Holy Qur'an D.4.1

Name : Litia Darmawati

Class: D.4.1

Student’s Number : 12.23.030

Completeness of Qur’an

Muslims believe that Quran, as it is presented today, is complete and untouched, supported by their faith in quranic verses such as "We [ie Allah] have, without doubt, sent down the Reminder [ie the Quran]; and We will assuredly guard it [from corruption]" (Quran 15:9).

Due to the varying accounts and hadiths on the collection and canonization of the Qur'an, some scholars debate whether the 'Uthmanic text comprehends the entire body of material that was revealed to Muhammad, or if there has been material that is missing from the 'Uthmanic text. For example, some Sunni literature contains reports that suggest that some of the revelations had already been lost before the collection of the Qur'an initiated by Abu Bakar.Wikipedia:Citation needed In one version of a report at the time, 'Umar was once looking for the text of a specific verse of the Qur'an on stoning as a punishment for adultery, which he remembered. Later, he discovered that the only person who had any record of that verse had been killed in the battle of Yamama and as a result the verse was lost. Later, some of the Companions recalled that same verse, one person being 'A'isha, the Muhammad's youngest wife. She is believed to have said that a sheet on which two verses, including the one on stoning, were under her bedding and that after Muhammad died, a domestic animal got into the room and gobbled up the sheet.

Experts on hadith literature have rejected this hadith, as all routes of transmission either contain narrators charged with dishonesty in disclosing sources or simply conflict with the majority version of the report, which all have authentic routes of transmission but omit  he part about the piece of paper being eaten.[34][35] Certain Shi’i scholars even state that Ali’s predecessors willfully excluded all references to the right of Ali to be the next caliph after the Muhammad died. A small group of early extremist Shi’i’s questioned the integrity of the Uthmani codex stating that two suras, “al-Nurayn” (The Two Lights) and “al-Walayah” (the Guardianship), which dealt with the virtues of the Muhammad’s family, were removed.:89–90 Al-Khoei addresses this issue and argues for the authenticity and completeness of the Qur'an on the basis that it was compiled during the lifetime of Muhammad. His argument is based on hadiths and on critically analyzing the situation during and after the life of Muhammad.

History of the Quran 14 On the argument that verses of Ali’s rule had been removed, Al-Khoei states that the collection of the Qur'an by Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman occurred significantly after the caliphate was decided and so if Ali’s rule had been mentioned it would have been the strongest argument for him to be the first caliph. There would have been no need for the Muslims to gather to appoint someone. (Khu’i 158) The fact that the Companions  did not mention anything [about the alteration], neither at the beginning of the caliphate nor after the caliphate had fallen to ‘Ali is proof that alteration in this sense did not occur.

Another, argument Al-Khoei brings up in favor of the Qur'an is that by the time ‘Uthman became caliph, Islam had spread to such an extent that it was impossible for him, or even for anyone more powerful than him, to remove anything from the Qur'an. The value and importance the Qur'an during this time protected it from being altered. In the oral culture at this time, people paid great attention to memorizing pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, it is hard to imagine that they did not pay similar attention to the preservation of the Book of the Almighty, especially since they believed they would be rewarded in the hereafter for memorizing it. Uthman could have altered the text, but he would have been unable to remove the Qur'an from the hearts of the Muslims who had memorized it.

In addition, had Uthman changed the Qur'an, it would have served as the clearest argument for, and major justification of, his public assassination. His opponents would have brought this up against him, but there are no records of this. Al-Khoei also argues that if Uthman had altered the Qur'an, Ali would have restored it to its original state upon the death of Uthman, especially if verses of his rule had been removed. Instead Ali is seen promoting the Qur'an during his reign, which is evidence that there was no alteration.

Name  : Puteri Dini Astriyana

D.4.1

12.23.125

 

The Collection of the Qur'an

Due to the fact that the Qur'an was revealed in disjointed verses and chapters, a point came when it needed to be gathered into a coherent whole text. There are disagreements among both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars as to when the Qur'an was compiled. Some believe Muhammad compiled it before he died, while others believe it was collected by either Ali ibn Abu Talib or Abu Bakar.

Muhammad

The society during the time of Muhammad was predominantly oral and for this reason he would recite verses of the Qur'an to his Companions and instruct them to memorize it. Due to this, people question whether the Qur'an was ever written and collected during the time of Muhammad. While writing was not a common skill during the Muhammad’s time, Mecca, being the commercial center, had a number of people who could write.

It is believed,according to some scholars, that up to 48 scribes including Zayd ibn Thabit and Ubayy ibn Ka’b had recorded verses of the Qur'an. This provides an explanation as to how the Qur'an existed in written form during the life of Muhammad, even if it was not compiled into one text.:83 Most Sunni and Shi’i scholars believe that the Qur'an was written down in its entirety at the time of Muhammad’s death. Muhammad's cousin Ibn Abbas describes the way in which the final version of the Qur'an was fixed: “the prophet recited the book before Gabriel every year in the month of Ramadan, and in the month in which he died he recited it before him twice.” It is believed that the term “reciting the Qur’an twice” means compiling all the Qur'anic revelations into a complete and final version. It is understood that toward the end of Muhammad’s life a special act of revelation occurred in which a final and complete version of the Qur'an was created. The term recite, which is used here, is referring to the custom where a Qur'anic scholar recites the entire Qur'an from beginning to end a number of times before a senior scholar. According to this tradition the act of recital is being performed by Muhammad, with angel Gabriel playing the role of superior authority. History of the Quran 4

In one hadith Muhammad supposedly said, “I leave among you two things of high estimation: the Book of God and my Family.” Some scholars argue that this provides evidence that the Qur'an had been collected and written during this time because it is not correct to call something al-kitab (book) when it is merely in the [people’s] memories. The word al-kitab signifies a single and united entity and does not apply to a text which is scattered and not collected. Another argument these scholars bring up is the importance that Muhammad attached to the Qur'an. They believe that since Muhammad put so much importance to the Qur'an he had to have ordered the writing of it during his lifetime. For example, Zayd ibn Thabit reported, “We used to record the Qur’an from parchments in the presence of the Messenger of God.”

Some authors believe that, as long as Muhammad was alive, there was always the expectation of further revelation as well as occasional abrogations. Any formal collection of the material already revealed could not properly be considered a complete text.

Ali ibn Abi Talib

Scholars are unanimous regarding the fact that Ali ibn Abu Talib possessed his own personal transcript of the text of the Qur'an, which he had collected himself six months after the death of the Muhammad, and that this was the first compilation of the Qur'an. The unique aspect about this version was that it had been collected in the order it was sent, which mainstream Shi’ism hold is the only difference between the Qur'an we have today and Ali’s.:89–90. A few Shi’i scholars argue that Ali presented his Qur'an to the community, but they refused to acknowledge his copy. One report states, “he had brought the complete Book [of God], comprising the interpretation and the revelation, the precise and ambiguous verses, the abrogating and the abrogated verses; nothing was missing from it, [not even] a letter alif, nor lam. But they did not accept it from him” They also believe that Ali’s version of the Qur'an contained verses that are not seen in the Uthmanic codex we have today. They believe changes in the order of verses and suras did take place and that there were variant readings, tabdil, exchange of words such as umma to a imma, rearrangement of words and deletion of words pertaining to the right of Ali being the first caliph.

 Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, a contemporary Shi’i scholar provides a counter argument to this belief. He states that even if it is true that Ali’s Qur'an incorporated additions that are not part of the existing Qur'an, this does not mean that these additions comprised parts of the Qur'an and have been dropped from it due to alteration. Rather, these additions were interpretations or explanations of what God was saying, or were in the form of revelations from God, explaining the intention of the verses in the Qur'an. These additions were not part of the Qur'an and not part of what the Messenger of God was commanded to convey to the Muslim community

Abu Bakar

According to some scholars, during the life of Muhammad parts of the Qur'an, though written, were scattered amongst his companions, much of it as private possession. After Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr initially exercised a policy of laissez faire as well. This policy was reversed after the Battle of Yamama in 633. During the battle, 700 Muslims who had memorized the Qur'an were killed. The death of Sālim, however, was most significant, as he was one of the very few who had been entrusted by Muhammad to teach the Qur'an.

Consequently, upon Umar's insistence, Abu Bakr ordered the collection of the hitherto scattered pieces of the Qur'an into one copy. Zaid ibn Thabit, Muhammad's primary scribe, was assigned the duty of gathering all of the Qur'anic text. He gives an insight into what happened during the meeting between Abu Bakr, Umar, and himself:

" Abu Bakr sent for me at a time when the Yamama battles had witnessed the martyrdom of numerous Companions. I found 'Umar bin al-Khattab with him. Abu Bakr began,Umar has just come to me and said, 'In the Yamama battles death has dealt most severely with the qurra',[Reciters of the Qur'an] and I fear it will deal with them with equal severity in other theatres of war. As a result much of the Qur'an will be gone. “ 'I am therefore of the opinion that you should command the Qur'an be collected.'" Abu Bakr continued, "I said to 'Umar, 'How can we embark on what the Prophet never did?' 'Umar replied that it was a good deed regardless, and he did not cease replying to my scruples until Allah reconciled me to the undertaking, and I became of the same mind as him. Zaid, you are young and intelligent, you used to record the revelations for the Muhammad, and we know nothing to your discredit. So pursue the Qur'an and collect it together." By Allah, had they asked me to move a mountain it could not have been weightier than what they requested of me now”. (Al-Bukhari, Sahih,Jam'i al-Qur'an, hadith no. 4986; see also Ibn Abu Dawud, al-Masahif, pp. 6-9)

His reaction to the task and its difficulties are further explained:

"...By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Qur'an... So I started locating the Qur'anic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men.[Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari, 6:60:201 [6]] He also said: "So I started looking for the Holy quran and collected it from (what was written on) palm-leaf stalks, thin white stones, and also from men who knew it by heart, until I found the last verse of Surat at-Tauba (repentance) with Abi Khuzaima al-Ansari, and I did not find it with anybody other than him. (Sahijh al-Bukari, Vol. 6, p. 478).

The task required Zaid Bin Thabit to collect written copies of the Qur'an, with each verse having been validated with the oral testimony of at least two companions. Usually the written copies were verified by himself and Umar – both of whom had memorized portions of the Qur'an. Thus, eventually the entire Qur'an was collected into a single copy, but it still wasn't given any particular order. This compilation was kept by the Caliph Abu Bakr, after his death by his successor, Caliph Umar, who on his deathbed gave them to Hafsa bint Umar, his daughter and one of Muhammad's widows.