# How did the earlier recitation and other readings get mixed up with the Quran?

*How the earlier readings survived and mixed in: the companions' archive, al-Shafi'i's two kinds of knowledge, similar passages, tafsir synonyms and fabrication*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/f2bcgwatu5g/s/7/
- Date: 2020-06-19 · Kind: discussion · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Dr. Shehzad Saleem | the Preservation of the Quran & the Problem of Qira'at | MindTrap with Mufti#26 (28:54–36:47)
- Status: a view quoted in order to be discussed, not a position held
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2BcGWatU5g&t=1734s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/f2bcgwatu5g/

**Topics:** Preservation and variant readings; Hadith collections and their history; Guest conversations

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The guest names four sources of the variant readings: remnants of the earlier revelatory sequence kept by the companions and later blurred with the Quran under al-Shafi'i's scholarly transmission, the mixing of similar passages, companions' explanatory synonyms taken as readings, and fabrication in the second and third centuries.

## Longer summary

The guest says some companions insisted on preserving the parts of the earlier recitation they had heard as an archival, prized possession, clear that it was not part of the Quran; but among their students' students the distinction blurred and these remnants came to be thought of as Quran, producing a number of readings. Al-Shafi'i's Risalah then held it incumbent on scholars to preserve not only the knowledge meant for everyone, ilm al-'amma, but also the specialists' knowledge, ilm al-khassa, transmitted by single reports, so a dual transmission arose in which the masses carried the original Quran while scholars preserved the revelatory remnants, and reports that the Prophet read a verse 'like this as well' lost the knowledge that it was a companion's explanation or the earlier sequence. A further source is the Quran's many similar passages, which a hafiz without a very sharp memory tends to mix up; he has traced in his book how readings ascribed to Nafi', Hafs, Asim and others result from intermingling two similar verses, as with the phrase about Allah being al-ghaniyy al-hamid with or without 'huwa'. Mufti Abu Layth recaps for viewers, and asks why nobody followed the verse of al-Qiyamah; the guest answers that traditional scholars interpreted it, following a report from Ibn Abbas, to mean that the Quran would be collected in the Prophet's heart. Mufti confirms that on this view the order of the Quran is tawqifi, divinely set, with pronoun changes coming by revelation. The guest adds a third source, tafsir readings: companions teaching the Quran would explain a word with a synonym, which their students took as an alternative reading; and a fourth, fabrication in the second and third centuries, just as hadith were concocted in large numbers. Mufti adds the manuscript example of a note reading 'do not say bismillah' at the head of Surah al-Tawba, clearly a scribe's note rather than revelation.

## Sources and names cited

- Dr Shehzad Saleem (guest)
- al-Shafi'i
- al-Risalah of al-Shafi'i
- ilm al-khassa (the specialists' knowledge)
- ilm al-'amma (knowledge meant for everyone)
- Nafi' al-Madani (the reciter)
- Hafs
- Asim ibn Abi al-Najud (the reciter)
- Quran 75:17 (upon Us is its collection and its recitation): https://quran.com/75/17
- Ibn Abbas
- tawqifi (divinely fixed order)
- tafsir readings (explanatory synonyms)
- fabrication (mawdu')

## Transcript (machine tier, 28:54–36:47)

[28:23] he actually sat for Ithaca for 20 days instead of the normal ten days and the Quran was revised between him and the prepend and Gabriel twice so that the new order of the Quran could be preserved and this happened every death on this revision of whatever would be revealed in that year happened in every Ramazan only in the last Ramadan the whole rearrangement or the whole complete order was preserved and that was passed on to the Ummah now what happened is that some of the Sahaba insisted that because of the fact that they've heard the previous Quran is well although some of the parts of that Quran so we would not give it up but we would

[29:02] like to have it preserved as as a as maybe an archival thing as a very prized possession that the from the profit and they were very clear on this that it has it is not part of the Koran it's just of historical importance but later on as things went down their students of their students this distinction got blurred and things started to mix up and the Quran which or the parts of that revelatory sequence which were just meant for maybe their record started to be thought of as they were the Quran themselves as they were Quran in itself and that hence we sought to see there a number of readings a

[29:40] number of recitations they resulted and then what happened was that in the times of suffering now iris Allah is one of the premier books of shaffer he he said that it is incumbent upon every Muslim scholar to accept watches reveal to ill will hosta so there is one piece coral will Armour which is meant for everyone and then there's this in world class service where he was referring to the Hadees that some of the the the knowledge of the Prophet which is being transferred for by the ahad or the body aha so they must also be preserved and scholars must must learn them and must have a very deep appreciation of that so this opinion of Shafi was also accepted

[30:20] and what happened was that we that phenomena of dual transmission came into being in which the original Quran was transmitted by the masses okay and at the scholars the scholarly people they started preserving that there will it be sequence and later on as that preservation went on the the distinction line between what was the real Quran and what was just the remnants of the revelatory sequence it got blurred and we find that the Sahaba saying or the Prophet read this was this like this as well without knowing that at times that these verses will actually be explained in Arabic by a Sahabi or at times they were of the previous

[31:00] sequence so this is one of the ways and then we have some other issues as well as for example there are similar passages of the Quran have any half is will tell you that there are so much similar passages in the Quran that if you if you are not a very sharp don't have a very short memory you tend to mix up similar verses I have traced that in my book as well have shown that how at tying similar fashion TSA's became Bunton mingled up and the readings which were ascribed to readers like for example knafeh or hops or Assam and the rest they were basically the result of intermingling of two similar passages in

[31:40] which one word was inserted for example the racism a very simple example would be we say that the Koran has in the llaha who was an EU Hemi so the same worse is present at another place which by the words in the law I love Anil Hamidah the hawai is not there so one there are several races with who are in their cellar certain other places without fry okay I dislike because of the this kind of the shabu motor shall be they are taking it across yeah right so just two so okay just to kind of keep the steps so people can also kind of keep up that first and foremost what

[32:19] we're saying or sorry what you're saying here is in the lifetime of the Prophet Allah Salim Quran was being revealed naturally in in whatever relevant order it was to the circumstances but as the verse of the Quran had taught a lottery taught the Prophet that look when the time comes we will give it its curve its absolute structure so in Elena Jamaa who were karana so we will and fight our inevitable karana so once we have laid out the sequence then follow it now the new sequence yeah thank you

[32:58] yeah FISA I know which means there when we read this a fresh sequence and abandon the previous one of course so at this one thing I would like to point out is that if this is so simple I mean anyone can ask that why didn't people follow this verse of the Quran the answer to that also is that inner Elena and Jamuna piranha was not interpreted the way thrice have interpreted it and they interpret this verse in a different way our traditional scholars and they actually rely on abdullah ali abbas is a sir in his hadees in which he has a different meaning of jhamora

[33:36] the word that he actually takes or he actually interprets is that the word JAMA means that the quran will be etched in the heart of the prophet so it will be collected in the heart of the Prophet and this is how they proceed so just giving you a pre-emptive arms no absolutely so what I was gonna say is that so and then what you're saying is at the end of the prophet's life in the final ramadan he repeats the entire quran this time twice over in the car in now the divine sequence so wick you're going with the understanding as well just to be clear that the sequence in the koran

[34:13] the 30 verse war is what the azulene called toe TV it is it is divinely set the Allah has set said this earlier prophet read this to the Muslims in his final year twice and and in this reading when it was read to him some some changes may have taken place in pronouns and things like this as not through the Prophet but through revelation so this was in contrast to the previous let's say pronoun differences part of the

[34:53] origin of what becomes the tara at complex later on so just to just to make sure ok so we've got that up to speed okay mm-hmm right now and part of what also has added to some of the Thira at differences with words are actually different may have been the table or the kind of over well overlapping are 20 and verses and i can i can i can point out to other sources as well so one of them is what we call the tuxedo kirara you see what happened was that the Sahaba would teach the Quran is well and they would place a synonym while explaining a

[35:29] Quranic word and what happened is that in many instances if you look up for example the Muslim network of near be Shiva or of the reserve you'll find out a Sahabi typically teaching someone and telling them that oh this word means this first hour means from though so what happens is that that the meaning that they would tell itself became a Quran and the the teaching of the Quran in which a sahabi was simply explaining as a Quranic word by replacing it with a synonym and that synonym actually became a Quranic words in itself because they thought that the Sahaba is telling us that oh you can

[36:09] read this verse like this as well however the sahabi never went that he just he was just explaining that this word means that so that is a third source and a food source which cannot be ruled out is concoction you see in the second or third century just as a Hadees were concocted they were fabricated in large numbers we know for various reasons so this concoction also cannot be ruled out and I think these are the four major sources which are result and just to add to you you know your third point like in the Salah palem says that you have the the manuscripts for example one thing that's been pointed out before in part of surah

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment f2BcGWatU5g/s/7. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/f2bcgwatu5g/s/7/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.