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CHAPTER II: ISLAM’S STAND CONCERNING THE QUR’AN

The Qur’an is some thing of awe and beauty to the people of Islam. For them its very existence shouts ‘infallible truth’, and it is the foundation of all things you believe. In it is the declaration that Muhammad is a prophet of Allah, believed to be the True God; that Islam is the pure religion; that the Ka’ba is ‘the House of Allah’.

But more important than all else, there is the declaration that it is Allah’s Word and He will keep it.

The notes in the Qur’an issued by ‘THE PRESIDENCY OF ISLAMIC RESEARCHES, IFTA, CALL AND GUIDANCE’ state it clearly:

The Glorious Qur’an is the Book of Allah, the Wise and Worthy of all Praise, Who has promised to safeguard it from any violations in its purity....The Qur’an enjoys a number of characteristics unique to it alone, some of which are as follows:
1. It is the actual Word of Allah; not created but revealed for the
benefit of all mankind.
Blessed is He Who sent down the Criterion
To His servant, that it may be
An admonition to all creatures. (3)
8. Allah Almighty has taken upon Himself the duty of preserving the
Qur’an for ever in its entirety, as He says;
We have without doubt sent down
The Message, and We will assuredly
Guard it (from corruption). (14)
So well has it been preserved, both in memory and in writing, that the Arabic text we have today is identical to the text as it was revealed to the Prophet. Not even a single letter has yielded to corruption during the passage of centuries. And so it will remain forever, by the consent of Allah."
(THE HOLY QUR’AN English Translation of the meanings and Commentary, King Fahd Holy Qur’an Printing Complex, Medina 1410 H., Preface, p.iii, iv, v.) [The footnotes 3, and 14 refer to Q 25:1, Q 15:9]

Why The Necessity Of A Perfect Qur’an?

The reason for the promise to "Guard it (from corruption)" is stated by another scholar as:

"It had been the practice of the people in the past that after every Prophet, they used to make alterations in his teachings diametrically and even to introduce additions and alterations in the revealed Book. Then Allah had to send another Messenger with a fresh set of teachings and in this way He renewed His own earlier religion.
This divine and heavenly discipline thus attained perfection and completion

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only with the advent of the Holy Prophet of Islam. Allah at this stage decided to introduce the religious code of Islam as a final to all previous Divine systems. For this reason He took upon Himself the responsibility of safeguarding and protecting the heavenly Book, the Holy Qur’an, of Islam against any change or alteration saying: ‘We have without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)’. (Surah al-Hijr, 15:9)." (A Probe Into The History Of Hadith, ‘Allamah Murtaza Al-Askari, p.42, 1990)

Again another states:

"And since the Qur’an is the Last Word of Allah and the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), His last Messenger, it follows that no new Scripture nor Messenger is ever again to be sent down to mankind. It is essential that this Last Book remains intact and unchanged at every stage from the time of its revelation until the end of the world." (The Sunnah in Islam, Habib-Ur-Rahman Azami, p. 10, UK Islamic Academy)

And another:

"All that Allah has promised to protect and preserve will certainly be preserved, protected and saved from corruption that cannot be detected. Otherwise, Allah’s Words will contain some falsehood (introduced by men), and His promise of protection can, therefore, be broken. No Muslim in his right mind can utter such falsehood. Therefore, the religion, that Muhammad was sent with, is preserved by Allah." (The Hadith is Proof Itself in Belief and Laws, al-Albani)

Having been instilled with such beliefs, no ordinary follower of Islam would consider it necessary, let alone advisable, to test the Qur’an’s claims by comparing Arabic texts. The Qur’an’s Arabic text, although admittedly passed down through the centuries both orally and in written form, is perceived to have been Divinely kept from alteration in this process, and thus is not like the body of Ahadith (traditions), which, although also handed down by word of mouth and in written form for generations, each needed to be individually authenticated. In fact, most followers of Islam seem to have been taught that an ‘original’ Qur’an is in Mecca, or Medina, or even in Ankara or Tashkent.

But, is this so? And, more importantly, is every Qur’an really an exact copy of the ‘original’? And, does the ‘oral tradition’ about the content of the Qur’an confirm the content of the manuscripts? Certainly all this should be so if Islam’s claims are true. After all, one change in the Qur’an will make it corrupt, and Islam will be broken, and the reasons it is said to have been needed as a ‘replacement’ for the first Books will be shown false¹. In fact, if the Qur’an is corrupt, then all charges of the first Books being ‘faulty’ will automatically be shown to be a fruitless ‘outwitting’.

"But," some will say, "the God of Abraham, Allah, has, in the Qur’an,

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declared that it cannot be tainted, and we believe Allah’s Word." The belief that the Word of the God of Abraham can be believed is indeed true. The question is, does the Qur’an truly belong in this category, or have the people who believe it to be so simply been misled by a ‘blind faith’?

We realise that every true follower of Islam is convinced that his Qur’an IS the eternal, unchanged Word of the God of Abraham, and that he is walking on the True Way. After all, only on this basis has he felt confident to speak against other religions and their Books. But, does the Qur’an truly deserve such a designation, and the unswerving loyalty of the people of Islam? Do the facts about the Qur’an prove them right concerning their own beliefs?

Because of the Qur’an’s own claim to be ‘safeguarded from corruption’, a simple test will prove it worthy or false.

The Qur’an Challenges Men To Test It

Though Islam’s followers love to ‘compare English Bibles’², they often seem unwilling to have the conversation turn to the text of the Qur’an. This is strange since the same people are always willing to issue the challenge which the Qur’an itself issues, as the following illustrates:

5. It is Allah’s eternal miracle revealed to the Prophet Muhammad for all
succeeding generations. In response to those who doubt the authenticity
of the Qur’an, Almighty Allah has challenged the most articulate Arabs
to produce a whole book, ten chapters or even one solitary chapter
which can be remotely comparable to the Qur’an. But to this day, no
one has succeeded in meeting the challenge of the Almighty. The critics
of the Qur’an have been struck dumb by its ineffable eloquence and
surpassing beauty.
Say, if the whole of mankind and jinns
Were to gather together to produce the
Like of the Qur-an, they could not
Produce the like thereof; even if they
Backed up each other with help and support.(8)
The Almighty also says:
Or they may say: he forged it.
Say: Bring then ye ten chapters
Forged, like unto it and call
(To your aid) whomsoever ye can
Other than Allah, if ye speak
The truth.(9)

And again:

Or do they say: he forged it?
Say: Bring then a chapter like

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Unto it and call (to your aid)
Anyone ye can besides Allah,
If it be ye speak the truth.(10)
(THE HOLY QUR’AN English Translation of the meanings and Commentary, King Fahd Holy Qur’an Printing Complex, Medina 1410 H., Preface, p iv, v) [The footnotes (8), (9) and (10) refer to Q 17:88, Q11:13, and Q10:38 respectively]

The content of these challenges of the Qur’an reflects an openness to examination by the highest scholarship of that time. That, as (Dr.) Bilal Philips³ admits, was a literary one:

"The Arabs had very little in the way of unique skills or accumulated knowledge but they took great pride in their oratory and literary skills. Yearly contests were held in fairs like that of ‘Ukkaz in which many lines of speeches and poetry were recited from memory. Their language had reached its peak of development, and eloquence was considered the highest quality a man could posses (sic). In fact, the ten most famous poems were so revered that they were etched in gold and hung in the Ka’bah for solemn adoration." (THE QUR’AN’S NUMERICAL MIRACLE : ‘19’ HOAX AND HERESY, Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, 1987, Abul Qasim Bookstore, Jeddah, p. 60)

In such an environment, we see that the Qur’an was thus declaring itself able to stand the most rigorous test that could be produced in the earth, and prove itself to be of Heavenly origin. And it still is today, say its adherents.

Although a test by ‘comparing Arabic Qur’ans’ is not in the Qur’an, it is completely in line with the mind of the Qur’an - openness to examination. Surely this would be the challenge in the heart of the True God. And, is it not the boast of the people of Islam that ‘not one letter has changed’ in 1400 years because Allah (the God of Abraham?) promised it?

Simple logic tells us that the True God can be trusted, and that His promises can be relied upon. And it is only simple logic that leads us to compare Arabic Qur’ans since in Islam’s own claims the Qur’an’s authenticity depends entirely on its text being the same forever in order for it to stand. Thus this is perhaps the only way by which a follower of Islam would be able to acknowledge any problems in the Qur’an’s authenticity.

If indeed the Qur’an has never been defiled, then this will be very easy to identify. On the other hand, it will also be easy to tell if the Qur’an has failed to uphold it’s claim that "We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)." (Q15:9), and has become corrupt.

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An Unwavering Belief In The Qur’an’s ‘Perfection’ and ‘Divine Protection’

There is a constant stream of claims being published, and all maintain that the Qur’an is perfect - perfect in content and perfect in preservation. One need not look far in order to find these claims, as they are often published with an accompanying snub of the transmission of the text of the Bible. The following are examples:

"While the Books of the Old and New Testament, for example, were written, edited and compiled over long periods, sometimes centuries, the text of the Qur’an, once revelation had ceased, has remained the same to this day." (Ulum al-Qur’an, Von Denffer, p.44; emphasis added)

"The Qur’an contains the word of God. In it is preserved the divine revelation, unalloyed by human interpolation of any kind, unaffected by any change or loss to the original." (Towards Understanding Islam, Maulana Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi, p.11, 1993 Markazi Maktaba Islami; emphasis added);

"The Qur’an - the book he gave to mankind - exists in its original text, without a word, syllable nor even letter having been changed." (Towards Understanding Islam, Maududi, p.58; emphasis added);

"David’s Zabur, the Torah and the Injil exist with the Jews and Christians, but the Qur’an informs us that people have changed and added to these books and God’s words have been mixed up with texts of their own making. This corruption and pollution of the Books has been so large and so evident that even the Jews and Christians themselves admit that they do not possess their original texts, and have only their translations, which have been altered over many centuries and are still being changed....The original texts of most of the former Divine Books were lost altogether, and only their translations exist today. The Qur’an, on the other hand, exists exactly as it was revealed to the Prophet; not a word - nay, not a syllable of it - has been changed. It is available in its original text and the Word of God has been preserved for all time." (Towards ... Islam, Maududi, p.74f; emphasis added)

"Let us turn to the books in the Bible - but they too do not clearly speak on the matter. Why are they silent on such a vital subject? May be that the translated versions we have been referring to have seriously departed from the original theme! About the text and the languages wherein these texts were initially compiled the people are completely ignorant --- the original text stands completely lost. This situation has made the translators less cautious and the ordinary reader is powerless to detect the contaminating material. These books which bring charges of illicit sex intercourse, drinking and idolatry, etc. against the Divine Messengers are bound to be defective in many essential teachings and are probably products of some perverted human minds. In these books certain Divine material has been purposely intermixed or introduced in such a clever manner that the ignorant world is taking them as books of religion! Now let us turn to the Qur’an of the Muslims for which it is well known that its text has allowed no human hand to contaminate it and it maintains its original language-text-purity

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in in all its famous translations." (Deep into the Qur’an, Dr. Kamal Omar, p.23f)
"A second collection was made during the rule of the Caliph `Uthman, `Umar’s successor, when it was found that people in the far-flung provinces of the empire were reciting the Koran in a different order. He ordered a number of copies made for the various regions and the burning of all others. Despite this, however, there remained differences in the reading of the Koran reflecting different accents; the written text was the same everywhere." (The Bounteous Koran, A Translation of Meaning and Commentary by Dr. M. M. Khatib, Authorized by AL-Azhar, 1984, Introduction, p. xliii)

"This difference is understandable before the compilation of the Qur’an by Hadrat ‘Uthman (Allah be pleased with him), but after this standard compilation one cannot conceive of even the slightest difference or alteration since it was done with the utmost care on the basis of the recitations of numerous Huffaz and authenticated by the whole body of the then living Companions. Noone showed any difference and there was a complete agreement on the genuineness and purity of its text. This goes to prove that any word or expression which does not correspond fully to the text of Mushaf Uthmani is not authentic and reliable." (Sahih Muslim, Vol. 2, p. 394, Footnote # 1103 by translator Abdul Hamid Saddiqi)

"... the copies circulated by ‘Uthman were true and faithful copies of Abu Bakr’s collection, and these copies have admittedly remained unaltered through the thirteen hundred years that have since elapsed." (Introduction, The Holy Qur’an, Maulana Muhammad Ali, p. xlvi)

"Hadrat `Uthman not only sent an authenticated copy of the Qur’an to the different centres of Islam, but also sent a Qari [i.e. one well versed in the correct reading of the Qur’an] along with it in order to preserve that correct reading which was taught by the Holy Prophet himself." (The Meaning of Qur’an, Maududi, as in the Introduction, p. xxxvi, The Holy Qur’an, Islamic Foundation U.K., 1975)

"The Qur’an, which is now in use all over the world, is the exact copy of the Qur’an which was compiled by the order of Hadrat Abu Bakr and copies of which were officially sent by Hadrat `Uthman to different places. Even today many very old copies are found in the big libraries in different parts of the world and if anyone has any doubt as to whether the Qur’an has remained absolutely safe and secure against every kind of change and alteration, he can compare any copy of the Qur’an with any of these copies and reassure himself. Moreover, if one gets a copy of the Qur’an from a bookseller, say, of Algeria in Africa in the West and compares it with a copy obtained from a bookseller, say, of Java in the East, one will find both copies to be identical with each other and also with the copies of the Qur’an made during the time of Hadrat `Uthman. If even then anyone has any doubt left in his mind, he is advised to take any copy of the Qur’an from anywhere in the world and ask anyone, out of the millions who know the Qur’an by heart, to recite it word for word from the beginning to the end. He will find that the recitation conforms word for word to the written text. This is a clear and irrefutable proof of the fact that the

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Qur’an which is in use today is the same Qur’an which was presented to the world by Muhammad (Allah’s peace be upon him). A sceptic might entertain a doubt about its revelation from Allah, but none can have any doubt whatsoever regarding its authenticity and immunity and purity from any and every kind of addition or omission or alteration, for there is nothing so authentic in the whole human history as this fact about the Qur’an that it is the same Qur’an that was presented by the Holy Prophet to the world." (The Meaning of Qur’an, Maududi, as in the Introduction, The Holy Qur’an, p. xxxv, Islamic Foundation U.K., 1975)

"PURITY OF THE QUR’ANIC TEXT
Among all the religious books of the world, the Holy Qur’an is the only Book which enjoys the distinction of having a pure text. Every word and letter of the Holy Book, as we have it today, is as it left the lips of the Holy Prophet Muhammad to whom the Book was revealed, and it is for this reason that, through all the centuries since it was revealed and among all the Muslims from East to West, among the numerous contending sects, there is only one Qur’an. It is the only revealed Book in which one may have access, with the fullest certainty, to that Divine light which was revealed to the heart of a prophet of God. The factors which contributed to the safe preservation of the text are its being committed to memory by a large number of people, at the time of its revelation." (Introduction, The Holy Qur’an, Maulana Muhammad Ali, p. xxv)

"The Present Qur’anic Text is exactly as the Prophet left it.
The work of collecting the written manuscripts of the Qur’an was thus carried out by Abu Bakr after the death of the Holy Prophet, and ‘Uthman did nothing but order the necessary number of copies to be made from Abu Bakr’s collection. ... The copies made by his orders were recognised as true copies by the whole Muslim world....
The purity of the text of the Qur’an is thus conclusively demonstrated. The collection of Abu Bakr was a faithful reproduction of the revelation as reduced to writing in the presence of the Holy Prophet, and agreed every whit in text as in arrangement, with the Holy Qur’an as preserved in the memories of the Companions; the copies circulated by ‘Uthman were true and faithful copies of Abu Bakr’s collection, and these copies have admittedly remained unaltered through the thirteen hundred years that have since elapsed." (Introduction, The Holy Qur’an, Maulana Muhammad Ali, p. xlvi)

[concerning Q15:9] "This is one of the most wonderful prophecies, whose fulfilment is, and will ever remain, a standing testimony to the truth of the Holy Qur’an. The statement is first made in connection with the powerful opposition of the disbelievers, and is then made general, that the Qur’an will for all time be preserved safe against all attempts top destroy it and from every kind of corruption. ... During the whole length and breadth of the Islamic world there does not exist a single copy with any variation from the recognized text, and thus not only was the Qur’an preserved from destruction against a powerful enemy, but it has also been preserved from corruption." (The HolyQur’an, Maulana M. Ali, footnote

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#1329. p. 509; emphasis added)
"There is complete unanimity among Muslims that no alteration was ever made in the Holy Qur’an and it exists today in the same way as it was revealed to the Holy Prophet (S). Numerous verses from the Holy Qur’an as well as the traditions of the Holy Prophet (S) testify to these beliefs very clearly." (The Sunni and Shia Perspective Of The Holy Qur’an, Dr. Ahmad Abdullah Salamah, p. 5; emphasis added)

"Not one letter has changed!"; the same speaker, Dr. Jamal Badawi, declared that "the protection of the Qur’an as a book" is an accurate prophecy that has been fulfilled. (Cambridge University Debate, 1994; attended by the author)

"The Glorious Qur’an is the Book of Allah, the Wise and Worthy of all Praise, Who has promised to safeguard it from any violations in its purity....
:
8. Allah Almighty has taken upon Himself the duty of preserving the Qur’an for ever in its entirety, as He says;
We have without doubt sent down
The Message, and We will assuredly
Guard it (from corruption). (14)
So well has it been preserved, both in memory and in writing, that the Arabic text we have today is identical to the text as it was revealed to the Prophet. Not even a single letter has yielded to corruption during the passage of centuries. And so it will remain forever, by the consent of Allah." (THE HOLY QUR’AN English Translation of the meanings and Commentary, King Fahd Holy Qur’an Printing Complex, Medina 1410 H., Preface, p. iii, iv, v.) [The footnotes 3, and 14 refer to Q 25:1, Q 15:9; emphasis added]

"Letters and Wovels (sic) counted: How much care has been devoted by Muslims to safeguard the Qur’an from any possible alteration may be seen from the fact that they counted not only the Ayats and Ruku, but every single letter of the alphabet; and every single sign of wovel (sic) has been meticulously counted and recorded. For example, we know that there are 48872 [alif] and 11428 [ba] and so on. Also we know that the Qur’an has 53243 Fatha ( ) and 1258 Tashdid ( ) [i.e. shadda]." (Qur’an and Hadith, Seyyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi, p. 37f; emphasis added).

"(V. 15:9) This verse is a challenge to mankind and everyone is obliged to believe in the miracles of this Qur’an. It is a clear fact that more than 1400 years have elapsed and not a single word of this Qur’an has been changed, although the disbelievers tried their utmost to change it in each and every way, but they failed miserably in their efforts. As it is mentioned in this holy Verse: "We will guard it." By Allah! He has guarded it. On the contrary, all the other holy Books [the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), etc.] have been corrupted in the form of additions or subtractions or alterations in the original text." (The Noble Qur’an, 1995, notes by Dr.M.T. Hilali, p.477, ft. 1)

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"and every way, but they failed miserably in their efforts. As it is mentioned in this holy Verse: "We will guard it." By Allah! He has guarded it. On the contrary, all the other holy Books [the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), etc.] have been corrupted in the form of additions or subtractions or alterations in the original text." (The Noble Qur’an, 1995, notes by Dr.M.T. Hilali, p.477, ft. 1).

"In other words: two of the copies of the Qur’an which were originally prepared in the time of Caliph `Uthman, are still available to us today and their texts and arrangement can be compared, by anyone who cares to, with any other copy of the Qur’an, be it in print or handwriting, from any place or period of time. They will be found to be identical." (Ulum, Von Denffer, .64; emphasis added)

"There are many texts available today claiming divine status from God. But is the guidance contained in them in its original form ...? Any text claiming to be divine must not contain contradictions, discrepancies or adulterations since this would question the perfection of God and the validity of the text. If we apply this acid test to these ‘divine books’, we find that none except the Qur’an fulfill the above criteria." (The Islamic Belief, Hizb ut-Tahrir literature, Al Khalifah Publications, London, 1996; emphasis added).

Footnotes

1/ When the followers of Islam cite our Scripture as ‘evidence’ of Muhammad, they must realise that the Companions and Tabi'un of Jesus already noted how these verses actually refer to Jesus! It is not the Last Books which are on trial or the Companions and Tabi'un of Jesus use of them which need to be tested, but as Islam claims the Qur’an is a "new Book", it is the one which must prove itself.

2/ This is used as Islam’s ‘Proof’ that Christians are ‘always changing the Bible’.

3/ The popular UAE-based author, teacher, and translator of Arabic literature, who studied Islam at the Islamic University of Medina, then to a Master’s level at the University of Riyadh, and presently heads the Islamic Information Center in Dubai.

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