They looked at the prevailing condition of the Muslim world...

They looked at the prevailing condition of the Muslim world and found a ready and flourishing market for forged ahadith . They exploited it to their utmost advantage and began wholesale fabrication of traditions casting aspersion on the validity of the Qur'an by imputing that there were additions, deletions, alterations and even some mistakes in this Qur'an which is in our hands.

This idea was and is diametrically opposed to what the Muslims, the Shi'a and the Sunni alike, believe about the Qur'an. Shaykh Abu Ja far as-Saduq (d. 381) writes in his Kitabu 'l-I'tiqadat : "It is our belief that the Qur'an which Allah revealed to His is (the same as) the one between the two boards ( daffatayn ).

And it is that which is in the hands of the people, and is not greater in extent than that." Then he says: "And he who asserts that we say that it is greater in extent than this (the present text) is a liar."[^7] Similar declarations have been made by almost all great Shi'a mujtahids; for example, Shaykh al-Mufid (338-413), Awa'ilu l-Maqalat , p. 95; Sharif al-Murtada (355-436), Bahru 'l-Fawa'id (Tehran, 1314) p. 69; Shaykh at-Tusi (385-408), Tafsir at-Tibyan , vol. 1 (Najaf, 1376) p.

3; Shaykh at-Tabrasi (d. 548), Majma'u 'l-Bayan , vol. 1 (Lebanon) p. 15. This belief has continued un-interrupted upto the present days.

One may just mention the names of Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin al-'Amili (1284-1371); Sayyid Sharafu'd-Din al-Musawi (1290-1377); Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Kashifu 'l-Ghita' (1295-1373); Sayyid Muhsin al-Hakim (1306- 1390); 'Allamah at-Tabataba'i (1321- 1402) Sayyid Muhammad Hadi al-Milani (1313-1390); Sayyid Ruhullah al-Khumayni (1321 - 1409); Sayyid Abu 'l-Qasim al-Khu'i (1317-1413) and Sayyid Muhammad Rida al-Gulpaygani (1316-1414).

I would like to give short hints on the following six aspects of this topic, to show how the enemies of islam got the chance to create the fitnah of tahrif and to what extent they succeeded in their endeavours. The appearance of forged ahadith in the Muslim world. Confessions of some of those who indulged in this practice. Examples of forged ahadith showing that hundreds, if not thousands, of verses were deleted from the Qur'an. Sunni attitude and their belief.

The theory of abrogation of recitation and its implication. Shi'a attitude towards such traditions. “American Islam” resurrected this buried topic, ostensibly to ridicule Shi'ism and hinder Iranian efforts for establishing Islamic unity world-wide.