VI
THE QURAN

The Quran is the eternal divine message preserved from the distortion and falsification that occured to the new and old testaments. This is affirmed in the following Quranic verses: "We revealed the Quran and shall preserve it"⁽¹⁰⁴⁾ and "We shall see to its [the Quran's] collection and recital"⁽¹⁰⁵⁾. However, a number of unscrupulous narrators and counterfeiters invented a number of sayings and traditions which claim that the Quran has been distorted either by addition or deletion. This claim has been deplored and rejected by the Imamiya scholars who ruled that the Quran is intact and preserved from distortion. The completeness of the Quran has been repeatedly reaffirmed by these scholars in their books and arguments regarding the Quran's integrity as the following comment by Al-Tebrasi, a prominent scholar of the Imamiya Shiite in the fourth hijra century illustrates:⁽¹⁰⁶⁾

What is being said about additions and deletions [in the Quran] is inappropriate because [claims of] additions in the Quran are considered by consensus to be unfounded and so is the case regarding deletions. These are our views which have been supported by [the scholar] al-Murtada and confirmed by the tradition".

On the same subject, al-Tebrasi wrote that "it is widely accepted by the Imamiya scholars that the Quran has not been distorted"⁽¹⁰⁷⁾. Further support of this standpoint was provided by al-Sadduq, a prominent Imamiya scholar of the third and fourth Hijra century as follows:⁽¹⁰⁸⁾ "It is our belief that the Quran revealed by God to his Prophet is all that is found between its covers, and not more than this. Whoever claims that we say it is more than this is a liar".

Finally, the late abu al-Qasim al-Khoui, a notable scholar of the Imamiya, also commented on the same subject:⁽¹⁰⁹⁾

We want to make clear that what Othman collected was the Quran known to all Muslims and handed down from the Prophet. Any distortion resulting from addition or deletion may have occurred to those versions⁽¹¹⁰⁾ that have been unavailable since the time of the Othman. The available Quran is intact and free of addition and deletion.

It is therefore the consensus among Islamic scholars that allegations of distortions in the Quran made by some Sunni and Shiite sources are unsupported and hence unacceptable. Also a number of the traditions of the Imams of the Prophet Household which refer to distortions in the Quran actually imply its meanings, and not its text, have been distorted by some commentators and unscrupulous people who are described in the following Quranic verse:⁽¹¹¹⁾

Those whose hearts are infected with perversity follow the part that is allegorical, so as to create discord by seeking to explain its hidden meanings. But no one knows its meaning except God and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge Say: we believe in the book, the whole of it is from our Lord, but only the wise take heed.

Misconceptions Regarding Fatima's Book

Before concluding this section on the Quran it is essential to clarify and dispel misconceptions regarding what is known as Fatima's Mushaf (Fatima's book). This has been intentionally misconstructed by those who seek to sow dissent among Muslims to imply that the Imamiya shiite have a Quran which is different from the one knows to Muslims.

Propagating such misconceptions is characteristic of those who disregard true intentions and clear meanings and seek to promote perversity and discord as described in the following Quranic verses:⁽¹¹²⁾

He [God] has revealed to you the Quran. Some of its verses are precise in meaning they are the foundations of the book - and others allegorical. Those whose hearts are infected with perversity follow the part that is allegorical, so as to create discord by seeking to explain its hidden meanings...

To expose this misinterpretation and intentional attempt to throw suspicion on the Imamiya creed, the literal meaning of the term Mushaf need to be clarified to establish whether it is one of the legitimate names of the Quran or not. The meaning of this term will also be investigated with reference to Imam al-Sadiq's comments on it.

Al-Raghib al-Asfahani defined the word Sahifa to mean "any flat object such as a page, and its plural is suhuf or pages. Al-Mushaf denotes a collection of pages, i.e. a book"⁽¹¹³⁾. According to al-Razi, a "Sahifa is a book and its plural is Suhuf of Sahifa. The Mushaf is that in which the suhuf are collected⁽¹¹⁴⁾. Obviously this terms has been known to Arabs and commonly used to refer to a number of written pages. It is not, therefore, one of the specific names of the Quran. Muslims called the Holy Quran Al-Mushaf after it was collected and bound in a single book made up of parchments. Legitimate names of the Quran mentioned by God are in addition to the Quran, al-Furkan, al-Thikr, al-Kitab, and Kalam Allah.

The Quran also has a number of labels such as al-Noor, al-Mubeen, al- Suraj and al-Huda. The name al-Mushaf was used not by God but by ordinary Muslims and religious scholars refrain from using it in their lectures or publications.

With regard to Imam al-Sadiq's mention of Fatima's Mushaf it was made in reference to the knowledge inherited by the Imams from the Prophet and written down in a Mushaf or scroll. The Imam said: "We have Fatima's Mushaf and it includes none of the Quranic verses⁽¹¹⁵⁾. He is also reported to have said that 'We have Fatima's Mushaf and it includes none of the verses of God's Book. The Prophet dictated it and Ali wrote it down in his own handwriting'⁽¹¹⁶⁾. These two statements clearly establish that the material dictated by the prophet to Imam Ali was not the Quran and does not include any part of the Quran. This material, however, contained religious knowledge and laws recorded by Ali in a scroll for his wife Fatima and this explains the term Fatima's Mushaf or scroll.

This scroll or book has been referred to by the Imam as a source of religious knowledge and laws. However, and contrary to false claims that this book is another Quran, Muslim scholars of various sects including Shiites and Sunnis share in the belief that the available Quran contain all the verses revealed to the Prophet without addition or deletion, and it has been preserved by God as the following two verses promise: "We revealed the Quran and shall preserve it"⁽¹¹⁷⁾, and "We shall see to its collection and recital."⁽¹¹⁸⁾ Accordingly, scholars dismiss weak traditions related by single source and narrated by Sunni and Shiite authors in contradiction with this consensus.

Finally, it must be remembered that the collection and transcription of the Quran were accomplished during the lifetime of the prophet who commissioned a number of secretaries for this purpose. Furthermore, a number of companions recited the verses they had memorized in front of the Prophet and he approved them. The Quran received from the Prophet and transcribed has been handed down from one generation to another with utmost care. This has been confirmed by the Imamiya scholars over the centuries including al-Sadduq, al-Mufeed, al-Murtada, al-Tebrasi, al-Hili and numerous contemporary scholars.