The History of The Holy Qur'an - The Divine Book

The Holy Qur'an, read by over 1 billion people worldwide. It is the book that is at the center of the religion of Islam. From it is derived theology, spirituality, divine wisdom, lessons from history and so much more. Today it is read every day by Muslims all over the world and holds a special place in every Muslim household.

We know that the Holy Qur'an is the divine word of God, delivered directly to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him. But how exactly did this work? How did that which was revealed to the Holy Prophet become the written word that we read today? And is the Qur'an that we hold in our hands today the exact same Qur'an held by the hands of the early Muslims? In this documentary we shall explore the history of the Qur'an and how the divine words of Allah reached us today.

One of the oldest debates surrounding the Holy Qur'an is the nature of its existence. Before the first verses were revealed to the Holy Prophet, did the Holy Qur'an exist and if so, in what form?

The Qur'an Al-Karim is a manuscript that Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam publicized. Various theological schools of thought came to discuss the essence and origin of said manuscript, the Qur'an. Between them, the Mu'tazila, the 'Asharite, the Asha'ira. Many have argued that the Qur'an is pre eternal or in the theological discussion Qadeem. It exists coexisting alongside Allah Sunbhana wa Ta'ala. However, in the school of Ahl ul-Bayt, in addition to the Sunni theological school, the Mu'tazila, the Qur'an is created as is everything else with the exception of Allah Sunbhana wa Ta'ala.

But the Qur'an was destined for revelation that we can confirm. Allah has destined that this book would be revealed to the heart of the Holy Prophet of Islam, through the various mediums, be them dreams, Gabriel, divine inspiration. This was planned and this was destined, but it did not exist before the first of the verses came down to the Holy Prophet of Islam.

The Abbasid government propagated for the idea that the Qur'an was never created. It always existed with God. The Imams of Ahl ul-Bayt clarified their position. They did not want to be involved in this discussion because it was heavily being politicized. But the Imams made it very clear that everything besides Allah is created, hinting that the Holy Qur'an is the Word of God, it's not God, it's the word of God and hence it is the creation of the Almighty God.

So we know that the Holy Qur'an is created. However, did the Holy Qur'an exist before Revelation? Scholars are split into two groups here. One group of scholars believe that the Holy Qur'an did exist before Revelation. It existed in a different realm. The Holy Qur'an hints at those different realms. For instance, you have the preserved tablet, the "Lawh al-Mahfuz". The Holy Qur'an existed in the preserved tablet, before officially being revealed to Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu alayhi wa alih.

This indicates that it did exist. The second group of scholars states that the Holy Qur'an was revealed when the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, was at age 40. Before that there was no existence to this verbal dimension of the Qur'an. The Word of God existed. It was in a preserved tablet, but Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala had not initiated the descension of the Holy Qur'an to this world. That only happened when the Prophet was in the cave and he received official revelation.

The story of the Divine Book begins in the cave of Hira where the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, would go to meditate and worship. It was here that the first verses of the Holy Qur'an were revealed unto him saying- Read In the name of your Lord. Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam would ascend Jabal an-Nur and he would enter that cave known as Ghar Hira. Inside he would meditate and reflect. He would do this for 20 years. When he became 20 years old. Up until his 40th birthday or that 40th year, the Holy Prophet of Islam would seek time to reflect for two months straight, during the month of Rajab.

One of these meditation sessions, the Holy Prophet of Islam was received by the Arcangel Gabriel. Jibra'il announced to the Holy Prophet that the circumstances are ripe. You must commence your mission, therefore commence it with the following- Read in the name of your Lord who has created you. And this was the very first verse revealed to man and woman kind from what would be the complete Qur'an Al-Karim.

Iqra bismi Rabbika alladhee khalaq (96:1). Khalaqa al-insaana min 'alaq (96:2). Iqra wa Rabbuka al-Akram (96:3). Alladhee 'allama bi 'l-qalam (96:4). 'Allama al-insaana ma lam y'alam (96:5).

In the Shii' traditions it was revealed on the Maba'th of the Prophet which is the 27th of Rajab. According to Sunni traditions it was revealed during the month of Ramadan. They refer to "Inna anzalnahu fi Laylati Al-Qadr (97:1). We believe that the beginning of the revelation of the Qur'an was revealed on the day of the Maba'th, the 27th of Rajab upon Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, and that was when the first verses of Surat Iqra... (96:1) were revealed. That was the beginning of the 23 year period of Qur'anic revelation because the Qur'an was revealed upon the Prophet over an era of 23 years, and the first verses that were revealed upon the Prophet were those verses, the first five verses of Surat Iqra.

There were two different types of revelations of the Qur'an. There is Inzal, a sudden revelation, and there is Tanzil, gradual revelation. The Tanzil, the gradual revelation, as we know it began from the time Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, was in the cave, Surat Iqra was revealed all the way until the last verses that were revealed upon Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih. That was over a span of 23 years. That was Tanzil, that was gradual revelation that was revealed upon Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam. We believe that the gradual revelation began on the day of the Mabath that began on the 27th of Rajab according to our narrations from the Imams of the Ahl ul-Bayt alayhum as-salam.

As for the Inzal, the sudden revelation of the Qur'an, yes, we believe that the Inzal, the sudden revelation of the Qur'an every year that would happen, that would take place upon the heart of Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, every year on Laylat ul-Qadr. On Laylat ul-Qadr, there was a full sudden revelation of the whole Qur'an that would be revealed upon the heart of Rasul Allah.

We know that the Holy Prophet received revelation from Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala, and this is how the Qur'an found its way to us. But how exactly did this revelation work? Were there different forms of revelation? And how did the Holy Prophet react to revelation?

The first time the revelation came down upon the Prophet was when the Archangel Jibra'il came down in his angelic form upon Raul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, and the angelic form of Jibra'il was this grand creation. He came down upon the Prophet and he tells the Prophet, Iqra, read in the name of your Lord, Iqra bismi Rabbika alladhee khalaq (96:1). And Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, began to recite the Qur'an after Jibra'il.

But the Wahi, the revelation of the Qur'an came down in different ways. Sometimes Jibra'il would come down in his angelic form, he would come down and he would deliver the verses of the Qur'an to Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih. In another time, the Qur'an would be revealed directly upon the heart of Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, without an intermediary. This was some type of revelation. And a third type of revelation was through a dream, or through hearing a sound, not through Jibra'il and not through a direct revelation.

Muslims they narrate that when the Qur'an would be revealed, when the Wahi would be revealed upon the Prophet, they would see that the appearance of the Prophet would change. For example, it is narrated that on a cold night, when the revelation would reveal upon Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, they would see him start to shiver and they would see him sweating because of the magnitude of the verses that are revealed onto his heart.

And Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, when Allah speaks about the Qur'an, Allah says: "Law anzalna hadha al-Qur'ana 'ala jabilil, la raytahoo khashi'an mutasaddi'an min khashiyati Allah" (59:21). If this Qur'an were to be revealed on a mountain, you would see that the mountain would crumble. The only one, the only heart that was able to accept the revelation of the Qur'an was the heart of Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih.

Sometimes Jibra'il would come and he would not necessarily speak the words of the Qur'an for the Prophet to hear them, he would cast them directly to his heart. "Nazala bihi ar-Ruhu al-Amin" (26:193), "'ala qalbik" (26:194), as the Qur'an states. ar-Ruhu al-Amin, the trusted spirit, brought down the Qur'an on your heart. He's not speaking the verses to the Prophet, he is directly communicating them to his heart. So the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam feels the meanings of the verses, the presence of the verses in his mind and his heart.

"Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim". "Ya ayyuha al-Insanu ma gharraka bi Rabbika al-Kareem" (82:6). "Alladhee khalaqaka fa sawwaka fa 'adalak" (82:7).

One of the most fascinating questions surrounding the Holy Qur'an is surrounding its current form as a book. While it's obvious that today the Holy Qur'an is a book that Muslims all around the world read, during the Holy time of the Prophet, Arabs relied on an oral culture. Therefore, the Holy Qur'an was mostly spoken and recited from memory, not read. So was the Qur'an always intended to be a book? And in what form did it exist, during the time of the Holy Prophet?

Most companions had an understanding that this was going to be a book. First of all, the Holy Qur'an refers to the Qur'an as the Kitab in a number of verses: "Dhalika al-Kitab la raiba fih" (2:2). That is the book, there is no doubt in it. In Arabic, Kitab means book. When you say to a native Arabic speaker Kitab, what comes to mind is a book that has pages and has a cover. So many companions knew that this is a Kitab, this is a book and it will be one day in book format. Secondly, we have narrations from the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, such as Hadith ath-Thaqlayn and other Hadiths, in which the Prophet would refer to the Qur'an as a book where you could refer to. Yes, you have the spiritual dimension of the Qur'an, but companions understood it also in a physical sense. There is a tangible Qur'an that you can refer to.

As verses gradually began to descend over a period of two decades, the Qur'an was gradually compiled together, inscribed by various companions of the Holy Prophet including Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam.

We believe that Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, by the time he had passed away, the Qur'an had all been written down. We, the Shi'a, belief is that the Qur'an had been written down but it was written down not in a book form that we have right now. It was written down on pieces of leather, pieces of skin, pieces of wood, pieces of parchment and it was gathered in the house of Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih.

As the Holy Qur'an would be revealed, there were a number of companions who would write and scribe the holy Qur'an. The foremost of them is Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi as-salam. Not a single verse was revealed except that Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi as-salam, wrote the verse. Not only did he write the verse, he wrote the context behind the verse, the reason for revelation, the Tafsir and the Ta'wil. So Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi as-salam, we know, had the complete Qur'an written by his blessed hands, throughout the period of 20 or 23 years as the Holy Qur'an was being revealed.

Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam, himself mentions and reports: "ma min ayatin fi Kitabi Allah, illa imlawuhu Rasul Allah wa khattuhu bi yadihi". There is not a verse from the Book of Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala, except that it was recited by Rasul Allah and written by my hand.

Then you have other companions who also participated in the practice of writing the Qur'an. One of them was Zayd Ibn Thabit. He also tried to write many parts of the Qur'an. We don't know if he wrote the entire Qur'an but he wrote a significant portion of the Qur'an. It's not clear to us when we look at historical reports, whether he wrote the entire Qur'an, or maybe many chapters. Other names that have been mentioned in our Hadith sources is 'Ubay Ibn Ka'ab. In fact, companions sometimes would refer to him, to make sure that they have parts of the Qur'an written correctly. He was considered an expert on the revelation of the Qur'an and writing the Qur'an.

Ma'ad Ibn Jabal is also mentioned as being one of the scribes of the Qur'an. Abu Zayd, one of the uncles of Anas Ibn Malik. He has also been mentioned. Abdullah ibn 'Umar, he has also been mentioned as one of the writers of the Qur'an. They would hear the Qur'an orally, verbally from the Prophet and then they had sheets of paper. Usually in that era the sheets of paper were made from deer skin. And so you will find many of the pages of the Qur'an that have been survived through history to be on deer skin.

When the Holy Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, was martyred and he departed this physical life, we have many clues and reports that a physical Qur'an that was complete, existed. First of all Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib alayhi as-salam, he had written all parts of the Qur'an. Zayd Ibn Thabit had written parts of the Qur'an. According to An-Nisa'i, in a Hadith which is Sahih according to Sunni standards, Nisa'i narrates one Hadith from Abdullah ibn 'Umar in which he states, I had gathered the Qur'an and I would complete all of it in one night, according to Nisa'i.

This is a clue or piece of evidence that some scholars have indicated, have used, to indicate that the Qur'an did exist at the time of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, in a book format. There are some other narrations that indicate there was a physical copy in the masjid of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, that any companion could refer to. They would keep it by the pulpit of the Prophet, and you could read parts of the Qur'an. As new revelation would descend, new pages would be added. There were scattered pages. It was not organized into a complete book with two organized covers. And back then, how would they bind the pages? It was through pieces of thread.

That did not exist at the time of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih. It was basically scattered pages and they were probably not in a particular sequence as well. And we even have narrations that indicate the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, would tell his companions where to put certain verses. If you don't have a book that's before you where is the Prophet telling them to put these verses and to number them even?

After the death of Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, there were two simultaneous gatherings of the Qur'an, compilations of the Qur'an. One was Amir Al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi as-salam. He sat in his home and he began to compile the Qur'an immediately after the death of Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih. And this is why weeks or months later when they asked Imam Ali, why were you late in giving Bayat to Abu Bakr? What was the excuse of Amir Al-Mu'minin? He tells them I was gathering the Qur'an, as Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, ordered me to do so.

And he did compile the Qur'an, not only did he have the verses of the Qur'an and the Surahs of the Qur'an but he had the Tafsir, the commentary of every verse in the Qur'an, it was written in that book. And Amir Al-Mu'minin, he came and he brought it to the Muslims, he tells them: this is the Qur'an, and the Hadith says, he brought "'ala himly ba'hir? he brought it carrying it on a camel. How could a book be carried on a camel? So we understand from this that this was not just the Qur'an but this was the commentary of the Qur'an from the words of Amir Al-Mu'minin. His exegesis, his Tafsir, was added alongside the verses of the Qur'an and he brought it to them. They tell him: "la hajata lana bi Qur'anik", we don't need this Qur'an. So Amir Al-Mu'minin tells them, then you will not see it. And we believe that this book will be revealed with Imam Mahdi Al-Muntadhar when he arises.

This Qur'an, unfortunately, is not accessible, and society missed its opportunity. We could have learned so much with it. A very famous non Shi'i scholar, Ibn Sirin mentions: had we kept the Mus-haf of Ali, la wajadu fihi al-'Ilm, we would have noticed and found within it, a plentiful amount of knowledge and wisdom. But this book and this Qur'an with its Tafsir, with its beautiful order, is in the possession of the Imam of our time and we ask Allah to allow us access to the Imam and through the Imam, this Qur'an that was written by the blessed hands of Amir Al-Mu'minin himself.

Another compilation of the Qur'an was the compilation that took place by the order of Abu Bakr. And that was not immediately after the death of the Prophet. Because the Muslims, they saw that there was no need to write down the Qur'an. As we said, it was an oral culture. They didn't see the need, the necessity to write down the Qur'an. But what happened was there was a battle and this was during the apostasy wars of Abu Bakr. There were some groups of people that refused to accept Abu Bakr as a legitimate leader. And there was another group of people that left the religion of Islam. Abu Bakr, he waged a war against all of them, those who left the religion of Islam and those who refused to accept him as the khalifah. And they called them the Apostasy Wars when in fact the reality is that not many of them were apostates, not many of them left the religion of Islam. Some of them like Malik Ibn Nowera, they just had their own problems with Abu Bakr. They did not agree to Abu Bakr being a leader.

So in these wars, they say that, many of the qurra' al-Qur'an, many of those people who had memorized the Qur'an, they were killed in those wars. One of the battles by the name of the battle of Yamama, they say tens of the qurra' al-Qur'an, of those who had memorized the Qur'an, they were killed in the battle. So here the Muslims, they saw an urgency. The same that happened to Christianity and Judaism where their books got distorted after the prophets, could happen to the Qur'an. So the Muslims, they saw an urgency to write down the Qur'an.

And here Abu Bakr, he ordered Zayd Ibn Thabit. Zayd Ibn Thabit, he becomes the man who is charged with and given the responsibility of scribing and writing down the Qur'an. He would sit in the Masjid and he would write down the Qur'an and the Muslims, they would come, if any of them had heard a verse, they would come and they would have to bring two witnesses to say whether they heard this verse from Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, or they did not. Under the leadership of Zayd Ibn Thabit, the whole Qur'an was gathered.

Once that Qur'an was gathered, the Muslims did not even read from it, because as we mentioned, there was no reliance on reading the Qur'an. It was an oral culture. So it was left in the house of Abu Bakr. And then, after the death of Abu Bakr it went with 'Umar, and then after the death of 'Umar it remained with Hafsa, Hafsa the daughter of 'Umar and the wife of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, it remained with her. Then you have during the time of Uthman, they called for that Qur'an to be brought out once again, to compare it with the Qur'an that was being written, the Qur'an that was being compiled during the time of Uthman.

The Qur'an we hold in our hands today is generally referred to as the Uthmani Qur'an. This is mostly due to the fact that it was a Codex that was put together during the caliphate of Uthman Ibn Affan. What was this Codex? And how did it differ, if at all, from other manuscripts of the time?

Only 50 years after the death of the Prophet, you have more non-Arab Muslims becoming Muslims than the Arab Muslims. So Islam began to grow exponentially and it began to grow very quickly. During the time of Uthman there were some wars that were taking place, and there was an expansionist movement going on, where the Muslims were waging wars against Azerbaijan and areas of Turkey, current day Turkey. Now you have many Muslims who are non Arab and the Qur'an was being recited in various dialects. You have the dialect of the Arabs who are in Hijaz, for example, the dialect of the Arabs who are in Kufa, the dialect of the Arabs who are in Damascus. Sometimes some of the meanings were being changed, so this caused a problem, and now you're going to have many Non-Arab Muslims joining which they cannot rely on an oral tradition because their Arabic is not their original language.

One of the companions of the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, who was also a student of Imam Ali alayhi as-salam, one of the followers of Imam Ali, by the name of Hudhaifa Ibn Yaman, he was participating in some battles. When he realized that Muslims were pronouncing the Qur'an differently.

He noticed that many Muslims in these far lands were reading the Qur'an differently. It is narrated and reported that a man read in the chapter of Al-Baqara, "La rayba fih" (2:2), because there were no dots or ayacritics or diacritics rather, they read it as "La zaita fi", because they couldn't tell. And various accents and readings and lexical understandings on the morphology was simply changing. He sent a letter to Uthman, the Khalifa, and requested "Idrak Ummat Muhammad", help and save the Ummah of Muhammad, for they are changing the reading of the Qur'an. Please save this before it turns into a similar situation we saw with the Jews and the Christians.

So Uthman gathers companions amongst them Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi as-salam. He informs them of the concern that Hudhaifa Ibn Yaman had and they come to the agreement that the Qur'an should be unified. So Uthman communicates with his governors in other villages, and other cities, and he summons all existing copies of the Qur'an. Once he summons all those copies of the Qur'an, he destroys them. Some narrations indicate he burned them, and he had one standard version, which was approved by the companions, that was replicated and copied, and sent to these other cities and villages. So Uthman did unify the Codex, yes, the standard way of writing the Holy Qur'an. But this was by consulting other companions. This was by the suggestion of the student of Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam. And in our narrations, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi as-salam, approved of this effort.

Imam Ali read this version of the Holy Qur'an, and he confirmed and gave the green light to it: it's fine, so long as no verses were tampered and changed with. However, the difference between this manuscript that is commonly known as Mus-haf 'Uthman and the manuscript that Rasul Allah presented to both man and woman kind, is that the order of the chapters have been rearranged. The "as-saba'a at-tiwal" seven large chapters are in the beginning. Then "al-mi'yun", the chapters that have roughly 100 verses, are in the middle. Then the "qisar", the smaller chapters, are later on towards the end. They organize this for convenient purposes. And al-Fatiha being the first chapter as well, this was for the sake of convenience.

However, Imam Ali, said there is no harm in this so long as the content has not been changed. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, however, had with him the Qur'an that Rasul Allah ordered him to compile. What distinguishes the Qur'an that he codified under the orders of Rasul Allah, is that it was organized based on the Tanzil and the order chronologically when it was revealed. So 'Alaq [96] would have been likely the first chapter. And this is beneficial because it gives you history and Sirah. The Qur'an becomes a historic book of the life of the Prophet. This was his first chapter. This would have been his last, Al-Ma'ida [5], for example.

The order that we have right now. There are some scholars that say the Prophet, he tells the Muslims, place this Surah after this Surah and place this Surah after this Surah. So he would tell them, this is according to some scholars. We know for sure, we are certain that the order of the actual verses is where the Prophet ordered for them to be. But the actual Surah, some say this just happened by chance, some Muslims, they started putting one here and one there. But another group of Muslims, they say that no, even the order of the Surahs, this was by the order of Rasul Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa alih.

Some scholars, upon analyzing the sequence of the chapters, they find a miraculous connection between how one chapter ends and how another one starts. This even gives them more confidence, that the current sequence we know today was assigned by the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih. Is there a consensus on this? A unanimous position? No. There are many scholars, especially from the other schools of thought, who believe that the companions are the ones who arranged the current sequence of the Qur'an. It was not determined when the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih was alive. My take on that is, the Qur'an is the greatest project of the Prophet, and every aspect of the Qur'an is mesmerizing, impeccable and miraculous. I find it hard to believe that the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, would give you this miraculous book without telling you what the sequence is.

The discussion surrounding Tahrif of the Qur'an, that is distortions and changes to the Holy Book, is simultaneously one of the most controversial and most fascinating discourses in Islam. Therefore, we ask the question, has the Qur'an been changed? And is the Qur'an we have, the exact same Qur'an as was in the hands of the Holy Prophet?

We believe that the Qur'an has been preserved, and Allah, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, says in the Qur'an that: "We have revealed this Qur'an upon you and We shall preserve it" (15:9). "wa inna lahu la hafidhoon", It shall be preserved. There is a consensus amongst Muslim scholars and the all Muslim, Sunni and Shi'a, that the Qur'an that we have right now, this is the Qur'an that was revealed upon Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa alih. The narrations that would suggest otherwise, either we reject those narrations, or we have to understand them differently.

For example, you might see an Usul Al-Kafi, you might see a Hadith from Imam as-Sadiq for example, he says: this verse was revealed in such and such way, and he recites it in a way that is different from the way that it is in the Qur'an. We understand that this is the Tafsir of the Imam. We understand that this is the exegesis of the Imam. The Qur'an was being recited publicly in the mosques, in Kufa, in Damascus, in Basra, in Cairo, it was being recited, and if someone were to change the Qur'an, right away the Muslims would notice and it would cause an outcry.

Today when you look at Sunni books of Hadith you will find tens of Hadiths, of narrations, in their authentic books, that indicate verses in the Qur'an went missing. Tafsir Al-Qurtubi and Tafsir Adh-Dhurr al-Manthur which are Sunni books of Tafsir. They have narrated Hadiths which claim that Surat al-Ahzab, chapter 33 of the Qur'an, was 200 verses at the time of the Prophet, but then later some verses were omitted. Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, and a number of other sources indicate that Surat Al-Ahzab [33] was almost the size of Surat Al-Baqara [2] which is the longest chapter in the Holy Qur'an. So there are claims in the Sunni Hadiths that at the time of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, chapter 33, Surat Al-Ahzaab was as big as Surat Al-Baqara. Obviously that's not the case today. So these narrations are indicating many verses went missing.

Another example of Tahrif in Sunni hadith sources is one that is mentioned by Sahih Muslim. This narration is attributed to Abu Musa Al -Ashari. Abu Musa Al-Ashari claims according to this narration that there was a chapter in the Qur'an which was very similar to Surat Al-Tawba, Surat Bara'a [9] in terms of its size and its very strong tone towards the disbelievers. Abu Musa says, we forgot this verse. I forgot this chapter. I completely forgot this chapter. I only remember one verse from it, and he even mentions the verse. Basically the verse States that if the Bani Adam had two valleys of money, he would seek a third valley and nothing fulfills him except dust. Abu Musa Al-Ashari, in Sahih Muslim claims that there was an entire chapter that contained this verse that went missing.

One very striking narration in Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal States that A'yisha claims the following. She stated that there was a verse about stoning and the sucklings, ten sucklings specifically. And we read it at the time of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, and it was written on a sheet of paper. It was in the house of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih. But when the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, passed away, we became busy with his loss, with the funeral, and because we became busy, an animal came, a domestic animal, a domestic animal came and ate that sheet of paper. And so that part of the Qur'an got lost. Therefore, we find these Hadiths in Sunni sources about Tahrif. It would be unfair for any Muslim from other schools of thought, to attack the Shi'as and the followers of Ahl al-Bayt of Tahrif when you have all these Hadiths in your sources.

If you find Hadiths in Al-Kafi or other books that indicate some parts of the Qur'an went missing, our response to that is most scholars have not accepted that. So this should not be a sectarian issue.

You have scholars from both sides, Sunni before, Shi'a, Sunni and Shi'a who have accepted some of these reports, and you have the majority of scholars, on both sides, who have rejected these reports. It's not a sectarian issue, it's a Muslim issue. And everyone must understand this point. Otherwise we're being biased and we're not being objective.

There is a Hadith in the book of Kafi, attributed to Al-Imam as-Sadiq, alayhi as-salam, that states the Qur'an when it was revealed, it was revealed in 17000 verses. So now you have others who will attack us. Okay, so you Shii's are claiming two thirds of the Qur'an has been lost. When we analyze this Hadith in the book of Kafi, we have found some earlier versions of Al-Kafi. In those earlier versions which were closer to the era of Al-Kulayni [author of the book] we find that it mentioned 7000. The Imam says the Qur'an was revealed in 7000 verses. So the current version that is widely circulated, we find that the source for this version, the scribe made a mistake between 17000 and 7000.

Some of these scribes were not educated. They did not know even what they were scribing. They just were able to scribe. So this is a mistake in the scribing. Otherwise, if you look at earlier sources of Al-Kafi, it says 7000. Now someone will say, well, today you have 6236 verses. 7000? It's still more than that. The Imam alayhi as-salam is rounding here. The Imam is just giving you an idea of how big the Holy Qur'an. It's about 7000 verses. This was a common Arabic way to indicate the length or the size of something.

There is a verse on the Holy Qur'an that many have cited to negate Tahrif. "Inna Nahnu nazalna Adh-Dhikra, wa innahu la hafidhun" (15:9). Allah says, "We have revealed the Dhikr, which is the Holy Qur'an, the Remembrance, and We are protecting it, We shall protect it". Some people will say the fact that Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala, is promising to protect the Qur'an negates any claims of Tahrif. Most scholars have accepted this argument. Now, some scholars who have not accepted this argument, what is their counter argument?

They have said that, look, in the end, changes have happened to the Qur'an. Don't we have seven Qira'at? Sunni schools of thought recognize that you have seven Qira'at. And in some of those pronunciations, versions, Qira'at, an entire word is replaced by another word or a word is in a different form, it's in a different weight. Well, that's a change in the Qur'an. So their counter argument is well, did Allah protect the Qur'an or no? Muslims historically have read the Qur'an slightly differently. And that is a type of Tahrif. It's not the same exact way that the Prophet read it. Some changes happen to it. So then where did Allah protect it?

Those scholars state Allah did protect it in the copy of Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam. And every Imam of Ahl ul-Bayt had access to that copy. And today that copy is with our 12th Imam, Al-Imam Al-Mahdi, ajal Allahu Ta'ala farajah. So Allah did protect the Qur'an, yes. Maybe a lot of people don't have access to it, or some people mispronounce certain words, but that doesn't mean that no changes have happened. No, some changes have happened. So when we say Allah protects the Qur'an, that means in the end, the common version, the mainstream version which the Imams of Ahl ul-Bayt, approved. Some variations might happen here or there. But Allah in the end did protect the Qur'an.

During the nights of Qadr, in the Holy month of Ramadan, we reflect on the Holy Qur'an and those who embodied it. It was on the 21st of Ramadan that Imam Ali alayhi as-salam, returned to his Lord. He who was referred to as the walking Qur'an, and to Shi'a muslims all around the world is the gate to the vast city of knowledge of the Holy Prophet, pèeace be upon him. As we reflect on the greatness of the Divine Book, we also reflect on the characters of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his successor, Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Imam alayhi as-salam, the embodiment of the Holy Qur'an, the manifestation of the Qur'an, the Qur'an an-natiq [speaking Qur'an] himself, left this world, the night the Qur'an was revealed, on the night of destiny. And the Imam, protected the Qur'an in ways we haven't truly appreciated. The Imam carried on the vision of the Holy Prophet of Islam. And the Prophet's vision was the preservation and the veneration of the Qur'an itself. We noticed the Prophet would work tirelessly to motivate society to memorize the Qur'an, to teach society how to read and write. He would say- War captives are free from war, if they can teach our children how to read and write, and if they can teach ten of them specifically.

Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib carried the same vision. He was a walking library in Kufa. He would approach young children and educate them. He would approach the elderly as well and inspire them. And so the Imam alayhi as-salam, is truly underappreciated. You cannot have the Qur'an independent from the Imams of Ahlul Bayt, the family of the Holy Prophet of Islam. This is the written Qur'an and they are the walking, speaking Qur'an. And if you do not have a Qur'an that can speak on behalf of the written version of the Qur'an, you will end up with extremism. You will end up with violence. You will end up with nonsensical theological opinions. When you merge them, they literally take you to the sky and they bring you to the heavens before you even met the heavens.

Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi as-salam, was the foremost defender of the Holy Qur'an. The Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, in 'sahih' Hadiths informed Imam Ali, of his task after him. The Prophet tells him, O' Ali, I will fight on Tanzil. Tanzil is the revelation of Qur'an. My struggle was to bring the Qur'an to the people. Your fight will be the fight of Ta'wil. You will struggle to preserve the correct meaning of the Qur'an. At the time of Imam Ali, alayhi as-salam, even when he was caliph for four years, people memorized the Qur'an. Many thousands of people, maybe hundreds of thousands of people, had memorized the Qur'an.

But there was a shallow understanding of the Qur'an. People were inserting their opinions into the Holy Qur'an. People were moving away from the actual meanings the Prophet preached. The one who brought back the Qur'an to its original meaning, the way that the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, had preached it was none other than Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib. He truly preserved the meanings of the Qur'an. That's why when you read Nahj ul-Balagha for instance. Nahjul Blagha is just an application of the Holy Qur'an. For many of the sermons, you find the Imam citing verses, explaining to us what the verses mean, the proper understanding of the Qur'anic perspective.

So indeed, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib alayhi as-salam was the walking, talking Qur'an. When no one knew the meaning of some verses, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi as-salam, was always there to explain the verses of the Qur'an. At the time of 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab, this happened very frequently. People would come to 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab, they would challenge him. There is a problem in this verse. There is a contradiction between these verses. He would say, I don't know. I don't have access to that knowledge. Who would he call upon? Imam Ali alayhi as-salam!

Abu Al-Hasan alayhi as-salam, come! Solve this problem for us. Everyone knew the relationship Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, alayhi as-salam, had with the Holy Qur'an. He carried the Qur'an in his heart. He lived by the standards of the Qur'an. He was the walking, talking Qur'an, who knew the inner layers of the Qur'an, the applications of the Holy Qur'an.

So truly the one who preserved for us the Holy Qur'an, after the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa alih, is Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib alayhi as-salam! Especially when you come to the authentic, original meaning of the Holy Qur'an. And so, on Laylat ul-Qadr, thank Amir Al-Mu'minin, alayhi as-salam, for his sacrifices. Thank him for his efforts.