[E] THE 2 COMPILATIONS OF THE QUR’AN

If it is eternal and complete by 632 AD, why were two Compilations needed?

What Sources can we turn to?

Concerning the Qur’an’s Compilation

  • To understand the Muslim’s claims we have to go to the earliest Islamic references to the Qur’an’s compilation, which is found in a late 9thcentury Hadith
    • Sahih Bukhari, Volume 6:509-510
    • According to Bukhari, there were 2 different compilations of the Qur’an

 

COMPILATION #1 (Abu Bakr 632-634 AD)

Al Bukhari 6:509

Between 632 and 634 AD the first Caliph Abu Bakr did not have the Qur’anic text written down. Umar, the 2nd Caliph, who was with him, warns that since many who memorized it had died, therefore “a large part of the Qur’an may be lost”. So, they called Zaid ibn Thabit (Muhammad’s secretary), to write it down.

Thabit felt it was too difficult to write down, because it was something which even Muhammad did not do in his lifetime.

 

COMPILATION #1 (Abu Bakr 632-634 AD)

Al Bukhari 6:509

Thabit finally agreed, and looked for verses collected from palm stalks, stones, and the memories of surviving warriors. At times only one person remembered a verse (surah 9:128-129).

This first compilation remained with Abu Bakr (1st Caliph), then with Umar (2nd Caliph), then with his daughter, Hafsa.

 

COMPILATION #2 (Uthman 652 AD)

Al Bukhari 6:510

Hudhaifa was afraid that the people of Syria and Iraq had different ‘recitations’ of the Qur’an; so he asks Uthman to have the Qur’an written down a second time, using Hafsa’s 1st compilation as the model.

Uthman orders four compilers (Thabit, Zubair, Al-as, & Hisham) to rewrite the text.

If the four had any disagreement, they were to write it in the Quraishi dialect (Note: written Arabic dialects require the use of diacritical marks, & vowelization, which do not appear until the next century)

Uthman sends a copy to every Muslim province. There were 9 provinces, including Basra, Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, Aden, Herat, and Nishapur. So, we should have 9 Qur’anic manuscripts to look at! (Where are they?)

Once the copies of Uthman’s 2nd compilation were sent to the 9 provinces, he then “ordered that all other Qur’anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts, or whole copies, be burnt.”

Why would you burn manuscripts, unless there is something you are trying to censor?

Would not it be great to have everything that was burned to look at, so that we could see what they censored?

Compilation Questions – 1

Concerning al Bukhari 6:509 – Abu Bakr’s 1st compilation of the Qur’an

  • Why did not God choose a languagewhich could accommodate the Qur’an?
    • (i.e. no diacritical marks, nor vowelization until the 8th – 9th centuries)
    • Hebrew & Greek already existed, and were previously used…why not use either of them?
  • Why did not God choose a manwho could ‘read and write’?
    • Writing down the Qur’an and preserving it was his primary remit
      • So, why did not he do either before he died?

Compilation Questions – 2

Concerning al Bukhari 6:509 – Abu Bakr’s 1st compilation of the Qur’an

  • Why did not Muhammad learnto read and write?
    • He had 22 years to do so (Note: I learned to read Arabic in 2 weeks!)
  • What about Zaid ibn Thabit? He was Muhammad’s secretary! Is not that the job of secretaries?
  • Why did not Abu Bakr make copiesand disperse them to the 9 provinces in 634 AD, as Uthman did later on?
    • These included: Basra, Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, Aden, Herat, and Nishapur

Compilation Questions – 3

Concerning al Bukhari 6:510 – Uthman’s 2nd compilation of the Qur’an

  • How could there be dialectical differences in the mid-7thcentury?
    • Dialects require diacritical marks, and vowelization
    • These were not introduced until the 8th century
    • And they were not finalized until possibly another century later
  • Why did Uthman burnall of the other copies?
    • Does not that suggest that they did not agree?
    • Would not it be great to have them to compare with?

Compilation Questions – 4

Concerning al Bukhari 6:510 – Uthman’s 2nd compilation of the Qur’an

  • Where are the copies of the Qur’an sent to the 9 cities?
    • They would only be 1400 year. old, we have 1700 year old New Testaments
    • All of those cities (outside of Jerusalem) are still Islamic today
    • Even one completed 7th century copy would suffice!
  • Why, if Uthman standardized the Qur’an to just one copy, is there now a multiplicity of different Arabic Qur’ans today?
  • What about the earliest extant manuscripts which do exist? Should we not take a look at them to find out just how similar they are to our present Hafs text?
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