Is the Quran Perfectly Preserved and Unchanged?
We are on the cusp of Ramadan. It is very timely for Muslims to reflect on the Quran as an essential pillar of their faith. Ramadan is deeply connected to the Quran, as highlighted by Allah s.w.t.
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـٰتٍ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ
“It was the month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was [first] bestowed from on high as a guidance unto man and a self-evident proof of that guidance, and as the standard by which to discern the true from the false.”
(Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:185)
In this regard, Muslims are encouraged to continuously seek knowledge to underpin their firm conviction in their faith. Only through curiosity and the active search for knowledge can we instil in ourselves the definitive belief that the Quran carries the words of Allah s.w.t. revealed to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. to guide humanity on how to live life in this world as He wills.
Read: 5 Benefits of Reciting the Quran
In this context[1], our search for knowledge must encompass rational argument and rigorous scientific academic studies and not simply be limited to a few verses of the Quran. Given the current highly complex, interconnected and globalised environment, Muslims, especially the youths, must grapple with highly nuanced challenges and contestation to their belief system that cannot be addressed by simply deploying theological arguments, such as:
- How can one be sure that the Quran is indeed the words of God?
- How can one be sure that the Quran today represents the same Quran to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. over 1400 years ago? Is this logical or rational?
Fortunately, the Quran has been a focus of academic studies for centuries that support Muslims’ belief in the Quran. This article highlights several excellent studies with the hope that they may strengthen Muslims’ faith in the Quran and contribute more clarity to our conviction of Islam.
Dive Into the Various Academic Studies
The History of the Quranic Text from Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments
This book[2] was authored by the late Sheikh Muhammad Mustafa Al-`Azami, a scholar with a PhD on hadith studies from University of Cambridge. His books, Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature[3] and On Schacht's Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence[4], are regarded as a seminal contribution to the academic study of religions.
Al-`Azami’s body of work thoroughly refutes Orientalist scholars like Joseph Schacht, who question the authenticity of hadiths being attributed to the Prophet s.a.w. and challenges the validity of hadiths as the second source of Islam, after the Quran.
In The History of the Qur’anic Text, Al-`Azami sought to prove that the Quran in the Muslims’ hands today is the authentic copy of what was revealed to the Prophet s.a.w. and was preserved from corruption and changes as promised by Allah s.w.t. Al-`Azami demonstrated this through an extensive historical study of the Quran from its revelation to the compilation period and its distribution from the past up to the current contemporary time.
Read: The History of The Quran: Nuzul Quran
Utilising his expertise in hadith studies, the author proved that the Quran is preserved via the sanad system (explicit documentation of the chain of narrations) developed by hadith scholars. The author also made comparison studies from various copies of the Quran kept in various museums and universities all over the world.
Read: Karima Al-Marwaziyya: One of Islam’s Great Hadith Scholars
Structure and Quranic Interpretation: A Study of Symmetry and Coherence in Islam’s Holy Text
Raymond Farrin authored Structure and Quranic Interpretation: A Study of Symmetry and Coherence in Islam’s Holy Text[5]. Farrin is a professor of Arabic in the Department of Arabic and Foreign Languages at the American University of Kuwait. In this book, Farrin disproves the opinion of some Western scholars who claim that the Quran today cannot be the authentic copy from the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w’s period. They claim that it was notes about the Quran from individuals gathered during the compilation period. The main argument of this view points to the random and unstructured character of the Quran.
Farrin, however, demonstrates that the Quran is, in fact, systematically written, organised and structured, although it is only evident through a methodological study. Based on the structure that the author reconstructed in the book, he concluded that it is impossible for the Quran to originate from a compilation of works from different individuals.
Farrin concludes that the Quran’s unique, coherent, and consistent structure could only mean that it comes from one single source who is very wise and intelligent. However, Farrin abstains from concluding if that single source is the Prophet s.a.w. or God and leaves the issue to Muslim scholars.
The Collection of the Quran: A Reconsideration of Western Views in Light of Recent Methodological Development
The late Harald Motzki was a prominent, internationally acclaimed professor in hadith studies at Nijmegen University (Radboud Universitet Nijmegen) in the Netherlands. The German-trained Islamic scholar is known for his work on the transmission of hadith. He authored an article titled The Collection of the Quran: A Reconsideration of Western Views in Light of Recent Methodological Development[6].
In this article, Motzki rejected the Orientalists’ claim that the Quran’s copy in Muslims’ hands cannot be authentic from the original revelation to the Prophet s.a.w. because it was compiled long after the Prophet s.a.w’s death and the history and hadith reports about the compilation too cannot confirm its link with the Prophet s.a.w’s period. They claim that the actual existence of the Quran’s copy was traced to a period much later than the claim made by Muslim scholars – the period of Uthman, the third caliph after the Prophet s.a.w, who recompiled and standardised the Quran’s copy known as the mushaf `Uthmani (the Uthman copy) from which subsequent Quran copies were based on up to contemporary period. Thus, they argued that the Quran is a book written or fabricated by various parties, such as rulers and clerics, in later periods for various interests.
In his article, Motzki concluded that the basis of this claim itself is problematic. He argued that the Quran’s existence could be traced to the early period of Islam, supporting the Muslim scholars’ claim.[7]
Forgotten Witness: Evidence for the Early Codification of the Quran
Motzki’s findings are further reinforced in another article written by the late Estelle Whelan titled, Forgotten Witness: Evidence for the Early Codification of the Qur’an[8].
Whelan concluded, “The different types of evidence cited here all thus lead to the conclusion that the Muslim tradition is reliable, at least in the broad outline, in attributing the first codification of the Quranic text to Uthman and his appointed commission. The Quran was available to his successors as an instrument to help weld the diverse peoples of the rapidly expanding empire into a relatively unified polity.”[9]
Many scholars who make comparative studies of different Qira’at (methods of recitation) and manuscripts of the old Quran find a remarkable consistency between the variants of Qira’at and the texts found in the Quranic copies. This consistency proves that the Quran was preserved from the early period via oral tradition and written copies.
The Value of the Hafs and Warsh Transmissions for the Textual History of the Quran
Hafs and Warsh are among the ten different canonised methods of reciting the Quran (Qira’at). Each may have slight and yet distinct variations in recitation, but they all conform to and convey the same meaning and content of the Quran. Hafs, in particular, is the most widely used recitation by Muslims around the world. These Qira’at were established through meticulous preservation and oral transmission of the Quran.
Hence, Adrian Brockett, in a book chapter titled The Value of the Hafs and Warsh Transmissions for the Textual History of the Quran, argues[10]:
“...if the Quran has been transmitted only orally for the first century, sizeable variations between texts such as seen in the hadith and pre-Islamic poetry would be found, and if it had been transmitted only in writing, sizeable variations such as in the different transmission of the original document of the Constitution of Medina would be found. But neither is the case with the Quran. There must have been a parallel written transmission limiting variation in the oral transmission to the graphic form, side by side with a parallel oral transmission preserving the written transmission from corruption.”
Investigation on the Author’s Style and the Authenticity of the Holy Quran
Halim Sayoud is a Professor of Electronics Engineering in the Department of Electronics & Computer Science at the USTHB University, Algeria. He authored a book titled Investigation on the Author’s Style and the Authenticity of the Holy Quran[11].
Sayoud attempts to prove that the Quran is indeed the words of God revealed to the Prophet s.a.w. and not written by him – which is a belief held by all Muslims. The author compares texts sampled from the Quran and hadith in recognised hadith compilation books. Sayoud used a method known as stylometry with the help of computer and artificial intelligence technology. Stylometry analyses similarities in style and language. Stylometry is often used to attribute authorship to anonymous or disputed documents. From the experiments[12], Sayoud concluded that the language and style of Quranic verses are distinct from the language and style found in hadiths. Thus, it is impossible that both could come from the same source, i.e. the Prophet s.a.w.
To further prove his conclusion, the author points to various samples of Quranic verses that contain scientific facts discovered only in modern times and, therefore, impossible to be known by people during the revelation period because of the absence of technology, i.e, the development of the foetus in a woman’s womb and the expansion of the universe.
The Bible, the Quran and Science
The consistency of the Quran with modern science can also be found in two earlier works by Maurice Bucaille in his book titled The Bible, The Quran and Science[13] as well as Gary Miller’s book titled, The Amazing Quran.
Bucaille was a French doctor and a specialist in the field of gastroenterology who was appointed as the family physician of Faisal of Saudi Arabia in 1973. His book, The Bible, The Quran and Science, contained multiple references to the Quran, relating science and the Quran, in which Bucaille concluded that the Qur’an is a divine revelation and that it was not written by any man. Bucaille’s book gave rise to a movement called Bucailleism[14], which tries to relate modern science with religion, especially Islam[15].
Read: The Quran: Our Ultimate Source of Guidance
The Amazing Quran
Gary Miller’s contribution to the study of the Quran and science is articulated in his book titled ‘The Amazing Quran’[16]. Miller is a Canadian mathematician and a theologian who concluded that no author in the world has the courage to write a book free of errors. Still, the Quran says, on the contrary, that it has no error and also challenges you to find the errors.
Miller provides a fascinating study on various topics found in the Quran, such as the miraculous nature of bees, the exactness of time zones, and many more interesting facts found in the Quran, now backed by modern science.
Conclusion
These works, written by various scholars from diverse backgrounds, expertise and worldviews, reinforce the undeniable truth that the Quran is the true word of God revealed to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. We have come to understand that the Quran today can be traced to the master copies compiled by Caliph Uthman known as mushaf `Uthmani. The rigorous and meticulous academic study, ranging from comparative analysis to stylometry calculations, clearly shows that the Quran was not written by Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. during his lifetime or by individuals after his death. The Quran has a complex structure, and unique features that are beyond the capability of humans during its period of revelation.
This is an invitation to deepen our appreciation of the pure and infinite wisdom in the Quran. It is hoped that Muslims can take the opportunity in the coming holy month of Ramadan to read some of the studies mentioned above as part of their endeavour to enliven the blessed month.
Read: How to Learn to Read Quran
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Notes
[1] This article is extracted, translated and improved from Muhammad Haniff Hassan (2023), Tafsir `Ilmiy Ayat-ayat Kawniyat – Tumbuhan-tumbuhan, Brunei MABIMS, pp.132-6 (accessed on 23 January 2024).
[2] See Muhammad Mustafa Al-`Azami (2010), The History of the Qur’anic Text from Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments, London: Turath Publishing (accessed on 23 January 2024).
[3] See Mohammad Najeeb Qasmi (2015), “Muhammad Mustafa Al-`Azami & His Contributions to Hadith”, IlmGate, 1 Oktober (accessed on 23 January 2024).
[4] See Muhammad Mustafa Al-`Azami (2004), On Schacht's Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence, Lahore: Suhail Academy
[5] Raymond Farrin (2014), Structure and Qur`anic Interpretation: A Study of Symmetry and Coherence in Islam’s Holy Text, Oregon: White Cloud Press (accessed on 23 January 2024).
[6] Harald Motzki (2001), “The Collection of the Qur’an: A Reconsideration of Western Views in Light of Recent Methodological Development”, Der Islam, pp. 1-34
[7] Ibid., pp. 29-31
[8] Estelle Whelan (1998), “Forgotten Witness: Evidence for the Early Codification of the Qur’an”, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Jan-Mar, 118:1 (accessed on 23 January 2024).
[9] Ibid., p. 13
[10] Adrian Brockett (1988), “The Value of the Hafs and Warsh Transmissions for the Textual History of the Qur’an”, Approaches to the History of the Interpretation of the Qur’an, edited by Andrew Rippin, Oxford: Clarendon Press (accessed on 23 January 2024).
[11] See Halim Sayoud (2021), Investigation on the Author’s Style and the Authenticity of the Holy Quran, T.tpt: EDT-Scholarpage (accessed on 23 January 2024).
[12] See “Stylometry”, Cambridge Dictionary online (accessed on 23 January 2024).
[13] See Maurrice Bucaille (2021), The Bible, the Quran and Science, Kuala Lumpur: Dar al Wahi, at https://www.islamicstudies.info/literature/bible-quran-science.pdf (accessed on 23 January 2024); (accessed on 23 January 2024).
[14] Why I embraced Islam (no date), The Islamic Bulletin Newsletter, issue no. 6, pp. 8-10 (accessed on 23 January 2024); The story of Maurice Bucaille’s inspiring conversion to Islam (2013), Arab News, 1 March (accessed on 23 January 2024).
[15] Ziauddin Sardar (1997). “Islamic Science, the contemporary debate”, Encyclopaedia of the history of science, technology, and medicine in non-western cultures, edited by Helaine Selin, Dordrecht: Kluwer Publishing, p. 456.
[16] Gary Miller (1994), The Amazing Quran, Jeddah: Abul-Qasim Publishing House (accessed on 23 January 2024).
