The Holy Qur'an- Its Compilation

It is a historic fact acknowledged on all hands that as and when the Holy Qur'an was revealed in Suras, in parts of Suras, and in lonely verses, it was then and there recorded by the scripts engaged by the Holy Prophet for the purpose. It is also said that at the receipt of each revelation, the Holy Prophet used to direct the scripts to place it in a certain sura and thus by the end of the ministry the Book of God, the Holy Qur'an, was completely compiled in the form of a perfect Book and before his departure, the Holy Prophet declared:-

"I leave behind amidst you, Two great things, the Book of God and my Ahul-Bait. Should ye be attached to these Two, never, never will ye get astray after me, for verily these Two will never be separated from each other until they both meet me at the Spring of Kauther". (TA., DM., Sm., and others)

The above declaration of the Holy Prophet, the genuineness of which is universally acknowledged by all the traditionists, clearly indicates that at the time of the departure of the Holy Prophet there was the Holy Qur`an in the form of a complete Book approved by him. Otherwise the statement on the part of the Holy Prophet that he was leaving the Book will hold no truth.

Secondly, there is the clear undertaking by God Himself about the preservation of the Holy Qur`an in its originality and purity, and thye Holy Book being guarded by God Himself:-

"Verily We have sent down the Reminder (the Holy Qur`an) and We Ourselves shall be its guardian." 15:9

Who can believe that the above declared will of the Lord, expressed, as a challenge to those who had swallowed up the previous scriptures, was not fulfilled and any human hand to have obstructed its fulfillment.

Besides, history loudly declares and it is acknowledged by all the traditionists that the following persons had the full text of the Holy Qur`an in the form of a complete Book which has been read out to the Holy Prophet and which he had approved-

1.    Ali ibne Abi Taleb.

2.    Abdullah ibne Mas'ood.

3.    Ka'b ibne Obai.

4.    Ma'az bin Jabal.

and the copy of Ali ibne Abi-Taleb contained the explanatory and the special notes about the external as well as the internal meaning of each verse of the Holy Prophet RN., TIB.

The question arises that when the above historic facts were known one and all in Madina and Makkah and to the world, where was the necessity if any fresh endeavour on the part of anyone to collect the Holy Qur`an anew:

It is said that the steps to collect the Qur`an were first taken during the regime of the First Kalif and continued during the whole of the regime of the Second Kalif ultimately the endevour ended in the regime of the Third Kalif, without any result, for, history says that the whole collection was deposited with Ummol Mo`mineen Ayesha, the daughter of the First Kalif, and there, a part of the collection was eaten away by a goat. There is not historic record to say that that collection was ever completed and if so by whom and whether it was ever put to any use by anyone thereafter. What history says is only that the Third Kalif took some authentic copy and granted it, his official seal as the authorized version and commanded that that version of the Holy Qur`an only shall be followed, and in fact the same version was there in the use of the people all the while since the departure of the Holy Prophet hence there was not the least murmur or objection to it from any quarter. Since the copy the official seal was the one which was already with them, the Ahlul-Bat also allowed it to be called the official version.

It cannot be believed by any Muslim that until about twenty-five years there was no Qur`an in the world. What was it then that the Holy Prophet had said that he was leaving the Book of God and what happened to the challenging declaration from God Himself (15: 9) God Himself being the Guardian of the Book which he revealed to the Holy Prophet?

There is history which declares that by the time the Third Kalif set his official seal on a copy of the Holy Qur`an and declared it as the official version of the Holy Book, Iran had embraced Islam and the faith had reached up to Azarbaijan on one side, and up to Egypt on the other, and the Holy Qur`an was already in the regular daily use of the people.

Thus the present Qur`an is the copy of the Holy Book which was compiled in its present order and read to the Holy Prophet by him and was in use of the Muslim world since then. No doubt, the copy of Ali ibne Abi Taleb contained the special explanatory notes but when Ali offered that copy, it was rejected by the Kalifate. However, the notes of Ali were given out by his successor Imams, after him to their disciples which are found in the commentary of the Holy Qur`an based on the version of the Ahlul-Bayt. Whatever the opinion about the Holy Qur`an anyone might have, but this is the Truth and to say that there was nothing to be called a Book of God and yet the Holy Prophet said that he was leaving it among the people is a clear clumny or that Ali ibne Ali Taleb had the complete copy of it, but he suppressed it and did not allow the public the due benefit of it, and he did not publish it even when he had the opportunity to do it, when he was the Kalif, is a false charge against the Holy Prophet and the Holy Imam Ali and a blasphemy against God Himself of having taken the undertaking to guard the Holy Book and not fulfilling His word.

When one speaks of anything of Islam or about Islam, the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith or the Traditions of the Holy Prophet must be kept in view otherwise what will be said, will be nothing but conjectures of no value whatsoever.

The Holy Prophet says that he has left Two very weighty things and they will never be separated from each other until they reach him at the Spring Kauther'. If there was not such a book to be called the Holy Qur'an until the third Kalif compiled it, in 35 A.H. it would mean that the Ahlul-Bait were without the Book of God for about twenty five years, which is against the declaration of the holy Prophet, which can never be, which is definitely an impossibility for the word of the Holy Prophet, according to the Holy Qur an, is the Word of God (53:3,4).

If it be said that of the Ahlul-Bait Ali had a complete copy of the Holy Qur an and the saying of the Holy Prophet was not wrong, then the proposition goes against the wording of the saying which is "I leave among you i.e., among the people, and not among the Ahlul-Bait. Secondly, if the Book of God was secured with the Ahlul-Bait, with its unavailability to the general public, how could the parting advice of the Holy Prophet "if ye be attached to these Two' be enacted by the Muslims?

The Truth is that when the Holy Prophet gave out the declaration the Hadeethuth-Thaqalain' (the tradition of the Two Weighty things), there was the Holy Qur'an with the people, the present copy of it and it is a fact that the Ahlul-Bait will always be with the Holy Book and the Holy Book in its present external form and with its meanings plain as well as latent, will always be with the Ahlul-Bait.

If intelligently read, the Hadeethuth-Thaqalain' is a clear guarantee or a proof-positive of the fact about the reverse of the statement never will they be separated from each other', which clearly indicates that as long as the Holy Qur' an Is there in the world, there will surely be one from the Ahlul-Bait' i.e., one of the divinely commissioned Imams of them. It is a clear guidance that in this age also there is one from the Ahlul-Bait' the last one of them the Holy Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi. It is quite a different thing altogether, people believing in him or not. There is God, as He is not seen some people deny His Existence, it does not mean that the Existence of God, is really questionable. God, the Almighty has kept certain chosen ones of His, like Kidr', Idrees', and Jesus'; some people may not believe in this fact but it does not mean that God also is as helpless as any one of us to be subjected to the little and the limited knowledge of the laws of nature which we possess, whereas, He is the Independent Author of nature and nature is subject to His will, and His will is not subject to nature. Nature is nothing but the enactment of His Will.

 The motive behind such allegations against the position of the Holy Qur'an is obviously to say that the compilation, the preservation and the propagation of the Holy Qur'an was not done by the Ahlul-Bait but by somebody else. This was another move to deprive the Holy ones, of their divine right. Or it can be a charge against Ali that though he possessed a copy of the Holy Book, he did not make it available to the Muslims, even when he once came to power as a Kalif.

Source - Husain The Saviour of Islam, by S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali.