First let's start with the premise that appears to be universally accepted by devout Muslims, namely that the Qur'an is exactly the same in every detail as it was when Muhammad first related it some 1400 years ago.
The description and explanation of this belief that I provided below can be found on several Islamic websites[1]
So the qu'ran we have today is believed to be a perfect copy of what is called Umm al-Kitabhe or "Heavenly Qu'ran" and that a copy was sent down to earth (see ayat/verse 105 of surah/chapter 17 -- known as Al-Isra, "The Night Ride") and which Muslims believe is a flawless copy of the heavenly qu'ran.
It, as seen the description of what the qu'ran is provided above, "is a record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad" and with "not one word ... changed over the centuries."
So my question is, if the qu'ran is a perfect, unchanging copy of the Umm al-Kitabhe, then why did Uthman ibn Affan, both son-in-law of and notable companion (Sahabai) of Muhammad, as well as the third of the Rashidun, or "Rightly Guided Caliphs," feel compelled to make an official standardized copy of the qu'ran (referred to as the Uthmanic recension) and destroy all earlier versions? The only logical reason why he would have ordered the destruction of all earlier copies of the qur’an would be due to their differing in some way in comparison to his final, revised text. But if they differed then the idea that "not one word" has changed cannot possibly be correct.
Then there is incontrovertible proof that the earliest qu'rans contained significant differences as can be seen from the Sana'a Palimpset[2], which escaped Uthman's bonfires, as well as the later codex Parisino-petropolitanus, one of the oldest extant qur'anic manuscripts which, according to François Déroche, Chair in History of the Qur'an at the Collège de France, include
substantive variants and even some non-canonical variants.
And I posted this a few years back:
I should add that variations of the text can be found in the Bible, but in sharp contrast with what is believed by followers of Islam, neither Christians or Jews claim that it is a uncreated, eternal Bible up in heaven sitting on a table made of jade and that the earthly versions are flawless copies in which not one word has changed since it was first recorded. So let's put that excuse to bed as entirely irrelevant.
1. For instance, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE
2. discovered in Yemen during a 1972 restoration of the ancient Great Mosque of Sanaa -- construction of which is thought to have begun during Muhammad's life time
The description and explanation of this belief that I provided below can be found on several Islamic websites[1]
The Qur’an is a record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad. It was memorized by Muhammad and then dictated to his Companions, and written down by scribes, who cross-checked it during his lifetime.
Not one word of its 114 chapters, Suras, has been changed over the centuries, so that the Qur’an is in every detail the unique and miraculous text which was revealed to Muhammad fourteen centuries ago.
Not one word of its 114 chapters, Suras, has been changed over the centuries, so that the Qur’an is in every detail the unique and miraculous text which was revealed to Muhammad fourteen centuries ago.
So the qu'ran we have today is believed to be a perfect copy of what is called Umm al-Kitabhe or "Heavenly Qu'ran" and that a copy was sent down to earth (see ayat/verse 105 of surah/chapter 17 -- known as Al-Isra, "The Night Ride") and which Muslims believe is a flawless copy of the heavenly qu'ran.
It, as seen the description of what the qu'ran is provided above, "is a record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad" and with "not one word ... changed over the centuries."
So my question is, if the qu'ran is a perfect, unchanging copy of the Umm al-Kitabhe, then why did Uthman ibn Affan, both son-in-law of and notable companion (Sahabai) of Muhammad, as well as the third of the Rashidun, or "Rightly Guided Caliphs," feel compelled to make an official standardized copy of the qu'ran (referred to as the Uthmanic recension) and destroy all earlier versions? The only logical reason why he would have ordered the destruction of all earlier copies of the qur’an would be due to their differing in some way in comparison to his final, revised text. But if they differed then the idea that "not one word" has changed cannot possibly be correct.
Then there is incontrovertible proof that the earliest qu'rans contained significant differences as can be seen from the Sana'a Palimpset[2], which escaped Uthman's bonfires, as well as the later codex Parisino-petropolitanus, one of the oldest extant qur'anic manuscripts which, according to François Déroche, Chair in History of the Qur'an at the Collège de France, include
substantive variants and even some non-canonical variants.
And I posted this a few years back:
Originally posted by rogue06
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I should add that variations of the text can be found in the Bible, but in sharp contrast with what is believed by followers of Islam, neither Christians or Jews claim that it is a uncreated, eternal Bible up in heaven sitting on a table made of jade and that the earthly versions are flawless copies in which not one word has changed since it was first recorded. So let's put that excuse to bed as entirely irrelevant.
1. For instance, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE
2. discovered in Yemen during a 1972 restoration of the ancient Great Mosque of Sanaa -- construction of which is thought to have begun during Muhammad's life time
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