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There is no dispute among Muslim scholars,
whether they are Sunni or Shia, concerning the fact that the
Commander of Believers, Imam Ali ('a), possessed a special transcript of
the text of Quran which he had collected himself, and he was the
first who compiled the Holy Quran.
There are a great number of traditions
from Sunni and Shia which states that after the death of the Holy
Prophet ('s), that Imam Ali ('a) sat down in his house and said that
he had sworn an oath that he would not put on his outdoor clothes or
leave his house until he collects together the Quran.
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Sunni references:
- Fat'hul Bari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari,
by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v10, p386
- al-fihrist, by (Ibn) an-Nadim, p30
- al-Itqan, by al-Suyuti, v1, p165
- al-Masahif, by Ibn Abi Dawud, p10
- Hilyatul awliya', by Abu Nu'aym, v1, p67
- al-Sahibi, by Ibn Faris, p79
- 'Umdatul Qari, by al-Ayni, v20, p16
- Kanzul Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v15, pp 112-113
- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 9,
Section 4, p197
- Ma'rifat al-Qurra' al-kibar, by al-Dhahabi, v1, p31
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There are also traditions from the Imams of Ahlul
Bayt ('a) which tell us that this was done by Imam Ali ('a) by
order of the Holy Prophet ('s) (See al-Bihar, v92,
p 40-41,48,51-52).
This transcript of Quran which was compiled by Imam Ali ('a) had the
following unique specifications:
a) It was collected according to its revelation, i.e., in the order
in which it had been sent down. This is the reason that Muhammad Ibn
Sireen (33/653 - 110/729), the famous scholar and Tabi'i (disciples
of the companions of the Holy Prophet), regretted that this
transcript had not passed into the hands of the Muslims, and said: "If that
transcript were in our hands, we would found a great knowledge in
it."
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Sunni References:
- at-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, part
2, p101
- Ansab al-ashraf, by al-Baladhuri, v1, p587
- al-Istiab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v3, pp 973-974
- Sharh Ibn Abi al-Hadid, v6, pp 40-41
- al-Tas'hil, by Ibn Juzzi al-Kalbi, v1, p4
- al-Itqan, by al-Suyuti, v1, p166
- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 9,
Section 4, p197
- Ma'rifat al-Qurra' al-kibar, by al-Dhahabi, v1, p32
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It is according to this transcript that Sunni
scholars relate that the first Chapter of Quran which was sent down
to the Prophet ('s) was Chapter al-Iqra (al-Alaq, Ch. 96).
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Sunni References:
- al-Burhan, by al-Zarkashi, v1, p259
- al-Itqan, by al-Suyuti, v1, p202
- Fathul Bari, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v10, p417
- Irshad al-sari, by al-Qastalani, v7, p454
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It is well known that the
Chapter al-Alaq is not at the beginning of the present Quran. Also
Muslims agree that the verse (5:3) was among one of the last
revealed verses of Quran (but not the very last one), yet it is not
toward the end of the present Quran. This clearly proves that
although the Quran that we have available is complete, it is not in
the order that has been revealed. These few misplacements were done
by some companions on purpose at worst, or out of ignorance at
least.
It was for this reason that the Commander of Believers, Ali ('a)
frequently stated in his sermons:
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"Ask me before you lose me. By
Allah, if you ask me about anything that could happen up to the Day
of Judgment, I will tell you about it. Ask me, for, by Allah, you
will not be able to ask me a question about anything without my
informing you. Ask me about the Book of Allah,
for by Allah, there is no verse about which I do not know whether it
was sent down at night or during the day, or whether it was revealed
on a plain or in a mountain."
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Sunni References:
- al-Riyadh al-Nadhirah, by al-Muhib
al-Tabari, v2, p198
- at-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, part 2, p101
- al-Isabah, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v4, p568
- Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v7, pp 337-338
- Fathul Bari, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v8, p485
- al-Istiab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v3, p1107
- Tarikh al-Khulafa, by al-Suyuti, p124
- al-Itqan, by al-Suyuti, v2, p319
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b) This transcript contained commentary and hermeneutic
interpretation (Tafsir and Ta'wil) from the Holy Prophet, some of
which had been sent down as revelation but not as a part of the text
of Quran. A small amount of such texts can be found in some
traditions in Usul al-Kafi. These pieces of information were the
Divine commentary of the text of Quran which were revealed along
with Quranic verses. Thus the commentary verses and Quranic verses
could sum up to 17000 verses. As Sunnis know, Hadith al-Qudsi (the
Hadith in which the speaker is Allah) is also direct revelation, but
they are not a part of Quran. In fact Quran testifies that anything
that the Prophet
said was (either direct or indirect) revelation (See Quran 53:3-4).
The direct revelation includes the interpretation/commentary of the
Quran.
In addition, this unique transcript contained the information from
the Holy Prophet ('s) about which verse was abrogated and which was
abrogating, which verse was clear (Muhkam) and which was ambiguous (Mutashabih),
which verse was general and which was specific.
c) This unique transcript also contained references to the persons,
places etc., about which the verses were revealed, what is called
"Asbab al- Nuzul". Since the Commander of Believers was
aware of these facts, he frequently said:
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"By Allah, no verse has been sent down
without my knowing about whom or what it was revealed and where it
was revealed. My Lord has gifted me with a mind which has a quick
and retaining understanding, and a tongue which speaks
eloquently."
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Sunni References:
- Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu'aym, v1,
pp 67-68
- at-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, part 2, p101
- Kanzul Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v15, p113
- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 9,
Section 4, p197
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After he compiled this transcript, Imam Ali
('a)
took it and presented it to the rulers who came after the Holy
Prophet, and said:
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"Here is the book of Allah, your Lord, in
the order that was revealed to your Prophet."
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but they did not accept it and replied:
"We have no need of this. We have with us
what you possess."
Thereupon, Imam Ali
('a) took the transcript back
and informed them that they will never see it again. It is reported
that Imam Ali ('a) recited the latter part of the following verse
of Quran:
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"And
when Allah took a Covenant from the People of the Book to
clarify it to mankind and not to hide its (clarification); but
they threw it away behind their backs and purchased with it
some miserable gain! and what an evil was the bargain they
made!"
(Quran 3:187)
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By "its clarification", Imam Ali ('a)
meant
the unique divine commentaries.
The Commander of the Believers then concealed that transcript, and after
him it was passed to the Imams ('a) who also kept it concealed. It
remained concealed with the Imams ('a), one after the other to this
day, because they wished to be only one sequence of Quran among the
Muslims. Because otherwise if people have had two different
sequences, it might later result to some alteration in Quran by some
sick-minded people. They wished people have strictly one sequence of
Quran.
The Quran and its commentary which were collected
by Imam Ali ('a) is not available for any Shia in the world except
to the Imam Mahdi ('a). If the transcript of the Commander of
Believers ('a) had been accepted, that would have been the Quran with
unique commentary in the hand of people, but it turned out to be
otherwise.
This gives the meaning of the traditions in Usul al-Kafi which say
that no one but the Commander of Believers and the later Imams ('a)
had
the Quran in the order in which it was revealed, and that the
Quran which they had contains "what can be understood of the
heaven, etc." and "the Knowledge of the Book, all of
it," because they were the commentaries and interpretations
noted in the transcript of Imam Ali ('a) directly from the Holy
Prophet ('s). Allah, to
whom belong Might and Majesty, said:
"And We have sent down on you a Book in which is the
clarification of ALL the things." (Quran 16:89)
Tahrif
Sometimes the word "tahrif" is used in some traditions,
and it must be made clear that the meaning of this word is changing
of something from its proper place to another place, like changing
the right position of sentence, or giving it a meaning other than
its true or intended meaning.
Therefore, it has absolutely nothing to do with addition or
subtraction from the text.
It is thus with this meaning that the
Quran states:
"Some of the Jews distort (yuharrifuna) words from their
meaning"
(Quran 4:46).
This meaning of "tahrif", i.e., changing of meaning or
changing the context, as it appears in the Quran, has not only been
applied in the Muslim community to the verses of the Quran but also
to the ahadith of the Holy Prophet, even by rulers who have been
prepared to use Islam to their own personal advantage. It is this "tahrif", with this
meaning, that the Imams of Ahlul-Bayt ('a) have constantly sought
to oppose. As one example, Imam al-Baqir ('a) complained about the
situation of the Muslims and their corrupt rulers, and said:
"One of the manifestations of their rejecting the Book (of
Allah behind their backs) (see Quran 2:101) is that they have fixed
its words. but they have altered the limits (of its command) (harrafu
hududah). They have (correctly) narrated it, but they do not observe
(what) it (says). Ignorant people delight in their preservation of
its narration, but the knowledgeable people deplore their ignoring
to observe (what) it (says)."
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Shi'i references:
- al-Kafi, v8, p53
- al-Wafi, v5, p274 and v14, p214
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This use of "tahrif" is taken as a
definition for the word wherever it appears in the ahadith of the
Imams, similar to what Quran (4:46) has used.
It is necessary to emphasize here that all grand scholars of the
Imami Shia are in agreement that the Quran which is at present among
the Muslims is the very same Quran that was sent down to the Holy
Prophet ('s), and that it has not been altered. Nothing has been added to
it, and nothing is missing from it.
The Quran which was compiled by
Imam Ali (excluding the commentaries) and the Quran that is in the hands of people today, are identical in
terms of words and sentences. No word, verse or chapter is missing.
The only difference is that the current Quran (collected by the
companions) is not in the order that was revealed.
And Allah (swt) knows best.
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