Textual History of the Qur'an - Revision history

Lightyears at 01:11, 4 December 2025

2025-12-04T01:11:10Z

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	==Companion Codices and the Uthmanic Standard==		==Companion Codices and the Uthmanic Standard==
	===Caliph Uthman Standardises the Rasm and Burns the Other Texts===		===Caliph Uthman Standardises the Rasm and Burns the Other Texts===
	A widely transmitted hadith reports that the third caliph Uthman was concerned because there were clear differences in the recitation of the Qur'an among the people of the Sham (modern day Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) and the people of Iraq. The differences were so great Uthman and his companions feared future dispute about the true Qur'an and its contents. So Uthman asked Hafsa for her copy so that a committee could write a single version of the rasm (an early stage of Arabic orthography, often called the Qur'anic consonantal text (QCT), which entirely lacked short vowel signs and other diacritics, only optionally marked word-internal long ā with an alif for most words, and only to a very limited used dotting to distinguish homographic consonants). Uthman then sent out his official Quranic codex to a small number of important cities and ordered that all other copies and fragments be burned. This occurred around 650 CE. During the prior 20 years since Muhammad's death, and for some time afterwards, thousands of variants read by the companions which often did not fit this rasm were in circulation, as documented in hadiths and works such as Ibn Abi Dawud's Kitab al Masahif.<ref name="Jeffery">See Jeffery's famous compilation of readings attributed to the companions: Jeffery, Arthur, [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.76212 Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur'an. The old Codices], Leiden, Brill, 1937<BR>Also available [https://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Jeffery/Materials_pd/index.htm here]</ref>		A widely transmitted hadith reports that the third caliph Uthman was concerned because there were clear differences in the recitation of the Qur'an among the people of the Sham (modern day Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) and the people of Iraq. The differences were so great Uthman and his companions feared future dispute about the true Qur'an and its contents. So Uthman asked Hafsa for her copy so that a committee could write a single version of the rasm (an early stage of Arabic orthography, often called the Qur'anic consonantal text (QCT), which entirely lacked short vowel signs and other diacritics, only optionally marked word-internal long ā with an alif for most words, and only to a very limited extent used dotting to distinguish homographic consonants). Uthman then sent out his official Quranic codex to a small number of important cities and ordered that all other copies and fragments be burned. This occurred around 650 CE. During the prior 20 years since Muhammad's death, and for some time afterwards, thousands of variants read by the companions which often did not fit this rasm were in circulation, as documented in hadiths and works such as Ibn Abi Dawud's Kitab al Masahif.<ref name="Jeffery">See Jeffery's famous compilation of readings attributed to the companions: Jeffery, Arthur, [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.76212 Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur'an. The old Codices], Leiden, Brill, 1937<BR>Also available [https://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Jeffery/Materials_pd/index.htm here]</ref>

	Narrated Anas bin Malik:		Narrated Anas bin Malik:

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	Narrated Anas bin Malik:		Narrated Anas bin Malik:
	{{Quote\|{{Bukhari\|\|\|4987\|darussalam}}\|Narrated Anas bin Malik:		{{Quote\|{{Bukhari\|\|\|4987\|darussalam}} and {{Bukhari\|\|\|4988\|darussalam}}\|Narrated Anas bin Malik:
	Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to Uthman at the time when the people of Sham and the people of Iraq were Waging war to conquer Arminya and Adharbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur'an, so he said to 'Uthman, "O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Quran) as Jews and the Christians did before." So 'Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, "Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you." Hafsa sent it to 'Uthman. 'Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin AzZubair, Said bin Al-As and 'AbdurRahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. 'Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, "In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Qur'an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur'an was revealed in their tongue." They did so, and when they had written many copies, 'Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. 'Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts '''or whole copies, be burnt'''. Said bin Thabit added, "A Verse from Surat Ahzab was missed by me when we copied the Qur'an and I used to hear Allah's Apostle reciting it. So we searched for it and found it with Khuzaima bin Thabit Al-Ansari. (That Verse was): 'Among the Believers are men who have been true in their covenant with Allah.' (33.23)}}		Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to Uthman at the time when the people of Sham and the people of Iraq were Waging war to conquer Arminya and Adharbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur'an, so he said to 'Uthman, "O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Quran) as Jews and the Christians did before." So 'Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, "Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you." Hafsa sent it to 'Uthman. 'Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin AzZubair, Said bin Al-As and 'AbdurRahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. 'Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, "In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Qur'an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur'an was revealed in their tongue." They did so, and when they had written many copies, 'Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. 'Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts '''or whole copies, be burnt'''. Said bin Thabit added, "A Verse from Surat Ahzab was missed by me when we copied the Qur'an and I used to hear Allah's Apostle reciting it. So we searched for it and found it with Khuzaima bin Thabit Al-Ansari. (That Verse was): 'Among the Believers are men who have been true in their covenant with Allah.' (33.23)}}

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	Sadeghi & Goudarzi, [https://www.scribd.com/doc/110978941/Sanaa-1-and-the-Origins-of-the-Qur-An San'a' 1 and the Origins of the Qur'an] Der Islam 87, No. 1-2 (February 2012) 1-129</ref>		Sadeghi & Goudarzi, [https://www.scribd.com/doc/110978941/Sanaa-1-and-the-Origins-of-the-Qur-An San'a' 1 and the Origins of the Qur'an] Der Islam 87, No. 1-2 (February 2012) 1-129</ref>

	Academic scholars who have analysed the isnads and matn of the transmissions generally believe that the main seven ahruf hadith (involving Umar) is very early. It is widely transmitted, with Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī (d. 124) as the common link.<ref>Nasser, S. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mRAzAQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover ''The Transmission of the Variant Readings of the Qurʾān: The Problem of Tawātur and the Emergence of Shawādhdh''], Leiden, Boston:Brill, 2013, pp. 18-31</ref> It may have been invented at an early stage to accommodate the proliferation of variant readings. Given that the Qur'an and hadith reveal that Muhammad would forget entire verses, another plausible theory would be that he was inconsistent in his recitation and appealed to ahruf as a convenient excuse. In the most widely transmitted ahruf hadith, Muhammad explains the ahruf to pacify an angry Umar, who heard Hisham b. Hakim reading a surah in an unfamiliar way.<ref>See how Muhammad settled a dispute between his followers regarding the correct recitation {{Bukhari\|\|\|7550\|darussalam}}</ref> In another account, Ubayy b. Ka'b feels denial/disbelief (al takzeeb التَّكْذِيبِ<ref>كذب - [https://lexicon-quranic-research.net/data/22_k/051_kcb.html Lane's Lexicon] pp. 2597-2600</ref>), the like of which he had not felt since before Islam, when Muhammad gives his approval to some unfamiliar and differing recitations (qira'at), then begs forgiveness when Muhammad explains the ahruf.<ref>{{Muslim\|\|820a\|reference}}<BR>Note that in the translation, "dialects" is ahruf in the Arabic, and "styles" is qira'at.</ref> In another version, Muhammad's explanation to Ubayy gives significant leeway in how the Qur'an was to be recited.<ref>See Abu Dawud ~~Book 8:1472 [http://sunnah.com/abudawud/8/62 sunnah.com]~~ in which the angel reveals up to seven modes. "He then said: 'Each mode is sufficiently health-giving, whether you utter 'all-hearing and all-knowing' or instead 'all-powerful and all-wise'."</ref>		Academic scholars who have analysed the isnads and matn of the transmissions generally believe that the main seven ahruf hadith (involving Umar) is very early. It is widely transmitted, with Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī (d. 124) as the common link.<ref>Nasser, S. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mRAzAQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover ''The Transmission of the Variant Readings of the Qurʾān: The Problem of Tawātur and the Emergence of Shawādhdh''], Leiden, Boston:Brill, 2013, pp. 18-31</ref> It may have been invented at an early stage to accommodate the proliferation of variant readings. Given that the Qur'an and hadith reveal that Muhammad would forget entire verses, another plausible theory would be that he was inconsistent in his recitation and appealed to ahruf as a convenient excuse. In the most widely transmitted ahruf hadith, Muhammad explains the ahruf to pacify an angry Umar, who heard Hisham b. Hakim reading a surah in an unfamiliar way.<ref>See how Muhammad settled a dispute between his followers regarding the correct recitation {{Bukhari\|\|\|7550\|darussalam}}</ref> In another account, Ubayy b. Ka'b feels denial/disbelief (al takzeeb التَّكْذِيبِ<ref>كذب - [https://lexicon-quranic-research.net/data/22_k/051_kcb.html Lane's Lexicon] pp. 2597-2600</ref>), the like of which he had not felt since before Islam, when Muhammad gives his approval to some unfamiliar and differing recitations (qira'at), then begs forgiveness when Muhammad explains the ahruf.<ref>{{Muslim\|\|820a\|reference}}<BR>Note that in the translation, "dialects" is ahruf in the Arabic, and "styles" is qira'at.</ref> In another version, Muhammad's explanation to Ubayy gives significant leeway in how the Qur'an was to be recited.<ref>See {{Abu Dawud\|\|1477\|darussalam}} in which the angel reveals up to seven modes. "He then said: 'Each mode is sufficiently health-giving, whether you utter 'all-hearing and all-knowing' or instead 'all-powerful and all-wise'."</ref>

	===Differences in the Qira'at===		===Differences in the Qira'at===

Lightyears: Automated script replacing USC-MSA hadith numbering system for Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud

2025-11-15T00:50:15Z

Automated script replacing USC-MSA hadith numbering system for Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud

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Lightyears at 23:23, 1 November 2025

2025-11-01T23:23:41Z

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Lightyears at 21:41, 2 October 2025

2025-10-02T21:41:45Z

Lightyears: /* Controversy over mutawatir (mass transmitted) status */

2025-05-30T01:43:17Z

Controversy over mutawatir (mass transmitted) status

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	The majority of the Qur'an where there was full agreement between readers was considered to have been orally mass transmitted from the beginning to such an extent that there could be no doubt about it. However, the transmission status of the disagreements between the readings was more controversial. While the readings were indeed widely transmitted (with more variants along the way) from the eponymous readers to their students and so on, the transmission of the variants from Muhammad to the eponymous readers was in question. As mentioned in a section above, even Ibn al-Jazari eventually decided that these did not meet mutawatir status.		The majority of the Qur'an where there was full agreement between readers was considered to have been orally mass transmitted from the beginning to such an extent that there could be no doubt about it. However, the transmission status of the disagreements between the readings was more controversial. While the readings were indeed widely transmitted (with more variants along the way) from the eponymous readers to their students and so on, the transmission of the variants from Muhammad to the eponymous readers was in question. As mentioned in a section above, even Ibn al-Jazari eventually decided that these did not meet mutawatir status.

	While Ibn Mujahid only gave formal isnads from himself back to the Eponymous readers (whose readings he documented partially based on written notes<ref>Nasser, S. "The Second Canonization of the Qurʾān (324/936)" Brill, 2020, p.171</ref>), he gave some biographical sketches of the small number of single chain transmissions between the Prophet and these readers, which generally had at least 4 or 5 links though occasionally 3.<ref>Ibid. See the isnad diagrams in chapter 3</ref> Note that ~~these~~ are chains ~~to the Prophet are~~ for each ~~reading as a whole,~~ which ~~makes little sense given that~~ the readers ~~are supposed to have~~ assembled their readings ~~using a pool of authentic variants~~. Most of the seven main readers and their canonical transmitters did not escape criticism for their reliability in hadith and/or their Qur'an recitations in at least some biographical sources<ref>Ibid. pp.131-136</ref>.		While Ibn Mujahid only gave formal isnads from himself back to the Eponymous readers (whose readings he documented partially based on written notes<ref>Nasser, S. "The Second Canonization of the Qurʾān (324/936)" Brill, 2020, p.171</ref>), he gave some biographical sketches of the small number of single chain transmissions between the Prophet and these readers, which generally had at least 4 or 5 links though occasionally 3.<ref>Ibid. See the isnad diagrams in chapter 3</ref> Note that there are not in general any chains for each of the individual variants from which the readers assembled their readings. Most of the seven main readers and their canonical transmitters did not escape criticism for their reliability in hadith and/or their Qur'an recitations in at least some biographical sources<ref>Ibid. pp.131-136</ref>.

	===Challenges of the Qurra' Community===		===Challenges of the Qurra' Community===

Lightyears: /* Controversy over mutawatir (mass transmitted) status */

2025-05-30T01:38:15Z

Controversy over mutawatir (mass transmitted) status

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:38, 30 May 2025
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	The majority of the Qur'an where there was full agreement between readers was considered to have been orally mass transmitted from the beginning to such an extent that there could be no doubt about it. However, the transmission status of the disagreements between the readings was more controversial. While the readings were indeed widely transmitted (with more variants along the way) from the eponymous readers to their students and so on, the transmission of the variants from Muhammad to the eponymous readers was in question. As mentioned in a section above, even Ibn al-Jazari eventually decided that these did not meet mutawatir status.		The majority of the Qur'an where there was full agreement between readers was considered to have been orally mass transmitted from the beginning to such an extent that there could be no doubt about it. However, the transmission status of the disagreements between the readings was more controversial. While the readings were indeed widely transmitted (with more variants along the way) from the eponymous readers to their students and so on, the transmission of the variants from Muhammad to the eponymous readers was in question. As mentioned in a section above, even Ibn al-Jazari eventually decided that these did not meet mutawatir status.

	While Ibn Mujahid only gave formal isnads from himself back to the Eponymous readers (whose readings he documented partially based on written notes<ref>Nasser, S. "The Second Canonization of the Qurʾān (324/936)" Brill, 2020, p.171</ref>), he gave some biographical sketches of the small number of single chain transmissions between the Prophet and these readers, which generally had at least 4 or 5 links though occasionally 3.<ref>Ibid. See the isnad diagrams in chapter 3</ref> Most of the seven main readers and their canonical transmitters did not escape criticism for their reliability in hadith and/or their Qur'an recitations in at least some biographical sources<ref>Ibid. pp.131-136</ref>.		While Ibn Mujahid only gave formal isnads from himself back to the Eponymous readers (whose readings he documented partially based on written notes<ref>Nasser, S. "The Second Canonization of the Qurʾān (324/936)" Brill, 2020, p.171</ref>), he gave some biographical sketches of the small number of single chain transmissions between the Prophet and these readers, which generally had at least 4 or 5 links though occasionally 3.<ref>Ibid. See the isnad diagrams in chapter 3</ref> Note that these are chains to the Prophet are for each reading as a whole, which makes little sense given that the readers are supposed to have assembled their readings using a pool of authentic variants. Most of the seven main readers and their canonical transmitters did not escape criticism for their reliability in hadith and/or their Qur'an recitations in at least some biographical sources<ref>Ibid. pp.131-136</ref>.

	===Challenges of the Qurra' Community===		===Challenges of the Qurra' Community===

Lightyears at 00:53, 25 May 2025

2025-05-25T00:53:34Z

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Asmith at 00:19, 17 May 2025

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			{{#seo:
			\|title=Textual History of the Qur'an
			\|title_mode={{{title_mode\|}}}
			\|keywords={{{keywords\|}}}
			\|description={{{description\|}}}
			\|image=NaqadCanonizationSchema.jpg
			}}
	{{QualityScore\|Lead=4\|Structure=4\|Content=4\|Language=4\|References=4}}		{{QualityScore\|Lead=4\|Structure=4\|Content=4\|Language=4\|References=4}}
	[[File:NaqadCanonizationSchema.jpg\|thumb\|Developmental canonization of the Quran (reconstruction)<Br>Naqad Islamic Studies Server<ref>The Naqad Islamic Studies server is described as an open resource server for print and online collections that support Late Antique, Near Eastern and Islamic Studies. They write, "This diagram aims to represent the most rigorous academic insights on the topic, and is a collaboration between our contributors and the top Quranic linguists and epigraphers in the field of Quranic studies." [https://twitter.com/NaqadStudies/status/1265265807686340608 Naqad Islamic Studies - Twitter.com]</ref>]]		[[File:NaqadCanonizationSchema.jpg\|thumb\|Developmental canonization of the Quran (reconstruction)<Br>Naqad Islamic Studies Server<ref>The Naqad Islamic Studies server is described as an open resource server for print and online collections that support Late Antique, Near Eastern and Islamic Studies. They write, "This diagram aims to represent the most rigorous academic insights on the topic, and is a collaboration between our contributors and the top Quranic linguists and epigraphers in the field of Quranic studies." [https://twitter.com/NaqadStudies/status/1265265807686340608 Naqad Islamic Studies - Twitter.com]</ref>]]

CPO675: /* See also */ Added a well-cited Youtube video series on the Qurans textual history demonstrating the modern dawah claim of 'perfect preservation' is not correct.

2024-07-27T17:24:27Z

See also: Added a well-cited Youtube video series on the Qurans textual history demonstrating the modern dawah claim of 'perfect preservation' is not correct.

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:24, 27 July 2024
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	* [https://quranvariants.wordpress.com/ Quran Variants] - Articles and Resources page		* [https://quranvariants.wordpress.com/ Quran Variants] - Articles and Resources page
			* YouTube video series by ''islamwhattheydonttellyou164'' examining claims of 'perfect preservation' among what we know of the Quran's textual history: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65tPF865Wys Part 1: The Qurans Preservation], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXyPVzdMh4E Part 2: Uthman, the Quran Collector], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51YPn29chvA Part 3: The Hafs Quran], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDfkTbwGrmE Part 4: Many Arabic Qurans], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY3egipt69Y Part 5 Post-Uthmanic Tampering], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNqzzEw9-20 Part 6: Ahruf and Qira'at], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33v6sK9LNJM&t=1s Part 7: Quranic Manuscripts].

	==References==		==References==