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Islam is very different from many other religions in that it still has access to its original revelations. Muslims are keenly aware of the problems that other faiths have had in preserving their original revelations and of the concomitant, ensuing, serious problems that have resulted. Thus they have zealously and meticulously guarded and preserved the Quran in its original form.
There are two main methods to preserve the authenticity of a message.
As far as the preservation of the Quran goes, both methods have been actively used, and these methods complement and reinforce each other. This dual authentication system (e.g., written and oral) eliminates the weakness of either system used in isolation.
While one might presume a written system superior–this is not necessarily the case. Writing systems can be exposed to unintentional mishaps (e.g., lost books, decomposing pages, errors in copying, etc.), as well as to deliberate, malicious tampering attempts. Even simple transcription errors can be multiplied when the system is scaled up. Furthermore, in earlier times, most people were not literate, thus concentrating power in a few hands.
However, large numbers of people of people could (and did) memorize the Quran. This effectively worked as a check on the writing system, and of course the writing system could itself be of obvious benefit to the oral tradition. 1
1 A strong oral transmission system makes a lot of intuitive sense since it mirrors the revelation itself, in the sense that it too was oral (e.g., a physical, written book did not descend from heaven).
Together, the combined oral and written systems created the strongest possible transmission system.
Memorization is rare in modern Western countries and as such it may be truly difficult to appreciate the large numbers of people who have memorized the Quran. Many Muslim groups in mosques throughout the world have at least one person (probably many) who has memorized the Quran. Many of the Prophet’s sayings (i.e. hadith in Arabic) extol the virtues of memorizing the Quran.
Once a year, the entire Quran is recited during the lunar month of Ramadan in many Muslim communities by people who have memorized it. This memorization process is aided by the unique rhythms and cadences of the Quran itself.
The fact that a recitation of the length of the Quran has been memorized by such vast numbers of people of different ages, places and backgrounds continuously across the centuries is noted by Muslims as both a miracle and a sign of the Quran’s divine origin. It has certainly contributed to the preservation of the Quran.
Likewise, there were individuals who had memorized the Quran during the life of the Prophet. Additionally, although the Prophet himself was basically illiterate, he had many scribes who would record for him. As such, Quranic verses were noted to have been recorded by various scribes on “parchments, scapula, and leaf-stalks of date palms.” The arrangement of Quranic verses, which is not necessarily chronological, was also directed by Prophet Muhammad.2
2 Prophet Muhammad was himself informed of the arrangement of verses by Archangel Gabriel (who was conveying God’s commands). (Thus, the verse arrangement is divine.) Angel Gabriel (i.e., Jibril) used to review the Quran once a year with the Prophet, and twice in the year in which he died. Chapter (but not verse) arrangement may possibly have occurred shortly after the Prophet’s death, although the stronger opinion is that even the chapter arrangement (in addition to the verse arrangement) is divine.
During the battle of Yamana, around six months after the Prophet’s death, a number of memorizers of the Quran were killed, which precipitated a decision by Abu Bakr (the first Caliph, or leader, of the Muslims) to bring between two covers an official, written Quran. It should be noted that this was primarily meant for future generations since there still were people around who had memorized the Quran.
An elaborate process was instituted. Zaid bin Thabit, who had himself had memorized the Quran, was appointed by Abu Bakr to lead this process. It was a stringent and thorough process. For example,
The finished book3 was kept by the Caliph Abu Bakr himself.
3 See Suhuf
A few years later, during the time of Uthman, the Uthman compilation was produced. The Uthman compilation was a completely independent process relying on primary sources, but similar to the previous Abu Bakr project. At its conclusion, the Abu Bakr compilation was sent for comparison against the produced Uthman compilation (they were essentially in agreement.)
It has been suggested that one reason for the Uthman project was a symbolic one. A number of the companions had been engaged in battles (similar to Yamama) during the Abu Bakr compilation. The Uthman compilation gave them a chance to participate in a very important project and also gave the project access to a new potential pool of documents and people.
There were other differences between the two compilations. While the primary purpose of Abu Bakr’s project was to have a collected, written Quran to help preserve it, a primary purpose of the Uthman project was to work on standardizing the recitations (qiraa’aat.)
The Quran is a multiform recitation in Arabic. Angel Gabriel had transmitted the Quran to prophet Muhammad from God in very slightly different forms to facilitate ease for all the people; to accommodate people like the elderly, young and less educated.
“The Messenger of Allah met [angel] Gabriel and said: ‘O Gabriel! I have been sent to an illiterate nation among whom are the elderly woman, the old man, the boy and the girl, and the man who cannot read a book at all.’ He said: ‘O Muhammad! Indeed the Qur’an was revealed in seven modes [ahruf].’” Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2944
However, all of these revealed, authentic ways of recitation are independently valid, so even reciting one is considered as completely valid full Quran recitation.
The Prophet was present at the pool of Banu Ghifar, Gabriel came to him and said: “Allah has commanded you to make your community read (the Quran) in one mode [harf.]4 He (the Prophet) said: ‘I beg Allah His pardon and forgiveness; my community has not strength to do so’. He then came for the second time and told him the same thing till he reached up to seven harfs. Finally, he said: ‘Allah has commanded you to make your community read (the Quran) in seven harfs; in whichever mode they read, that will be correct. Sunan Abi Dawud 1478
4 ahruf plural: modes; different ways of reciting the Quran, singular: harf
Examples of valid recitations include the ten qiraa’aat5 (Ibn al-Jazari List). Note: The differences between the recitations tend to be minor and may include things like pronunciation or serve to enhance a complementary meaning.
5 qiraa’aat (recitations)
The Uthmanic codex (manuscript) was written with a consonantal skeleton (rasm) i.e. with the Arabic letters lacking in consonantal dotting (naqt al-i’jaam) and with an absence of diacritical marks (naqt al-i’raab). The codex was dispatched to the regional provinces. Within the regional codices, there were minor variations to also allow for popular authentically revealed recitations (qiraa’aat).
This method of transcription primarily standardized around one mode (harf) but also accommodated some of the modes (ahruf) that some popular authentic qira’at were based on. It also served to eliminate non authentic qira’at (recitations). Thus, it accomplished the objective of standardizing the recitations, eliminating invalid ones while preferring some popular valid authentically traceable recitations. 6
6 Authentic recitations today 1) are authentically traceable directly to the Prophet 2) many say should be through mutawatir or mass transmission 3) Conform to the rasm of the Uthamanic manuscripts (masarif): the codex and dispatched regional codices 4) Some say should conform to classical Arabic grammar. Example of recitations today: the ten qiraa’aat.
The Uthmanic manscipts were distributed to the different outlying areas. The Uthmani codices with its regional copies did not survive in isolation. They were supplemented by reciters who had memorized the Quran - the oral and written traditions complemented and re-enforced each other.
With the consensus of the early Muslims and the order of the Caliph, all other copies were ordered destroyed (or amended to the new standard) in order to avoid any confusion.
Later, minor changes (primarily to help non-Arabs) included the addition of dots and diacritical marks to the written script in order to help in matters like pronunciation.
Today, it is one of the rather unique hallmarks of Islam that Muslims can be confident that the Quran they recite matches the revelations given over 1400 years ago to Prophet Muhammad.
Note: The Quran only exists in Arabic. (Translations are technically considered, in a sense, interpretations of the meaning of the Quran since each translator translates things slightly differently.)
Further study: If you are interested in a more detailed review this subject matter, please check out the resources section on the book website for more information.
(Excerpt from book "Easily Understand Islam")
Click to read sample chapters from the book below
Table of Contents
Why is there Evil and Suffering?
Why I Believe in God — A Muslim Speaks
The Quran, Modern Science, and More
Islam & Racism
Islam: A Solution for America’s Social Problems?
Some Muslim Virtues (Sayings of the Prophet)
Section IV: Islam & Christianity
Common Ground: Judaism, Christianity & Islam