A Luminary

The 'Introduction to the Quran' is the outcome of deep research by the great scholar Late Haji Mirza Mehdi Pooya (no honorific can elevate a name now so eminent). The intellectual zeal and intuitive insight of this most profound and constructive thinker have elucidated logically 'Genuineness of the Quran, the meaning of 'Revelation', 'Existence of God', 'Inevitability of Faith in Divine Occultation = the birth, presence disappearance and reappearance of the 12th Imam - the last Imam from the AhlulBait, Progeny of the Holy Prophet' - all these articles of faith being, based on the Quran. He completed this work in spite of continuous ill'health. The work had been reviewed thoroughly by the eminent Judge, Late Justice Shahabuddin, former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan. Justice Shahabuddin was among the close friends of Aqa Pooya who imbibed the scholarly exposition of the Quran by Aqa. This great scholar left  this world on 17th July 1973 = 16 Jamaad Ath'Thaani 1393H, (may the Almighty further elevate his station). He was born in 1317H . In a very learned family of Yazd, Iran. His father Hojjatol Islam Aqai Mirza Mohammed Hassan and Grandfather Hojjatol' Islam Aqa Mirza Mohammed Ja'far of Yazd were celebrated scholars of their time , the former being a brilliant student of the Shia Divine Syed Kazim Tabatabai Yazdy, who in turn was the student of the latter . Aqa Pooya received his education in Yazd (Iran) and Najaf (Iraq). By the age of seven, he was learned in 'Euclid' and other intricate mathematical problems of Pythagoras. He was the most intelligent student of Mujtahid Aqai Naini. The sublimity of calibre of this young Scholar was recognised by his Mujtahid who was deeply interested in his career. However, Aqa Pooya did not stay in Iraq and Iran. Being very sensitive, he was so effected by the unhappy conditions prevailing in Iraq and Iran that he migrated to Madras in undivided India. His Mujtahid Aqai Naini was very unhappy over the migration of such a brilliant scholar and were it possible he would have  ordained religious decree to stop his migration. He set himself to the task of learning the English language there and kept steadily to it till he attained a sound knowledge of the language.

Scholars and people in Pakistan found common indebtedness to Aqa Pooya for his having chosen to settle down in Karachi and enlightening those around him by his Conversations and fortnightly religious discourses where one could discuss one's doubts and be satisfied by Pooya's learned self. Association with him has given birth to learned scholars and famous orators. Many have been blessed by his piety, tolerance and benevolence. He was one of those scholars who never raised an eyebrow at the unbeliever pestering him with his problems which were at times childish, at times serious. He was all ears and always successful in putting the questioner at ease and at showing him where the flaw lay in his reasoning. Problems of everyday life to the most scholastic ones, were solved by him through recitation of relevant verses from the Quran with explanations. In the eyes of the living Divines of Najaf and Iran, he is an accepted  authority on the interpretation and exposition of Quranic verses from esoteric and exoteric points of view. Aqa Pooya never neglected his duties towards Islamic institutions all over Pakistan, many of which owe their existence to him. His explanatory notes in 'Translation of the Quran' by Mir Ahmed Ali and his book 'Fundamentals of Islam' are among the monumental works of this epoch. His outstanding works will always serve as guidelines not only to the scholars but all those interested in knowing and grasping the meaning of Islam, universal truth, regardless of their creed, nationality and sect. His personality attracted Hindus, Christians, Parsees, and Christian' Missionaries from abroad, who were left spell' bound and overwhelmed with admiration at his sound reasoning and clear exposition of Islam through Quran, as presented by the Holy Prophet and his AhlulBait. Though the great luminary has physically disappeared from the local scene, he retains a position in the horizon and generations to come will be enlightened with the rays of his learning. I am duty' bound, according to the wish of the Late Aqa Pooya to offer thanks to Messrs. Habeeb Esmail Benevolent Trust, whose constant services in the achievement of religious ideal need no introduction and Mr. Mushtaq Ali K. Laddhani who carried out his work devotedly. I feel it is my supreme fortune to have had close association with this benefactor, the late Aqa who taught me Islam and dispelled all doubts relating to religion which were the product of the particular western philosophic thought and envious tendencies of the time.

Not only my humble self but my late loving daughter Najiba (Mrs. Syed Fida'I' Shabir) M. A., Lecturer of English Literature S. M. B. Fatima Jinnah Girls' College who passed very recently from this world in her young age, had also learned and grasped the instructions of the late Aqa which unfolded the outer and inner aspects of the Quran and teachings of the Holy Prophet and his AhlulBait.

She had been co'operating with her humble and assiduous labour during Aqa's academic productions. She endeavoured to disseminate Aqa's views through his writings on various occasions, (may Allah bless her soul). At the end, I request all the readers to observe their religious obligation and pray for Late Aqa Pooya's elevation of station in the permanent abode, for his great services to the cause of Islam.

Karachi.

1974

Syed Mohammed Murtaza

Note

The present treatise, 'Genuineness of the Quran' is a part of 'Introduction to the Quran'. This is being published as an independent treatise as a substitute to the article 'Originality and genuineness of the Quran in its text and arrangement' which is a part of introduction 'of the Quran translated by Mr. Mir Ahmed Ali. It was reviewed and re'written for various reasons.

Genuineness of the Holy Quran in Its Text and Its Arrangement

Explaination

Verily, those who disbelieve in the Reminder when it cometh unto them, And verily 41 : 41 it (Quran) is a Book Unassailable. 41: 42 Shall come not nigh it falsehood from before it nor from behind it : a revelation from the All' Wise, the Most Praised One. An overwhelming majority of scholars of all schools of thought in Islam agree that the Holy Quran, as it is now, in our hands, was rendered in writing under the command and the personal supervision of the Holy Prophet himself, and that no addition, omission or alteration, whatsoever, ever took place in it. But a few traditionalists of Sunni as well as Shia schools who were invariably influenced more by the letter of all sorts of traditions (whether authentic or inauthentic) than by reason and historical facts, have held a different view to the effect that some omissions and alterations had taken place after the Holy Prophet, and before the official assent was given to the present version by Caliph Uthman. The advocates of this view never succeeded in establishing this theory by any reliable evidence and argument. Our attempt here is to:

1. point out the causes of this theory;

2. evaluate the traditions put forward in support of the theory;

3. assess the internal and the external evidence of historical value on this subject;

4. establish what the Muslims are required to believe about the Holy Quran from the religious point of view .

Before dealing with the subject in detail under the above headings, the following points have necessarily to be kept in view.

Everlasting Challenge

By Quran, we mean the rhythmic and recitative verses, phrases, sentences and the chapters uttered by the Holy Prophet of Islam, not as his own wording, but as verbatim Book of God , revealed to him, and which he proclaimed as his Everlasting Miracle bearing testimony of his Prophethood and with which he challenged not only the Arab individuals of his time, who doubted the Divine origin of the Quran, but also the individuals, Arab or non 'Arab, who may doubt in future its origin . He even challenged Ins and Jins as a whole ever since its utterance upto the Resurrection Day to join hands and bring a 'like' of it, or ten chapters of it, even a single chapter if possible. 2 : 23

If ye be in doubt about what We have sent down unto Our Servant (Mohammed) Produce ye then a surah (Chapter) like unto it, and call ye your witnesses other than God , if ye be truthful. 2 : 24

But if ye do (it) not, and never shall ye do (it) then guard ye (yourselves) against the (Hell) fire whose fuel shall be the people and stones, Prepared for the disbelievers. 10: 37

And this Quran is not such as to be forged by (any one) besides God, but it is a confirmation of (the scriptures) that went before it and (the clearest) explanation of the Book, there is no doubt in it, (it is) from the Lord of the worlds 10 : 38

Or do they say :

'He (Apostle Mohammed) hath forged it ? "

Say thou!

'Bring ye then a chapter like unto it and call on (to your aid) whomsoever ye can, besides God, if ye be truthful. " 10 : 39

Nay, they belied that which they comprehended not with the knowledge of it and the explanation of it came not unto them even thus did belie those before them see then what was the end of the unjust ones. 11 : 13

Or do they say. "He (Our apostle) hath forged it."

Say thou!

'Bring ye then ten suras like unto it forged, and call ye (to your aid) whomsoever ye can besides God, if ye be truthful. " 11 : 14

(Then if they answer ye not , then know ye that this (Quran) is revealed (only) by God's knowledge, and that there is no god but He! Will ye then submit (and be Muslims now? 17: 88 Say thou "Even) if men and the jinn get united (with the object) that they bring the like of this Quran, they would bring not the like of it , even though some of them to the others be helpers." And Various other verses. This challenge he threw to the people not only of a particular age but of all times. The other utterances and saying of the Holy Prophet are also revelations from God but they are not included in the above definition as they are not part of the Quran in respect of which he challenged the world. These are known as Sacred traditions ' Ahaadeeth' e 'Qudsiyya which are so numerous and abundant that if collected together they would not be less than the size of the Holy Quran if not more (vide 'Division of Revelation' - 'The introduction to the Quran'. Their popularity and authenticity, in no respect or aspect, are more than that of other genuine but solitary reports containing the sayings of the Holy Prophet. This definition also excludes the words, phrases or sentences revealed to the Holy Prophet as explanatory notes, in between certain verses, but not for recitation of the revealed notes of this type, some are so peculiar that if they be taken as part of the text of the Quran, the rhythmic and recitative tone of the verse would be disturbed .

Thus granting the truth of certain reports pointing out some words or phrases not found in the Quran as 'revealed', in between some verses, they do not necessarily mean that the words or phrases in question were part of the text for recitation. In other words, it is true that the Quran as a whole or part is revealed, but it is not true that whatever was revealed is the Quran or part of it. For example, there are certain reports narrated by some Sunni and Shia narrators that in 4: 24 wherein temporary marriage is dealt with, it was said that (x) was found there in the collections of Abdullah bn 'Maso'od. 4 : 24 Then as to those whom you profit by, give them their dowries as appointed 44 : 24

Then as to those whom you profit by FOR FIXED PERIOD, give them their dowries as appointed 8The said phrase was undoubtedly revealed , not as a part of recitative Quran but as an explanatory note; this is the reason why it was not found in any other collection except in that of Abdullah bn 'Maso'od. All the Muslim commentators agree that the passage deals with the legislation relating to temporary marriage. According to Abdullah bn 'Maso'od, the reason for recording and reciting this explanatory phrase was that the ruler of the time had issued an ordinance prohibiting the temporary marriage and as a protest, bn 'Maso'od used to mention this phrase, so that nobody could deny the legislation regarding temporary marriage. Any report that suggests addition or omission or alteration of some words or phrases which is inconsistent with the rhythmic and recitative tone of the text should be either rejected or interpreted as meaning something out of the text. For example, Bukhari reports that one of the companions of the Prophet, AboDarda, used to consider the phrase 'Wa Ma Khalaqa' as an addition not found in 92:3 but the rhythmical consistency of the present version with this phrase is the best proof against the report of AboDarda , which may be an outcome of his imagination or that of some subsequent reporters. 92:3

And the creating of the male and the female 492:3

And the male and the female 8Moreover it is the consensus of opinion of the Muslim scholars that nothing has been added to the text. This definition given above, needs to be kept in view throughout the discussion about the Holy Quran.

Matchless in Authenticity and Genuineness

Of the religious records of historical value whether pre- 'Islamic[1] or post 'Islamic, in our hands, no document can ever compete with the Holy Quran in authenticity and genuineness. None of the historical records and reports which the Muslims claim to be the most authentic and genuine, be it of any school of thought viz. the Sehaah 'e' Sitta of Sunnis or the Kutb Arba'a of Shia's '" can claim continuous popularity in the sense of being within the reach of every Muslim from his earliest age to his death in any degree as was the Holy Quran; and no tradition was considered so important as to make every Muslim child learn, recite and memorise it word by word with the utmost grammatical correctness and phonetic perfection as in the case of the Holy Quran.

Attachement to the Holy Quran by Its Believers

The above mentioned importance and care attached to the Holy Quran by every Muslim was not a matter of any subsequent period The Muslims were attracted to the Holy Quran , as the word of God from the time of its revelation to the holy Prophet and his recitation to the people. The Holy Quran itself from the time of its revelation encouraged the people in various ways to learn, read, recite and memorise it and to ponder over every word and mindfully listen when being recited. When one recites it, one should first get ready to do it by withdrawing one's self from everything which would cause the least diversion of thought or distraction of attention. 7: 204

And when the Quran is recited then ye listen to it and be attentive, that mercy be done unto you. 16: 98

And when recitest thou the Quran, seek thou refuge with God from Satan the accursed.

The Holy Prophet Commanded to Follow the Divine Order in Its Recitation and Arrangement

The importance of the Quran attached by its Divine Author and believers: the Holy Prophet was commanded by God not to be in haste in the recitation or the arrangement of the Holy Quran but to follow the Divine order in both respects. This indicates that the arrangement need not be according to the date of the revelation with which we will deal later. In short, the students of the Holy Quran can realise the amount of importance and care which has been attached to the Holy Text by its Divine Author, and as a natural consequence of it by the Muslims, who rightly believe that 'God' is the Author of the Holy Quran. 76: 16 (0 Our Apostle Mohammed!) Move not thy tongue with it (the 'Quran) in haste! 76 : 17

Verily on Us is the collection of it and the recital of it! 76: 18 So when We have recited it , then follow thou the recital! 76: 19

Again it is on Us the explaining of it! 20 :114

High above all is God, the King, the (Self 'Existent) Truth; And hasten not (O Our Apostle Mohammed!) with the Quran ere its completed unto thee its revelation, And say thou; "O my Lord! increase me in knowledge" Thus they pay the utmost devotion to the Holy Book and carry out the orders as required of them. They have been learning and making their children learn it and they were keen to put it into writing. The Muslims in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet were taught and educated to learn the Holy Quran as 'Ibaadat = Devotion', to recite it as 'Ibaadat', to write it down as 'Ibaadat', to teach others and make them read and learn it by heart and understand it as 'Ibaadat'.

They became so familiar with it that they used the verses of the Holy Quran in their daily conversation to the extent that some of them as history records, never usually used any word, phrase or sentence in their life other than that of the Holy Quran.

Arranged and Written in Complete Book Form in the Holy Prophet's Life

The Holy Quran declares that the teaching of the Book and the act of writing are among the main objects of the advent of the Holy Prophet and it considers the pen as the means of educating man even when God is the teacher. 68 : 1 (N) by the Pen and by what they write, 96 : 4 (He) who taught (to write) with the Pen, 96 : 5 (He) taught man what he knew not! The Holy Quran commands people to write down in their business and other transactions their agreements and keep witnesses to avoid doubts and disputes later on.

With all these facts established above, is it possible that the Author of the Quran (Allah), who attaches so much importance to others writing down even the affairs of their business, did not care for having His own work written down to which HE attached so much importance and which HE revealed as the Book containing the fundamental principles of truth and justice, the final and the universal Divine Message, not for any section of humanity or for any limited time but for the human race as a whole and for all time in all parts of the earth?

In verse 6 : 91, the Quran blames the Jews for having put the book revealed to Moses in fragmentary form exhibiting some parts of it and suppressing the others. 6 : 91

They esteem not God with the estimation due to Him when they say : "Nothing did God send down unto man!" Say (0 Our Apostle Mohammed!) "Who (then) did it send down the Book which Moses brought ?

a light and a guidance to mankind, Ye make (transcribe) it into papers (whereon ye publish (a part) and conceal ye much (of it)!

and ye were taught what ye knew not, neither you nor your fathers; Say thou! "God!" then leave them sporting in their vain discourses. It is unthinkable that God left His Book, in the fragmentary and unarranged form when He blames the Jews for doing so in respect of the book of Moses. Ali (A. S. ) tells us :

'Nay , During the gradual revelation of the Quran no chapter, verse , sentence , phrase , word , letter was revealed which the Holy Prophet did not recite to me and made me recite and then dictate to me . I wrote it in its proper place as ordered. He dictated to me not only the text but also the necessary explanatory notes about the date, circumstances and the implications of every verse and chapter. Besides this, he (the Holy Prophet) taught me thousand keynotes to the inner meaning of the Quran; each keynote leading to another thousand keynotes and further inner meanings and so on. Is it possible that when the Quran with its revealed commentary was dictated to Ali (A. S. ) by the Holy Prophet and was written by Ali (A. S. ) in his own handwriting, the text of the Quran in its recitative miraculous form which had to be placed within the reach of everybody was left unwritten or written in fragmentary form? Any impartial reasonable person, be he a Muslim or non-Muslim would certainly give as his verdict, beyond any doubt, that the Quran, as defined above, was put into writing and collected and arranged under the supervision of the Holy Prophet (S . A . ).

The claim of any school of thought that the text in question was collected and arranged by anyone after the demise of the Prophet is absolutely unfounded. The term 'Mus'haf = collection' used then did not mean the text only. It meant text with commentary or explanatory notes. That collection also had been made by the recognized teachers, months before the demise of the Holy Prophet (S. A. ). And as it will be seen later the recognized teachers refused to hand over their collection to the then ruling parties, and so the ruling parties decided to dispense with the then existing collections and prepare their own . It is recorded in books of traditions and history that the young Zaid bn-Thaabit was selected for the task. No record of historical value shows that Ali (A. S. ) or other recognized teachers of the Quran took part in this official collection; on the contrary each of them engaged himself independently in producing copies of their collections of explanatory nature according to their taste and ability. [2]

Neither the so called collection of Ali, prepared after the demise of the Holy Prophet, not his former collection made during the life of the Holy Prophet was seen by any person other than the chosen members of the Family of the Holy Prophet = AhlulBait. The official collection prepared by Zaid bn-Thaabit under the order of the first Caliph also remained unpublished during the reigns of the first and second Caliphs and the first of the third Caliph's rule. But during this period the text of the Quran left by the Holy Prophet among the people along with AhlulBait got the publicity and popularity to such an extent that nobody could dare to tamper with the text by omission, addition or alteration of the arrangement. All that could be done was only to tamper with the interpretation of the existing text.

No Additions, No Omissions, No Alterations

The authenticity and the genuineness of the version of the Holy Quran now in our hands, in the sense that it is in the very words which were uttered by the Holy Prophet, is so evident that no Muslim scholar of any standard has ever doubted its genuineness or the fact that each and every letter, word or sentence, verse or chapter was uttered by the Holy Prophet, as the part of the Quran. In other words the version we have in our hands, is undoubtedly the Quran as recited by the Holy Prophet. To the question of Talha, 'Is all this in our hands Quran (revealed from God)?' Ali's answer was : 'All that is in our hands (within the reach of the people) is Quran (revealed from God) and in this (which is available to all) is the proof of our right over the people and their duty to obey us.'

However the dispute remains about omissions and alterations in the arrangement and in some lettering and not about any additions at all.

Varieties Of Recitation Do Not Mean Addition Or Alteration

This disputed issue should not be confused with the question of different recitations i. e. varieties of recitation do not mean addition or alteration. The alterations or the alternatives given by some commentators regarding some lettering, pronunciation and some words of the Holy Book which do not effect any substantial change either in the meaning or in the significance of the phrases or the sentences will be dealt with under the variety of the recitations of the same words; such as, Malike and Maalike.

In short, in spite of some solitary traditions, the Muslim world throughout the ages has been unanimous that nothing has been added to the Holy Quran which is now in our hands. All religious records other than the Holy Quran, Islamic or non-Islamic are suspected of containing passages, paragraphs and even chapters which have been added to the original work. Having in view this irrefutable authenticity and the genuineness of the Holy Quran, the Holy Prophet of Islam and his companions and the scholars of the subsequent generations are unanimous that the Holy Quran is to be taken as the standard and the criterion for the verification of all the other religious records, be these Islamic or non-Islamic. Any narration, attributing an utterance, action or endorsement to the Holy Prophet or the Holy Imams of his House, if inconsistent with the Holy Quran is to be considered as spurious and unacceptable. This criterion for accepting or rejecting a narration or tradition has been declared by the Holy Prophet, Ali, Hasan and Husain and the succeeding nine Imams of the Holy House[3]. It means that the Quran as the standard and the criterion for the verification of falsehood or truth of other  religious statements, reports and narrations, existed within the reach of the public throughout the period.

The Same Version Received the Official Assent of the 3rd Caliph

Part 1

There is no dispute or doubt that the Quran in our hands is the same version which received the official assent of the Third Caliph. All that has been or may be said about the omission , addition or substantial alteration alleged to have taken place in the Quran, (in the arrangement of the words and phrases in the verses and chapters or the arrangement of the chapters together) relates to the period between the demise of the Holy Prophet and the official assent given to the present version by the Third Caliph. As already pointed out, the Holy Quran was current and in use during the life-time of the Holy Prophet among the Muslims throughout the then Muslim world. The believers, men and women, and even the children were ardently desirous of learning and being in possession of the Word and the Book of God by all means possible, by writing and preparing a collection of it or learning it by heart. Besides the fact that the Quran was popular among the people in general, there were Ali bn-Abi-Taalib, Ja'far bn-Abi-Taalib and their adherents, a few chosen scholars, among the early Muslims to whom the Holy Prophet had entrusted the duty of recording then and there the Quran as it was revealed, and recited by him. They were Abdullah bn-Maso-od and Mas'-ab bn-Omair of the earliest Muslims in Mecca and Obai bn-Ka'b amongst the Ansars = earliest adherents in Madina, Ma'az bn-Jabal, Salim Mawla Huzaifa and others like Khabbab bn-Arth, who was teaching Umar's sister and her husband on the occasion when Umar came to kill them but got overpowered by the fascination of recited verses and was thus converted to Islam. Ja'far bn-Abi-Taalib was the head of the early Muslims who had migrated to Abyssinia, and he was a student of the Quran revealed upto date; and Mas'ab bn-Omair was sent to Madina to teach the Quran to the people before the migration of the Holy Prophet to that city. They used to record the Quran in writing under the direct command and the personal supervision of the Holy Prophet, in his very presence, immediately it was revealed, putting each part of it in its relevant place as directed by the Holy Prophet. They recited their manuscripts to him (Holy Prophet) on the spot and also many times afterwards and obtained his approval. These scribes were considered to be in charge of teaching the Quran to others.

They were considered as the scribes of the Holy Book from whom the Muslims directly or indirectly learned the Quran during the life time of the Holy Prophet and thereafter. These people and thousands of prominent companions were interested in learning the Holy Quran and its commentary. Among the prominent scholars of the Quran, Abdullah bn-Abbaas was one of the eminent though he was a young companion of the Prophet. He was also one of the disciples of Ali. Even the party in power and their dignitaries had to learn the Quran from Abdullah bn-Abbaas (vide Bukhari: Chapter Stoning The Pregnant Adulteress = Rajme Hubla) The dignitaries of Quraish, during the later period of the second Caliph were learning the Quran from Abdullah bn-Abbaas. One of them was Abdur-Rahmaan bn-Auf whose political importance was evident from the fact that the second Caliph gave him the casting vote in the deliberations of the committee appointed to nominate the Third caliph. Most of these recognised scholars of the Quran lived throughout the period intervening between the demise of the Holy Prophet and the official assent given by Caliph Othmaan to the present version.

These people taught the Quran throughout the length and breadth of the fast' expanding Muslim Empire. People of various races, creeds and different shades of opinion who had embraced Islam learned the Quran from those early Muslims by heart and had put it down in writing for their own use. The popularity of the Quran among the Muslims is evident from the report that in the battle of 'Yamama', which took place only about six months after the demise of the Holy Prophet, seven hundred Huffaaz - those who learned Quran by heart - were killed in a single day's fight. So in view of the widespread popularity of the Quran among the Muslims ever since its revelation and the all-out efforts of the faithful men, women and children to acquaint themselves with its precise wordings, no report about any wording of the Quran being different in quantity (i. e., being more or less) or in quality (i. e. pronunciation and arrangement) from the wording of the Quran in hand could have escaped the notice of all its admirers except a solitary person or a few more others out of thousands. If there were any letter, word, phrase, sentence, verse or chapter and its ordinal position different from those of the version in hand they would have been known to a very large number of people in every generation. Any report about the wording of the Quran lacking the strength of the evidence of the reporters in large numbers cannot be true just as the eclipse of the sun at mid-day in the clear sky of a particular region cannot take place and be known only to a very few out of thousands of inhabitants.

This argument aiming at the negation of certain event on the basis of the absence of its necessary property or the necessary associate of the event will frequently be referred to in the course of our discussion about the Quran in hand as the strongest evidence of its genuineness . There are solitary reports about certain words of Faatehatual Kitaab being different from the words in the version in hand e . g . instead of Walaz-Zaaleen some reports say it was Ghair az-Zaaleen. Reports stating that this small chapter, the recitation of which twice in each of the daily five times prayer is compulsory, was different in wording from the present version cannot be relied upon at all. 1 : 7 The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors. Not (the path) of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray 41 : 7 Sirata man an-amta alaihim, ghairl Maghzoobe alaihim wa gahiriz Zaaleen.

'Undoubtedly the Quran was existing during the life-time of the Holy Prophet in the form of an arranged Book as approved by the Holy Prophet himself . From the saying of the Holy Prophet : 'Jibreel had placed before me the Quran for review once a year and in the last year of ministry he (Jibreel) did so twice which indicated that the time of my departure was close at hand.'

Part 2

It is quite evident that (a) both the Divine Author and the Holy Prophet were so very careful about the Quran that no alteration of any kind whatsoever could have been made in it by anyone and (b) that the Quran received its complete arrangement and order not later than about two months before the demise of the Holy Prophet . It is with reference to this revealed Book which existed in the complete form within the reach of the people that the Holy Prophet addressing his followers declared :

'O People! I am leaving among you Two precious things to which if ye adhere, never shall ye go astray i. e. , the Book of God and my AhlulBait.

It was with reference to the complete Book of God in the hands of Muslims Caliph Umar dared to say Hasbona Kitaaballah = Sufficient is for us the Book of God at the demise of the Holy Prophet when he asked for pen and ink to write his will in which he wanted to reiterate Ali being Hojjat - the Supreme Authority after him - but was refused (vide 'Hadeeth Qirtaas').

This proves beyond all doubts that while the Holy Prophet was alive, a version of the Quran in its complete and duly arranged form was in existence among the people and within the reach of the common man, and so also were the AhlulBait who were referred to by the Holy Prophet as one of the two great things he was leaving, the other great thing being the Quran. Otherwise references to the Book of God in these declarations become meaningless. Doubting the existence of the Quran in a complete and well arranged book form , within the reach of these, addressing whom the Holy Prophet had said, 'I am leaving among you . . . ', is like doubting the existence of the Divine declaration in a clear and unequivocal form about the person who should succeed the Holy Prophet as the supreme authority in Islam, whose words should be final in any dispute and doubt concerning the outer or inner aspect of Islam. Doubts relating to the genuineness and supreme authoritative status of the Quran and the declared supreme authoritative status of AhlulBait undermine the very foundation of the faith. Such doubts imply that the Holy Prophet who claimed to be the last in the order of the messengers of God has left these two vital issues to be finalised and decided by the wishes of the new converts whose susceptibility to reversion to the old pagan cult and practices has been referred to by the Quran as a warning to the Prophet. 25 : 30

And shall say (out) the Apostle (that day) "My Lord, verily my people have held this Quran as a vain forsaken thing! In other words, to doubt the genuineness of the Quran is to insinuate that the Holy Prophet who had come to complete and finalise the Divine mission that had started with the advent of Adam so that after him there would be no plea and argument for excuse for men against God, in their controversies - 4 : 165 (We sent) apostles as givers of glad tidings and warners that there may not remain any argument for people against God, after (the coming of) these apostles, - neglected the complete and final settlement of the most important issues and thus laid the foundation of all the later controversies in Islam. Such neglect on the part of the Holy Prophet was not only improbable but also unthinkable, as his message is universal and all-comprehensive. As a matter of fact such neglect is not likely even in the case of an average man of wisdom who starts, an ordinary movement of political or social value. For the mere sake of argument, some may say, that the Holy Prophet in his saying :

'I am leaving among you the two precious things, the Book of God and my AhlulBait' referred to what people had learnt by heart and the fragments of the leaves, woods, bones and papers, on which the Quran used to be written at the time of its revelation. Such an interpretation of the words of the Holy Prophet which he uttered when declaring the final and supreme authority after him , is as stupid as the interpretation that the word 'Mawla' used by the Holy Prophet, at the declaration of Ghadeer-e-Khum, meant 'friend'. There was no need of such a declaration if the intention of the Holy Prophet was to repeat Ali as a mere friend at Ghadeer. Similarly it is not possible that he referred to a pile of unarranged or scattered fragments as the Book of God without saying anything definite about the quality, quantity and the would be arrangement of the book and the method of giving a final shape to those fragments as a complete book and those who were to undertake the task. If he (the Holy Prophet) by the word Book of God, meant the fragments in question , and not a proper book then he would have said according to the Shia point of view, that he had left the Book of God in fragmentary condition with Ali, leaving it to him to give it the final shape as ordered by God, and that people should receive the Quran from Ali only; or he would have said, according to Sunni point of view, that he had left the Quran in a fragmentary condition in the memory of the people and on the fragments of leaves, bones, hides, wood and paper here and there with the people, and that it was the duty of the man in power after him to undertake or entrust to a reliable person the task of doing the needful by getting all the scattered fragments and putting them together in a particular form of a Book.

In short, to doubt the existence of the Quran in a definite book form within the reach of the people and the existence of clear and unobscure declaration about a living authority side by side of the Quran as its interpreter and infallible exponent to be followed by all, is nothing short of doubting, not only the Prophethood of the founder of Islam but even his wisdom, which the worst of his enemies could not deny.

Stages of Revelation of the Quran

The Quran claims several stages of its existence :

1. A pre-revealed existence with God in the Lawh Mahfooz - Protected Tablet - and in Kitaab-e-Maknoon - Hidden Book. 56:77 Verily it is Quran honourable, 56:78

In a book that is protected 56:79 Toucheth it not save the purified ones.

2. A revealed form taught to the Holy Prophet when he was

created by gifting him the power of expression. 55:1 (God), The Beneficent , 55:2 Taught He the Quran . 55:3 He created man , 55:4 He taught him Expression .

3. A well arranged (Chapter-wise) form revealed to the heart of Holy Prophet (Mohammed) in its totality at one time on the Esteemed Night in the month of Ramazaan. 97:1

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent , the Merciful Verily.

We sent it (the Quran) down in the Night of Qadr! 97:2

What can make thee know what the Night of  'Qadr' is? 97:3

The Night of 'Qadr' is better than a thousand month 97 : 4

The Angels and the Spirit descend therein by the permission of their Lord , with (decrees) of all affairs . 97 : 5

Peace is (the whole Night) till the breaking of the down! 44 : 2

By the Manifesting Book (Quran) . 44 : 3

Verily We sent it down on a Blessed Night 44 :

- verily We have ever been warning - 44 : 4

Therein are madedistinct all wise affairs, 44 : 5

(Becoming) a command from unto Us; 44 :

Verily, We are thesenders (of mercy and peace) 44 : 6

A mercy from thy Lord; 44 :

Verily , He is theAll-Hearing, the All-Knowing

These three stages should be taken as referring to the stages of God teaching the Holy Prophet and acquainting him with the Quran.

4. The stage of gradual revelation of the Quran with which the Holy Prophet was already well-acquainted; in this stage the revelation of the Quran part by part was meant for recitation to the people 17 : 106

And it is Quran which We have apportioned it so that thou mayest recite it unto the people with deliberation (by degrees), and We have sent it down, gradually in portions. It was in this stage of recitation that the first five verses of Chapter. 46 known as 'Alaq' or 'Iqra' were revealed.

The first chapter of the Quran named Faatehatual Kitaab (the opening Chapter of the Holy Book, the Quran) was revealed for recitation later. In this stage of revelation the circumstances would necessitate quotation and recitation of some chapters or verses (from chapters) not in accordance with the order of the previous arrangement. A portion of one chapter would be recited earlier and the other portion would remain to be recited later on . In this interval few other chapters or portions of these were revealed for recitation.

5. The stageof post-gradual revelation wherein the Quran was taught to be placed within the reach of Jinns and Ins as an everlasting guidance and challenging miracle. Post-gradual revelation begins in the last year of Holy Prophet's ministry. The Holy Prophet said that Jibreel used to place the Quran before him every year but this year he placed twice before him as it was Holy Prophet's last year in this material world. It was approximately three months before the Holy Prophet's repeated declaration :

'I am leaving among you two precious things : the book of God and my AhlulBait'.' Having these stages in view , it is obvious that the arrangement of the post-gradual revelation should be in accordance with the order of the Quran of pre-gradual revelation and not in accordance with the order of the date of its gradual revelation, because circumstances may necessitate an earlier recitation of a portion or a verse or a chapter which might be the next in the order of the pre-revealed arrangement.

The fact that the arrangement of the Quran of post-gradual revelation should be in accordance with the per-gradual revelation , discarding the date of gradual revelation -, is supported by the Quran : 76 : 17

Verily on Us is the collection of it and the recital of it! and by the narrations and reports which indicate that the Holy Prophet used to order the Scribes to place the revealed  verses of different rhythmical pitch in the relevant particular chapters, and that the Quran was revised by Jibreel twice in the last year of his (the Prophet's) ministry.

Therefore, the place and the date of revelation have not the slightest bearing on the order of arrangement of the Quran in post-gradual revelation. What we find in the beginning of every chapter written about the date and place of revelation such as Makki, Madani and number of verses in each chapter are not part of the Quran. These are what people had marked out for their own reference. Thus it is not correct to consider the present placing of the Madani Chapters before Makki and vice versa as a sign of disorder and lack of proper arrangement.

Quran Made Easy

Although there is no problem of any theological value , theoretical or practical , which the Quran has not dealt with, and it surpasses all scriptural records of pre or post-Islamic ages in the abundant variety of its contents, yet its method of approach, presentation and solution is exclusively unique in itself. It never deals with any topic in the common systematic way used by any author of theology or even by any apostolic writer. On the contrary, it expressly says that it has adopted a special manifold method of its own which may be termed as 'Tasreefi' i. e. display of varieties or changing the topics and shifting from one subject to another or reverting to the previous one and repeating deliberately and purposefully one and the same subject in unique and peculiar rhythmic and recitative forms to facilitate the understanding, learning and remembering of it : 17 : 89

And certainly we have used various arguments for men in the Quran, every kind of description, but most men consent not to aught but denying. 6 : 46

'See thou, how we display (explaining) the signs yet they turn aside . 6 : 65'

Behold! how repeatedly do We display the signs, that they may understand. 6 : 105

And thus do We display the signs and that they may say "Thou hast been taught and that We may make it clear to people who know. " The display of varieties linked together with a rhythm of peculiar pitch is to show forth the signs of the Unity of God. From its above verses, it is evident that the Holy Quran was already alive to the fact that this changing attitude will make some opponents of it and accuse its Author of getting its subject matter from here and there, so, the Quran gives the reason for this, as to stir up the depth of human intellect to reflect on the unity in variety and harmony in diversity. However, it is a fact that the Holy Quran deals in each chapter of particular rhythm with various topics in various ways and this variety adds only to its unique beauty and matchless eloquence. An attentive reciter or an intelligent audience of the Holy Quran while passing through these varieties of rhythmical pitch, enjoys to the extent which the Holy Quran itself declares : 39 : 23

God hath the best  announcement, a book consistent in its various parts, at the recitation of which do shudder the skins of those who fear their Lord , then their skins and their hearts become plaint to the remembrance of God, this is God's guidance. He guideth with it whomsoever He willeth; and (as for) Him whom God alloweth to err, there shall be no guide for him. " 39 : 27

And certainly we have set forth for men in this Quran similitudes of every sort that they may mind. Even those who doubted the genuineness of the arrangement of the present version did not  complain that the whole arrangement of the verses in all the chapters had been affected. There are chapters which were undoubtedly revealed in complete form such as Chapters 54, 55, 56 and  the chapters immediately preceding and succeeding them and Chapter. 39

The sixth chapter which is a lengthy chapter , according to AhlulBait, was also revealed at one time in its complete present form. One finds the same variation of subject manifested in those chapters also. This variety of expression in rhythmical way, is found not only in the chapters but even in the verses of the Holy Book. These facts are comprehensible by an intelligent and a sincere student of the Holy Quran as he goes on reciting it over and over again. Therefore to consider (a) the mere absence of chronological arrangement of the verses in some chapters and the chapters together, or (b) the mere variance of topics in the verses of a chapter, or of topics of chapters, close to each other, as proving that the disarrangement of the Quran took place after the Holy Prophet is not right , unless there be some authentic report of historical value or any other internal or external  evidence to bear testimony to that effect regarding some specific word, verse or chapter. On the other hand, we have internal evidence of utmost certitude that certain verses of some Chapters, for example, Chapter Alaq (Iqra) contains eleven verses of which the first five verses are first in chronological order but the last six verses were revealed long afterwards when many other parts of other chapters were revealed for recitation.

The last six were revealed when the Holy Prophet started saying and leading prayer openly, and met with opposition from the infidels in the third year of his mission. Similarly, the last lengthy verse 73 : 20, according to its contents, supported by authentic reports must have been revealed then, eleven years after the first nineteen short verses. The revelation of the last portion belonged to the early revelations next to 'Iqra and Al-Muddathir'. Were not the ordinal position of the verses in question Divine and in complete accord with the Holy Prophet's declarations and were the present position of these verses the result of any disarrangement, it would have been pointed out and reported by the AhlulBait and their followers, such as Ammar, AboZar, Meqdaad or such other bold and outspoken men, and also by some other companions of the Holy Prophet who were held as authorities on the Quran. The Imams of the of the Holy House pointed out that chapters 93 and 94 - Az-Zuha and Al-Inshirah - though separated from each other by 'Bismillah', yet due to the close relevancy of the context should be considered as one and recited together if they are recited in the first two 'Raka-ats' of the daily compulsory prayers. And the same is the case with chapters 105 and 106 - Al-Feel and Quraish - they should be recited together in the prayer. This directive of the AhlulBait about these chapters shows how AhlulBait were keen to see that the Quran was recited in prayers in the proper order. If there was any disarrangement and misplacement in any part of any chapter they would have pointed it out to the people so that they might be careful in the recitation of the Quran in prayer. If last six verses of Iqra and last forty six verses of Al-Muddathir and the last 20 verses of Al-Muzzamil were not in their proper places, the Holy AhlulBait would have pointed it out and directed people to place them properly. Absence of any direction from AhlulBait regarding the verses in question is a sufficient proof that their present arrangement is in order, though the time of their revelations was long after the revelation of the other portions of their respective chapters.

This is the best internal evidence which discards the chronological arrangement of verses and chapters as Divine. Besides these, all the authentic traditions and reports to the effect that the Holy Prophet used to direct the scribes to insert the verses revealed into different chapters, already revealed in parts, whether at Makka or Madina prove beyond doubt that the Divine or the original arrangement of the verses in the chapters and the chapters together need not be in accordance with the date of revelation. Hence any report pointing out that some companions have collected the Quran in chronological order should be discarded as spurious, or as indicating that such a collection was made as a commentary for their personal use and not for general recitation by the public.

Causes of Doubts

Explaination

Part 1

There is no doubt that the irresistible fascinating force and the challenging power of the Holy Quran were the main, if not the sole means of conversion ever since the beginning of the Holy Prophet's mission. Irrefutably the effect of the recitation of the Quran made the opponents spare no efforts to prevent the Holy Prophet and his disciples from reciting the Holy Book before the public, particularly the youth, There is abundant historical evidence vouching this fact. Besides, this preventive measure, the opponents tried also to overcome the irresistible force and the wonderful effect of the Holy Quran by trying to disturb its recitation by introducing interjections. 41 : 26 And those who disbelieve say; "Hearken ye not this Quran , make noise in it, happily ye may overcome. " Here is one of the instances of this effort : When the Holy Prophet, while reciting Chapter. 53 An-Najm, reached the 20th verse, one of the infidels among the audience uttered these words :

Tilkal Gharaniqul Oola wa inna shafa-atahonna laturja which were his own to make them appear to be the continuation of the verse recited by the Holy Prophet and to thus disturb the sequence of the succeeding verses. The result was that the infidels immediately fell into prostration in token of their approval and satisfaction.

This shows that there was a pre-arranged plan among the infidels to disturb the recitation of the Quran by the Holy Prophet, which incident was condemned by the Quran as an unsuccessful satanic attempt that used to be made against all the preceding prophets when they delivered God's message to the people : 22 : 52

And We sent not before thee (O Our Apostle Mohammed) any apostle or prophet , but when he recited (the message) the Satan did cast his recitation (to create error); But annulleth God that which the Satan casteth . then God doth establish His signs; And verily God is All-Knowing. All-Wise. 22 : 53

So that he may make that which casteth the Satan a trial unto those in whose hearts is disease and those whose hearts are hard; And verily , the unjust are in a schism far (away from the truth), 22 : 54 And that may know those who have been given the knowledge that it (Quran) is the truth from the Lord, so they may believe in it and may humble unto it their hearts;

And verily , God guideth those who believe, unto the right path; It is surprising that some critics (e . g . The Encyc. of Islam) and some ignorant commentators of the Holy Quran, accepting the rumours spread by the infidels and the hypocrites of the later period, attribute the satanic utterance of the infidels to the Holy Prophet himself while the internal evidence of Chapter. 53

The Star itself i. e. the verses preceding and following the 20th verse prove beyond doubt that such an utterance by the holy Prophet was impossible. However, this hostile attitude towards the Holy Quran, though unsuccessful was continued by the external and the internal enemies and the critics of Islam. The hypocrites during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet as well as afterwards did not hesitate to divert the attention of the Muslims from the Quran or weaken its influence on the minds of the people by all possible means.

The mischief-mongers received support to some extent from the political ambition of the Quraish to regain, after the Holy Prophet, supremacy over the Arabs which they had enjoyed before Islam. As the Quran did not favour their ambition, they did not mind if it lost its constitutional authority. In order to have a clearer picture of the causes of the doubt about the Quran in hand, we have to outline briefly : the apostolic stand taken by the Holy Prophet confirmed by the Quran and his sayings and the reaction of the people to it as confirmed by the Quran, tradition and the facts of history. The revealed form of religion started with the advent of Adam and passed its course of development through continuous chain of Divine vicegerency and the intermittent appearance of the subsequent prophets with new revelations, reached its zenith of perfection and assumed its highest developed form of Islam in the manner revealed to the last prophet of Allah,  Mohammed, (peace be on him  and his family) as the Universal Religion approved by God for mankind throughout the world and ages.

The revelational period for the preaching of Islam in its highest and final form to mankind comprised of the 23 years of the Holy Prophet's ministry. During this period, the revelational aspect of the Religion of Allah (Islam) was completed in the forms of : the recitative miraculous Word and Book of God (the Quran) and the sayings, deeds and endorsement of the Holy Prophet. Both the Quran and the life of the Holy Prophet,as the Quran, asserts, ought to be taken as the inseparable and equally revealed parts of the constitution of Islam. But for explaining and expounding the implications of these two constitutional sources and their application to the various aspects of human life and to see that the new converts , with all their divergent tendencies and interests, properly understood and digested what Islam and its constitution really meant, the said period was not sufficiently long.

In other words, for consolidation of the Islamic constitution in its detail and systematic form, as the basis for the development of Islamic thought, embracing all aspects of human life, a longer period was required which may be called the consolidatory period of Islam. As a matter of fact, history shows that it took almost three centuries for Islamic thought to develop in all its branches, resulting in the creation of various schools of theology, jurisprudence, and other literature of social, political, ethical, historical and philosophical aspects. It is for this consolidatory period which came immediately after the revelational period that a Divinely established supreme authority, side by side with the Quran , as its infallible exponent, was necessary to guard Islam against its being corrupted by non-Islamic and profane elements creeping into it. Along with so many intellectual developments and schools of thought in Islam, during this period, it was necessary that a purely Islamic school of thought based only on the revealed constitution and nothing else, should be developed under the guidance and leadership (Imaamat) of the chosen persons of AhlulBait i. e. Ale-Ibrahim after the Holy Prophet. This Divinely chosen form of Imaamat (leadership) should not be taken as having been designed after any monarchical pattern. It was purely apostolic in nature and features. That was the reason why their number was Divinely fixed and foretold by the Holy Prophet and many other prophets who preceded him as 'Twelve, no more no less'.

This Divine lead which began with Ali , continued for almost 250 years till the requisite constitutional consolidation was completed and the 'Twelfth Imam', though alive, disappeared from the sight of man. This was to begin a new era of Ijtehad (Rationalisation of Revelation) to give complete opportunity to the believers to acquaint themselves with the revealed and Divinely detailed constitution; and then, with utmost degree of piety and righteousness to use their reason to bring forth the implications of the constitution and apply their findings to the ever changing, increasing and expanding aspects of human life. This was to give full freedom and every chance to every believer, irrespective of colour, social and geographical distinction to develop his aptitude and intellectual faculties on the basis of the Islamic constitution towards the achievement of the Islamic ideals and values. During this period, every believer, (as declared by the Holy Imams), who qualifies himself in the prescribed knowledge and piety, is entitled to act as the supreme authority of his time, under certain conditions mentioned in detail under the topic 'Ijtehad and Taqleed' (Vide 'Occultation).'

This Era of Ijtehad (Rationalisation of Revelation) will continue with all its ups and downs till the time when the individualism, nationalism and all other partial and limitedism, tendencies and interests give way to the development of the sense of and desire for viewing not only the human race as a whole but the whole globe or say the whole solar system as one of the smallest parts of the greater whole or one of the smallest families of a greater society.

Then time will be ripe for reappearance of the last link in the chain of the Divinely chosen guides, the 'Twelfth Imam', not as an exponent of the constitution and teacher of Islam, but as final executor of all that Islam stands for establishing Universal Justice on earth. As we have termed Ijtehad as Rationalisation of the Revelation, we have to define it to avoid any possible misunderstanding. The term Ijtehad means a rational and logical approach and understanding of the denotations, connotations and implications of the revealed text, as detailed and directed by the AhlulBait. The term rationalisation should not be taken to mean licence for modification, amendment or any sort of alteration of the revealed text, or the details and directives given by the Imams. No reason and consideration of any kind in any of the stages and periods of the development of Islam can ever justify anyone to go against the revealed or consolidated constitution of Islam unless there be a provision applicable to the occasion, in the constitution itself. This is the Ijtehad, as defined and recommended by AhlulBait. But as will be pointed out later on, there were in the past, as are at present and will continue to be in future aspirants for power and independent decision whose deeds and talks betray that their view of Ijtehad is that it is licence for going against even the explicit injunctions of the Quran on the plea of some temporal or timely expediencies, advantages and analogical considerations. Narration of Bukhari may be referred to on the question of 'Tayamum' in the place of 'Ghusl' (ritual bathing) when water is not available .

According to it , Caliph Umar and some other companions adopted a view in this matter in utter contract to the injunction of the Quran and teachings of the Holy Prophet . They disallowed Tayamum and allowed one not to say his prayer, even for a month, till he got water, on the plea that if 'Tayamum' was allowed, then people would misuse this facility even when water is available and the weather is cold. If Quranic injunctions are to be ignored on such excuses, there would be no constitutional value of the Quran left. To remind the reader of the importance of the issue concerned, we have to give a brief outline of the various periods and stages of Islam which is the sole religion approved by God. Now we go back to the particular period we were dealing with, the consolidatory period which had to start immediately after the demise of the Holy Prophet.

Part 2

It was for this period of constitutional development that , the Quran as the most comprehensive and compact constitution for all that Islam stands for political, social, economical, domestic , ethical, ritual spiritual and philosophical aspects of human life.

- and AhlulBait as the Divinely purified and the infallible inspired interpreters and exponents of the Divine constitution formed the two integral and inseparable parts of the supreme authority, representing God and the Holy Prophet respectively. Thus  these two issues become so well connected in fact and declaration that doubt in one would necessarily lead to doubt in the other; and denial of one would mean the denial of the other. Any motive for creating doubt in one and weakening its authoritative stand would be the same in respect of the other. That was, as the author of Sawaeq confirms, the reason why the Holy Prophet dealt with these two issues jointly in his sermon and declaration at Ghadeer-e-Khum and on several subsequent occasions at Madina also.

Actually Caliph Umar's celebrated pronouncement:Sufficient is for us the Book of God was an open retort to the Holy Prophet's repeated declaration of the joint authority of the Quran and AhlulBait. This is the brief outline of the apostolic stand, as confirmed by the explicit wordings of the Quran and sayings of the Holy Prophet. But as the Quran, sayings of the Holy Prophet and the facts of history show, the reaction of the majority of the new converts surrounding the Holy Prophet particularly of the non-Hashmite branches of the Quraishite tribe, was quite different.

The paganic tendency for bureaucratic rule, (rule of the elders and the chieftains) was still active in the hearts of the Quraish whose claim of supremacy and authority over the Arabs had just recently been crushed by slam and by declarations as : 49: 13

Surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty) They were far from yielding to the absolute authority of the Quran and AhlulBait, which to them meant nothing but a nepotic urge on the part of the Holy Prophet to contribute to the supremacy of the House of Haashim. 'The Annals of Tabarsi' has recorded a report of a conversation between Caliph Umar and bn-Abbaas during the reign of the former wherein the apathetic or rather unfavourable attitude of the Quraish towards AhlulBait's stand as Divinely chosen people is fully displayed and exposed. The summary of the conversation is as follows:

Caliph Umar said: 'The Quraish, disliked the Prophethood and the vicegerency to be combined in the 'House of Haashim' as this would increase their (Haashimite's) vanity. So they (the Quraish) chose for  themselves, and their choice was the best. 'To this bn-Abbaas replied regarding the dislike of the Quraish, 'They (the Quraish) disliked all that was revealed from God, so God put them in loss', but regarding the remark against the 'House of Haashim' and of their vanity being increased, it meant accusing the people 'whom God has purified' (verse 33 : 33); and regarding the Quraish's choice - if they would have chosen the one whom God had chosen, it would have been much better for them.

This anecdote throws ample light on the reaction of the Quraish towards the Divine choice and the inner  motive which was working behind the confusing and conflicting events developed round the issue of the supreme authority in Islam after the Holy Prophet and on the causes of the Civil wars and other internal events of political value, from Ghadeer, Karbala and from Karbala to the disappearance of the 'Twelfth Imam' of the House and the subsequent sectarian disputes, quarrels and bloodshed until now. Instead of  absolute submission to the dictates of the Divinely established authority and a theocratic form of rule representing God and the Holy Prophet , the new converts aspired for having a share in the affairs for authority and command. 3:154

Then after sorrow He sent down security upon you, a calm coming upon a party of you And (there was) another party whom their own souls had rendered anxious; they entertained about Allah thoughts of ignorance quite unjustly

Saying : We have no hand in the affair.

Say : Surely the affair is wholly (in the hands) of Allah, They conceal within their souls what they would not reveal to you, They say:

Had we any hand in the affair, we would not have been slain here.

Say: Had you remained in your houses, those for whom slaughter was ordained would certainly have gone  forth to the places where they would be slain,

And that Allah might purge what was in your breasts and that He might purge what was in your hearts,

And Allah knows what is in the breasts. They were waiting for an opportunity to regain the authoritative status which they as an aristocratic class used to enjoy before Islam. They wanted to have their own say in the affairs of government which according to them was only to be labelled as Islam and Divine. Instead of entire submission and devotion to the cause of Islam which was  demanded from them, hey wanted Islam to serve their cause and ends.

They viewed the Divine established authority of the Quran and AhlulBait as an obstacle in their way of having a rule of their own choice but labelled as Islamic. Hence they attempted to remove that obstacle as much as possible by such means as :

1. ignoring, minimising and counteracting that authoritative importance attached to the Quran and AhlulBait, [4]

2. creating confusion and doubt regarding the genuineness of the Quran in hand and its authenticity,

3. creating doubts and confusion about the authenticity of the Holy Prophet's sayings and declarations about Ali and the rest of the AhlulBait,

4. interpreting the Quran and such sayings of the Prophet, the authenticity of which could not be doubted, in a way which loses their force and significance and

5. counteracting such sayings of the Holy Prophet as mentioned above by fabricating reports which directly or indirectly negate the Divine appointment of Ali as the supreme authority inseparable from the Quran. Notwithstanding the innumerable authentic reports of the Prophet's pronouncement about Ali's infallible status. [5] Bukhari repeatedly narrates a report that once Abbaas (the uncle of Ali) told Ali :

'Let us ask the Prophet whether we have any share or right in the matter of authority or not? 'to which Ali said, 'n , because if they would ask him and he would say no, then nobody would give them the chance of coming to power afterwards.' The whole idea behind this childish concoction is to counteract the reports of Ali's nomination for Khilaafat by the Holy Prophet. Similarly to minimise the importance of Ali's Saheefa - a book dictated by the Holy Prophet and written by Ali, Bukhari reports that once Ali was asked whether it was something other than the Quran, to which Ali replied that it was about the fine for bruises. The actual reply was that : 'It contained everything even the fine for the bruises'. Another instance of such confusing reports is that which say that after the Holy Prophet, Ali did not wear a mantle and did not come out of his house till he had collected the Quran as he was ordered by the Holy Prophet and then he presented his collections to the authorities who did not accept it.

This narration is a misrepresentation of something which was true in part. It is true that there were fragments of woods bones, leaves paper, hides, etc. on which a rough copy of the Quran was written and they were in the custody of the Holy Prophet, who on the eve of his demise asked Ali to take care of them so that they might not fall into the hands of the people who would misuse it. It may also be true that Ali brought to the mosque once during the reign of Caliph AboBakar or Calipha Umar a complete copy of the Quran with full commentary as dictated by the Prophet and written by him, telling the people that it was what he had been ordered by the Holy Prophet to prepare and present to them, but the ruling authority declined for obvious reasons to take it as was presented 'by him.

The version that after the Holy Prophet, Ali busied himself with the collection of the Quran from those said fragments and for that reason, he did not come out of his house and take part in the politics of the time is a clear misrepresentation of the facts.

There is sufficient proof that Ali's collection with commentary was prepared by him and reviewed by the Holy Prophet long before his demise. The idea behind this misrepresentation is twofold : one is to provide an excuse for Ali's non-participation in the Quraishite choice of a ruler by stating that he was busy with the collection of the Quran and, therefore, he had no time for other activities; the other, is to justify the attempt made by others to collect the Quran ignoring the collection left among them by the Holy Prophet, which is similar to their (ruling party's) attempt to have a ruler of their own choice, ignoring the Quran and the Prophet's saying which had asserted the authoritative status of Ali and the rest of AhlulBait.

This is a brief account of the apostolic stand about this vital and main political issue on the one hand and the unfavourable reaction of some magnates among the new converts of the tribe of Quraish on the other, in their attempt to undo what was already established. Now to avoid any possible misunderstanding, it is necessary to clear the following points before coming to the conclusion of the theme.

(a) if the unfavourable attitude shown towards certain established issues of the religion does not amount to its total rejection, it cannot be always termed as open reversion to the infidelity, particularly if the issue in question be of political importance and of wielding power. Very few outstanding men have the will-power to resist such temptation and more particularly in the case of the people who have been living an absolutely licentious life with no check of any kind on them. They were asked to submit entirely to the high ideals of Islam for which they had very little sense of appreciation. All that they could understand and appreciate was that the new movement in the name of Allah and Islam had promised to secure for them conquest and sway over the nations here, and the pleasures of paradise hereafter, as the reward for their endeavor to conquer the world in the name of Allah.

Part 3

The well cherished report that the Holy Prophet said : 'God might have looked at the people who took part in the battle of Badr and said 'do whatever ye like, certainly I have forgiven you' is contrary to the tenets of the Quran and was made to impress on the people the redeeming power of conquest and victory as the main object of religion.

Therefore, to them, the main and fundamental issue in Islam was conquest and power and the other issues and tenets of Islam were of secondary importance and non-essential, subject to change and modification by whoever came into power and became at the helm of affairs as Commander of the faithful = Olil-Amr no matter whatever may be the means of his coming into power. This tendency more or less had continued to prevail among the majority of the Muslims, always fostered by the ambitious despots of the time. Therefore, in outlining the Quraishite's attitude, we never meant to accuse anybody of heresy or reversion to infidelity.

(b) Whatever we have said or may say about the attitude of the ruling party, after the demise of the Holy Prophet towards the Quran and AhlulBait is based on certain reports recorded by people who belonged to that party. These reports may not be true.

They may be partly, as we believe, or wholly fabrications of the later period. Therefore our remarks and criticism concerning certain companions should be read with the proviso : 'if the reports are true and not concoctions of the later period', for, as shall be seen presently some of the reports are so contradictory and base that one cannot imagine them to be true.

(c) The temporal success of the Quraishite plans to push Ali back from the position Divinely assigned to him and to counteract the attempt of Ansars to occupy the would-be-vacated place of Haashimite in the front row of politics in Islam, resulted in the gradual but quick change of loyalty of the people to the new centre of political gravitation. The political importance of the House of the Holy Prophet was bound to decline with the loss of power, nevertheless such decline was hastened, the steps taken by the new authority against the house, which were severe and harsh but were justified in the political code of the then government. To consolidate their gains, the schemers and promoters of this form of Government felt justified to use any means to any extent to allow the rise of those who would have been nowhere if the apostolic declarations had come into force. If Ali with all his certified excellence and Divine credentials in hand , which mean nothing short of his being next to the Holy Prophet in perfection , had assumed power , he would not have been in need of the advice of anyone in any aspect of the government and of the constitution of Islam. He would have been the sole authority to dictate and to be obeyed and followed , But in the prevailing regime , all that was important to those who were at the helm of affairs , was only power which they were holding firmly .

They had little to deal with the other aspects of the constitution concerning the devotional rites, personal laws, transactions, administration and other theoretical and practical articles of faith. Therefore, they were heedless and rather took care to please prominent persons other than AhlulBait by giving them the chance of advising the public as well as the government on those problems. They were the people who were from time immemorial accustomed not to submit to the authority of One God. They were used to the polytheistic way of having innumerable gods. They were the people who had very recently expressed their surprise at the efforts of the Holy Prophet to make them worship only One God instead to many. What! maketh the gods to be but one God; 38 : 5

Verily this is a thing indeed strange!" 38 : 5

Instead of submitting to the authority of one Divinely selected person, they were more familiar with the new regime which would allow them to some extent to share the authority and have some say in framing the details of the constitution. Thus the party in power began to evolve a new idea to the effect that anyone who has embraced Islam or had seen the Prophet or heard something from him and narrated it became :

Sahaabi = Companion of the Holy Prophet even the Muslim children of sensible age below maturity, were considered as 'Sahaabi'.

Then not only the Sahaabis' narrations of the Prophet's saying was taken into account by the authorities but even to such Sahaabis' personal views, some constitutional value was given.

The door was thus thrown open to every man , woman and child to pose as Sahaabi and take part as a jurist carrying reports or views in framing the constitution. The whole position was changed. Those in the rear ranks came to the forefront and those who were in the first rank were pushed to the farthest rear. This was the remark made by the Lady of Paradise, Fatima the daughter of the Holy Prophet, at Masjid-e-Nabawi on the sudden political turn which affected her more than anyone else. In the light of this situation, one should examine many internal developments of the first half century after the Holy Prophet. One of the consequences of the change and its development was that instead of Ali or the other members of the House and the few companions who did not change their loyalty, people mostly of different calibre and of various moral and intellectual standards got equal footing in forming themselves as the first link of reporters and narrators between the Holy Prophet and the next generation.

Contrary to what is generally believed these people in all were not righteous, honest, learned capable and sincere to the cause of Islam. As the Quran depicts, the multitude of the converts who had the honour of the presence of the Prophet, included all sorts of people even a large number of hypocrites, other than Abdullah bn-Ubai who died before the Holy Prophet, and were mostly unknown , but aspirants to power after the Holy Prophet (47 : 16 , 20-23 , 29-32). 47 : 16

And of them are those who seek to listen to thee until when they go forth from thee say they unto those who have been given the knowledge; "What was it that he said just now? "

These are they on whose hearts hath God set a seal, and follow they their vain desires. 47 : 20 And say those who believe :

'Why hath not been sent a chapter (for us,) " But when is sent down a decisive chapter, and mentioned therein is war, seest thou those in whose hearts is a disease look unto thee with a look of one on whom has fallen the shadow of death; woe unto them far better will certainly be for them, 47 : 21!

Obedience and a fair word; but when the affair is determined, then if they be true to God, it would certainly be better of them. 47 : 22

Then belike ye are, if ye hold authority, that ye make mischief, in the earth and sever the ties of kinship! 47 : 23

Those are they whom hath cursed God , and so hath he made them deaf and blinded their eyes . 47 : 29

Or deem those in whose hearts is a disease that never will God bring forth their spite? 47 : 31

And certainly will we try you until we nave known  those who strive (fight) among you and the patient ones , and make your affairs known . 47 : 32

Verily, those who disbelieve and hinder (others) from the path of God, and oppose the Apostle after that the guidance been made manifest unto them, can never harm God in any way; and He will make null their deeds. In the Quran, some of them were severely censured and warned for disloyalty to or disrespect for the Holy Prophet , (Chapters . 33 , 49&66 : Ahzab, Al-Hujorat and at-Tahreem). 66 : 5

Maybe, his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him in your place wives better than you, submissive, faithful, obedient, penitent, adorers, fasters, widows and virgins About some of them, the Holy Prophet had said that they would be dragged to hell for their misdeeds after him. Each one of these companions had a large number of followers of various categories who formed the second link of reporters and narrators for the generation next to them; and so on the number and varieties multiplied till the celebrated and voluminous books of traditions were compiled in the third and fourth centuries. But this did not stop the traditionalists of the next generation from collecting and recording the reports which their predecessors missed or discarded for some reason or the other. As a result of the multiplicity of the various chains of various reporters and narrators, a huge number of  contradictory, absurd and misleading statements and reports about the teachings of the Holy Prophet and the developments of events, during his time and the time after him, formed themselves as data for history of the development of Islamic thought and literature.

(d) This political turn made people to practically deny AhlulBait, their Divinely gifted status viz.  'being always with the Quran and the Quran always being with them, and that whoever adheres to them will never err or go astray.'

This status which was confirmed by the Quran and the undeniable sayings of the Holy Prophet has remained until now as an irrefutable fact . Attempts have been made to reduce the significance of statements, be it of the Quran or the sayings of the Holy Prophet, which means merely that one should have regards and respect for the Holy Prophet's kin and relatives only to an extent. A few of the companions who belonged to pro-Quraishite regime, were not willing to give even that much of regards to Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husain whom the Holy Prophet on several occasions specified as AhlulBait, excluding his wives and other relatives. Zaid bn-Arqam was one of those pro-Quraishite who lived to attend the court of bn-Zyaad at Koofa, where (the latter insulted the head of Imam Husain with an air of triumph in the presence of the ladies and children of the House of Holy Prophet, who had been brought as captives after the tragedy of Karbala. Once Ali wanted Zaid along with many other companions of the Holy Prophet to give evidence as a witness of the event at Ghadeer, but Zaid declined saying that he had forgotten and Ali suspected him of lying. However, in spite of his pretended forgetfulness, he once related the facts of Ghadeer-e-Khum and the Holy Prophet's sermon, omitting the portion of the sermon dealing with the declaration that,

'Whomsoever I am Mawla Ali shall be his Mawla (Master)', and narrated, though in a distorted manner, the portion dealing with the declaration that, 'I am leaving among you two precious things:the Book of God and my AhlulBait.'

Part 4

But then and there he attempted to tamper with the application of the term AhlulBait so that it may lose its significance. In answer to a question about the application of the said term, he excluded the wives of the Holy Prophet from it, but extended it so widely as to include all the Haashimite's descents, Abbasids, Jafferiads, Alawaids and Aqueeliads (Vide Muslim, chapter on AhlulBait). Anyway, the political turn brought AhlulBait to the common level of the companions or the respectable kin and relatives of the Holy Prophet.

On the issues of jurisprudence and administrative consultation, the authorities patronised to a greater degree other companions and relatives of the Holy Prophet. They, as a matter of political strategy, backed and supported the people of no or little religious background. If history records occasions where Ali's advice was accepted by the authorities with applause , those were the occasions where they had no other alternative but to accept the same. Otherwise Ali was seldom referred to by the authorities and hence very few people who did not care for power were invited for consultation.

This is the reason why inspite of the Holy Prophet's saying that while he is the city of Knowledge, Ali is the door to it, Ali and his successors were rarely referred to in the books of traditions like Bukhari and Muslim. If here and there, Ali and his descendants are quoted as reporters of certain traditions in those books, the purpose is partly to avoid being accused of total neglect of AhlulBait and mostly to foist on them such reports which would indicate the negation of, or counteract the numerous genuine reports which are testimonies of the distinct apostolic status of Ali and AhlulBait (vide Bukhari and Kaafi)

On the contrary, Bukhari has credited persons like Shaubi, [6] the tutor of the children of Umayyeds royal house to discredit the genuineness of most of the numerous reports or statements ascribed to Ali. Thus Ali was discredited though he was the foremost of AhlulBait, next only to the Holy Prophet and whom the Holy Prophet described as one identified with himself on all occasions and was with him (the Holy Prophet) eversince his (Ali's) birth, both before the Holy Prophet was commissioned by God to preach , and after until his demise, when Ali attended to the obsequies of the Holy Prophet. People like AboHuriarah and Anas bn-Malik despite all drawbacks recorded about them in the biographies by the companions were credited with a large number of reports about the Holy Prophet and his teachings just because it was claimed that they had the honour of serving at the door of the Holy Prophet for a few years.

The texts of some of their reports disclose the character and standard of the reporters. Among the ladies, Ayeshah is given extraordinary prominence, as a reporter.

She has been credited with a very large, if not the largest number of reports about the life and the teachings of the Holy Prophet. Some of the reports are absured, some are even damaging to the reputation of the Holy Prophet himself. With all due regards to her as the mother of the faithful, she was credited with a status as a reporter and as a states-woman, which was more than it ought to have been. Bukhari reports that she was a girl of nine years when she became the wife of the Prophet, that she was busy, as her age would require, with her dolls, sang with girl friends, enjoyed games and witnessed shows of jugulary by the Negroes : that she used to stretch her legs right up to the place where the Holy Prophet had to prostrate in prayer, and was jealous of the other wives of the Holy Prophet even of Khadeejah who had died long before she married the Holy Prophet. She quarrelled with the living wives, plotting against the Holy Prophet and devising lies to divert his attention from the other wives towards her. [7]

This was quite natural with the young ladies of her age. She had not attained the status of perfection which Asiyeh, wife of Firaoon (Phero), Maryam the daughter of Emran, Khadeejah and her daughter Fatimah had attained (vide Istiab of Abdul Bir).

The Quran warns Ayesha and Hafsa referring to the examples of wives of Nooh and Loot (vide Ch . 66 at-Tahreem.). Nevertheless, the political turns secured for Ayesha a prominent place among the politicians of the time in the forming of the laws of Islam, and in narrating the events of the Holy Prophet's life. Bukhari credits her with statements denying that Ali was the executor of the Holy Prophet's testaments on the basis that she was attending on the Holy Prophet till the last moment before his demise and that he made no will, or testament to anyone. As against these statement, there are the following facts to be considered :

Ali insists that he alone and nobody else was attending on the Holy Prophet at the last moment, and that Holy Prophet's soul departed from his body when his head was resting on his (Ali's) chest . Hundreds of companions of the Holy Prophet in the presence of hundreds of others, at the battles of Jamal and Siffeen, pronounced Ali as Waseeo Rasoolellah = the Executor of the Testaments of the Prophet of Allah.

This title had been bestowed on Ali by the Holy Prophet even before Ayesha was born. It is a part of his declaration about Ali's status at Abu Talib's house in the presence of the elders of the Hashimites where Ayesha's father was not present, because he was not included in the term Asheeratekal Aqrabeen = The Nearest of the Kin.

However regarding this lady - the mother of the faithful - none can say anything other than what Ammar bn-Yasir had  remarked while he was addressing the people of Koofa, on the eve of the battle of Jamal, waged by lady Ayesha against Ali : 'She is made a testing point (being given a motherly status) by God, to see whether ye follow her or obey God.' The Holy Prophet also once while delivering a sermon from the pulpit pointed out to the house of Ayesha and said thrice : 'Here is the 'Fetnah', the mischief with which one is tested, here is the place whence Satan will show his horn or will bring forth his horn'. ' (Vide Bukari). There is another example of this type which Bukhari overlooks. It is the well-known event that took place during the second or third year of Hijrah. The Holy Prophet ordered all those who had their houses round the mosque with doors opening towards the mosque, to close the doors and open them in another direction, except in the case of Ali's house which was as before allowed to open towards the mosque.

This resulted in a severe protest from the other relatives of the Holy Prophet, such as Hamza and Abbaas, whose houses were there with doors opening towards the mosque . The Holy Prophet was asked , whether the order of closing all doors and keeping that of Ali's house open was his or God's, to which the Prophet replied that all was by Divine order. He said : 'God has closed yours and has kept Ali's open.'

Over-looking this tradition entirely, Bukhari tries on the other hand to make people believe that the door of  Abo-Bakar or a ventilator from his house was kept open towards the mosque, without mentioning the time and the circumstances connected with this event . The fact was that AboBakar had no house there at all and he was living at Sunh many furlongs away from the mosque. This fact put the commentators of Bukhari into difficulties in their wishful interpretation of Bukhari's report. Another example of this kind is a well known fact that after the revelation of the first 25 verses of Surah Baraat (Ch. 9 At-Tauba) the Holy Prophet called AboBakar who was to conduct the pilgrims to Mecca and entrusted him with the verses to preach there and acquaint the pagans with what the verses meant against them.

Hardly had AboBakar set out for the journey, when the Holy Prophet recalled him and ordered him to hand over the verses to Ali, and in reply to the questions about the reason for this new order, the Holy Prophet said that it was God's order that none should preach those verses but the Holy Prophet himself or Ali who was identified with him as they were in fact reflections of each other. So Ali was commissioned with the special order of Allah to preach the verses at the Haj season. Bukhari mentions this fact very briefly saying that Ali was ordered to preach the verses in question. He is however at pains to emphasise repeatedly that AboHurairah did also preach the verses at Mena without  mentioning by whose order and authority AboHurairah did so.

The fact that the narrator of this story Abdur-Rehman belonged to pro-Omyyad party explains why AboHurairah has been brought into the picture. A thorough appraisal of these few examples brings out the biased trends accentuated by the political turn of the events and their consequences. It is not surprising if the same hands which were working to bring about the turn of events or taking advantage of the turn made attempts also to produce a different version of the Quran to suit their policy, or at least to pose as attempting to do so in order to weaken the genuine and the authentic status of the version left by the Holy Prophet among the people. Such attempts by unconstitutional governments to bring a drastic change in the established version of religious and constitutional codes which they feel as not having served their ends, are not unusual in the political history of nations. Even in modern times, we are experiencing such examples. There is no doubt that the version of the Quran in hand does not approve the semi-bureaucratic form of government brought about through the coup-detat designed by the Quraish, nor does it approve the outcome and consequences of the political turn.

The best evidence of this fact is that during the early stage of the sudden turn when Ansars of AhlulBait protested and objected to the new policy quoting the Quran, the ruling party in reply either misquoted some sayings of the Holy Prophet or made some other excuses, but did not quote the Quran in support of their deeds and contentions. of course there is one instance of Umar's quoting the Quran (verse 9 : 100) in support of his contention that Quraish were superior to Ansar in religious status omitting 'waw = and' after the word 'Ansar' a reading which would make Ansars the followers of the Muhajirs (x). But it is read correctly (/) with the conjunction 'waw = and'; both the Muhajirs and the Ansars and those who helped them would have equal footing and 'those who followed them' would mean another class of people who would follow the two preceding classes of Muhajirs and Ansars. 9 : 100

And (as or) the foremost, the first of the Muhajirs AND THE ANSARS, AND THOSE WHO FOLLOWED THEM in goodness, Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him.

Part 5

And (as or) the foremost, the first of the Muhajirs AND THE ANSARS WHO FOLLOWED THEM in goodness, Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him, 9 : 100 '

The misreading was objected to by Ubay, supported by all the students of the Quran, and Umar should have withdrawn his wrong quotations. However as a staunch pro-Qurashite, he never withdrew his wrong contention. [8] Islam, as depicted and prescribed by the Quran stands definitely for a peculiar form of theocracy represented by men who have passed beyond the boundaries of limited tendencies and interests, capable of representing the Universal Will and Grace of Rabul A'alameen = The Lord Cherisher of all worlds / Universe Allah in knowledge and practice, not comparable to any form of democratic , bureaucratic , aristocratic , monarchic , despotic, dictatorial or even the theocratic form of the patriarchic and papal systems of government , Islam and the Quran stand for the rule of the fittest in moral and intellectual strength, verifiable through Divine selection . With the above background in view , we may turn to our main theme. If the reports of Sehaah, the authentic books of Sunni traditions are to be relied upon , then the causes of the doubt about the Quran in hand mainly are : the unnecessary and unauthorised attempt of the ruling party to make a collection of the Quran of their own, apart from what was already prepared under the supervision of the Holy Prophet, and approved and left by him among them, the manner and the method in which they pursued their attempt, the rumours spread about the alleged utterances of some responsible and prominent members of the party, affirming the incompleteness of their collection after the first attempt was over. If we discard and ignore all the external, internal, positive and negative evidences bearing testimony to the existence of the Quran in a complete book' form approved by the Holy Prophet who left it among the people and put it within their  reach, and be bold enough to say : that the Holy Prophet was not precise and serious in the usage of the term 'Ketaab', that he meant by Ketaab (Book) only the written fragments scattered among the people no complete form of the Quran was with anybody either in writing or in memory and that the ruling  part felt something necessary and imperative which was not done by the Holy Prophet nor was suggested by him to be done afterwards, even then, they were not justified in calling Zaid bn-Thaabit, a young man of no status to undertake such a heavy responsibility as that of collecting the Quran.

The only reasonable course open to the authorities in pursuance of their attempt in question was to entrust the work to well-known scribes, who were known to have learnt the whole of the Quran by heart and had the honour of reciting the entire Quran before the Holy Prophet several times and getting their recitations approved by him and also those from whom the people were ordered by the Holy Prophet to learn the Quran and besides them , those who were declared by the Holy Prophet to be with the Quran and the Quran with them, not separable until the resurrection day, and above all, the one whom the Holy Prophet identified with himself and declared to be with the Quran and the truth, and the Quran and truth to be with him i. e. Ali.

The authorities should have invited these outstanding disciples of the Holy Prophet and the prominent students of the Quran and told them :

'We do not suspect ye, take up the task and carry it out to the best of your ability, honesty and knowledge.'

Can anyone imagine that among these disciples of the Holy Prophet with his testimonies and credentials in their hands. there were not two, three or four persons who combined as a team , if not alone, were not in possession of the entire Quran in writing or in memory and could not assist each other as witness to each other's version and thus produce a complete collection of the Quran approved by all? Was not this a wiser  and safer way for the authorities to handle the vital and imperative task than entrusting it to only Zaid bn-Thaabit by telling him, 'We do not suspect thee', a youth of no standard and no credentials as against the incomparable personality of Ali, and also the other accredited students of the Quran such as Abdullah bn-Maso-od, one of the early Makkain students of the Quran and Ubayy bn-Kaab, one of the early Madanite student, or Maaz bn-Jabal, the accredited young man of Ansar with knowledge of the Quran and  jurisprudence?

The incompetency of Zaid, a raw and inexperienced lad, was once pointed out by Ubayy in dispute between the two. 'Do you  teach me Quran!' said Ubayy to Zaid, 'I used to read the Quran with the Holy Prophet, while you were still a child playing in the street.'

A similar remark was once passed by Ubayy to Omar, in the course of a dispute :

'I used to read the Quran with the Holy Prophet while you were busy in transactions in the Bazar.'

Neither Zaid nor Umar could refute Ubayy's remarks. Unfortunately none of the three, AboBakar, Omar or Zaid who joined hands in this matter was a recognised and accredited student of the Quran. Moreover, from a conversation of Umar, during his reign with Zaid who declined to comply with a  certain order of the Caliph , it seems that both were lacking in proper regard and care for the revelation. On Zaid's refusing to carry out the order, Umar said :

'Look! it is my command to which you have to yield. It is not the revelation with which you might play about. '

This shows that none of the two cared much if they had to play about with the revelation, should this be necessary to serve their ends. Such tendencies and lack of regard for the Book of God among the companions of the Holy Prophet, may seem to be strange , but actually it was not uncommon then. In a certain case of pronouncing divorce thrice in one session which was brought to the notice of the Holy Prophet , he got angry and remarked, 'Is it that the Book of God is being played with, while I am still alive among them - the companions?'

Zaid and his colleagues, being no authorities themselves nor inclined to refer to those who were considered to be authorities, had to refer to the ordinary people who possessed some scattered portions of the Quran either in writing or in memory. They invited people to bring their portions of the Quran on the conditions that their claim be supported by some witness. The method adopted for the official collection of the Quran shows either : there was no one among the companions of the Holy Prophet , who had the entire Quran in writing, in memory with him or those who had the entire Quran with them did not care at all for the official attempt and scheme or the schemers debarred them from taking part in the contemplated scheme lest their participation made the project unsuccessful. There are certain cases of verses, being claimed by some to be the part of the Quran for which no witness to support could be produced. So Zaid treated these cases in a seemingly partial way. He accepted the claim of one Abo-Khzaimah or Khuzaimah with no witness and rejected Umar's claim for lack of witness. So it is quite obvious that this type of attempt, though not productive or successful, gave room to all sorts of tales about the Quran being tampered with the collectors, particularly when the members of the party were themselves encouraging the rumours. However it was a political move which produced  nothing useful for Muslims at all except providing an opportunity for some credulous friends to credit the authorities with preparing the collection of the Quran, and for some mischievous enemies to argue against the genuineness of the Quran in hand.

Their attempts, it is said, produced a collection of a Quran of their own; but it was never published nor put within the reach of the people. It remained as a bundle in the custody of Ayeshah and Hafsa during the reigns of their respective fathers . It is also said that some portion of it was  devoured by a goat , a story which indicates the lack of regard on the part of p ersons in power who presented themselves as the guardians of the Book of God so laboriously collected.

The reigns of the first, second and a considerable part of the third Caliph's period had also passed and the bundle produced by the state remained where it was, and people had no approach to it. But during this period of nearly sixteen to seventeen years, the Quran was perhaps more or less, being written, taught, learnt, memorised, recited discussed and applied to the daily life of the Muslims throughout the fast-expanding Muslim Empire, instead of the bundle of collection, produced at the instance of the authority in power which remained unpublished. It was stated by the second Caliph also that the ladies had better knowledge of jurisprudence (the basic source of which is the Quran) than he himself - the Head of the State. No Muslim complained against the lack of approach to the collection of Zaid, nor did anyone ask the State to publish that collection.

The authorised teachers of the Quran were performing their duties directly and through their disciples throughout the Muslim world independent of the collection in the possession of the State. A considerable part of the reign of the third Caliph also passed when at last a variety in the recitation of the Quran was noticed among the Muslim soldiers who were fighting with the infidels on the remote borders of the Empire. The leniency in variety of recitation noticed by Hozaifa, one of the confidants and prominent disciples of the Holy Prophet, worried him lest this practice may lead to addition, omission and alteration in the Quran. He had a complete list of the hypocrites. He advised Caliph Othmaan to take necessary action to unify Muslims under the current recitation of the Quran as that of the Holy Prophet himself and to stop them from reciting in a manner of their own choice as that might lead to further controversies. Othmaan again entrusted the job to the same Zaid but he did nothing except what Hozaifa had suggested, and had it adopted as the official version to which Othmaan gave his  assent.

Several copies of that official version were made and despatched to the different parts of the empire so that the people might revise their recitation accordingly. No complaint of any Tahreef = Omission, Addition Or Alteration was made by anyone. Neither the Caliph or his party nor the opposite party which was framing charges after charges of deviation from the right path against the third Caliph ever complained against the official version of the Quran to which the third Caliph had given assent.

The third Caliph was blamed for ordering the other versions and collections differing from the official version in recitation to be burnt or destroyed on the ground that it was an act of desecration of the Word of God, but none charged him with tampering with the verses of the Quran. Inspite of the utmost care taken by the ruling party for the publication of the official version and the obliteration of the other versions, they did not succeed. All the then current recitations have come down to us in the terms of the seven or ten recitations.

The Omayyid rulers could not stop the publication of the other recitations; neither could they nor any other power on earth have stopped the publication or the narration of the verse or the chapters left out of the Quran if there were any, or recording of the objection to the omissions or additions or the disagreement.

Evidences

Part 1

The reign of Caliph Othmaan was marked with the growth of strong opposition parties and critics of the authorities led by the prominent companions of the Holy Prophet who belonged to various shades of opinion and political bias, such as : Talhah, Zubair.

Ayeshah and the people with similar tendencies, AboZar, Ammar, Abdullah bn-Maso-od and people of their type, Abdur-Rahmaan bn-Owf, Amru-bn al-A-as, AboMosa Ashari and other disgruntled members of the same ruling party, Ali , Hasan, Husain, Abdullah bn-Abbaas and other Hashimites and their adherents, and the people of the important provinces such as Koofa, Egypt and Syria and their leaders who were watching with a critical eye the minute movements of the centre. Anyone tampering with the Quran could never have escaped the notice of all these critics and opponents. No consideration would have stopped any of them from raising objections publicly against the profanation of the wording of the Book of God. No power could have suppressed the report of such objection, had it been raised publicly by the critics, so that it might not reach posterity. The reigns of neither the first three Caliphs, nor the Omayyads or the Abbasiad Caliphs could suppress the Holy Prophet's declaration about Ali's status as :

The Master of the Faithful = Ameerul Moomineen and being the supreme authority in Islam  next to him. All the statements of the Holy Prophet in this connection have reached generation after generation down to us. How could anyone suppress reports of even a word of the Quran having been tampered with if there were such reports?

Then how can one accept the solitary and contradictory traditions and reports about particular verse or phrase or sentence being tampered with?

For rejection of such reports contained in the books of traditions of Sunni and Shiah schools, their solitary nature and weakness of the chain of reporters, the contradictory tone of their contents and the inferiority of style are the best proof. A man like AboZar about whom the Holy Prophet said :

'The heaven has never spread its shadow on any one as truthful a speaker as AboZar' and whom no  personal temptation, threat, pressure or persecution could stop from criticising the Caliph and the host of Omayyid youths surrounding him for their misdeeds, contempt for the tenets of Islam, misuse of the public treasury and ill-treatment of the people, would have certainly noticed any specified omission, addition or alteration, in the wording of the Quran, be it a letter, a word, a phrase, a sentence, a verse or a chapter, and would have certainly announced it as an unpardonable act of the party in power. Same is the case with Ammar bn-Yasir, the bold and outspoken opponent of the party in power, the man about whom the Holy Prophet had foretold, that he would be killed by the rebellious group whom he (Ammar) would call to heaven and they (the rebels) would call him (Ammar) to hell.

The Holy prophet ordered people to keep always to the side where Ammar is as he was always on the side of the right and truth. This was a hint that Ammar would never leave the side of Ali. During the battle of Siffeen, he was once asked about the justification of Othmaan being killed. He answered, 'He (Othmaan) wanted to change our religion, so he was killed.' Such an outspoken man on the same occasion in the presence of the chiefs of both the armies (of Ali and Muavyah) pointed out to the banner under which Muavyah was standing and said: 'We were with the Prophet, under the banner where Ali is now standing and fought against that banner (Muavyah's) on the issue of the revelation of the Quran and today we with Ali are fighting under the same banner of the Holy Prophet against the same banner of Qureish on the issue of the interpretations of the Quran.

Is it possible that Ammar who was vigilant of Qureish's tampering with the significance of the Quranic verses for which he found Justification to fight them, kill them and be killed by them, would have had no knowledge of the Qureish's tampering with the wording and letters of the Quran if there was such tampering or that he would have refrained from denouncing such profane act of theirs which would have made his hostile attitude more justified if they had done such an act. Ammar is definite and precise in his argument and announcement. According to him the dispute on the issue of the Quran being the revealed word of God (verbatim) was over in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet and the pagans willingly or unwillingly submitted to it.

The disputed issue after the Holy Prophet was only the interpretation of the Quran and not the wording of it. The very fact of history that the battle of Siffeen ended with Ali's acceptance of arbitration based on the Quran then at hand and not on any other version of it proves that the letters, wordings and arrangement of the Quran were to both the parties the same and that the dispute was always confined to the interpretation . In support of this fact there is a report narrated by Majlisi in the Volume X of his work Beharul Anwaar = the Ocean of Light about a conversation which took place at Madina between bn-Abbaas and Muavyah after the martyrdom of Ali. When Muavyah asked bn-Abbaas to stop praising Ali and the AhlulBait . Bn-Abbaas replied :

'Do you stop us reading the Quran?

- 'No but do not interpret it.'

- 'You want us to read Quran, but not to understand it?'

-'I mean , not to give your own interpretation to it.

- 'Oh You mean that I should give up the interpretation of those people in whose house the Quran was revealed! and give the interpretation of the children of AboSufyan?'

-'No I mean, do not interpret the portion concerning Ali at all, and do whatever you like with the other portions, or if you insist on interpreting that portion too then do it privately among yourselves and do not give publicity to it.'

All that the authorities in power could try to stop or alter was only the publicity of the true and correct interpretation of the Quran. But as for tampering with the wording of it, they knew it was something beyond their power.

Failure of their attempt in that direction had already proved the truth of the assurance given by God that 'He Himself' would guard the Quran as the last revealed reminder for people and the everlasting miracle against the ill-designs and  mischievous attempts of the enemies to nullify its effective force. The only course open to them was to tamper with its interpretation and the significance of its verses. Accordingly, one should be sure

that the word 'Tahreef' change or tampering with, and other synonymous words used by AhlulBait and their early adherents with which they charged their opponents were meant only as wrong interpretation and nothing else. Along with these positive and affirmative evidences, the presence of seven or ten varieties of recitations and the absence of the requisite large number of reporters to give unanimous evidence affirming and confirming specific wordings or order of the wordings of the Quran being tampered with and the absence of any other version of the Quran different in wording and order from the received version, yet comparable in style with it, are the proof of the genuineness of the version in hand. But the said attempt after the Holy Prophet, however, along with the utterances and statements said to have been made by the members of the ruling party before the present version was approved by Othmaan did give a chance to the opponents of the Quran whether in the garb of Muslims or otherwise, who could not disturb its miraculous force of eloquence by throwing some triviality in it, to spread rumours alleging incompleteness and disarrangement of the received version.

These rumours gained currency along with the development of the later religious and political controversies inspite of the efforts of the Holy Imams of the House of the Holy Prophet and the faithful thinkers and the sincere rational scholars of academic accomplishment, to discredit them. The rumours got somehow into certain books of traditions, of the Sunni school, and subsequently some of the Shia books of traditions also were not exempt from the taint of such sceptic rumours. The result was that some of the credulous traditionalists of both the schools who lacked the ability to apply critical scrutiny to confirm the authenticity and to properly examine the external and the internal evidence for and against the text or the wording of traditions, accepted the rumours in the face of the irrefutably established genuineness of the Holy Quran. Before surveying the traditions it will be better to sum up our arguments as follows :

1.The Quran was delivered by the Holy Prophet to the people, as the revealed version of the Book of God, Divinely worded in a particular , recitative Arabic form (language).

2.The Quran in its revealed recitative Arabic Form is a Guide for mankind containing clear signs for guidance, and discriminates of the truth from the falsehood and the right from the wrong .

3.This revealed recitative 'Arabic Book' and 'Word of God', in its aforesaid guiding and discriminative capacity is an inimitable, everlasting 'Miracle' meant as a Challenge to both men and Jinns and bears the irrefutable testimony to the truth of the Holy Prophet, Mohammed (peace be on him and his family) to whom it was revealed.'

4.This Guiding 'Miracle' in its guiding and challenging capacity shall and will be kept genuine and intact , as it was revealed in parts and whole for the purpose for which it was revealed within the reach of those to whom the challenge was thrown and of those who were meant to be guided - the men and Jinns, so long as they live.

Part 2

5. The Quran as the Word , Book and the Work of God in its relation to the Holy Prophet who delivered it to mankind within 23 years of his ministry passed through four stages :

- 5a) the pre-revealed stage of its being in a 'guarded tablet' wherein its verses and chapters were firmly arranged; 85 : 22 Lowhe-Mahfooz In a guarded tablet 56 : 78 Kitaabe-Maknoon In a book that is protected

- 5b) a revealed form taught to the Holy Prophet, when he was created by giving him the power of expression (bayaan)

- 5c) the stage where it was all at once revealed in well-arranged chapterwise form in its totality at the Esteemed or Measuring Night (laylatol-Qadr) in the month of Ramazan;

- 5d) the gradual stages of its being revealed part by part and piecemeal at various occasions required the Word of God to be recited as quotations. The arrangement and order of verses and chapters as it was in the (5a), (5b) and (5c) stages need not be and was not observed in the stage (d) as it is obvious in the case of the portions of the chapters Eqra, al-Muzzemmel, al-Muddather and many other chapters. Thus some parts and verses of a chapter were recited by the Holy Prophet in the early period of his ministry, and some portion of the same chapter remained to be recited long afterwards. During this period between the revelation of one portion and that of another portion of the chapters, many other chapters or their portions were revealed :

- 5e) in the next stage the gradual revelation of the Quran was completed but it was to be revised and arranged in a complete book-form to be left among the people . It is obvious that in this stage the arrangement of the part should be in complete concord with that of the Quran in its pre-gradual revelation stages and not in accordance with the date of the piecemeal  and fragmentary revelations, otherwise the revealed copy left among the people would not represent the original Quran in its pre-revealed or in its all-at-once revealed form. It is utter profanity to suggest that that book so Divinely arranged in its early stages before its being delivered and after the completion of the gradual revelation in delivering it to mankind and again revised by Jibreel and the Holy Prophet twice, was in a disarranged fragmentary form in the last stage when it was left among the people for their guidance as both, the everlasting miracle and the Permanent Constitutional Code of Islam. The Holy Prophet knew very well the fate of the divided Book of Moses at the hands of the Jews who made it into fragments . exposing some and suppressing the other parts .

6.The Quran contains explanation for everything by which man is to be guided. All the elucidating parables and illustrating examples and norms have been displayed therein for their significance and application being grasped by the human mind. The Quran says that this should not be done but by the learned scholars.

7.But this all Comprehensive and Compact Code of Divine Guidance wherein nothing of substance has been left out is not to be compared in its method of approach and way of dealing with problems to any other scripture or book produced by man. It has its own peculiar inimitable method of display of variety of topics - not totally heterogeneous and irrelevant nor very closely connected and monotonous which is termed by the  Quran itself as Tasreefi. In the grouping of the verses of typical varieties into a chapter, the apparent factor is a rhythm of peculiar pitch which gives a unique recitational beauty to the chapter as a whole and in parts too. In the grouping of chapters, the principle observed is apparent some sort of affinity of the subject matter and the size (length).

This is noticeable in the first four chapters after 'Faateha'. Chapters. 6&7 and chapters. 8&9 which are supplementary to each other; chapter. 10&11 which are similar in length and matter and chapter. 12 which is also similar in length though the topic is different. Chapters13, 14&15 are akin in matter and length, Chapter. 18 is similar to those in length but the topics are different and so the basis of the grouping of the verses in the chapters is easily understandable by the students of the Quran. Besides these apparent and exoteric ties which justify the groupings there are hidden and esoteric ties for the ordinal of the verses in chapters and the chapters together which are only known to God and those whom He has purified from the profanity of the material world, to be in perpetual touch with the Quran in its original stage of Hidden Book. In short, the recitational consideration plays a very essential part in the arrangement of verses in the chapters and some affinity in the size and subject matter in the grouping of the chapters.

The date and the place of the fragmentary revelation have nothing to do with the ordinal position of the verses in the chapters, nor in the grouping of the chapters together. The knowledge of the date and place of the fragmentary revelation may be of some use in the elementary stages of commentary of the Quran otherwise the Quran and its contents transcend the boundaries of time and space.

8.The importance of the Quran as the Word, Work and the Book of God was so great in the eyes of its Author (God), its deliverer (the Holy Prophet) and the people to whom it was delivered, that utmost care was taken by them all for its correct and precise wording, pronunciation, the phonetical character of the letters of the word, the ordinal position of the wordings, be it verses in the chapters or the chapters together, the recitational peculiarities of the verses and the chapters etc. Eversince the commencement of its gradual revelation, utmost care was taken by all the believers to see that every believer, man, woman and even children above five years had the Quran either in writing or in memory .

9.Due to this wide publicity and popularity of the precise wording of the Quran its existence in written and memorised form has been always supported by the evidence of a very large number of its believers. The testimony to the exact wordings, pronunciation of everyone of its letters, words, phrases, sentences , verses and chapters and the ordinal position of every minute part in the whole of the Quran has been inherited since the start of its revelation by the largest number of its believers and admirers, generation after generation down to us.

Thus the existence of the Quran in its last stage of delivery to mankind has been firmly tied with the unanimous testimony of a very large number of people who were well acquainted with every aspect of the wordings with the utmost exactitude, be it (the Quran) in writing or in their memory. Hence no report about the wordings or arrangement of the Quran which is not supported by internal evidence or unanimous evidence of a very large number of the people, well acquainted with it, can have the probability of its being true.

10.Besides the vehement zeal of the early Muslims in general to learn and have the Word of God with them in writing and in memory, there were, since the beginning of the revelation, a number of writers among the believers who were students of the Quran, and the Holy Prophet used them as scribes for the particular task to writing the Quran then and there, when it was revealed. The most superior of them all, who lived long after the received version of the Quran was approved by the Caliph Othmaan, was Ali (A. S. ) and then Abdullah bn-Maso-od among the early Meccans, and Ubayy bn-Kaab among the early Madinites who lived until then. Along with these early masters and students of the Quran grew and lived a number of students of the Quran , who with the same devotion and zeal learned, wrote, memorised, explained and taught the Quran such as Maaz bn-Jabal one of the accredited teachers of the Quran and bn-Abbaas the great scholar and commentator of the Quran who received his knowledge partly from the Holy Prophet and mostly from Ali. All these scholars who played the great part in the publication and popularising of the Quran had their own collection of the Quran, lived until and after the present Quran received the approval of Caliph Othmaan.

11.There is no doubt that the Holy Prophet did leave among the people something in written form as the Book of God, and there is no doubt also that after his demise these students of the Quran and many others were in possession of written copies of the Quran from which others began to learn and copy. Whether these written copies were prepared before or after the demise of the Holy Prophet and whether they were exactly the same as the Book of God left by the Holy Prophet or different from it , will be discussed later on; but there is no doubt that these collections had nothing to do with the copy made by Zaid bn-Thaabit under the orders of Caliph AboBakar, and were absolutely free from the influence of the state. The copy made by Zaid bn-Thaabit remained unpublished with the daughters of the first two Caliphs till the current form of the Quran was approved by the third Caliph.

12.During this intervening period the version of the Quran published and popularised was from those non-official copies of the scribes and the accredited students of the Quran.

13.The differences noticed by the people like Hozaifa and other scholarly accomplished companions in the current versions of the Quran during this period, were of only recitational nature and not substantial either in the wording and ordinal position of the verses or chapters.

14.Whether the state copy ordered by Caliph Othmaan and prepared by the same Zaid, was the exact copy of his (Zaid's) first work, in all respects of wordings and arrangements, or the revised form of it or something totally different is not known, but undoubtedly its difference with those non-official versions, current then, was of only recitational and not of substantial nature.

15.The specific recitation adopted then by Zaid was nothing new . It was one of the then current recitations traced  back to that which was current during the time of the Holy Prophet. So no objection was raised by anyone against the recitation adopted by the state. But people did object to the method adopted by the authority to stop other recitations and to destroy the written versions of other recitations by burning them , for which Caliph Othmaan was named and blamed as Harrakul Masaahif = The Burner Of The Collections Of The Quran.

16.This shows that the critics did not allege that profane recitations were introduced although the opposition was accusing those in power of profane and anti-Islamic activities.

Traditions

Explaination

Another reason for the rise of these doubts , was the traditions which assert that the collection of the Quran by Ali was in a particular form different from that of the version recognised officially; a similar opinion is held about the copies of Abdullah bn-Maso-od and Obai bn-Ka'ab. There are different versions about the collection of Ali, whether he refused to place his collection at the disposal of the ruling party and the public or the ruling party refrained from accepting it when it was offered and whether this happened in the reign of the First or the Second Caliph, are all matters of doubt. Allama Majlisi narrates that it took place during the reign of the Second Caliph, while the others hold that it was during the time of the First Caliph.

In any case the collection, if any, remained with him and his successors i. e. in the possession of the Holy Imams, beyond the reach of the public. No one has claimed to have seen that collection thoroughly or copied it.

One or two narrations claim that the Sixth Holy Imam Ja'fer bn-Mohammed Saadiq showed some of his disciples the collection of Ali and they found in one small Surah the names of seventy hypocrites. This contradicts what Ali had declared about his collection which is that none would see before the re-appearance of the Last Imam (12th Imam of the House of the Holy Prophet). The tradition itself says that the Sixth Imam gave the collection to the narrator concerned and told him not to look into it. The narrator disobeyed the Imam and had a glimpse of the Surah.

This version seems absurd because the Imam would not have handed over the collection to a person  who was likely to disobey him. It is said that Ali's collection of the Quran contained all that was revealed and with its exoteric and esoteric interpretations. Apart from the question of their authenticity a thorough examination of these traditions proves beyond doubt that the collection in question was a sort of detailed commentary on the Quran which contained the revelations and their interpretations besides the miraculous text which was placed within the reach of mankind as a challenge.

The same is the case with the other collections of Abdullah bn-Maso-od and Obai bn-Ka'ab and the others; they being the acknowledged and the earliest authorised students of the Quran, must have had their own special collection with the interpretations and the notes of their own for guidance.

Therefore, they might have had also a different arrangement of the verses and the chapters for the purpose of their commentaries as the later commentators have done (chronological, and subjectwise etc. ). These collections cannot have anything to do with the current accepted version placed within the reach of the common man for recitation and as an open challenge to men and Jins.

The explanatory nature of the collections of the eminent companions of the Holy Prophet is evident from traditions which assert that Abdullah bn-Maso-od used to recite the phrase 'For Fixed Period' with 4 : 24 . 4 : 24

Then as to those whom you profit by, give them their dowries as appointed 44 : 24 Then as to those whom you profit by FOR FIXED PERIOD, give them their dowries as appointed.

*It is obvious that this phrase was used by him as an explanatory note of guidance and by way of a protest when temporary marriage was prohibited by the Second Caliph. The narration which says that bn-Abbaas used to recite -Fi Ali = about Ali' after Maa Onzila in should be taken as a note explaining the occasion. 5 : 67

O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord 45 : 67

O Apostle deliver what has been revealed to you ABOUT ALI from your Lord!

*It meant to point out the implied significance of the verse in question when the people were ignoring it. Similarly in the verse 3 : 33, according to some traditions, bn-Abbaas had added 'Aale-Mohammed = the descendants of Mohammad' after 'Aale-Imran' or had  replaced 'Aale-Imran- by 'Aale-Mohammed' . 3 : 33 Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibraheem and the descendants of Imran above the nations 43 : 33 Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibraheem and the descendants of Imran AND THE DESCENDANTS OF MOHAMMAD above the nations.

*If this tradition is true , Abdullah bn-Abbaas might have said that 'Aale-Mohammed' are meant in the verse. He did not mean the phrase to be the part of the verse, because if it is taken as a part of the verse, then All will be Offspring of Aale-Mohammed; and if it is not taken as a part of the verse, people other than the House of the Prophet would be included in the same way as all the followers of Pharaoh are included in Aale-Firaun' 3:34

Offspring, one of the other In short, the different collections of the Quran prepared by different companions of the Holy Prophet which were neither published nor had gained any currency among the Muslims, in part or in whole, cannot have any value other than that of a tradition serving as a commentary on the text. This is the reason why none of the acknowledged and authorised students of the Holy Book raised any voice of dissent against the accepted version, though all of them were alive and had their other grievances of religious importance against the ruling party. They complained against the Third Caliph only because of the burning of some copies of the Quran which they considered as an act of desecration of the Holy Book.

Causes of Doubts about the Version Recognised By the 3rd Caliph

Part 1

For further elucidation, let us recapitulate the causes of the doubts about the version recognised by the Third Caliph officially.

1.The unauthorised attempt of the First Caliph and his party for the collection of a Quran of their own.

2.The unwarranted utterance of some members of the ruling party about the incompleteness of their own collection.

3.The theory that there was a special collection of the Quran by Ali, complete in all aspects and respects.

4.The unsuccessful attempt of the Third Caliph to stop the other seven or ten recitations of the Quran except that of the official version , by burning and destroying some copies of the Quran which contained other recitations.

5.The system of dotting and introducing of the vowel signs and other marks for the correct pronunciation of the wording of the Quran by Hajjaj bn Yousuf about the close of the first century A. H., to guard the recitation of the Quran against mis-pronunciation by the non-Arabs. [9]

6.The above five causes gave room and opportunity to the enemies of Islam, external as well as internal to cast doubts on the genuineness of the Quran, but they failed to resist the miraculous force and the wonderful effect of its recital . They could not interfere with the text by 'interceptions' (verses 22:52-54; and 41:26) but they got the opportunity to make false narrations asserting omission in and the alteration of certain chapters or verses of the Quran here and there.

And We sent not before thee (O Our Apostle Mohammed) any apostle or prophet, but when he recited (the message) the Satan did cast his recitation (to create error); But annulleth God that which the Satan casteth then God doth establish His signs; 22 : 52

And verily God is All-Knowing. All-Wise. So that he may make that which casteth the Satan a trial unto those in whose hearts is disease and those whose hearts are hard; 22 : 53

And verily , the unjust are in a schism far (away from the truth) , And that may know those who have been given the knowledge that it (Quran) B is the truth from the Lord , so they may believe in it and may humble unto it their hearts; 22 : 54

And verily, God guideth those who believe, unto the right path; And those who disbelieve say; "Hearken ye not this Quran , make noise in it, happily ye may overcome." 41 : 26

All the above points have been dealt with in brief; let us now examine a few references given by the traditionalists which have somehow found their way into the books of traditions of both the Sunni and Shia Schools.

Regarding the first attempt of the ruling party for having a collection of their own , Bukhari narrates from Zaid bn Thaabit as follows:

After the battle of Yamama, the First Caliph sent for Zaid and told him in the presence of Omar, that Omar had said that many reciters of the Quran had been killed in the battle of Yamama and he was afraid that other reciters also might be killed in other battles with the result that a great portion of the Quran might be lost.

Omar further said to the First Caliph:

- 'You should order the collection of the Quran'.

- How could I do what the Holy Prophet did not'

- 'By God I swear, this good has to be done', and continued demanding it till God opened Zaid's heart for it (a claim for a sort of inspiration). Zaid said that the First Caliph told him :

'You are an intelligent young man whom we do not suspect and you used to write the revelations for the Holy Prophet. You search for the Quran and collect it.'

Zaid added : I swear on my God, if they had ordered me to carry out the task of shifting a mountain from its place , I would  not have felt it so heavy a task , as what they had asked me to undertake (i. e. the collection of the Quran). '

Zaid said to Omar : 'How dare you do a thing which the Holy Prophet did not? '

Omar said : 'By God I swear! it is good to do.'

Zaid continued : Thereafter the First Caliph continued asking me to undertake the task till God opened my heart for what He had opened the heart of the First Caliph and Omar. Therefore I carried the search of the Quran, collecting it from the pieces of wood, bones and from the memory of the people till I found the last verse of the Ch. 9 at-Tauba with Abi  Khozaima-e-Ansari and with none else.'

This collection remained with the First Caliph till he passed away, then with Omar and then with his daughter Hafsa. Bukhari tells us that Hozaifah bn Yaman on his return from the expedition of Armenia and Aazarbijan, expressed his anxiety about the variation among the members of the expedition in the recitation of the Quran , and asked the Third Caliph to take the necessary steps to unite the Muslims in this regard before it leads to controversy about the Book of God in the manner of the controversies of the Jews and the Christians about their Holy Scriptures. Even today there exist various versions of the old and the New Testaments termed as the apocryphal against the Bible termed as authentic.

Then the Third Caliph asked Omar's daughter Hafsa to hand over the bundle of the collection of the Quran left with her so that its copies might be made.

The Third Caliph ordered Zaid, O Abdullah bn-Zobai, Saye-ed bn-A-as and Abdur-Rahmaan bn-Harith bn-Hisham to prepare copies of the same . He told the three Qureishities that wherever they and Zaid differ in the recitation of the Quran and in pronunciation, they should write it in accordance with the dialect of the Qureish as it was revealed in their dialect. They did as they were bidden and prepared copies of the collection and returned the original to Hafsa and sent the copies to all corners of the empire; and then the third Caliph ordered Quran in any other book' form or in the form of any collection to be burnt and destroyed. [10]

In continuation of these statements Bukhari narrates from the son of Zaid that he had heard his father saying :

'When we were copying the collection, we missed a verse from Ch . 33'  Ahzab which I used to hear the Holy Prophet recite and then we searched for it and found it  with Khozaimat bn-Thaabit Ansari and then we put it in the same Surah in the collection.'

These two traditions of Bukhari regarding the collection of the Quran in the reign of the First Caliph and the copying of it during the reign of the Third Caliph contain a slight contradiction regarding the missing verse of the Quran which could not be found with anybody except one Abu Khozaimat bn-Thaabit Ansari. Now, besides these two, there are twenty other traditions regarding this official collection of the Quran, each contradicting the other in one way or the other. Eleven of them are mentioned in the Muntakhab-e-Kanzul Ummaal and the rest have been taken from Itqaan of Suyooti etc.

The following is a brief account of them. In one tradition, bn-Abi Shaiba narrates from Ali, that he considered AboBakr as the greatest person for the collection of the Quran. He is the first person who collected the Quran which is between the pads.

Another narration also says that AboBakr collected the Quran on paper and asked Zaid bn-Thaabit to review it, which Zaid declined to do and AboBakr sought the help of Omar to persuade Zaid and he did so and that reviewed copy remained with AboBakr, then with Omar and then with Hafsa..

A third tradition from Hisham bn-Orwa asserts that after the battle of Yamama wherein some of the companions of the Holy Prophet who had collected the Quran were killed, AboBakr ordered Omar and Zaid bn-Thaabit to sit at the gate of the Mosque and collect the Quran from the people. Another tradition from Mohammed bn-Seereen tells us that Omar was killed and the Quran was not collected till then. A fifth tradition says that once Omar asked for some verses of the Holy Quran and he was told that these were with a person who was killed in the battle of Yamama.

Omar got much worried and ordered the Quran to be collected and he was the first person to collect the Quran in a book form. A sixth tradition tells us that Omar decided to collect the Quran and ordered that 'whosoever has received from the Holy Prophet any portion of the Holy Quran, should bring it to us' and the people had the Quran on bits of wood, stones, skin, leaves of trees and bones and he would not accept anything from anyone unless it was certified by two witnesses and he (Omar) Was killed while the collection was yet going on. Then Othmaan succeeding him continued the task and repeated the order of Omar demanding certification of two witnesses. Then Abu Khozaimat bn-Thaabit came with the last two verses of the Surah-e-Baraat saying :

I have received it from the Holy Prophet and you have not got it in your Quran!

- 'Yes! I also give evidence that these verses are from God, but tell me where we should place them?'

-'Place these two verses at the end of the last revealed portion of the Quran' and they were accordingly placed at the end of the Surah-e-Baraat concluding the Surah with it.

Part 2

A seventh tradition asserts that it was Omar who accepted these last verses of the Surah-e-Baraat from a man of the Ansars without any witnesses which was against his own formula . Another tradition relates that after the battle of Yamama in which four or seven hundred reciters of the Quran were killed, Zaid bn-Thaabit approached Omar and said :

'The Quran is the only unifying factor of our religion and if it is lost our religion is also lost  I have decided to collect it in a book form to

- 'Wait till I ask AboBakr' Both went to AboBakr and informed him of their talk.

AboBakr replied :

'Do not hurry until I consult the Muslims'

Then he began lecturing to the people informing them of their decision. All approved it. Then they collected the Quran and AboBakr ordered a crier to announce that whosoever has a part or the whole of the Quran should produce it. A ninth tradition narrates that Khozaimat bn-Thaabit said that he brought the last verses of Sura-e-Tauba to Omar and Zaid bn-Thaabit. Then Zaid asked Khozaima as to who  would give evidence in his support to which Khozaima replied that he did not know anyone. Then Omar said , 'I was there to witness it.'

The tenth tradition narrates that when Omar collected the Quran; he asked :

Who has the best pronunciation?'

The people said 'Saye-ed ibnul Aas-, and then Omar asked 'Who is the best calligrapher?'

The people said Zaid bn-Thaabit. Then he said 'Let Saye-ed dictate and Zaid write.'

They made four copies; one was sent to Kufa, one to Basra, one to Damascus and one to Hijaz. The eleventh tradition reports that when Omar wanted to have the Quran written he made a few of his companions undertake the task and said :

'Whenever you differ in the wording write it down in the dialect of Hozail for the Quran was revealed to a man of Hozail.'

The twelfth tradition reports the narration of Abu Qullaba that during the reign of Othmaan, the teachers of the Quran started teaching their pupils different recitations and the boys used to meet and differ from each other. then when this was brought to the notice of the teachers they condemned each other's recitation and that on this news reaching him, Othmaan gave a lecture saying :

'You people differ in the recitation and recite it in different ways in my presence. What about those who are far away from me in distant cities, their differences in recitation would be greater.' He then asked the companions of the Holy Prophet to write a standard Quran[11] for the people'. Abu Quallaba narrated that Maalik bn-Anas has said that he was among those who used to dictate the Quran and they used to mention the name of the person who had received a particular verse from the Holy Prophet and if the person was not present, they used to write the preceding and the succeeding verses leaving blank the space for the verse under dispute until the person concerned was available and that Othmaan then completed the collection and wrote to the people in the big cities that he had obliterated what was with him and they should also act accordingly.

The thirteenth tradition relates that Othmaan addressed the people in one of his lectures saying :

'Only thirteen years have passed between you and your Prophet and you doubt the Quran; saying the recitation of Obai or the recitation of bn-Maso-od, or one's own will not stand right.'

Then he urged them all by an oath to the effect that whosoever had any portion of the Quran should bring it. People brought in great numbers pieces of paper, bits of wood and skin etc. containing Quranic verses. Then Othmaan went inside (his house) and called them one after another and made each one swear that he had heard it from the Holy Prophet and that the Holy Prophet had dictated it to him.

After finishing this, he asked as to who was the best in pronunciation, the people said Saye-ed bn-A-as. Then he ordered Saye-ed to dictate and Zaid bn-Thaabit to write. Several copies were made and distributed among the people and the narrator Mas-ab bn-Sa-ab says that he heard some of the companions of the Holy Prophet approving this act of Othmaan. The fourteenth tradition relates that the persons who were ordered by Othmaan to make the collection and dictate were from the Tribe of 'Hozail' and the scribes were from the Tribe of 'Saqeef' (Thaqeef. ) A fifteenth tradition relates that after the collection was completed, it was brought to Othmaan who looked into it and said ,

'You have done well and done the best. Yet I see some mistakes which an Arab will correct .'

The sixteenth tradition relates that when the collection was shown to Othmaan and he found some mistake therein, he said,

'Had those who dictated been from the 'Hozail' (most probably he meant bn-Maso-od)' and the scribes from the 'Saqeef' these mistake would not have occurred.'

A seventeenth tradition reports that when Othmaan wanted to make copies of the Quran , he sent for Obai bn-Ka'b who dictated to Zaid. BnThaabit and Zaid wrote it down and  Saye-ed bn-A'as was there to correct the pronunciation. Thus the Quran of Othmaan was the recitation of Obai and Zaid. The eighteenth tradition supports the seventeenth mentioned above adding that a person named Abdur-Rahmaan bn-Harith was asked to assist Saye-ed bn-A'as in correcting the pronunciation. The nineteenth tradition narrates from Zaid bn-Thaabit that while they were making the copies of the Quran he found the pages containing the v. 23 from Ch. 33'

Ahzab were missing and later on he found them with Khozaimat bn-Thaabit only, whose evidence had been accepted by the Holy Prophet as equal to the evidence of two persons. The twentieth tradition narrates that the first person who collected the Quran was AboBakr, and Zaid bn-Thaabit was the scribe; that people used to come to Zaid with passages and he used to accept a passage only when it was supported by at least two pious men , except in the case of the last passage of the Sura-e-Baraat which was found with Abu Khozaimat bn-Thaabit whose evidence had been taken by the Holy Prophet as amounting to evidence of two persons and that Omar brought the passage concerning the stoning of the adulteress and did not accept it from him for he was alone without any witness.

The above are the main reports about the venture of the collection of the Quran by the ruling party during the reigns of the first three Caliphs. None of these has the standard  authenticity required to establish them as genuine. Further, they are subject to criticism from various aspects.

Let us first examine the first two traditions on the authority of Bukhari :

1.Even if it is supposed that the Quran was not collected and arranged in a book form during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, what right could anyone have to make a collection according to one's own taste or fancy? Is it not a sort of innovation? What does 'the opening of the heart' mean? Does it mean a sort of inspiration or revelation which the Christians claim for the authors of the Gospels? Can it be taken as authorised legal sources like 'Kitaab' and 'Sunnah' (the Book and the Tradition) of the Islamic Jurisprudence and the means of inference of 'Halal = the allowed', and the 'Haram = the prohibited'?

Or was it an exclusive privilege given only to those three (AboBakr, Omar and Zaid bn-Thaabit)? Then what about the other companions of the Holy Prophet who had also made a collection of their own, a fact which has been unanimously acknowledged by the Muslim world?

2.If it was so then why did Othmaan destroy the other collections without having the sanction of the Holy Prophet for his action? Zaid's collection as well as the collection of the  others according to this statement were based on their innovation (Ijtehad). Then why should one Ijtehad be preferred to the other?

3.Why was not Zaid's inspired collection published immediately and placed within the reach of the people so as not to allow time for the other versions of the Quran to gain popularity through the Muslim Empire , which versions Othmaan ordered to be destroyed after about twenty years of their wide popularity?

4.What do the following words spoken by AboBakr to Zaid imply?

'You are a young and intelligent youth whom we do not suspect and you used to write the revelations for the Holy Prophet.' What were the qualifications of Zaid which made them prefer him to the other scribes who had the honour of writing the revelations since its earliest days and long before Zaid grew out of his childhood? On the contrary, the experience of a ripe age was actually the need. What does the clause 'we do not suspect you' imply? Did they suspect Ali bn-Abi-Taalib and his innumerable Divine credentials, a few being that he was certified by the Holy Prophet as the one who will always be with the Quran and with whom will always be the Holy Book; he was the person identified with the Holy Prophet and the Holy Prophet identified with him : Ali is of me and I am of Ali and he was identified as the 'Nafs = the 'self' of the Holy Prophet on the occasion of the historic 'Mubaahala'; he was the one about whom the Holy Prophet had declared 'Ana wa Ali min Noorin Wahid' (I and Ali are of one and the same light); he was the one who was next to the Holy Prophet as meant by the verse of 'Tat-heer' and was declared by the Holy Prophet to be always with the truth and truth to be always with him; he was the foremost of the 'Itrat = the AhlulBait' along with whom the 'Kitaaballah = the Holy Quran' was left among the 'Ummat = the Muslims' as the Two Inseparable Entities of the highest value for the guidance of the 'Muslim Ummat', he was the one whose relations with the Holy Prophet were termed by the Holy Prophet as those of Aaron with Moses with the exception of 'Nubuwaat = Apostleship', Who was certified by the Holy Prophet as 'The Gate of the city of Knowledge and Wisdom', besides. being a Witness to the Holy Prophet, he was the Best Judge and the Witness to Truth.

Part 3

One may say that inspite of these qualifications, they had the right to suspect Ali and his co-operation with them as, 'Bukhari' and 'Muslim' report through Malik bn-Ows bn-Hadsan that the ruling party believed that Ali had no good opinion of them, and that he at that time was not on good terms with them. Even if this is assumed to be true, there were other senior scribes such as Abdullah bn-Maso-od, Obai bn-Ka'b, Ma-aaz bn-Jabal and Saalim Maula abi Hozaifa whose competence according to Bukhari was certified by the Holy Prophet who had ordered the people to learn the Quran from them. This is narrated by Abdullah bn-Omar. Of course Saalim was killed in the Battle of Yamama, but the other three were alive and available till the official version of Othmaan was issued by him, but no reference was ever made to any of them. Why, during the reign of Othmaan was the assistance of certain Omayyid youths such as Saye-ed bn-A'as and Abdur-Rahmaan bn-Harith bn-Hisham sought , ignoring persons like Abdullah bn-Maso-od and Obai bn-Ka'b? Was it because they were suspected and if so, of what? Was it the lack of knowledge of the Quran, was it the lack of truthfulness and reliability or the lack of political loyalty to the ruling party?

5 . In view of the certification by the Holy Prophet, the first two possibilities are to be entirely discarded. Now remains the third possibility which is a historic fact that they were not loyal to the ruling party while Zaid bn-Thaabit was. BnAbdul Bir (the author of Istee-aab) tells us that Zaid remained pro-Omayyid and he never joined hands with the opposition. For this act of loyalty on his part, he was rewarded with wealth and comfort, while persons like Abdullah bn-Maso-od and Obai bn-Ka'b suffered the disfavour and particularly the former who suffered persecution. And if these were the reasons for ignoring these people then the attempt itself to collect the Quran becomes subject to suspicion.

6 . Moreover, these two traditions of Bukhari contain contradictory statements regarding the missing verse of the Quran which was not found with anyone except the one whose name in one tradition is given as Abi Khozaimat-e-Ansari  and in the other tradition as Khozaimat-bn-Thaabit-e-Ansari. Regarding the passage itself in the first tradition, it is said that it was the last verse of Sura-e-Baraat and in the second tradition it is given as verse 33 : 33.

Of the remaining twenty traditions given above, the First and the Second tell us that AboBakr was the first person who collected the Quran and according to the Second Zaid bn-Thaabit was asked only to review AboBakr's collection, contradicting the previous tradition which says that it was Zaid who collected it by the order of AboBakr.

The Third one says that Omar and Zaid  were given jointly the task of the collection; and here it is also stated that some companions of the Holy Prophet who had already collected the Quran were killed in the battle of Yamama. Historians avoided the issue as to what happened to these collections and why they were not secured by the ruling party, seriously interested in the collection of the Quran. It contradicts four previous traditions, as it asserts that others had already collected the Quran.

The Fourth one contradicts all the other traditions that the Quran had not been collected by the time Omar died.

The fifth gives an entirely different story that Omar was the first person who ordered the Quran to be collected in a book form; and the reason was that he asked about some passages of the Quran and was told that it was with a person who was killed in the battle of Yamama, which implies that the collection of the Quran took place during the reign of Omar long after the battle of Yamama.

The sixth one gives us quite a different picture saying that it was Omar who decided to collect the Quran by the same process from bones, leaves, bits of wood and paper etc., with the help of witnesses; but the work was not yet completed when he died and Othmaan pursued the same course and he was the one who supported the statement of Khozaimat bn-Thaabit and not Omar.

But the seventh tradition says that it happened in the reign of Omar and that he accepted the verses from a person who had brought them without asking for any witnesses.

The eighth tradition gives the credit of taking initiative and the decision to collect the Quran to Zaid bn-Thaabit during the reign of AboBakr. AboBakr did not approve of Zaid's proposal which was supported by Omar, till he consulted a crowd of Muslims and obtained their approval and then only he ordered the collection.

The ninth tradition makes Othmaan and Zaid bn-Thaabit the joint' champions of the venture of the collection of the Quran. Omar accepted this collection and offered himself as a witness to it without any evidence, when it was brought to his notice by Khozaimat bn-Thaabit.

The tenth tradition assert that Omar initiated the collection and employed Saye-ed bn-A'as as the person to dictate and Zaid bn-Thaabit as the calligrapher and that they produced four copies which were despatched to the big cities mentioned in the tradition. This contradicts the first two traditions of Bukhari which date the initiative in the reign of AboBakr and the despatch of the prepared copies to the big cities during the reign of Othmaan and also contradicts the traditions which give the credit of the initiative to Omar and of the completion to Othmaan.

The eleventh tradition confers on Omar the honour of the collecting of the standard Quran.

The twelfth tradition gives the credit of the initiation, of the collection and its completion and the preparation of the copies to Othmaan and introduces Anas bn-Malik as one of the persons who dictated the Quran while it was being copied. Further, it asserts that Othmaan informed the people of the big cities about what he had done with the Quran and ordered them to follow his footsteps, without sending any copy to them, which clearly indicates that Othmaan was sure of the people already having the copies of the Quran with them. It shows that of the various recitations, the most current was that of Abdullah bn-Mas'ood and Obai bn-Ka'b. And the thirteenth tradition asserts that Saye-ed bn-A'as was the person who dictated and Zaid bn-Thaabit was the calligrapher who produced the copies which were distributed to the people.

The fourteenth tradition asserts that the task of the dictation and of writing of the Quran was given by Othmaan to persons of the 'Hozails' and 'Saqeefs' and not to Saye-ed bn-A'as and Zaid bn-Thaabit, the first of whom was an Omavi and the second one an Ansari; while the sixteenth tradition says that if the person dictating and the calligrapher had been of the 'Hozails' and the 'Saqeefs' mistakes found by Othmaan in the  prepared copies would not have occurred which clearly indicates that the 'Hozails' and the 'Saqeefs' were never employed to copy the Quran.

The fifteenth and the sixteenth traditions state that the prepared copies were not free from mistakes and they were left to the dialect of the Arabs and no corrections were made. In the sixteenth and the eighteenth traditions, Obai bn-Ka'b is mentioned as the person who dictated and Zaid bn-Thaabit as the calligrapher. This contradicts the statement of the thirteenth tradition which presents Saye-ed bn-A'as as the person who dictated and also contradicts all the traditions which present Zaid bn-Thaabit as the person solely responsible for the collection.

The nineteenth and the twentieth traditions contradict each other about the missing passage which was found with Khozaimat bn-Thaabit. While one says it was the verse 33 : 23, the other says that it was the verse of Sura-e-Baraat . All these contradictory statements, if they are not the innovations of the later period , show that in order to counteract the statement of the Holy Prophet 'I am leaving among you two precious entities the Book and AhlulBait. ' which signifies the excellences of Ali and the succeeding 'Imams' as the unquestionable authority on the Quran and the credit given by the Holy Prophet to Abdullah bn-Maso-od, Obai bn-Ka'b, Ma-az bn-Jabal and Sa-alim Maulla Huzifa as the teachers of the Quran  an attempt was made by the ruling party to produce a collection of the Quran of their own and dispense with these authorities totally, so that they may themselves take the credit. But they differed even among themselves as to who should get the most credit. Parties within parties, in opposition to each other had obviously been formed. Each party was trying its best to claim the credit for itself and its hero.

The only thing which can be said is , that whoever be the hero in this venture,  he was neither competent nor authorised for the task. Thus though they had collected something of the scattered fragments from here and there, yet they dared not publish it for more than about sixteen years during which period the Quran collected at the time of the Holy Prophet's life had gained tremendous publicity in a perfect book-form throughout the length and breadth of the vast Muslim Empire, and was taught, learnt, memorised and practised in the daily life of the people; and justice was meted out according to it. As Othmaan and the ruling party of his time felt their failure in their attempt to gain credit through their instituted venture , they procured a copy of the current version and gave the official assent to it and called it the official version.

The absence of the supposed collection of AboBakr which was laid to rest with Omar and after him with his daughter Hafsa, the so-called collection of Omar and  Othmaan, and the total absence of any other collection by anyone else and the absence of any objection by the opposition to the official version is the best irrefutable testimony to the facts that a version had continued to be the same since the departure of the Holy Prophet about which the Holy Prophet had declared , 'I leave amongst you the Book of God and my AhlulBait.'[12]

Whatever was collected otherwise was nothing but a fabrication of wishful thinking which has no value at all but on the other hand indicates that among the companions , there were people who attempted to discredit the official version by spreading rumours to sustain a disruptive and mischievous propaganda. In support of the last mentioned fact, some of the statements attributed to some prominent members of the ruling party about the omissions in the present version may be referred to. Firstly, the majority of the Sunni school of thought agrees that there are certain passages, the wording of which is abrogated but their contents or the instructions contained  therein remained valid. The example given of such abrogation is the passage dealing with the Stoning of the adulteress - the wording of which is given in three different forms as Bukhari and Muslim narrate on the authority of bn-Abbaas and Omar.

Part 4

'Muslim  further narrates that Ayesha said , that of the revealed passages of the' Quran there were two dealing with the question as to how many times a foster mother has to suckle the child to be considered as the mother coming within the prohibited degree . Ayesha says that in the first passage ten was given as the number but that it was abrogated by another passage which reduced the number to five and that these two passages were read as a part of the Quran till the demise of the  Prophet . This is given as an instance of the abrogation of the passages in both respects i . e . , the wording as well as the instruction implied in it; but a careful examination of these two instances proves that the abrogation is a euphemistic term for a deliberate omission, because none but the Holy Prophet had the right of abrogating anything from the Quran , either any wording or any significance of the contents.

It is obvious from the two statements that the abrogation was not done by the Holy Prophet , as the first statement says that Omar while collecting the Quran brought the passage dealing with the stoning of the Adulteress which was not accepted, not for the reason of its having been abrogated but for want of the required witnesses to support the statement of Omar . In the second instance Ayesha expressly says that the passages dealing with the foster mother were the part of the Quran till the demise of the Holy Prophet .

Therefore. If these statements are true , it means nothing but the intentional omission of certain passages of the Quran by some unauthorised people. Suyuti in his book 'Itqaan', in continuation of the narration of Bukhari and Muslim regarding this matter relates from Omar another passage which is said to be missing in the official version of the Quran. But a proper examination of the said missing passages which Omar and Ayesha presented , when compared with the style of the Quran proves beyond doubt that there could never have been a part of the Quran and that these are nothing but imaginary statements. Some of the companions used to accuse each other of such mistakes on account of their fancies in their narrations; for instance about the question of mourning for a bereaved person. Ayesha accused Omar  of misunderstanding the statement of the Holy Prophet. It is not possible that a part of the Quran was not known to the companions of the Holy Prophet except Ayesha and Omar, both of whom were accused of forgetfulness and lack of knowledge in respect of the Quran . 'Itqaan' on the authority of Tibrani narrates that Omar said that the Quran contained ten lakh twenty-seven thousand letters whereas the Quran available in his time would not reach even one-third of this account. It means, that the Quran left by the Prophet was so well arranged that even the number of its letters were known to a person like Omar. How could this statement be reconciled (with his claim that during his reign two-third was missing? How could a person, who had no proper  knowledge of the available one-third portion of the Quran, know that the two-third was lost.

This doubt is further supported by the fact that Omar was not even properly acquainted with the available one-third portion of the Quran, which had been memorised by other Muslims.

Moreover , when he was the person whose evidence even for one verse which he so well remembered was not accepted by his own party while Khozaima's statement was accepted without any testimony, how can his solitary statement about the missing of the two-third of the Quran be accepted especially when he could neither remember nor even mention a single verse. He was the person whom Obai bn-Ka'b discredited in connection with the Quran as one who was busy in his transactions in the market while Obai and others were busy studying the Quran under the Holy Prophet's guidance (Bukhari). As the early history of Islam indicates, the Ansars considered themselves to have equal status with the Mohajreen (immigrants). This tendency is obvious, from the very statement of Ansars in Saqeefa when the Quraish insisted that the head of the state should be someone from the Quraish . , Ansar had negated with :

We will have two heads : one from us and one from you in support of the Quraish's claim to be superior to Ansars in the eyes of Arabs , they had offered that while the head of the state shall be from Quraish the Ansars shall act as assistants to the head Nahanul Umaraa Wa Antamul-Wozaraa.

The tendencies of both the parties are clear. Ansars considered themselves as equals of the Mohajirs and the Mohajirs used to consider themselves superior to Ansars. However, Mohajirs won the case by force in Saqeefa and got the reins in their hands but Ansars were not satisfied and every now and then the matter was disputed by either party. On one occasion to prove the superiority of Mohajirs to Ansars, Omar quoted verse 9 : 100 of the Quran where the first and the foremost Mohajir and Ansar are mentioned. The passage runs as follows : 9 : 100 And (as or) the foremost , the first of the Muhajirs AND THE ANSARS, AND THOSE WHO FOLLOWED THEM in goodness, Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him 49 : 100

And (as or) the foremost , the first of the Muhajirs AND THE ANSARS WHO FOLLOWED THEM in goodness, Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him,

'Omar in his recitation of this passage omitted 'WAW = AND' the conjunctive particle between the words 'Ansar' and the relative pronoun those meaning the Ansars (helpers) who follow the immigrants (Mohajirs). Obai bn-Ka'ab objected to Omar's recitation and said the correct recitation was that the conjunction AND between the words Ansar and 'Allazeena' should be inserted which would mean the first and the foremost of Mohajireen and Ansars and those who followed Mohajireen and Ansars. This version gives Ansar and Mohajireen equal status and makes those who followed Mohajireen and Ansars as subordinates. Omar first insisted that his recitation was correct but with the evidence of the other students of the Quran, he had to submit to Obai's recitation.

'Itqaan' tells us that Abdullah bn-Omar had said that one should not say that he has received the whole Quran, as he does not know about the whole and that one should only say that he has received of the Quran only that much as has come into evidence. Again Itqaan says that Ayesha claimed that Ch. 33 'Ahzab read during the time of the Holy Prophet contained 200 verses while that in Othmaan collection contained much less. To the same effect Muntakhabe Khanzul Ummal narrates from Obai bn-Ka'b that the latter said that Ch . 33' Ahzab which now contains seventy three verses, was originally  equal in size to the Sura-e-Baqara or even longer. Ayesha's evidence for the missing of 127 verses of Ch . 33'

Ahzab without quoting even a single verse of it , should be discredited as she did not remember even the first words of the verse 33 of the same Surah which concerns herself and the other wives of the Holy Prophet . The statement attributed to Obai bn-Ka'b is also to be dismissed because the omission of such a large portion of one particular Surah without its being remembered by him who was an acknowledged authority on the Quran or by anyone else , is unbelievable and such an utterly discreditable claim could never have come from a personality like Obai bn-Ka'b. Another tradition of Itqaan asserts that Ayesha had a collection of her own , and that she narrated from her father that in verse 33 : 56 after 'Tasleema' there was a conjunctive clause : 33 : 56 Surely Allah and His angels bless the Prophet 4O you who believe! Call for (Divine) blessings on him and salute him with a (becoming) salutation 'WALLAZINA YASILOONA SOFOOFUL AWWAL'  *and that was before Othmaan made changes in the collection.

First of all the internal evidence against this statement is the style of the alleged missing clauses which is against the unanimous verdict of the Muslims as a whole because either Muslims in their 'Salawat' on the Holy Prophet stop with the Holy Prophet or join his family or go further and add the companions in general, or the wives and the issues of the Holy Prophet further more. But there is no trace of any evidence in support of this addition. Secondly none else has narrated that Ayesha's 'Mus-haf' (her own collection) was ever destroyed by anyone. Therefore, the question arises as to what happened to that 'Mus-haf'? Another tradition of Muslim says that Abu Musa-e-Ash'ari called the reciters of the Quran in Basra and people who had studied the Quran came to him and he addressed them saying : 'You are the chosen ones of the people of Basra and the reciters of the Quran - You continue reciting Quran regularly and do not stop it for any period of time lest your hearts get hardened in the manner of the hearts of the previous people.' He further said that used to read a Surah in the Quran which resembled in length and rigidity Sura-e-Barat but he had forgotten it except one verse of it . And that there was another Surah which resembled the 'Musabbihat' but that also he had forgotten except one verse of it.

Part 5

The style of both the narratives is entirely inferior to that of the Quran , and the wording of the first passage itself makes it quite obvious that it belongs to the category of the 'AHadeeth-e-Qudsi', the definition of which has already been given in the very beginning of this topic. As regards the second passage, it might be taken as a parenthetical sentence in the form of commentary added to the text of the verse 61 : 2 before the third verse of the same chapter : 61 : 2

O you who believe! why do you say that which you do not do? 61 : 3

It is most hateful to Allah that you should say that which you do not do which Abu Musa having heard , it might have taken it to be different Surah, because he is known to be credulous and weak in memory and lacking in the literary taste, and as he himself confessed to have forgotten both the Surahs and none else had any knowledge of the matter. This statement stands discredited. Besides, the statement if it be true, might have been made after the beginning of tension between Othmaan and him which led to his removal from the governorship. Thus it is obvious that he wanted to blackmail Othmaan accusing him of the omission. Suyuti, in his Itqaan, tells us that once Omar told Abdur-Rahmaan bn-Auf :

'Don't you find this passage among what was revealed to us.'

In Jahado kama jahadtum awwala marratin

'Surely we do not find it now to which Abdur-Rahmaan replied that it was one of the passages of the Quran which was omitted!'

But Abdur-Rahmaan bn-Auf, though one of the important political workers of the ruling party, was not an authority on the Quran. BnAbbas, though much younger, used to teach the Quran to him and some other persons among the Muhajirs even  to the last days of Omar's reign. Secondly this is a conditional clause, a part of the larger one. The consequent sentence is not mentioned and neither Omar nor Abdur-Rahmaan bn-Auf mentions that it was the part of a certain verse and Surah; thirdly none could prevent Omar from reinserting this and the other omitted passages into their respective appropriate places in the Quran , as he was a powerful leader of the ruling party. His not having inserted these shows that those and may other passages which were fancied by persons like Omar, and Abdur Rahman as parts of the Quran were rejected by the Muslims for lack of internal and external evidence in support of those statements . Similar to the above statements is that of Muslim bn-Mukhallad Ansari, a prominent companion of the Holy Prophet viz that once he asked the people, among whom there was also Sa-ad bn-Malik Ansari, 'Will you tell me about the two passages of the Quran which were not written in the collection?'

To which none replied except his son (most probably Mohammed bn-Muslim) who recited the passage. (vide Itqaan by Suyuti). First of all, a proper examination of this passage will prove beyond doubt that the reciter had mixed up certain passages of different Surahs of the Quran with each other while inserting in it his own fancies and prose which differ from the inimitable and miraculous style of the Quran and exposes him. Secondly, one can infer from the above anecdote that the knowledge of the Quran at that time was a great qualification of merit and honour and therefore those who lacked it , tried to pose themselves as its students but the miraculous style of the Quran on the one side and their lack of knowledge on the other exposed them, as is the case with those among us who are incompetent and unqualified and yet pose themselves as great scholars. It may be added to this category of traditions what is said about two Surahs found in the collection of bn-Abbaas and Obai bn-Ka'b the proper examination of which bears testimony to the fact that their style is quite different from that of the Quran and they may be classed under the category of the supplications and prayers worded by the Holy Prophet or some members of his Holy family . In the opinion of some , these two are inferior in language and style to the supplications of the Imams of the Holy House of the Holy Prophet whose authentic collections are available.

There are a few more traditions of this kind which we need not worry ourselves with. What is given here is only a handful from a heap. It is enough to have in view that the Quran has to its credit internal evidence of its inimitable style which is peculiar to itself and the innumerable number of its external witnesses. All the verses and the suras, eversince their revelation have been placed within the reach of a group of people who had vehement zeal for hearing, writing, learning, understanding, memorising and acting according to these. Not a single word or sentence or a passage can be accepted from the historical point of view as a part of the Quran if it lacks the support of internal evidence of style and the evidence of its readers.

Therefore, for a student of the Quran, it is easy to discredit the kind of traditions mentioned above whatever be the qualifications of the companions of the Holy Prophet who are said to have recited these. But from these sort of reports we infer that either for blackmailing each other or for discrediting the accepted version of the Quran, which stood between them and their political aspirations and aims, some of the members of the ruling party were inclined to spread such disruptive rumours.

On the other hand, those of the AhlulBait and the people attached to them and other companions who were not attached very much to the ruling party, during this period, never attacked or criticised the accepted version or even raised a voice of dissent against it. In pursuance of the command of the Holy Prophet, they insisted on their opinion about the genuineness of the accepted version as the criterion fixed by the Holy Prophet for the verification of the genuine and the false traditions both the pre-Quranic as well as the post-Quranic. The Holy AhlulBait have recorded that once he (the Holy Prophet) stood up and declared:

"Certainly the liars about me have increased abundantly."

Beware! For every truth there is a proof and for every Right there is the Light - Thus whatsoever agrees with the Book of God hold it fast and whatsoever is opposed the Book of God, leave it away.'

Ammar bn Yaaser, the most upright Sahaabi and one of the zealous adherents of the cause of AhlulBait, once, during the Battle of Siffin, in the presence of the  representatives of both the parties, pointed out to the banner under which Muawiyha was standing and also to the banner of Ali under which he himself was, and said, 'Behold under this banner of ours, we fought against the banner of Muawiyaha in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet on the question of the revelation of the Quran and now we are fighting against the same banner on the question of the interpretation of the Quran.

This clarifies the stand of Ahlul-Baia-t and their followers regarding the Quran. The dispute was confined only to the interpretation of the Quran and there was no question of any distortion of its wordings. The Holy AhlulBait held up this principle from Hazrat Ali, the first Imam to the Twelfth, and their adherents also, maintained it without any amendment (Ref . Kaafi and all the subsequent authorities on Traditions). No tradition dealing either with the theory or the practice of Islam was, is and will ever be acceptable to the Imams of the Holy House of the Holy Prophet or the members of their schools of thought , if it does not agree with the Book of God, As Allama Majlisi has put it : "of the innumerable miracles of the Holy Prophet , the First and the Foremost is the Holy Quran which is the most genuine and authentic one (narrated and recorded ever since its revelation by innumerable persons , generation after generation, down to us) and will last as such till the day of Resurrection.' (Haqul-Yaqeen).

Before concluding this chapter , it is desirable to refer to some traditions of the Sunni school about the nature of Ali's collection of the Quranm the date of the collection , its authenticity and Ali's knowledge of the inner and outer aspects of the Quran as a whole and in part. Suyuti in his 'Tarikhul Khulafa' tells us : Ali is one of the Godly scholars , the celebrated Warrior the famous ascetic and the well-known Orator and one of those who collected the Quran and presented to the Holy Prophet for his review . In Itqaan, Suyuti on the authority of Abu Na-yeem , relates the statement of Ali himself : "No verse of the Quran was revealed of which I know not.'

And the same Abu Na-yeem narrates from Abdullah bn-Maso-od that the Quran was revealed on seven folds or seven sides (Ahrof) or aspects , each of which has an inner and an outer significance and Ali bn-Abi Tafeb has got with him all the inner and outer aspects with the significance of each aspect. The author of Waseelatun-Najaat, Mullah Mohammed Mubeen Luckhnavi (Farangimahalli) on the authority of bn-Seereen asserts that Ali arranged the Quran according to the dates of the revelation, with nothing antedated. Again Suyuti in his Itqaan says that among those who arranged the Quran according to the dates of revelation, Ali was one.

And Abu Shukoor , the author of Tamheed, says that the companions of the Holy Prophet were not unanimous in accepting Ali's collection . Itqaan of Suyuti says that Ali's  collection began with Sura 'Iqra' followed by 'Al-Muddathir, Al-Muzzamil , Tabbat, 'Takweer etc. Abdullah bn-Maso-od's collection began with 'Baqara' followed by 'Nisa' and 'Aale-Imraan' and with a tot of difference therein, and same was the case with the collection of Obai bn-Ka'b.

Part 6

Whether we accept the authenticity of the narrations and others simitar one, it will assert nothing more than what has already been said expressly that Ali was the foremost one, next only to the Holy Prophet in possessing thorough knowledge of the inner and outer significance of every word, sentence, passage, part of chapter of the Quran in its revealed and pre-revealed form to which the Quran itself bears testimony, if it is properly and impartially read without any prejudice - verses 56 : 77-79 forming the major premises, and verse 33 : 33 as the minor premises and 3 : 61 as the conclusion defining the personnel of the AhlulBait - adding to it the unanimous verdict of the Muslim World as to the names of the persons to whom the above verses were applicable . 56 : 77

Most surely it is an honored Quran 56 : 78

In a book that is protected 56 : 79

None shall touch it save the purified ones 33 : 33

Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you ,

O people of the House!

And to purify you a (thorough) purifying 3 : 61

But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge, then say : Come let us call our sons and your sons and our women and your women and our near people and your near people, then let us be earnest in prayer, and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars These verses supported by many other verses of the Quran declare of the descendants of 'AaleIbrahim' as those who were Divinely made to inherit 'Kitaab= Book', 'Hikmat = Wisdom' and 'Mulke-Azeem= the Great Kingdom' and 'the Imaamat =Divine leadership' - and who are the foremost in complete obedience and service to the Absolute, and purified from all ungodly inclinations. The foremost of the Ismaelite branch is the Holy Prophet himself and next to him are the members of his holy Family (the AhlulBait) headed by Ali as the Imam and succeeded by the eleven Holy Imams.

The inclusion of the Holy Lady Fatima in the AhlulBait on account of her personal purity is also by the virtue of her elevated position of being the Daughter of the Holy Prophet , the Wife of the First Holy Imam and the Mother of the Eleven Imams - thus establishing the link between 'Risalat = Prophethood and 'Imamat = Divine Guidance', a status which can never be secured by merely being a wife of a prophet and playing no part in the establishment of the Divinely chosen line of Abraham's descendants. Besides this clear evidence of the Quran there are the most authentic declarations of the Holy Prophet about Ali which has been mentioned at various places in this treatise. Regarding Ali's special collection and the collections by others it has already been said that their particular arrangements must be for the purposes of commentary or for personal information and guidance of the respective collectors themselves , or for other academic purposes .

There is abundant evidence that Ali's collection and the collection of the other authorised companions of the Holy Prophet viz. Abdullah bn-Maso-od and Obai bn-Ka'b contained some explanatory notes which must definitely be besides the text and they never attempted to give any publicity at all to their notes against the accepted version of the Quran, which in its recitative and rhythmical accord is meant for all men of all times and as a challenge being an everlasting miracle of the Holy Prophet. The point to be noted here is that the statement of Suyuti to the effect that Ali collected the Quran and presented it to the Holy Prophet for a review contradicts all the statements which assert that Ali collected the Quran after the demise of the Holy Prophet.

Furthermore, we would like to point out that the collection of the Quran in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet was made not only by Ali whose authenticity is indubitable and unquestionable but also by the other authorised companions of the Holy Prophet; and there were many others who had collected the Quran during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, among whom besides men there were also women. It is interesting to note that in some traditions Zaid bn-Thaabit, the hero of the official venture of the ruling part in the collection of the Quran is counted among those who had collected the Quran during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. This discredits all the stories of his collecting the fragments of the Quran from pieces of paper, bits of wood , bones , leaves and skin etc. by the order of the First, Second or the Third Caliph jointly or independent.

Tabarani and bn-Asakir narrate from Sho-abi that he said that Quran was collected during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet by the following six persons from the Ansars :

1 . Obai bn-Ka'b

2 . Zaid bn-Thaabit

3 . Abu Darda

4 . Ma􀀁azi bn Jabal

5 . Sa'ad bn-Obaid

6 . Abu Zaid

There was a seventh one Mujjama bn-Jariah who also collected the Quran but with the exception of two or three Surah.

Bukhari tells us that Anas bn-Maalik said that four persons, all from the Ansars, collected the Quran during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet viz.

1 Obai bn-Ka'b

2 . Zaid bn-Thaabit

3 . Ma'az bn-Jabal

4 . Abu Zaid

Nasaee asserts that Abdullah bn-Omar said : I collected the Quran and used to complete its recitation (as a whole) every night, the news of which reached the Holy Prophet and he called and told me not to complete hastily the recitation of the whole Quran in one night (i . e . , not to recite it mechanically), but to recite it (intelligently) as to ponder over its contents to understand these by completing the recitation in one month.' Ibne Sa'ad asserts in 'Tabaqat' on the authority of Fadhl bn-Dakeen from Waleed bn-Abullah bn-Jameel who  reports from his grandmother named Umme-Waraqa that the Holy Prophet used to visit her and call her 'Shaheeda' meaning Witness and she was one of those who had collected the Quran. There is a narration from bn-Abbaas related by Ahmed bn-Hambl, bn-Abi Shabia , Tirmizi , Nasaee , bn􀀁Habban , Haakim , Baihaqi , and Zia-e-Maqdasi that bn-Abbaas asked Othmaan about the reason why 'Bismillaha' was not written in the beginning of Surah-e-Barat and why they had joined this Surah with the other and put the two Surahs in the seven big Surahs, Othmaan replied as follows,

'Sometimes when the Surah were revealed, the Holy Prophet used to call the scribes and tell them to place the particular verses in certain places of the Surahs; then the verse subsequently revealed was placed as pointed out by the Holy Prophet . Sura-e-Anfaal was revealed in Medina early after the 'Hijrat' and the Sura-e-Baraat was the last of the Madinite Surahs but the contents were almost similar to each other and the Holy Prophet did not say whether the Surah was separate one or it was the continuation of the previous Surah. Therefore, I joined these two together without using 'Bismillah' and put it in the lengthy Surahs.'

This statement of Othmaan, if true, is an attempt to gain some credit for himself for the arrangement of some portion of the Quran viz., 'Bara-at-and- Anfaal' but it asserts the fact that the Quran was put in writing under the supervision and the instructions of the Holy Prophet and that the arrangement of the Aayats (verses) in the Surahs and the arrangement of the Surahs, one after another were done according to the instructions of the Holy Prophet, (except Anfaal and Baraat). But there are authentic traditions by both the schools (the Sunni as well as the Shia) that the revelation of the Sura-Baraat had begun in the 9th year of Hijrat with the first twenty verses which Ali was instructed to recite at Mecca during the Haj season, and that Bismillah was not revealed in the beginning of it. Thus there is no question of Othman's joining these two Surahs or arranging them together as one.

The Sura-e-Baraat was revealed without Bismillah and on account of the similarity of the contents was put after Anfaal under the instructions of the Holy Prophet not as a part of Anfaal but as a separate Surah. Probably, Othmaan had no knowledge of this and he believed what was current among the Muslims. It is not possible to imagine the actual position of the Sura-e-Baraat, the earlier portion of which was revealed in the beginning of Ziqadah of the 9th Hijri. Its position in order of arrangement among the other Surahs was not clarified by the Holy Prophet for more than a year , until his departure from this world, during which period, he himself used to direct the scribes about the arrangement of the Surahs and even about the arrangement of the verses in them. Moreover, during his last years, the Quran was revised and reviewed by Jabraiel twice. How was it possible that the portion of Anfaal and Barat as one or two Surahs and the question of Bismillah were not made clear by the message of God?

In any case this statement discredits the claim of collecting the fragments of the Quran from people and copying them with the support of witnesses, on the other hand it supports all the statements and the evidences which show that the Quran was collected during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. According to the unanimous statements of the AhlulBait Bismillah is a part of the Quran revealed to the Holy Prophet in the beginning of every Surah except the Sura-e-Bara'at which was revealed without Bismillah. Therefore the last portion of the statement ascribed to Othmaan can not be his. It may be a fabrication of later period by those schools of thought who did not consider Bismillah as a part of the Quran except the Bismillah used in the middle of the Sura-e-Naml.

Conclusion

However, a thorough and critical study of the narrations regarding the collection of the Quran along with the external and internal evidences given above, proves beyond doubt that to credit the First, the Second, the Third Caliphs or their deputies with the collection of the Quran is nothing but wishful thinking - the outcome of the unwarranted attempts by them to produce a collection of their own and gain unearned honour. These attempts miserably failed , the bundle of the collection having gone into oblivion without anyone to say as to what happened to it. Only one thing about it is reported by history that the bundle was left to lie under the bed of Hafsa and a part of it was consumed by a goat.

The only thing to the credit of Othmaan is that he ordered copies of the Quran to be made in accordance with the recitation which was in vogue since the lifetime of the Holy Prophet , trying to drop all the other recitations adopted by some reciters of their own choice, but those recitations also could not be actually stopped for they also have come down to us in the terms of the seven or the ten recitations of the Holy Book . Even this one act of credit, being associated with the act of burning some copies of the Holy Quran containing the other recitations, was not approved by the bulk of the Muslims and hence he was termed as Harrakul Masaahif = the burner of the collections of the Scriptures.

This futile attempt of the ruling party and the irresponsible utterances of its members gave room to the prejudicial criticisms against the Holy Prophet and the Holy Quran by which even some of the Credulous Shia traditionalists have been deluded. Therefore, to remove once for all the doubts about the real and correct view of the Shia School about the Holy Quran which is in our hands, we should like to deal with all the Shia traditions which may be relied on to support the views against the completeness and the arrangement of the current version of the Holy Quran.

Shia, Anti-Shia & Ultra-Shia Views

Shia Views

It is said that the number of the traditions narrated from the Holy Imams of the AhlulBait by the Shia narrators is so great that there is no doubt that some of them, if not all, are reliable and worth our consideration. Therefore, we do not try to reject those traditions totally on the ground of the unreliability of the narrators, although most of those traditions have been narrated by persons like Ahmed bn-Mohammed-e-Sayyari and Ali bn-Ahmed Kufi, the first of whom was accused of heresy and the second of lies and heresy. However, our concern here is not the reliability or the unreliability of the narrators but the scrutiny of the text of the narrations and as there is no  unanimity in respect of the subject of the subject - matter of the traditions, we have to classify them into several groups : ' There are twenty traditions where the word 'Tahreef' = change' has been used, out of which we refer to only eight as examples :

1 . Ali bn-Ibrahim-e-Qummi relates from AboZar Gefaari that the Holy Prophet in commenting on the verse 3 : 106 said : 3 : 106 On the day when (some) faces shall turn white and (some) faces shall turn black On the Resurrection Day , my people will come to me under five different standards and I will ask the group under each standard about what they had done with the Two Precious Legacies which I left among you?. The people under the first standard will reply that of the Two precious things which you left behind, the greater one we have distorted and thrown in on our backs, ignored it and the smaller one we opposed it or hated it. The group under the second standard will reply that of the Two precious Ones, the Greater one (the Quran) we distorted it, and tore it into pieces and went against it; and the smaller one we opposed it and waged war against it.'

(Hadeeth-e-Thaqalain refers to the Holy Quran and AhlulBait)

2 . Bn-Taaoos and Syed Naimtullah Jazairi, the two prominent Shia traditionalists narrate a lengthy tradition that the Holy Prophet said to Hozaifat bn-Yamman that the people will profane the sanctity (of Islam) to the effect that they will deviate from the path of God and distort His Book and alter the Holy Prophet's Sunnat (traditions).

3 . We quote from the authority of Sa'd bn-Abdullah-e-Qummi who narrates that Fifth Holy Imam of the AhlulBait Mohammed bn-Ali Al-Baquir had said that the Holy Prophet had called the people at Mina and said :

"O People! I am leaving among you Two precious things to which if ye adhere, never shall ye go astray i. e., the Book of God and my AhlulBait and besides these Two, here is the Ka'ba the Sanctuary (the Holy House).'

The Holy Imam said :

'The Book they have distorted, the Itrat (the AhlulBait) have been killed and the Ka'ba they have destroyed and all God's deposits with them, they threw away and they detached themselves from them.'

4 . Shaikh-e-Sadooq asserts in his 'Khisaal' through Jabir bn-Abdullah-e-Ansari that the Holy Prophet said that on the Resurrection Day , three entitles would complain :

i) The Quran,

ii) The Mosque &

iii) The Itrat.

The Quran would say

'O my Lord!

They distorted me and tore me into pieces.'

The Mosque would say

'O My Lord!

They kept me and spoiled me.'

The Itrat would say

'O Our Lord! They killed us, drove us out of our home! and made us wander hither and thither. '

5. The tradition narrated by Kaafi and Sadooq from Ali  bn-Sowaid is that he wrote to the Seventh Holy Imam Musa bn-Ja'ar Al-Kazim while he was in prison and got the reply which is quoted hereunder :

'They were trusted with the Book of God and they distorted and altered it.'

6 . Bn-Shahr Ashoob narrates that the Third Holy Imam, Hussain bn-Ali on the day of A-ashoora, while addressing the enemy's army said :

'Ye are of the same rebellious party and the remains of the infidel allies (against the Holy Prophet) and the remains of those who threw away the Book (the Holy Quran) and were inspired by Satan, and a gang of criminals and those who distorted the Book.'

7. In the book 'Kamiluz-Ziyarah' it is related of the Sixth Holy Imam Ja'far bn-Mohammed As-Saadiq that the he prescribed that the pilgrims who enter the shrine of the Holy Imam Husain should say :

'O God!

Cursed be those who belied thy prophets - destroyed Thy House (The Ka'ba) and distorted Thy Book.

8. It is narrated from the Sixth Holy Imam Ja'far bn- Mohammed As-Saadiq :

'The masters of the Arabic language distorted the Word of God from proper place.'

The rest of the twenty traditionalists have also used the words 'Tahreef and 'Tagheer' in the same tone and tune. If these traditions and others of their kind are read in the light of what the Holy  Imam Mohammed-e-Baqir had said viz, 'of their throwing away the Book of God, with that they established its letters and altered and distorted its scope and significance. '

It becomes clear that no change in the lettering of the Quran ever took place by omission, addition or alteration but that the change took place in the significance, in the interpretation and the application of the contents of the Holy Quran. There is no doubt , that the word 'Tahreef, Tagheer and Tabdeel' used in these traditions mean nothing but the misuse and the misinterpretation of the contents of the Quran. This is fully vouched by the history of the development of the Islamic thought. The Holy Prophet was expecting this when he declared that three pronouncements of divorce in one session  do not make it effective :

"Do they play with the Book of God when I am still present among them? '

There are many more examples of misinterpretation and mis-use of the contents of the Book of God in every generation, down to our present time. The last tradition quoted here supports the fact that many who think themselves to be masters of the Arabic language try to misinterpret the Holy Book by destroying its real significance.

We find many commentators striving to distort the wordings of the Quran to deny miracles wrought by the prophets of God. The best example being attempts of the Anti-AhlulBait commentators to distort the significance of the verses which undoubtedly were revealed exclusively regarding the spiritual excellence of the Holy Ones of the House of the Holy Prophet since the earliest days of Islam.

Anti-Shia's Views

One of the clear examples of such attempts is the distorted interpretation of the verse 33 : 33 (Aayat Tat-heer) which leaves no room for including the wives of the Holy Prophet among the AhlulBait or any body else other than the 'Abnaana = Our Sons Hasan and Husain' 'Nisaana = Our Women = Fatima' and the 'Anfosona = Our near people = Ali' of the verse of 'Mubaahala' (3 : 61), if the verse preceding the verse 33 : 33 and the following verses and the first verses of Ch . 66 = Surah-e-Tahreem, dealing with the wives of the Holy Prophet are taken into consideration. It becomes clear that the verse 33 : 33 is applicable only to those who are in the highest stage of accomplishment and attainments . 3 : 61

But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge, then say : Come let us call our sons and your sons and our women and your women and our near people and your near people, then let us be earnest in prayer, and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars 33 : 33

Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! And to purify you a (thorough) purifying.

They also distorted the significance of the terms in Mubaahala (3 : 61) specially 'Anfosana'  by making it refer not to the self of the Holy Prophet but to the Muslims in general , overlooking the historical fact that the Holy Prophet in relevance with his authentic statement 'Ali is of me and I am of Ali,' had responded to the challenge of the Christians by choosing Ali as 'Anfosana'. Further, in keeping with his other statements about AhlulBait, he had chosen Fatima as Nisa-ana, and Hassan and Hussain (sons of Ali & Fatima) as Abna-ana. They held that according to the historical fact the others - followers, wives and the remaining relatives of the Holy Prophet will be naturally excluded from Islam whereas according to the Shia belief the Holy Few Selected were the best of the Muslims and their selection did not in anyway exclude others from the fold of Islam or lessen their respective position in view of their proximity to AhlulBait.

The conversation between bn-Abbaas and Muawiyah, reported by Allama Majlasi in Vol. X of Behaar al-Anwar, when the latter warned the former not to narrate anything from the Prophet or quote or interpret the Quran in support of AhlulBait, throws sufficient light on the fact that all that the ruling class was attempting to do and wanted others to do was to misinterpret the Quran and distort the significance of the verses which are in favour of the right cause. Otherwise the wide publicity of the text of the Holy Book made it impossible for them to affect any distortion in the wordings or arrangement of the verses. (Vide appendix. 5 Aya-Tat-heer. Fundamentals of Islam, by the author). To have an idea of the distortion of the interpretation of the verses of the Holy Quran , one has to study verses 3 : 32, 5 : 55 , 4 : 54 , 33 : 33 , 35 : 31&32 , 42 : 23 , and all the passages dealing with the distinction given to 'Aale-Ibrahim' and all the passages which shake the position of the opponents of the AhlulBait, particularly the verse 9 : 40 (Aya Ghaar)  and the verses which clearly show that the prophet of God inherit and leave behind them their legacies to the issues etc. 3 : 32

Say : Obey Allah and the Apostle 5 : 55

Only Allah is your Vali [Friend or Guardian] and His Apostle and those who believe , those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow 4 : 54

But indeed We have given to Ibraheem's children the Book and the wisdom , and We have given them a grand kingdom 33 : 33

Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from yo, O people of the House! And to purify you a (thorough) purifying 35 : 31

And that which We have revealed to you of the Book,  that is the truth verifying that which is before it Most surely with respect to His servants Allah is Aware, Seeing 35 : 32

Then We gave the Book for an inheritance to those whom We chose

from among Our servants 42 : 23

Say : I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives 9 : 40

If you will not aid him, Allah certainly aided him when those who disbelieved expelled him, he being the second of the two, when they were both in the cave, when he said to his companion :

Grieve not, surely Allah is with us

These are only a few of the innumerable instances of the distortion of the scope and the significance of the verses of the Holy Quran against which the Holy Imam Husain spoke at Karbala and his successors the Holy Imams of the House of the Holy Prophet had reiterated the protest, in private as well as in public. Yazeed's recitation of verse 3 : 26 when the AhlulBait were brought to him as his captives, is another instance of distortion . 3 : 26

Say (O Apostle Mohammed!) 'O God . ! Master of the Kingdom, Thou givest the kingdom unto whomsoever Thou likest and takest away the kingdom from whomsoever Thou likest!

Thou exaltest whomsoever you likest and abasest whomsoever you likest. It was one of the boldest attempts to distort the Word of God directing towards the Spiritual Kingdom, the honour and status which God confers on whomsoever He pleases, as meaning the defacto temporal hold and the worldly honour. This was spontaneously refused by the Holy Zainab, the daughter of Ali and Fatima, who was there as one of the captives and delivered a Sermon in the court of Yazeed in which she quoted from the same chapter of the Holy Quran. 3 : 178'

Let not those who disbelieve think that Our giving them respite is good for their selves;

We only give respite to them that they may increase in sins,

And for them is a disgraceful chastisement.

This distortion has been one of the fundamental principles of Government of Omayads and their successors.

Ultra Shia Views

Part 1

The second group of the traditions shows that in some verses of the Holy Quran, the name of Ali in particular and the names of the other members of the Holy AhlulBait in general which had been originally mentioned were omitted or altered later on. Such traditions are of the three types :

1.The tradition from Kaafi in connection with verse 2 : 23

2 : 23 And if you are in doubt as to that which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your witnesses besides Allah if you are truthful

2.There is a tradition from both the Sunni and the Shia schools that in connection with 5 : 67 5 : 67 O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord 45 : 67

O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you ABOUT ALI from your Lord 83.

The author of the 'Faslul Khitab' on the authority of Ahmed bn-Mohammed-e-Sayyari (who was accused of heresy) in connection with 15 : 41 15 : 41

He said : This is a right way  with Me : 415 : 41

He said : This is a right way of Ali 8One may find traditions of similar  nature indicating the omission or the alteration of the name, Ali, in some other passages narrated in books like Tafseer bn-Foraat for the commentary unwarrantedly ascribed to the Eleventh Holy Imam Hasan bn-Ali Al-Askari for which sahl bn-Ahmed Deebaaji is accused. However, the first, though is from Kaafi which is the most authentic Book of Traditions of the Shias, is to be totally rejected because of the context. It is unanimously agreed by all Muslims that verse 2 : 23 is an ever current challenge to those who doubt the Divine nature of  the Book in part or as a whole. If such a restricted phrase is acceptable, then the verse and the challenge as a whole will become meaningless. Those who doubted the Divine origin of the Holy Quran, did so not merely on account of the association of the name of Ali with it.

Secondly Ali's name was not mentioned anywhere else in the Holy Quran to give rise to their doubts.

Thirdly, if Ali's name had been mentioned, it would have been known to one and all of those who had heard it from the Holy Prophet, or from the other Companions, and would not have come down to us through only one solitary and inauthentic chain of the traditions. It should be noted that the authenticity of Kaafi does not mean the genuineness of everything therein. There are some conflicting traditions in it and there are traditions also (against the facts of history, particularly in the Rauze-e-Kaafi. As we have already said no book of Islamic traditions of any school, can compete in authenticity with that of the Holy Quran, hence any report lacking that degree of authenticity can never be considered as a part of the Quran. Moreover, these kinds of traditions are contradicted by the authentic traditions of Kaafi itself, on the authority of AbaBaseer who says :

'I asked the Sixth Holy Imam Ja'far bn-Mohammed As-Saadiq about the verse 4 : 59 , 4 : 59 O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those in authority from among you, Then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Apostle, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. and he said that it was revealed about Ali , Hasan and Husain.'

Then he told the Holy Imam that people say :

'If it is so, then why Ali and the people of his house were not mentioned by name in the Quran.'

The Imam replied : 'Tell them , the daily prayer 'Salat' is mentioned in the Quran in several places but nothing of the number of the Raka'at in each prayer has been given.'

It was for the Holy Prophet to explain thedetails. The same is the case with the details about Haj, Zakat, Saum, etc. which were left to the Holy Prophet to explain. Likewise , it was the duty of the Holy Prophet to explain, as to who are the persons worthy of being called 'Olil-Amr', obedience to whom is as compulsory as obedience to the Holy Prophet next to obedience of God.

The Holy Prophet explained it whenever the occasion demanded , and the last of such occasions was the declaration of Ghadeer-e-Khum which left no room for any doubt to be clarified, but those who were determined to doubt and create doubts among others, did not leave any stone unturned. Nevertheless they could succeed in hiding any occasion of the least importance , leave alone the event of Ghadeer, concerned with the declaration of Ali and his particular descendants as his successors. This tradition contradicts all other traditions which tend to say that Ali's name or that of Hasan, Husain or Fatima, were revealed as the text of the Quran and was dropped by someone later. Therefore, such traditions are to be interpreted as these holy names have been mentioned as a commentary to the text, as is the case in 5 : 67 . 5 : 67

O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord 45 : 67

O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you ABOUT ALI from your Lord*

In the cases of such traditions which would not bear such interpretations they should be totally rejected as being against the Quran and the authentic traditions. Accepting the third tradition as true, it does not convey any peculiar distinction or qualification for Ali which otherwise he did not already possess.

Particularly if the context is taken into consideration , it proves that Ali was one of those who did not follow Satan which is no great a distinction for Ali because an ordinary righteous person also possesses that distinction. Secondly Sayyari from whom the author of Faslul Khitab reports, did not say that 'Aliyyin' used there was a proper noun in possessive case, as there is another recitation of this verse where 'Aliyyon' is used as an adjective which qualifies 'Siraat' in 15 : 41 15 : 41

He said : This is a right way with Me : 415 : 41

He said : This is a right way of Ali 8It is more probable that Sayyari with his ultra views aimed to say that 'Ali' though used here as an adjective, yet from an esotorical point of view meant Ali. Not only here but wherever the word 'Ali' occurred in the Quran, though as an adjective, according to the Ultra-Shiaties, it means Ali. According to them, the Holy Prophet named him Ali under the Divine command . Hence the name actually carries the quality as the name Mohammed does. Therefore, whatever is termed by God, as Ali, as an adjective, must be associated with Ali in some sense or other. There are traditions which show that 'Aale-Mohammed' originally mentioned  in some passages of the Holy Quran were omitted or altered later on. For instance, the tradition narrated by Ayyaashi that in 3 : 33&34 after 'Aale-Ibrahim' there was 'Aale-Muhammad' instead of 'Aale-Imran' and the former was omitted and the latter was inserted . 3 : 33 Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibraheem and the descendants of Imran above the nations 43 : 33 Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibraheem and the descendants of Imran AND THE DESCENDANTS OF MOHAMMAD above the nations.

*Such a tradition, if true, means not only omission but also addition of a non-Quranic matter in the Quran; but this is against the unanimous verdict of all schools particularly the Ithne-Ashari School.

Besides , its being reported by one solitary reporter cannot be acceptable in the case of the Quran , as already pointed out , the insertion of the term 'Aale-Mohammed' here in the place of 'Ale Imran' would exclude Ali from 'Aale-Muhammad' on account of the subsequent verse 34 as Ali is not a descendent of Mohammed, and this is against both the fact and the faith, as 'Aale-Mohammed' are headed by Ali.

Part 2

Offspring, one of the other If the subsequent verse is totally discarded then the 34 : 3 term 'Aale-Mohammed' will include not only the members of the family , but all the followers as in the case of 'Aale-Firaun', whereas in the case of the present version of the Quran both Muhammad and Ali, along with their issues are included in the 'Aale-Ibrahim= descendants of Abraham'. There is another tradition to the effect that in 26 : 227 after 'Zalamo' the term,  'Aale-Mohammed' was mentioned, which if true, would restrict the condemnation of injustice only to the case of 'Aale-Mohammed' excluding the cases of the others, which is against the spirit of the Quran, the universal justice of God being that whosoever is unjust to anyone in any degree, is punishable. 26 : 227

And they who act unjustly shall know to what final place of turning they shall turn back 426 : 227 And they who act unjustly shall know to what final place of turning they shall turn back.

*It is also against the saying of Ali :

'It is easier for Ali to bear all sorts of tortures than to meet God after committing injustice to anyone of his creatures.'

Most probably the expression 'Aale-Mohammed' has been used as a commentary to emphasise the seriousness of injustice caused to the Holy people.

Another example is the tradition which deals with the verse 37: 130 showing that instead of 'Ilyaseen' there was 'Aale-Yaseen' 37 : 130 Peace be on Ilyas We have dealt with this tradition in our note on this verse (Vide Translation of the Quran by Mir Ahmed Ali) , and here it is enough to say that it is totally against the context which is dealing with 'Ilyas' from verses 123 to 132. There are also some solitary traditions dealing with the word 'Ummat' mentioned in the various passages of the Quran assigning to theexpression the duties and the qualities suitable for leading personalities. The traditions say that in those verses (2 : 128 , 2 : 143 , and 3 : 104) instead of the word Ummat , the word Aimma , (plural of Imam) had been used at first. 2 : 128

Our Lord! and make us both submissive to Thee and (raise) from our offspring a nation submitting to Thee , and show us our ways of devotion and turn to us (mercifully) 42 : 143

And thus We have made you a medium (just) nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people and (that) the Apostle may be a bearer of witness to you 43 : 104

And from among you there should be a party who invite to good and enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong.

But counter to these traditions there are other traditions which assert that word 'Ummat' itself was rightly used by God to denote Aimma : (Vide appendix on the word 'Ummat' and its derivatives 'Fundamentals of Islam' by the author. ) There is another kind of tradition dealing with the word 'Imaman wa Rahmat' mentioned in the verse 11 : 17. It says that in original arrangement 'Imaman wa Rahmant' was after 'Shaahidun Minh' before qualifying 'Shaheed' and not 'Kitaabe Moosa'. 11 : 17

Is he then who has with him clear proof from his Lord , and a witness from Him recites it and before it (is) the Book of Musa, a guide and a mercy?' 11 : 17

Is he then who has with him clear proof from his Lord, and a witness - A GUIDE AND A MERCY FROM HIM - recites it and before it (is) the Book of Musa,?

'We have dealt with this matter and proved that 'Imaman wa Rahmat' in its present arrangement qualifies both 'Kitaabe Moosa' and 'Shaahid' (Ref . Translation of the Quran by Mir Ahmed Ali) . The imagined arrangement is absurd and against the Quran; and the commentaries of the Holy AhlulBait, as 'Kitaabe Moosa' is qualified in 'Imaman was Rahmat' 46 : 12 And before it the Book of Musa was a guide and a mercy Another example of the tradition of this nature is that which deals with 25 : 74 saying that in the place of the present (/) it was originally (x) : 25 : 74

And they who say :

O our Lord! grant us in our wives and our offspring the joy of our eyes , and make us guides to those who guard (against evil) 425 : 74

And they who say :

O our Lord! grant us in our wives and our offspring the joy of our eyes , and make for us guides from those who guard (against evil) 'Reference to the verse will show the absurdity of this view and the soundness of the present verses. The supposed version would reduce the position of the persons, referred to, by the personal pronoun 'Na' meaning 'Us' to a state of praying to have leader from among the pious ones , in which case the infallible Imam would be excluded from 'Na = Us'. Further such a prayer could be the prayer of only an ordinary man, while in the present version, the pronoun would mean only the infallible personalities who are fit to be the leaders of the pious and not to be led by anyone from among the pious ones. In either case, the restriction in the meaning of the personal pronoun is unavoidable. In the supposed version, the position of the Imam is reduced to an ordinary pious person 'Muttaqi' while according to the present version, the Imam prays for the post of the 'Imamul Muttaqeen' which Abraham prayed for his 'Zurriat.'

There are examples of the traditions which assert omission or alteration of the wording of the Quran which according to the imagination of their reporters, were in the favour of the AhlulBait but were omitted. But a thorough study of them will prove beyond doubt that these were either the work of a foolish friend or a crafty enemy who wanted to damage the sacredness of the Holy Imams of the AhlulBait and along with it the unique status of the Holy Quran which is the criterion for the verification of the Truth of pre and post-Islamic literature of theological nature. There are traditions which give a different wording here and there in some passages of the Quran as a different recitation which are not acceptable in any way, for example Ali bn-Ibrahim narrates through his chain from Horaith from the Sixth Holy Imam Ja'far bn-Mohammed As-Saadiq that the Holy Imam read the last portion of the Sura-e-Fateha as (x): 1 : 7

The path of those upon whom Thou hast bestowed favors . Not (the path) of those upon whom Thy wrath is brought down , nor of those who go astray 41 : 7 Sirata man an-amta alaihim, ghairl Maghzoobe alaihim wa gahiriz Zaaleen 'meaning instead of 'Allazeena' after 'Siraat', he used the relative pronoun 'Man' and Ghair' instead of 'la' beforeZalleen'. it is obvious that the supposed recitation does not differ from the present recitation in substance, but the absurdity of the narration is so obvious that one is surprised that a person like Ali bn-Ibrahim narrated such nonsense.

The Fatehatul Kitaab is a chapter repeatedly recited by the Muslims in the daily prayers and all other prayers and there is no prayer without the recital of the Fatehatul Kitaab and as such it is impossible that the correct version escaped the memory of all the Muslims from the time of the Holy Prophet up to the Third Caliph, or that deliberately the correct recitation was replaced by the distorted recitation without a word of protest from any corner. If this tradition is to be accepted, no report of the past, whatever the degree of its authenticity and the number of its narrators, and written reports could be relied upon.

Part 3

There is another group of traditions quoted by some writers in support of 'Tahreef' which indicates that the Quran contains different sections, dealing about the AhlulBait and their enemies, about the exemplary events of the past and the laws and precepts of Islam. It is obvious that these kinds of traditions have nothing to do with Tahreef = omission, alteration or addition . It refers to the applicability of the subject-matter and not to its arrangement. As such it does not convey more than what is mentioned in the celebrated Ziarat Jaamiah :

Wherever, or whenever anything good is mentioned, it applies to you as its origin, its development, its source and as its final phase.'

A few traditions narrated by Ayyaashi in his commentary confirm what has been already said viz that the names of the AhlulBait have not been mentioned in the Quran and that the passages of the Quran should not be restricted to persons or occasions in connection with which they might have been revealed . He narrates through his chain from the Fifth Holy Imam that he said,

'The Quran was revealed in three groups, one third about us and our devotees, one third about our enemies and the enemies of those before us (the prophets and the righteous ones) and one third about law, precepts and exemplary narrations and that if the passage revealed about some persons is restricted to them, then that passage would lose its applicability along with the death of the said persons; but the applicability of the Quran continues to be valid so long as the heavens and the earth exist. There are passages in the Quran which apply to all good or bad.'

Another saying from the same Imam reported by Ayyaashi is :

'Whenever in the Quran any of the followers of Islam is mentioned as virtuous, it refers to us and whenever 'some' is mentioned as wicked, even in the past, it is our enemies that are meant'. And another tradition narrated by Ayyaashi from the Sixth Holy Imam is :

'If the Quran is read as it was revealed, one would find us named therein.'

This means that if one reads the Quran studiously without prejudice, he would realise the exclusive status given to them by the Quran. For example in 3 : 61 , nobody's name is mentioned but there is no doubt that none is meant by the verse but Hasan, Husain, Fatima and Ali. It is natural that only these can be termed as the people of the Holy House and the members of the family. Therefore, whatever God has said in the Quran about the AhlulBait and the chosen members of the 'Aale-lbrahim' applies to these people exclusively. Instead of mentioning their names, the Quran referred to them according to reliable traditions narrated above. God has introduced them in a rhetorical manner which is much more effective than mentioning their mere names. There are some other traditions which evidently assert that a large portion of the Quran has been omitted and some non-Quranic matter has been inserted in the present version. The outstanding example of such traditions is the lengthy statement of Ali narrated by Ahmed bn-Abu Taleb Tabarsy, the author of the book known as 'Ehtijaj', Ali is reported to have said in the course of his conversation with a Jew , that between the first portion of verse 4 : 3 and verse 137 of the same chapter about one third of the Quran had been omitted and that verse 7 : 188 was not a genuine part of the Quran. The absurdity of this tradition is self- evident. It seems that Ali was talking of some remote ancient book. If one third of the Quran was deleted in his presence he and all the Muslims could not have kept quiet. Not even a single verse of the one third of the Quran, said to have been omitted, has been indicated. In the case of Fadak, Ali and his followers did not hesitate in the least to raise objection and even for a minor deviation from the Islamic law, people like AboZar, Ammar, Miqddad, etc. protested against the ruling party endangering even their lives. That being so, if one third of the Quran had been omitted, it is unthinkable that none could have objected . It is unacceptable that such a deliberate omission in the Quran was effected and Ali did not open his mouth but to a Jew . On the strength of this spurious tradition the genuineness and authenticity of the Quran cannot be doubted.

On the other hand, the book containing this tradition cannot be regarded as reliable. There is another tradition from Kulaini in the chapter dealing with the  Quran to the effect that the Sixth Holy Imam Ja'far bn-Mohammed As-Saadiq said that the Quran which Jibreel brought to the Holy Prophet Mohammed contained seven thousand verses.

This is according to 'Waafi' taken from 'Kaafi' but in some editions of Kaafi itself, the number mentioned is seventeen thousand, instead of seven thousand. There is no doubt that narration of Waafi from Kaafi is much more reliable than the ordinary editions of Kaafi itself. However the difference between the narration is there, hence it is not unreasonable to take either of these statements as a wishful conjecture, because it deals with the number of the passages of the Quran and the numbering depends upon punctuation, about which the reciters of the Quran may differ. According to the current punctuation the number of verses are 6666 but according to the punctuation ascribed to the Holy Prophet by 'Majma-ul Byan' it is 6163 .

The different schools of the reciters 'Kufi, Hijazi, Makki, Madani and Shami differ in this regard from each other. It is also said that the numbering by Kufi School is based on the authority of Ali (A . S . )

However, it should be noted that the differences in numbering was not based on the variation in numbering of the letters and the words of the Quran as confirmed by a tradition from Kaafi saying that :

'No change in the letters of the Quran in addition or omission ever took place' and that the Muslims established the letters of the Quran and distorted its significance and its application. Here it is not out of place to recommend to the reader a reference to a tradition quoted by the author of Majma-ul Bayan in chapter. 76 (Ad-Dahr) while dealing with the question of the date and the occasion of 'Shan-e-Nuzool' where the full account of the number of the chapters, verses, letters, the date and place of their revelation is given. It is said, that there are chapters the beginning portions of which were revealed at Mecca and the other portions were revealed at Madina and were put in their proper places : by the order of the Holy  Prophet.

To a particular group belongs the solitary tradition stating that the Quran originally had forty Parts, of which we have now only  thirty and the rest of the ten parts are with the Last Imam who would bring it when he reappears. The absurdity of this version has already been pointed out when dealing with the tradition of the Ehtijaj. No word, phrase, sentence, verse or chapter, small or large can be considered as a part of the Quran if it is reported by a solitary reporter, because in our definition of the Quran we have said that revealed statement was placed within the reach of mankind as an everlasting miracle, and as such it cannot be known only to one chain of the reporters. To this category belongs the spurious Surah known, as the Sura-e-Vilayat which the author of the Dabistanul Mazahib has narrated from some unknown source , and it may be the same Surah to which bn-Shahr A-ashoob refers as the Omitted Chapter of the Quran. The Chapter contains as many words (or lines) as Musabbahat. The style of it betrays its fabrication. It cannot be classed even with the style of the AhlulBait in their sermons and prayers, it is an attempt to imitate the rhythm of the Quran but most unlike the Quran in grammatical structure and rhetorical consideration, the like of which can be composed by any imitator who is acquainted with the Arabic language. There are other compositions of this type said to be the omitted chapters of the Quran , the style of which betrays them of these there are two Surahs named 'Khol' and 'Hafd', both combined, do not exceed two lines of the Quran of Obai bn-Ka'ab but the style shows that they are some sort of prayers composed by someone , much inferior in style to that of the Holy Prophet and his AhlulBait , leave alone the style of the Quran.

There is also another tradition of this kind narrated by Kaafi from Abu Nasr-e-Bazanti who said that the Eighth Holy Imam Ali bn-Musa-ar-Riza gave him a Quran and told him not to  look into it , but he opened it and read chapter 98 known as the 'Bayynah'and found therein the names of seventy persons of the Khoraish along with the names of their fathers that then the Holy Imam sent for the Quran and took it back. This is not believable. In the first place it is unthinkable that the Holy Imam would give the Quran and yet ask that it should not be looked into. Secondly, the person who disobeys the order of the Holy Imam not to look into it is hardly reliable.

Thirdly, granting the genuineness of the narration , the version that he found therein the names of so many people with the names of their fathers is the best proof that what he saw was not the text of the Quran but some commentary. of the contemporaries of the Holy Prophet or his ancestors, and his followers, and the members of his family , nobody's name had come in the Quran except the name of Zaid among the friends and Abi-Lahab among the enemies and the name of the Holy Prophet himself and if anyone else's name had come, the report of it would not have reached through a solitary tradition. Apart from our remarks against this tradition, it can be taken as evidence that the celebrated 'Mushaf' attributed to the First Holy Imam Ali bn-Abi-Taalib was not confined to the text of the Quran revealed as a challenging miracle, but it contained also the commentaries which the Holy Prophet dictated to him or the explanatory notes which he himself added to it.

Part 4

These are the main traditions quoted in favour of Tahreef , in the sense of addition or omission. There remains the question of Tahreef with regard to the arrangement of words in the phrases and the sentences in the verse and the verses in the chapters and the arrangement of the chapters in the collection. As pointed out already the Quran explicitly asserts that the arrangement , the recitation and the explanation , all are the responsibility of God and this must have been discharged before declaring the perfection of the religion and the Holy Prophet's declaration, 'I am leaving among you Two things, the Book of God and the Holy AhlulBait.'

Reference to the 'Book' by the Holy Prophet cannot be to the fragments and the pieces of bones, wood, skin, leaves of  trees on which the verses of the Quran had been written without any proper arrangement. It must refer to the collection which had been given the shape of a book either by Ali, Zaid bn-Thaabit, or the others later on. It is unthinkable that the Founder of Islam who has dealt with the most minute aspects of human life, such as the etiquette of sitting in an assembly (58 : 11) and was so particular that doubt and dispute in the ordinary transactions whether small or big should be avoided as much as possible, for which he had recommended their being recorded in writing - (2 : 282) - had failed to give the final shape to the Book which he declared to be the guardian of the former scriptures, the criterion for the post-Islamic literature, and the final infallible authority to which the Muslims are to refer in all matters of religious disputes. Therefore he could not have left these two issues to be finalised by the people whom he considered to be very unscrupulous in the matter of faith, particularly after him - (3 : 143).

The impossibility of such a failure is obvious from the point of view of the Shia faith, the facts of history and the Quran's assertion that no chance for any argument or excuse was left for the people after the Holy Prophet (4 : 165). 4 : 165

(We sent) apostles as givers of glad tidings and warners that there may not remain any argument for people against God, after (the coming of) these apostles, There are authentic traditions supporting the genuineness of the present wording and the verses in the respective chapters of the Quran.

These are the traditions from the AhlulBait which deal with the spiritual effect and the Divine reward assigned to the recitation of each verse of each chapter. Besides the traditions which allow recitation of any chapter of the Holy Book, in the daily compulsory prayers with the exception of four Surah which contain 'Sijda-e-Wajib' , the Imams were so cautious in this respect that in the case of Chapter 93 or 94, though separated from each other by Bismilah, they said that the latter is supplementary of the former and thus both should be recited together; if read in any compulsory prayers. An identical statement was made about chapters 105&106. It should be noted that according to the AhlulBait, it is necessary that one complete Surah of the Quran neither more nor less is to be recited after Chapter'l, in the first and second Rak'at of prayers.

Therefore, if there was any disarrangement in any chapter of the Holy Book which affects its completeness and genuineness, they would have pointed it out to their disciples as they did in the above mentioned cases. Once the genuineness of the arrangement of the verses in the chapters is proved, there would hardly be any need to argue that the Divine hand which did not miss the said arrangement, missed the arrangement of the chapters in the Book as a whole. The question of the Makki and the Madani origin of some verses of some chapters of the early or the later dates, does not arise and there are authentic traditions showing expressly that it was done by the direction of the Holy Prophet himself and by none else. Kaafi on the authority of Sa'd-e-Iskof relates from the Holy Prophet :

"I was given the lengthiest Surahs in the place of Torah (Taurat) and I was given hundred versed chapters in the place of Injeel (the Evangel) and I was given the lengthy one next to the first in place of Zaboor (Psalams) , and I was made to exceed them with the separate small ones - they are sixty-eight Surahs and the Quran is the guardian over all the Scriptures. '

There remains a criticism by some unscrupulous friends or mischievous enemies that in the present arrangement, there are some verses which do not fit in with the preceding and the following verses. As already stated, the reply to this criticism is that the Quran itself declares that its method of arrangement is peculiar to itself and it should not be compared with the human method of arranging the parts of their classical products. Such comparisons would be like condemning natural sceneries as mis-arranged because they are not like a man-made garden. However, it should be remembered that the chronological arrangement of the Quran attributed to Ali cannot be but for the purpose of a commentary and not as a challenging miracle of the text within the reach of the public and to be recited daily in prayer and at other times. If it were otherwise, Ali and the other Holy Imams of the House would have guided the people about the present arrangement of the matter to facilitate their reciting the Quran in their prayers or they would have said that it was enough to recite any part of the Quran, in any prayer, whether a complete or an incomplete Surah or the verses without the present sequence. But they did not do so. It is the unanimous verdict of the Shia theologians and jurists that any recitation different from the present arrangement, or with any addition or omission in any compulsory prayer, renders the prayer void. Even in the optional prayers or in the ordinary recitations, any arrangement different from the present one is a sin.

There are some solitary reports about the recitation of some Qura'nic words by the AhlulBait other than the present, viz. verse 81 : 8 and some other words . 81 : 8 And when the female infant buried alive is asked But according to the  authentic tradition of Kaafi and the unanimous verdict of the Shia theologians, any recitation other than the seven or the ten current ones, is forbidden. All these show that mischievous hands were working since the demise of the Holy Prophet down to the beginning of the fourth century to create doubts about the genuineness , infallibility and the authenticity of the Quran in hand in some way or other. They did also their best to create doubts about the infallible authority of the persons of the AhlulBait who were declared by the Holy Prophet as inseparable from the Quran and to be referred to in all religious matters. On the other hand, the Holy Imams of the AhlulBait, their disciples in particular and the Muslims in general insisted that nothing different from the present version of the Quran, in part or as a whole, should be taken into account and declared it as the unique standard for the verification of the truth of the pre or post Islamic reports on religious matters'"

It should also be remembered that the report which states that the Holy Prophet on the eve of his demise told Ali to take care of the fragments of the different materials on which the Quran was written and were in the custody of the Holy Prophet does not mean that the Quran had not by then been collected. It had already been collected in the form of a complete Book by Ali and the others in charge and reviewed by the Holy Prophet. But as for the fragments which were the first copy of the verses, the Holy Prophet did not like them to fall in the hands of the public as they might be misused. Hence he ordered Ali to take care of them and none has ever claimed to have seen the fragments which the Holy Prophet gave into the custody of Ali. The fragments from which Zaid bn Thaabit attempted to produce his collection were those fragments on which people had made copies for themselves other than those of the Holy Prophet's own. However the Shia traditions clearly assert that the Holy Prophet had dictated to Ali (a) the details of Islamic precepts, theoretical and practical, even such a detail as the fine for a bruise, (b) all the events which had already happened and all that would happen till the Day of Resurrection, and that Ali noted them all in the form of a scroll termed as 'Jamea' and in the form of another collection on the parchment of hide known as-Ja'fr'.

When so much care was taken for conveying the Divine message minutely , it is unthinkable that the Holy prophet omitted to prepare a collection of 'Final word of God' which had to remain as a challenging miracle within the reach of one and all for all times. In short the authoritative status of the Quran in all ages declared by the Holy Prophet and the Imams of his house implies that any report suggesting the least doubt about the genuineness of its present version with its present arrangement is to be totally rejected as a spurious product of some mischievous or foolish minds. This is the view adhered to by their disciples during their presence and followed by the standard theologians, jurists and scholars of Ithna Ashari school of all ages. None, who professes Islam, to whatever school he may belong, can ever doubt about the fact that the Quran besides containing the last message of God, has been revealed as an Ever Current Challenging Miracle and as the Guardian of all the preceding scriptures and the standard of the verification of all the post-Islamic literature, and as such it should remain genuine and intact within the reach of mankind at all times, protected against any addition, omission, alteration or distortion, for otherwise, it would effect its standard and status as a miracle and as a guardian which has been expressly stated in the Quran - 15 : 9 , 41 : 42 . It is absurd to say that these verses refer to the true copy of the Quran which was with the Imams, because as has been stated repeatedly the Quran as a standard and a miracle was revealed and must have been within the reach of all and not hidden and treasured by any single person. Genuine copies of all the ancient scriptures were also with the Imams and their having a copy of the Quran was only natural. In other words, the doubt about the genuineness of the present version of the Quran is nothing short of doubting the very apostleship of the Holy Prophet and all the other apostles of God preceding him and the infallible authority of the declared Imams of the AhlulBait who were inseparable from the Quran and as a guide for the people. Therefore, any doubt in the infallibility of one will naturally mean doubt about the other. But the, Quran as it is now in our hands mirrors the infallibility of the Holy Prophet and the Imams of his House, in a manner which leaves no doubt for anyone who depends entirely on it without any prejudice. Similarly the lives of the Imams, their teachings mirror completely the Holy Book as it is now. We recommend our readers to refer to 'Kaafi', chapter dealing with the necessity of referring to the Quran as the standard in any controversial matter.

Sayings from AhlulBait and Leading Shia Scholars

From the Seventh Imam Musa bn-Jaffer al-Kazim : Whosoever derives his religion from the Book of God and the teachings of the Holy Prophet, the mountain may move from its place but he will not be shaken in his faith. But he who takes his religion from another man, will refute it. The person who did not understand our status from the Quran, is not safe from mischief', which means the present Quran is the Standard for the identification of Imamat.'

From the Sixth Holy Imam : 'Surely God has revealed in the Quran the norm of everything. Surely God did not leave   anything which people would be in need of, but He revealed it in the Book, so that nobody could say I wish it had been there in the Quran . There is no matter under dispute between two persons but there is a ruling for it in the Quran, but people's mind cannot grasp it, which clearly shows that the Quran is short of nothing but that the short-coming is from our side'.

From the Fifth Imam : 'Whenever I inform you about something you should ask if it is in the Quran.' There are many traditions of similar tone narrated by Kaafi here and elsewhere, asserting that everything is in the present Quran in hand, but the ordinary people may not be able to grasp it. We would like here to summarise the gist of all these traditions in the word of Ali : Innallaha Tajalla fi Kitaabihi le-ibadeh = God manifested Himself in His Book for mankind.

Sixth Imam narrates from the Holy Prophet : For every truth there is a way of verification and for every right thing there is light to be thrown on it. Therefore whatever is in confirmity with the Quran, take it, and whatever is contrary to it, leave it.'

The Sixth Imam when asked about the conflicting reports narrated from the Holy Prophet or from the Imams of the House of the Holy Prophet said :

'The one which is supported by the evidence from the Quran or from the saying of the Holy Prophet take it , otherwise return it to the person who has brought it . Everything should be valued by the Book of God and the teachings of the Holy Prophet and any tradition which does not agree with the Book of God, is spurious and must be rejected.'

The Sixth Imam narrates through the chain of his ancestors, the following as the Sermon delivered by the Holy Prophet :

'O ye people! Ye are in an abode of truce, and ye are on journey and the move with you is fast and indeed ye see the night and day , the sun and the moon, both wearing out everything new and bringing near everything which was far and bringing everything promised. Equip yourselves with provision for the remote journey. 'Stood up Miqdad bn-Aswad and asked:

'O Apostle of God! What is the abode of the truce?"

The abode (halt) to take provisions and leave.'

He replied the Holy Prophet and then continued the sermon.

'Whenever the ordeals become for you so confusing and dark like a part of dark night ye adhere to the Quran. Verily it is the intercessor whose intercession is accepted and the pleader whose pleading is approved. He who keeps it in view (as his guide or norm) it guideth him to Paradise and he who puts it behind, it will drag him to hell-fire. It is the guide which guideth to the best path. It is the Book wherein are details and explanation and the extract and it is the decree not a joke. And it has an outer aspect and an inner one. The Outer side is law and order while the inner side is knowledge and enlightenment. The Outer is a fascinating beauty, the inner is deep. It has bottoms and the bottom has bottoms and so on its wonders are innumerable and incomprehensible - not its marvels are ever worn out."

Therein are the torches of guidance and the minarets of wisdom, and guidance towards knowledge for the one who understands the description.

"Thus it is for the seeker to continue his search so that his sight should reach the fact described by God and thus be rescued from perdition and entanglements. Verily the meditation on it is a life directing an awakened heart just as the torch illuminates one who walks in darkness. Therefore, it is on ye to devote I to it duly without the least hesitation.

'It would have been impossible for the Sixth Imam to refer people to the recommendation of the Holy Prophet about the Quran if it was not within the reach of the public. The above mentioned statements of the Imams are a few examples out of the many narrated in the authentic books of Shias. In confirmation of those traditions, the statements of leading scholars who are relied upon as supreme authority after the disappearance of the last Imam, are mentioned hereunder.

Shaikh Kulaini

Kulaini (Abu Ja'far Mohammed bn-Yaqoob-e-Kulaini 329 A. H, author of Kaafi in the introduction of his celebrated work Kaafi states :

"Passed away the Holy Prophet , leaving behind among his people (Ummat), the Book of God and the Executor of his will, Ameerul-Mo-mineen, the Commander of the Faithful and Imamul-Muttaqeen, the leader, the guide of the pious ones (Peace of God be on him) as the two inseparable associates, each one of whom, stands as a witness to the truth of the other. 'Pointing out the sources of the true knowledge of God's religion, Kulaini quotes the two traditions which have already been quoted above, and in answering the question about the conflicting traditions narrated by different reports and the method for their verification he says :

'Behold O my brethren! May God guide you that none among the scholars can distinguish the true and false ones of the conflicting traditions except in the way shown by the Holy Imams who said.'

Refer them to the Book of God and then the one which agrees with the Book of God, take it, and the one which disagrees with the Book of God, reject it.' (Ref . Introduction of Kaafi)

This quotation from Kulalni proves beyond doubt, that to him the Quran and the AhlulBait were two inseparable and infallible authorities left by the Holy Prophet among the people for their guidance and that the Quran was the criterion for the scrutiny of the traditions. As such it is utterly unfair to allege that Kulaini had doubts about the genuineness of the Quran simply because he had mentioned in his book some solitary reports and news which to some may appear as indicating Tahreef not withstanding the fact that the reports in question are capable of different interpretation as already pointed out. It needs to be remembered that in attributing a doctrine to a person or a community, mere traditions and reports containing in their books should not be taken into consideration. Only statements which show their views based on the traditions and the other sources of the faith should be taken into consideration. The above statement is the view of Kulaini about the Quran.

Shaikh Sadooq

Next to Kulaini , the outstanding authority , is Abu Ja'far Mohammed bn-Ali bn-Babawai Qummi known as Sadooq who has expressly dealt with the subject in his famous book 'E-teqadaat = the Beliefs'. But here Sadooq's views are quoted through the authority of Mullah Mohsin-e-Faiz, in his work Waafi to prove unanimity between the two great authorities separated from each other by about six centuries. The Mullah reports of Sadooq , said our Shaikh , (May he be blessed) in his 'Eteqadat' as follows :

'Our belief is that the Quran which God, the Most High, revealed to His Prophet Mohammed (Peace be on him and on his family) is what is between these two pads, the collection which is in the hands of the people (the Quran) was never more than this. The number of its chapters according to the people are one hundred and fourteen and according to us Chapters 93&94 are one and Chapters 105&106 are also one. Whoever ascribes to us that we say that it was more than this, he is a liar.'

The above statement clearly shows that it is not only the personal view of Sadooq but is the unanimous verdict of all the Shia authorities preceding him, and it does not refer only to the quantity but it also indicates the genuineness in arrangement as it is in the hands of the people. Had there been any discrepancy other than in the number of the Surah or the quantity of matter regarding the arrangements, Sadooq would have pointed it out in the same manner as he did about the two sets of the four chapters referred to above. Sadooq gives out the proof in support of the Shia view about the Quran, and Mulla-e-Faiz confirming Sadooq's views says :

'Whatever tradition has come about the 'Tahreef' or distortion, it must be taken to mean distortion only in the interpretation, application and the significance of the verses of the Quran and not in its wording. (Waafi closing chapter on the Quran). Sadooq died in 381A. H. nearly 82 years after Kulaini.

Shaikh Mufeed

The view that tradition indicating the distortion of the Quran by profane hands after the Holy Prophet means distortion in the interpretation of the Quran but not in the recitative miraculous text, as confirmed by the famous theologian and jurist of his time Mohammed bn-Naoman known as Shaikh Mufeed who succeeded Sadooq as the recognised authority and Divine of Shia faith . He died in 413A. H. He asserts in his commentary on E-teqaadat of Sadooq that all the traditions and reports about distortion of the Quran received from AhlulBait refer to what was recorded in the collection of Ali (A.S. ) . Ali's collection contained besides the text, commentaries and interpretation and some inner meanings of the text in hand. The omission or change of arrangement or even addition might have taken place in the explanatory passages of the collection and  not in the text in hand. For example along with the revelation of the two verses 5 : 3 and 5 : 67 regarding the declaration of Ali's Imamat at Ghadeer-e-Khum several lengthy explanatory passages were revealed, as recorded in Tafseer-Saafi, but they were not the part of the text of the two passages in question . 5 : 3

This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me

This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion 5 : 67 O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord Syed Murtaza A-lmul Huda Next to Mufeed comes his leading disciple, the great scholar and the head of the Shia Divines, Ali bn al-Husain bn-Moosa, descendant of 7th Imam Moosa bn-Ja'far (popularly known as Syed Murtaza, 'A-lmul Huda = the banner of Guidance). His younger brother Mohammed bn-Husain bn-Moosa known as Syed Razi the famous scholar, has collected the selections of Hazrat Ali's speeches, conversations and letters known as Nahjul Balagha. Syed Murtaza died in 426A. H. He is known for his rational approach to all theoretical and practical teachings of Islam. His views about the Quran are the condensed extract of all narrations from AhlulBait and the views of the preceding Shia theologians. His views were taken as a standard and quoted by the Shia theologians who came after him. He insists that the Quran in hand is in letter, word, sentence, verse and chapter the same as it was collected and arranged under the directions of the Holy Prophet and was left by him among his Ummat along with his Itrat as the supreme source of guidance. The Quran in whole and part has reached us generation after generation through thousands and thousands of people who had learnt it with the utmost care from their predecessors. Syed Murtaza says that to doubt the genuineness of the Quran as a whole or in part means to doubt the existence of well known cities like Mecca and Medina.

Other Shia Scholars

Next comes the Shaikh-ut-Taifa popularly known as Shaikh Toosi, the author of 'Kitaab-e-Tahzeeb' and 'Istibsaar', who has carefully dealt with the subject in his commentary known as 'Tibyan' and narrated therein the view of his master Syed-e-Murtaza. : Next to Shaikh-e-Toosi was the celebrated Shia Commentator Shaikh-e-Tabarsi, the author of the well known commentary, 'Majma-ul Bayaan.

'The same view was continued to be adhered to by the most celebrated Divines of Shias, generation after generation till the establishment of the Shia Dynasty of Safawite in Iran. During this period, the same view was advocated by the Shia Divines, the names of few of them are mentioned here : Mohaiqiq-e-Karaki who has written a separate book on the subject, has said that any statement in support of Tahreef should be interpreted if possible as to mean Tahreef in application - otherwise it should be totally rejected because it is against the Quran and authentic Sunnat and the unanimous verdict of scholars. Mulla Mohsin-e-Faiz already referred to. Syed Hashim Bahrani - Tafseer Burhan.

Those among the scholars of the last three centuries are :

'Shaikh Mohammed Husain the author of the Principles of Jurisprudence who has discussed in his standard book 'Fusool' about the genuineness of the Quran and its supreme authority . The celebrated jurist-scholar Shaikh Ja'far in his book, 'Ka-shiful-Ghita' claims the unanimous verdict of the Scholars about the genuineness of the Quran without any omission , addition or alteration. - Late Divine Haji Mohammed Ebrahim K'albasi- Mohaqiq Baghdadi the author of Commentary on 'Waafia. Then comes the celebrated Scholars on all Semitic Scriptures, late Shaikh Mohammed Jawad Balagh , who in his introduction of the Commentary known as 'Alaa-ur Rahmaan' advocates the same view. The late Divine Ayatullah Buroojerdi also held, and advocated the same view in detail. Syed Shah-Shahani before Buroojerdi'author of 'Orwatul Wothqa' supported it. The same view is held by the present Divines mentioned below : Ayatullah Syed Mahmood Shahroodi (Najaf). In a brief answer received from him, he has said that no addition had taken place in the Quran. There is nothing non-Quran in the version of the Quran in hand. In the light of his statement an argument is evolved that any alteration in the form or matter of the present version would mean the existence of non-Quran in the present version which the learned Divine has refuted. -Ayatullah Syed Mohsin Hakim (Najaf). Ayatullah Syed Abul Qasim Khoi (Najaf) the author of the commentary known as 'Albayan' the valuable work which helped us the most in preparing this note. His works are recommended to our readers. -Aytullah Syed Hadi Al-Husainy Al-Meelani / Mashhad. -Aga Haji Mohammed Hussain Tabatabai, author of Al-Meezan. In short, the overwhelming majority of Shia Divines of Usooli School, whose main object is the rationalisation of revelation, which means use of sound

reasoning in grasping the revelation, have always been the firm advocates of supreme authoritative status of the Holy Book and its genuineness as it is in every hand. It is only a few Akhbari or traditionalist Scholars and may be a very few usooli who have not paid proper attention to the question and have been misled by the contradictory traditions mentioned and refuted above.

The Various Recitations of the Holy Quran

Before closing this chapter it is necessary to note down a few points about the various recitations of the Holy Book. No doubt that there exists various recitations about certain words, phrases and sentences of the Holy Book. There are seven different recitations ascribed to the seven celebrated reciters of the Holy Book who lived between the last part of the first century and the third century Hijra. These seven reciters are very famous; the next three are not so famous. None of these reciters have seen or heard the Holy Prophet nor do any of them claim to have received his particular recitation directly from the authorised companions of the Holy Prophet. It seems that some of their recitations are based on their own personal discretion of the linguistic consideration; and for some of their recitations they claim that they received them from the reciters who had received in turn from their predecessors (companions or disciples of the companions).

Any way one does not find the various recitations being properly traced back to the Holy Prophet. They are mere conjectures based on some non-authentic reports that all these recitations were allowed by the Holy Prophet. However it is generally believed that all these seven or ten recitations have been allowed by the Imams (AhlulBait). Besides these seven or ten recitations, there are solitary reports about some different recitations ascribed to Imams (AhlulBait) or some authorised companions of the Holy Prophet. These are termed as 'Qiraat-e-Shaazza = Sporadic and Unpopular Recitations. None of the Shia theologians has allowed such recitations in compulsory, or optional prayer or in general recitations . The variety of recitations in question should not be confused with the question of 'Tahreef' alteration by addition, omission or arrangement of letters, words, phrases, sentences, passages and Surah (Chapters) which may affect the exact meaning and significances of the wording in question. Variety of recitation means various pronunciations of letters, words, phrases, change of vowels and punctuations etc. which do not affect the meaning and significance of the wording at all. For example, to

recite 'Malik or Maalik' there will be no change in the significance of these two pronunciations which both are true of God and carry the same significance so far 'HE' is concerned though they may have slightly different shades of meaning if they have used it about someone else. From the grammatical point of view also both pronunciations referred to above are correct and permissible. Having all the above mentioned points in view, we should like to reconcile between the controversial views held by different experts of recitations and the celebrated reports of Imams (AhlulBait), which assert that the Quran is the word of the Absolute One, revealed in one recitative form and no more and that the differences in recitations have been brought about by the reciters. We take this report as genuine and worthy of being said about the word of God, but it is not impossible that some of the companions of the Holy Prophet had the words in question in a different way which is grammatically correct also, and the Holy Prophet endorsed the pronunciation for the sake of convenience.

This might have happened in some cases but after the demise of the Holy Prophet the companions might have thought it a privilege for them to recite differently if according to them no change would be affected in the meaning and significance of the word. And so did the disciples. Each began to advocate the appropriateness of his choice of recitations which gradually began to widen the gap between various recitations. It caused the companions like Huzaiafut bn Yamani and the other loyal followers of the Holy Prophet the apprehension that this tendency might lead to further controversies even in the text of the Quran; so to stop this tendency from gaining strength, it was deemed advisable to give official recognition to the original recitation which used to be followed by the Holy Prophet and to disallow the recitations chosen by the companions after his demise.

However, the ruling party could not succeed in suppressing the other recitations which had come to us but it stopped further development of various recitations. Due to the absence of substantial differences in those official and non-official recitations the Holy Imams of AhlulBait allowed people to choose any of the current recitations and stopped them from reciting unpopular and sporadic recitations ascribed to the 'House' of the Holy Prophet (AhlulBait) or other companions. However it seems that recitations by Imams of AhlulBait were almost the same as the recitations ascribed to Obai bn Ka'b This recitation and the Koofi recitation of the Quran and their punctuations were almost the same as taught by persons who had learnt from Ali (A. S.). The recitation of A-asim Hamzah bn Habib Humran bn Ayoon, Thaabit bn Dinar, Amr bn al--Ulla and many others were very close to each other, and it is said that their recitations differ from the official recitation adopted by Caliph Othmaan at ten places which were almost insignificant. However, it should be noted down that it is wrong to ascribe the official recitation to Zaid bn-Thaabit as has been done by some contemporary Sunni writers.

The Holy Prophet would not follow any companion's recitation particularly of a person like Zaid bn-Thaabit who is not at all the recognised student of the Quran. On the contrary Caliph Othmaan and Zaid bn-Thaabit may be given credit that they had tried to adopt the Holy Prophet's recitation in their official collection and so they have succeeded to a great extent. As it was pointed out here and elsewhere the variety of recitations means only the difference in pronunciation of the Quranic wording which is grammatically correct and also does not affect any change in the meaning and significance of the wordings, therefore, one should be careful to avoid unpopular recitations ascribed to AhlulBait and other authorities which affect the meaning and significance of the wordings. There are such unpopular recitations in the book of Qiraat = Recitations written by Mohammed bn-Ahmed Saiyari a contemporary of or senior to Kulaini. He is quoted here and there by some prominent jurists as an authority but he is not sound and reliable and has no good record. His book Kitaab-ul-Qiraat contains such unpopular recitations which undermine some fundamental articles of Shia faith; e . g . in 14 : 41 instead of popular recitation (/), he gives the unpopular recitation (x) with the excuse that Ebrahim's father was not a Muslim to be prayed for though it is the firm faith of Shias that Ebrahim's father as well as other prophets' parents were Muslims and that the non-believer 'Azar' was not the father of Ebrahim . 14 : 41

O our Lord! grant me protection and my parents 414 : 41

O our Lord! grant me protection and my sons

'The other example is that Saayeri asserts that Hazrat Ali also confirmed Calipha Omar's claim that the passage concerning the stoning of adulteress was a part of the Quran. This statement is so absurd that it naturally discredits its author. If Calipha Omar believed that this was the part of the Quran and  Ali confirmed it which power on earth could have prevented these two rivals to insert the passage in the Quran and what made Calipha Othmaan not to take into consideration their view. The Tafseer of Imam Hasan Askari (the eleventh Imam of the House of the Holy Prophet) as it is in our hands now contains statements which like Saayari's book should be discredited. There is no doubt that the eleventh Imam (A. S. ) dictated a brief commentary of the Quran to some of his disciples who had approached him when he was in Sammara under house arrest. The dictation undoubtedly was of great value but it seems that it was tampered with before its publication . The person accused of doing this profane act is Ahmed bn􀀁Sahl Deebaji.

Confused Arguments

Explaination

After the publication of author's first treatise on the genuineness of the Holy Quran as a part of introduction to the Translation of Quran by Mir Ahmed Ali, he received letters and articles against the genuineness of the arrangement of the Quran (in hand). He, therefore considers it imperative to refer to the arguments advanced against the arrangement of the Quran and to add a few lines to what we have already said. The main arguments forwarded in the aforesaid articles and letters with our replies are as follows :

1. The Quran was not collected and arranged during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet . We have proved beyond doubt that the allegation is entirely unfounded and that it was made and publicised for political reasons.

2. Hazrat Ali's collection produced after the Holy Prophet and its arrangement was datewise. It has been proved that this allegation also is not correct. The text and its revealed commentary were put into writing by Hazrat Ali as it had been dictated to him by the Holy Prophet then and there; so the text and its arrangement was the same as the one which is in our hand. The difference between him and his opponents was on the question of interpretation as declared by him and his followers in public repeatedly. The Quran which Ali brought to the mosque during the reign of the First Caliph also contained commentary which was not acceptable to the ruling party. So Ali took back his collection and afterwards no body had the chance of seeing it except the successive Imams of his Holy house. As has already been pointed out, there is no single reliable tradition from the Imams of AhlulBait to show that the arrangement of his collection was different. All that is said in this connection is mere conjecture.

3. Some of the traditions assert that the deviations made by the followers of the previous prophets including tampering with their scriptures were repeated by Muslims. We have explained that traditions of this nature do not mean the repetition of those deviations in the same form . It is true that such misdeeds have been repeated in Islam in spirit but in different forms. For example the followers of Moses worshipped the golden calf during the absence of Moses. Such a misdeed apparently did not take place in Islam. But a student of Islamic history will realise that the same rebellious spirit manifested itself after the demise of the Holy Prophet when the question of obedience to 'Hujat = Supreme authority' arose. Mischievous hands had tampered with the text of pre-Qura'nic scriptures; but in the case of the Quran, the text could not be tampered with due to its wide popularity and publicity eversince the beginning of its gradual revelation. So effort was made to tamper with its interpretation.

4. The other argument forwarded by the protagonists of this view is that in the present Quran the Madani and Makki Chapters are not arranged chronologically. The same is the case with some verses i . e . some verses of Makki Surah are in Madni Surah and vice versa; and that some abrogating passages have preceded the abrogated passages. We have already refuted, the necessity of chronological arrangement. There is no argument whatsoever to justify that the arrangement of the Quran should be datewise according to the date of its gradual revelation. On the contrary, it has been proved that the gradual revelation means nothing but piece-meal recitation and quotations from the book which had already been revealed in its entirety to the heart of the Holy Prophet on the esteemed night in the month of Ramazan. Importance is attached to the date of Makki or Madni Surah or passages only by those who have failed to take into consideration the  revelation of the Quran as a whole mentioned afore, and its arrangement in the stages of gradual revelation. Secondly there is no such abrogated passages in the present version of the Quran which have come after the abrogating passage. Moreover there is no argument to prove that the recitation should be in accordance with the order of abrogated and abrogating passages. For recitational purposes and memorising Holy Quran by everyone, the rhythmical and other factors are taken into consideration.

5. The main argument advanced by the advocates of this view is the supposed non-appropriateness of the present position of certain passages of the Quran. This made them to evolve the idea ofmisarrangement of the Holy Book by mischievous hands. A few examples of such passages (according to them) are given below to warn the students of the Quran not to try to cover their inadequacy by discrediting the words of God which 'HE' has : promised to protect forever.

Verse 2 : 142 and Change of Qibla

According to them, this verse should have been placed after the verse 2 : 144, because of the objection of the foolish disbelievers that the reason for the change of Qibla should have come after the passage which declares the new direction to which one should turn in prayers as Qibla. This argument proves nothing but lack of proper study of the Quran by the critics. The old direction towards which the Muslims used to turn in their prayers as Qibla was abolished in verse 115 of the same chapter which announces, 'God's is the east and west, therefore, to any direction ye turn, that direction will be God's.'

This was enough to give room to the 'foolish people' to ask as to what made the Muslims to give up that particular direction towards which they used to turn in their prayers. This question had nothing to do with the fixation of the new direction which comes after the verse 142. Therefore the arrangement of the passages beginning with the verse 106 about the abrogation of one sign of God by another sign upto the verse 150 with which the question of abrogation of old Qibla reaches its completion is entirely logical and systematic. Every passage has been placed appropriately in its present position. If a person fails to understand, he should blame his own short-comings and not the arrangement of the Quran.

Verse 2 : 234 and the Requisite Period of Iddah

And (as for) those of you who die and leave wives behind, they should keep 234 : 2 themselves in waiting for four months and ten days It means that a woman after the death of her husband should not remarry before the expiry of the said period = 4 months 10 days . It is said that this verse abrogates verse 240 which is a directive either to the husband before his death or to the heirs to fix for a year some monetary allowance for a widow and allow her to continue residing in the same house of her husband for the same period , if she likes to do so. 2 : 240

And those of you who die and leave wives behind, (make) a bequest in favor of their wives of maintenance for a year without turning (them) out.  A proper study of the two verses proves beyond doubt that there is no conflict between the two passages to establish abrogation of one by the other. Verse 234 is a directive to the widow to observe Idaah = 4 months 10 days after the demise of her husband. Verse 240 is a recommendation addressed to the husband, before death, or to the heirs to finance the widow and allow her to continue to stay in the same residential house of the deceased husband, for a year if she likes. One passage enjoins on her not to marry a person for a particular period and the other passage  recommends other relevant persons about her stay at the place with the provision of her maintenance during the period of stay. There is no conflict between the two passages at all. On the contrary verse 240 indicates that the heirs can ask the widow to vacate the place after a year. This supports the Shia school of Feqh (jurisprudence) that the widow does not inherit the land of the residential house of her husband; and this restricts the directive given in 4 : 12 which shows that she should have no share in the residential land left by the husband . 4 : 12

And you shall have half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, then you shall have a fourth of what they leave She may be entitled to its value but not to the land itself, otherwise the heirs would have no right to ask her to vacate the house after one year because she has a share in the property. Therefore instead of holding the passages in question as contradictory to each other , verse 2 : 240 should be considered to be still in force restricting the above mentioned verse 4 : 12 concerning the share of a widow in the property of her husband in the sense that she is not entitled to the  residential land.

Verse 5 : 3 and the Completion of the Message

It is said that verse 5 : 3 is not in its proper place. It should have come after the verse 5 : 67 : 5 : 3

This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me. This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion . 5 : 67

O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord The critic thought that the completion of religion depends on the delivery of the last message. He thought the religion is completed when its last vital issue is delivered to mankind and ignored the fact that the delivery of this message to mankind is a stage which comes after its being completed fully by God. A religion is completed when its vital and final issue is decided by God, not when the message about the vital issue is delivered to mankind. The completion of religion depends, on Divine decision and decree which should proceed its delivery or announcement. This is supported by the reports from the Imams (AhlulBait) which show that the passage dealing with the 'completion of the message' was revealed when the Holy Prophet was still in Mina or Arafat and the passage, ordering the Holy Prophet to announce the 'Completion' was revealed after the Holy Prophet left Mecca for Madina (refer Tafseere Saafi. It should be borne in mind that the phrase 'Al-Yaum = Today or the Day' used twice in verse 3 and once in verse 5 of the same Chapter does not refer to a particular day of twenty-four hours of our calendar . It also does not refer either to the Day when one passage was revealed at Mina or the Day when the other was revealed at Ghadeer , on 18th Zilhija, because the contents of these two verses had been revealed on various occasions long before the day of Last Pilgrimage of the Holy Prophet to Makka.

Therefore the phrase, 'Al-Yaum' should be interpreted to mean one of 'Ayyaamul-Allaha = God's Days' which means various periods or stages of development of evolution in the realm of creation, Divine administration and legislation. Accordingly in the hierarchy of the arc of ascent, the stage at which the Divine decision concerning the vital and final issue of Islam was revealed to the last prophet i . e . prophet of Islam should be called the Day = Alyoum , because the Divine decision concerning this issue means the finality of all previous issues. Without decision of this final issue, no issue can be considered as settled. So 'Al-Youm' refers to the last stage in the arc of ascent where the question of 'Wilayat = leadership' is settled.

Another objection of the critics regarding the passages in verse 3 is that it has come between the passages of the verse which deals with the various kinds of prohibited foods such as carrion, blood, pork. At the end of this verse after the passage of 'completion' the Quran allows one in unavoidable circumstances to use the prohibited food to the minimum extent possible. According to the critics, the passage of completion is irrelevant between the passages before and after in this verse. The critics ignore the super rhetorical hint which makes the passage of completion quite relevant to the passages mentioned before and after it. It shows that no body can disregard the vital issue of religion i . e . the question of Imamat and follow the lead given by others except in unavoidable circumstances in the same manner that one is not allowed to eat the prohibited food except in unavoidable circumstances. In short, the Quran has placed obedience to undeserving leaders in the same line as that of prohibited food.

Verse 33 : 33 and the Wives of the Prophet

The verse 33 : 33 known as Aya Tat-heer has been placed between the passages which contain warning to the wives of the Holy Prophet. This made some commentators to include the wives of the Prophet also in the term of 'AhlulBait' used in the passage. 33 : 33 And stay in your houses and do not display your finery like the displaying of the ignorance of yore. And keep up prayer, and pay the poor-rate, and obey Allah and His Apostle. Allah only desires to keep away the unclean ess from you, O people of the House! And to purify you a (thorough) purifying. Thus the critics thought that this particular passage has been mischievously shifted from another place. But both the commentators and the critics, ignore the Divine purpose of placing this parenthetical sentence between the passages of warning to the wives. All the pronouns used in the passages pertaining to the wives are in plural of feminine gender, but the pronouns in this parenthetical sentence are plural, masculine gender.

Moreover the structure of the sentence with the particular particle 'Innama' denoting exclusiveness and use of the objective phrase 'A-nkum' governed by the preposition 'A-n' before the phrase 'Ar-Rijis' which is also in objective case governed by the verb 'Yuzheba' denote inclusion of AhlulBait exclusively as the object of Divine intention for purification. Thus the structure of the verse shows, beyond doubt that : - some males are also included which justifies the use of masculine gender; - the object of Divine Will is a particular person exclusive of all other persons; so that will and intention cannot be considered legislative which is general including all, it must be creative one; - the wives of the Holy Prophet, some were subject to reproach, and some though they were good yet, there were persons better than them among the female believers (66 : 5) but there can be none better than the members included in Ayat-Tat-heer mentioned above. 66 : 5 Maybe, his Lord, if he divorce you, will give him in your place wives better than you, submissive, faithful, obedient, penitent, adorers, fasters, widows and virgins Having all these considerations in view , inclusion of wives in this passage becomes impossible. Therefore, the justification of bringing this parenthetical sentence between the passages concerning wives was a further warning to them not to have the idea of being included in the passage. Thus the appropriateness of the position of the passage here is very clear. This is supported by the report indicating the place and manner in which the Holy Prophet announced the inclusion of particular persons. According to what 'Muslim' (Book of Traditions) has recorded in his 'Saheeh' when the passage was revealed, the Holy Prophet was in the room of Ayesha. The Holy Prophet asked for a sheet Murte-Arjal and ordered Ali, Fatima. Hasan and Husain to join him inside the sheet and said,

'Oh my Lord , these are my AhlulBait'. According to Ayesha, the Holy Prophet excluded her and did not allow her to join them, though the occasion took place in her room. According to some other reports, the event took place in the house of UmeSalemah. And when UmeSalemah asked the Holy Prophet if she could get under the sheet, he said,

'Although thou art a good lady, yet these are the only members, my AhlulBait.'

However whether in the house of Ayesha or UmeSalemah or the incident was repeated at both places , the inclusion of Ali , Fatima. Hasan and Husain under the sheet in question and exclusion of the wives, is in accordance with the exclusive nature of this parenthetical sentence between these passages. The passage is like a gem studded in the ring. The ring can not be included in the gem, and the gem is not like the ring. In support of this, there is a report from the 5th Imam Mohammed-e-Baqer (A . S . ) that the position of this passage among the passages concerning the wives have many indications (vide Safi).

Verses 42 : 23 and the Near Realatives

It is said that the celebrated passage in verse 42 : 23 known as Aya Mawaddat-ul-Qurba is not in its proper place. The chapter was revealed in Mecca most probably even before the birth of Fatima (A . S . ) though the Sunni and Shia traditions assert that the term Qurba (nearness) here has been applied to the same persons to whom Ayat-Tat-heer (33 : 33) and Aya-e-Mubaahala (3 : 61) have been applied i. e. Ali, Fatima, Hasan Husain, who were the closest to the Holy Prophet in respect of spirit and blood-relationship and many a time the Holy Prophet declared that they were identified with him and he was identified with them . 42 : 23 Say : I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives 3 : 61 But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge , then say : Come let us call our sons and your so ns and our women and your women and our near people and your near people, then let us be earnest in prayer, and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars 33 : 33

llah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House! And to purify you a (thorough) purifying.

The antagonists of AhlulBait rejected the traditions on the plea that it is a fabrication of pro-AhlulBait group. But both the critics and antagonists are lacking in a proper appreciation of the significance and application of the passage in question in the light of other passages and verses of the Quran. Granting that the revelation of the whole Surah including this passage at Mecca was before the birth of Fatima, Hasan and Husain, yet no body can deny that the Surah and the passage were revealed after verse 26 : 214 'and warn the nearest of thy kin'.

This was revealed in connection with the invitation of  the kin by the Holy Prophet to help him in his Divine mission. On this occasion none of the relatives or kin responded and accepted his offer but Ali . It proves that he and none else, then, was the nearest person to the Holy Prophet in respect of both the spirit and blood relationship. So even if it is granted that all the members of the House of the Holy Prophet were not born and present at the time of revelation of verse 42 : 23, there is no doubt that Ali was there. It would be enough for the appropriateness of revelation and application, if one of the members like Ali was present. The application of the verse to other members of the same status who would be born later on would be quite natural , as a corollary. The traditions whether narrated by Sunni or Shia traditionalists show nothing more than quoting of this verse by the Holy Prophet in the case of Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain repeatedly to confirm the significance of the verse and the extent of its applicability to the persons of a particular status i. e. those who enjoy nearness to the Holy Prophet in spirit and relationship, who are near to or rather identical with him in purity of spirit, birth and conduct. It includes not only the above mentioned four persons but the successive Imams of the 'Holy House' too. It excludes those whose nearness to the Holy Prophet was due to mere blood relationship but who were lacking in high degree of faith and purity of conduct. Next to those purified persons, it also includes those who have the honour of complete attachment in spirit, faith and conduct to those above mentioned 'purified personalities' like Salmaan. However, deliberate effort has been made to make this verse vague and its application doubtful by the anti-AhlulBait group, eversince its revelation until now. This attempt made some credulous traditionalists of pro-AhlulBait group to deny the appropriateness of its position in the Makki Chapter.

Stupid Interpretation of Verse 42 : 23

It is not out of place to refer to various interpretations of this verse by the antagonists that the verse does not mean that the Holy Prophet should ask any reward towards the delivery of the Divine message to mankind.

They say that :

1. the exceptional phrase 'except the love for the sake of nearness' may mean that no expectation of any reward made to preach to you (addressing his relatives Qurashites) except my love of you for the sake of your relationship to me.

2. it may mean 'I do not ask for any reward from you save that you should love each other for the sake of relationship.

3. the Holy Prophet was ordered by God to ask his opponent relatives (the Quraish) to love him because of his being related to them and not to give him trouble. The first two interpretations have one point in common that the Holy Prophet does not ask for any reward. In the former, it shows that the motive of his preaching is the love of his relatives, and in the latter the motive is to make them love each other for the sake of relationship. Both the interpretations limit his motive of preaching that he is either concerned with his relatives and none-else or only admonishes people to love each other for the sake of relationship ignoring all other important teachings of Islam.

Moreover, both interpretations are against verse 34 : 47. 'Say, Oh Prophet! the reward which I have asked you is in your interest.' The verse asserts that the Holy Prophet was ordered to ask for some reward, but the reward in question, is consequently in the interest of those from whom he is ordered to ask for it. It is obvious that the Holy Prophet's mission was not confined to things, which would be benefiting the Quraish, his relatives, because he was 'Rahmatulil A-alameen = Universal grace'.

Nor was the mission confined to making relatives love each other. The purpose of his mission and the extent of his teachings were to enable a person to attain the highest stage of nearness to the Absolute, and to be away from the deeds which drag one to hell. The third interpretation means that the Holy Prophet ordered to ask the unbelievers for reciprocal love. This is quite against the specific declaration in 58 : 22 that no reciprocal love should exist between the believers and non-believers, particularly those who oppose God and His apostle even if they are close relatives. 58 : 22 Thou shalt find not a people who believe in God and the hereafter befriending those who oppose God and His Apostle, be they even their own fathers.

or their sons.

or their own brothers or their kinsmen. 58 :

They are those God hath inscribed faith in their hearts and hath.

strengthened them with a Spirit from Himself; 58 :

and He will admit them into gardens 'neath which flow rivers, they shall abide therein; 58 :

with God well-pleased with them and they will be well-pleased with God; 58 :

They are the party of God; Be it known. 58 :

Verily the party of God alone shall be the successful ones. That being so, how could it be possible for the Holy Prophet to request his antagonists to love him for the sake of relationship. According to 19 : 96, the reciprocal love is bestowed by God on those who believe and practice righteousness and not between the believers and non-believers : 19 : 96 Verily those who believe and work good deeds, the Beneficent (God) will appoint love for them.

The Only Possible Interpretation of Verse 42 : 23

The fourth interpretation refers to what is adhered to by all the pro-AhlulBait commentators whether of Sunni or Shia school and supported by several traditionalist.

The verse means that the Holy Prophet was ordered by God not to ask any reward except 'Mawadda = Love' for certain persons for the sake of their nearness to him . This nearness can not be mere blood-relationship or nearness in spirit regardless of blood relationship, because certain persons who were related to him were declared as the members of his House free from inward and outward uncleanliness and purified to the utmost extent of 'purification.' Thus these people enjoy both nearness in spirit and blood relationship . This interpretation is further defined and clarified in 34 : 47 which says that the reward asked for was in the interest of those from whom the reward was asked for . 34 : 47 Say thou : Whatever recompense I have asked for you, it is only for yourselves; My recompense is (to be expected) from God (alone), And He is Witness over all things. In 25 : 57 the Quran asserts that the reward in question was asked not from every person but only from those who intend to adopt a way towards their Lord (God) : 25 : 57 Say thou (Our apostle Mohammed!) 'I ask ye not aught of any recompense (for my ministry) save that he, who will take the way unto his lord This means that those who intend to approach God in spirit should love those who enjoy nearness to the Holy

Prophet in spirit and blood relationship. The true love for those persons is the sole means for approaching God. If all the passages given above are taken into consideration, there will not be the slightest doubt that the word Qurba in the exceptional sentence ilal Mawaddat fel-Qurba' (i . e save love for the sake of nearness) is the only means to help one to approach God. Is not applicable to anyone but the members of AhlulBait, the purified Imams of the House and the Queen of Paradise Fatima and next to them to those who are attached to them in soul and spirit. There is thus no room for the other three interpretations.

The Firmness of the Challenger

In verses 2 : 3&4 , 10 : 37&38 , the Quran challenges the sceptics and disbelievers to produce the like of one of its Chapters .

This is the minimum they are asked to produce because the smallest Chapter of the Quran, Al-Kowthar, contains only three very short verses . In verse 11 : 13, the sceptics and disbelievers were asked to bring ten chapters like it. In verse 17 : 88, the Jinn and Inns were challenged to join together to produce something resembling the Quran . In verses 52 : 33 and 34 the challenge is that they should produce something like the Quran. According to the critics, the passages differ from each other. In some chapters like 2&10, the challenge is made for one whole Surah .

In Chapter. 11, the challenge is for ten Surahs. In chapters 18&52, the challenge is about the Quran as a whole. So they criticise that according to the present arrangement in the beginning, the challenge was made in respect of one Surah and when the sceptics and disbelievers tried to answer that challenge the number was increased to ten; and when they showed readiness to answer that also, then the challenge extended to the whole book, and this shows that the 'Author' was not firm in his challenge. This argument against the Quran was evolved by the opponents of Islam and the early writers of the pseudo religions of modern time. It will be surprising if any Shia or Sunni theologian falls into the trap of this fallacy. There is not the slightest doubt that Chapter. 2 of the Quran is the latest Chapter among the chapters containing the above-mentioned challenging verse and therein the challenge is for one Surah and nothing more. This shows that the 'Author' (God) has always been sure of His stand and that none would ever succeed in producing the like of even the smallest chapter of the Quran. This verse leaves no room for the above fallacious argument against the firm stand of the 'Author. The above argument shows that due to the lack of proper study of the Quran , the advocates of the theory of misarrangement could not understand the appropriateness of the position of the verses. They found it easier to discredit the arrangement than to admit their own ignorance. This is the reason why the advocates of this view differ from each other in giving reference to the verse. There is not a single tradition from the Holy Prophet or Imams to show that any of the aforesaid verses or Chapters are not in their proper position. The attack on the arrangement of the verses is nothing but a conjecture based on whims and fancies. Such innovations have gained popularity among some school of traditionalists particularly in India. It seems to have become a matter of personal prestige. However respectable may be this group but genuineness of the Quran with its authoritative status is more important as an article of faith than any other considerations. Hazrat Ali told Talha :

'The Quran in its entirety given for recitation in the hands of the people is the same Quran which has an irrefutable proof of AhlulBait's authoritative status , the necessity of their being obeyed by the people and their rights to be observed by all.' On the Resurrection Day the Holy Prophet will complain to God that this 'Quran' was forsaken by his followers : 25 : 30

And shall say (out) the Apostle (that day)

"My Lord, verily my people have held this Quran as a vain forsaken thing! This complain can not be true unless the Quran in its entirety from all aspects be within the reach of those who have forsaken it, otherwise the tone of complain would have been different and the Holy Prophet would have said that the people have tampered the Quran. It would mean that what was left among them, it was not Quran. The proper study of this verse is the best proof against Tahreef in any shape and form. The Quran itself terms as Light.

The Holy Prophet and all the infallible Imams of his house have also termed it as 'light of guidance' which if adhered to, will illuminate the darkest (unknown) regions and aspects of creation in its relation to mankind, provided as the Holy Prophet has said,

'One keeps it before him always as a torch light. '

The very fact of its inimitability is enough to answer and refute all that is said against its genuineness and authoritative status . Those who claim that the arrangement of the letters, words, phrases, sentences, passages or chapters of the Quran in hand is not the same as was left by the Holy Prophet among the people with Itrat, mean that the arrangement is non-revealed; so the Quran requires of them imperatively : to produce the Quran in any other arrangement provided its super-rhetorical standard and recitative and rhythmical beauty is not affected . It is true that many non-Muslims and some credulous traditionalists and theologians have tried to produce the Quran in a chronological form, but they failed miserably to keep that invincible beauty and super rhetorical standard. However it is a matter of regret that those who claim to be not only true Muslims but qualified students of Islamic theology should say that the Quran as revealed to the Holy Prophet and left by him among the people as an ever-lasting miracle, did not remain intact for sixteen to seventeen years, but that the Quran in its non-revealed arrangement produced by Zaid bn-Thaabit and a few Omayid youths of no academic significance has remained intact until today.

Last Sermon of Caliph Omar

There is a lengthy tradition in Bukhari, Vol. 4. Chapter, Stoning of Pregnant Adulteress.

Bukhari narrates it from bn-Abbaas. It contains important matter which throws light on the events immediately taking place after the demise of the Holy Prophet, of which one is the view of Omar (Second Caliph) about the Omission of some verses from the Holy Quran. It shows that he was the first one who announced the incompleteness of the Quran in hand. The translation of the text is given here to enlighten the readers. Text From Bukhari According to bn-Abbaas, he used to teach the Quran to some dignitaries among Mohajireen. One of them was Abdur-Rahmaan bn-Auf. Once bn-Abbaas went to Abdul Rehman's residence at Mina where he was not available and had gone to another part of Mina to meet Omar bn-Khattab who was on his last pilgrimage to Mecca. He waited for Abdul Rehman. On his return Abdul Rehman said to bn-Abbaas that he wished that bn-Abbaas was present at Omar bn-Khattab's residence when a certain person came to the Commander of Faithful (Omar) and informed him that someone had told him that when Omar would die, he would give his vote of allegiance (do Baia-t) to a certain person and it would be like AboBakr coming to power by unconstitutional method (FAL-TA) regularising it later on. On hearing this statement , Omar got enraged and said :

'At that evening, I will publicly warn those people who intend to usurp the right of people.'

And further Abdul Rehman advised Omar not to do it there because in Haj Season people had gathered from all the corners of the country and they would try to be near Omar. They might hear something from him (Omar) and without understanding would narrate it improperly. It would be better to keep quiet. Abdul Rehman had suggested Omar that if he went back to Medina, sensible and noble people would hear him and react properly. Omar replied to Abdul Rehman that on the first occasion after arrival in Medina he would follow his advice. Bn Abbaas says that on the first Friday after their arrival (in Medina) he hurried to the Mosque near noon and found Sa-eed bn-Zaid sitting close to the pulpit. He sat near him. Meanwhile Omar entered the Mosque. Bn Abbaas told Sa-eed that Omar would deliver a sermon the like of which was not uttered before, but Sa-eed did not believe. Omar sat on the pulpit quiet till Azan (call for prayer) was over. Then he stood up and after praising God said : 'I am going to say something.

It is destined for me that I should say. It may be my last sermon before I die. Whoever hears and understands should convey my statement wherever he goes . Whoever does not properly grasp my utterance, I do not allow him to tell lies about me . God has sent 'Mohammed' His True Prophet and revealed the book to him, of the part of it was the verse concerning the stoning the one who commits adultery. We read the verse, understood and digested it. The prophet did stone and we too after him. I am afraid that after some length of time some people may say that they do not find the verse in question in the Book of God and will go astray by giving up the revealed ordinance of God.

The stoning of an adulterer is a part of the Book of God whether the act is committed by a man or a woman, when proved by a witness, pregnancy, or confession. Besides that, we used to read in the Quran 'Do not turn away from your parents. It is ingratitude to turn away your parents. (The structure of both the sentences uttered by Caliph Omar differs from the Divine style of the Quran. It seems to be a piece of imagination of the speaker.)

Then Omar uttered : 'Prophet has said that he should not be worshipped in the same manner as it was done in the case of Jesus son of Mary. Concerning me, you all can say that I am a servant of God and the Prophet (Abduhoo Wa Rasooloh.). I have been informed that some of you have said that if Omar would die, he would do Baia't on the hands of some one. One should not be misled by the Baia't-e-AbiBkr = Vote of Allegiance to AbiBakr . It was unconstitutional and later on it was regularised. Yes it was so. But God saved us from its evil consequences. Of you none is like AbiBakr to whom people may submit. Whosoever receives Baia't without consulting Muslims should not be followed nor the person who did Baia't with such person, lest there will be rift and fight among the Muslims.' (Caliph Omar accepts the Baia't of AbiBakr was unconstitutional which might have resulted in evil consequences. In the face of this confession by him to defend the unconstitutional act which has continuous repercussions on the Muslims is worth considering.)

Then Omar stated the events after the demise of the Holy Prophet : 'The Ansar gathered in Saqeefa. Ali and Zubair and those who were with them remained aloof. The Mohajirs  approached AbiBakr. I told AbiBakr that we should go to Saqeefa. On the way we met two persons from Ansars. We  informed them of our intention. They said that we should not go there and settle our affairs without approaching the Ansars. I insisted to proceed Saqeefa. We found a person there wrapped in mantle (Chadar). I asked him as to who was he. He said that he was Sa'ad bn Obadah suffering from fever. When we sat at Saqeefa, the speaker from Ansars after praising God reminded us the services of Ansars for Islam and addressed the Mohajirs that they were driven out from their home and were sheltered by Ansars and now the Mohajirs wanted to deprive the Ansars of their rights. When he finished his speech, I wanted to talk which I had prepared in my mind but AbiBakr did not allow me to talk and I had to submit to him as I did not like to annoy him. AbiBakr spoke extempore better than what I had prepared in my mind. He accepted the services of Ansars for which they deserved the post but said the post suits none but the tribe of Quraish on account of their ancestral superiority and sacredness of their native place (Mecca). Then Abi-Bakr proposed one of the two persons of Quraish who were with him (i. e. Omar and Abi-Obaidah). At that time I felt myself far below the rank of being the head of the people among whom AbiBakr was one. Meanwhile a speaker from the Ansars said that he would settle the dispute in the following manner, 'you have your own head and we have our own head.' When the dispute increased and the voice raised to the high extent, then I feared the situation may become worse, therefore I forced  Abi-Bakr to stretch out his hand. I did Baia't and with me other Mohajirs also did Baia't. Some of the Ansars followed them. Then we manhandled Sad bn-Obaidha who refused to do Baia't. Somebody said, 'You people killed Sa'd bn-Obaidah.'

I said, 'God may kill him!'

Further Omar said : We thought that there was nothing better than doing Baia't with AbiBakr because we were afraid of leaving them (i . e . the opposite party) without Baia't. If we leave the opposite party without Baia't , they may have done Baia't with someone among them after us. Then we too had to do Baia't with the person whom they have chosen. It was something unavoidable and if opposed , there would have been rift and quarrel. Therefore, whosoever takes Baia't with a person without approval and consultation with the Muslims, his Baia't should not be followed by others . Nor the person with whom he has made Baia't should be accepted as Caliph lest there will be rift and quarrel'.

The gist of the sermon of Caliph Omar in this connection shows that the first Baia't took place after the Holy Prophet was not based on any certified virtue. It was purely based on tribal bureaucracy to which they were accustomed before Islam. The rift , of which he was afraid continued throughout the history of Islam and no stable form of Government came to power without use of force which was against the Quranic guidance.

A Study of the Book : Faslul Khitab

After discussing in detail the views of the celebrated theologians and jurists on the genuineness of the Quran and its authoritative status, one feels it is inevitable to remove the fallacious notions created by certain authors and a few solitary and weak traditions relating to Tahreef i. e. , the distortion of the letters, words, verses or the arrangement of the Quran. In the last two centuries of Hijra some traditionalist had tried to question the status of the Quran within the very narrow field of the sporadic traditions which are dearer to them than reason and the Quran .

In the beginning of the present century, Late Haji Mirza Husain Noori who belongs to this group has written many valuable books which earned name for him, but unfortunately his book 'Faslul Khitaab' a bundle of contradictions represents the views against the unanimous verdict of Shia scholars of all centuries regarding the genuineness of the Quran and made him subjected to the severe criticism of his contemporaries whose superiority is unquestionable. The study of the book will show that it refutes its own contentions. While he insists that the Quran was not put into book-form as it is now, he asserts at the same time that Ali (A . S . ) used to write every verse of the Quran with its revealed commentary and its inner significance  by the order of the Holy Prophet . Here the question arises whether Ali's writing of the Quran was based on particular order or system or was it something haphazard?

Secondly it is obvious that the Holy Prophet's reference to the Book of God, the text of which he was leaving among the people with AhlulBait , was in complete accord with the text which he had already dictated to Ali .

Therefore there is no room left for the author of FASLUL KHITAB to assert that the Quran was not put into writing during the life time of the Holy Prophet. The story that Ali had kept himself engaged in collecting the Quran after the demise of the Holy Prophet is nothing but a mere fabrication of the ruling party just to give reason for Ali's delay in participating Baia't. They wanted to prove that Ali thought that the collection of the Quran was more important than the issue of Baia't, otherwise he was not opposing to Abi-Bakr being Caliph. This baseless propaganda gave a chance to the unscrupulous traditionalist of the late period to accept the fact that the Quran was not collected and arranged during the life time of the Holy Prophet. Another point which the author of Faslul Khitab takes it for granted is that the arrangement of so called collection of Ali was chronological. Without repeating the details which have been already discussed previously, it is an accepted fact that no Shia traditionalist has ascribed the chronological arrangement to any Imam (Masoom). The first person who attributed this type of arrangement to Ali, is bn􀀁Sirreen whose fidelity to AhlulBait is questionable.

All that we have received from AhlulBait are two traditions in this connection narrated by Kaafi from the fifth Imam through Jaber-e-Jaufi. Jaber says : 'I heard that the Holy fifth Imam Aba-Ja'far used to say that excluding Ali bn Abi-Taalib and the Holy Imams = Aima-Masoomeen after Ali , nobody except a liar could claim that he had collected the Quran as whole as it was revealed compiled and preserved as God has sent it down.'

Next to this tradition Kaafi narrates through the same traditionalist Jaber from the same Imam that he (the Imam) said that except the successors of the Holy Prophet (i, e. Holy Imams) no body could claim that he was in possession of the Quran as a whole with its outer letters, exoteric form and inner significance, esoteric form. The second tradition from Kaafi explains what the Imam meant by the word 'Quran as a whole' as it was narrated in the first tradition. The Imam meant that nobody except Ali and his successive Imams were in possession of the Holy Quran with both its exoteric and esoteric aspects which were revealed to the Holy Prophet and dictated to Ali (A . S . ) then and there. This tradition is a general explanation for all the traditions which have been narrated from AhlulBait giving various versions of particular verses. These particular verses are not found in the text in hand, they refer to the inner significance of the verses.

It is surprising the author of Faslul Khitab in order to prove that the Quran in hand is not the whole what was revealed, quotes the first tradition ignoring the second which explains the former. It is very difficult to say that the second tradition escaped his notice.

Noori has criticised Mulla Faiz-e-Kashani for not narrating the tradition which states the Quran contains seventeen thousand verses and confined himself to narrate the traditions of seven thousand verses. He has boldly accused Mulla Faiz-e-Kashani of dishonesty. The question of number of verses has already been discussed at length to disprove this statement. Moreover he himself also will not be free of similar charges. Any how, all his contemporaries and scholars of later period wished that the late Noori would not have written this book which has damaged his reputation. We like to point out here that Mulla Faiz-e-Kashani is far above any allegation and he is a link in narrating the tradition between the author of Faslul Khitab and the Holy Imams (Masoomeen). When the above author discredits Mulla Faiz-e-Kashani, looses the important link. Such innovations have gained popularity among some schools of traditionalist particularly in India . It seems that it has become a matter of personal prestige . How respectable may be this group but genuineness of the Quran with its authoritative status is more important as an article of faith than any other considerations . Hazrat Ali told Talha :

'The Quran in the people's hand which is meant for recitation is the Quran in its entirety and in this Quran there is, a irrefutable proof of AhlulBait's authoritative status, the necessity of their being obeyed by the people and their rights to be observed by all . On the Resurrection Day the Holy Prophet will complain to God that this Quran was forsaken by his followers : 25 : 30 And shall say (out) the Apostle (that day)

"My Lord, verily my people have held this Quran as a vain forsaken thing!

This complain can not be true unless the Quran in its entirety from all aspects be within the reach of those who have forsaken it, otherwise the tone of complain would have been different and the Holy Prophet would have said that the people have tampered with the Quran. Otherwise it would mean that what was left it was not Quran which was in their reach. The proper study of this verse is the best proof against Tahreef in any form.

ENDNOTE

[1] A comparative study of the Quran with the Old and New Testaments brings to light the fact that the Quran in many places has directly or indirectly refuted many statements recorded in the Jewish and Christian scriptures held by their adherents as authentic; for example, the Quran refutes (1) Old Testament which depicts Haroon the brother of Moosa (Moses) as idol-maker or idol-worshipper. (2) Dawood (David) as adulterer or a man of loose conduct, (3) Sulaiman (Solomon) as idol-maker, idolater, a man practising witchcraft, The Quran purifies Mariam (Marry) as a virgin mother of Esa (Jesus) whom no man had touched before or after the birth of Esa (Jesus) against the statement of the New Testament (see St . Luke and St. Matthew's genealogy). The Quran does not attach any importance to what the New Testament emphasises viz . that Esa (Jesus) was a descendant of Dawood (David) through the ancestral genealogy of Yusuf (Joseph the Carpenter) whom the New Testament introduces as the husband of Mariam (Marry). The Quran purifies from all ungodly thoughts and actions Esa (Jesus) and all other prophets from Adam to the last one and their true successors chosen by God. The Quran expressly negates what the four Gospels affirm concerning crucification, resurrection and physical sufferings of Esa (Jesus) at the hands of the Jews. It denies the doctrine of sonship believed by the Jews and Christians, the incarnation theory of Christians and Hindus. The Hindu theory of transmigration and union of Atma and Brahama etc .

[2] So far as Ali's taste and ability are concerned , we need not say anything more than what he said about his own 'Mus-haf = collection'. It was based entirely on the revealed explanation dictated to him by the Holy Prophet. The following statement indicates not only Ali's taste and ability regarding the commentary of the Quran, but also covers every minute aspect of his life from birth to death :

' "The Prophet did not follow but divine guidance and I did not follow but Prophet's guidance, " (Ali).

The poet Rumi describes Ali in Ali's words as follows : ' I am far above using my own discretion and conjectural research. I have tied myself to the one who has tied himself to the Absolute Truth . " (Vide last portion of the first section of Rumi's Masnavi about 'Ali' which begins with these lines) .

[3] Ali Zainul-A-abideen Mohammed Al-Baaqir , Ja'far As-Saadiq . Moosa Al-Kaazim. Ali Ar-Riza, Mohammed At-Taqi, Hasan Al-A'skari , Mohammed Al-Mahdi .

[4] Example of Ignoring : Verses in connection of inheritance and preference given to nearest kin 'omission of the phrase Zawil-Qurba when quoting the verse on the issue of Fadak . Example of minimisation : Preference given to imagined advantages and expediencies against the clear directives of the Quran. Refer to the verse concerning Tayamum and the verse dealing with 'Tamatu' in pilgrimage.

Bukhari the Book of Traditions, is itself an example on this subject . Example of counteracting :

'We the group of prophets do neither receive inheritance nor give inheritance.

This oft-quoted Hadeeth is against clear Quranic statement : Sulaiman the Prophet received inheritance from his father Dawood (David) another Prophet 27 : 16.

[5] The Holy Prophet declared at the assembly of the dignitaries of Quraish , in the third year of his ministry at AboTaalib's House known as : The Calling of the Closest Kin Da-watel-Asheera that Ali was his brother, his assistant , the executor of his will and his successor to be listened to and  obeyed after him by everyone as a person identified with him in all respects and aspects of perfection and attainments' He (Ali) being with the Quran and the Quran with him, they are inseparable from each other , whosoever master would be the Holy Prophet, Ali would be his master etc.

[6] One should have the following example in view, Bukhari records the statement of Shaubi who discredited most of the reports narrated from Ali, and Muslim (a book of Traditions) says that Ja'far Jaufi was in possession of a large number of Holy Prophet's sayings narrated by the fifth Imam Mohammed bn Ali bn al-Husain but Ja'far was discredited just because he believed in Raja't (Minor Resurrection). These two examples throw sufficient light on the fact that people were in possession of a very large number of sayings of Holy Prophet narrated by the members of his 'House' and their devoted followers but the party in power and priestly satellites were adamant not to give publicity to the reports received through the Holy House of the Prophet . Here it is worth noting that bn Abbaas, though one of the devoted disciples of Ali bn Abi-Taalib and the advocate of the cause of AhlulBait, is frequently quoted by contemporary compilers of traditions. The motive behind the prominence attached to bn Abbaas is nothing but to please the Abbasid rulers of the time.

[7] The author does not agree with some of the most spurious reports mentioned by Bukhari about her because Hazrat Ali (A . S . ) said about her after the Battle of Jamal that she should be respected to the same degree and regarded as before. But the question is how does Bukhari record such damaging reports about her ? Still he credited her with numerous reports about the life of the Holy Prophet and his teachings. On the contrary, Bukhari inspite of presenting Ali as a person identified with the Holy Prophet and the Holy Prophet with Ali seldom quotes any report from him about the Holy Prophet.

[8] Refer Footnotes of Quran translated by Mir Ahmed Ali .

[9] This system was started by Abul-Aswad Doeli and completed by the order of Hajjaj . Abul Aswad Doeli was a celebrated grammarian and one of the devoted disciples of Hazrat Ali . For his achievements in the service of Arabic grammar , he used to receive instructions from Ali .

[10] It is said that forty thousand copies of the Quran were burnt by the order of third Caliph Othmaan. This number shows the wide popularity of the Holy Book among the Muslims throughout the empire. It is obvious that they did not succeed in burning all the copies which people had with them.

The people were anxious to carry out the order of the ruler of the time but they were not happy .

[11] The standard Quran is a translation or Mus'haful Imam an Arabic term used in Hadeeth .

[12] Ali (A . S) confirmed this fact in his conversation with Talha that the then current Quran in hand was entirely Quran in part and whole. There was nothing non-Quran in it, that it contained the irrefutable proof supporting the authoritative status of AhlulBait, their right over the people and the fact that the people were enjoined to obey them. (Vide Saafi-Introduction).

About Ghaemiyeh center of computerized researches

"Crusade for God's way with your wealth & souls; it's better for you, if you know!" (HolyQuran, Taubah chapter, verse 41). Imam Reza (Peaces upon him) said: "God bless whoever revives our matter! … He studies our sciences and teaches them to people; so if people know the virtues of our speeches, they will follow us…" ("Oyoon-o-Akhbaar-er- Reza", Shaikh Sadoogh, chapter 28, 1-307; "banaader-ol-Behaar",the deceased Faiz-ol- Islam, P.159). The establisher of "Ghaemiyeh center"- Isfahan- Iran: the late martyr "Ayatollah Shams-aabaadi" – God bless him – was one of the great clergies of this city, that was renowned for his infatuation with "The High Progeny of the Prophet"(Peaces upon them), particularly with His Majesty Imam Reza (P.) & His Majesty Imam Mahdi – the Lord of the time (God hasten his holy advent); and so, he established – with his view & insight – in the year 1340 A.H. (=1961) an establishment as a way which hasn’t subsided never, but is going to be followed by others, forcefully & better every day. "Ghaemiyeh center of computerized researches" – Isfahan/Iran- has begun his activities from the year 1385 A.H. (=2006) under the care & favor of His Excellency "Ayatollah Sayyed Hassan Imami" – Be prolonged his honor – with cooperation of a group composed of graduates from seminary & a few students of college & university, daily & nightly, in different fields: religious, cultural & scientific... Purposes: defense from Shi'ah limits & extending the culture of "the Two Weights"(=Saqalain) (=The Holy Quran & the High-ranking Progeny of the Prophet – Peaces on them) & their theological sciences, fortifying youths motives for studying into religious subjects, replacing useful objects in stead of hollow senseless blue-tooth objects into cell-phones & computerized devices, establishing the vast & extensive cultural area based on Quran & the High Progeny (P.) knowledge – in order to publish sciences, servicing researchers & theological students, extending reading culture & enriching free-times of lovers of Islamic sciences soft-wares, presenting necessary sources to facilitate removing obscurities & dispelling doubts rumored in the society, etc…

- Including Social Justice: that which may be extended progressively by the modern devices; in addition to being possible to accelerate presenting facilities

– around the country

– and publishing Islamic\Iranian culture

– around the world

– from different direction.

Some of the vast activities of the center:

A) Print & publish tens of books, brochures, monthlies, with celebrating Reading Matches.

B) Produce hundreds of research soft-wares, able to run in the computer & cell-phones.

C) Produce Threedimensional Exhibitions, Panorama, Animations &… Religious or touring Places, etc…

D) Establish the web-site: www.Ghaemiyeh.com & other sites.

E) Make product demos, lectures &… for exhibiting in satellite networks

F) Launch & Support scientifically religious, moral, theological questions; Tel: 0098-311-2350524

G) Plan the automatic & handheld system of Blue-tooth, Web-Kiosk, & SMS

H) Honorary Cooperation with tens centers natural & legal, such as: the houses of Authorities, seminaries, universities, religion places as like "Jamkaraan" mosque.

I) Celebrate conferences, and carry out Preschool plan, particular to children & adolescents participant in the meeting. J) Celebrate Common Educational Courses & Instructor Training Periods (in person & virtual) length of a year.

Central Office: "Ghaemiyeh" building / "Masjed Sayyed" avenue / between "Panje Ramadan" street & "Vafa'ei" crossroads / Isfahan / Iran Establishment Date: 1385 A.H.

(=2006) Registration No.: 2373 National ID:  10860152026 Web-Site: www.ghaemiyeh.com

Email: Info@ghaemiyeh.com Internet Store: www.eslamshop.com Tel: 0098-311-2357023-25

Fax: 0098-311-2357022 Tehran Office: 0098-21-88318722 Business & Sales: 0098-913-2000109

Users Affairs: 0098-311-2333045 Important Point: The current budget of this center, is from donations, popular, non-profitably, non-governmental, gathered by a group of benefactors, but it doesn’t answer for the ever-increasing & large quantity of the current religious & scientific affairs and cultural development projects; so, this center trusts the main owner of this house (Ghaemiyeh) and additionally, it hopes The God's Reminder:

Imam Mahdi "Ghaa'em" (May God hasten his glad advent) to make successful all – each one his ability – in this great project; God-willing & God is the owner of success!

Table of Contents

A Luminary

Note

Genuineness of the Holy Quran in Its Text and Its Arrangement

Explaination

Everlasting Challenge

Matchless in Authenticity and Genuineness

Attachement to the Holy Quran by Its Believers

The Holy Prophet Commanded to Follow the Divine Order in Its Recitation and Arrangement

Arranged and Written in Complete Book Form in the Holy Prophet's Life

No Additions, No Omissions, No Alterations

Varieties Of Recitation Do Not Mean Addition Or Alteration

The Same Version Received the Official Assent of the 3rd Caliph

Part 1

Part 2

Stages of Revelation of the Quran

Quran Made Easy

Causes of Doubts

Explaination

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Evidences

Part 1

Part 2

Traditions

Explaination

Causes of Doubts about the Version Recognised By the 3rd Caliph

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Conclusion

Shia, Anti-Shia & Ultra-Shia Views

Shia Views

Anti-Shia's Views

Ultra Shia Views

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Sayings from AhlulBait and Leading Shia Scholars

Shaikh Kulaini

Shaikh Sadooq

Shaikh Mufeed

Other Shia Scholars

The Various Recitations of the Holy Quran

Confused Arguments

Explaination

Verse 2 : 142 and Change of Qibla

Verse 2 : 234 and the Requisite Period of Iddah

Verse 5 : 3 and the Completion of the Message

Verse 33 : 33 and the Wives of the Prophet

Verses 42 : 23 and the Near Realatives

Stupid Interpretation of Verse 42 : 23

The Only Possible Interpretation of Verse 42 : 23

The Firmness of the Challenger

Last Sermon of Caliph Omar

A Study of the Book : Faslul Khitab

ENDNOTE

About Ghaemiyeh center of computerized researches