The History of the Quran is intricately connected to the history of Islam. Click here to read the previous article about the Origin of Islam. Quran is the Islamic sacred book, which Muslims believe that Mohammad and his followers had initially memorized partially. The Hadiths deny the full memorization of the Quran.
Table of Contents
The Losing Quran
Later on, after the death of Muhammad, As most of the men who had memorized the Quran had died in battles, Umar the next in Caliph feared that they would lose the Quran. Notice some instances from Islamic History where the preservation of the Quran theory has some real problems.
“Umar bin al-Khattab asked about a verse of Allah’s book, they answered: ‘It was with a man who got killed on day of Yamama (battle)’. He (Umar) said: ‘We all shall return to Allah’. Then he ordered to collect the Quran, therefore he was the first one who collected it in one book.”
Kanz ul Ummal, Volume 2, p. 574
Umar was once looking for the text of a specific verse of the Qur’an he vaguely remembered. To his deep sorrow, he discovered that the only person who had any record of that verse had been killed in the battle of Yamama and that the verse was consequently lost.
Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif, p. 10 – see also as-Suyuti’s al-Itqan fi ‘ulum al-Quran, volume 1, p. 204
In the Muqaddamah of Q. 33, Jalaluddin as-Suyuti recorded a statement from Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161 A. H), as narrated by his student Abd al-Razaq al-Sanani (d. 211 A. H.):
وأخرج عبد الرزاق عن الثوري قال : بلغنا ان ناسا من أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم كانوا يقرأون القرآن أصيبوا يوم مسيلمة فذهبت حروف من القرآن
“Abd al-Razaq narrated from Al-Thawri that he said: ‘I have come to know that people from the Sahaba of the Prophet who used to recite the Quran were killed on the day of Musaylama and with their deaths letters from the Quran were lost (Zahab).’”
Tafsir Dur al-Manthur, Muqaddamah of Surah Ahzab, Volume 6, p. 558
The Collection Drive
Hence, he asked the caliphate Abu Bakr and they started the project of collecting the Quran, from stones, palm leaves, bones of animals etc. This means they had to look at whatever they could collect. Remember proving that they had only bits and pieces of the Quran memorized. This collected fragmental copy of the Quran was preserved by the existing Caliphate Abu Bakr, who then passed it to Umar and his daughter Hafsa (one of the wives of Mohammad). This, however, was the private copy. It means this was not public. Each man and every follower of Islam had his own copy vaguely memorized, scribbled somewhere in his own dialect (various pronunciations of Arabic).
That is why authentic Islamic sources say that many verses of the Quran were abrogated/lost etc. Some believe that Muslims of that time invented this story to trace the authenticity of the Quran back to the time of the death of Mohammad.
The point is that these bits and pieces of the Quran were not authenticated by Mohammad who is considered the only channel of divine revelation. He had already died and not all men are naturally gifted with an excellent memory.
Imagine 100 tribal illiterate people made to memorize 100-page material and then after the deaths of the majority of them, a few decades later you want to bring all of the material they memorized in written form. What will happen? You can only get bits and pieces of it and there will lot of confusion, flaws, manmade insertions, etc. Thus goes the History of the Quran.
“Aharuf and Quirat” (role of Arabic language in the History of Quran)
In addition to all this confusion, the history of the Quran has a different angle too. The Islamic Arab community had various dialects which differed based on the location.
The Aharuf
Muhammad had authorized seven of these different dialects saying, “Jibril has given Quran in seven dialects (Aharuf)” Let me explain what it means. It is distinct from pronunciations. Take the example of the word hello. Americans will pronounce hello with stress on the word “H.” The British would pronounce hello as “ello” with h silent. This is a difference in pronunciation. However, these are not different dialects.
To understand the dialect, let us take the same example. Americans would greet someone by saying “hello. How are you doing?”. The British would say the same thing as “Howdy?” Howdy means hello how are you doing. This is what is meant by the usage of a different dialect. It is the usage of informal words common to a particular region. So, Muhammad had allowed his followers to memorize Quran in seven different ways, seven different dialects (Aharuf).
Now when Zaid ibn Thabit (scribe of Mohammad who or order of caliphates ‘Abu Bakr’ and ‘Umar’) began the collection of the Quran (from different sources parts of which were written on palm leaves, stone, camels ribs etc), he had to face the challenge of these Quranic dialects.
It became a herculean task for him to make an accurate standardized copy of the Quran having 777934 words which were to be collected written in different dialects. You need to have an understanding of all the dialects to come to the same conclusion if you are making a standard copy of the Quran (from fragmented remains of the memories of men who had recited it two-three decades back, and from varied other sources). Imagine how accurately you remember the things you memorized decades back when you were in school/college! Is not it funny that Muslims still believe in the perfect preservation of the Quran?
The Quirat
Another problem of collecting fragments of the Quran was the Quirat (vowels) problem. Since the spoken language in those days was not fully developed, the Arabic language had no vowel system (Vowel or Quira were developed later). Take the example of the word Jibril.
The word Jibril is pronounceable but writing it becomes difficult, because without the vowel “i” or “e”, Jibril could only be written as JBRL (missing vowel “I” “e” from the language itself). One who does not know the pronunciation of JBRL may pronounce it as jaybeel or jaybeerol.
Imagine a person collecting such words having no vowel system from bits and pieces of Quran written with different dialects on various sources, like palm leaves, camels rib, leather, rock, stone, etc. A man could have written “how are you” or in another dialect as “howdy” and without vowel as “HWDY” (without vowel “o”).
These were the issues faced by “Zaid ibn Tabith” while collecting the 77934 words of the Quran from so many complications. Zaid, therefore, said, “By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains (from one place to another) it would not have been harder for me than what he ordered me concerning the collection of Quran” (Sahi al-Bukhari 4679). Therefore the copy of the written was too far from being perfect. Reading Quran will make you realize that you cannot make up for what it says. No wonder Muslims cannot follow Islam without the help of Hadiths.
The Burning of the Quran
Amid such mayhem and complexities, Zaid somehow managed to resurrect a half-baked Quran the second time. The first time he had done it was during Abu Bakr the first caliphate. At that time the copy he managed was not made public but was preserved with Hafsa which had been difficult to read over time. Uthman the third caliph asked people to surrender their own Quran copies which they had with them, to be burned down. This was done to avoid confusion arising out of conflicting passages within the Quran.
Many surrendered their Qurans. Uthman collected and burned them. But many of them had differences with Uthman’s way and therefore hid those copies with themselves. Uthman then sent this new copy (edited 2nd time by Zaid) to various places and kept one copy in Medina.
Where is the Uthman Quran?
In Simple words, nobody knows where is the Uthman Quran. We do not have that Mushaf. Uthman sent the copies to 9 Different cities. There is absolutely no linkage that proves the present day Quran is a copy of the Uthman Quran. As of now, we have more than 37 versions of the Arabic Quran and none of them can claim to be the Quran of Uthman. Even though a lay Muslim might claim to have that Quran, they will not be able to prove the preservation of the Quran with all these differences between the 37 different Arabic Quran.
The Corruption of the Quran
Pre 19th Century Islamic sources confirm that a written copy of the Quran thus received (amid such mayhem and complexities) is not the exact preservation. It has many corruptions. See the summary below from Islamic sources:
- Some verses were MISSING (Saheeh Al Bukhari Vol. 8:817, ,p 539)
- Some verses were FORGOTTEN (Saheeh Muslim Vol. 2:2286, p 501)
- Some verses were CANCELLED (Saheeh Al Bukhari Vol. 5:416, ,p 288)
- Some verses were SUBSTITUTED (Saheeh Al Bukhari Vol. 6:61, ,#527)
- Some verses were LOST (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab Al Masahif, p 23)
- Some verses DISAPPEARED (Al – Itaqan – fii Ulum al – Quran p 524)
- Some verses were OVERLOOKED (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab Al Masahif, p 11)
- Some verses were CHANGED (Muwatta Imam Malik, p 64) (795 AD)
- Some verses were MODIFIED (Ibn Abi Dawud Kitab al-Masahif, p 11)
- Some verses were EATEN BY SHEEP (Sunan Ibn Majah, #1944)
We shall see more about the Quran’s immorality, violence, errors, contradictions, mathematical mistakes, and unscientific claims later.
For detailed information on corruption in Quran,
- Daniel Brubaker is scholar who has officially investigated Quran manuscripts and confirms about insertion, abrogation, overwriting and corruption of Quran from manuscripts (click here to check his research ).
- To read Hatun Tash’s research from her collections of different Qurans from all over the world, indication that not all men submitted their Quran to Uthman to be burned ( Click here )
- More on Incomplete Quran by Sam Shamoun (click here)
- For unscientific claims of Quran, mathematical errors, contradictions in Quran, Mohammad’s dumb claims check this (Enjoy Fun with Quran) and use pins for dialogues with Muslim (from here)
End of “The Remarkable History of the Quran – Islam 2“
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Whether you believe in God or not, this is a must-read message!!!
Throughout time, we can see how we have been slowly conditioned to come to this point where we are on the verge of a cashless society. Did you know that the Bible foretold of this event almost 2,000 years ago?
In Revelation 13:16-18, we read,
“He (the false prophet who decieves many by his miracles) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”
Referring to the last generation, this could only be speaking of a cashless society. Why? Revelation 13:17 tells us that we cannot buy or sell unless we receive the mark of the beast. If physical money was still in use, we could buy or sell with one another without receiving the mark. This would contradict scripture that states we need the mark to buy or sell!
These verses could not be referring to something purely spiritual as scripture references two physical locations (our right hand or forehead) stating the mark will be on one “OR” the other. If this mark was purely spiritual, it would indicate only in one place.
This is where it really starts to come together. It is shocking how accurate the Bible is concerning the implatnable RFID microchip. These are notes from a man named Carl Sanders who worked with a team of engineers to help develop this RFID chip
“Carl Sanders sat in seventeen New World Order meetings with heads-of-state officials such as Henry Kissinger and Bob Gates of the C.I.A. to discuss plans on how to bring about this one-world system. The government commissioned Carl Sanders to design a microchip for identifying and controlling the peoples of the world—a microchip that could be inserted under the skin with a hypodermic needle (a quick, convenient method that would be gradually accepted by society).
Carl Sanders, with a team of engineers behind him, with U.S. grant monies supplied by tax dollars, took on this project and designed a microchip that is powered by a lithium battery, rechargeable through the temperature changes in our skin. Without the knowledge of the Bible (Brother Sanders was not a Christian at the time), these engineers spent one-and-a-half-million dollars doing research on the best and most convenient place to have the microchip inserted.
Guess what? These researchers found that the forehead and the back of the hand (the two places the Bible says the mark will go) are not just the most convenient places, but are also the only viable places for rapid, consistent temperature changes in the skin to recharge the lithium battery. The microchip is approximately seven millimeters in length, .75 millimeters in diameter, about the size of a grain of rice. It is capable of storing pages upon pages of information about you. All your general history, work history, crime record, health history, and financial data can be stored on this chip.
Brother Sanders believes that this microchip, which he regretfully helped design, is the “mark” spoken about in Revelation 13:16–18. The original Greek word for “mark” is “charagma,” which means a “scratch or etching.” It is also interesting to note that the number 666 is actually a word in the original Greek. The word is “chi xi stigma,” with the last part, “stigma,” also meaning “to stick or prick.” Carl believes this is referring to a hypodermic needle when they poke into the skin to inject the microchip.”
Mr. Sanders asked a doctor what would happen if the lithium contained within the RFID microchip leaked into the body. The doctor replied by saying a terrible sore would appear in that location. This is what the book of Revelation says:
“And the first (angel) went, and poured out his vial on the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore on the men which had the mark of the beast, and on them which worshipped his image” (Revelation 16:2).
You can read more about it here–and to also understand the mystery behind the number 666: https://2ruth.org/rfid-mark-of-the-beast-666-revealed/
The third angel’s warning in Revelation 14:9-11 states,
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.'”
Who is Barack Obama, and why is he still in the public scene?
So what’s in the name? The meaning of someone’s name can say a lot about a person. God throughout history has given names to people that have a specific meaning tied to their lives. How about the name Barack Obama? Let us take a look at what may be hiding beneath the surface.
Jesus says in Luke 10:18, “…I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
The Hebrew Strongs word (H1299) for “lightning”: “bârâq” (baw-rawk)
In Isaiah chapter 14, verse 14, we read about Lucifer (Satan) saying in his heart:
“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”
In the verses in Isaiah that refer directly to Lucifer, several times it mentions him falling from the heights or the heavens. The Hebrew word for the heights or heavens used here is Hebrew Strongs 1116: “bamah”–Pronounced (bam-maw’)
In Hebrew, the letter “Waw” or “Vav” is often transliterated as a “U” or “O,” and it is primarily used as a conjunction to join concepts together. So to join in Hebrew poetry the concept of lightning (Baraq) and a high place like heaven or the heights of heaven (Bam-Maw), the letter “U” or “O” would be used. So, Baraq “O” Bam-Maw or Baraq “U” Bam-Maw in Hebrew poetry similar to the style written in Isaiah, would translate literally to “Lightning from the heights.” The word “Satan” in Hebrew is a direct translation, therefore “Satan.”
So when Jesus told His disciples in Luke 10:18 that He beheld Satan fall like lightning from heaven, if this were to be spoken by a Jewish Rabbi today influenced by the poetry in the book of Isaiah, he would say these words in Hebrew–the words of Jesus in Luke 10:18 as, And I saw Satan as Baraq O Bam-Maw.
The names of both of Obama’s daughters are Malia and Natasha. If we were to write those names backward (the devil does things in reverse) we would get “ailam ahsatan”. Now if we remove the letters that spell “Alah” (Allah being the false god of Islam), we get “I am Satan”. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Obama’s campaign logo when he ran in 2008 was a sun over the horizon in the west, with the landscape as the flag of the United States. In Islam, they have their own messiah that they are waiting for called the 12th Imam, or the Mahdi (the Antichrist of the Bible), and one prophecy concerning this man’s appearance is the sun rising in the west.
“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.'” (Revelation 14:6-7)
Why have the word’s of Jesus in His Gospel accounts regarding His death, burial, and resurrection, been translated into over 3,000 languages, and nothing comes close? The same God who formed the heavens and earth that draws all people to Him through His creation, likewise has sent His Word to the ends of the earth so that we may come to personally know Him to be saved in spirit and in truth through His Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus stands alone among the other religions that say to rightly weigh the scales of good and evil and to make sure you have done more good than bad in this life. Is this how we conduct ourselves justly in a court of law? Bearing the image of God, is this how we project this image into reality?
Our good works cannot save us. If we step before a judge, being guilty of a crime, the judge will not judge us by the good that we have done, but rather by the crimes we have committed. If we as fallen humanity, created in God’s image, pose this type of justice, how much more a perfect, righteous, and Holy God?
God has brought down His moral laws through the 10 commandments given to Moses at Mt. Siani. These laws were not given so we may be justified, but rather that we may see the need for a savior. They are the mirror of God’s character of what He has put in each and every one of us, with our conscious bearing witness that we know that it is wrong to steal, lie, dishonor our parents, murder, and so forth.
We can try and follow the moral laws of the 10 commandments, but we will never catch up to them to be justified before a Holy God. That same word of the law given to Moses became flesh about 2,000 years ago in the body of Jesus Christ. He came to be our justification by fulfilling the law, living a sinless perfect life that only God could fulfill.
The gap between us and the law can never be reconciled by our own merit, but the arm of Jesus is stretched out by the grace and mercy of God. And if we are to grab on, through faith in Him, He will pull us up being the one to justify us. As in the court of law, if someone steps in and pays our fine, even though we are guilty, the judge can do what is legal and just and let us go free. That is what Jesus did almost 2,000 years ago on the cross. It was a legal transaction being fulfilled in the spiritual realm by the shedding of His blood.
For God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23). This is why in Isaiah chapter 53, where it speaks of the coming Messiah and His soul being a sacrifice for our sins, why it says it pleased God to crush His only begotten Son.
This is because the wrath that we deserve was justified by being poured out upon His Son. If that wrath was poured out on us, we would all perish to hell forever. God created a way of escape by pouring it out on His Son whose soul could not be left in Hades but was raised and seated at the right hand of God in power.
So now when we put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14), God no longer sees the person who deserves His wrath, but rather the glorious image of His perfect Son dwelling in us, justifying us as if we received the wrath we deserve, making a way of escape from the curse of death–now being conformed into the image of the heavenly man in a new nature, and no longer in the image of the fallen man Adam.
Now what we must do is repent and put our trust and faith in the savior, confessing and forsaking our sins, and to receive His Holy Spirit that we may be born again (for Jesus says we must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God–John chapter 3). This is not just head knowledge of believing in Jesus, but rather receiving His words, taking them to heart, so that we may truly be transformed into the image of God. Where we no longer live to practice sin, but rather turn from our sins and practice righteousness through faith in Him in obedience to His Word by reading the Bible.
Our works cannot save us, but they can condemn us; it is not that we earn our way into everlasting life, but that we obey our Lord Jesus Christ:
“And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” (Hebrews 5:9)
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’
Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’
And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.'” (Revelation 21:1-8).