that Zamakhshari considered that these letters indicated that the style of the Qur'an
was perfect and that imitation was defied.1 This is in accordance with the idea
that just as men know these letters but can make nothing out of them, so no one can
compose anything equal to the Qur'an. Several explanations are given by Sale in the
preliminary discourse to his translation of the Qur'an. Noldeke considers them to have
been private marks of the owners put on the copies lent to Zaid, which have inadvertently
crept into the text.
Muslims believe that the Qur'an is incorruptible'a book whose verses are
established in wisdom, and then set forth with clearness'2; but the fact that
Uthman and his company of revisers had to consider a variety of readings, to weigh their
authority, and if necessary to discard them in favour of the Meccan readings, caused no
small scandal. But a way was found out of the difficulty. Abu ibn Ka'b, one of the
Companions, became so famous as a reciter of the Qur'an that the Prophet himself said: 'Read
the Qur'an under ibn Ka'b.' Ibn Ka'b one day stated that, scandalized at man after man who
entered the Mosque repeated the Qur'an in different ways, he spoke to Muhammad about it.
The Prophet said: 'O Abu ibn Ka'b! intelligence was sent to me to read the Qur'an in one
dialect, and I was attentive to the Court of God, and said: "Make easy the reading of
the Qur'an to my sects." Then instructions were sent to me a second time saying,
"Read the Qur'an in two dialects." Then I turned myself to the Court of God,
saying, "Make easy the reading of the Qur'an to my sects." Then a voice was sent
to me the third time, saying, "Read the Qur'an in seven dialects."' There is
also a tradition that 'Umar said: 'During the lifetime of the Prophet I heard a man read
a chapter of the Qur'an. I heard the readings which he followed, and, as they were
different from those which I knew and which I had heard from the mouth of the Prophet, I
feared the namaz would be spoilt. At the close of the prayers I was angry with him and
struck him a blow, and demanded to know where he had heard these readings. He declared
that he had heard them from Muhammad. We then went to the Prophet to settle the dispute.