity.htm ]>>>.
And,
<<" Uzza's Quran Notes
<br>
Muslim Mobs Burn Quran
Fate of Prophet's (pbuh) original text remains unknown
Breaking News
Posted: 653 AD
Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Sources in Arabia report Muslim mobs have destroyed copies of the Holy Quran in book-burnings held at cities throughout Arabia and the Muslim world.
Instigated by a fatwa of the Caliph Uthman that proscribes any unauthorized copy of Islam's Holy Book following a newly completed rescension, all existing older copies of the Quran have been rounded up and consigned to the flames.
According to noted Islamic scholar Muhammad ibn Bahadur Zarkashi "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."
Ali was a companion of the Prophet (pbuh) himself, during his lifetime and clearly approved the actions taken by Caliph Uthman. During Uthman's rule Islam had spread to many areas where the Muslims were not Arabs and couldn't read Arabic properly, so many variant readings sprung out. To correct this Uthman appointed a committee of scribes to produce a standardized version of the Qur'an, which was sent to each city under Muslim rule. All older copies were to be collected and burned.
Even though Arabia is one of several countries where desecrating the the Quran may be punishable by death, officials have shown little interest in this case. No arrests were made, and no official investigation has been undertaken to date.
As told by Wikipedia, most schools of Islamic law dictate that a Muslim may not touch the Qur'an, which is regarded as the literal word of God, unless he or she is in a state of ritual purity (wudu). Muslims must always treat the book with reverence, and are forbidden, for instance, to pulp, recycle, or simply discard worn-out copies of the text. Intentionally insulting the Qur'an is regarded as a form of blasphemy, and has led to rioting.
As of this writing the fate of the original copy of the Holy Quran, compiled by the Messenger Himself (pbuh) remains uncertain. The hadith make it clear that the Qur'an was available in written form from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), reports Sahih Al-Bukhari, our most reliable source. He tells us,
"Narrated Qatadah: I asked Anas Ibn Malik: 'Who collected the Qur'an at the time of Prophet?' He replied: 'Four, all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubay Ibn Ka'ab, Mu'adh Ibn Jabal, Zayd Ibn Thabit and Abu Zayd.'"
This first Quran was allegedly in the possession of Hafsa bint Umar, a daughter of Umar and one of Muhammad's widows, and was thrown into the fires and burnt with the other old copies. The loss of this original manuscript, reputed to be the literal word of God, would arguably be a great loss to historians.
Skeptics, who asked to remain anonymous, dismissed Uthman's latest move as political grandstanding designed to gain support for his illegitimate Caliphate and distract attention from the War in Baluchistan. [source - Uzza's Quran Notes , http://uzzas.blogspot.com/2008/10/muslim-mobs-burn-quran_06.html ]>>>.
And,
<<"Changes in the Qur'an
<br>
December 2004 version
Both Muslims and non-Muslims who really want to follow the true God can agree: it is vitally important to know whether the Qur'an (or Koran) is a book from God or not. If you have ever prayed, studied, or just wondered whether it is or not, then this tract is for you.
Questions for Seekers of Truth
How can a real seeker of truth know which religion to follow? Rather than blindly following any tradition, one should "test all things, and hold fast to what is good." Until you strike a piece of metal, you cannot tell how hard it is. This discussion is not intended to offend, but something must be questioned before you can believe it intellectually.
How the Qur'an was Written Down
When Mohammed had a vision, the Bukhari Hadiths record that strange things would happen. He experienced a ringing in his ears vol.1:1;4:438, his heart beat rapidly vol.1:3, his face would turn red vol. 2 ch.16 (after no.610); vol.5:618; he breathed heavily vol.6:508 p.476, he fell on the ground with both eyes open toward the sky vol.5:170;6:448, he sweat profusely vol.1:2;2:544;3:829, and see and hear things no one else did vol.1:2,3 vol.4:458,461; vol.6:447. These would seem weird back then, but doctors recognize these as signs of an epileptic fit.
Since the fits were unpredictable, after Mohammed's death fragments of the Qur'an were written on palm leaves, rocks, and bones according to the Bukhari vol.6:509 p.478. Thus there was no organized manuscript of the Qur'an prior to his death. Some verses did not survive according to the Bukhari vol.4:57,62,69,299. Many who had memorized the Qur'an were killed, and Abu Bakr was worried that some parts of the Qur'an would be lost. Bukhari vol.6:509 p.477-478. After the Qur'an was gathered, it still needed "compiling" years later.
Abrogated Verses in Mohammed's Lifetime
"Then Allah revealed to us a verse that was among the cancelled ones later on." Bukhari vol.5 book 59 no.416 p.288.
"Narrated Anas bin Malik: ... There was revealed about those who were killed at Bi'r-Ma'una a Qur'anic Verse we used to recite, but it was cancelled later on. The verse was: 'Inform our people that we have met our Lord. He is pleased with us and He has made us pleased.'" Bukhari vol.4:69 p.53. See also the History of al-Tabari vol.7 p.156.
Other references to cancelled verses are: Bukhari vol.4:57 p.45, Bukhari vol.4:299 p.191, and Bukhari vol.5 book 59 no.421 p.293 all repeat the same thing about the same verse.
The Satanic Verses of the Qur'an
This term has been used for some time to describe two verses of Mohammed that were "abrogated" or taken out.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, Allah was a god with three daughters, al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat.
Sura 53:19-20 "Have ye thought upon al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?"
-originally followed by
"These are the exalted cranes (intermediaries) Whose intercession is to be hoped for."
vs.
"Are yours the males and His the females? That indeed were an unfair division."
At one time Mohammed compromised and said concerning the daughters of Allah in Sura 53:19 that "their intercession was to be hoped for." In other words, Mohammed said we should hope for the help of these three idols. Mohammed's followers were amazed that he said this. Mohammed later changed and said Satan had deceived him. These verses were abrogated or taken out.
It is interesting to read how Allah could have what are called "abrogated verses" in Suras 13:39; 16:101; 2:106.
Evidence of the Satanic Verses
Four different Muslim early Muslim biographers of Mohammed wrote about the Satanic verses:
1. Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (died 923 A.D.) was one of Islam's foremost scholars. He wrote a Commentary on the Qur'an as well as a 38-volume work on the history of Islam.
2. Al-Wahidi/Wakidi (died 823 A.D.) wrote Asbab al-Nozul. He wrote 15-volumes.
3. Ibn Sa'd/Sa'ad (died 845 A.D.), who was aware of al-Wahidi's work.
4. Ibn Isaq/Ishaq (767 or 773 A.D.), wrote Sirat Rasulallah (The Life of Allah's Prophet).
We also have the following inferences from the Qur'an and Bukhari Hadiths:
The temptations of Satan's interjections - Sura 53:19-26; 17:73-75
Bukhari (died 870 A.D.) vol.6:385 - pagans as well as Muslims bowed.
For more info on this issue see the paper on The Daughters of Allah, www.answering-islam.org/Qur'an/miracle/satanicverses.htm and www.answering-islam.org/Responses/ Saifullah/sverses.htm.
Sura 22:52: "Never did We send An apostle or a prophet Before thee, but, when he Framed a desire, Satan Threw some (vanity) Into his desire: but God Will cancel anything (vain) That Satan throws in, And God will confirm (And establish) His Signs;..."
On the Other Hand...
The meaning of the new verses is that the people being "unfair", for saying that Allah only had less-desirable daughters (and no sons), when they had sons. Remember, this is supposed to be a timeless book, written on a tablet [in Heaven]. Sura 85:20-22.
Changes After Mohammed
Bukhari Hadiths saying parts of the Qur'an were missing and/or abrogated are vol.4:57,62, 69,229; vol.6:510,511 p.479-480.
[b]Since there were various versions of the Qur'an, some with two more Suras than other versions, the Caliph 'Uthman ordered everyone to turn in their Qur'an, and he would issue a "standardized" version.[/b] This is the subject of the next paper though.
Transmitted Reliability of the Bible
So to compare the record of the Qur'an and the Bible we see some similarities and contrasts. Christians say that though people have made corrupt translations of the Bible, the true Bible meaning has have always been available, and it has been preserved reliably with no significant errors. If someone did hypothetically corrupt all Bibles in Middle Ages, we could simply change it back. We know the original words because of the following reasons.
1. We have manuscripts of the New Testament dated c.127 A.D, c.150 A.D., and c.200 A.D., as well as recently released copies with the Dead Sea Scrolls dated before 100 A.D.
2. We have 10,000 other manuscripts of the New Testament to compare. Scribal errors did occur, but with 10,000 manuscripts, we can track these errors. The evidence would be weaker, not stronger, if there had been a "Christian 'Uthman" to burn them.
3. The early church writers (from 97/98 A.D. to 325 A.D.) referred to every single verse in the New Testament except around 17.
4. We have copies of the Greek translation of the Old Testament, Dead Sea Scrolls of almost all of the Old Testament dated at the time of Christ, and Christ's use of Old Testament quotes.
5. We have God's promise that He will watch over and preserve His word, and that He will not let His followers be led astray. -Isa 55:10-11; 59:21; 1 Peter 1:24-25, Mt 24:35
6. Christian scholars are very keen to examine all the evidence and be as precise as possible in what the original wording was.
Christians and all seekers of truth should welcome questioning the reliability of today's Bible. But rather than asking, "what is its reliability", one should also ask "what its reliability is being compared to."
'Umar "stabilized" the Qur'an in 644 A.D. al-Tabari vol.39 p.22-23
Qur'an's Transmitted Reliability
Most Muslims believe the Qur'an is an exact copy of a tablet of the Qur'an [in Heaven] in Sura 85:20-22. But consider the following points.
1. It is strange that even in the temporary verses in the Qur'an that Muslims agree Mohammed said were abrogated, are stored for all time in Heaven. They are still in the Qur'an today.
2. Many Muslims are not aware that the Sahih Muslim Hadiths record an extra Sura that is not in the Qur'an today. Muslim apologists claim this too was abrogated, but it is not in today's Qur'an.
3. 'Ubai's early copies of the Qur'an did not contain two Suras that are in the Qur'an today.
4. 'Abdallah ibn Mas'ud was one of the four people Mohammed said to learn the Qur'an from. Yet Al-Nuri lists verses in Ibn Mas'ud's version that are not in the Qur'an today.
5. Satan always throws something in with a prophet's words according to Sura 22:52, but God has to cancel it out. This might be an explanation for why four different Muslim historical sources report that Sura 53:19-20 originally said the intercession (help) of four idol goddesses was to be hoped for.
6. 'Uthman also made changes to standardize the Qur'an, but that is the topic of the next part.
'Uthman, Editor of God?
When the Watergate Scandal hit America, the guilty people were not only the ones who stole the Watergate documents, but also the ones who covered it up. While the previous tract discussed many changes in the Qur'an, this tract discusses not just changes but also the cover-up by the Caliph 'Uthman. He threatened anyone with death if they did not turn in their Qur'an to him, so that he could burn them and re-issue new Qur'ans. Fortunately some early copies were not turned in, and we can see some of the changes that were made.
In Bukhari vol.6:525,526 Qatada and Anas relate that in the time of the prophet [i.e. before 'Uthman's rule], four people "collected" the Qur'an: Ubai, Mu'adh, Zaid bin Thabit, and Abu Zaid.
In Bukhari vol.1 chapter 8 p.56: "Anas says that Uthman got the Qur'an compiled and sent a few of its copies to far off places". Bukhari vol.4:709 p.466 says, "'Uthman called Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Sa'id bin Al-'As, and 'Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Harith bin Hisham and then they wrote the manuscripts of the Holy Qur'an in the form of a book in several copies".
The Qur'an used to have many different readings, but 'Uthman got rid of all but one. al-Tabari vol.15 p.156
Muslims claim that God's Word, the Qur'an, will never be corrupted. Be that as it may, apparently some years after Mohammed's death, the Qur'an needed standardizing, since Caliph 'Uthman standardized the Qur'an way after Mohammed's death. Apparently in order that nobody could second-guess his editing, he burned almost all copies besides his standard ones. (Bukhari vol.6:510 p.479) For example, Ubai had several Suras in his Qur'an that 'Uthman omitted from the standardized text, and thus Muslims do not read today. The Meccan Abdollah Sarh, who once made suggestions to Mohammed, and later renounced Islam, was killed. Presumably he knew too much about how Mohammed changed the Qur'an. However, a few very interesting variant copies did survive and are now in the Azhyar Library in Cairo.
The 8th sura (al-Anfal) may have originally included the 9th sura (al-Tawbah). al-Tabari vol.11 p.94 footnote 525
A Need for Standardizing ???
Now if the Bukhari Hadiths vol.1:62, vol.4:709, and vol.6:510 are reliable at all, one has to ask why this occurred; Muslims typically do not go around destroying copies of the Qur'an.
? Why did 'Uthman have to burn other copies, unless the other copies were different?
? Why did 'Uthman need to standardize the Qur'an, unless it needed standardizing?
? Why did 'Uthman threaten death to make Muslims use the "Uthmanized" Qur'an?
? Why did some Muslims reject 'Uthman's text in favor of their own text of the Qur'an?
There is a simple answer to these questions. 'Uthman had to edit The Qur'an because there was not just one text.
1. In contrast to this, 'Uthman destroyed all but a few of the early Qur'an manuscripts, so "his tracks are covered."
2. His tracks are not completely covered because of the manuscripts of Ubai and others. (See Bukhari vol.6:527 p.489 for Ubai being the best at reciting the Qur'an, yet they leave some of what he recites.)
3. His tracks are not completely covered because of the words of 'Aisha and some Shi'ite Muslims.
4. Many Sunni Muslims have never thought to ask, "is the Qur'an they have the same as the original Qur'an?"
Some Shi'ite Muslims give an additional reason though. They say 'Uthman left out 25% of the original verses for political reasons. See McClintock and Strong Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature 5:152. This is interesting, because most Sunnis still accept Shi'ites as Muslims.
According to Mohammed's wife 'Aisha, one Sura had 200 verses. By 'Uthman's time, it only had 73. One can read this in the book Islam p.191ff by the skeptic Guillaume.
Finally, the Qur'an Sunni Muslims use today is based on the Ibn Masud Codex, which is NOT identical with 'Uthman's work. According to Geisler and Saleeb: Answering Islam p.192 there are 150 differences in Sura 2 alone, including complete sentences!
Even today, there are differences in Arabic versions of the Qur'an. For example, in Answering Islam p.193 point out some Arabic discrepancies: Sura 28:48 [sahirani/sihrani], Sura 32:6 [ummahatuhum/ummahatuhum wa hyua abun lahum] Sura 34:18 [rabbana ba'id/rabuna ba'ada], Sura 38:22 [tis'un/tis'atun]. Sura 19:35 [tantaruna/yamtaruna]. See W. St. Clair-Tisdell A Manual of the Leading Muhammedan Objections to Christianity (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1904 p.60.). There are also significant differences between the 'Uthman's Qur'an and the Qur'an used today. Why the changes, and when will they change it back?
It is fine for a Muslim to question the transmitted reliability of the Bible. But if we are going to compare the reliability of the Bible to the Qur'an, we have to look at the issues of the reliability of the Qur'an, too.
Evidence from Abu Dawud
"Yazid al-Farisi said: I heard Ibn 'Abbas say: I asked 'Uthman b. 'Affan: What moved you to put the (Surah) al-Bara'ah which belongs to the mi'in (surahs) (containing one hundred verses) and the (Surah) al-Anfal which belongs to the mathani (Surahs) in the category of al-Sab'u al-tiwal (the first long surahs or chapters of the Qur'an), and you did not write "In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful" between them? 'Uthman replied : When the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet (may peace be upon him), he called someone to write them for him and said to him : Put this verse in the surah in which such-and-such has been mentioned; and when one or two verses were revealed, he used to say similarly. ... Hence I put them in the category of al-sab'u al-tiwal (the seven lengthy suras), and I did not write 'In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful' between them." Abu Dawud vol.1:785 p.202
The Changes in the Qur'an
Have you ever though to ask, "Is the Qur'an today the same as the original Qur'an?"
Any Corruption of God's Word Prior to the Qur'an?
Abrogated Verses in Mohammed's Lifetime
Changes After Mohammed
'Uthman, Editor of God
The Qur'an Today
The Reliability of the Old Testament
The Reliability of the New Testament
God's Word Prior to the Qur'an?
Allah claimed to be the same God as Christians and Jews (do not dispute except in the best way) - Sura 29:46
Jews and Christians were to make God's word known to all mankind -Sura 3:187
Do not selectively believe in only some of God's messengers -Sura 4:150-151
Mohammed alleged the Qur'an confirmed what they already had. -Sura 4:47
God promised His word would not depart from the mouths of the Jews in Isaiah 59:21
Sura 29:46 "Dispute ye not with the people of the book, except in the best way, unless it be with those of them who do wrong but say, 'We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; our God is your God is One; and it is to Him we submit (in Islam)."
"And remember Allah took a Covenant from the people of the book, to make it known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it; but they threw it away behind their backs, and purchased with it some miserable gain! And vile was the bargain they made!" in Sura 3:187. While this Sura criticizes some who were called people of the book, it does not in any way criticize the book God gave to mankind.
Sura 4:150-151 "Those who deny Allah and his messengers, and wish to separate between Allah and his messengers, Saying: 'We believe in some but reject others': and wish to take a course midway, (151) They are in truth unbelievers;..."
"O ye People of the Book! Believe in what We have (now) revealed, confirming what was already with you, before We change the face and fame of some (of you) beyond all recognition,..." Sura 4:47.
Isaiah 59:21
"'As for me, this is my covenant with them' says the LORD. 'My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,' says the LORD." (NIV)
Sura 5:46 - A Remarkable Verse in the Qur'an
"And in their [the prophets'] footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Torah that had come before him: we sent him the gospel; therein was guidance and light. And confirmation of the Torah that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah"
Now this verse of the Qur'an is quite remarkable. If God sent Jesus to confirm the Torah (first five books of the Bible's Old Testament), then at least in Jesus' time, the Torah that people could read and Jesus could confirm was the same Torah God sent.
Sura 5:47 goes on to say "Let the People of the Gospel Judge by what Allah hath revealed Therein...." If the People of the Gospel are to judge by what God has revealed in the Gospel, then how can the Gospel they are to judge by not be the Gospel God told them to judge by?
Sura 5:48 says, "To thee (People of the Book) We sent the scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the truth that hath come to thee...."
Since God had the power to give His word, God had the power to guard His word in safety. Do you agree?" [source - Changes in the Qur'an, http://www.muslimhope.com/ChangesInTheQuran.htm ]>>>.
And,
<<" Quran is not the Word of God. Why?
<br>
K.G. Paul MD
When I was in medical school once I had a conversation with our professor of human physiology, who is a Muslim. At one point of our talk he looked at me and said, 'you know, your Bible changed a lot since it was written. But Quran, since it was penned has not undergone even a single change even to the last dot and last letter.' Over the years many Muslims I came across made the same assertion that their book is superior to the Bible because it has been perfectly preserved by God from the time of Muhammad to the present. Muslims believe that early Islamic community wrote the Quran as soon as Angel Gabriel delivered the message to Muhammad. They believe the quran we have today is an exact copy of the quran penned in the lifetime of Muhammad. But my own research showed that is not true.
What happened during Muhammad's life time?
Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca in 570 AD and died in the city of Medina in the year 632 AD. Muslims believe that he received revelations from 610 AD to 632 AD, lasting about 23 years. Since he could neither read nor write, he recited his message to his companions.
After Muhammad's death, several of his companions wrote down their collections of the revelations. Of these four companions made their own versions of Quran: Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, Ubayy Ibn Kab, Abu Musa and Zayd Ibn Thabit. In this article we refer to three of them.
Ibn Masud:
Abdullah Ibn Masud followed Muhammad for all the twelve years of his mission in Mecca and then for ten years in Medina until the death of Muhammad. He participated in both the Battles of Badr and Uhud with Muhammad. As a passing thought of contrast between Islam and Christianity, Jesus's disciples are known to follow their Master as he went around Galilee to teach the Word of God to people while Muhammad's companions are known to follow their master in wars and battles as he went around fighting infidels in Mecca and Medina!
Ibn Masud claimed to have learned 70 surahs directly from Muhammad. Bukhari 6:61:521 informs that Muhammad told other people to learn Quran from him and three others. Ibn Ishaq, the biographer of Muhammad tells us in his book Sirat Rasulullah, p. 141 that Ibn Masud was "the first man to speak the Quran loudly in Mecca after the apostle". After the death of Muhammad, Masud wrote down his codex of Quran. The Muslims at Kufa, Iraq immediately accepted his codex as the standard text of Quran. They had no idea that the Quran in their hands would not last even for a few more years.
Ubayy ibn Ka'b
Ubayy ibn Kab was another companion known for his marvelous recitation of Quran In fact he was called the 'Master Reciter'. He served as a secretary for Muhammad. Sahih-al-Bukhari, Vol.5, p.96 tells us that he was one of the four people who were highly esteemed by Muhammad as the best teachers of Quran.
Narrated Masruq: Abdullah bin Mas'ud was mentioned before Abdullah bin Amr who said, "That is a man I still love, as I heard the Prophet (saw) saying, 'Learn the recitation of the Qur'an from four: from Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa, Mu'adh bin Jabal and Ubai bin Ka'b". (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 5, p.96)
Like Masud, Ubbay Bin Kab also collected his memorization of the Muhammad's revelations into a separate copy of Quran and distributed to Muslims in Syria, who accepted it as the standard text of Quran.
Thus, Qurans written separately by Ibn Masud and Ubbay Bin Kab were accepted as the standard texts of Quran by people at Kufa and Syria within a few years after Muhammad's death.
Zayd ibn Thabit
Zayd Ibn Thabit developed a liking for war on infidels when he was as young as 13 years old to participate in the Battle of Badr. Muhammad granted him permission to fight when he was 19 years old.
After the death of Muhammad in the year 632 AD, he was succeeded by Abu Bakr. Following the footsteps of Muhammad in the year 633 AD Abu Bakr led Muslims in the Battle of Yamama. Muslims lost this war and it was feared that part of the revelations might be lost. Therefore, Abu Bakr asked Zayd Ibn Thabit to collect the material of the revelations and compile the Quran.
Bukhari 6:60:201 informs us how Zayd Ibn Thabit reacted to this request:
"...By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Quran. I said to both of them, 'How dare you do what the prophet has not done?' Abu Bakr said, 'By Allah, it's a good thing'... So I started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men. I found with Khuzaima two verses of Surah Tauba which I had not found with anybody else (and they were):--
"Verily there has come to you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty He (Muhammad) is ardently anxious over you (to be rightly guided)"
(9:128) Bukhari 6:60:201
Above passage makes it clear that, unlike Masud and Ubbay Bin Kab who made their Qurans from their memory, Zayd depended upon parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of other men. These disparate materials were susceptible to loss. Ali Dashti, a devout Muslim and an Iranian statesman, said animals sometimes ate mats or the palm leaves on which Suras were written. Thus, Zayd created his own version of Quran based on the material available to him.
Uthman:
After Muhammad's death in 632 AD, Islam was led by three caliphs successively by Abu Bakr (632-634), Umar (634-644) and Uthman (644-656). In 653 AD Uthman, the third caliph ordered to compile one standardized text of Quran for the entire Muslim world. Uthman ordered Zayd Ibn Thabit's version of Quran to be standardized. At the same time he ordered to destroy the other versions being used by people in Kufa, Basrah, Damascus and Mecca.
When Uthman sent out the order that all codices of the Quran other than the codex of Zayd should be destroyed Ibn Mas'ud refused to handover his copy.
Why did Mas'ud refuse to handover his version of Quran to be consigned to the flames?
Let us hear his own words:
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "I recited from the messenger of Allah (saw) seventy surahs which I had perfected before Zaid ibn Thabit had embraced Islam". (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif, p.17). "I acquired directly from the messenger of Allah (saw) seventy surahs when Zaid was still a childish youth - must I now forsake what I acquired directly from the messenger of Allah?" (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif, p.15).
Ibn Masud spent many years intimately with Muhammad and became a Muslim before Uthman, the third Caliph and started memorization of Quran even before Zayd was born. As mentioned before, he has been acclaimed as "the first man to speak the Quran loudly in Mecca after the apostle" according to Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad's biographer. His version of Quran was well-established at Kufa while Zayd's Quran was in obscurity. He sincerely believed that his text of Quran was more authentic than that of Zayd. Ibn Masud expressed his anguish over the rejection of his Quran in a speech at Kufa:
"The people have been guilty of deceit in the reading of the Qur'an. I like it better to read according to the recitation of him (Prophet) whom I love more than that of Zayd Ibn Thabit. By Him besides Whom there is no god! I learnt more than seventy surahs from the lips of the Apostle of Allah, may Allah bless him, while Zayd Ibn Thabit was a youth, having two locks and playing with the youth". (Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, Vol. 2, p.444).
According to Ali Dashti, the author of famous book Twenty Three years, Zayd's Quran "was badly edited and its contents are very obtusely arranged. All students of the Quran wonder why the editors did not use the natural and logical method of ordering by date of revelation, as in Ali b. Taleb's lost copy of the text" (Dashti, Twenty Three Years, p.28)
Dashti goes on to say, "The text which was finally prepared under the supervision of a committee appointed by Uthman is regrettably not ordered in chronological sequence of the revelations. The texts in the possession of Ali b.Abi Taleb and Abdollah b. Masud were not consulted. The suras are placed illogically in order of decreasing length, when at least the Meccan suras might have been placed first and the Madinan suras last. There are also misplacements of Meccan verses inside Madinan suras and suras of Madinan verses inside Meccan suras." (Da****, Twenty Three Years, p. 173).
Dashti paid with this life for making these observations
Dashti was threatened to withdrew these remarks on Quran, but on his continued resistence, at the age of 83 he was beaten to death by Muslims in his own country, Iran.
As Dashti argued, the Quranic text of Ibn Masud was not even consulted while compiling the Zayd's version of Quran. There were numerous differences of reading between the texts of Zayd and that of Ibn Masud. In Ibn Dawud's Kitab al-Masahif they fill up no less than nineteen pages and there are at least 101 variants in the suratul-Baqarah alone.
After Zayd's Quran was standardized Caliph Uthman made copies of it and sent them to different regions of the Islamic world. The other Qurans which were already in existence were destroyed by fire.
Why other Qurans were ordered to be destroyed?
Uthman's decree to burn the Qurans destroyed all written Qurans in existence, except the Qurans of Zayd's version. But he could not erase the Ibn Masud's Quran from the memories of the people at Kufa who had recorded it. They reproduced Masud's Quran from their memories. When contrasted, between the codices of Masud and Zayd there is a wealth of differences. The extent of the variant readings between them fill up no less than three hundred and fifty pages of Arthur Jeffrey's Materials for the History of the Text of the Quran. Considering these huge amounts of differences between the versions of Quran, it is understandable why Uthman ordered to destroy all but the text he chose for Muslims.
Present Day Quran Compared to the Qurans which were destroyed by Caliph Uthman
In Ibn Masud's Quran, used by Muslims in Kufa: Surah 1,113, and 114 were missing in his collection and 1700 variations from current Quran
In Ubay Bin Kab's Quran, used by Muslims in Syria : It contains two additional surahs and an otherwise unknown verse.
In Abu Musa's Quran, used by Muslims in Basra: identical to Ubai bin Kab's Quran, not to present day Quran."
... [chart left out as will not copy]
What does it tell us about present day Quran?
Quran we have in our midst today did not originate in the lifetime of Muhammad, as Muslims want us believe. It existed in different forms in different regions of the Islamic empire before Caliph Uthman established the standardized form of Quran while consigning other versions to the flames. Quran we have now came from Thabit who relied on sources like date palms to collect his material for quran he compiled. The quran which was produced from the memories of longtime companions of Muhammad were burnt down. The Quran we got is just one of the many different versions of it that existed twenty years after the death of Muhammad. If we analyze the present day Quran we find it is an amalgamation of stories derived from Judaic, Christian, apocryphal, Zoroastrian and other sources.
Existence of different versions in different places within twenty after Muhammad's death implies that there had been no singular revelation to start with. It also demystifies the Muslims' assertion that Quran was standardized by Muhammad himself. The need for burning every copy except one shows that the copies burnt were giving a different or even contradictory message from the quran we got.
We do not have the exact copy of Gabriel's message to Muhammad. Joseph Smith, who claimed that he got his Book of Mormon through Angel Moroni did a better job in this respect in preserving the text he claimed he got.
Why No 'Uthman' in Christianity?
The New Testament has more than 20000 manuscripts. They have textual variations that crept into them due to copying. The variations crept into the manuscripts so naturally and gradually that no Christian dictator like Constantine ordered to burn all the copies of the Bible except one in Rome. Most of the variations are due to spelling mistakes. None of the variations conflict with any major doctrine of the Bible like deity of Christ, his virgin birth, his crucifixion, his resurrection, his atonement for our sins or our salvation due to justification through faith.
<<Fragile: Handle with Care
<br>
Sher Khan
2005/12/14
When breakable goods are shipped, they are stamped with a distinctive sign--Fragile: Handle with Care. Even though the Quran, the holiest book on Earth, does not carry the warning, Quran-maniacal Muslims do handle it with the same attitude, as if the holy book will shatter into pieces. Apparent respect shown towards this book is not because of its contents. Instead, it has become a religious mandate, propagated by extensive propaganda and it is an exhibition of a natural human instinct to worship something, whether it be an idol or a book. Muslims believe that thawab (a spiritual reward) is earned every time a portion of the book is recited. Its a kind of credit card that offers mileage on flyingthe more you charge the card, the more points you earn.
Is the book that Muslims are holding in their hands today nothing but a replica of the master copy, which Allah has preserved in his sacred library? All Muslims of the world would unanimously vote for Yes. Their assessment is not based on facts but on a Quranic verse that says, This is a Glorious Quran, (inscribed) in a tablet preserved! (Q85:21). So, did Allah use his gigantic copier machine, creating thunder and storm, to make copies of his Quran?
Not really!
In todays world, people would reject any attempt of initiating a new religion. If someone did try, he would immediately be put in a straightjacket and sent to a psychiatric hospital. The same rule applies to Muhammad; his claim of receiving commands from Allah is an outright lie. However, for the sake of this article, lets pretend that Allah revealed the Quran.
Whenever a verse was revealed to Muhammad, it was memorized by his associates and sometimes written on pieces of wood, deerskin, palm leaves, bones, etc.
Why were those verses written on wood, deerskin, bones and palm leaves?
Historical records show that Tsai Lun, a Chinese official, reported the invention of paper to the Chinese Emperor in 105 AD, 500 years before the era of Muhammad. Recent archeological investigations, however, claim the actual invention may have been around 140-86 BC in Gansu province of China . Although the word paper came from papyrus, there is a significant difference between these two. Papyrus was a type of plant found in Egypt along the Nile River . Approximately 5000 years ago, Egyptians made flat and uniform sheets from these trees for writing purposes.
Maybe China was a little too far from Arabia and Allah was not able to help Muhammad with paper. How about using papyrus, which was available in Egypt ? In another archeological discovery, a roll of papyrus more than 2000 years old was found in Egypt . This papyrus contains 112 short poems of a Greek poet and they are in good condition. Allah could have easily commanded, O prophet! Get a bundle of papyrus and write down whats sent to thee! But it did not happen.
People used to make false a Quran when Muhammad was alive. We read in verse 2:79,
And woe unto those who write the scripture with their own hands and then say, This is from God, that they may in this way obtain a small gain. Woe unto them for what their hands have written and woe unto them for what they gain thereby!
Despite the possibility of creating a false Quran, Allah or Muhammad never thought about the importance of compiling the Quran and putting the verses in the form of a book. Apparently, the foremost method of preserving the Quran was memorization. Some verses were written on stones, bones and leaves, without realizing the fact that goats love to eat leaves. Yes, a darned animal with four legs known as a goat ate a piece of the all-powerful Allahs Quran. Narrated by Hazrat Âishah that ayat-e-Rajm and ayat Razaat were revealed, they were written on something. I kept them under the cart, meanwhile the holy prophet died and we became busy and one GOAT came and ATE those ayyat (Ibn-e-Maja).
See Part Two of of Burning of the Quran by Caliph Uthman (RA)
Part Two of Burning of the Qur’an by Caliph Uthman (RA)
March 20 2009, 11:34 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
Part Two of Burning of the Qur’an by Caliph Uthman (RA)
March 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
Part Two of Burning of the Qur’an by Caliph Uthman (RA)
March 20 2009, 11:39 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