2. Accusing the Companions of dismissing the Mushaf of ‘Ali is an implicit admission of them compiling the Qur’an

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2. Accusing the Companions of dismissing the Mushaf of ‘Ali is an implicit admission of them compiling the Qur’an

This proof is based on an incident that the Imami narrations as well as the statements of their scholars are unanimous regarding. The crux of the incident is: When ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu compiled the Qur’an, immediately after the demise of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he brought it to his Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum. However, they dismissed it saying, “We have no need for it”, which prompted ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu to say, “They will never see it until our representative emerges.”

As for the result of this statement leading to admission of the Khalifas’ radiya Llahu ‘anhum compilation of the Qur’an, it is possible to establish it through various cases, they are as follows:

 

1. Establishing that what is imperative from that statement is indeed the acknowledgement of the Khalifas’ compilation of the Qur’an

There is no doubt that this incident contains within it the admission of the Khalifas’ compilation of the Qur’an, since it is mentioned that after the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum dismissed the Mushaf of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu, they asked Zaid ibn Thabit radiya Llahu ‘anhu to compile a Mushaf for them in place of ‘Ali’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu Mushaf and they removed from it whatever contradicted their motives.

Based on that, every Imami holding the view that the Khalifas had dismissed the Mushaf of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu must necessarily admit to the Khalifas compiling a Mushaf in place of ‘Ali’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu!

This is what Jafar Murtada al ‘Amili clarifies in various statements; from amongst them:

 

و إنما أرجعوه إليه لأن أول صفحة فتح عليها أبو بكر وجد فيها فضائح القوم أعني المهاجرين والأنصار فخافوا أن يضر بمصالحهم فأرجعوه ثم بادروا إلى تهيئة البديل الذي ليس فيه شيء من ذلك فأمروا زيد بن ثابت بجمع القرآن لهم

a. They only returned ‘Ali’s Mushaf to him because the first page which Abu Bakr opened contained scandals about the people, meaning the Muhajirin and the Ansar. They feared that it would bring harm to their motives, thus they returned it to him and hastily prepared a substitute which had no trace of those scandals. They thus commanded Zaid ibn Thabit to compile the Qur’an for them.^[1]

 

لكن الحقيقة هي أن الحكام بعد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يكونوا يملكون نسخة تامة من المصحف فأرادوا أن يهيئوا لأنفسهم نسخة منه فطلبوا من زيد بن ثابت فهيأ لهم ما أرادوا… وذلك بعد أن رفضوا المصحف الذي كان خلف فراش الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم

b. However, the reality of the matter is that the rulers after the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not possess a complete Mushaf, thus they wanted to prepare a copy for themselves. So, they charged Zaid ibn Thabit with preparing for them exactly what they wanted… and that too was after they dismissed the Mushaf which was found behind the bed of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.^[2]

 

وبعد وفاة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم رفض أصحاب السلطة القبول بمصحف الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم الذي جاءهم به أمير المؤمنين لأنهم خافوا مما كان النبي قد أثبته فيه من التفسير لآياته والتأويل لها أو بيان شأن نزولها أو غير ذلك… ولم يكونوا أعني الهيئة الحاكمة قد جمعوا لأنفسهم مصحفا على ما يظهر فطلبوا من زيد بن ثابت فجمع لهم مصحفا

c. After the demise of the Messenger, the Companions who assumed leadership refused to accept the Mushaf of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam which ‘Ali had brought them because they feared what it contained of the Messenger’s explanation and interpretation of its verses, or the clarification of the reason for its revelation, or due to other reasons… They did not compile—I am referring to the rulers—a Mushaf for themselves according to what is apparent. They commanded Zaid ibn Thabit to compile a Mushaf for them.^[3]

 

مع أن الحقيقة هي أن عليا قد تسلمه بأمر من النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم نفسه كما أسلفنا وتقدم أنه قد جاءهم به فلما رأوا أنه قد كتب فيه ما لا يروق لهم رفضوه واكتفوا بجمع مصحف لهم من عسب ورقاع أخرى ومن صدور الرجال حسبما صرحت به رواياتهم

d. Notwithstanding that the reality is that ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu had carried out a command for the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam himself, as we have previously mentioned. And what is mentioned previously is that ‘Ali brought it to them. However, when they saw that what was written in it did not appeal to them, they rejected it and sufficed with compiling their own Mushaf from palm leaves and other parchments and from the chests of the men, according to what is stated in their narrations.^[4]

 

ولم يكن هناك رغبة لدى المتضررين من ظهور هذه الأمور بالاحتفاظ بمصحف يشتمل عليها… ولذلك رفضه الحاكمون في البداية وعملوا على جمع القرآن مجردا من كل ذلك وأصدروا المرسوم المعروف عنهم جردوا هذا القرآن ثم طلبوه بعد ذلك من علي ربما لكي يخفوه أو ليتلفوه فلم يرهم إياه

e. From the outset of this matter, there was no desire from the impaired ones to protect the Mushaf which contained it. Due to that reason, the rulers rejected it from the beginning. They prepared a compilation of the Qur’an free of all that; the well-known decree was issued from them saying, “Dispose of this Qur’an.” They then sought it from ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu, possibly to hide it or destroy it, but he did not show it to them.^[5]

 

ولعل عكرمة قد أراد بذلك تبرير عمل أولئك الذين جمعوا قرآنا لهم حذفوا منه التفسير والتأويل وشأن النزول… ولم يستطيعوا أن يرتبوه حسب النزول أو لعلهم لم يريدوا أن يفعلوا ذلك لسبب أو لآخر

f. It is possible that ‘Ikrimah by doing that, intended to justify the actions of those who compiled the Qur’an for them. They removed from it the explanations, the interpretations, and the reasons for the revelation. They were unable to organise the Qur’an according to the sequence of revelation or perhaps they did not want to organise it according to that sequence, due to some ulterior motive.^[6]

 

2. Review of some statements of the senior Imami scholars consisting of admissions to the Khalifas’ compilation of the Qur’an

From amongst the most famous of them:

1. Sheikh al Mufid

He has uttered multiple statements which comprise of admissions to the Khalifas’ compilation of the Qur’an; from amongst them:

a. He accuses the Khalifas of organising the Qur’an contrary to the true sequence of the chapters and verses. This is an implicit admission to the Khalifas carrying out the compilation of the Qur’an since the acclaimed mockery—regarding the sequencing of the verses—would not have been possible had the Qur’an been compiled and organised by the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He says:

 

واتفقوا على أن أئمة الضلال خالفوا في كثير من تأليف القرآن وعدلوا فيه عن موجب التنزيل وسنة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم

They are unanimous that the leaders of misguidance compiled the Qur’an with much contradiction and deviated from what the revelation dictated and the Sunnah of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.^[7]

 

b. He accused the Khalifas of omission in the Qur’an.^[8] This is an implicit testimony of their compilation of the Qur’an, since it would not be possible for them had the Qur’an been compiled and organised by the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He says:

 

إن الأخبار قد جاءت مستفيضة عن أئمة الهدى من آل محمد باختلاف القرآن وما أحدثه بعض الظالمين فيه من الحذف والنقصان

The reports narrated by the Imams of guidance from the family of Muhammad salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam have come detailing the contradiction present in the Qur’an as well as the omissions which some of the oppressors introduced.^[9]

 

c. He accused the one who compiled the Qur’an of removing some of what Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala had revealed of the Qur’an. Since such a crime should not be attributed to the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, that then could only mean that the compilers of the Qur’an are the Khalifas. He says:

 

لا شك أن الذي بين الدفتين من القرآن جميعه كلام الله تعالى وتنزيله وليس فيه شيء من كلام البشر وهو جمهور المنزل والباقي مما أنزله الله تعالى عند المستحفظ للشريعة المستودع للأحكام لم يضع منه شيء وإن كان الذي جمع ما بين الدفتين الآن لم يجعله في جملة ما جمع لأسباب دعته إلى ذلك منها قصوره عن معرفة بعضه ومنها شكه فيه وعدم تيقنه ومنه ما تعمد إخراجه منه

There is no doubt that what is between the two covers is entirely the speech of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and revelation from Him and no speech of man exists in it. This applies to the entirety of what has been revealed of the Qur’an. And the remainder of what has been revealed by Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala is by the guardian of the Shari’ah, the depositor of the rulings, and he had not left out a single thing from it, even though the one who compiled what is currently between the two covers had not included it into the entirety of what was compiled due to particular reasons, from among them: his lack of understanding of some of it, his doubt and lack of certainty regarding some of it, and also what he intentionally removed from it.^[10]

 

2. Muhammad Baqir al Majlisi

Muhammad Baqir al Majlisi mentions various statements establishing the Khalifas’ compilation of the Qur’an despite narrating it to criticise them. However, it suffices us as a testimony that they radiya Llahu ‘anhum had compiled the Qur’an. Here are some of his statements he mentioned in his book Bihar al Anwar:

 

وأما السياق فمردود بما ستقف عليه في كتاب القرآن مما سننقل من روايات الفريقين أن ترتيب القرآن الذي بيننا ليس من فعل المعصوم حتى لا يتطرق إليه الغلط

a. As for the context, it is rejected by what you will come to find out in the chapter regarding the Qur’an, wherein we will mention the narrations of both groups stating that the sequence of the Qur’an is because of the actions of the fallible such that it is prone to error.^[11]

 

فعلمنا أن هذا التأليف على خلاف ما أنزل الله جل وعز وإنما كان يجب أن يكون المتقدم في القراءة أولا الآية المنسوخة التي ذكر فيها أن العدة متاعا إلى الحول غير إخراج ثم يقرأ بعد هذه الآية الناسخة التي ذكر فيها أنه قد جعل العدة أربعة أشهر وعشرا فقدموا في التأليف الناسخ على المنسوخ

b. We know well that the compilation of this Qur’an is contradictory to what Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala had revealed. It is necessary that what should be recited first is the abrogated verse which mentions that the waiting period (before remarrying) for a woman (after the death of her husband) should be maintenance for a year without turning them away, then reciting the abrogating verse which made the waiting period four months and ten [days]. They had brought forward in their compilation the abrogating verse before the abrogated verse.^[12]

 

فهذه الآية مع قصة إبراهيم صلى الله عليه متصلة بها فقد أخرت وهذا دليل على أن التأليف على غير ما أنزل الله جل وعز في كل وقت للأمور التي كانت تحدث فينزل الله فيها القرآن وقد قدموا وأخروا لقلة معرفتهم بالتأليف وقلة علمهم بالتنزيل على ما أنزله الله وإنما ألفوا بآرائهم وربما كتبوا الحرف والآية في غير موضعها الذي يجب قلة معرفة به ولو أخذوه من معدنه الذي أنزل فيه ومن أهله الذي نزل عليهم لما اختلف التأليف ولوقف الناس على عامة ما احتاجوا إليه من الناسخ والمنسوخ والمحكم والمتشابه والخاص والعام

c. This verse is connected to the story of Ibrahim ‘alayh al Salam but had been brought later. This is proof that the compilation is not in accordance to what Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala revealed in every moment wherein incidents have occurred, thus Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala had revealed Qur’an regarding it. They had brought forward and delayed verses due to their lack of understanding regarding the compilation of the Qur’an as well as their lack of knowledge regarding the revelation in accordance to how Allah revealed it. Thus, they compiled according to their own opinions; perhaps they wrote a letter or verse out of place thus necessitating a lack of understanding. If they were to take it from the source in which it was revealed and from the people upon whom it was revealed, there would be no contradiction in the compilation and people would have stuck to the generality of what they need from the abrogating and abrogated verses, the clear verses and ambiguous verses, and the specific and general.^[13]

 

3. Yusuf al Bahrani

Yusuf al Bahrani emphasises the deceit of the Khalifas regarding the verses of the Qur’an which implies an admission of their compilation of the Qur’an. This is evident via various statements; from amongst them:

 

وليس بالبعيد أن هذه القراءة كغيرها من المحدثات في القرآن العزيز لثبوت التغيير والتبديل فيه عندنا زيادة ونقصانا… كما أنهم تصرفوا في قوله تعالى في آية الغار لدفع العار عن شيخ الفجار حيث إن الوارد في أخبارنا أنها نزلت… فأنزل الله سكينته على رسوله وأيده بجنود لم تروها… فحذفوا لفظ رسوله وجعلوا محله الضمير ويقرب بالبال كما ذكره أيضا بعض علمائنا الأبدال أن توسيط آية إنما يريد الله ليذهب عنكم الرجس أهل البيت ويطهركم تطهيرا [الأحزاب: 33] الآية في خطاب الأزواج من ذلك القبيل

a. It is not far-fetched that this mode of recitation like others is from the innovations introduced into the mighty Qur’an in order to establish change and substitution in the Qur’an, which according to us is addition and subtraction… As how they dealt with the speech of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala regarding the verses of the cave in order to shift blame from the leader of the criminals, since in our narrations, the verse was revealed as follows, “And Allah sent down His tranquillity upon His Messenger and supported him with soldiers [i.e., angels] you did not see…” They omitted the words His Messenger and substituted in its place the pronoun. What comes to mind—as some of our scholars have mentioned—the placement of the verse, “Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet’s] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification,” addressing the wives [of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] is of this type.^[14]

 

والمفهوم منها أيضا أن هذه القراءة قد أسقطها أصحاب الصدر الأول حين جمعوا القرآن

b. What is understood from it is that this mode of recitation was removed by the companions of the first era when they compiled the Qur’an.^[15]

 

3. Transmitting the consensus and admissions of the Imami scholars regarding the incident of the Companion’s refusal of the Mushaf of ‘Ali

Whoever desires to view what the narrations and views of the Imami scholars admit to regarding the matter of the Companion’s refusal of the Mushaf of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu should peruse Appendix 2 attached at the end of the book.

 

NEXT⇒ Chapter 4 – Discussing the Main Issues Around Rejecting the Prophetic Compilation of the Qur’an – 1. The affirmation of a Prophetic compilation of the Qur’an by al Sharif al Murtada and ‘Abdul Hussain al Musawi

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^[1]  Jafar Murtada al ‘Amili: Haqa’iq Hammah Hawl al Qur’an al Karim, pg. 158.

^[2]  Jafar Murtada al ‘Amili: Mukhtasar Mufid, 13/112.

^[3]  Ibid., 5/44-45.

^[4]  Jafar Murtada al ‘Amili: Haqa’iq Hammah Hawl al Qur’an al Karim, pg. 162.

^[5]  Jafar Murtada al ‘Amili: Al Sahih Min Sirat Imam ‘Ali, 16/43.

^[6]  Jafar Murtada al ‘Amili: Haqa’iq Hammah Hawl al Qur’an al Karim, pg. 186.

^[7]  Sheikh al Mufid: Awa’il al Maqalat, pg. 46.

^[8]  Regardless of whether that was omission of Qur’anic verses or explanatory revelation that was present in the mushaf of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu as some of the Imamiyyah claim.

^[9]  Sheikh al Mufid: Awa’il al Maqalat, pg. 80-81.

^[10]  Sheikh al Mufid: Al Masa’il al Sarawiyyah, pg. 78-79.

^[11]  Muhammad Baqir al Majlisi: Bihar al Anwar, 35/234.

^[12]  Ibid., 89/67.

^[13]  Ibid., 89/71.

^[14]  Yusuf al Bahrani: Al Hada’iq al Nadirah, 2/289-290.

^[15]  Ibid., 6/24-25.