the middle, and a short one at the end, arranged all well and handed them over to men; but the Qur'ans which they had I collected and burnt.' ¹ The probability is that 'Uthman made the best recension then possible, but there are traditions regarding other forms of the book, for they did not all become extinct at once. Of these the most important are those of Ubai ibn Ka'b and of Ibn Mas'ud. Ubai is said to have brought together Suras (cv) and (cvi), contrary to the sense. He varies the order of the Suras and is said to have added two new ones, called Sura al-Khala' and Sura al-Hafd, or, as it is also called, Sura al-Qanut. These are:

'In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

'O God we pray Thee for help and forgiveness. we praise Thee and are not unthankful towards Thee, and we let go and forsake every one who trespasses against Thee.'

'In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

'O God we serve Thee, and to Thee do we pray, and Thee do we worship; we hasten to Thee; we strive after Thee; we hope for Thy pity, and we fear Thy punishment. Truly, Thy punishment overcomes the unbelievers.'

These may have been simple prayers, written on the margin of a Qur'an, but it is not clear whether this is the case or not. The oldest book in which Noldeke found them is one written in the fifth century of the Hijra. They are taken from the codex of Ubai. Noldeke considers them to be authentic.² The second Sura of these two, it is said, should be placed in the Qur'an after the words of Sura Yunus (x) 10, 'Glory be to Thee, O God, and their salutation therein "Peace."' There are expressions in these Suras not found in the authorized Qur'an, e.g., أثني and حفد. Then كفر is not constructed with the accusative, but with ب Again فجر in the sense of trespass does not take the accusative.

The objection is taken to these Suras that in them man addresses God and not God man; but Sura al-Fatiha (i) is similar in style, and in any case the word قل 'say,' may be understood, so this objection has no weight. According to

the Traditions these prayers seem to have been known in early times.

Ibn Mas'ud's copy omitted Sura al-Fatiha (i) Sura al-Falaq (cxiii) and Sura an-Nas (cxiv). 'Ali's copy of the Qur'an is said to have been arranged chronologically, Sura al-'Alaq (xcvi) being put first; but as the copy is not extant, it is impossible to say whether this account is correct or not. The copy possessed by 'Ayesha is said to have been arranged in a different order from the one made by Zaid. Other copies joined together Suras xciii. and xciv. but they have all disappeared.

The most serious opponent of 'Uthman's text was ibn Mas'ud, a companion of the Prophet and a great theologian. Ibn Mas'ud refused to give up his copy of the Qur'an to the President of the Revision Committee and thus incurred the anger of the Khalifa, by whom he was publicly chastised. He died a few days after from the effects of the beating he had received.^[1] This unnecessary and cruel act on the part of the Khalifa was disapproved of by his contemporaries, and has ever since been looked upon by the Shi'ahs as an atrocious crime. But notwithstanding the number of enemies 'Uthman had, his Qur'an held its ground, and as any valid cause of opposition would have found eager partisans, we must assume from the general acceptance given to it, that it was looked upon as genuine. By far the most serious objection to it is that made by the Shi'ahs, though there is no good historical evidence that 'Ali or his followers in the earliest period ever rejected 'Uthman's book. The charges made against him are of much later date, and though their historical value may not be great, they cannot be entirely overlooked. No doubt some copies of the Qur'an were preserved by their owners in spite of the Khalifa's orders that all should be destroyed. A Shi'ah tradition records that the Prophet said, 'O 'Ali! Truly the Qur'an delivered to you is written in fragments on pieces of silk and of skin; collect them, but do not act as the Jews did with the Book of the Law.' 'Ali said that he received this copy covered up in a yellow cloth, and read it to the Prophet in his house.

This was why, according to Shi'ah tradition, 'Ali said the Qur'an ought to be kept in his family. When 'Umar asked him to lend his copy in order that other copies might be compared with it, he refused, saying that the Qur'an he possessed was the most accurate and perfect, and could not be