So now that we have walked through how Zayd ibn
Thabit's codex was collected and then modified
under Caliph Uthman, there is another obvious
question we have to ask. Were other Qurans in
circulation at that time? And if so, how serious
were the disagreements about which one was right?
Christian researcher John Gilchrist, in his book
Jam al -Quran, has a very helpful discussion
of this in section 3 .2. He draws on a classic
early Muslim work, called Kitab al -Masahif,
which means the Book of the Manuscripts, written
by Ibn Abi Dawud, the son of the famous hadith
collector Abu Dawud. On pages 13 and 14 of that
book, Ibn Abi Dawud preserves several reports
that show just how divided the early Muslim community
was over which codex of the Quran should be treated
as authoritative. Let me walk you through three
of those citations one by one, because they are
really important. First, in Jamal Quran, section
3 .2, Gilchrist summarizes what Ibn Abi Dawud
says on page 13 of Kitab al -Masahif. He explains
that before Uthman's standardization, different
regions of the Muslim world actually followed
different master copies. In that section, Gilchrist
comments on Ibn Abi Dawud's report by saying
that Ubayy ibn Kab's codex became the standard
text for Syria before Uthman's recension, while
the Codex of Abdullah ibn Masud became the standard
text for the Muslim community in and around Kufa
in Iraq. The underlying reference here is Ibn
Abi Dawud, Kitab al -Masahif, page 13. So think
about that. In Syria, the main Quran people used
was the Codex of Ubay ibn Kab. In Kufa, in Iraq,
the main Quran people used was the Codex of Abdullah
ibn Masud. These were not just personal notebooks.
They were regional standards. That means that
before Uthman's intervention, there was no single
universally accepted text. Second, Ibn Abi Dawud
records a very revealing conversation on that
same page. In Kitab al -Masahif, page 13, he
reports that Hudhaifa ibn al -Yaman spoke about
the rival readings. Let me introduce it clearly.
In Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al -Masahif, page 13,
It says that Hudayfah said the following. The
people of Kufa say, It is the reading of Abdullah
ibn Masud. The people of Basra say, It is the
reading of Abu Musa. By Allah, if I go to the
commander of the faithful, meaning Uthman, I
will demand that these codices be drowned. Abdullah,
that is Abdullah ibn Masud, replied to him, saying,
Do so, and by Allah you too will be drowned,
but not in water. That short exchange tells us
several things. The community in Kufa claimed
the reading of Abdullah ibn Masud as their Quran.
The community in Basra claimed the reading of
Abu Musa al -Ashari as theirs. Hudhaifa was so
alarmed by this division that he said he wanted
to have those competing codices drowned, meaning
destroyed. Abdullah ibn Masud, however, responded
sharply. and warned that such an attempt would
bring judgment back on Hudhayfah himself. You
can almost feel the tension. These were not minor
pronunciation differences. These were competing
regional texts. Third, on page 14 of the same
book, Ibn Abi Dawud gives us even more detail.
In Kitab al -Masahif, page 14, he reports that
Hudhayfah addressed Abu Musa al -Ashari, who
was also known as Abdullah ibn Qays. and said
something like this, O Abdullah ibn Qais, you
were sent to the people of Basra as their governor
and their teacher, and they have submitted to
your rules, your idioms, and your reading. Then
Hudayfa turned to Abdullah ibn Masud and said,
O Abdullah ibn Masud, you were sent to the people
of Kufa as their teacher, and they likewise have
submitted to your rules, your idioms, and your
reading. In that same report, Ibn Abi Dawud says
that Abdullah ibn Masud answered Hudhayfah in
this way. He said, If that is the case, then
I have not led them astray. There is no verse
in the Book of Allah that I do not know where
it was revealed and why it was revealed. And
if I knew of anyone more learned in the Book
of Allah than I am, and if I could be transported
to him, I would set out to him. Again, that is
Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al -Masahif, page 14. So
what is going on there? Hudhayfah is saying to
both men, Look, your regions have adopted your
way of reciting and even your idioms. Basra looks
to Abu Musa. Kufa looks to Ibn Masud. Abdullah
Ibn Masud replies by insisting that he has not
misled his people and by affirming that he knows
every verse, where it was revealed and why it
was revealed, and that he would gladly travel
to anyone who knew the Book of Allah even better.
Put all three of these citations together and
ask yourself, does this sound like a community
that has one single, agreed -upon Quranic text?
Or does it sound like a community where different
master copies exist, where whole regions follow
different codices, and where respected companions
fiercely defend their own versions? John Gilchrist,
in Jam al -Quran, uses these quotations from
Ibn Abi Dawud to show that the differences were
serious enough, that some leaders, like Hudhayfah,
felt drastic action was needed, which sets the
stage for Uthman's later order to standardize
one text and burn the rest. The full references
again are John Gilchrist, Jamal Quran, section
3 .2, Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al -Masahif, pages
13 and 14. So the bigger question for us, as
we think this through, is this. If early Muslims
themselves recognized rival codices and regional
standard texts, and if those differences were
so deep that some leaders wanted competing copies
destroyed, how can we simply accept the modern
claim that there has always been only one perfectly
preserved Qur 'an, identical in every letter
from the time of Muhammad until now?