WEBVTT

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So now that we have walked through how Zayd ibn

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Thabit's codex was collected and then modified

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under Caliph Uthman, there is another obvious

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question we have to ask. Were other Qurans in

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circulation at that time? And if so, how serious

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were the disagreements about which one was right?

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Christian researcher John Gilchrist, in his book

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Jam al -Quran, has a very helpful discussion

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of this in section 3 .2. He draws on a classic

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early Muslim work, called Kitab al -Masahif,

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which means the Book of the Manuscripts, written

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by Ibn Abi Dawud, the son of the famous hadith

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collector Abu Dawud. On pages 13 and 14 of that

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book, Ibn Abi Dawud preserves several reports

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that show just how divided the early Muslim community

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was over which codex of the Quran should be treated

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as authoritative. Let me walk you through three

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of those citations one by one, because they are

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really important. First, in Jamal Quran, section

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3 .2, Gilchrist summarizes what Ibn Abi Dawud

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says on page 13 of Kitab al -Masahif. He explains

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that before Uthman's standardization, different

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regions of the Muslim world actually followed

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different master copies. In that section, Gilchrist

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comments on Ibn Abi Dawud's report by saying

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that Ubayy ibn Kab's codex became the standard

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text for Syria before Uthman's recension, while

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the Codex of Abdullah ibn Masud became the standard

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text for the Muslim community in and around Kufa

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in Iraq. The underlying reference here is Ibn

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Abi Dawud, Kitab al -Masahif, page 13. So think

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about that. In Syria, the main Quran people used

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was the Codex of Ubay ibn Kab. In Kufa, in Iraq,

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the main Quran people used was the Codex of Abdullah

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ibn Masud. These were not just personal notebooks.

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They were regional standards. That means that

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before Uthman's intervention, there was no single

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universally accepted text. Second, Ibn Abi Dawud

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records a very revealing conversation on that

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same page. In Kitab al -Masahif, page 13, he

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reports that Hudhaifa ibn al -Yaman spoke about

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the rival readings. Let me introduce it clearly.

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In Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al -Masahif, page 13,

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It says that Hudayfah said the following. The

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people of Kufa say, It is the reading of Abdullah

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ibn Masud. The people of Basra say, It is the

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reading of Abu Musa. By Allah, if I go to the

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commander of the faithful, meaning Uthman, I

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will demand that these codices be drowned. Abdullah,

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that is Abdullah ibn Masud, replied to him, saying,

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Do so, and by Allah you too will be drowned,

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but not in water. That short exchange tells us

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several things. The community in Kufa claimed

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the reading of Abdullah ibn Masud as their Quran.

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The community in Basra claimed the reading of

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Abu Musa al -Ashari as theirs. Hudhaifa was so

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alarmed by this division that he said he wanted

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to have those competing codices drowned, meaning

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destroyed. Abdullah ibn Masud, however, responded

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sharply. and warned that such an attempt would

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bring judgment back on Hudhayfah himself. You

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can almost feel the tension. These were not minor

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pronunciation differences. These were competing

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regional texts. Third, on page 14 of the same

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book, Ibn Abi Dawud gives us even more detail.

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In Kitab al -Masahif, page 14, he reports that

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Hudhayfah addressed Abu Musa al -Ashari, who

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was also known as Abdullah ibn Qays. and said

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something like this, O Abdullah ibn Qais, you

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were sent to the people of Basra as their governor

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and their teacher, and they have submitted to

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your rules, your idioms, and your reading. Then

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Hudayfa turned to Abdullah ibn Masud and said,

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O Abdullah ibn Masud, you were sent to the people

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of Kufa as their teacher, and they likewise have

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submitted to your rules, your idioms, and your

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reading. In that same report, Ibn Abi Dawud says

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that Abdullah ibn Masud answered Hudhayfah in

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this way. He said, If that is the case, then

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I have not led them astray. There is no verse

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in the Book of Allah that I do not know where

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it was revealed and why it was revealed. And

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if I knew of anyone more learned in the Book

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of Allah than I am, and if I could be transported

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to him, I would set out to him. Again, that is

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Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al -Masahif, page 14. So

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what is going on there? Hudhayfah is saying to

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both men, Look, your regions have adopted your

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way of reciting and even your idioms. Basra looks

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to Abu Musa. Kufa looks to Ibn Masud. Abdullah

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Ibn Masud replies by insisting that he has not

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misled his people and by affirming that he knows

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every verse, where it was revealed and why it

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was revealed, and that he would gladly travel

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to anyone who knew the Book of Allah even better.

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Put all three of these citations together and

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ask yourself, does this sound like a community

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that has one single, agreed -upon Quranic text?

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Or does it sound like a community where different

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master copies exist, where whole regions follow

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different codices, and where respected companions

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fiercely defend their own versions? John Gilchrist,

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in Jam al -Quran, uses these quotations from

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Ibn Abi Dawud to show that the differences were

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serious enough, that some leaders, like Hudhayfah,

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felt drastic action was needed, which sets the

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stage for Uthman's later order to standardize

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one text and burn the rest. The full references

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again are John Gilchrist, Jamal Quran, section

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3 .2, Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al -Masahif, pages

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13 and 14. So the bigger question for us, as

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we think this through, is this. If early Muslims

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themselves recognized rival codices and regional

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standard texts, and if those differences were

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so deep that some leaders wanted competing copies

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destroyed, how can we simply accept the modern

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claim that there has always been only one perfectly

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preserved Qur 'an, identical in every letter

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from the time of Muhammad until now?