Sunni Feedback on The Issues of Infallibility and Ahulbayt [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

The Quran Compiled by Imam Ali (AS)
There is no dispute among Muslim scholars, whether they are
Sunni or Shia, concerning the fact that the Commander of Believers, Ali
(AS), possessed a special transcript of the text of Quran
which he had collected himself, and he was THE FIRST who
compiled Quran.

There are a great number of
traditions from Sunni and Shia which states that after the
death of the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF), Imam Ali sat down in
his house and said that he had sworn an oath that he would
not put on his outdoor clothes or leave his house until he
collects together the Quran.

Sunni references:

- Fat'hul Bari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani,
v10, p386

- al-fihrist, by (Ibn) an-Nadim, p30

- al-Itqan, by al-Suyuti, v1, p165

- al-Masahif, by Ibn Abi Dawud, p10

- Hilyatul awliya', by Abu Nu'aym, v1, p67

- al-Sahibi, by Ibn Faris, p79

- 'Umdatul Qari, by al-Ayni, v20, p16

- Kanzul Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v15, pp 112-113

- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch.
9,
Section 4, p197

- Ma'rifat al-Qurra' al-kibar, by al-Dhahabi, v1, p31

There are also traditions from the Imams of Ahlul Bayt which
tell us that this was done by Imam Ali by order of the Holy
Prophet (See al-Bihar, v92, pp 40-41,48,51-52).

This transcript of Quran which compiled by Imam Ali (AS) had
the following unique specifications:
a) It was collected according to its revelation, i.e.
in the order in which it had been sent down.

This
is the reason that Muhammad Ibn Sireen (33/653 - 110/729),
the famous scholar and Tabi'i (disciples of the companions of
the Holy Prophet), regretted that this transcript had not
passed into the hands of the Muslims, and said: If that
transcript were in our hands, we would found a great
knowledge in it.

Sunni References:

- at-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, part 2, p101

- Ansab al-ashraf, by al-Baladhuri, v1, p587

- al-Istiab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v3, pp 973-974

- Sharh Ibn Abi al-Hadid, v6, pp 40-41

- al-Tas'hil, by Ibn Juzzi al-Kalbi, v1, p4

- al-Itqan, by al-Suyuti, v1, p166

- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch.
9,
Section 4, p197

- Ma'rifat al-Qurra' al-kibar, by al-Dhahabi, v1, p32

It is according to this transcript that Sunni scholars relate
that the first Chapter of Quran which was sent down to the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
was Chapter al-Iqra (al-Alaq, Ch.
96).

Sunni References:

- al-Burhan, by al-Zarkashi, v1, p259

- al-Itqan, by al-Suyuti, v1, p202

- Fathul Bari, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v10, p417

- Irshad al-sari, by al-Qastalani, v7, p454

As you know the Chapter al-Alaq is not at the beginning of
the present Quran.

Also Muslims agree that the verse (5:3) was
among one of the last revealed verses of Quran (but not the very last one),
yet it is not toward the end of the present Quran.

This clearly
proves that although the Quran that we have available is complete, it is not in
the order that has been revealed.

These few misplacements
were done by some companions on purpose at worst, or out of ignorance at least.

It was for this reason that the Commander of Believers, Ali
(AS) frequently stated in his sermons: Ask me before you lose me.

By
Allah, if you ask me about anything that could happen up to the Day of Judgment, I
will tell you about it.

Ask me, for, by Allah, you will not be
able to ask me a question about anything without my informing you.

Ask me
about the Book of Allah, for by Allah, there is no verse about which I do not know
whether it was sent down at night or during the day, or whether it was
revealed on a plain or in a mountain.

Sunni References:

- al-Riyadh al-Nadhirah, by al-Muhib al-Tabari, v2, p198

- at-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, part 2, p101

- al-Isabah, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v4, p568

- Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v7, pp
337-338

- Fathul Bari, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v8, p485

- al-Istiab, by Ibn Abd al-Barr, v3, p1107

- Tarikh al-Khulafa, by al-Suyuti, p124

- al-Itqan, by al-Suyuti, v2, p319

b) This transcript contained commentary and hermeneutic
interpretation (Tafsir and Ta'wil) from the Holy Prophet some of which had
been sent down as revelation but NOT as a part of the text of Quran.

A
small amount of such texts can be found in some traditions in Usul al-Kafi.

These
pieces of information were the Divine commentary of the text of Quran
which were revealed along with Quranic verses.

Thus the
commentary verses and Quranic verses could sum up to 17000 verses.

As Sunnis
know, Hadith al-Qudsi (the Hadith in which the speaker is Allah) is also direct
revelation, but they are not a part of Quran.

In fact Quran testifies
that anything that Prophet said was (either direct or indirect) revelation (See Quran
53:3-4).

The direct revelation includes the interpretation/commentary of
the Quran.

In addition, this unique transcript contained the information
from the Holy Prophet about which verse was abrogated and which was
abrogating, which verse was clear (Muhkam) and which was ambiguous (Mutashabih),
which verse was general and which was specific.

c) This unique transcript also contained references to the
persons, places etc.
, about which the verses were revealed, what is
called Asbab al- Nuzul.

Since the Commander of Believers was
aware of these facts, he frequently said: By Allah, no verse has been sent down
without my knowing about whom or what it was revealed and where it was revealed.

My
Lord has gifted me with a mind which has a quick and retaining
understanding, and a tongue which speaks eloquently.

Sunni References:

- Hilyatul Awliyaa, by Abu Nu'aym, v1, pp 67-68

- at-Tabaqat, by Ibn Sa'd, v2, part 2, p101

- Kanzul Ummal, by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, v15, p113

- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch.
9,
Section 4, p197

After he compiled this transcript, Imam Ali (AS) took it and
presented it to the rulers who came after the Holy Prophet, and said:
Here is the book of Allah, your Lord, in the order that was revealed to your
Prophet.

but they did not accept it and replied: We have no need
of this.

We have with us what you possess.

Thereupon, Imam Ali (AS)
took the transcript back and informed them that they will never see it again.

It
is reported that Imam Ali recited the latter part of the following verse
of Quran:
And when Allah took a Covenant
from the People of the Book to clarify it to mankind and not to
hide its (clarification); but they threw it away behind their
backs and purchased with it some miserable gain! and what an evil was
the bargain they made!

(Quran 3:187)
By its clarification, Imam Ali meant the unique
divine commentaries.
The Commander of Believers then concealed that transcript,
and after him it was passed to the Imams who also kept it concealed.

It
remained concealed with the Imams, one after the other to this day, because they
wished to be only one sequence of Quran among the Muslims.

Because
otherwise if people have had two different sequences, it might later result to
some alteration in Quran by some sick-minded people.

They wished
people have strictly one sequence of Quran.

The Quran and its commentary
which were collected by Imam Ali (AS) is not available for any Shia in the world
except to the Imam Mahdi (AS).

If the transcript of the Commander of
Believers had been accepted, that would have been the Quran with unique
commentary in the hand of people, but it turned out to be otherwise.

This gives the meaning of the traditions in Usul al-Kafi
which say that no one but the Commander of Believers and the later Imams had
the Quran in the order it was revealed, and that the Quran which they had
contains what can be understood of the heaven, etc.

and the
Knowledge of the Book, all of it, because they were the commentaries and
interpretations noted in the transcript of Imam Ali directly from the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Allah, to whom belong Might and Majesty, said:
And We have sent down on you a
Book in which is the clarification of ALL the things.

(Quran
16:89)
Sometimes the word tahrif is used in some
traditions, and it must be made clear that the meaning of this word is changing of something
from its proper place to another place, like changing the right
position of sentence, or giving it a meaning other than its true or
intended meaning.
Therefore, it has absolutely nothing to do with addition or
subtraction from the text.

It is thus with this meaning that
the Quran states:
Some of the Jews distort (yuharrifuna)
words from their meaning (Quran 4:46).

This meaning of tahrif, i.
e.
, changing of
meaning or changing the context, as it appears in the Quran, has not only been
applied in the Muslim community to the verses of the Quran but also to the
ahadith of the Holy Prophet, even by rulers who have been prepared to use
Islam to their own personal advantage.

It is this tahrif,
with this meaning, that the Imams of Ahlul-Bayt have constantly sought to oppose.

As
one example, Imam al-Baqir (AS) complained about the situation of the Muslims
and their corrupt rulers, and said:
One of the manifestations of
their rejecting the Book (of Allah behind their backs) (see Quran
2:101) is that they have fixed its words.

but they have
altered the limits (of its command) (harrafu hududah).

They have
(correctly) narrated it, but they do not observe (what) it (says).

Ignorant
people delight in their preservation of its narration, but the knowledgeable
people deplore their ignoring to observe (what) it (says).

Shi'i references:

- al-Kafi, v8, p53

- al-Wafi, v5, p274 and v14, p214

This use of tahrif is taken as a definition for
the word wherever it appears in the ahadith of the Imams, similar to what Quran
(4:46) has used.

It is necessary to emphasize here that all grand scholars of
the Imami Shia are in agreement that the Quran which is at present among the
Muslims is the very same Quran that was sent down to the Holy Prophet,
and that it has not been altered.

Nothing has been added to it, and
nothing is missing from it.

The Quran which was compiled by Imam Ali
(excluding the commentaries) and the Quran that is in the hand of people today, are
identical in terms of words and sentences.

No word, verse, chapter
is missing.

The only difference is that the current Quran (collected by the
companions) is not in the order that was revealed.

The completeness of Quran is so indisputable among Shia that
the great Shia scholar, Abu Ja'far Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn al-Husain Ibn
Babwayh, known as Shaikh Saduq (309/919-381/991), wrote:
Our belief is that the Quran
which Allah revealed to His Prophet Muhammad is (the same as) the one
between the two covers (daffatayn).
And it is the one which is in the
hands of the people, and is not greater in extent than that.

The
number of Surahs as generally accepted is one hundred and
fourteen.

And he who asserts that we say that it is greater in extent than
that, is a liar.

Shi'i reference:

Shi'ite Creed (al-I'tiqadat al-Imamiyyah),
by Shaikh Saduq, English version, p77.

It should be noted that Shaikh Saduq (RA) was the greatest
scholars of Hadith among the Imami Shia and was given the name of Shaikh
al-Muhaddithin (i.
e.
, the most eminent of the scholars of Hadith).

And
since he wrote the above in a book with the name of The beliefs of the
Imami Shia, it is quite impossible that there could be any authentic Hadith in
contrary to it.

It is noteworthy that Shaikh Saduq lived at the
time of minor occultation of Imam Mahdi (AS) and he is one of the earliest
Shia scholars.
He had the honor that he was born with the prayer of Imam
Mahdi (AS).

For a more detailed discussion of completeness of Quran as
well as the opinion of the Shia, interested readers may look at al-Bayan,
by Abul Qasim al-Khoei, pp 214-278.

Some ignorant opponents of the Shia mentioned that we apply
al-Taqiyya (dissimulation) and we do not release our actual belief on
Quran.

These people never tried to understand that Taqiyya is for the time
when my life or the life of the other fellow is in danger.

There
is no need to conceal my belief here since I am not under prosecution.

The
above article is witness to what I say.

Taqiyya is not a good excuse
for these people in front of Allah to disregard what Shia present.

They
have liberty to check the traditions which we have mentioned in different articles,
or they can else ask their honest scholars to do that.

And the truth is the best to be followed.

Wassalam.