The Clarification of the Proof in the Refutation of the Heretics and the Christians Abu Muhammad said: It is obvious

to any religious person that such an ignominious argument has nothing to do with them, which is easily demonstrated to one and all by the following facts, and we now proceed to state our proof. On God alone we depend for succor and guidance! As to their contention of the various reading of the Quran, we would reply that these are not discrepancies in the readings, but something on which Muslims are agreed, i.e., all the different readings go back to the Prophet himself; they have been gathered, preserved and remembered and they are of a fixed number, neither more nor less. We do not think that the Companions were beyond fancy or mistake, and do not think they should be followed blindly (taqlid). We do not accept that they are infallible, or free from mistake and phantasy (wahm) and what they say of themselves or by analogy ( qiyas) we do not accept. And if only you Christians would say the same about those rabbis and bishops who have intervened between you and the prophets, you too would have been guided, followers of the truth, and far from careless error. But you did not do this, but followed blindly the people who have made a code (sharia) for you. As to Ibn Masuds script being different from the current copies of the Quran, this is a lie. His reading is that of Asim and it is well known to all Muslims east and west, and Muslims read this also and other readings because all these are from Allah. Exalted is God, Lord of the Universe. The charge against Uthman is untrue. There were so many Qurans in Uthmans day that even if he had wanted he would never have been able to do what was said. Copies of the Quran were so numerous and distributed to various parts of the Muslim world. There were original copies in many parts of the land, with hundred of mosques and Muslims and their dispersed into the eastern and western regions of the earth. There were a number of other masters among the Qurra who had gone to great lengths to memorize the Quran. The Quran was taught to women and children, and widely learned by people in Yemen, Bahrain and Amman, Mecca, Taif, Medina, Syria, Egypt, and beyond the borders of Kufa and Basrah. Thus, there were too many copies spread out all over the place so that it would be impossible for him to do all that they claim he did. As for the charges that Uthman ordered the destruction of all other copies, this was simply to bring consensus among the Muslims on the basis of a single Quran text and to obtain uniformity in reading. It was not to destroy the other manuscripts because they were considered unreliable but rather to prevent future dissension among the inhabitants of the different provinces. Furthermore, the choice of one reading was simply to identify a touchstone copy for reference purposes if anyone attempted to make changes to the text.

It is also wrong to say that Uthman gathered the Muslims together in the acceptance of one reading. It is not possible for him to cancel out the different readings of the Quran considering the number of extant readings in his day, and the wide circulation of the texts around the globe. The seven huruf of the Quran are all equally valid; having been revealed in parallel. They were handed down as an exact record of the original variants and has became the basis for reading the Quran. As for their argument regarding the Rawafid and their contention that the Quran readings were interpolated, the Rawafid do not belong to the Muslims. They consist of a number of sects, the first of which arose twenty-five years after the Prophets death. It was originally the response of some people abandoned by Allah to the call of those who beguiled Islam, a party which followed the course of the Jews and Christians as regards falsehood and heresy. They are divided into various sections. The most extravagant of them assume the divinity of Ali b. Abi Talib and of a number of people besides him. The least extravagant of them believe that the sun was twice turned backwards for Ali. How can one be indignant over lies coming from people whose lowest rank in lying is such (as described)? None of these sects cares in the least for logical demonstration, as they constitute doctrines that are farthest removed from the truth of lslam. This matter will be discussed later in greater detail, when the questions of their faith come to be dealt with, God Willing. Abu Muhammad said: When the Prophet (peace be upon him) died, all the Arabian Peninsula had embraced Islam right from the Red Sea in the West down to the shores of Yemen into the Persian gulf in the East passing through Euphrates and Syria back to the Red Sea. Hundred of cities and places are there in the Arabia and only God Almighty knows their true numbers. These include Yemen, Bahrain, Amman, Najd, the two peaks of the Tay tribe, the lands of Mudar and Rabi'a, Quda'ah, Taif, and Makkah. In all of these areas people had embraced Islam and in every city and town mosques were build. The Quran was learned and written and was recited in the five daily prayers and has spread widely in almost every single province and state. After the death of Prophet Muhammad (Allah grants him peace) the people were one community, one in their religious practices (din), of one language, and there were great numbers of memorizers. Abu Bakr reigned as first Caliph of Islam. His caliphate had been of mere two years and three months duration. He opened up the lands of Rome and Persia for the Muslims and successfully conquered al-Yamama, and consolidated several victories which led to significant increase in the number of peoples embrace of Islam. The study of the Quran was encouraged everywhere and many have take up the compilation work like Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Zaid, Ubay, Abu Zaid, Ibn Masud and a host of others.

There were four parties after Prophets death: those who were steadfast in Islam, made no changes, and remained subject to Abu Bakr (may God bless him); there were some who would not pay zakat to Abu Bakr but were otherwise steadfast in Islam; This belief found poetic expression through Shiite poets, such as thus the Hatiah al-Abasi says: ((The Open Denunciation of the Adverse Critics of the Rafidah)) Abu Muhammad said: thanks for this be rendered to God, Lord of the worlds. the third party declared their apostasy, such as the companions of Talayha and Sajjah, but there were in every tribe those who contended against the apostates; and the fourth party consisted of those who deferred decision. In a year of so all these differences ceased. It was only an attack of Satan which, like a fire, blazed up fiercely for a time and then Allah put it out. Then Umar became the next caliph. Large continents like Persia, Syria, Egypt, and the Jazira were conquered. Mosques were built, and the Quran were written, read out in prayer and taught to children.Umars reign lasted ten years and six months. Muslims remains united by faith and there were no diference between them. More than one hundred thousand copies of the Quran were in circulation in that time in Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. The caliphate then passed to Uthman and Islam continue to expand eastwards and westwards. In his time the Quran were so numerous and widely distributed from the east to the west on earth. In each of these provinces there were so many thousands of copies of the Quran, that no one could have counted them. In many parts of the lands the Muslims had memorized the Quran. Other copies of the Quran were scattered all over the places. This state of affairs continued for twelve years, through the caliphate of Uthman until his death on 656 century. Later, the Rawafid emerged and civil war broke out. This is the case with the poem, and how much more so was this the case with the Quran. Muslims have retained so many thousands of Quran manuscript, all of which were scattered throughout the vast bounds of the empire of Islam in far areas as Spain, and in the land of Berber and Sudan, Sindh and Kabul, as well as in the province of Khurasan and in almost every ancient Islamic settlement in Turk, and even Slavs, and as far as India. Thus the falsity of any statements which they make about [the quran] and their lying about it is manifest. That Ali himself who according to most of them is a God, a Creator, and, according to some of them, a prophet endowed with speech, while in the opinion of the rest he is an infallible Imam, the obedience to whom is a religious command imposed by Law. whose reigned lasted for five years

Did not object to the Quran in its present shape and, while Caliph, did not fight the interpolaters, which would have been his sacred duty. Unless the Rawafid fall back on ignoring the Quran and (assuming) omissions and additions in it. This is something whereby becomes evident their impudence, ignorance and stupidity. He was at constant war with those rafidi. They could not utter a word of complaint against him lest they should be put to sword. Thus the mendacity of the Rawafid becomes evident, and praise be unto Allah, the Lord of (all) created beings.

Works Cited Aasi, Ghulam Haider. Muslim understanding of other religions: an analytical study of Ibn Hazms Kitab al-Fasl fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa wa al-Nihal. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 2004. Abu Layla, Muhammad Muhammad. The Muslim view of Christianity with special reference to the work of Ibn Hazm. Exeter Eng: University of Exeter, 1983. Adang, Camilla. Muslim writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible: from Ibn Rabban to Ibn Hazm. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996.

Arthur J. Arberry. The Koran interpreted. London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1975. Cate, Patrick OHair. Each others scripture: The Muslims views of the Bible and the Christians views of the Quran. New Hartford Connecticut : The Hartford Seminary Foundation, 1974. Chejne, Anwar G. Ibn Hazm of Cordova and his conception of the sciences . Chicago: Kazi Publications, 1982. Constable, Olivia Remie (ed.). Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish sources. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997. Friedlaender, Israel. The Heterodoxies of the Shiites in the presentation of Ibn Hazm. New Haven, Connecticut: s.n., 1909. McGrath, Alister E. New International Version Bible commentary. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1995. Mahmud Ahmad. Ibn Hazm on Christianity: textual analysis from the Zahiris perspective . Kuala Lumpur: Kulliyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Heritage, International Islamic University Malaysia, 2005. Sweetman, James Windrow. Islam and Christian Theology: a study of the interpretation of theological ideas in the two religions. London: Lutterworth Press, 1945. Watt, William Montgomery. Muslim-Christian encounters: perceptions and misperceptions . London: Routledge, 1991.