The Shiite Apologetics
Question Sixteen
Do the Shiites believe that the Quran has been distorted?
Answer:
The renowned Shiite scholars unanimously maintain that no distortion whatsoever has entered into the sacred precinct of the Quran: nothing has been added to it nor anything has been dropped from it, and that the Quran we have with us today is the same divine Scripture which was revealed to the noble Prophet. To this regard, a few elucidatory points are presented below:
The Lord of the worlds Himself has guaranteed the protection of the Quran by saying Surely, We have revealed the reminder and We will most surely be its guardian 15:9. It is evident that the Shiites, giving the Quran their widest attention in making their decisions and taking actions, value this holy Quranic verse and do believe in the message it conveys.
The great leader of the Shiites, `Ali (a.s), a constant company of the noble Prophet and a scribe of the Revelation, has, in various circumstances, invited people to the same Quran in common use. Quoted below are some of his words in this regard:
And know that this Quran is an advisor that never deceives and a guide that never misleads.[1]
Verily, Allah, the Glorified, has never advised anyone as He has done through the Quran; therefore, it is His strong rope and His plain medium.[2]
Then He sent upon him (Muhammad - peace be upon him and his descendants) a book which can be likened to a light whose flame can not be put out, a dazzling lamp whose gleam does not die, a path that never leads its traveler astray, and a separator of good from evil whose arguments will never weaken.[3]
The lofty words of the great Imam of the Shiites imply that the glorious Quran is similar to a beacon that gives light, illuminating the way for the travelers and will remain so forever. No distortion will ever enter into it, distortion of the kind that may extinguish its light or lead the people astray.
- The Shiite scholars of religion unanimously hold that the holy Prophet (a.s) has said, I leave behind two precious things among you: the Book of Allah (The Quran) and my Ahl al- Bayt, my Itrah; You will never go astray so long as you adhere to them.
This is an Islamic tradition with unbroken chain of narrators, frequently quoted by both Shiites and Sunnis, confirming the Shiites' belief that no alteration will ever
[1] Subhi al-Salih's Nahj al-Balaghah, sermon 176. [2] Ibid, sermon l76 [3] Ibid sermon 198
happen to the Quran; otherwise, the Quran would be unable to guide or prevent misguidance, which is incompatible with the clear content of the tradition narrated above.
- The fact that the Quran is a criterion to distinguish truth from falsehood, and good from evil has been expressed by the Imams of the Shiites, whose words all our scholars have narrated. (The Imams have said) Any statement, even the traditions attributed to us, should be verified by the Quran. If they are compatible with the Quranic verses, they are true; otherwise they are invalid and are false.
The Shiite books of jurisprudence and traditions abound with narrations (i.e. hadiths), a few of which are mentioned below:
Imam Sadiq (a.s) has said, Any tradition not in conformity with the Quran is baseless.[1] This tradition clearly shows that no alteration will take place in the Quran; therefore, this holy Book can remain an eternal criterion for distinguishing truth from falsehood.
- The great Shiite scholars of religion, the forerunners of the Islamic and Shiite culture, have admitted the fact that the Quran will remain intact forever. Some of these people, too many to enumerate here, are as follows:
a) Abu-Ja`far Muhammad Ibn `Ali ibn Husayn Babawayh of Qum, known as Saduq (d.381 A.H.) says, It is our belief that this Quran is the word of God, the Revelation, into which falsehood finds no way; it has been sent down
[1] Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, the chapter on superiority of knowledge, Bab al-Akhdh bil-Sunnah wa Shawahid al-Kitab, tradition 4.
from God, the Wise; and it is He Who has sent it down and it is He Who safeguards it.[1]
b) Sayyid Murtada `Ali ibn Husayn Musawi Alawi, known as `Alam al-Huda (d. 436 A.H.) has said, Some companions of the Prophet (a.s), such as `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud and Ubayy ibn Ka`b often recited the whole Quran to the Prophet (a.s). This shows that the Quran had already been collected and well ordered, without lacking anything.[2]
c) Abu-Ja`far Muhammad Ibn Hasan Tusi, known as Shaykh al-Taifah (d.460 A.H.), has said, The issue concerning anything being added to or deleted from the Quran does not befit this book, for Muslims unanimously hold that nothing has been added to the Quran. As regards any deletion, the appearance of the Muslims canon law, the Shariah, proves it to be otherwise. This statement (that nothing has been added to the Quran) is more befitting to our law school, Shiism. This is what Sayyid Murtada has accepted and confirmed, (and is) a fact also proved by the appearance of the hadiths.
(Only) a scanty number of people have made reference to some traditions handed down from the Shiite and the Sunnis, pointing to the Quranic verses that are missing or transposed. But such traditions are of the kind that bring no sound knowledge, nor do they impel one to act upon them; it is better to shun them away.[3]
[1] Al-I`tiqadat, p.93 [2] Majma` al-Bayan, vol. 1, p. 10, quoted from Sayyid Murtada's al-Masa'il al-Tarabulsiyyah. [3] Al-Tibyan, vol. 1, p. 3.
d) Abu-`Ali Tabrasi, the author of Majma` al-Bayan Exegesis has said, As regards (the issue of) anything being added to the Quran, the Islamic community, as a whole, believes it to be a baseless idea. A handful of our people and a small group from the Hashawiyyah sect, however, have narrated words from the Sunnis in regard to verses having being deleted. But what is generally accepted in our Shariah, which is correct, counters it.[1]
e) `Ali Ibn Tawus Hilli, known as Sayyid Ibn Tawus (d. 664 A.H.) has said, It is the Shiites conviction that no alteration can happen to the Quran.[2]
f) Commenting on the Quranic verse Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian, Shaykh Zayn al-Din al-`amili (d. 877 A.H.) has said, This verse means We will safeguard the Quran against any change and alteration.[3]
g) The author of Ihqaq al-Haqq, Qadi Sayyid Nur al-Din Tustari (d. 1019 A.H.) has said, The accusation laid against the Twelver Shiites for claiming that they believe the Quran has been altered is not accepted by all the Shiites. Only a few of them, whom Shiites disregard, believe so.[4]
h) Muhammad Ibn Husayn, known as Baha al-Din `amili (d.1030 A.H.) has said, It is a truth that the Glorious
[1] Majma` al-Bayan, vol. 1, p.10. [2] Sa`d al-Su`ud, p.144. [3] Izhar al-Haqq, vol. 2, p.130. [4] ala' al-Rahman, p. 25.
Quran is secure against any addition or deletion. The claim that the name of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s) has been deleted from the Quran is unacceptable to the scholars of religion. Anyone who probes into history and traditions knows that the Quran is unalterable and it has been compiled during the time of the Prophet (a.s). Successive traditions (we have at hand) and the statements made by thousands of the companions of the Prophet prove this point.[1]
i) Having quoted such verses as Surely, We have revealed the Reminder and We will safeguard it, the author of al-Wafi, Fayd Kashani, (d.1091 A.H.) has said, How can distortion and alteration ever occur to the Quran? Such traditions stand in opposition to the Book of God; they should, therefore, be considered baseless.[2]
j) The renowned scholar in religion, Kashif al-Ghita, has the following statement in his Kashf al-Ghita, The Quran is, no doubt, secure against any distortion because God has promised to protect it; to this the Quran itself testifies, and so do all the scholars, just as they have done throughout the ages. The differing idea of some people, too few, should not be heeded.
h) The ex-leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Imam Khomeini, also has made the following comment, another clear proof in this respect: Anyone who knows how devoted Muslims have been in collecting, preserving, and reciting of the Quran will testify that the idea of the
[1] Ibid. [2] Tafsir al-Safi, vol. 1, p. 51.
alteration of the Quran is baseless and implausible. The narrations handed down in this one respect are either weak (so they can not be taken as evidence) or fabricated (with marks of forgery evident in them) or are narrations the subject matter of which is tawil, the esoteric meaning and some interpretation of the Quran, or similar issues for the explanation of which a comprehensive book should be written. Were it not for the fear of deviation from our discussion, we would go through the history of the Quran and prove that the glorious Quran is in reality the book we have at hand and that the theoretical difference we see among the reciters of the Quran is a new issue that has nothing to do with what Gabriel, the Faithful Spirit, revealed to the pure heart of the noble Prophet.[1]
Conclusion
Muslims, both the Shiites and the Sunnis, maintain that the Quran in use is the very Divine Book that was sent down to the Prophet (a.s), and is secure against any distortion, either addition or deletion. Thus, the accusation made against the Shiites is proved to be unfair. If the weak narrations are referred to as evidence for the discussion, we will answer that these narrations are not restricted to the Shiite sources, for a group of the Sunni interpreters of the Quran, named below, have also narrated the same weak traditions.
- In his commentary of the Quran, Abu-`Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ansari of Cordova, quotes Abu-
[1] Imam Khomeini's Tahdhib al-Usul, vol. 2, p. 96 (compiled by Ayatollah Subhani).
Bakr Anbazi to have said, on the authority of Ubay ibn Ka`b, During the time of the Prophet the Ahzab chapter of the Quran, which contains seventy three verses, was as long as the Baqara chapter, which has two hundred and eighty six verses. The verse on stoning was also a part of the former chapter[1] whereas such a verse does not exist in the Ahzab chapter now. The author of the same book quotes `aishah to have said, During the lifetime of the Prophet, the Ahzab chapter contained two hundred verses, but when the Mushaf (the Quran) was collected into one volume, no more verses were found than are now at hand.[2]
The author of Al-Itqan has related that there were one hundred and sixteen Surahs, in the Mushaf that Ubay had compiled, for it contained two other chapters: Hafd and Khal`[3]. We know, however, that there are only one hundred and fourteen chapters in the Glorious Quran, without any trace of alleged chapters: Hafd and Khal`.
In his al-Nasikh wal-Mansukh, Hibatullah Ibn Salamah relates from Malik ibn Anas as having said, During the time of the Prophet, we used to recite a Surah that was as long as chapter Repentance, of which I have memorized only one verse: If the son of Adam were in possession of two valleys full of gold, he would long for a third one; were he given the third one, he would long for the fourth. Nothing but dust will fill his inner side; God forgives whoever repents.
[1] Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, part 14, p. 113; Chapter al-Ahzab, the Holy Qur'an. [2] Ibid. [3] Al-Itqan, vol. 1, p. 67.
We know that such a verse does not exist in the Quran, nor does it follow eloquence of the Quran.
- In his al-Durr al-Manthur Jalal al-Din Suyuti quotes `Umar ibn al-Khattab as having said, The Ahzab chapter was as long as Baqara chapter and it contained the verse on stoning.[1]
We can thus conclude that a small number of both Shiites and Sunnis have related basically weak traditions in regard to alterations in the Quran. The vast majority of Shiites and Sunnis, however, have not accepted these traditions; moreover, the text of the Quranic verses and the traditions of absolute authority as well as thousands of the Prophets companions and consensus of the Muslims all over the world show that no distortion, alteration, addition or deletion has befallen the Quran nor will such a thing ever happen.
[1] Al-Durr al-Manthur, vol. 5, p. 180.
