What is the Koran and Hadith?

[borboski]

OK, I've find out a lot more about Islam, and one of my closest friends, has by chance recently converted! I hadn't seen him for six months. Anyway, came across this in Daniel Dennett's review of Christopher Hitchen's recent effort:

And how many Muslims know that Uthman, some years after Mohammed's death, not only arranged the standard Arabic edition of the Koran, declaring many rival texts apocryphal, but "ordered that all earlier and rival editions be destroyed"? How convenient! And then there is the Hadith, the compilations of the words and deeds of Mohammed. Bukhari, who scrupulously collected 300,000 attestations several centuries after Mohammed's death, culled all but 10,000 of the most credible of these, some of which are quite evidently borrowings from the Torah and the Gospels, ancient Persian maxims, and the like.

I asked him about this and he basically just said it was nonsense. I know Daniel Dennett is a serious academic and wouldn't make content up, can anyone comment?

[- Qatada -]

Was Qur'an Changed by Uthman?


One of the most common myths about the Qur’an, is that Usman (r.a.), the third Caliph of Islam authenticated and compiled one Qur’an, from a large set of mutually contradicting copies. The Qur’an, revered as the Word of Allah (swt) by Muslims the world over, is the same Qur’an as the one revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). It was authenticated and written under his personal supervision. We will examine the roots of the myth which says that Usman (r.a.) had the Qur’an authenticated.


1. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself supervised and authenticated the written texts of the Qur’an

Whenever the Prophet received a revelation, he would first memorize it himself and later declare the revelation and instruct his Companions (R.A. – Radhi Allahu Taala Anhu) – May Allah be pleased with him who would also memorize it. The Prophet would immediately ask the scribes to write down the revelation he had received, and he would reconfirm and recheck it himself. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was an Ummi who could not read and write. Therefore, after receiving each revelation, he would repeat it to his Companions. They would write down the revelation, and he would recheck by asking them to read what they had written. If there was any mistake, the Prophet would immediately point it out and have it corrected and rechecked. Similarly he would even recheck and authenticate the portions of the Qur’an memorized by the Companions. In this way, the complete Qur’an was written down under the personal supervision of the prophet (pbuh).


2. Order and sequence of Qur’an divinely inspired

The complete Qur’an was revealed over a period of 22½ years portion by portion, as and when it was required. The Qur’an was not compiled by the Prophet in the chronological order of revelation. The order and sequence of the Qur’an too was Divinely inspired and was instructed to the Prophet by Allah (swt) through archangel Jibraeel. Whenever a revelation was conveyed to his companions, the Prophet would also mention in which surah (chapter) and after which ayat (verse) this new revelation should fit.

Every Ramadhaan all the portions of the Qur’an that had been revealed, including the order of the verses, were revised and reconfirmed by the Prophet with archangel Jibraeel. During the last Ramadhaan, before the demise of the Prophet, the Qur’an was rechecked and reconfirmed twice.

It is therefore clearly evident that the Qur’an was compiled and authenticated by the Prophet himself during his lifetime, both in the written form as well as in the memory of several of his Companions.


3. Qur’an copied on one common material

The complete Qur’an, along with the correct sequence of the verses, was present during the time of the Prophet (pbuh). The verses however, were written on separate pieces, scrapes of leather, thin flat stones, leaflets, palm branches, shoulder blades, etc. After the demise of the prophet, Abu Bakr (r.a.), the first caliph of Islam ordered that the Qur’an be copied from the various different materials on to a common material and place, which was in the shape of sheets. These were tied with strings so that nothing of the compilation was lost.


4. Usman (r.a.) made copies of the Qur’an from the original manuscript

Many Companions of the Prophet used to write down the revelation of the Qur’an on their own whenever they heard it from the lips of the Prophet. However what they wrote was not personally verified by the Prophet and thus could contain mistakes. All the verses revealed to the Prophet may not have been heard personally by all the Companions. There were high possibilities of different portions of the Qur’an being missed by different Companions. This gave rise to disputes among Muslims regarding the different contents of the Qur’an during the period of the third Caliph Usman (r.a.).

Usman (r.a.) borrowed the original manuscript of the Qur’an, which was authorized by the beloved Prophet (pbuh), from Hafsha (may Allah be pleased with her), the Prophet’s wife. Usman (r.a.) ordered four Companions who were among the scribes who wrote the Qur’an when the Prophet dictated it, led by Zaid bin Thabit (r.a.) to rewrite the script in several perfect copies. These were sent by Usman (r.a.) to the main centres of Muslims.

There were other personal collections of the portions of the Qur’an that people had with them. These might have been incomplete and with mistakes. Usman (r.a.) only appealed to the people to destroy all these copies which did not match the original manuscript of the Qur’an in order to preserve the original text of the Qur’an. Two such copies of the copied text of the original Qur’an authenticated by the Prophet are present to this day, one at the museum in Tashkent in erstwhile Soviet Union and the other at the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, Turkey.


5. Diacritical marks were added for non-Arabs

The original manuscript of the Qur’an does not have the signs indicating the vowels in Arabic script. These vowels are known as tashkil, zabar, zair, paish in Urdu and as fatah, damma and qasra in Arabic. The Arabs did not require the vowel signs and diacritical marks for correct pronunciation of the Qur’an since it was their mother tongue. For Muslims of non-Arab origin, however, it was difficult to recite the Qur’an correctly without the vowels. These marks were introduced into the Quranic script during the time of the fifth ‘Umayyad’ Caliph, Malik-ar-Marwan (66-86 Hijri/685-705 C.E.) and during the governorship of Al-Hajaj in Iraq.

Some people argue that the present copy of the Qur’an that we have along with the vowels and the diacritical marks is not the same original Qur’an that was present at the Prophet’s time. But they fail to realize that the word ‘Qur’an’ means a recitation. Therefore, the preservation of the recitation of the Qur’an is important, irrespective of whether the script is different or whether it contains vowels. If the pronunciation and the Arabic is the same, naturally, the meaning remains the same too.


6. Allah Himself has promised to guard the Qur’an

Allah has promised in the Qur’an :

"We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly Guard it (from corruption)."

[Al-Qur’an 15:9]

Article Source: http://towardsislam.pynex.com/content.php?article.23

http://www.islamicboard.com/refutati...d-usman-r.html



Also read:

Was the Qur'an compiled from previously revealed scriptures?
http://www.load-islam.com/artical_de...Misconceptions

[vpb]

I asked him about this and he basically just said it was nonsense. I know Daniel Dennett is a serious academic and wouldn't make content up, can anyone comment?

it doesn't necessary means that if someone wants to go against something needs to lie, he can just take some arguments and twist them and that's it

[- Qatada -]

Ahadeeth myths


All praise is due to Allaah, and peace and blessings of Allaah be upon his Last and Final Messenger, his pure family, his noble Companions, and all those who follow them with righteousness until the Day of Judgment.

We have undoubtedly sent down the Reminder(al-dhikr), and We will truly preserve it. (Soorah al-Hijr:9)

This article is a humble attempt to eradicate the misconceptions that many non-Muslims and Muslims possess about the second source of the Shariah (Islaamic jurisprudence) namely the Sunnah.

This article is by no means a comprehensive coverage of the Sunnah, but rather an introductory article dispelling the myths surrounding ahadeeth [pl. of hadeeth]. I will attempt to avoid several sections such as the command to follow the Messenger as this is discussed in great detail by Allaamah al-Albaani (May Allaah have mercy on him) in his treatise, the Status of the Sunnah in Islaam

I pray, insha’Allaah, (God-Willing), that this article serves to remove the confusion and ignorance that the people are suffering from regarding this important issue and that it will save all those sincere seekers of truth from failing into major kufr by rejecting the ahadeeth.


The Definition of Hadeeth


The term hadeeth linguistically means a communication or a narrative. This is confirmed in the Glorious Qur’aan

Let them then produce a saying (hadeeth) like unto it. (Soorah at-Tur:34)

And when the Prophet spoke (Hadeeth) secretly to one of his wives. (Soorah at-Tahrim:3)

In the Shariah terminology, it refers to all that is transmitted from the Prophet, his deeds, his sayings, whatever he approved. According to the Muhadditheen (scholars of hadeeth), it is synonymous with the term Sunnah.



Myth #1 Ahadeeth were written 200 years after the Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

This misconception is based on the hadeeth mentioned in Saheeh Muslim (Second authenthic Hadeeth collection):

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: Do not write anything from me; whoever has written anything from me other than the Qur’aan, let him erase it and narrate from me, for there is nothing wrong with that. (Narrated by Muslim, al-Zuhd wa’l-Raqaa’iq, 5326)

Those who use this hadeeth and argue that no ahadeeth were written are ignorant of the historical temporary prohibition of this statement. The temporary prohibition was meant as a precautionary step to ensure the correctness of the word of Allaah as distinguished from the words of the Prophet himself, as both came from the lips of the Prophet. This is one view and several other views are mentioned in the commentary on Saheeh Muslim by Imaam Al-Nawawi (May Allaah have mercy on him)


Al-Nawawi said in his commentary on Saheeh Muslim:

Al-Qaadi said: there were many disputes among the Sahaabah and Taabi’een concerning the writing down of knowledge. Many of them regarded this as being makrooh, but most of them regarded it as permissible. This dispute is no longer an issue.

They differed as to the meaning of this hadeeth which says that it is forbidden. It was said that this pertained to one who was sure of his memory, and there was the fear that he may rely upon what he had written if he wrote it down; the ahaadeeth which say that it is permissible to write things down is to be interpreted as referring to the one whose memory is not reliable, such as the hadeeth, “Write it down for Abu Shaah”; or the hadeeth of the saheefah of ‘Alee (may Allaah be pleased with him); the hadeeth of the book of ‘Amr ibn Hazm, which contains laws on inheritance, sunnahs and diyaat (blood money); the hadeeth about writing down charity, and the minimum amounts at which zakaah becomes obligatory (nisaab), with which Abu Bakr sent Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) to Bahrain; the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah which says that Ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas used to ; write things down but he (Abu Hurayrah) did not write things down, and other ahaadeeth. And it was said that the hadeeth forbidding writing down ahaadeeth was abrogated by these ahaadeeth.

The prohibition was in effect when there was the fear that (the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) might be mixed with the Qur’aan. When that danger was no longer present, permission was given to write down (ahaadeeth). And it was said that the prohibition mentioned in the hadeeth referred to writing ahaadeeth on the same page as Qur’aan, lest they become mixed and thus the reader would be confused when looking at this page. And Allaah knows best.

The hadeeth of Abu Shaah was narrated by al-Bukhaari from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said:
‘When Allaah granted His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) victory over Makkah, he stood before the people and praised and glorified Allaah, then he said: “Allaah protected Makkah from the elephant and has given authority to His Messenger and the believers over it, so fighting was forbidden for anyone before me, and was made permissible for me for part of a day, and it will not be permissible for anyone after me. Its game should not be chased, its thorny bushes should not be uprooted, and picking up its fallen things is not allowed except for one who makes public announcement for it, and he whose relative is murdered has the option either to accept a compensation for it or to retaliate.” Al-‘Abbas said, “Except Al-Idhkhir (a kind of plant), for we use it in our graves and houses.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Except Al-Idhkhir.” Abu Shaah, a Yemeni, stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allaah! Get it written for me.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Write it for Abu Shaah.” (al-Luqatah, 2254)

Ibn Hajar said: What may be understood from the story of Abu Shaah (“Write it for Abu Shaah”) is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave permission for hadeeth to be written down from him.

This contradicts the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, which says that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘Do not write down anything from me except the Qur’aan.’ (Narrated by Muslim).

The two may be reconciled by noting that the prohibition applied only to the time when the Qur’aan was being revealed, lest it be confused with something else, and that permission was given at other times; or that the prohibition applied only to writing down things other than Qur’aan with the Qur’aan on one thing, and that permission was given to write them separately; of that the prohibition came first and the permission abrogated that, when there was no longer any fear of confusion. This is most likely to be the case.

It was said that the prohibition applied only to those whom it was feared would depend on the writing and not memorize things, and that permission was given for those from whom such a thing was not feared.

The scholars said: a group of the Sahaabah and Taabi’een regarded it as makrooh to write down the hadeeth and they regarded it as mustahabb to learn it from them by heart, as they had learned it. But when people were no longer able to strive so hard (in memorizing) and the scholars feared that knowledge might be lost, they compiled it in books.”

There are countless instructions from the Prophet instructing his companions to write down some ahadeeth.

One of the Ansaar (The Helpers) asked the Prophet if there was another way to preserve ahadeeth as he sometimes forgets them. The Prophet replied:

Seek help from your right hand, and pointed out to a writing. (Tirmidhi)

Raafi ibn Khadij (May Allaah be pleased with him) said:

I said to the Prophet that we hear from you many things, should we write them down?” He replied: You may write. There is no harm. (Tadreeb ar Raawi)

Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet said:

Preserve knowledge by writing. (At-Tabari Jaami ul Bayaan)

Abu Raafi (may Allaah be pleased with him) sought permission from the Prophet to write ahadeeth and the Prophet granted him that permission (Tirmidhi)

Salma (student of Ibn Abbaas) says:

I saw some small wooden boards with Abdullaah Ibn Abbaas. He was writing on them some reports of the acts of the Prophet which he acquired from Abu Raafi’. (Tabaqaat Ibn Sa’d)

Abdullaah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas (May Allaah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet said to him:

Preserve Knowledge

Abdullaah then asked,

how should it be preserved?

The Prophet replied,

by writing it.

(Mustadrik Haakim; Jaami ul Bayaan)

In another report, he says,

I came to the Prophet and told him, I want to narrate your ahadeeth. So, I want to take assistance of my handwriting besides my heart. Do you deem it fit for me?’

The Prophet replied,

If it is my hadeeth you may seek help from your hand besides your heart. (Daarimi)

He also says:

I used to write whatever I heard from the Prophet and wanted to learn it by heart. Some people of the Quraysh dissuaded me and said,

Do you write everything you hear from the Prophet, while he is a human being and sometimes he may be in anger as any other human beings may be? (Abu Dawood)

After Abdullaah ibn Amr conveyed their opinion to the Prophet, the Prophet replied by pointing to his lips and said:

I swear by the One in whose hands is the soul of Muhammad: nothing comes out from these two (lips) except truth(haqq). So, do write. (Abu Dawood; Tabaqaat ibn Sa’d; Mustadrik ul Haakim)

These narrations attest that ahadeeth were written during the era of the Prophet.

I will list here the prominent compilations written in the first and second century, some written by the sahabas (the Prophet’s companions), their students (taabi’een), and the students of the taabi’een (tabaa'at-taabi'een).

Some of the compilations during the era of the Prophet:


The Scripts of Abu Hurairah

Hasan ibn Amr reports that once:

Abu Hurairah took him to his home and showed him “many books” containing the ahadeeth of the Prophet. (Jaami’ Bayaan-ul-‘Ilm; Fath-ul-Baari)

The Script of Abdullaahi ibn Amr

Mujahid, his student, said

I went to Abdullaah ibn Amr and took in hand a script placed beneath his cushion. He stopped me. I said, You never save anything from me. He replied:

This is the Saadiqah (the Script of Truth). It is what I heard from the Prophet. No other narrator intervenes between him and myself. If this script, the Book of Allaah, and wahaz (his agricultural land) are secured for me, I would never care about the rest of the world. (Jaami’ Bayaan-ul-‘Ilm)

The Script of Anas

Sa’eed ibn Hilal, one of his students, says:

When we insisted upon Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) he would bring to us some notebooks and say, These are what I have heard and written from the Prophet, after which I have presented them to the Prophet for confirmation. (Mustadrik Haakim)

The Script of Alee

Alee said:

I have not written anything from the Prophet except the Qur’aan and what is contained in this script. (Saheeh Bukhaaree- Book of Jihaad)

Ibn Sa'd reports that Alee stood in the mosque and delivered a lecture then he asked the people:

Who will purchase ‘knowledge’ for one dirham only?

meaning, who wants to learn ahadeeth should buy writing paper for one dirham and come to him for dictation.


It is reported that Haarith al-A’war bought some paper and came to him:

So, Alee wrote for him a lot of knowledge. (Tabaqaat Ibn Sa’d)

Scripts of Jaabir

Qataadah, one of Jaabir’s students, says,

I remember the script of Jaabir more than I remember Surah al-Baqarah (Qur’aan). (Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb)

Scripts of Ibn Abbaas

Musa ibn Uqbah says:

Kuraib left with us a camel load of Ibn Abbaas’s books. When Alee ibn Abdullaah ibn Abbaas would need any book from them, he wrote to Kuraib, ‘Send to me such and such books.’ He would then transcribe the book and send to him one of the two copies. (Tabaqaat Ibn Sa’d)

The pupils of Ibn Abbaas would copy these scripts and read them over to him to confirm the correctness of the copies. (Tirmidhi)

Sometimes Ibn Abbaas would narrate the ahadeeth to his pupils while they would record them. (Daarimi)

The compilations of the First Century:

1. Book of Khalid ibn Ma’dan (d. 104)
2. Books of Abu Qilabah (d. 104). He bequeathed his books to his pupil, Ayyub Saktiyan (68-131 A.H.), who paid more than ten dirhams as a fare for them being loaded on a camel.
3. The script of Hammam ibn Munabbih,
4. Books of Hasan al-Basri (21-110 A.H.)
5. Books of Muhammad al-Baqir (56-114 A.H.)
6. Books of Makhul from Syria
7. Book of Hakam ibn ‘Utaibah
8. Book of Bukair ibn Abdullaah ibn al-Ashajj (d. 117)
9. Book of Qais ibn Sa’d (d. 117). This book later belonged to Hammad ibn Salamah.
10. Book of Sulaiman al-Yashkuri
11. Al-Abwaab of Sha’bi,
12. Books of Ibn Shihaab az-Zuhri
13. Book of Abul-Aliyah
14. Book of Sa’id ibn Jubair (d. 95)
15. Books of Umar ibn ‘Abdul Aziz (61-101 A.H.)
16. Books of Mujahid ibn Jabr (d. 103)
17. Book of Raja ibn Hywah (d. 112)
18. Book of Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Haq
19. Book of Bashir ibn Nahik.

The compilations of the second century (note that only the prominent ones are listed due length) :

1. Book of Abdul Malik ibn Juraij (d. 150)
2. Muwatta of Maalik ibn Anas (93-179)
3. Muwatta of Ibn Abi Zi’b (80-158)
4. Maghaazi of Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151)
5. Musnad of Rabi’ ibn Sabih (d. 160)
6. Book of Sa’id ibn Abi ‘Arubah (d. 156)
7. Book of Hammad ibn Salmah (d. 167)
8. Jami’ Sufyan ath-Thauri (97-161)
9. Jami’ Ma’mar ibn Rashid (95-153)
10. Book of ‘Abdur-Rahman al-Awzaa’I (88-157)
11. Kitaab az-Zuhd by Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak (118-181)
12. Book of Hushaim ibn Bashir (104-183)
13. Book of Jarir ibn ‘Abdul-Hamid (110-188)
14. Book of Abdullaah ibn Wahb (125-197)
15. Book of Yahya ibn Abi Kathîr (d. 129)
16. Book of Muhammad ibn Suqah (d. 135)
17. Tafsîr of Zaid ibn Aslam (d. 136)
18. Book of Musa ibn ‘Uqbah (d. 141)
19. Book of Ash’ath ibn ‘Abdul-Malik (d. 142)
20. Book of Aqil ibn Khalid (d. 142)
21. Book of Yahya ibn Sa’id Ansari (d. 143)
22. Book of Awf ibn Abi Jamilah (d. 146)
23. Books of Jafar ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq (d. 148)
24. Books of Yunus ibn Yazid (d. 152)
25. Book of ‘Abdur-Rahman al-Mas’udi (d. 160)
26. Books of Zaidah ibn Qudamah (d. 161)
27. Books of Ibrahim al-Tahman (d. 163)
28. Books of Abu Hamzah al-Sukri (d. 167)
29. Al-Gharaaib by Shu’bah ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 160)
30. Books of Abdul-Aziz ibn ‘Abdullaah al-Majishun (d. 164)
31. Books of Abdullaah ibn ‘Abdullaah ibn Abi Uwais (d. 169)
32. Books of Sulaiman ibn Bilal (d. 172)
33. Books of Abdullaah ibn Lahi’ah (d. 147)
34. Jami’ Sufyan ibn ‘Uyainah (d. 198)
35. Kitaab-ul-AAthaar by Imaam Abu Haneefah (d. 150)
36. Maghaazi of Mu’tamir ibn Sulaiman (d. 187)
37. Musannaf of Waki’ ibn Jarrah (d. 196)
38. Musannaf of Abdur-Razzaaq ibn Hammam (136-221)
39. Musnad of Zaid ibn Alee (76-122)
40. Books of Imaam Shaafi’i (150-204)

The following are available today in printed form:

1. Al-Muwatta by Imaam Maalik.
2. Kitaab-ul-AAthaar by Imaam Abu Haneefah.
3. Musannaf by ‘Abdur-Razzaaq. This book has been published in eleven big volumes.
4. As-Seerah by Muhammad ibn Ishaq.
5. Kitaab az-Zuhd by ‘Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak.
6. Kitaab az-Zuhd by Waki’ ibn Jarraah (3 volumes).
7. Al-Musnad by Zaid ibn Alee (76-122).
8. Sunan of Imaam Shaafi’i.
9. Musnad of Shaafi’i.
10. Siyar of Awzaa’i (88-157).
11. Musnad of ‘Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak.
12. Musnad of Abu Daawood Tayalisi (d. 204).
13. Ar-Radd ‘ala Siyaril-Awzaa’i by Imaam Abu Yoosuf.
14. Al-Hujjah ‘ala Ahlil-Madeenah by Imaam Muhammad ibn Hasan Shaibaani.
15. Kitaabul-Umm by Imaam Shaafi’i.
16. Al-Maghaazi by Waqidi (130-206) (4 volumes).

Myth #2 Al-Hikmaah is an attribute of the Glorious Qur’aan

The Quraniyyah (Quran-alone group) argue that Al-Hikmaah mentioned in the Glorious Qur’aan refers to the Glorious Qur’aan instead of the Sunnah. They claim that it means mere 'Wisdom' and leave it at that.

In the linguistic sense, The term hikmaah means 'wisdom', 'aphorism', 'maxim', or 'gnome'. it is derived from the root h-k-m (haakaama) which means 'to rule or issue a judgement' and thus in the Shariah terminology, it refers to the Sunnah depending on the context.

The definition is eloquently explained by Imaam Shaaf’ee (may Allaah have mercy on him) who comments on the ayaat regarding the Kitaab (Qur’aan) and the Hikmaah (Sunnah):

Allaah (Exalted is He) mentioned the Kitaab, and that is the Qur'aan; He also mentioned Hikmaah. I have heard those whose opinion I trust among the people of knowledge of the Qur'aan say that Hikmaah means the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). This supports what Allaah (Exalted is He) said - and Allaah knows best - because the Qur'aan is a reminder (dhikr) and hikmaah follows it, and Allaah mentioned that He lavished favour on His creatures by teaching them the Kitaab and Hikmaah. It is therefore impermissible - and Allaah knows best - to say that Hikmaah here is anything other than the Sunnah of Allaah's Messenger (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). That is because it is coupled (maqruna) with the Kitaab, and that Allaah has made obedience to His Prophet a strict obligation, imposing upon people the absolute duty to follow his commands. Thus it is not permissible to say about anything that it is a strict obligation (fard) except about Allaah's Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) due to what we just said, namely, that Allaah has coupled belief in His Messenger with belief in Him. (al-Risala (p. 78))

Allaah (Exalted is He) mentions the Hikmaah in several ayaat:

Allaah has surely blessed the believers with His favor when He raised in their midst a Messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His verses and makes them pure and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, while they were, earlier in open error. (Soorah Al-Baqaraa:164)

He (Allaah) is the One who raised up, among the unlettered, a Messenger from among themselves who recites the verses of Allaah, and makes them pure, and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom. (Soorah al-Joomooa:2)

Here Hikmaah is followed straight after the mentioning of Kitaab (Book). According to the Quraniyyah, it should read as:

He (Allaah) is the One who raised up, among the unlettered, a Messenger from among themselves who recites the verses of Allaah, and makes them pure, and teaches them the Book (Qur'aan) and the Wisdom (Qur'aan) (Soorah al-Joomooa:2)

This is grammatically incorrect since according to the Qur'aanic principle of mooghayaraa (differentiation), coupled words do not mean the same thing and indeed the Glorious Qur’aan is far above such mistakes.

Allaah (Exalted is He) says:

Do they not then consider the Qur'aan carefully? Had it been from other than Allaah, they would surely have found therein much contradiction. (Soorah An Nisaa: 82)

Myth #3 The Glorious Qur’aan does not need any explanation; it is complete.

The Quraniyyah group often introduce this claim to establish that the Glorious Qur’aan does not need any expounding based on a couple of ayaat. They seemingly twist the tafseer of these ayaat and introduce their distorted interpretation.

The revelation (wahy) is one, meaning that they come from same source, but are distinguished between the unrecited wahy (ghayr matluww) which is the Sunnah and the recited wahy (wahy matluww) which is the Glorious Qur’aan.

Allaah (Exalted is He) says:

He does not speak from his desires, Verily it is inspiration (unrecited revelation) which has been revealed. (Soorah an-Najm:3-4)

Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allaah have mercy on him) mentions in his treatise:

And the Sunnah with us are the aathaar (narrations) of the Messenger of Allaah (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Sunnah explains and clarifies the Qur’aan. It is the guide to the Qur’aan [containing evidences and indications as to its meanings and correct interpretations.]

Hassaan ibn Atiyyah said,

Jibreel used to descend upon the Messenger of Allaah with the Sunnah just as he used to descend with the Qur’aan.
Reported in Ash-Sharh wal-Ibaanah of Ibn Battah, p. and Majmoo’ul-Fataawaa of Shaikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, 3/366.

Ibn Katheer said,

The Sunnah is decisive over the Book of Allaah.

Reported in ad-Daarimee, 1/144 and Ash-Sharh wal-lbaanah of Ibn Battah

Al-Suyuti says that

if one seeks the Quraan, he shall seek 'sunnah' because it is the commentary of the Quraan and its explanation

Daarimi says

that the sunnah is a Judge upon the Qur'aan and not the Qur'aan upon Sunnah. (Musnad Daarimi)

Imaam Ghazzaali says:

Allaah does not have two words, one in the Quraanic style which we are bidden to recite publicly, and called the Qur'aan, while the other word is not Qur'aan. Allaah has but one word which differs only in the mode of its expression. On occasions Allaah indicates His word by the Qur'aan; on others, by words in another style, not publicly recited (Sunnah), and called it the Sunnah. Both are mediated by the Prophet. (Mustasfa 1.125)

Ibn Khaldun explains:

The basis of all the traditional sciences is the legal material of the Qur'aan and the sunnah of the Prophet, which is the Shariah given us by Allaah and His Messenger, as well as the sciences connected with that material, by means of which we are enabled to use it. This, further, requires as auxiliary sciences the sciences of the Arabic language [that is, grammar, rhetoric, lexicography, etc.]. Arabic is the language of Islaam and the Qur'an was revealed in it.

The different kinds of traditional sciences are numerous, because it is the duty of the responsible Muslim to know the legal obligations Allaah placed upon him and upon his fellow men. The are derived from the Qur'aan and the sunnah of the Prophet, either from the text itself or through general consensus, or a combination of the two. Thus he must first study the explicit wordingof the Quran. This is the science of Qur'aan interpretation. Then he must study the Quran, both with reference to the manner in which it has been transmitted and related on the authority of the Prophet who brought it from Allaah, and with reference to the differences in the readings of the Quran readers. This is the science of Quranic "reading."
Muqaddimah

Without the unrecited wahy (sunnah), some of the provisions of the Shariah would have been left untouched or subjected to everyone’s opinion irrespective of their knowledge. To name an example: the command to establish the second pillar which is the salaah.

Allaah (Exalted is He) has ordered more than 73 times to observe it and yet the explanation is nowhere mentioned in the Glorious Qur’aan. Hence, through the sunnah of the Prophet, we learn the exact way of observing the salaah.

Ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) summed up the different aspects of explanations:

The explanation of the Qur'aan has four aspects to it. The first aspect comprises what is known by the Arabs by virtue of their language. When it is recited to the Arabs, they understand it. Then there are the explanations that no one is excused for not knowing. This includes the explanation of the verses related to Islamic legal injunctions and beliefs that people need to know. Then there are the explanations that are known only to scholars. These are subtle meanings that most people do not grasp. Then there are matters whose explanation is known only to Allaah. These are the four aspects of the explanation of the Qur’aan

Tafseer at-Tabaree

Thus, the Sunnah is an exposition of the Glorious Qur'aan by which its generalities are clarified and its intended meaning specified.



Myth #4 The ahadeeth is not protected.

Another popular belief among the Quraniyyah and the ignorant Muslims is the myth that the ahadeeth are not protected.

They cite the ayah in Soorah al-Hijr as proof. A clear examination of the ayah proves that Allaah (Exalted is He) has promised to protect His religion which includes the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. The ayah is:

Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).(Sooraah al-Hijr:9)

Al-Dhikr mentioned in the ayah has numerous meanings in the Glorious Qur’aan, it is sometimes for the Glorious Qur'aan as in

And this is a blessed Reminder (al-dhikr), which We have sent down: will you then (dare to) deny it? (Sooraah al-Anbiyaah:50)

And sometimes it is used for Sunnah, as in,

With clear signs and Books (We sent the Messengers). And We have also sent down unto you the Dhikr, that you may tubayyina (explain clearly) to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought. (Soorah An-Nahl:44)

Ibn Hazm (May Allaah have mercy on him) said in his book ‘al-Ihkaam that

al-dhikr is a name that comprises all that Allaah revealed to His Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) be it the Qur'aan or the Sunnah. The Sunnah is also a revelation that explains the Qur'aan

Myth #5 Some authentic ahadeeth contradict the Glorious Qur’aan

Many Quraniyyah shift through the two saheeh volumes and assert that some ahadeeth contradict the Glorious Qur’aan. This reveals their lack of acquaintance with the ahadeeth sciences (Usool al-Hadeeth). They do not question that their interpretation might be erroneous and instead of looking at the commentaries of these ahadeeth, they brush them as ‘contradictory’ and thus ‘false’.

There are some apparent contradictions between narrations but that is because the sahabas narrated according to their own understanding of things that they have witnessed. A good example is the ahadeeth regarding Hajj (Pilgrimage). One of the narrators reported that the Prophet made an ifrad hajj because he heard the Prophet saying "I have presented myself in Your service to perform the Hajj". Others have narrated that the Prophet performed a qiran hajj. At the first glance, it seems contradictory since the qiran hajj is very different from the ifrad hajj, but in fact there are no contradictions between the narrations, since it is permissible for one performing qiran hajj to also say "I have presented myself in Your service to perform the Hajj"

Such apparant contradictions can cause confusions and hence why Allaah (Exalted is He) said in the Glorious Qur'aan to refer to ahl-quraan and the ahl-ahadeeth (ahl al-dhikr):

then ask those who possess the Message (Ahl al-Dhikr) if you do not know. (Soorah Al-Anbiya:7)

The general public cannot identify whether the hadeeth is said in a general context or particular matter, or that it is absolute or restricted or that it is abrogating is abrogated. Only the scholars (May Allaah have mercy on them) know these matters and can distinguish which is which, contrary to the ignorant Muslims who spend all their time declaring ahadeeth that opposess their intellect as contradictory.


Conclusion

Even though I have not covered the major aspects of the Sunnah, some of the misconceptions addressed are often repeated by many Muslims who are deceived by the Quraniyyah websites.

One of the main reason that many Muslims reject the second source is because it conveys the huddud punishments such as stoning and flogging so they reject to suit the desires of their masters (the enemies of Islaam).

They are ashamed that they might be called 'backwards' by their peers so they try to misinterpret the Glorious Qur'aan and the Sunnah.

Allaah (Exalted is He) addresses this:

Indeed, We have brought the Truth to you but most of them have a hatred for the Truth (al-Zukhruf:78)

And remember the words of the Prophet:

Fa-tooba lil-ghurabaa (tooba (a tree in Paradise) is for the Strangers)

Praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds.


[SOURCE]

[- Qatada -]

It's ok bro vpb the claims been mentioned many, many times before alhamdulillah (the praise is for Allaah.) And because we're upon the truth - we got no reason to worry since it's all been refuted many many times aswell alhamdulillah.

By the way borboski - give your friend, our muslim brother the greeting of Salaam (peace) on our behalf.



Regards.

[Umar001]

Howdy on a personal note I when I had become Muslim I had also time of confusion regarding this act. What I will say is that the author you claim to be a serious academic, might be that, but his language is indicative of bias, for example:

And how many Muslims know that Uthman, some years after Mohammed's death, not only arranged the standard Arabic edition of the Koran, declaring many rival texts apocryphal,

What is meant here by rival text? Where in reality there was no rival text in the sense of mistakes or additions or omissions as a student of Religious text would think by such writings, rather there was no rival writings where one would say 'This is what the prophet said' and the other would say 'No this is what he said' this was not the case!

but "ordered that all earlier and rival editions be destroyed"? How convenient!

What he fails again to mention is how they were destroyed and what relevance is brought about by it, i.e. how does the means of its destorying narrate to us the attitude of the ones destroying them.

Most anti islam websites gloat 'Uthman BURNT the Qu'rans' whilst in reality this is the strongest proof that the Qu'rans were true and held to be good, because as one who is familiar with islamic rulings he knows that the way to get rid of a Qu'ran is to burn it amongst a couple of other methods! So this shows us that Uthman if he did order the burning then did so because he thought those were good Qu'rans. Why did he order it? This then entails a study into the reason behind the act itself of standardising it.

Bukhari, who scrupulously collected 300,000 attestations several centuries after Mohammed's death,

What he again does not make clear is that Bukhari didnt just randamly get them, rather the Hadith were in books and writings way before Bukhari and were known!! Bukhari as he says collected or compiled these in one book.

culled all but 10,000 of the most credible of these,

What he doesnt tell you is that there two parts to a hadith, the isnaad, i.e. the chain of narrators, and the matn, i.e. the text saying what the Prophet said or did. Now if theres a matn which is the same and the isnaad is different, i.e. the Matn says 'The prophet done x' and there are multiple isnaads, then thisis not ONE hadith rather for each isnaad and matn its one hadith, so it is possible to compile all the different matns, text, without the need to compile all the chains of men, i.e. to save space and so forth, so if I said I have left a hadith out, it would mean I have left a hadith with the SAME text but different ISNAAD!!

some of which are quite evidently borrowings from the Torah and the Gospels, ancient Persian maxims, and the like.

The above is just assumption!

[borboski]

Crikey. I think I commented on this before - you guys on this forum reallly make it difficult! I found before that every post consists of about 70 lines of cut and paste text. But first, let me say - thankyou for the answer.

Having read your responses (and I wouldn't claim to be an expert) I'd draw these conclusions, which I think are fair.

1. Presumably the bottom line is that we simply do not know who wrote the Quran. Anyone that claims to know that Quran is ALL directly quoted from Mohammed is telling a lie.
2. If Mohammed was unable to read or write, I find it very hard to believe that there was not different accounts of what he had said. Have you ever taken notes from a meeting and compared them? The likelihood of Mohammed's followers all getting the absolute "word-for-word" quotes, is just incredibly minimal.
3. I haven't read the Koran yet, but I bet that there is content that contradicts itself. For example, a very simple (and not very important one) is that the Koran is the literal word of God, but there are parts that are written in 3rd person, right?
4. I think Dennett when says "rival text", he literally means just that. Can anyone link to substantial historical sources and not just hagiography - and not just wiki?
5. Al Habeshi - what do you mean when you say that if Uthman burnt different Korans, this must have been because they were really good and true?

Just a few thoughts, cheers!

[- Qatada -]

Crikey. I think I commented on this before - you guys on this forum reallly make it difficult! I found before that every post consists of about 70 lines of cut and paste text. But first, let me say - thankyou for the answer.

Thanks for reading through it.

Having read your responses (and I wouldn't claim to be an expert) I'd draw these conclusions, which I think are fair.

1. Presumably the bottom line is that we simply do not know who wrote the Quran. Anyone that claims to know that Quran is ALL directly quoted from Mohammed is telling a lie.

Remember that throwing false accusations as much as possible won't strengthen your opinion at all, you need proof to prove your claim.

2. If Mohammed was unable to read or write, I find it very hard to believe that there was not different accounts of what he had said. Have you ever taken notes from a meeting and compared them? The likelihood of Mohammed's followers all getting the absolute "word-for-word" quotes, is just incredibly minimal.

Yet it happened, if you've studied the Qur'an in arabic, or heard its recitation - you will understand why.

I'll give you a headstart:

http://sabbir.com/DownloadHalal.html [arabic and english verse by verse]
http://quran.jalisi.com [arabic only]

3. I haven't read the Koran yet, but I bet that there is content that contradicts itself.

The praise is for Allaah that this isn't the case, and anyone who has tried to find any contradictions - they've all been refuted.


Infact, i'll let you check all the false claims and the clear refutations given so you don't have to bother visiting anti-islamic sites:

http://www.islamicboard.com/refutati...ons-quran.html

For example, a very simple (and not very important one) is that the Koran is the literal word of God, but there are parts that are written in 3rd person, right?

I think you don't understand the eloquence of the arabic language, or even the english language. The Queen of England has referred to herself as 'we' many times. Now the question is, is she many people in one? Or is she simply using eloquence? Think about it.

4. I think Dennett when says "rival text", he literally means just that. Can anyone link to substantial historical sources and not just hagiography - and not just wiki?

I think it would be more relevant if you could actually bring forth evidence for those claims since you're bringing forward the argument.

Just a few thoughts, cheers!

No worries.



Peace.

[borboski]

No no, I wasn't "bringing forth" the argument.

When I said anyone who claims to "know" that the Koran is the literal word of God simply cannot be telling the truth I wasn't arguing that it isn't - I was saying that person making the claim cannot be trusted. They may believe it to be so, because they have been told, or have a gut feeling, but they cannot claim to know the mind of God.

Cheers.

[Umar001]

Crikey. I think I commented on this before - you guys on this forum reallly make it difficult! I found before that every post consists of about 70 lines of cut and paste text. But first, let me say - thankyou for the answer.

I havent cut and pasted once from any book that I recall. And although it can be tiring the search for answers is not always easy.

Having read your responses (and I wouldn't claim to be an expert) I'd draw these conclusions, which I think are fair.

1. Presumably the bottom line is that we simply do not know who wrote the Quran. Anyone that claims to know that Quran is ALL directly quoted from Mohammed is telling a lie.

It depends on what sort of evidence you are looking for, if you are looking for a video camera, then I cant give you that, if however you are looking for a rational logical view that is what I claim to bring.

2. If Mohammed was unable to read or write, I find it very hard to believe that there was not different accounts of what he had said. Have you ever taken notes from a meeting and compared them? The likelihood of Mohammed's followers all getting the absolute "word-for-word" quotes, is just incredibly minimal.

I have never been to a meeting where I am dictated to, made to read back, and checked up, and then have someone else go through the same thing and then see if our notes are the same.

I think it would be very accurate, add to that the fact that the scribes believe this to be the Word of God. It is beyond belief that a mistake would occour given all the circumstances.

3. I haven't read the Koran yet, but I bet that there is content that contradicts itself. For example, a very simple (and not very important one) is that the Koran is the literal word of God, but there are parts that are written in 3rd person, right?

I wonder why you bet that, not very humble, as for the not very important one, first, this is an Arabic Linguistic matter, and secondly, has anyone ever spoke in third person in front of you, its happend to me even in english.

4. I think Dennett when says "rival text", he literally means just that. Can anyone link to substantial historical sources and not just hagiography - and not just wiki?

If Dennet meant it then he meant it, does not make a difference unless one can show why and their proof can be seen, dont you think?

What is hagiography?

5. Al Habeshi - what do you mean when you say that if Uthman burnt different Korans, this must have been because they were really good and true?

What I mean is that non Muslims, not all but some, to some extend associate burning things in the olden days with something blasphemous, burning of the witches one example, so when non Muslims, not all but some, see Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, burnt Qur'ans they think 'Oh my' already having a preconditioning that this indicates the item being burnt as blasphemous, whilst in reality according to Islam, burning is one of the ways a person is supposed to dispose of a Qur'an, and what an easier way to dispose of loads of Qur'ans, sure aint gonna bury them all, or make their inks run, the easiest would be to just burn them.

Regards,

Essa

[barney]

[INDENT]Was Qur'an Changed by Uthman?




1. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself supervised and authenticated the written texts of the Qur’an

Whenever the Prophet received a revelation, he would first memorize it himself and later declare the revelation and instruct his Companions (R.A. – Radhi Allahu Taala Anhu) – May Allah be pleased with him who would also memorize it. The Prophet would immediately ask the scribes to write down the revelation he had received, and he would reconfirm and recheck it himself. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was an Ummi who could not read and write. Therefore, after receiving each revelation, he would repeat it to his Companions. They would write down the revelation, and he would recheck by asking them to read what they had written. If there was any mistake, the Prophet would immediately point it out and have it corrected and rechecked. Similarly he would even recheck and authenticate the portions of the Qur’an memorized by the Companions. In this way, the complete Qur’an was written down under the personal supervision of the prophet (pbuh).
]

How do we know he did this? Did a companion describe it?

[- Qatada -]

How do we know he did this? Did a companion describe it?

Try doing a search on the famous companion Zayd ibn Thaabit.


here's a link in advance:
http://www.islamicboard.com/companio...bn-thabit.html



Regards.