The answer:
All of the famous Shia scholars, except one or two, believe that the holy Quran has not been falsified, and the version in our hand is the same Book, revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) with no distortion. To prove this claim, we point to a few of the clear evidences in this regard:
1- God, the Almighty, has guaranteed the preservation of the Muslims‟ heavenly Book, as saying,
انا نحن نزلنا الذكر و انا له لحافظون *
(Verily, We have sent down this Reminder [the holy Quran] and We will assuredly be its Protector.)Hijr Sura, verse no. 9.
واعلموا ان هذاالقرآن هو الناصح الذي لا يؽش والهادي الذي لايضل *
(Beware that the holy Quran is an admonition, which never betrays and is a guide that never leads you astray.)
ان الله سبحانه لم يعظ احداً بمثل هذا القرآن فانه حبل الله المتين و سببه المبين **
(Allah, glory be to Him, has never sent down any better admonition than the holy Quran. It is the Divine firm bond and His confirmed medium of instruction.)
ثم انزل عليه الكتاب نوراً لا تطفا مصابيحه ، و سراجاً لايخبوا توقده. ومنهاجا لايضل
نهجه … و فرقاناً لايخمد برهانه ***
* Naljul Balagheh (Sobhi Saleh), Sermon no. 176
** Ibid.
*** Ibid, Sermon no. 198
(Then, Allah sent down the Book, a light, which never goes dim, and a way, which never leads its wayfarer astray. It is a criterion for the distinction between truth and falsity, and its logic shows no signs of abating).
This fact has its origins in the speech of the grand Shia leader, signifying that the holy Quran is a bright light, which illuminates the way for men, and it will remain intact for good. Nothing can stop it shining or lead the wayfarers astray.
3- The Shia scholars all agree that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants) said, “I leave two invaluable things amongst you: one is the Book of Allah (the holy Quran) and the other is my household, as long as you hold fast to them, you will never go astray”.
This hadith is one of the frequently narrated hadiths by both the Shia and the Sunnite narrators. Invoking this hadith, the Shia believe that the holy Quran has remained intact through the passage of time, because any adherence to the holy Quran while it has been falsified brings about adversity, and it is entirely inconsistent with this frequently-narrated hadith.
4- In the words of the Shia Imams (a.s), narrated by the Muslim narrators, it has been specified that the holy Quran is the criterion for the distinction between right and wrong. That is to say, even the traditions and hadith, transmitted to us, have to be compared with the verses of the holy Quran; if no contradiction exists, it is authentic, and vice versa. There are an abundant number of traditions in this regard, narrated in the Shia books of narration and jurisprudence. Bellow, we point to one of them.
Imam Sadeq (a.s) said,
مالم يوافق من الحديث القرآن فهو زخرؾ *
(Any statement inconsistent with the holy Quran is futile.)
It is deduced from reference to these traditions that no alteration has occurred in the holy Quran; thus, it is regarded as the criterion for the distinction between right and wrong.
5- The eminent Shia scholars as the vanguards of the Islamic and Shia culture have always admitted that the holy Quran has never been exposed to any alteration. It is certainly difficult to mention all their names; however, we refer to some of them:
i. Abu Jafar Mohammad Ibn Ali Ibn Hossein Babvey Qomi, known as‟ Saduq‟ (died in 381 year of Hijra), said, “we believe that the holy Quran is the Word of God; no falsification has penetrated in it yet, and it has been revealed to man by Wise Omniscient God, and He is its Sender and Protector”.
ii. Seyed Morteza Ali Ibn Hussein Mossavi Alavi, known as „Alamul Hoda‟ (died in 436 year of Hijra) said, “A number of the Prophet‟s disciples, such as Abdollah Ibn Massod, Obay Ibn Ka‟b, etc recited the holy Quran from the beginning to the end many times to the Prophet (a.s), and this is the clear evidence, proving that the holy Quran has been accumulated and well- arranged with no dispersion or omission”. *
iii. Abu Jafar Mohammad Ibn Hasan Tusi, known as‟ Sheikh Ul-Taefa‟ (died in 460 year of Hijra) said, “To raise objections on the holy Quran and its falsification is null and void, because the whole Muslims unanimously reject any additions made to the holy Quran.
Also, the Muslims apparently
deny any kind of omission in it, too. Our religion evidently claims that nothing has been added to the holy Quran, and Seyed Murteza has confirmed this claim. The other traditions, implicitly or explicitly, confirm this fact, too. Some commentators in their commentary books have referred to some traditions, narrated by both the Shia and Sunnite narrators, specifying the idea of omission in some verses or change in the original positions of some other ones, however, these traditions are of single-origin, which have no authenticity and cast no obligation to act based on them, and we‟d better disregard them”
(* Osul Kafi, vol.1, the book „ Fazl Ul-Elm‟, the section Al -Akhz Belsenate Va Shavahed, tradition no. 4
* Majma Ul-Bayan, vol.1, p.10)
iv. Abu Ali Tabarsi, the writer of „Majma Ul-Bayan, the Commentary‟ believes, “The whole Islamic nations are unanimous that no additions have been made to the holy Quran, but as for the omissions in the verses, few of our scholars and a number of „Hashvieh‟ scholars - one of the Sunnite sects- have narrated some traditions, which are in full disagreement with our religious teachings”.**
v. Ali Ibn Tavus Helli, known as „Seyed Ibn Tavus‟ (died in 664 year of Hijra) said, “the Shia firmly believe that no alteration has been made to the holy Quran”.***
vi. In his commentary on the verse انا نحن نزلنا الذكر وانا له
لحافظون Sheikh Zein Ul-Din Ameli (died in 877 year of Hijra) stated, “this verse signifies that He protects the holy Quran against alteration, whether addition or omission”*.
vii. Ghazi Seyed Noor Ul-Din Tastari, the writer of „Ahghagh Ul-Hagh‟ (died in 1019 year of Hijra) cited, “The Imami Shia are accused that they believe in the alterations to the holy Quran, but it is not granted by all the Shia, save a small group who due to their wrong beliefs are ignored among the Shia sect”. **
viii. Mohammad Ibn Hussein, known as „Baha Ul-Din Ameli‟ (died in 1030 year of Hijra) said, “the holy Quran is perfectly immune from any addition or omission, and the claim that the name of Imam Ali (a.s) has been deleted from the holy Quran has not been admitted by the scholars, and whosoever makes a thorough research in the Islamic history and traditions will find out that the content of the holy Quran is constant and away from alteration, and it was accumulated at the time of the Prophet”.***
ix. After presenting some Quranic verses, including, انانحن
نزلنا الذكر وانا له لحافظون, Feiz Kashani, the writer of „Wafi‟, said, “How can alteration make way in the holy Quran [with the presence of these documents]? In fact, these false traditions are utterly opposed to the Divine Book, thus, we must describe these traditions as unfounded”.*
x. Sheikh Hur Ameli (died in 1104 year of Hijra) writes, “He who investigates truly in the Islamic history and hadiths bears witness to this fact that the holy Quran, according to the approval of thousand of the Prophet‟s disciples as well as the frequently-narrated traditions in this regard, is constant, and it was accumulated at the Prophet‟s lifetime”.**
xi. The great researcher of the book „Kashef Ul-Ghata‟ writes, “As the verses of the holy Quran and the scholars in all eras testify, the holy Quran has been immune to any kind of alteration under the Divine preservation and conservation, though the disapproval of the few is not worth considering”.
xii. As another evidence, Ayatollah Khomeini, the grand leader of Islamic revolution, confirmed, “Whoever is fully aware of the Muslims‟ sincere efforts to accumulate, safeguard, transcribe, and recite the holy Quran attest to the blamelessness of this claim (the falsification of the holy Quran), and the traditions, narrated in this regard, are whether unreliable that they are not to be trusted, or anonymous that they may have been forged. They may also include the traditions the content of which originates from the allegorical interpretation of the holy Quran, etc. To elaborate these sorts of traditions, we need to write a comprehensive book in this regard, and if it was not for the fear of being irrelevant to the subject, I would discuss the history of the holy Quran and clarify that the diversity of opinions among the holy Quran reciters is a new matter, which has no relation with what Gabriel revealed to the pure heart of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants)”. *
Conclusion:
The Whole Muslim communities, including both the Shia and the Sunnite, are of the opinion that this heavenly Book is precisely what revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants), and it is away from any kind of falsification or alteration, addition or omission.
Consequently, the wrong accusation, which is made to the Shia, proved to be baseless. It is noteworthy to say that the narration of these unreliable traditions, which is the main cause of this accusation, does not only belong to the few sect of Shiism, because a number of the Sunnite commentators have confirmed it, among them:
1- Abu Abdollah Mohammed Ibn Ahmad Ansari Ghartabi in his commentary book on the holy Quran quoted Abubakr Anbazi as he had quoted Ubay Ibn Kab that at the Prophet‟s lifetime, Ahzab Sura (which consists of 73 verses) was as long as Baqara Sura (which consists of 286 verses), and the Rajm verse× [stoning to death] has been in the former while no trace of this verse is detected in this Sura now).
In the same book, he also quotes Ayesheh as saying, “Ahzab Sura consisted of 200 verses at the Prophet‟s lifetime, but it was diminished to what is present to us after it was transcribed”.**
The writer of the book „Al-Atghan‟ narrates that there were 116 Suras in „Ubay‟ version of the holy Quran, because two other Suras, entitled „Hafad‟ and „ Khala‟ had existed in it.***
As everyone knows, the holy Quran contains 114 Suras, and no trace of two above-mentioned Suras is detected in it.
3- Habat Ulah Ibn Salama in his book, entitled „Al-Nasekh Val Mansukh‟, narrated Anas Ibn Malik as saying, “we used to recite a Sura as long as Tubeh Sura at the time of the Prophet (a.s), and I remember only one verse of it:
لو ان لابن آدم واديان من الذهب لا بتؽي اليهما ثالثاً وَ لو ان لهُ ثالثاً لابتَؽي
اليها رابعاً و لا يملا جوؾ ابن آدم الا التُرابُ و يتوب الله علي من تاب!
We know that such a verse does not exist in the holy Quran and is inconsistent with the eloquent style of the holy Quran.
4-Jalal Ul-Din Soyuti in his commentary book of the holy Quran, entited „Dur Ul-Manthur‟, narrated from Omar Ibn Khatab as saying that Ahzab Sura was as lengthy as Baqara Sura, and „Rajm‟ verse was in it.*
Thus, a small group of both the Shia and the Sunnite have narrated unreliable traditions concerning the falsification of the holy Quran. These traditions have not been admitted by almost all the Muslims, including the Shia and the Sunnite, and based on the Quarnic verses, the frequently-narrated and authentic traditions, the consensus of Muslim scholars, and conformity of thousands of the Prophet‟s disciples as well as the Muslims all over the world, no alteration, whether addition or omission, has been made to the holy Quran.
References -
* Tebyan, vol.1, p.3
** Majmaul Bayan, vol.1, p.10
*** Sad Ul-Sud, p.144
* Ezharul Hagh, vol. 2, p.130
**Alaul Rahman, p. 25
*** Ibid.
* Safi, the Commentary, vol.1, p. 51
** Ala Ul-Rahman, p.25
* Tahzib Ul-Osul, Imam Khomeini‟s lessons, vol.2, P.96 [Written by Jafar Sobhani
× Ghartabi, the Commentary, section 14, p. 113, at the beginning of Ahzab Sura
** Ibid.
*** Atghan. Vol.1, p.67
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