I want to discuss about the Changes in the Quran. It's time to present my information on the changes that have been made in the Quran. I often hear muslims say, the Bible is corrupted, we only beleive part of it, for a start ... the Quran affirms that the Bible is not corrupt, and secondly, there have been changes made to the Quran.
What i would like you to ask yourselves as you read this today is, If the Quran has been changed (which it has and i will show today) ... Then how can it be divine, miraculous or from Allah?
Even one error, grammatical, historical, geographical, archeological, scientific, prophetic error is enough to collapse an entire Holy Book/Religion ... Would you all agree on that? That if a particular book was written by God, it would have no errors inside of it and that if that book was written by God or inspired by God, would have no changes made to it what-so-ever. I hope you agree with this.
Lets start by looking at the following...
The Quran says that none of the revelations of Allah are forgotten (2:106), that none can alter the words of Allah (6:34), that none can change Allah's words (6:115; 10:64). Do you then believe the Bible has been changed?
Firstly ... Lots of muslims say to me, we beleive parts of the Bible because its Allah's word, but is has been corrupted by Jews/Christians. Well for one this is quite contrary because if the Bible Is or was the word of Allah, Islam is false ... because that shows that Allah could not protect his word and had to send down the 'final revelation to the 'seal of the prophets'. Its quite ridiculous.
Now ... Muslims will often claim, the Quran has remained unchanged for 14 centuries, and that there is a copy of the Quran in heaven with Allah and that muslims have an exact copy of what is in heaven. Well ... i hope and pray that this will change your mind and what you've been taught.
=================== Sura 53: 19 ====================
Sura 53 ayat 19 and 20 before the changes ...
Sura 53:19-20 "Have ye though upon al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?"
Four of the early biographers of Moahmmed agree that these verses were Originally followed by ...
"These are the exalted cranes (intermediaries) Whose intercession is to be hoped for."
Interpretation: Allah’s daughters were considered heavenly beings of intercessors. High altitude Numidian cranes were a metaphor for them. An alternate reading for "is to be hoped for" (turtaja) is "is accepted with approval" (turtada). (From Alfred Guillaume’s translation of Ibn Isaq’s The Life of Mohammed p.166.
Later, this passage was taken out and the following was put in its place:
"What! For you the male sex, And for him, the female? Behold, such would be Indeed a division Most unfair." (verses 53:21-22 today)
Interpretation: Those who believed in Allah’s three daughters were unfair toward Allah, since they all preferred sons yet said that Allah had only daughters.
So ... if the Quran has been changed ... why do you still beleive that it is the word of God? Is God weak that he cannot protect some ink and paper yet create the whole universe? Muslims are always saying Allah is all-knowing, so why has the Quran been changed?
What might be interesting to note is that al-lat, al-uzza and manat were pagan deities in pre-islamic Arabia, did you know that? They were the daughters of the moon god Allah. What are they're names doing in the Quran? :roll:
=============== Evidence Of These Verses ===============
Im going to now provide 4 sources of evidence from 4 of mohammeds biographers which show that these verses did exist and that they have now been changed ...
Al-Wahidi/Wakidi (died 207/823 A.D.) wrote Asbab al-Nozul. "On a certain day, the chief men of Mecca, assembled in a group beside the Kaaba, discussed as was their wont the affairs of the city; when Mahomet appeared and, seating himself by them in a friendly manner, began to recite in their hearing the 53 Sura…. ‘And see ye not Lat and Ozza, and Manat the third besides?’ When he had reached this verse, the devil suggested an expression of the thoughts which for many a day had possessed his soul; and put in to his mouth words of reconciliation and compromise, the revelation of which he had been longing for from God, namely; ‘These are the exalted Females, and verily their intercession is to be hoped for.’ The Coreish were surprised and delighted with this acknowledgement of their deities; and as Mahomet wound up the Sura with the closing words ‘Wherefore bow down before God, and serve him’ the whole assembly prostrated themselves with one accord on the ground and worshipped. … In the evening Gabriel visited him; and the prophet recited the Sura unto him. And Gabriel said, ‘What is this that thou has done? Thou has repeated before the people words that I never gave unto thee’. So Mahomet grieved sore, …"
Ibn Sa’ad/Sa’d (died 230/845 A.D.), was aware of al-Wahidi’s work, but he himself was a biographer who wrote a 15-volume Kitab al Tabaqat al Kabir.
Ibn Isaq/Ishaq (died 145/767 or 151/773 A.D.) was a Shafi’ite Sunni who later started his own short-lived school. He wrote Sirat Rasullallah (The Life of Allah’s Prophet). "[The emigrants] remained where they were [in Ethiopia] until they heard that the people of Mecca had accepted Islam and prostrated themselves. That was because the chapter of The star [Sura 53] had been sent down to Mohammed and the apostle recited it. Both Muslim and polytheist listened to it silently until he reached his words ‘Have you seen al-Lat and al-uzza?’ They gave ear to him attentively while the faithful believed [their prophet]. Some apostatized when they heard the ‘saj’ of the Satan and said, ‘By Allah we will serve them (the cranes) so that they may bring us near to Allah’. The Satan taught these two verses to every polytheist and their tongues took to them easily. This weighed heavily upon the apostle until Gabriel came to him and complained…." (He mentions the chain of transmission as Yazid bin Ziyad -> Mohammed bin Ishaq -> Salama -> Ibn Hamid -> ibn Isaq
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (died 923 A.D.) was a Shafi’ite Sunni who wrote a 38-volume Islamic History of the world until 915 A.D. He has been titled "the sheikh of commentators". He writes in volume 6 p.108-109, "When the messenger of God saw how his tribe turned their backs on him and was grieved to see them shunning the message he had brought to them from God, he longed in his soul that something would come to him from God which would reconcile him with his tribe…. And when he came to the words: ‘Have you thought upon al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?’ Satan cast on his tongue, because of his inner debates and what he desired to bring to his people, the words: ‘These are the high flying cranes; verily their intercession is accepted with approval [alternately: to be desired or hoped for].’ When the Quraysh heard this, they rejoiced and were happy and delighted at the way in which he spoke of their gods, and they listened to him, while the Muslims, having complete trust in their prophet in respect of the message which he brought from god, did not suspect him of error, illusion, or mistake. … Then [later] Gabriel came to the Messenger of God and said, ‘Mohammed, what have you done? You have recited to the people that which I did not bring to you from God, …’"
Later Muslim scholars who mention the Satanic verses are:
1. Abu Ma’shar from Chorassan (787-885 A.H.)
2. Ibn Abi Hatim
3. Ibn al-Mundhir
4. Ibn Hajar from Asqalaan (773-852 A.H)
5. Ibn Mardauyah
6. Musa ibn ‘Uqba
7. Zamakhshari’s famous commentary, on Sura 22:52. (1070-1143 A.D.)
At one time Mohammed compromised and said concerning the daughters of Allah in Sura 53:19 that "their intercession was to be hoped for." In other words, Mohammed said we should hope for the help of these three idols. Mohammed’s followers were amazed that he said this. Mohammed later changed and said Satan had deceived him. These verses were abrogated or taken out.
It is interesting to read how Allah could have what are called "abrogated verses" in Suras 13:39; 16:101; 2:106
Question: Dear muslim brothers and sisters ... If it was said by mohammed that Satan whispered these verses into the Quran and they were later taken out ... What hope do you have? If Satan can change the Quran and Allah could not save his word, what hope do you have? What hope do you have that Allah exists?
Sura 22:52: "Never did We send An apostle or a prophet Before thee, but, when he Framed a desire, Satan Threw some (vanity) Into his desire: but God Will cancel anything (vain) That Satan throws in, And God will confirm (And establish) His Signs;…"
On the Other Hand…
The meaning of the new verses is that the people being "unfair", for saying that Allah only had less-desirable daughters (and no sons), when they had sons. Remember, this is supposed to be a timeless book, written on tablets in Heaven.
I know people are not going to accept that there have been changes made in the Quran ... well ... anybody care to comment about the following....
Hajjaj bin Yusuf, governor of Iraq from 694-714 AD, who "was proud of inserting more than 1,000 alifs [first letter of the Arabic alphabet] in the Koranic text".
Professor Allen Jones, lecturer in Koranic Studies at Oxford University, agrees.
"Hajjaj is also responsible for putting the diacritical marks in the Koran. His changes are a defining moment in the history of the Koran".
After Hajjaj's changes in around the 700s, "the Koranic text became pretty stable", he says.
Extract taken from a guardian.co.uk news article link. Any muslim care to comment on why 1,000 alifs were added into the Quran? Hmmmm? Any historical refutations people can provide me with to show changes have not been made to the Quran?
=============== More Changes In The Quran =============
Lets look at some changes folks that have taken place after Mohammed...
There was no organized manuscript of the Quran prior to Muhammad's death (Bukhari 6:509). Shortly after his death, it was noticed that some of the people who had memorized parts of the Quran were being killed in battle. Some verses did not survive as the people who remembered them died or verses were otherwise lost (Bukhari 4:62, 6:509-11, 527, 550, 552).
So wait a minute ... Allah was unable to protect those who remembered parts of the Quran, and because they were killed, parts of the Quran were lost this way? Wait wait wait, Surely if Allah is God he would be able to protect these people wouldn't have he? Why were these verses lost? Is Allah that weak that he cannot protect his word?
Bukhari 6:509 says that when certain people died, parts of the Qur'an known only to them were lost. Other Bukhari Hadiths saying parts of the Qur'an were missing and/or abrogated are 4:57,62, 69,229; 6:510,511.
Abu Harb b. Abu al-Aswad reported on the authority of his father that Abu Musa al-Ash'ari said: "…We used to recite a Sura which resembled in length and severity to (Sura) Bara'at. I have, however, forgotten it with the exception of this which I remember out of it: ‘If there were two valleys full of riches for the son of Adam, he would long for a third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son of Adam but dust.’ And we used to so recite a Sura which resembled one of the suras of Musabbihat, and I have forgotten it, but remember (this much) out of it: 'O people who believe, why do you say that which you do not practice' (lxi 2.) and 'that is recorded in your necks as a witness (against you) and you would be asked about in on the Day of Resurrection'" (xvii. 13). (Sahih Muslim, p500,501)
Since there were various versions of the Qur'an, some with two more Suras than other versions, the Caliph Uthman ordered everyone to turn in their Qur'an, and he would issue a "standardized" version.
See Sahih Muslim, Vol. 2, p. 500, #2286, where it is maintained that 2 Surahs were forgotten, and which the commentator assures us were ‘abrogated’.
Most Muslims believe the Qur'an is an exact copy of tablets of the Qur'an in Heaven. However, consider the following six points.
1. It is strange that even the "temporary verses in the Qur'an" that Muslims agree Mohammed said were abrogated, are stored for all time in Heaven. They are still in the Qur'an today..
2. Many Muslims are not aware that the Hadiths record an extra Sura that is not in the Qur'an today. Muslim apologists claim this too was abrogated, but it is not in today's Qur'an.
3. In Bukhari Hadith 6:509 some parts of the Qur'an were said to be lost (not abrogated).
4. Ubai's early copies of the Qur'an did not contain two Suras that are in the Qur'an today.
5. Satan always throws something in with a prophet's words according to Sura 22:52, but God has to cancel it out. This might be an explanation for why four different Muslim historical sources report that Sura 53:19-20 originally said the intercession (help) of four idol goddesses was to be hoped for.
6. Uthman also made changes to standardize the Qur'an, but that is the topic of the next peice of information.
Ubayy b. Kab was a Medinian Muslim who was Muhammad's secretary, and
was considered by some to be more prominent than Mas'ud in Qur'anic
understanding during Muhammad's lifetime. Ubayy's codex had two extra
suras. He destroyed his codex after the Uthmanic codex.
Abu Musa (d. 662), a Yemenite, served as governor of Basra under Umar.
His codex was large and contained the two extra suras of Ubayy's
codex, and other verses not found in the other codices
( See Arthur Jeffery).
In fact, the differences among these 4 codices were not merely
diacritical signs, but also the consonants, whole passagess,
and even suras.
>From Arthur Jeffery, we are told that Mas'ud's codex was different
from Uthman's codex in :
1) did not contain Fatiha (sura 1), nor suras 113 and 114.
2) contained different vowels within the same consonantal text.
Note: the standard Muslim reply is that the dialects are
different, and so, Zaid's compilation became the authorized
version because it is of the Quraysh dialect. There are 2
problems with this: (a) linguists have been trying to figure
out for ages what this dialect is. (2) Morever, from the
traditions mentioned above, we know that Muhammad approved
of Mas'ud's recitation long before Zaid's compilation was made.
(In fact, Muhammad was dead before he could approve the
Uthmanic recension).
3) contains Shi'ite readings on sura 5:67, 24:35, 26:215, 33:25,33,56,
42:33, 47:29, 56:10, 60:3, 75:17-19.
4) entirely different phrases:
(a) 3:19: Mas'ud has "The way of the Hanifs" instead of "Lo!
religion with Allah (is) the Surrender (to His Will and
Guidance) (Islam)." (Eng. trans. from Pickthall)
(b) 3:39: Mas'ud has "Then Gabriel called to him, 'O Zachariah'".
In the Uthmanic reading, we have "And the angels called to him
as he stood praying in the sanctuary"
(c) Mas'sud's codex of sura 9 begins with "Bismilah", while
the Uthmanic codex does not.
5) The order of Mas'ud's codex is different from Uthman's codex.
Question to Muslims: Why do you trust the Quran so much if it has been changed and if the Hadiths record an extra Sura?
Ubayy Ka'b's codex also had variations, with two extra suras, the sura
al-Khal', with three verses, and sura al-Hafd, with six verses
(Jeffery pg. 180ff). Al-Fadl b. Shadhan is said to have seen a copy of
Ubayy's 116 suras instead of Uthman's 114 in a village near Basra in
the middle of of 3rd century AH. The order of suras in Ubayy's codex
is said to have differed from that of Uthman's.
Uthman, Editor of God?
When the Watergate Scandal hit America, the guilty people were not only the ones who committed the theft of the documents, but also the ones who covered it up. While the previous tract discussed many changes in the Qur'an, this tract discusses not just changes but also the cover-up by the Caliph Uthman. He threatened anyone with death if they did not turn in their Qur'an to him, so that he could burn them and re-issue new Qur'ans. Fortunately some early copies were not turned in, and we can see some of the changes that were made.
In Bukhari 6:525,526 Qatada and Anas relate that in the time of the prophet [i.e. before Uthman’s rule], four people "collected" the Qur'an: Ubai, Mu’adh, Zaid bin Thabit, and Abu Zaid.
In Bukhari 1:63 Anas relates, "Uthman got the Qur’an compiled and sent a few of its copies to far off places". Bukhari 4:709 says, "Uthman... wrote the manuscripts of the Holy Qur'an in the form of a book"
Muslims claim that God’s Word, the Qur'an, will never be corrupted. Be that as it may, apparently some years after Mohammed’s death, the Qur'an needed standardizing, since Caliph Uthman standardized the Qur'an way after Mohammed's death. Apparently in order that nobody could second-guess his editing, he burned almost all copies besides his standard ones. (Bukhari 6:510) For example, Ubai had several Suras in his Qur'an that Uthman omitted from the standardized text, and thus Muslims do not read today. The Meccan Abdollah Sarh, who once made suggestions to Mohammed, and later renounced Islam, was killed. Presumably he knew too much about how Mohammed changed the Qur'an. However, a few very interesting variant copies did survive and are now in the Azhyar Library in Cairo.
A Need for Standardizing ???
Now if the Bukhari Hadiths 1:62, 4:709, and 6:510 are reliable at all, one has to ask why this occurred; Muslims typically do not go around destroying copies of the Qur'an.
? Why did Uthman have to burn other copies, unless the other copies were different?
? Why did Uthman need to standardize the Qur'an, unless it needed standardizing?
? Why did Uthman threaten death to make Muslims use the "Uthmanized" Qur'an?
? Why was it that some rejected Uthman’s text in favor of their own text of the Qur'an?
There is a simple answer to these questions. Uthman had to edit The Qur'an because there was not just one text.
1. In contrast to this, Uthman destroyed all but a few of the early Qur'an manuscripts, so "his tracks are covered."
2. His tracks are not completely covered because of the manuscripts of Ubai and others. (See Bukhari 6:527 for Ubai.)
3. His tracks are not completely covered because of the words of 'Aisha and some Shi'ite Muslims.
4. Many Sunni Muslims have never thought to ask, "is the Qur'an they have the same as the original Qur'an?"
Some Shi'ite Muslims give an additional reason though. They say Uthman left out 25% of the original verses for political reasons. See McClintock and Strong Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature 5:152. This is interesting, because it shows that one can believe the Qur'an has not been preserved reliably and still be a Muslim, for most Sunnis still accept Shi'ites as Muslims.
According to Mohammed’s wife 'Aisha, one Sura had 200 verses. By Uthman's time, it only had 73. One can read this in the book Islam p.191ff by the skeptic Guillaume.
Finally, the Qur'an Sunni Muslims use today is based on the Ibn Masud Codex, which is NOT identical with Uthman’s work. According to Geisler and Saleeb: Answering Islam p.192 there are 150 differences in Sura 2 alone, including complete sentences!
Even today, there are differences in Arabic versions of the Qur'an. For example, in Answering Islam p.193 point out some Arabic discrepancies: Sura 28:48 [sahirani/sihrani], Sura 32:6 [ummahatuhum/ummahatuhum wa hyua abun lahum] Sura 34:18 [rabbana ba’id/rabuna ba’ada], Sura 38:22 [tis’un/tis’atun]. Sura 19:35 [tantaruna/yamtaruna]. See W. St. Clair-Tisdell A Manual of the Leading Mohammedan Objections to Christianity (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1904 p.60.). There are also significant differences between the Uthman’s Qur'an and the Qur'an used today. Why the changes, and when will they change it back?
Question: Is allah weak that he could not give the Quran in a perfect state and that it needed to be standardized?
Also guys ... Why was the Bible written by eye-witness accounts and the Quran not written by eye-witness accounts but yet muslims take the Quran as authentic?
Please by all means feel free to discuss about this topic. Please remember ... no posting websites, if you would like to refute any facts given here, please do so with your own knowledge and dont just copy and paste links to websites because they will be ignored.
Thanks, and God bless. Looking forward to peoples comments.