ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books 180 Questions Enquiries About Islam Volume One: The Practical Laws The Noble Qur`an Has the Qur`an been altered? The popular opinion amongst the Shi'ite and Sunni scholars is that no alteration has taken place in the Qur`an, and the Qur`an that is in our hands today is the very same Qur`an that had been revealed to the Noble Prophet (s.a.w) - to the extent that not even a single letter or a word has been added to it or deleted from it.

Some distinguished Shi'ite scholars - ancient and recent - who have explicitly attested to this reality, are: Sheikh Tusi, renowned as Sheikh al-Taifah, who has presented a lucid, explicit and conclusive discussion on this matter at the beginning of his famed commentary, al-Tibyan. Sayyid Murtaza, one of the most celebrated 4th century (Hijri) scholars of the Twelve-Imam sect. The Chief of the Traditionists, Muhammad b. 'Ali b.

Babwaih al-saduq, while mentioning the beliefs of the Twelve-Imam sect, states: “Our belief is that no alteration has taken place in the Noble Qur`an.” The distinguished commentator al-Tabrisi too, in the introduction of his commentary, has presented a vocal discussion in connection with this issue. Kashif al-Ghita, one of the eminent later-generation scholars.

Muhaqqiq Yazdi, in his book al-'Urwatul Wuthqa, has reported the opinions of a great number of Shi'ite jurists regarding non-alteration of the Qur`an. It has been reported that numerous other great scholars like Sheikh Mufid, Sheikh Baha`i, Qadhi Nurullah and other Shi'ite scholars also harboured this belief and opinion. Preponderantly, great and celebrated Sunni scholars too hold this belief.

It should be pointed out that some Shi'ite and Sunni scholars of Hadith, whose knowledge with respect to the Noble Qur`an was deficient, have reported the occurrence of alteration in the Qur`an. Nevertheless, by means of explanations on the part of great scholars of both the sects, this false belief has been discarded.

Sayyid Murtazha, replying to the book al-Masail al-Tarablasiyat, says: “The veracity of the Qur`an is so evident that (the certainty of) it is similar to (the certainty of) the knowledge that we possess with respect to the well-known cities of the world, great historical events and popular books.” In the aforesaid example, can a person ever harbour doubts about the existence of cities like Makkah, Madinah, London or Paris, even though he may have never travelled to these cities?