Textual Variants of the Qur'an

Most Muslims claim that the text of the Qur'an is identical to that received by Muhammad. This is a convenient thing to believe, but is it the truth? There is overwhelming evidence that it is not:

1. Evidence of Change Before 'Uthman

Why did 'Uthman feel the need to destroy other copies of the Qur'an, unless they contained variants? Why did Ibn Ma'sud refuse to hand over his copy for destruction? How do we know that 'Uthman's copy was better than any of the others?

• Jam' Al-Qur'an Chapter 1 - The Initial Collection of the Qur'an Text
• Jam' Al-Qur'an Chapter 2 - The Uthmanic Recension of the Qur'an
• Jam' Al-Qur'an Chapter 3 - The Codices of ibn Mas`ud and Ubayy ibn Ka`b
• from the Hadiths part 2 - the first collection of the Qur'an
• from the Hadiths part 3 - Differences before the 'Uthmanic collection
• from the Hadiths part 4 - the 'Uthmanic collection
• Relation of Shi'a Theology to the Qur'an
• A variant from Ubayy's Codex (as documented by Yusuf Ali)
• A Contradiction Regarding Muhammad's Fatherhood
• Distortion in the Qur'an
• A Contribution of Uthman to the Qur'an
• Uthman's standardising of the Qur'an
• 'Uthman and the Recension of the Koran

2. Evidence of Change After 'Uthman

There is evidence that changes to the Qur'an continued after the time of 'Uthman:

• Jam' Al-Qur'an Chapter 5 - The Seven Different Readings
• Jam' Al-Qur'an Chapter 6 - The Compilation of the Qur'an in Perspective
• Al-Hajjaj changed Uthman's Qur'an text and a response(?): Part 1, Part 2

3. Hadiths which say the Qur'an is incomplete

Both the Qur'an and the Sunna give evidence that some of the Qur'an was lost, forgotten, or abrogated:

• Jam' Al-Qur'an Chapter 4 - The Missing Passages of the Qur'an
• Variant Readings of the Quran
• Islam and Stoning: A Case Study Into the Textual Corruption Of the Quran
• from the Hadiths part 6 - The status of the mushaf
• Sura 2:238 is not complete according to Aisha

Some Muslims are of the conviction spurious verses have been added:

• The controversy about Sura 9:128-129 - Hence these verses are removed in this Qur'an

4. Hadiths which refer to lost suras

There are Hadiths which refer to suras which are not in the modern Qur'an. Surely this indicates that the Qur'an has changed since the time of these Hadiths.

• Jam' Al-Qur'an Chapter 4 - The Missing Passages of the Qur'an
• from the Hadiths part 5.1 - Missing Verses
• On the Integrity of the Qur'an (2) Describes Hadiths concerning the sura about 'The Valley of Riches'
• The Verse on Suckling
• The Verse on Stoning
• 'Verse' in the "Comparative Index to Islam" describes several missing verses.

5. Variants which exist in present-day manuscripts

By simply comparing existing manuscripts, it can be shown that not all Qur'an manuscripts are the same. Therefore, the Qur'an has not been perfectly preserved.

• A Perfect Qur'an? contains a detailed analysis of the Samarqand manuscript
• About some recent manuscript findings (in the loft of the old Great Mosque of Sana'a, in Yemen) and further discussion about them: 1
• The Different Arabic Versions of the Qur'an
• A (small) list of differences between the Warsh and Hafs readings of the Qur'an
• Studies in Two Transmissions Of The Qur'an by Adrian A Brockett (off site)
• The Fifteenth Qira'at: The Abdullah Yusuf Ali Reading of the Qur'an
• Text Unchanged, Texts Unchanging? discusses the work of Arthur Jeffery (offsite).
• Relation of Shi'a Theology to the Qur'an
• A Variant Text of the Fatiha
• The Orthography of the Samarqand Codex
• On the Integrity of the Qur'an (1) - Muslim writers admit there exist variants in the Qur'an.
• Differences in the Hafs and Warsh texts
• Some textual variants in Sura 19
• Jam' Al-Qur'an Chapter 7 - The Early Surviving Qur'an Manuscripts
• from the Hadiths part 5.2 - Variant Verses
• Shi'ah Additions To The Koran
• Are the "Shia" suras al-Nurain and al-Wilaya genuine?
• Variant Readings in the Qur'an and the Bible
• Leaves from two ancient MSS. of the Coran

6. What is there to hide?

If the Qur'an truly is uncorrupted, why does the Muslim world not publish the oldest Qur'an manuscripts? What is there to hide?

• Textual criticism of Bible and Qur'an

7. Objections

• How could John Burton say the Qur'an was perfectly preserved?

8. Other

• The Claim of Muhammad's Perfect Memory
• Scribal and Grammatical Errors in the Qur'an
• Different verse numbering systems in the Qur'an

9. Articles or books which cover the whole topic

• The Compilation of the Qur'an (thorough overview)
• A Perfect Qur'an? (impressive, comprehensive)
• Is the Qur'an the Word of God?
• Jam' Al-Qur'an, an excellent book which covers most of the material presented here.
• The Qur'an in Islam (short booklet)
• The Textual History of the Qur'an, an article by Arthur Jeffery
• Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur'an (standard reference work by Arthur Jeffery)
• Textual Variations of the Koran by D. S. Margoliouth
• The Transmission of the Kur'an (according to Muslim writers) and
  The Transmission of the Kur'an According to Christian Writers by Alphonse Mingana
• The Collection of the Qur'an - from the Hadiths; direct quotes from the Hadiths, on the collection and alteration of the Qur'an.

10. Implications for our dialogue

• The Compilation of the Text of the Qur'an and the Sunni-Shia Dispute seeks to "show how the different Muslim hypotheses about the compilation of the Qur'an, and the Sunni-Shia dispute therein, help to explain the attitudes of Muslims to the Christian concept of inspiration, text and canon."
• Preservation does not imply truth

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