Preservation of Qur'an - Part 2

After the compilation of the Qur'an by Abu Bakr r.a., the companions, for a while, were not worried anymore about the preservation of the Qur'an. The ummah continued to flourish, and the caliphate expanded in more than 37 countries during the reign of Umar bin Khattab r.a. He was then succeeded by Uthman ibn Affan, one of the closest companions of the Prophet, as well as his son-in-law. Uthman r.a. played a vital role in the preservation of the Qur'an. 

In Preservation of Qur'an - Part 1 we had learnt that Abu Bakr r.a. had already compiled by now, all the verses and chapters of the Qur'an into a book. This happened within two years after the death of the Prophet. However, a little more than a decade after this, a disagreement arose over the recitation of the Qur'an. To know more about the cause of this disagreement, let us go back to the time of the Prophet when the Qur'an was being revealed and look at an incident recorded in the following narration. 

Narrated `Umar bin Khattab: I heard Hisham bin Hakim bin Hizam reciting Surat-al-Furqan during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and I listened to his recitation and noticed that he recited it in several ways which Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had not taught me. So I was on the point of attacking him in the prayer, but I waited till he finished his prayer, and then I seized him by the collar and said, "Who taught you this Surah which I have heard you reciting?" He replied, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) taught it to me." I said, "You are telling a lie; By Allah! Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) taught me (in a different way) this very Surah which I have heard you reciting." 

So I took him, leading him to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I heard this person reciting Surat-al-Furqan in a way that you did not teach me, and you have taught me Surat-al-Furqan." 

The Prophet said, "O Hisham, recite!" So he recited in the same way as I heard him recite it before. On that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "It was revealed to be recited in this way." Then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Recite, O `Umar!" So I recited it as he had taught me. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) then said, "It was revealed to be recited in this way." Allah's Apostle added, "The Qur'an has been revealed to be recited in several different ways, so recite of it that which is easier for you." [Sahih al-Bukhari 5041]

In due course of time, we shall also ponder over the differences that occurred in this recitation of Surat-al-Furqan, but before that, we shall look more into the later part wherein the Prophet said "The Qur'an has been revealed to be recited in several different ways, so recite of it that which is easier for you." What were these several different ways in which the Qur'an was revealed? And why was the Qur'an revealed in these different ways? 

The answer to this last question will simplify the matter. Narrated `Abdullah bin `Abbas: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Gabriel recited the Qur'an to me in one way. Then I requested him (to read it in another way), and continued asking him to recite it in other ways, and he recited it in several ways till he ultimately recited it in seven different ways." [Sahih al-Bukhari 4991]

These different ways of reciting the Qur'an were the varying dialects of the different Arab tribes. Not all of the Arab tribes spoke the exactly same Arabic. This difference can be understood by a simple analogy of the variation in the English language. Just as American English differs from British English, both in an accent as well as in words, similar was the case with the Arabic language spoken in different tribes of Arabia. This difference in dialect was very well understood by the Prophet when he presented his people with the recitation of the Qur'an in Arabic. The recitation was initially, only in the dialect of the Quraysh- the tribe to which the Prophet himself belonged. However, these recitations were meant to be recited not just by the Quraysh, but also by the people of other tribes. 

The early Muslim scholar Ibn Qutaybah (d. 276 AH) commented upon the same and said, "In order for the Muslims to read the Qur’an easily, the Prophet was commanded to teach the Qur’an in accordance with people’s dialects…and if everyone was to abandon their dialect and what they were accustomed to speaking as a child, as a youth and in their old age, this would have imposed great difficulty and hardship on them. Thus, Allah intended for them ease by allowing some flexibility in the language in the multiplicity of readings."

The companions of the Prophet eventually became well aware of these different readings. In addition to this, Arabic was their tongue and variation in the dialect and recitation did not hinder their understanding of the Qur'an. However, when talking about the time of the caliphate of Uthman bin Affan r.a. Islam had reached various parts outside Arabia and among people who did not speak Arabic. Different companions of the Prophet were sent to different regions and communities to spread the message of Islam and teach them the Qur'an. Muslims of these non Arab regions were not very familiar with the variations in the dialect. Generally, they were acquainted with the recitation they were taught and continued to read and recite the Qur'an in the same reading. 

The difference did not remain hidden for long. When the Muslims were at war with Armenia and Azerbaijan, their army comprised of Muslims from Iraq as well as the Muslims of As-Sham. These Muslims differed in their recitation of the Qur'an and the matter was immediately brought up before Uthman r.a. 

Uthman r.a. turned towards Zaid bin Thabit, the same companion who had collected the Qur'an during the time of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. Once again the first copy of the Qur'an was brought and Zaid r.a. was given the responsibility to write down the same text, however this time, strictly adhering to the Quraysh dialect. It was for this reason that three other companions, who had also memorized the Qur'an directly from the Prophet and were Quraysh, accompanied Zaid in this task. This was done with the command of Uthman r.a. Since Zaid bin Thabit was not a Quraysh, therefore if on any occasion his reading differed from the Quraysh dialect, the other three would immediately point it out. The following narration records this incident. 

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān came to ʿUthmān at the time when the people of Shām and the people of ʿIrāq were waging war to conquer Armenia and Azerbaijan. Hudhayfah was afraid of their (the people of Shām and Irāq) differences in the recitation of the Qur’an. 

He said to ʿUthmān, “O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Qur’an) as Jews and the Christians did before.” So ʿUthmān sent a message to Ḥafṣah 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.” Ḥafṣah sent it to ʿUthmān. 

Uthmān then ordered Zayd ibn Thābit, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr, Saʿīd ibn al-ʿĀṣ and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥārith ibn Hishām to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. ʿUthmān said to the three Qurayshī men, “In case you disagree with Zayd ibn Thābit on any point in the Qur’an, then write it in the dialect of Quraysh, the Qur’an was revealed in their tongue.” 

They did so, and when they had written many copies, ʿUthmān returned the original manuscripts to Ḥafṣah. ʿUthmān 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. [Sahih al-Bukhari 4987]

These were the series of events that led to the final Qur'anic text be standardized and distributed in order to avoid any further dispute concerning the book of Allah. This Qur'anic text over the next few years underwent further addition of diacritical marks, punctuations to pause, where to connect, which letters to emphasize more etc. These were done to help the non-Arabic readers and ease the Qur'an reading for them. Although, these measures widely solved the issue of differences in the ummah regarding the variation in readings, there are however other readings that are still preferred in some parts of the Muslim world. 

What are these variations in the reading of the Qur'an and what effect do they have on the overall message of the Qur'an? The study of variant readings and their origin alone constitutes a whole new branch of research in Islamic scholarship. that requires a separate addressal.  However, we shall discuss in a brief, simple and understandable approach for a non-Arabic audience to acquaint themselves with these variations.

Continue reading Preservation of Qur'an - Part 3