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Chapter 2

The Calamities which result from claiming a Prophetic compilation of the Qur’an

 

The claim of the Prophetic compilation of the Qur’an results in three calamites, each one of them is sufficient to nullify the claim. The explanation is as follows:

 

Calamity 1: ‘Ali falling into the danger of contradicting the Prophetic guidance regarding the sequence of the Qur’an

It is possible to explain this calamity via three acknowledgements; and they are:

1. The sequence in which the verses and chapters are placed in the Mushaf presently with us is by the command of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
2. The Mushaf existing within our midst is not compiled according to the sequence of revelation, meaning the Makki verses are not placed before the Madani verses and the abrogated verses are not placed before the verses abrogating them.
3. ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu compiled the Qur’an according to the sequence of revelation, thus he placed the Makki verses before the Madani verses and the abrogated verses before the verses abrogating them.

 

The in-depth explanation of these acknowledgements is as follows:

1. The sequence in which the verses and chapters are placed in the Mushaf presently with us is by the command of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

This has been attested to by the Imami scholars; from amongst them are:

1. Abu ‘Ali al Tabarsi transmits from al Murtada who says:

 

وذكر أيضا أن القرآن كان على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مجموعا مؤلفا على ما هو عليه الآن

He mentioned as well that the Qur’an was compiled during the time of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam as we find it today.^[1]

 

2. ‘Abdul Hussain Sharaf al Din al Musawi said:

 

وكان القرآن مجموعا أيام النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم على ما هو عليه الآن من الترتيب والتنسيق في آياته وسوره

a. The Qur’an was compiled during the time of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam as we find it currently, with its verses and chapters sequenced and arranged.^[2]

 

وكان مجموعا على ذلك العهد الأقدس مؤلفا على ما هو عليه الآن

b. It was compiled during that sacred era, arranged exactly as it currently is.^[3]

 

3. Jafar al Subhani established this through various statements; from amongst them are:

 

طبقا لأقوال مجموعة من المحققين المسلمين فإن القرآن الكريم قد جمع في زمن الرسول الأكرم وقد رتبت السور والآيات بأمر منه … ومن هنا يتضح أن القرآن جمع في زمن الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم وأن سورة الحمد كانت في المقدمة ولو كان القرآن مجموعة سور وآيات متفرقة لما كان هناك من معنى لاسم فاتحة الكتاب

a. In accordance with the views of majority of the erudite scholars of Islam, the noble Qur’an was certainly compiled in the era of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and its verses and chapters were placed in sequence by his command… And from this it becomes clear that the Qur’an was compiled in the era of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and that the chapter beginning with Al Hamd was placed in the very beginning. If it was that the Qur’an was compiled and its verses and chapters were scattered, there would have been no need for the name the opening chapter.^[4]

 

وإذا لم يكن هذا الحديث دالا على الكتابة المنظمة للقرآن في عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فإنه على الأقل يدل على أن سور القرآن ومكان الآيات كان منظما في زمن رسول الله

b. If this hadith is not an indication of an organised recording of the Qur’an during the era of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then in the least, it indicates that the chapters of the Qur’an and the position of the verses were organised in the time of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.^[5]

 

فإن ختم القرآن يدل على أنه كان مبوبا من حيث السور والآيات معلوما أولها من آخرها

c. Certainly, the completion of the Qur’an indicates that it was categorised as far as its chapters and verses are concerned in such a way that the first of it and the last of it are known.^[6]

 

4. Muhammad Sadiq al Ruhani said:

 

وضع كل آية في موضعها كان بأمر رسول وشاهد ذلك ما نراه من الانسجام بين الآيات القرآنية في السورة الواحدة رغم كون بعضها من الآيات المكية وبعضها الآخر من الآيات المدنية … بناء على ما هو الحق من كون ترتيب القرآن بالنحو الذي هو عليه الآن يعود إلى عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وتحت نظره

The positioning of every verse was by the command of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Testimony to this is the harmony we see between the verses in a single chapter, despite some of those verses being revealed in Makkah whilst others were revealed in Madinah… In accordance with the truth which is that the sequence of the Qur’an as it is currently traces back to the time of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and was carried out under his supervision.^[7]

 

5. Nasir Makarim al Shirazi said:

 

فسورة الحمد ليست أول سورة في ترتيب النزول حتى تسمي بهذا الاسم ولا يوجد دليل آخر لذلك وتسميتها بفاتحة الكتاب يرشدنا إلى أن القرآن قد جمع في زمن الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم بهذا الترتيب الذي هو عليه الآن

The chapter beginning with Al Hamd is not the first chapter in sequence of revelation such that it was given that name and there is no other proof found for that. It being named “the opening chapter” directs us to the fact that the Qur’an was indeed compiled in the time of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in the exact sequence it is currently in.^[8]

 

6. ‘Ali Akbar al Saifi al Mazandarani said:

 

والذي يقتضيه التحقيق أن الأصل المتبع في المقام مطابقة الترتيب الفعلي الموجود في المصاحف لما أمر به النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من الترتيب والتأليف في الآيات والسور

What is required by the verification is that the principle which is followed in this situation is conformity to the actual sequence found in the Mushafs as commanded by the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam regarding the sequence and arrangement of the chapters and verses.^[9]

 

2. The Mushaf existing within our midst is not compiled according to the sequence of revelation, meaning the Makki verses are not placed before the Madani verses and the abrogated verses are not placed before the verses abrogating them.

Whoever ponders over the Qur’an, this matter will become evidently clear to him.^[10] The Imami scholars have clearly stated this; from amongst them are:

1. Muhammad Jawwad Balaghi al Najafi says:

 

نعم لم يترتب على ترتيب نزوله ولم يقدم منسوخه على ناسخه

Yes, it was not arranged according to the sequence of its revelation nor were its abrogated verses placed before the verses abrogating them.^[11]

 

2. Jafar al Subhani comments on the statement of Sheikh al Mufid saying:

 

وأما قوله فأما القول بالتأليف فالموجود يقضي فيه بتقديم المتأخر وتأخير المتقدم يشير إلى أن القرآن جمع لا على نحو ترتيب نزوله فقدم ما نزل مؤخرا وأخر ما نزل مقدما وهذا ليس أمرا منكرا بل أمر يكاد أن يكون متفقا عليه فكم من سورة مدنية كسورة البقرة وآل عمران جاءت في صدر القرآن وكم من سورة مكية جاءت في مؤخره بل ربما ذكر الناسخ في سورة البقرة قبل المنسوخ

As for him saying, “Regarding the compilation, what is found gives the impression that what was revealed later is brought forward and what was revealed earlier is mentioned later…” he indicates to the fact that the Qur’an was not compiled according to the sequence of its revelation. Thus, what was revealed later is brought forward and what was revealed earlier is mentioned later; and this is not something inacceptable, rather it can almost be considered unanimous. How many Madani chapters like al Baqarah and Al ‘Imran appear at the beginning of the Qur’an and how many Makki chapters appear at the end of it, perhaps the abrogating verse may be mentioned in al Baqarah before the abrogated verse.^[12]

 

3. ‘Ali Akbar al Saifi al Mazandarani said:

 

وقد ورد في النصوص أن هذا الترتيب من النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان بإشارة جبرئيل وأمره وقد ثبت بالنص والإجماع أن ذلك الترتيب كان مغايرا لترتيب النزول

a. It appears in the texts that this sequence from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was via the indication and command of Jibril ‘alayh al Salam. And it has been established via text as well as consensus that this sequence was different from the sequence of revelation.^[13]

 

لأن الترتيب الذي أمر به النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يكن على حسب ترتيب النزول بلا كلام ولا خلاف لأحد من الخاصة والعامة

b. Because the sequence that the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was commanded with is not according to the sequence of revelation, without any discussion nor any dispute from the Shia as well as the Ahlus Sunnah.^[14]

 

4. ‘Abdul Hussain al Amini al Majlisi says:

 

لما قدمناه من أن هذا الترتيب هو ما اقتضاه التوقيف لا ترتيب النزول فمن الممكن نزول هذه الآية أخيرا وتقدمها على النازلات قبلها بالتوقيف وإن كنا جهلنا الحكمة في ذلك كما جهلناها في أكثر موارد الترتيب في الذكر الحكيم وكم لها من نظير

What we have previously mentioned that this sequence is by the command of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and not according to the sequence of revelation, it is possible that the revelation of these verses came later and they were brought forward by the command of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, even though we are ignorant regarding the wisdom therein as we are ignorant regarding the wisdom of many places regarding the sequence of the Wise Reminder [i.e. the Qur’an]; and how many of its kind.^[15]

 

5. Muhammad Baqir al Majlisi says:

 

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

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.^[16]

 

3. ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu compiled the Qur’an according to the sequence of revelation, thus he placed the Makki verses before the Madani verses and the abrogated verses before the verses abrogating them.

From amongst the statements of the Imami scholars establishing this is what follows:

1. Sheikh al Mufid says:

 

وقد جمع أمير المؤمنين القرآن المنزل من أوله إلى آخره وألفه بحسب ما وجب من تأليفه فقدم المكي على المدني والمنسوخ على الناسخ ووضع كل شيء منه في محله

Amir al Mu’minin radiya Llahu ‘anhu gathered the Qur’an in its entirety and compiled it in accordance with the manner it is meant to be compiled in. He thus brought forward the verses revealed in Makkah before the verses revealed in Madinah and the abrogated verses before the abrogating verses and placed everything in its appropriate place.^[17]

 

2. ‘Abdul Hussain al Musawi said:

 

أما علي وشيعته فقد تصدوا لذلك في العصر الأول وأول شيء دونه أمير المؤمنين كتاب الله عز وجل فإنه بعد فراغه من تجهيز النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم آلى على نفسه أن لا يرتدي إلا للصلاة إلى أن يجمع القرآن فجمعه مرتبا على حسب النزول

As for ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu and his adherents, they embarked on that in the first era. The first thing Amir al Mu’minin compiled was the Book of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. Certainly, he ‘alayh al Salam, after seeing to the funeral rites of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, promised himself he would not be clothed except for salah until he gathered the Qur’an. Thus, he gathered it in accordance with the sequence of revelation.^[18]

 

3. Muhammad Hussain al Tabataba’i mentioned multiple views in his book al Qur’an fi al Islam, from amongst them are:

 

والإمام أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام بالرغم من أنه كان أول من جمع القرآن على ترتيب النزول

a. The Imam Amir al Mu’minin ‘alayh al Salam, despite him being the first to gather the Qur’an according to the sequence of revelation.^[19]

 

بعدما ارتحل النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى الرفيق الأعلى جلس علي الذي كان بنص من النبي أعلم الناس بالقرآن في بيته حتى جمع القرآن في مصحف على ترتيب النزول

b. After the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam returned to the highest decree of companionship, ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu—who was the most knowledgeable regarding the Qur’an by virtue of the saying of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam—sat in the house of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam compiling the Qur’an into a Mushaf according to the sequence of revelation.^[20]

 

4. Jafar al Subhani establishes this in various statements. From amongst these are:

 

أما أنه يقال أن عليا جمع القرآن بعد ارتحال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فهذا يعني أنه كتب القرآن طبقا لشأن النزول وقدم المنسوخ على الناسخ وهذا ما يقرره المجلسي في بحار الأنوار وصاحب كتاب تاريخ القرآن

a. As for it being said that ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu compiled the Qur’an after the demise of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, what is meant is that he wrote the Qur’an in accordance with the sequence of revelation and brought forth the abrogated verse before the verse abrogating it. This has been established by al Majlisi in Bihar al Anwar as well as the author of the book Tarikh al Qur’an.^[21]

 

إن القرآن الذي قام علي بجمعه هو نفس ذلك القرآن ولكن يختلف معه في ترتيب السور فقد جمع الإمام الذكر الحكيم حسب تاريخ النزول وهذا أمر مشهور بين المفسرين

b. The Qur’an which ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu had taken the responsibility of compiling is the exact same Qur’an; however, it differs with it regarding the sequence of the chapters, since ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu had compiled the Qur’an according to the sequence of revelation; this is something well-known amongst the scholars of exegesis.^[22]

 

إن الشيعة يقولون عكس ذلك تماما وأن عليا جمع قرآنه ورتبه وفقا لنزول آياته

c. The Shia hold the complete opposite view, that ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu compiled the Qur’an according to the sequence of the revelation of the verses.^[23]

 

5. Hussain al Sadr says:

 

وأول مصحف جمع فيه القرآن على ترتيب النزول بعد موت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم هو مصحف أمير المؤمنين علي والروايات في ذلك من طريق أهل البيت متواترة

The first Mushaf in which the Qur’an was compiled according to the sequence of revelation after the death of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is the Mushaf of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu. The narrations regarding this from the Ahlul Bayt are mutawatir.^[24]

 

6. Nasir Makarim al Shirazi says:

 

وبنظرة فاحصة إلى تلك الروايات نصل إلى أن القرآن الذي كان عند علي لا يختلف مع بقية النسخ من حيث المضمون سوى اختلافه من حيث العرض والترتيب في ثلاثة أمور الأول أن آياته وسوره كانت مرتبة حسب تأريخ النزول

Upon closer inspection of those narrations, we conclude that the Qur’an ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu had did not differ with the rest of the copies in terms of content, except that it differed in terms of the sequence in three aspects. Firstly, the verses and chapters were organised according to the sequence of revelation.^[25]

 

7. ‘Ali Al Muhsin says:

 

المعنى الثاني أن المراد بجمع القرآن كما أنزل هو جمعه في مصحف رتب فيه المنسوخ قبل الناسخ والمكي قبل المدني والسابق نزولا قبل اللاحق وهكذا وجمع القرآن بهذا النحو لم يتأت من هذه الأمة إلا لعلي بن أبي طالب

The second meaning: what is meant by compiling the Qur’an as it was revealed is compiling it into a Mushaf and arranging the abrogated verses before the verses abrogating them, the verses revealed in Makkah before the verses revealed in Madinah, the verses revealed earlier before the verses revealed later, and so on and so forth. The compiling of the Qur’an in this manner had not been carried out by anyone in this Ummah except ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu.^[26]

 

8. ‘Ali Akbar al Saifi al Mazandarani said:

 

بل غاية مدلول هذه النصوص أن المصحف الموجود عند أمير المؤمنين مطابق لترتيب النزول

a. The highest meaning of these texts is that the Mushaf present by ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu is in accordance with the sequence of revelation.^[27]

 

وأما ما جمعه أمير المؤمنين فظاهر النصوص المعتبرة أنه المطابق لترتيب النزول

b. As for what ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu compiled, what is apparent from the considered texts is that it was in accordance with the sequence of revelation.^[28]

 

From these three acknowledgements by the Imami scholars, the following becomes clear to us:

1. The one who arranged the verses and chapters of the Qur’an currently in our midst is the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and it was not according to the sequence of revelation, such that the verses revealed in Makkah were not brought before the verses revealed in Madinah, nor the abrogated verses brought before the verses abrogating them.
2. ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu had compiled his Mushaf in accordance with the sequence of revelation, such that the verses revealed in Makkah were brought before the verses revealed in Madinah and the abrogated verses brought before the verses abrogating them.

 

Meaning, there is a difference in the sequence of the verses and chapters between the Mushaf of our Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Mushaf of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu, meaning that ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu had fallen into the danger of contradicting the infallible Prophetic sequence which Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala had commanded the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam with!

This difference leads us to ask a critical and extremely dangerous question:

Was ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu correct in contradicting the Prophetic sequence or not? And is the truth, which is incumbent to be followed, the Prophetic sequence or the sequence of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu?

 

NEXT⇒ Calamity 2: Them merging between the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam bequeathing ‘Ali to compile the Qur’an and the view concerning the Prophetic compilation of the Qur’an leads to the defamation of both the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and ‘Ali

---

^[1]  Abu ‘Ali al Tabarsi: Tafsir Majma’ al Bayan, 1/43.

^[2]  ‘Abdul Hussain Sharaf al Din al Musawi: Ajwibat Masa’il Jar Allah, pg. 34.

^[3]  ‘Abdul Hussain Sharaf al Din al Musawi: Al Fusul al Muhimmah fi Ta’lif al Ummah, pg. 175.

^[4]  Jafar al Subhani: ‘Aqa’iduna al Falsafiyyah wa al Qur’aniyyah, pg. 116.

^[5]  Ibid., pg. 118.

^[6]  Jafar al Subhani: Rasa’il wa Maqalat, 8/315.

^[7]  Al Ruhani: Ajwibat al Masa’il fi al Fikr wa al ‘Aqidah wa al Tarikh wa al Akhlaq, pg. 201.

^[8]  Al Shirazi: Al Amthal fi Tafsir Kitab Allah al Munazzal, 1/22.

^[9]  ‘Ali Akbar al Saifi al Mazandarani: Durus Tamhidiyyah fi al Qawa’id al Tafsiriyyah, 2/124.

^[10]  You would find as an example the chapters al Baqarah and Al ‘Imran appearing in the beginning of the Qur’an despite them both being revealed in Madinah and you would find chapters that were revealed much earlier in Makkah at the very end of the Qur’an.

^[11]  Muhammad Jawwad Balaghi al Najafi: Ala’ al Rahman fi Tafsir al Qur’an, 1/18.

^[12]  Jafar al Subhani: Rasa’il wa Maqalat, 2/425-426.

^[13]  ‘Ali Akbar al Saifi al Mazandarani: Durus Tamhidiyyah fi Qawa’id al Tafsiriyyah, 2/111.

^[14]  Ibid., 2/124.

^[15]  ‘Abdul Hussain al Amini al Majlisi: Al Ghadir, 2/124.

^[16]  Muhammad Baqir al Majlisi: Bihar al Anwar, 67/89.

^[17]  Sheikh al Mufid: Al Masa’il al Sarawiyyah, pg. 79.

^[18]  ‘Abdul Hussain al Musawi: Al Muraja’at, pg. 411.

^[19]  Muhammad Hussain al Tabataba’i: Al Qur’an fi al Islam, pg. 137.

^[20]  Ibid., pg. 134-135.

^[21]  Jafar al Subhani: ‘Aqa’iduna al Falsafiyyah wa al Qur’aniyyah, pg. 120-121.

^[22]  Jafar al Subhani: Rasa’il wa Maqalat, 1/159.

^[23]  Jafar al Subhani: Al Ajwibah al Hadiyah ila Sawa’ al Sabil, pg. 102.

^[24]  Hussain al Sadr: Al Shia wa Funun al Islam, pg. 61-62.

^[25]  Al Shirazi: Al Amthal fi Tafsir Kitab Allah al Munazzal, 8/27-28.

^[26]  ‘Ali Al Muhsin: Kashf al Haqa’iq, pg. 55.

^[27]  ‘Ali Akbar al Saifi al Mazandarani: Durus Tamhidiyyah fi al Qawa’id al Tafsiriyyah, 2/124.

^[28]  Ibid., 2/127.