Islam Watch - "Collection of the Qur’an, Part 1" by Ibn Kammuna Page 1

Collection of the Qur’an, Part 1

by Ibn Kammuna
13 Feb, 2009

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Introductory Notes

Because the Qur’an is considered of vital importance to Muslims, I will discuss the events
regarding its collection in this series of articles. Let me mention beforehand that the Qur’an itself,
I believe, will end up as a book having no real utility or value. So, I am embarking on a journey
aimed at showing that we, in all honesty, have no clue which parts of the Qur’an are
Muhammad’s and which are some “additions” or “changes” that took place sometime during early
Islam’s history. Some changes took place during Muhammad’s life. Salomon Reinach writes:
“….the Koran has little merit. Declamation, repetition, puerility, a lack of logic and
coherence strike the unprepared reader at every turn.”[1]

So, from a literary point of view, the Qur’an is worthless. It is awfully boring to read, lacks logical
sequencing in its verses. It is also full of historical and grammatical errors as pointed out by many
researchers who contribute to this site (i.e. Ali Sina, Mumin Salih).

Tradition tells us that the Qur’an was “revealed” to Muhammad (PBUH) over many years. It is not
clear how much of the Qur’an was written down during Muhammad’s (PBUH) time. Ibn Warraq
writes:

“it seems probable that there was no single manuscript in which the Prophet himself had
collected all the revelations. Nonetheless, there are traditions which describe how the
Prophet dictated this or that portion of the Koran to his secretaries.”[2]

So, right to the time of Muhammad’s death, we actually have many reasons to believe that the
Qur’an that was claimed to have been revealed to the Prophet may not have been recorded as
accurately as one might think. Let me list some of those reasons:

1. The Qur’an was not recorded as a full unit by the scribes from Muhammad himself.
2. The scandal of “Satanic verses” that Muhammad went through with the Quraysh tribe at
one time in his life, sheds some doubt on which of the Qur’an was “revealed” by Allah, and
which was of “Satanic” origin. Those Satanic verses were assumed to have come from
Allah at first. Muhammad worshiped the pagan deities with the Qurayshites on this
account. Then, a while later, Muhammad said that those verses were put into him as
revelation by Satan (Shaytan).
3. Some of the scribes suggested changes to the Qur’an, and Muhammad rubber-stamped
the change. Ali Dashti writes about Abdollah Bin Sa’d Bin Abi Sarh, who was one of the
scribes of Muhammad in Medina:
“…had been one of the scribes employed at Medina to write down the revelations. On20a
number of occasions he had, with the Prophet’s consent, changed the closing words of
verses. For example, when the Prophet had said “And God is mighty and wise” (aziz,
hakim), Abdollah b. Abi Sarh suggested writing down ‘knowing and wise’ (alim, hakim),
and the prophet answered that there was no objection. Having observed a succession of
changes of this type, Abdollah renounced Islam on the ground that the revelations, if
from God, could not be changed at the prompting of a scribe such as himself. After his
apostasy, he went to Mecca and joined the Qorayshites.“3

Muhammad actually ordered killing this scribe when he took over Mecca. He, the scribe, was
saved, through his foster brother, Uthman, who begged the Prophet for Abdollah’s life. In any
case, this story shows that even Muhammad himself was not keen on preserving the Qur’an as it
was exactly (i.e. word by word, and letter by letter) “revealed” to him by the angel Gabriel. One
can easily assume that Muhammad (PBUH) accepted other suggested changes to the Qur’an by
some of the other scribes too.

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Collection of the Qur’an after Muhammad

There are confusing facts on when and how the Qur’an was collected. One of the traditions tells
us that the Qur’an was collected during Abu Bakr’s time (632-634), the first Caliph who took over
after Muhammad (PBUH) died. After the battle of Yamama during Abu Bakr’s time, Omar got
worried about losing parts of the Qur’an. The reason for that is that many of those who
memorized the Qur’an or major parts of it died in that battle. Abu Bakr, then, asked Zaid Ibn
Thabit, a former secretary of the Prophet, to take on this task of collecting the Qur’an. Zaid
collected the Qur’anic verses which were written on many different kinds of materials used for
writing at the time (papyrus, flat stones, palm leaves, ribs of animals,..). Then this version of the
Qur’an was handed over to Abu Bakr, who passed it to Umar on his death bed. Umar did the
same and gave this version of the Qur’an to his daughter Hafsa.

This above tradition of how the Qur’an was collected, is suspect to many criticisms. First, this
Qur’an was not treated as an official codex, but as a private property of Hafsa, thus no authority
is given to Abu Bakr’s Qur’an. Second, some believe that the whole story of collecting the Quran
during Abu Bakr’s time was fabricated to give credit to Abu Bakr, and take the credit away from
Uthman, the third Caliph. Some even suggested that this whole story was invented later to take
the collection of the Qur’an as back as possible to the time of Muhammad’s death.

A more realistic tradition about the collection of the Qur’an, in my view, is that it was collected
during Uthman’s time. One of Uthman’s generals asked him to collect an “official” Qur’an. Why?
Because some serious disputes have broken out regarding the correct readings of the Qur’an by
people who came from different provinces in the Arabian peninsula. Zaid Ibn Thabit was given
this task. Zaid compared what he had and known with the leaves from Hafsa’s Qur’an. Three
people from noble Meccan families helped Zaid in this task. When there was a difficulty in the
reading of verses, Zaid followed the Quraysh dialect to resolve the issue. The new version of the
Qur’an was completed between the years 650 to 656. Copies of the new Qur’an were then sent to
Kufa, Basra, Damascus, and Mecca. One copy was kept in Medina.

The above tradition that I just mentioned is also open to many criticisms. The Arabic language is
not a dialect. It is a written language. This leaves us with the puzzle of how Zaid solved the issue
of different wordings of the same verse in the Qur’an. Also, tradition tells us that other versions of
the Qur’an were destroyed. Can we be really sure that Zaid made all the right decisions to give us
the “original” Qur’an as it was “revealed” to Muhammad (PBUH)? It is evident that believing that
demands putting human intellect on the side line and taking a huge step of irrational belief. There
is really no conclusive evidence that can convince us that what Zaid came up with was any better
than those versions of the Qur’an that were ordered to be destroyed by Uthman. One of the
issues that come to my mind here is this: If Hafsa, supposedly, had the “right” Qur’an, why did
Uthman have to do it again? Why did Zaid have to reconcile what Hafsa had, with other Qur’ans
laying around in multiplicity of places?

Another matter that I think is important for us is the fallibility of human memory. How many times
did I think I put my red socks in my chest drawer, only to discover that they were in the trunk of my
car since last summer! In fact, the fact that there were multiple Quran’s floating around testifies
to this fact. Arabs, like other human beings, remember things as individuals. Everyone
remembers things not exactly in the same manner or wording. This is why there were multiple
Qur’ans floating around during that period. Also, there is human intentions that may have
contributed to multiplicity of Qur’ans during the early time of Islam. Not all Arabs appreciate the
Qur’an equally. We know of some people who wrote “Suras” to compete with Muhammad’s
“revelations”. Off course, such people were called liars by the Muslims. Some were even killed.
Musailimah is just one name that comes to mind. I know there were others, even including at
least one woman. So, it is not unrealistic to believe that some people “wrote “ verses or Suras
and attributed them to Muhammad. We have no way of knowing for sure since this was done in
the far past, humanly speaking.

References
1. S. Reinach, Orpheus: A History of Religion, (New York, 1932), p.176

2. Ibn Warraq, The origins of the Koran, (New York, 1998), p.10

3. Ali Dashti, Twenty Three Years, California, 1994), p.98

If you like this essay: Stumble it digg it reddit

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Islam Watch - "Collection of the Qur’an, Part 1" by Ibn Kammuna Page 3

Ibn Kamuna also contributes at faithfreedom.org. He can be contacted at ibnkammuna@

aol.com.

Name:
Comment:

. Submit Reset

Comments Notes: Keep comments short. Our system cannot separate paragraphs. Comments must
be relevant to the topic of the article. We did not regulate the comments but if irrelevant comments,
materials, adds of other websites etc. are being uploaded, we will have to regulate and even ban the IP
addresses of such nuisance posters.

Name: Ibrahim
Date: Thursday February 12, 2009
Time: 23:00:06 -0500

Comment

Great article IK. Keep it up!

Name: vbv
Date: Thursday February 12, 2009
Time: 23:50:46 -0500

Comment

Tell this to Zakir Naik and his fraudulent ilk! They claim that Quran is the direct dictation from Allah and
totally unadulterated. Even the translation version that I have by Pickthal betrays it to be just a primitive
bedouin babble with stories robbed from the Bible. Infact the whole cult of islam is a fraud on humanity
and this Quran is nothing better than a mafia manual to subjugate people, spread fear and
ignorance,terrorise people into abject surrender to a useless and worthless criminal, amoral dogma.
Spirituality,free inquiry, andintelligence is totally lacking. It is a sure passport to "Dark Ages".

Name: vbv
Date: Thursday February 12, 2009
Time: 23:51:25 -0500

Comment

Tell this to Zakir Naik and his fraudulent ilk! They claim that Quran is the direct dictation from Allah and
totally unadulterated. Even the translation version that I have by Pickthal betrays it to be just a primitive
bedouin babble with stories robbed from the Bible. Infact the whole cult of islam is a fraud on humanity
and this Quran is nothing better than a mafia manual to subjugate people, spread fear and
ignorance,terrorise people into abject surrender to a useless and worthless criminal, amoral dogma.
Spirituality,free inquiry, andintelligence is totally lacking. It is a sure passport to "Dark Ages".

Name: Quran
Date: Friday February 13, 2009
Time: 03:53:14 -0500

Comment

In my view the many errors in the quran are a strong indication that hardly any revision took place
during the collection. Any author knows that he has to go over his texts again and again before
publication. However, in case of a divine authorship there should be no errors and thus - no further
revision required. Simply put, the early muslims had no idea how to deal with a text and even nowadays
they have a somewhat stupid view on books. Why should we read books written by humans while we
have the one written by god? They just don´t understand what books are good for! There are only a few
scribes who can read and write and all they study is the quran! In such an environment religion does not
promote education and science - it becomes a strong barrier against it.

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Name: this article is funny and very good,pls keep up yr good work
Date: Friday February 13, 2009
Time: 07:01:13 -0500

Comment

good article,only prob the moment u try to talk to muslim he tried to kill u or abuses u.really muslims r
weird.the lust for 72 virgins is so strong that they dont want to accept truth.

Name: pls chk these sites for evolution and creation debate
Date: Friday February 13, 2009
Time: 08:16:02 -0500

Comment

http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/111873/detail/ http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/147646/
detail/ http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/147644/detail/

Name: Shafee al-Zindig

Date: Friday February 13, 2009
Time: 08:51:28 -0500

Comment

Ibn Kammuna - how could you? I hope you are wrong. You have almost shattered my belief that when I
die, I would be enjoying 72 gorgeous houris, lots of fine wine and gourmet meals in my own palatial
mansion up there in the sky. Sob! Sob! PS: As I have no interest in my share of the 28 pearly-boys, are
any of you moolas out there interested in doing a swop? I would prefer big-breasted houris to pour my
wine.

Name: To Mr. Zindiq from IK

Date: Friday February 13, 2009
Time: 23:58:31 -0500

Comment

Brother, the Houris are still there swimming (naked by the way) in a river of wine and just waiting for
you. I am not lying to you brother. Allah appeared to me in a dream and told me that you and Ibrahim
are going to have a huge palace of gold with nothing but houris and wine. Enjoy!! By the way, Allah also
told me that brothers Khan and Sina will be out the door trying to get in. But, between you and me, Allah
told me he is not too hot about both of them. You and Ibrahim are "It". Thats what Allah told me, and I
am only a poor messenger. I have to convey the message. Peace to all, including Muslims out there
who are angry about my research.

Name: River of Wine

Date: Saturday February 14, 2009
Time: 05:39:02 -0500

Comment

This river of wine idea by Mad Mo is the craziest idea ever invented by man and believed by devout
Muslims.

Name: Allahu Alam!

Date: Sunday February 15, 2009
Time: 00:12:18 -0500

Comment

To the moron's in this site!You are all empty vessels.so making noise.Neither is the paradise of Islam
some kind of brothel that provides the services of '70 virgins' to its denizens - the nonsense the press
attributes to murderous paradise-seekers. Far from being an abode of pleasure, the paradise of the
Quran is a place of sublime innocence.The 'virgins', or 'houris', derive their name from the eyes of
gazelles. They personify beauty and innocence; these eyes have never cast their gaze on sin. In the
gardens of paradise, the houris utter only one word: 'Peace, peace.'Creating the Kingdom of God on
earth, as it is in heaven, is the basic message of Islam.

Name: Shafee al-Zindig

Date: Sunday February 15, 2009
Time: 02:07:05 -0500

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Islam Watch - "Collection of the Qur’an, Part 1" by Ibn Kammuna Page 5

Comment

Allahu Alam says:'Creating the Kingdom of God on earth, as it is in heaven, is the basic message of
Islam.' Yeah, that's what we all afraid of - the peace of the grave with no laughter, joy, love, music,
movies, art, dance, chess. Keep it. I want no part of it.... Also I do not want your innocent-eyed houris
with gazelle-eyes. Thanks, but no thanks. Give me only those that eye me with depraved lust. BTW do
not be angry with us as we are only repeating what your moolas have taught us all our lives. If you don't
like it, go fight with them. We are only messengers.

Name: To Allahu Alam

Date: Sunday February 15, 2009
Time: 12:02:29 -0500

Comment

Answer this "rivers of wine" crazy idea by Mad Mo. Here on earth wine is haram for Muslims.

Name: John
Date: Sunday February 15, 2009
Time: 20:18:50 -0500

Comment

Hey Alam, You should read your hadiths a little more closely. From the [most likely Zionist owned] The
Guardian, Saturday 12 January 2002: "Two points need to be noted. First, there is no mention anywhere
in the Koran of the actual number of virgins available in paradise, and second, the dark-eyed damsels
are available for all Muslims, not just martyrs. It is in the Islamic Traditions that we find the 72 virgins in
heaven specified: in a Hadith (Islamic Tradition) collected by Al-Tirmidhi (died 892 CE [common era*]) in
the Book of Sunan (volume IV, chapters on The Features of Paradise as described by the Messenger of
Allah [Prophet Muhammad], chapter 21, About the Smallest Reward for the People of Paradise, (Hadith
2687). The same hadith is also quoted by Ibn Kathir (died 1373 CE ) in his Koranic commentary (Tafsir)
of Surah Al-Rahman (55), verse 72: "The Prophet Muhammad was heard saying: 'The smallest reward
for the people of paradise is an abode where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which
stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine, and ruby, as wide as the distance from Al-Jabiyyah
[a Damascus suburb] to Sana'a [Yemen]'." Modern apologists of Islam try to downplay the evident
materialism and sexual implications of such descriptions, but, as the Encyclopaedia of Islam says, even
orthodox Muslim theologians such as al Ghazali (died 1111 CE) and Al-Ash'ari (died 935 CE) have
"admitted sensual pleasures into paradise". The sensual pleasures are graphically elaborated by Al-
Suyuti (died 1505 ), Koranic commentator and polymath. He wrote: "Each time we sleep with a houri we
find her virgin. Besides, the penis of the Elected never softens. The erection is eternal; the sensation
that you feel each time you make love is utterly delicious and out of this world and were you to
experience it in this world you would faint. Each chosen one [ie Muslim] will marry seventy [sic] houris,
besides the women he married on earth, and all will have appetising vaginas."

Name: Sick Koran

Date: Monday February 16, 2009
Time: 06:09:33 -0500

Comment

Koran is filled with sickening and disgusting doctrine.

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