The question can also be posed the other way around. It's been 37 years that these scholars have had this information. What do they have to hide? I still don't have any hard-core evidence to prove to me that there are in fact textual differences, just a bunch of rumours which do not have any support at all. I will wait until then.
Also, I'm pretty sure the Orientalists who are backed up by all Western countries would LOVE to have this information out, just to have another attack at Islam (as one can see that is all they want through observing the media's slandering of Islam, especially in the past decade). I would have said this 'confidential' evidence would have been out over a decade ago if it really existed.
True. Either way you look at it the fact remains. There was a find of cosmic proportions. Can you deny it? Puin was just a consultant. The Yemeni government is the actual owner of the find. Without their approval Puin can not publish anything on this matter. He will be sued to the doors of hell and no publishing company will ever undertake that kind of work otherwise they too will be put out of business. Puin has too much to lose. What does the Yemeni goverment have to lose? Puin probably made microfische copies but if they were not authorized by the Yemeni government that amounts to stealing. He publishes it and goes to jail for several years. Would you not want to know if there really is difference and fix it for the generations to come. What are you afraid of?
In 1972, a 7th century Koran was found in Yemen during a restoration work of a structure. After 3 decades of examining and investigations, it is found that the Koran is the earliest copy. It is also found out that there are many erasures and alterations to it.
The question can also be posed the other way around. It's been 37 years that these scholars have had this information. What do they have to hide? I still don't have any hard-core evidence to prove to me that there are in fact textual differences, just a bunch of rumours which do not have any support at all. I will wait until then.
Also, I'm pretty sure the Orientalists who are backed up by all Western countries would LOVE to have this information out, just to have another attack at Islam (as one can see that is all they want through observing the media's slandering of Islam, especially in the past decade). I would have said this 'confidential' evidence would have been out over a decade ago if it really existed.
True. Either way you look at it the fact remains. There was a find of cosmic proportions. Can you deny it? Puin was just a consultant. The Yemeni government is the actual owner of the find. Without their approval Puin can not publish anything on this matter. He will be sued to the doors of hell and no publishing company will ever undertake that kind of work otherwise they too will be put out of business. Puin has too much to lose. What does the Yemeni goverment have to lose? Puin probably made microfische copies but if they were not authorized by the Yemeni government that amounts to stealing. He publishes it and goes to jail for several years. Would you not want to know if there really is difference and fix it for the generations to come. What are you afraid of?
I never said I was afraid. I was actually encouraging its release if you refer to my last post. At any rate, there are many things that would come into the equation even if it had differences from the text we have today. For example;
-there could have been copying errors.
-I've seen arguments that say that the parchment used at that time was not able to sustain the ink hence it was reused.
-i have read that copies which were too old and needed to be disposed of were either burned or buried; same thing if there that had copying errors - hence if they were found in a place in which they were not intended to be found, this could also be an argument as to its discrepancies...
The list goes on and on...
As for Puin having the permission to release such documents...Come on... Bush did not get permission to invade the countries that he did for his "War on Terrorism" (or rather Islam). As I said, Puin would have been backed up by all Western countries, and all forms of scholarship to get these documents released ASAP just to poke more fun at Islam.
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:28 pm Post subject: Re: Is Quran complete?
Orientalists plot against the Qur'an under the guise of academic study and archive preservation
By Aisha Geissinger
In 1972, a 'paper grave' was found by labourers doing restoration work in the Great Mosque in Sana'a, Yemen. Between the mosque's inner and outer roofs was a collection of old parchment and paper documents, damaged books and individual pages. Centuries of rain and damp, and damage by insects and rats had made much of it unreadable. Qadhi Isma'il al-Akwa', then president of the Yemeni Antiquities Authority, thought that the find could be important, and tried to obtain the funds and expertise necessary to examine and preserve the documents. In 1979 he managed to interest a visiting German scholar in the documents, who in turn persuaded the German government to fund and organise their restoration.
The German government sent Gerd-R. Puin, a specialist in Arabic calligraphy and Qur'anic paleology, from Saarland University to supervise the project in 1981. Now, more than 15,000 documents have been cleaned and sorted, and lie in Yemen's House of Manuscripts. The documents include tens of thousands of fragments from almost one thousand different copies of the Qur'an. Some pieces may date back to the first and second centuries after the hijra, making them among the oldest surviving Qur'anic manuscripts. The Yemeni authorities do not want the fact that Orientalists are working on these documents to be widely known, fearing protest from concerned Muslims. So far, they have only allowed Puin and H.-C. Grant von Bothner, an Islamic art historian from the same university, to examine the documents closely.
To the excitement of Puin and von Bothner, some showed minor differences in wording and verse-order from Qur'ans in use today. Knowing that access to the documents could be prevented in future if Muslims realized the implications of their research, von Bothner took more than 35,000 pictures on microfilm of the texts. Now that the microfilm is safely in Germany, Orientalists are free to study the documents and publish their conclusions, and journalists, self-proclaimed reformers and other interested parties can also discuss the implications of the find without having to worry about jeopardizing Puin and von Bonther's research.
An article entitled What is the Koran? was published in the Atlantic Monthly in January 1999 about this restoration project. It clarifies its objectives: Puin wants to challenge the Muslim belief that the Qur'an is the unchanged word of God. Muslims, he says, have agreed with the textual critics of the Bible that the Bible has a history and "did not fall straight out of the sky", but have refused to accept that the Qur'an also has a history. He believes that the fragments found in Sana'a will prove that the Qur'an is "a kind of cocktail of texts that were not all understood even at the time of Muhammad" (p. 46). Andrew Rippin, professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary, Canada, claims that they show that the Qur'anic text "is less stable, and therefore has less authority, than has always been claimed" (p. 45).
The fact is that the existence of minor differences in wording and in the ordering of the surahs in the earliest masahif (manuscripts) is no surprise to Muslims familiar with classical Islamic scholarship of the Qur'an. Such variations occurred for several reasons. One factor is the dialectical differences then existing in different regions of Arabia. Another is that some of the Sahaba kiram (Companions) recorded such masahif for their own personal use. As these persons had either memorised the Qur'an in its entirety or large portions of it, such masahif were written merely as an aid to memory. Therefore, notes in the margins such as the wording of du'as (supplications) occurred, and the order of surahs varied. Books written by classical Muslim scholars, such as al-Suyuti's Itqan, go into great detail about such issues.
When the Khalifa 'Uthman ibn 'Affan ordered that one standard text be used and others destroyed, the Sahaba who possessed masahif containing variants did not object to this ruling, which shows that they agreed with his verdict. Moreover, in the subsequent civil war between the supporters of the Khalifa Ali ibn Abi-Talib and Mu'awiya, calls for arbitration according to the Qur'an never involved claims that the other side had an incomplete or changed Qur'an. This would have been a convenient and devastating weapon if it could have been at all convincing. Knowledge about these variations has been preserved by classical Muslim scholarship, and has been useful to scholars of tafsir (Qur'anic interpretation). It was never seen as evidence against the integrity of the Qur'anic text, however, and for this reason Orientalists have not succeeded in building a compelling argument upon it. Having their own documents to build speculations upon gives them much more room to manoeuvre, as they can define the terms and conditions of their research.
Studies of the texts are likely to achieve two main objectives. For Orientalists, the Sana'a fragments provide more material upon which to build conjectures about the 'evolution' of the Qur'anic text and events in early Islamic history. Would-be reformers will use the documents, or, more likely, Orientalists' conclusions about them, to undercut the authority of the classical scholars and contemporary ulama. The Atlantic Monthly indicates that some Orientalists and 'reformers' will work together on the project of reinterpreting the Qur'an: An Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, similar to Biblical encyclopedias written by textual critics, is being published to present the latest Orientalist approaches to Qur'anic interpretation. Nasr Abu-Zaid, who claims that the Qur'an can only be understood as a literary text, and was legally declared an apostate in Egypt in 1995, is on the advisory board.
Western study of the Qur'an and of Islam originated in missionary and military concerns. Modern 'specialists' in Islam have tried to distance themselves from this heritage and project their conclusions as secular, scientific and unbiased. However, the article reveals a persistent Biblical as well as secular bias These specialists seem blissfully unaware that Biblical criticism and their version of Qur'anic studies did not "fall out of the sky" either. These approaches to scripture are products of a particular historical, political and economic climate.
The Bible is the implicit model against which the Qur'an is measured. It is considered a "cocktail" because it does not present material in the chronological or thematic order typical of Biblical narratives. Secular biases in both Biblical and Qur'anic studies are revealed in hostility to divine revelation in any form: any text dealing with miraculous occurrences is deemed inauthentic. Also, the Biblical form of any narrative is considered to be the most authentic, because it is older, while the idea that the Qur'an, as the latest revelation, could be correct in its different accounts of events is dismissed. The limitations of the purveyors of this 'unbiased' and 'scientific' study of the Qur'an are arrogantly imposed on the sacred text itself. Puin claims that one-fifth of the Qur'an is incomprehensible, apparently because he himself cannot understand it. Fourteen hundred years of Muslim scholarship, devotion and art issuing forth from the Qur'an are seen as carrying less weight than the opinions of a handful of non-Muslims who cannot even claim native fluency in classical Arabic.
The fact that the preservation of Qur'anic documents is left in the hands of such people is a tragedy that reflects the impotence and lack of faith of the Muslim Ummah. It brings to mind the ahadith which describe the disappearance of the Qur'an from the masahif and the memories of people which will occur in the Last Days. The openly political agenda of these Orientalists is evident; once the Muslims' confidence in the authenticity of the Qur'an is undermined, Islam will have no social or political authority. Muslims will no longer be able to claim to know what the divine will is on issues ranging from the implementation of Islamic laws to the liberation of al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Convenient solutions, based on the realities of the political and economic domination of the west, will be imposed upon them with utter impunity.
I never said I was afraid. I was actually encouraging its release if you refer to my last post. At any rate, there are many things that would come into the equation even if it had differences from the text we have today. For example;
-there could have been copying errors.
At least we both agree that the research should be allowed to go on and completed and that it should be made public. As for copying errors, well the research will show if it was just that.
Quote:
-I've seen arguments that say that the parchment used at that time was not able to sustain the ink hence it was reused.
This argument is weak. If parchments could not hold or sustain ink marks once whats the guarantee it would sustain ink the next time. Also do you think the writers discovered that only after they wrote all thousands of pages and then started over? I am a little confused here.
Quote:
-i have read that copies which were too old and needed to be disposed of were either burned or buried; same thing if there that had copying errors - hence if they were found in a place in which they were not intended to be found, this could also be an argument as to its discrepancies...
It still doesn't make any sense to me. Your hypothesis are treading shallow waters. Your ship is bound to run aground. So lets not speculate. Once the research is published if it is ever allowed to; I pray to Allah to guide muslims out of the eventual turmoil and save them from the backlash from within the community and outside. May be that will be the right time for your awaited Mahdi to arrive. Ours has always been here to guide us through choppy waters.
Quote:
The list goes on and on...
As for Puin having the permission to release such documents...Come on... Bush did not get permission to invade the countries that he did for his "War on Terrorism" (or rather Islam). As I said, Puin would have been backed up by all Western countries, and all forms of scholarship to get these documents released ASAP just to poke more fun at Islam.
You left out the most influential player from this equation. The Saudis. They will never allow this to happen. Their whole empire will come crumbling down. Puin is just a scholar and not a politician with military aspirations. If there is nothing that points to wrongdoing in those documents, I think the Yemeni government should publish it and put the original documents in a museum as the oldest surviving manuscript. 37 years of silence suggests there is more to it than reaches the ears.
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 12:00 pm Post subject: Re: Is Quran complete?
Would the Earliest Quranic Manuscripts of Sana’a Spell the Downfall of Islam?
Sunday, 28 June 2009 12:56 Sujit Das
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The earliest Quranic manuscripts discovered in the Sana'a mosque in Yemen not only differ from the standard version, but disagree amongst themselves. Since Muslims believe that the Quran contains the verses of Allah word for word, the new finds may unravel the 'Pandora's Box' for Islam...
“Respect for the faith of sincere believers cannot be allowed either to block or deflect the investigation of the historians... One must defend the rights of elementary historical methodology”. -- Maxime Rodhinson, 1981, p. 57
Muslims generally believe, thanks to Quranic assertions, that both the Old and New Testaments are corrupted and seriously changed. They say, for a Holy Scripture to be authoritative, it has to be preserved without any changes at all, and point to the Quran, which, they claim, has been preserved word by word and letter by letter, as was revealed to Muhammad by Allah. The Quran itself claims: ‘no change there can be in the words of God’ (10:64) and, ‘there is none that can alter the words (and decrees) of God’ (6:34).
But then how ridiculous the ‘doctrine of abrogation’ is, by which later revelations cancel previous ones, as Quran (2:106) confirms, ‘revelations… We abrogate or cause to be forgotten’. Also, a Hadith (6:558) from Sahih Bukhari confirms that Muhammad forgot many verses. Again Sunaan ibn Majah (3: 1944) records that, after Muhammad’s death, some revelations were eaten up by a goat.
How divine words can be eaten, changed, cancelled or abolished, in spite of Allah’s specific claim in 10:64 and 6:34? Are not all these claims of Allah self-contradictory?
Amazingly, these plain truths do not bother the Muslims at all. Probably, if we can present another “authentic” Quran, which is different from existing standard form, Muslims may give way to logical thinking.
The devastating truth is that a large number of ancient Quranic manuscripts, dating from first century of Hijra were discovered in the Great Mosque of Sana’a (Yemen), which significantly differs from the present standard one. Carbon dating system confirmed that these Qurans are not forged one by religious rivalries. Moreover, these Qurans were discovered by Muslims, not infidels.
This is, probably, the most embarrassing event to Muslims in the 1,400-year history of Islam.
The Great Mosque of Sana’a is one of the oldest Mosques in Islamic history. The date of building goes back to 6th year of Hijrah when Muhammad entrusted one of his companions to build a Mosque at Yemen, which was extended and enlarged by Islamic rulers from time to time.
In 1972, during the restoration of this Great Mosque (heavy rain had caused the west wall of the Mosque to collapse), laborers, while working in a crown space between the structure’s inner and outer roofs, stumbled upon an amazing grave-site, which they did not realize at that time. Mosques do not accommodate graves, and this site contained no gravestone, no human remains and no funeral relics. It contained an unappealing mountain of old parchment and paper documents, damaged books and individual pages of Arabic text, fused together by rain and dampness for over a thousand years.
The ignorant laborers gathered up the manuscripts, pressed them carelessly into some 20 potato sacks, and set them aside on the staircase of one of the Mosque’s minarets, where they were locked away. The manuscripts would have been forgotten once again, were it not for Qadhi Isma’il al-Akwa, then the President of Yemeni Antiquities Authority, who realized the potential importance of the find. Al-Akwa sought international assistance in examining and preserving the fragments, because no scholar in his country was capable of working on this rich find. In 1977, he managed to interest a visiting non-Muslim German scholar, who in turn persuaded the German government to organize and find a restoration project.
Soon after the project began, it became clear that the “paper grave” is a resting place for, among other things, tens of thousands of fragments from close to a thousand different codices of the Quran. Muslim authorities during early days cherished the belief that worn out and damaged copies of the Quran must be removed from circulation leaving only the unblemished editions of the scripture for use. Also such a safe place was required to protect the books from looting or destruction if invaders come and hence the idea of a grave in the Great Mosque in Sana’a, which was a place of learning and dissemination of the Quran and was in existence from the first century of the Hijrah.
Restoration of the manuscript has been organized and supervised by Gerd R. Puin of Saarland University, Germany. Puin is a renowned specialist on Arabic calligraphy (the study of fine and artistic handwriting) and Quranic paleography (the study of ancient writing and documents). For ten years he extensively examined those precious parchment fragments. In 1985, his colleague H. C. Graf V. Bothmer joined him.
Carbon-dating puts the origin of some of the parchments to 645–690 CE, while calligraphic dating has pointed to their origin in 710–715 AD. Some of the parchment pages seemed to date back to the seventh and eighth centuries, i.e. Islam’s first two centuries, perhaps the oldest Quran in existence.
In 1984, the House of Manuscripts (Dar al Makhtutat) was founded close to the Great Mosque, as part of a cooperation project between the Yemeni and German authorities. An enormous endeavor began to restore the Quranic fragments. Between 1983 and 1996, approximately 15,000 out of 40,000 pages were restored, specifically 12,000 fragments on parchment and manuscripts dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries.
Until now, only three ancient copies of the Quran are found. The one preserved in the British Library in London, dates from the late seventh century and was thought to be the oldest one. But the Sana’a manuscripts are even older. Moreover, these manuscripts are written in a script that originates from the Hijaz—the region of Arabia where prophet Muhammad lived, which makes them not only the oldest to have survived, but one of the earliest authentic copies of the Quran ever. Hijazi Arabic is the script (Makkan or Madinan), in which the earliest Quran was written. Although these pieces are from the earliest Quran known to exist, they are also palimpsests (manuscripts on which the original writing has been effected for re-use).
The rare style of fine and artistic handwriting in the manuscripts had fascinated both Puin and his friend Bothmer, but more surprise was awaiting them. When these ancient Qurans were compared with the present standard one, both of them were stunned. The ancient texts were found to be devastatingly and disturbingly at odds with the existing form. There are unconventional verse ordering, small but significant textual variations, different orthography (spelling) and different artistic embellishment (decoration).
It shattered the orthodox Muslim belief that the Quran, as it has reached us today, is “the perfect, timeless, and unchanging Word of God”. It means Quran has been distorted, perverted, revised, modified and corrected, and textual alterations had taken place over the years purely by Human hands.
The sacred aura surrounding this Holy Scripture of Islam, which remained intact for some 14 centuries is gone with this astonishing discovery and the ‘core belief’ of 1.4b Muslims that the Quran is the eternal, unaltered word of God is now clearly visible as a great hoax, a downright falsehood.
Not only this, the Quranic claim that nobody can alter the words of God is also a fake. Quran is supposed to be, in the words of Guillaume (1978, p. 74), “The holy of holies. It must never rest beneath other books, but always on top of them, one must never drink or smoke when it is being read aloud, and it must be listened to in silence. It is a talisman against disease and disaster”. Muslims call the Quran the ‘Mother of Books’, and believe that no other book or revelation can compare (Caner & Caner, 2002, p 84). However, it’s all gone now. The end-result of whole Islamic struggle of the last fourteen centuries is a big zero.
As if it is not enough, many manuscripts showed the sign of palimpsests, i.e., versions very clearly written over even earlier washed off versions. The underwriting of palimpsest is, of course, often difficult to read visually, but modern tools, such as ultraviolet photography, can highlight them. It suggests that the Sana’a manuscripts are not only variants to the present version of the Quran, but the Sana’a manuscripts themselves were variants of earlier version, re-written on the same paper. It means, Allah’s claim that original text is preserved in heaven on golden tablets (Q 56: 77–78; 85:21–22), which none can touch except angels is also a fairy-tale.
Puin, after extensively studying these manuscripts, came to the conclusion that the text is actually an evolving text rather than simply the word of God as revealed in its entirety to Muhammad (Warraq, 2002, p. 109). He wrote:
“So many Muslims have this belief that everything between the two covers of the Quran is just God’s unaltered word. They like to quote the textual work that shows that the Bible has a history and did not fall straight out of the sky, but until now the Quran has been out of discussion. The only way to break through this wall is to prove that the Quran has a history too. The Sana’a’s fragments will help us to do this.”
Puin even concluded (cited Taher, 2000) that “It is not one single work that has survived unchanged through the centuries. It may include stories that were written before the prophet Mohammed began his ministry and which have subsequently been rewritten”.
During their research, as Puin (Lester, 1999) recalls, “They [Yemeni authorities] wanted to keep this thing low profile, as we do too, although for different reasons. They don’t want attention drawn to the fact that there are Germans and others working on the Qurans. They don’t want it made public that there is work being done at all, since the Muslim position is that everything that needs to be said about the Quran’s history was said a thousand years ago.”
In fact, Puin and Bothmer knew for sometime during their study that the Quran is an evolving text, but they wisely understood the possible implications of their findings and kept quiet. If Yemeni authorities come to know about this discovery, they may even refuse them further access. This is actually what Puin called ‘different reasons’. So both sides kept quiet, and those two scholars carried on their research unabated.
Puin’s findings also confirm Wansbrough’s assumption on the Quranic text. In the 1970s, Wansbrough concluded that the Quran evolved only gradually in the seventh and eighth centuries after a long period of oral transmissions; different sects used to argue furiously with each other on the genuineness of the revelations. The reason that no Islamic source-materials from the very beginning of Islam never survived is because it never existed. In fact, Puin admitted ‘rereading Wansbrough’ during the course of analyzing the Yemeni fragments (Warraq, 2002, p. 122).
Puin's other radical theory is that pre-Islamic sources have entered the Quran. He argues that two tribes it mentions, As-Sahab-ar-Rass (Companions of the Well) and As- Sahab-al-Aiqa (Companions of the Thorny Bushes), are not part of the Arab tradition, and the people of Muhammad's time certainly did not know about them. He also disagrees that the Quran was written in the purest Arabic. The very word ‘Quran’ itself is of foreign origin. Contrary to popular Muslim belief, the meaning of ‘Quran’ is not recitation. It is actually derived from an Aramaic word, ‘Qariyun’, meaning a lectionary of scripture portions appointed to be read at divine service. Quran contains most of the biblical stories but in a shorter form and is ‘a summary of the Bible to be read in service’.
Bothmer has painstakingly finished taking more than thirty-five thousand microfilm pictures of the fragments by 1997, and brought the pictures back to Germany (Warraq, 2002, p. 109). It means now Bothmer, Puin and other scholars will finally have a chance to scrutinize the texts and to publish their findings freely.
Puin is interested to write a book on this in the future, but already wrote several short essays on their findings in various science magazines, where he pointed out several aberrations between the ancient Quran and the present standard version (cited Warraq, 2002, p. 739–44). In refuting the sacredness of the Quran, Puin wrote:
“My idea is that the Quran is a kind of cocktail of texts that were not all understood even at the time of Muhammad. Many of them may even be a hundred years older than Islam itself. The Quran claims for itself that it is ‘mubeen’, or clear. But [contrary to popular belief] if you look at it, you will notice that every fifth sentence or so simply does not make sense…the fact is that a fifth of the Quranic text is just incomprehensible. If the Quran is not comprehensible, if it can’t even be understood in Arabic, then it’s not translatable into any language. That is why Muslims are afraid. Since the Quran claims repeatedly to be clear but is not—there is an obvious and serious contradiction. Something else must be going on”.
The extraordinary discovery of Puin had fascinated Andrew Rippin, a Professor of religious studies and a leading expert on Quranic studies. Rippin (cited Warraq, 2002, p. 110) concluded, “The impact of the Yemeni manuscripts is still to be felt. Their variant readings and verse orders are all very significant. Everybody agrees on that. These manuscripts say that the early history of Quranic text is much more of an open question than many have suspected. The text was less stable and therefore had less authority, than has always been claimed”.
Rippin’s observation was superb. During the period of early Caliphs, Islam grew as political movement and not as a religious movement. A book like the Quran was required to keep the Muslims united. The Quran is just like a ‘status symbol’ of Islam, without which Islam would have died during the time of Muhammad only. The Quran is purely manmade. Some sort of Divinity was attached to the Quran so that it can command some respect, because it could not stand on its own worth. This way, in acknowledging the claims of the Quran as the direct utterance of the Divinity, the early manipulators had blocked all criticisms, which can otherwise expose it. The Quran itself prohibits criticism in verses 5:101 and 5:102. We do not know when religious blindness crept in, but undoubtedly, the early Muslims after Muhammad were more liberal than the present generation we are seeing today. The authenticity of many verses had been called into question by the early Muslims themselves. Many Kharijites, who were followers of Ali in the early history of Islam, found the Sura recounting the story of Joseph offensive, an erotic tale that cannot belong to the Quran (cited Warraq, 1998, p. 17).
Warraq (1998, p. 14) has the same view as Rippin, “Muslim scholars of the early years of Islam were far more flexible in their position, realizing that parts of the Quran was lost, perverted and that there were many thousand variants which made it impossible to talk of ‘the’ Quran”.
There is another proof that Quranic messages were distorted in the early days of Islam and nothing like ‘The’ Quran does exist any more. Inscriptions of several Quranic verses are decorated on the Dome of Rock of Jerusalem, which is most probably the first Islamic monument meant to be a major artistic achievement, built in 691 CE (Whelan, 1998, p. 1–14). These inscriptions significantly differ from the present standard text (Warraq, 2000, p. 34).
Mingana (cited Warraq, 1998, p.80) laments that “The most important question in the study of the Quran is its unchallengeable authority”. This is the only reason that critical investigation of the text of the Quran is a study which is still in its immaturity. As Rippin (1991, p. ix) lamented, “I have often encountered individuals who come to the study of Islam with a background in the historical study of the Hebrew Bible or early Christianity, and who express surprise at the lack of critical thought that appears in introductory textbooks of Islam. The notion that ‘Islam is born in the clear light of history’ still seems to be assumed by a great many writers of such texts.’”
Cook and Crone (1977, p. 1 concluded that “[The Quran] strikingly lacking in overall structure, frequently obscure and inconsequential in both language and content perfunctory in its liking of disparate materials and given to the repetition of whole passages in variant versions. On this basis, it can be argued that the book is the product of a belated and imperfect editing of materials from a plurality of traditions.” Crone (cited Warraq, 1998, p. 33) wrote elsewhere that “The Quran has generated masses of spurious information”.
But in case of the Bible, it is different, as Rodhinson (1980, p. viii) observed: “[For Bible] the scientific attitude begins with the decision to accept something as fact only if the source has been proved reliable”. Muslims wrongly interpret the honesty Christians display about some variant readings of the Bible as weakness (Ali & Spencer; 2003, p. 76–9). Christians, like Hindus, want to see their Holy book through scientific and historical point of view. When old Biblical manuscripts, parchments or ancient Hindu manuscripts are discovered, Christian and Hindu scholars almost climb over each other’s shoulder to gain an early access to them. Such findings cause great excitement to them. But sadly, no such excitement exists in Islam. Christians and Hindus are eager to see more and more light shed on the earliest manuscripts of their scriptures, while Muslims resist, often with violent determination. The contrast is really striking: while both Hindu and Christian faiths are strongly backed up by archeological and historical evidence, so far as concerns Islam, neither any archeological exploration was allowed in Mecca and Medina, nor is there any prospect in the future (Peters, 1986, p. 72–4).
Muslim criticism of the Quran is very rare and almost nonexistent as Sina (2008, p. 6) lamented, “Muslims are genuinely incapable of questioning Islam”. Recently, ex-Muslim websites are doing some remarkable work on this. Ultimately, these enlightened people will successfully free their Muslim brothers and sisters from the Islamic prison. Otherwise whatever criticism is done on the Quran are all by the Christian scholars. But Muslims should not take the Christian criticism as a mark of religious opposition. Christian scholars have done much more criticism of their own religion than Islam (Sproul & Saleeb, 2003. p. 17; Spencer, 2007, p. 1).
But once the Sana’a findings are published in details, Islam will not be the same as it was for fourteen centuries. Islam is definitely going to take a strange position. Many Muslims will cast doubt on sacredness of the Quran, and the very ‘romantic’ concept of the Quran will gradually disappear, and then a very interesting development can be observed. The first question, which will appear in their mind is: which version is superior. But then, it is not possible to choose a Quran and discard the other by preference. Because the Muslim belief also confirms that he, who denies a single verse of the Quran, denies the entire revelation. This is a logical impossibility and since scientific research had already spoken out the truth, many Muslims will seek a way out of this nonsense, and will try to free themselves from the tyrannical oppression of living in a false religion.
While discussing Muslim’s apathy to science, reason and natural law, Jaki (cited Spencer, 2002, p. 127) wrote, “What is occurring in the Muslim world today is a confrontation, not between God and devil… but between a very specific God and science which is a very specific antagonist of that God, the Allah of the Quran, in whom the will wholly dominates the intellect”.
The Sana’a discovery will just add fuel to the fire. Today the Muslim world is beset with frustration. Islam is supposed to be the final revelation and Muslims are supposed to be the “Best of Mankind”, but the reality is just opposite. Muslim nations are poorest in the world (Ohmyrus, 2006, p. 128). A time will come when the religious authorities will be asked by common Muslims to refute the critics by logic, science and reason, not by violence or Fatwa. As Parvez Manzoor wrote, “Sooner or later [we Muslims] will have to approach the Quran from methodological assumptions and parameters that are radically at odds with the ones consecrated by our tradition” (Warraq, 2002, p. 123)
The Sana’a manuscripts will also provoke another question. If the Quran is a lie, how the lie survived for so many centuries? The reason is that the Divinity attached to Quran is not ‘A Small Lie’, but ‘The Big Lie’. The big lies are very powerful, and it always has a psychological effect on the listeners. The bigger the lie, the more believable it is. Adolf Hitler wrote in Mein Kamph (1925), “The broad mass of a Nation will fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.” Big lies are extraordinarily convincing, because it offsets the scale of the listener’s commonsense, as Sina (2008, p. 179) explains: an ordinary person does not dare to tell a big lie thinking that it would not be believed and he would be ridiculed. Since there is no one who had never told a lie in his life, small lies are often detectable sooner or later. But the big lies are so strange that it often startle the listener. When the lie is gigantic, the average person is left to wonder how anyone can have the courage, the impudence to say such a thing.
Big lies always work wonder in politics. As George Orwell (cites Sina, 2008, p. 179) said, “Political language … is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable and give an appearance of solidity to pure wind”.
Today, when the divinity of the Quran is shattered by the Sana’a manuscripts, the spiritual nature of Islam is also exposed. Islam is nothing but a pure Arab political movement. The Divinity was attached to the Quran, when Arabs started conquering the surrounding nations, and Islam was imposed on them by force. Arabs not only imposed Islam on others, but also imposed this irrational belief of Quranic divinity to the minds of their victims, so that once Arabs are gone, the conquered people cannot come out from this mental enslavement, and return back to their original faith. It is a rare political skill. Many companions of Muhammad clearly knew that the Quran was fake, but they remained with their prophet to share the booty and to enjoy the women. We all know, after Muhammad’s death, several Arab tribes returned back to their original belief, and idolatry flourished, but were forced back to Islam with the sword and bloodbath.
With much shock to Muslims, modern study on Psychology had spoken out the truth that Muhammad was an imposter, a madman, who was suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Narcissists are such self-absorbed persons, who are pathological liars. It means, either they are unaware of their lies or feel completely justified and at easy in lying to others. Their mental condition is such that they have that rare capability to believe their own lies (Vaknin, 1999, p. 24).
And, yes, Adolf Hitler, who was aware of the power of Big lie, and misguided millions of Germans, is also recognized as a Narcissist. Today Hitler is the most hated historical figure in Germany. Like a mathematical certainty, Muhammad will earn the same fate. But we really do not know, how many million more will die before we can put Muhammad in dustbin with his Allah, Quran and Islam altogether. For Hitler, it was National Socialism (another name of Nazism) and for Muhammad it was Islam, but deep down, both were two sides of same coin—successful manipulators.
Sina (2008, p. iv, 260) commented that “Islam is like a house of cards, sustained by lies. All it takes to demolish is to challenge one of those lies holding it together. It is a tall building, erected on quicksand; once you expose its foundation, the sand will wash away and this mighty edifice will fall under its own weight”, and that “Islam stands on a very shaky ground. It rests on nothing but lies. All we have to do to demolish it is to expose those lies and this gigantic edifice of terror and deception will collapse.”
Let’s see, once the sacred aura of Quran is gone, what other lies are exposed.
First, if there are two or more versions of the Quran, then there must be equal number of Allahs. So, if only two Qurans are authentic, will Islam be deemed monotheistic any longer? And how to decide which Allah gave which Quran? If there is only one Allah, then which Quran is authentic, and which is fake?
Second, if we still believe that one Quran is authentic, then how Allah allowed the others to survive?
Third, is it anymore true as the Quran says Allah’s words do not change (10.64); this is indeed the mighty achievement?
If yes, what more than one Quran is doing now? If not, how this false revelation is recorded in the Quran? Did Satan put it?
Finally, Bukhari (4.52.233) records that “Unbelievers will never understand our signs and revelations.” But we see, for understanding the Sana’a Quran, the Yemeni authorities invited German scholars, because there was no one in Yemen capable of working on this rich find.
No wonder that Sina (2008) concluded: “No matter how you look at Islam it turns out to be a foolish religion.”
Although Muslims have sold their soul to Muhammad, can they logically clear the above doubts? The Sana’a episode had put them in such an awkward position that even circular reasoning or absurd logic will not help. Isn’t it time for prudent Muslims to give a second thought to their cherished faith? Instead of trying hard to reason out the above doubts, isn’t it more sensible to agree that the entire Muslim ummah had been fooled by a vulgar imposter named Prophet Muhammad? Isn’t it time for Muslims to care truth? As poet Thomas Gray (cited Sagan, 1997, p. 12) wrote, “… where ignorance is bliss, “Tis [It is] folly to be wise”.
To protect the Quran from more humiliation, Yemeni authorities already debarred Puin and Bothmer from further examination of those manuscripts. In fact, now they do not allow anyone to see those manuscripts anymore except some very carefully selected non-Quranic parchments, which are at display at the ground floor of Dar al-Makhtutat Library. But this is not going to help; the bird is out of the cage already; it is useless closing the door now. More than thirty-five thousand microfilms are out of Yemen before the authorities came to know; and already, several duplicates have been made. The present author is sure that, at this very moment, in some undisclosed location in Germany, a group of experts are endlessly working on those microfilms and Puin is burning enough midnight oil to complete his book, which, once published, will hammer another nail in the coffin of Islam. Islam is in real danger now.
Obviously, by realizing the Divine downfall within sight, many Muslims are disturbed and offended. The fundamentalists will not accept Puin's and Bothmer’s work as having been done with academic objectivity, but see it as a deliberate attack on the integrity of the Quranic text (Taher, 2000). Naturally, those two German scholars will be at the forefront of Muslims’ rage. Puin fears a violent backlash from orthodox Muslims because of his "blasphemous" theory, which he says, he cannot take lightly. By recalling the Salman Rushdie affair he wrote, “My conclusions have sparked angry reactions from orthodox Muslims. They've said I'm not really the scholar to make any remarks on these manuscripts”. If Puin's views are taken up and trumpeted in the media, and if there are not many Muslims being rational about it, then all hell may break loose. There will be some hostile response and riots causing much death and destruction, may be another fatwa from Khomeini and surely some hollow threats from our camera-loving Bin Laden, and his ideological brothers. But can they stop the truth from spreading?
UNESCO has shown genuine interest in the Sana’a manuscripts ever since the Memory of the World programme started. In 1995, the Organization also produced a CD-ROM in Arabic, English and French illustrating the history of the collection containing both Quranic and non-Quranic materials. The CD-ROM offers 651 images of 302 Quranic fragments, indexed by script, frames etc., a general introduction to the Yemenite manuscripts collections, and a brief description on the evolution of Arabic calligraphy (Abid, 1997).
Ursula Dreibholz, a preservation expert, who worked on the Sana’a project for eight years as the chief conservator, is much frustrated by seeing the lack of concern of Yemeni authorities to protect those manuscripts by using modern technology (1983, p. 30–. Neither the security devices are correct, nor is adequate attention being given to the manuscripts to avoid further deterioration (1996, p. 131–45). In fact, Dreibholz (1999, p. 21–5) said that it was her greatest concern to create a safe and reliable permanent storage system for the restored fragments. Also, the poor storage hardly has any protection from insects and water. Most importantly, there is a lack of fire prevention or detection system, keeping in mind the truly catastrophic fires that have destroyed important libraries and artworks around the world throughout history. The Yemeni authorities said they have neither money nor means to install fire protection systems. She does not understand the genuine reason behind the apathy of Yemeni authorities.
Here Muslim fundamentalists can see a silver lining in the cloud. No one knows when a devastating fire will break out ‘accidentally’ and destroy all the Quranic manuscripts, a cause of intense heartburn to them. After all, for saving Islam, the Quran must be saved, for which Muslims will go any length. If necessary, they will burn the Quran to save it from logical analysis. Their devotion to stupidity is really that high. Probably, the Yemeni authority’s unwillingness to install fire-protection systems is an initial preparation for such an act in the future. Never underestimate the destructive capability of the brainless bigots.
Author can be contacted at counter.jihad@rediffmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Reference
Journals:
1. Abid, Abdelaziz (1997) “Memory of the World”: Preserving Our Documentary Heritage. Museum International, 49:1, January 1997, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.
2. Dreibholz, Ursula (1983) A treasure of early Islamic manuscripts on parchment. Significance of the find and its conservation treatment. AIC Preprints of papers presented at the 11th annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, 25-29 May 1983. Washington DC.
3. Dreibholz, Ursula (1996) The Treatment of Early Islamic Manuscript Fragments on Parchment in The Conservation and Preservation of Islamic Manuscripts, Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, London
4. Dreibholz, Ursula (1999) Preserving a treasure: the Sana'a manuscripts. Museum International. Islamic collections. 51:3, July 1999, Blackwell Publishers. Oxford.
5. Whelan, Estelle (1998) Forgotten Witness: Evidence for the Early Codification of the Quran. Published in The Journal of America Oriental Society. January to March Issue, 1998. University of Michigan. USA.
Books:
1. Ali, Daniel & Spencer, Robert (2003) Inside Islam: A guide for Catholics. Ascension Press, Pennsylvania.
2. Caner E. M & Caner E.F (2002) Unveiling Islam, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, U.S.A
3. Cook, Michael &Crone, Patricia (1977) Hagarism: The making of the Islamic world, Cambridge.
5. Warraq, Ibn (ed., 1998) The origins of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam’s holy book. Prometheus Books, New York.
6. Warraq, Ibn (ed., 2000) The Quest for Historical Muhammad. Prometheus books, New York.
7. Warraq, Ibn (ed., 2002) What the Koran really says – Language, Text and Commentary. Prometheus books, New York.
8. Guillaume, Alfred (1978); Islam. Harmondsworth.
9. Hitler A., Mein Kampf, English translation by Houghton Mifflin and edited of verbosity, a 1939, Reynal & Hitchcock
10. Ohmyrus (2006) The Left and Islam: Tweedledum and Tweedledee in Beyond Jihad: Critical voices from the inside by Shienbaum, Kim and Hasan, Jamal. Academia Press, LLC, Bethesda.
11. Peters, F.E (1986) Jerusalem and Mecca: The topology of the Holy City in the near east. NY.
12. Rippin, Andrew (1991) Muslims: their religious beliefs and practices. London.
13. Rodhinson, Maxime (1980) Muhammad (translated to English by Anne Carter). The New Press, New York
14. Rodhinson, Maxime (1981) A Critical Survey of Modern Studies on Muhammad, in Studies on Islam, M. Swartz ed., Oxford University Press, USA
15. Sagan, Karl (1997) The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Ballantine Books. New York.
16. Sina, Ali (2008) Understanding Muhammad: A Psychobiography. Felibri.com
17. Spencer, Robert (2002) Islam Unveiled: Disturbing questions about the world’s fastest growing faith. Encounter Books. San Francisco.
18. Spencer, Robert (2007) Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity is and Islam isn’t. Regnery Publishing Inc., Washington DC.
19. Sproul R. C. & Saleeb, Abdul (2003) The Dark Side of Islam. Crossway Books, Illinois.
Internet Sources:
1. Taher, Abul (2000) Querying the Koran, The Guardian. 8 August 2000; (accessed 3 June 2009)
2. Sina, Ali (2008) Probing Islam (An internet based debate between J. A. Ghamidi/K. Zaheer and Ali Sina); (Accessed 7 February 2008).
3. Lester, Toby (1999) What Is the Koran?, Atlantic Monthly, January 1999 issue, (accessed 3 June 2009).
4. Wikipedia (2009); Gerd R. Puin; (accessed 3 June 2009)
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:53 pm Post subject: Re: Is Quran complete?
From_Alamut wrote:
Would the Earliest Quranic Manuscripts of Sana’a Spell the Downfall of Islam?
Sunday, 28 June 2009 12:56 Sujit Das
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The earliest Quranic manuscripts discovered in the Sana'a mosque in Yemen not only differ from the standard version, but disagree amongst themselves. Since Muslims believe that the Quran contains the verses of Allah word for word, the new finds may unravel the 'Pandora's Box' for Islam...
“Respect for the faith of sincere believers cannot be allowed either to block or deflect the investigation of the historians... One must defend the rights of elementary historical methodology”. -- Maxime Rodhinson, 1981, p. 57
Muslims generally believe, thanks to Quranic assertions, that both the Old and New Testaments are corrupted and seriously changed. They say, for a Holy Scripture to be authoritative, it has to be preserved without any changes at all, and point to the Quran, which, they claim, has been preserved word by word and letter by letter, as was revealed to Muhammad by Allah. The Quran itself claims: ‘no change there can be in the words of God’ (10:64) and, ‘there is none that can alter the words (and decrees) of God’ (6:34).
But then how ridiculous the ‘doctrine of abrogation’ is, by which later revelations cancel previous ones, as Quran (2:106) confirms, ‘revelations… We abrogate or cause to be forgotten’. Also, a Hadith (6:558) from Sahih Bukhari confirms that Muhammad forgot many verses. Again Sunaan ibn Majah (3: 1944) records that, after Muhammad’s death, some revelations were eaten up by a goat.
How divine words can be eaten, changed, cancelled or abolished, in spite of Allah’s specific claim in 10:64 and 6:34? Are not all these claims of Allah self-contradictory?
Amazingly, these plain truths do not bother the Muslims at all. Probably, if we can present another “authentic” Quran, which is different from existing standard form, Muslims may give way to logical thinking.
The devastating truth is that a large number of ancient Quranic manuscripts, dating from first century of Hijra were discovered in the Great Mosque of Sana’a (Yemen), which significantly differs from the present standard one. Carbon dating system confirmed that these Qurans are not forged one by religious rivalries. Moreover, these Qurans were discovered by Muslims, not infidels.
This is, probably, the most embarrassing event to Muslims in the 1,400-year history of Islam.
The Great Mosque of Sana’a is one of the oldest Mosques in Islamic history. The date of building goes back to 6th year of Hijrah when Muhammad entrusted one of his companions to build a Mosque at Yemen, which was extended and enlarged by Islamic rulers from time to time.
In 1972, during the restoration of this Great Mosque (heavy rain had caused the west wall of the Mosque to collapse), laborers, while working in a crown space between the structure’s inner and outer roofs, stumbled upon an amazing grave-site, which they did not realize at that time. Mosques do not accommodate graves, and this site contained no gravestone, no human remains and no funeral relics. It contained an unappealing mountain of old parchment and paper documents, damaged books and individual pages of Arabic text, fused together by rain and dampness for over a thousand years.
The ignorant laborers gathered up the manuscripts, pressed them carelessly into some 20 potato sacks, and set them aside on the staircase of one of the Mosque’s minarets, where they were locked away. The manuscripts would have been forgotten once again, were it not for Qadhi Isma’il al-Akwa, then the President of Yemeni Antiquities Authority, who realized the potential importance of the find. Al-Akwa sought international assistance in examining and preserving the fragments, because no scholar in his country was capable of working on this rich find. In 1977, he managed to interest a visiting non-Muslim German scholar, who in turn persuaded the German government to organize and find a restoration project.
Soon after the project began, it became clear that the “paper grave” is a resting place for, among other things, tens of thousands of fragments from close to a thousand different codices of the Quran. Muslim authorities during early days cherished the belief that worn out and damaged copies of the Quran must be removed from circulation leaving only the unblemished editions of the scripture for use. Also such a safe place was required to protect the books from looting or destruction if invaders come and hence the idea of a grave in the Great Mosque in Sana’a, which was a place of learning and dissemination of the Quran and was in existence from the first century of the Hijrah.
Restoration of the manuscript has been organized and supervised by Gerd R. Puin of Saarland University, Germany. Puin is a renowned specialist on Arabic calligraphy (the study of fine and artistic handwriting) and Quranic paleography (the study of ancient writing and documents). For ten years he extensively examined those precious parchment fragments. In 1985, his colleague H. C. Graf V. Bothmer joined him.
Carbon-dating puts the origin of some of the parchments to 645–690 CE, while calligraphic dating has pointed to their origin in 710–715 AD. Some of the parchment pages seemed to date back to the seventh and eighth centuries, i.e. Islam’s first two centuries, perhaps the oldest Quran in existence.
In 1984, the House of Manuscripts (Dar al Makhtutat) was founded close to the Great Mosque, as part of a cooperation project between the Yemeni and German authorities. An enormous endeavor began to restore the Quranic fragments. Between 1983 and 1996, approximately 15,000 out of 40,000 pages were restored, specifically 12,000 fragments on parchment and manuscripts dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries.
Until now, only three ancient copies of the Quran are found. The one preserved in the British Library in London, dates from the late seventh century and was thought to be the oldest one. But the Sana’a manuscripts are even older. Moreover, these manuscripts are written in a script that originates from the Hijaz—the region of Arabia where prophet Muhammad lived, which makes them not only the oldest to have survived, but one of the earliest authentic copies of the Quran ever. Hijazi Arabic is the script (Makkan or Madinan), in which the earliest Quran was written. Although these pieces are from the earliest Quran known to exist, they are also palimpsests (manuscripts on which the original writing has been effected for re-use).
The rare style of fine and artistic handwriting in the manuscripts had fascinated both Puin and his friend Bothmer, but more surprise was awaiting them. When these ancient Qurans were compared with the present standard one, both of them were stunned. The ancient texts were found to be devastatingly and disturbingly at odds with the existing form. There are unconventional verse ordering, small but significant textual variations, different orthography (spelling) and different artistic embellishment (decoration).
It shattered the orthodox Muslim belief that the Quran, as it has reached us today, is “the perfect, timeless, and unchanging Word of God”. It means Quran has been distorted, perverted, revised, modified and corrected, and textual alterations had taken place over the years purely by Human hands.
The sacred aura surrounding this Holy Scripture of Islam, which remained intact for some 14 centuries is gone with this astonishing discovery and the ‘core belief’ of 1.4b Muslims that the Quran is the eternal, unaltered word of God is now clearly visible as a great hoax, a downright falsehood.
Not only this, the Quranic claim that nobody can alter the words of God is also a fake. Quran is supposed to be, in the words of Guillaume (1978, p. 74), “The holy of holies. It must never rest beneath other books, but always on top of them, one must never drink or smoke when it is being read aloud, and it must be listened to in silence. It is a talisman against disease and disaster”. Muslims call the Quran the ‘Mother of Books’, and believe that no other book or revelation can compare (Caner & Caner, 2002, p 84). However, it’s all gone now. The end-result of whole Islamic struggle of the last fourteen centuries is a big zero.
As if it is not enough, many manuscripts showed the sign of palimpsests, i.e., versions very clearly written over even earlier washed off versions. The underwriting of palimpsest is, of course, often difficult to read visually, but modern tools, such as ultraviolet photography, can highlight them. It suggests that the Sana’a manuscripts are not only variants to the present version of the Quran, but the Sana’a manuscripts themselves were variants of earlier version, re-written on the same paper. It means, Allah’s claim that original text is preserved in heaven on golden tablets (Q 56: 77–78; 85:21–22), which none can touch except angels is also a fairy-tale.
Puin, after extensively studying these manuscripts, came to the conclusion that the text is actually an evolving text rather than simply the word of God as revealed in its entirety to Muhammad (Warraq, 2002, p. 109). He wrote:
“So many Muslims have this belief that everything between the two covers of the Quran is just God’s unaltered word. They like to quote the textual work that shows that the Bible has a history and did not fall straight out of the sky, but until now the Quran has been out of discussion. The only way to break through this wall is to prove that the Quran has a history too. The Sana’a’s fragments will help us to do this.”
Puin even concluded (cited Taher, 2000) that “It is not one single work that has survived unchanged through the centuries. It may include stories that were written before the prophet Mohammed began his ministry and which have subsequently been rewritten”.
During their research, as Puin (Lester, 1999) recalls, “They [Yemeni authorities] wanted to keep this thing low profile, as we do too, although for different reasons. They don’t want attention drawn to the fact that there are Germans and others working on the Qurans. They don’t want it made public that there is work being done at all, since the Muslim position is that everything that needs to be said about the Quran’s history was said a thousand years ago.”
In fact, Puin and Bothmer knew for sometime during their study that the Quran is an evolving text, but they wisely understood the possible implications of their findings and kept quiet. If Yemeni authorities come to know about this discovery, they may even refuse them further access. This is actually what Puin called ‘different reasons’. So both sides kept quiet, and those two scholars carried on their research unabated.
Puin’s findings also confirm Wansbrough’s assumption on the Quranic text. In the 1970s, Wansbrough concluded that the Quran evolved only gradually in the seventh and eighth centuries after a long period of oral transmissions; different sects used to argue furiously with each other on the genuineness of the revelations. The reason that no Islamic source-materials from the very beginning of Islam never survived is because it never existed. In fact, Puin admitted ‘rereading Wansbrough’ during the course of analyzing the Yemeni fragments (Warraq, 2002, p. 122).
Puin's other radical theory is that pre-Islamic sources have entered the Quran. He argues that two tribes it mentions, As-Sahab-ar-Rass (Companions of the Well) and As- Sahab-al-Aiqa (Companions of the Thorny Bushes), are not part of the Arab tradition, and the people of Muhammad's time certainly did not know about them. He also disagrees that the Quran was written in the purest Arabic. The very word ‘Quran’ itself is of foreign origin. Contrary to popular Muslim belief, the meaning of ‘Quran’ is not recitation. It is actually derived from an Aramaic word, ‘Qariyun’, meaning a lectionary of scripture portions appointed to be read at divine service. Quran contains most of the biblical stories but in a shorter form and is ‘a summary of the Bible to be read in service’.
Bothmer has painstakingly finished taking more than thirty-five thousand microfilm pictures of the fragments by 1997, and brought the pictures back to Germany (Warraq, 2002, p. 109). It means now Bothmer, Puin and other scholars will finally have a chance to scrutinize the texts and to publish their findings freely.
Puin is interested to write a book on this in the future, but already wrote several short essays on their findings in various science magazines, where he pointed out several aberrations between the ancient Quran and the present standard version (cited Warraq, 2002, p. 739–44). In refuting the sacredness of the Quran, Puin wrote:
“My idea is that the Quran is a kind of cocktail of texts that were not all understood even at the time of Muhammad. Many of them may even be a hundred years older than Islam itself. The Quran claims for itself that it is ‘mubeen’, or clear. But [contrary to popular belief] if you look at it, you will notice that every fifth sentence or so simply does not make sense…the fact is that a fifth of the Quranic text is just incomprehensible. If the Quran is not comprehensible, if it can’t even be understood in Arabic, then it’s not translatable into any language. That is why Muslims are afraid. Since the Quran claims repeatedly to be clear but is not—there is an obvious and serious contradiction. Something else must be going on”.
The extraordinary discovery of Puin had fascinated Andrew Rippin, a Professor of religious studies and a leading expert on Quranic studies. Rippin (cited Warraq, 2002, p. 110) concluded, “The impact of the Yemeni manuscripts is still to be felt. Their variant readings and verse orders are all very significant. Everybody agrees on that. These manuscripts say that the early history of Quranic text is much more of an open question than many have suspected. The text was less stable and therefore had less authority, than has always been claimed”.
Rippin’s observation was superb. During the period of early Caliphs, Islam grew as political movement and not as a religious movement. A book like the Quran was required to keep the Muslims united. The Quran is just like a ‘status symbol’ of Islam, without which Islam would have died during the time of Muhammad only. The Quran is purely manmade. Some sort of Divinity was attached to the Quran so that it can command some respect, because it could not stand on its own worth. This way, in acknowledging the claims of the Quran as the direct utterance of the Divinity, the early manipulators had blocked all criticisms, which can otherwise expose it. The Quran itself prohibits criticism in verses 5:101 and 5:102. We do not know when religious blindness crept in, but undoubtedly, the early Muslims after Muhammad were more liberal than the present generation we are seeing today. The authenticity of many verses had been called into question by the early Muslims themselves. Many Kharijites, who were followers of Ali in the early history of Islam, found the Sura recounting the story of Joseph offensive, an erotic tale that cannot belong to the Quran (cited Warraq, 1998, p. 17).
Warraq (1998, p. 14) has the same view as Rippin, “Muslim scholars of the early years of Islam were far more flexible in their position, realizing that parts of the Quran was lost, perverted and that there were many thousand variants which made it impossible to talk of ‘the’ Quran”.
There is another proof that Quranic messages were distorted in the early days of Islam and nothing like ‘The’ Quran does exist any more. Inscriptions of several Quranic verses are decorated on the Dome of Rock of Jerusalem, which is most probably the first Islamic monument meant to be a major artistic achievement, built in 691 CE (Whelan, 1998, p. 1–14). These inscriptions significantly differ from the present standard text (Warraq, 2000, p. 34).
Mingana (cited Warraq, 1998, p.80) laments that “The most important question in the study of the Quran is its unchallengeable authority”. This is the only reason that critical investigation of the text of the Quran is a study which is still in its immaturity. As Rippin (1991, p. ix) lamented, “I have often encountered individuals who come to the study of Islam with a background in the historical study of the Hebrew Bible or early Christianity, and who express surprise at the lack of critical thought that appears in introductory textbooks of Islam. The notion that ‘Islam is born in the clear light of history’ still seems to be assumed by a great many writers of such texts.’”
Cook and Crone (1977, p. 1 concluded that “[The Quran] strikingly lacking in overall structure, frequently obscure and inconsequential in both language and content perfunctory in its liking of disparate materials and given to the repetition of whole passages in variant versions. On this basis, it can be argued that the book is the product of a belated and imperfect editing of materials from a plurality of traditions.” Crone (cited Warraq, 1998, p. 33) wrote elsewhere that “The Quran has generated masses of spurious information”.
But in case of the Bible, it is different, as Rodhinson (1980, p. viii) observed: “[For Bible] the scientific attitude begins with the decision to accept something as fact only if the source has been proved reliable”. Muslims wrongly interpret the honesty Christians display about some variant readings of the Bible as weakness (Ali & Spencer; 2003, p. 76–9). Christians, like Hindus, want to see their Holy book through scientific and historical point of view. When old Biblical manuscripts, parchments or ancient Hindu manuscripts are discovered, Christian and Hindu scholars almost climb over each other’s shoulder to gain an early access to them. Such findings cause great excitement to them. But sadly, no such excitement exists in Islam. Christians and Hindus are eager to see more and more light shed on the earliest manuscripts of their scriptures, while Muslims resist, often with violent determination. The contrast is really striking: while both Hindu and Christian faiths are strongly backed up by archeological and historical evidence, so far as concerns Islam, neither any archeological exploration was allowed in Mecca and Medina, nor is there any prospect in the future (Peters, 1986, p. 72–4).
Muslim criticism of the Quran is very rare and almost nonexistent as Sina (2008, p. 6) lamented, “Muslims are genuinely incapable of questioning Islam”. Recently, ex-Muslim websites are doing some remarkable work on this. Ultimately, these enlightened people will successfully free their Muslim brothers and sisters from the Islamic prison. Otherwise whatever criticism is done on the Quran are all by the Christian scholars. But Muslims should not take the Christian criticism as a mark of religious opposition. Christian scholars have done much more criticism of their own religion than Islam (Sproul & Saleeb, 2003. p. 17; Spencer, 2007, p. 1).
But once the Sana’a findings are published in details, Islam will not be the same as it was for fourteen centuries. Islam is definitely going to take a strange position. Many Muslims will cast doubt on sacredness of the Quran, and the very ‘romantic’ concept of the Quran will gradually disappear, and then a very interesting development can be observed. The first question, which will appear in their mind is: which version is superior. But then, it is not possible to choose a Quran and discard the other by preference. Because the Muslim belief also confirms that he, who denies a single verse of the Quran, denies the entire revelation. This is a logical impossibility and since scientific research had already spoken out the truth, many Muslims will seek a way out of this nonsense, and will try to free themselves from the tyrannical oppression of living in a false religion.
While discussing Muslim’s apathy to science, reason and natural law, Jaki (cited Spencer, 2002, p. 127) wrote, “What is occurring in the Muslim world today is a confrontation, not between God and devil… but between a very specific God and science which is a very specific antagonist of that God, the Allah of the Quran, in whom the will wholly dominates the intellect”.
The Sana’a discovery will just add fuel to the fire. Today the Muslim world is beset with frustration. Islam is supposed to be the final revelation and Muslims are supposed to be the “Best of Mankind”, but the reality is just opposite. Muslim nations are poorest in the world (Ohmyrus, 2006, p. 128). A time will come when the religious authorities will be asked by common Muslims to refute the critics by logic, science and reason, not by violence or Fatwa. As Parvez Manzoor wrote, “Sooner or later [we Muslims] will have to approach the Quran from methodological assumptions and parameters that are radically at odds with the ones consecrated by our tradition” (Warraq, 2002, p. 123)
The Sana’a manuscripts will also provoke another question. If the Quran is a lie, how the lie survived for so many centuries? The reason is that the Divinity attached to Quran is not ‘A Small Lie’, but ‘The Big Lie’. The big lies are very powerful, and it always has a psychological effect on the listeners. The bigger the lie, the more believable it is. Adolf Hitler wrote in Mein Kamph (1925), “The broad mass of a Nation will fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.” Big lies are extraordinarily convincing, because it offsets the scale of the listener’s commonsense, as Sina (2008, p. 179) explains: an ordinary person does not dare to tell a big lie thinking that it would not be believed and he would be ridiculed. Since there is no one who had never told a lie in his life, small lies are often detectable sooner or later. But the big lies are so strange that it often startle the listener. When the lie is gigantic, the average person is left to wonder how anyone can have the courage, the impudence to say such a thing.
Big lies always work wonder in politics. As George Orwell (cites Sina, 2008, p. 179) said, “Political language … is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable and give an appearance of solidity to pure wind”.
Today, when the divinity of the Quran is shattered by the Sana’a manuscripts, the spiritual nature of Islam is also exposed. Islam is nothing but a pure Arab political movement. The Divinity was attached to the Quran, when Arabs started conquering the surrounding nations, and Islam was imposed on them by force. Arabs not only imposed Islam on others, but also imposed this irrational belief of Quranic divinity to the minds of their victims, so that once Arabs are gone, the conquered people cannot come out from this mental enslavement, and return back to their original faith. It is a rare political skill. Many companions of Muhammad clearly knew that the Quran was fake, but they remained with their prophet to share the booty and to enjoy the women. We all know, after Muhammad’s death, several Arab tribes returned back to their original belief, and idolatry flourished, but were forced back to Islam with the sword and bloodbath.
With much shock to Muslims, modern study on Psychology had spoken out the truth that Muhammad was an imposter, a madman, who was suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Narcissists are such self-absorbed persons, who are pathological liars. It means, either they are unaware of their lies or feel completely justified and at easy in lying to others. Their mental condition is such that they have that rare capability to believe their own lies (Vaknin, 1999, p. 24).
And, yes, Adolf Hitler, who was aware of the power of Big lie, and misguided millions of Germans, is also recognized as a Narcissist. Today Hitler is the most hated historical figure in Germany. Like a mathematical certainty, Muhammad will earn the same fate. But we really do not know, how many million more will die before we can put Muhammad in dustbin with his Allah, Quran and Islam altogether. For Hitler, it was National Socialism (another name of Nazism) and for Muhammad it was Islam, but deep down, both were two sides of same coin—successful manipulators.
Sina (2008, p. iv, 260) commented that “Islam is like a house of cards, sustained by lies. All it takes to demolish is to challenge one of those lies holding it together. It is a tall building, erected on quicksand; once you expose its foundation, the sand will wash away and this mighty edifice will fall under its own weight”, and that “Islam stands on a very shaky ground. It rests on nothing but lies. All we have to do to demolish it is to expose those lies and this gigantic edifice of terror and deception will collapse.”
Let’s see, once the sacred aura of Quran is gone, what other lies are exposed.
First, if there are two or more versions of the Quran, then there must be equal number of Allahs. So, if only two Qurans are authentic, will Islam be deemed monotheistic any longer? And how to decide which Allah gave which Quran? If there is only one Allah, then which Quran is authentic, and which is fake?
Second, if we still believe that one Quran is authentic, then how Allah allowed the others to survive?
Third, is it anymore true as the Quran says Allah’s words do not change (10.64); this is indeed the mighty achievement?
If yes, what more than one Quran is doing now? If not, how this false revelation is recorded in the Quran? Did Satan put it?
Finally, Bukhari (4.52.233) records that “Unbelievers will never understand our signs and revelations.” But we see, for understanding the Sana’a Quran, the Yemeni authorities invited German scholars, because there was no one in Yemen capable of working on this rich find.
No wonder that Sina (2008) concluded: “No matter how you look at Islam it turns out to be a foolish religion.”
Although Muslims have sold their soul to Muhammad, can they logically clear the above doubts? The Sana’a episode had put them in such an awkward position that even circular reasoning or absurd logic will not help. Isn’t it time for prudent Muslims to give a second thought to their cherished faith? Instead of trying hard to reason out the above doubts, isn’t it more sensible to agree that the entire Muslim ummah had been fooled by a vulgar imposter named Prophet Muhammad? Isn’t it time for Muslims to care truth? As poet Thomas Gray (cited Sagan, 1997, p. 12) wrote, “… where ignorance is bliss, “Tis [It is] folly to be wise”.
To protect the Quran from more humiliation, Yemeni authorities already debarred Puin and Bothmer from further examination of those manuscripts. In fact, now they do not allow anyone to see those manuscripts anymore except some very carefully selected non-Quranic parchments, which are at display at the ground floor of Dar al-Makhtutat Library. But this is not going to help; the bird is out of the cage already; it is useless closing the door now. More than thirty-five thousand microfilms are out of Yemen before the authorities came to know; and already, several duplicates have been made. The present author is sure that, at this very moment, in some undisclosed location in Germany, a group of experts are endlessly working on those microfilms and Puin is burning enough midnight oil to complete his book, which, once published, will hammer another nail in the coffin of Islam. Islam is in real danger now.
Obviously, by realizing the Divine downfall within sight, many Muslims are disturbed and offended. The fundamentalists will not accept Puin's and Bothmer’s work as having been done with academic objectivity, but see it as a deliberate attack on the integrity of the Quranic text (Taher, 2000). Naturally, those two German scholars will be at the forefront of Muslims’ rage. Puin fears a violent backlash from orthodox Muslims because of his "blasphemous" theory, which he says, he cannot take lightly. By recalling the Salman Rushdie affair he wrote, “My conclusions have sparked angry reactions from orthodox Muslims. They've said I'm not really the scholar to make any remarks on these manuscripts”. If Puin's views are taken up and trumpeted in the media, and if there are not many Muslims being rational about it, then all hell may break loose. There will be some hostile response and riots causing much death and destruction, may be another fatwa from Khomeini and surely some hollow threats from our camera-loving Bin Laden, and his ideological brothers. But can they stop the truth from spreading?
UNESCO has shown genuine interest in the Sana’a manuscripts ever since the Memory of the World programme started. In 1995, the Organization also produced a CD-ROM in Arabic, English and French illustrating the history of the collection containing both Quranic and non-Quranic materials. The CD-ROM offers 651 images of 302 Quranic fragments, indexed by script, frames etc., a general introduction to the Yemenite manuscripts collections, and a brief description on the evolution of Arabic calligraphy (Abid, 1997).
Ursula Dreibholz, a preservation expert, who worked on the Sana’a project for eight years as the chief conservator, is much frustrated by seeing the lack of concern of Yemeni authorities to protect those manuscripts by using modern technology (1983, p. 30–. Neither the security devices are correct, nor is adequate attention being given to the manuscripts to avoid further deterioration (1996, p. 131–45). In fact, Dreibholz (1999, p. 21–5) said that it was her greatest concern to create a safe and reliable permanent storage system for the restored fragments. Also, the poor storage hardly has any protection from insects and water. Most importantly, there is a lack of fire prevention or detection system, keeping in mind the truly catastrophic fires that have destroyed important libraries and artworks around the world throughout history. The Yemeni authorities said they have neither money nor means to install fire protection systems. She does not understand the genuine reason behind the apathy of Yemeni authorities.
Here Muslim fundamentalists can see a silver lining in the cloud. No one knows when a devastating fire will break out ‘accidentally’ and destroy all the Quranic manuscripts, a cause of intense heartburn to them. After all, for saving Islam, the Quran must be saved, for which Muslims will go any length. If necessary, they will burn the Quran to save it from logical analysis. Their devotion to stupidity is really that high. Probably, the Yemeni authority’s unwillingness to install fire-protection systems is an initial preparation for such an act in the future. Never underestimate the destructive capability of the brainless bigots.
Author can be contacted at counter.jihad@rediffmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Reference
Journals:
1. Abid, Abdelaziz (1997) “Memory of the World”: Preserving Our Documentary Heritage. Museum International, 49:1, January 1997, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.
2. Dreibholz, Ursula (1983) A treasure of early Islamic manuscripts on parchment. Significance of the find and its conservation treatment. AIC Preprints of papers presented at the 11th annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, 25-29 May 1983. Washington DC.
3. Dreibholz, Ursula (1996) The Treatment of Early Islamic Manuscript Fragments on Parchment in The Conservation and Preservation of Islamic Manuscripts, Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, London
4. Dreibholz, Ursula (1999) Preserving a treasure: the Sana'a manuscripts. Museum International. Islamic collections. 51:3, July 1999, Blackwell Publishers. Oxford.
5. Whelan, Estelle (1998) Forgotten Witness: Evidence for the Early Codification of the Quran. Published in The Journal of America Oriental Society. January to March Issue, 1998. University of Michigan. USA.
Books:
1. Ali, Daniel & Spencer, Robert (2003) Inside Islam: A guide for Catholics. Ascension Press, Pennsylvania.
2. Caner E. M & Caner E.F (2002) Unveiling Islam, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, U.S.A
3. Cook, Michael &Crone, Patricia (1977) Hagarism: The making of the Islamic world, Cambridge.
5. Warraq, Ibn (ed., 1998) The origins of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam’s holy book. Prometheus Books, New York.
6. Warraq, Ibn (ed., 2000) The Quest for Historical Muhammad. Prometheus books, New York.
7. Warraq, Ibn (ed., 2002) What the Koran really says – Language, Text and Commentary. Prometheus books, New York.
8. Guillaume, Alfred (1978); Islam. Harmondsworth.
9. Hitler A., Mein Kampf, English translation by Houghton Mifflin and edited of verbosity, a 1939, Reynal & Hitchcock
10. Ohmyrus (2006) The Left and Islam: Tweedledum and Tweedledee in Beyond Jihad: Critical voices from the inside by Shienbaum, Kim and Hasan, Jamal. Academia Press, LLC, Bethesda.
11. Peters, F.E (1986) Jerusalem and Mecca: The topology of the Holy City in the near east. NY.
12. Rippin, Andrew (1991) Muslims: their religious beliefs and practices. London.
13. Rodhinson, Maxime (1980) Muhammad (translated to English by Anne Carter). The New Press, New York
14. Rodhinson, Maxime (1981) A Critical Survey of Modern Studies on Muhammad, in Studies on Islam, M. Swartz ed., Oxford University Press, USA
15. Sagan, Karl (1997) The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Ballantine Books. New York.
16. Sina, Ali (2008) Understanding Muhammad: A Psychobiography. Felibri.com
17. Spencer, Robert (2002) Islam Unveiled: Disturbing questions about the world’s fastest growing faith. Encounter Books. San Francisco.
18. Spencer, Robert (2007) Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity is and Islam isn’t. Regnery Publishing Inc., Washington DC.
19. Sproul R. C. & Saleeb, Abdul (2003) The Dark Side of Islam. Crossway Books, Illinois.
Internet Sources:
1. Taher, Abul (2000) Querying the Koran, The Guardian. 8 August 2000; (accessed 3 June 2009)
2. Sina, Ali (2008) Probing Islam (An internet based debate between J. A. Ghamidi/K. Zaheer and Ali Sina); (Accessed 7 February 2008).
3. Lester, Toby (1999) What Is the Koran?, Atlantic Monthly, January 1999 issue, (accessed 3 June 2009).
4. Wikipedia (2009); Gerd R. Puin; (accessed 3 June 2009)
Do you read and think about the sources you post? Don't you know that this article is by, and full of quotes from, ex-Muslims driven by nothing but their hate for Islam? It is something that is directed at the faith of all Muslims with the aim of discrediting their religion outright. The criticisms made in it therefore apply equally to Ismailism as well and, although you claim your a Muslim, instead of standing against it, you post it elatedly, thinking that it somehow promotes the truthfulness of your unorthodox views. You basically proved yourself to be false in trying to prove yourself to be true. The irony! Read and think about what you post next time.
I do understand your anxiety but there is nothing to feel worried unless you are on shaky grounds.
The Caliph of Allah (Imam) in His earth is the house of his Light,
and the connection between Him and His creation.
The Imam is blessed with Divine Support,and is assisted so that he knows the truth to its utmost. There is no doubt that he inherits and is an inheritor.
"Thus did those who were before them give the lie, till they tasted of the fear of US.." (Sura al An'am)...
Say [Muhammad]: this is my Path, I call [others] to Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosever follows after me.
(And God says HE has vested the knowledge and authority of everything in the MANIFEST Imam !)(Sura Yaseen - verse 12)
To Allah be glory! And I am not among the idolaters." Quran, Chapter Joseph 12:108
The Imam who rises with the command is established for the sake of the creation, and the creation is needy towards him.
There must always be an Imam present in this world. If he is invisible to the eyes and offers no relativity then who will people go to ask about the permissible and impermissible, about the obligations and judgments? Who will establish for them the limits of Allah, and who will adjudicate between them?
The Quran says....
49. "But if right had been with them they would have come unto him willingly".
50. "Is there in their hearts a disease, or have they doubts, or fear they lest Allah and His messenger should wrong them in judgment ? Nay, but such are evil-doers..."...
Who can tell you about a person more than one's own immediate family? Is such attitude towards the Ahlul-Bayt accidental or premeditated ?
"Ahl al Bayt have a high rank of knowledge - they are scholars (alim) of the Quran and teachers (mu'allim) of the revelations and the guides Allah has appointed !"...The Quran as revealed and as it remains confined and protected on both the tablets.
It is necessary that people should have access to the lights of guidance! If this earth were devoid of the Imam even for a short time,it would be convulsed with all its inhabitants !
And so as long as the world remains it will never be devoid of the Imam of the age because the Imam is its perfection and the angels have already testified to the descent of this manifestation of this person of divine knowledge (shakhs i marifat i bari) amongst the human species.
The way in which the children of Bibi Fatima as Zahara...have clarified the reality of human action, it is nothing other than the way of the noble Quran!
Allah says..."Their intention is to extinguish Allah's Light (by blowing) with their mouths: but Allah will protect His Light, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it)..."
".. It is He Who has sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, that he may proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it)...."
So what is there to worry so much ....Allah has perfected Islam !
Alamut is merely sharing an article....it may not be his or her own opinion but there are many who will say anything they like....about islam ! about our beloved Prophet !....Allah's answer is sufficient for them all...
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:35 am Post subject: Re: Is Quran complete?
[quote="binom"]
From_Alamut wrote:
Would the Earliest Quranic Manuscripts of Sana’a Spell the Downfall of Islam?
From_Alamut,
Do you read and think about the sources you post? Don't you know that this article is by, and full of quotes from, ex-Muslims driven by nothing but their hate for Islam? It is something that is directed at the faith of all Muslims with the aim of discrediting their religion outright. The criticisms made in it therefore apply equally to Ismailism as well and, although you claim your a Muslim, instead of standing against it, you post it elatedly, thinking that it somehow promotes the truthfulness of your unorthodox views. You basically proved yourself to be false in trying to prove yourself to be true. The irony! Read and think about what you post next time.
I apology for posting that preview article, I didn’t mean to be means to our own faith ISLAM. Islam is the perfection of all religions. Honestly my point for posting that article was to do some research on Sana’s Quranic Manuscripts, by that I just came accidently with this article. I posted that article before reading it, because it was some long article. So when I started reading that article late last night, I was shock because I find out that he was anti-ex-Muslim who was Islam haters, just like Akbarally who was anti-ex Ismaili Muslim who is now a crocodile Ismaili haters. I know the author being so means in that article, but I hope Inshallah Allah guide him to the Right Path.
Admin please feel free to delete that preview article...
Actually Maherally has ended up "glorifying" Ismailism and the Imam ! Quran says....
" Lo ! they plot a plot and I plot a plot.." (Sura al Tariq)..............."so they plotted a plot and WE plotted a plot.."
(Sura al Naml)......
" Lo ! the HYPOCRITES seek to deceive God,
but it is HE who deceiveth them..." (Sura al Nisa).
Mihir Bose was sued by the Aga Khan and lost the lawsuit - he then apologized and was forgiven by the THE AGA KHAN.
So when does anyone lose? when he or she is wrong !
(Mihir Bose. World's Work, Kingswood, Surrey, UK, 1984.)
(This book was attacked during a court battle won by Aga Khan IV). ...
HISTORY OF AGA KHANS - Mihir Bose records in his much publicized book 'The Aga Khans'; "The Aga was seeking to ...www.removed/history-2.htm
As one can see from the above, there is evidence to suggest that
Maherally website has linkage to Mihir Bose who lost against the Aga Khan and he is hosting MIHIR BOSE's material ....
So if Maherally posts his work which he had to withdraw from the market, on his site then isn't this morally wrong
and misleading to the public ? just wondering !
And if the fools believe him then they are bigger ones.
In 1954, Aga Khan was virtually crippled suffering from lumbago and sciatica. He could barely walk two yards, writes Mihir Bose. ...www.removed.com/history-2.htm (another linkage)
Mihir Bose, is a prolific author and a sports journalist.
Maherally borrows his trash.
In the '80s he wrote a biography of the Aga Khan, the one who founded the sect. It had many sensational anecdotes. Alas, the sect threatened to sue for a fantastic sum and the book was hastily withdrawn by the British publishers....and now Maherally is the lapdog...
Actually Maherally has ended up "glorifying" Ismailism and the Imam ! Quran says....
" Lo ! they plot a plot and I plot a plot.." (Sura al Tariq)..............."so they plotted a plot and WE plotted a plot.."
(Sura al Naml)......
" Lo ! the HYPOCRITES seek to deceive God,
but it is HE who deceiveth them..." (Sura al Nisa).
Mihir Bose was sued by the Aga Khan and lost the lawsuit - he then apologized and was forgiven by the THE AGA KHAN.
So when does anyone lose? when he or she is wrong !
(Mihir Bose. World's Work, Kingswood, Surrey, UK, 1984.)
(This book was attacked during a court battle won by Aga Khan IV). ...
HISTORY OF AGA KHANS - Mihir Bose records in his much publicized book 'The Aga Khans'; "The Aga was seeking to ...www.removed/history-2.htm
As one can see from the above, there is evidence to suggest that
Maherally website has linkage to Mihir Bose who lost against the Aga Khan and he is hosting MIHIR BOSE's material ....
So if Maherally posts his work which he had to withdraw from the market, on his site then isn't this morally wrong
and misleading to the public ? just wondering !
And if the fools believe him then they are bigger ones.
In 1954, Aga Khan was virtually crippled suffering from lumbago and sciatica. He could barely walk two yards, writes Mihir Bose. ...www.removed.com/history-2.htm (another linkage)
Mihir Bose, is a prolific author and a sports journalist.
Maherally borrows his trash.
In the '80s he wrote a biography of the Aga Khan, the one who founded the sect. It had many sensational anecdotes. Alas, the sect threatened to sue for a fantastic sum and the book was hastily withdrawn by the British publishers....and now Maherally is the lapdog...
One of my Ismaili Muslim brother, his friend who did a search on Mr. Akberally Mehrally orgin....
I will be posting here only the messages of my friend whom I asked question based on Mehrally. His orgin history is brief which is known only to the person who know him better....
***Mr. Akberally Mehrally lives in Vancouver. He was once the member of a committee in Bombay to awaken the Ismailis Muslim for midnight bandagi. His father was a generous and was the biggest donor in the Diamond Jubilee of Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah in Bombay in 1946. His grandfather had gone to Central Asia with Pir Sabzali in 1923.
He came to Karachi and continued his khidmat in the Jamatkhana. He was the Mukhi of Life Dedication Mandali, the President of the Regional Council and the Chairman of the Ismailia Youth Service in Karachi. He was the owner of two printing press, one of which he gifted to the Tariqah Board in 1975 when he left Karachi for Canada. Soon after his arrival in Vancouver, he entered into the the Jamati politics and disputed with the leaders and at last he started propaganda against the leaders through leaflets. Ultimately, he began to speak against our ceremonies and went as far as against our beloved Imam.
It is said that the anti-Ismaili camp cooperated with him, especially the Saudi Arabia. He was financed in his campaign against Ismailis and wrote many books for this purpose.
In 1989, the Council of British Colombia excommunicated him officially, whose announcement was made in the world Ismaili Jamatkhanas.
***He left Bombay almost in 1956 after disputing with his father, named Mehrally Rajan. He did not talk with him and even did not visit Bombay during the death of his father. His father clearly told to his friends and relatives that his son Akbarally was no more his son.
Akbarally, the son of Mehrally or Akbarally Mehrally is the owner of a shoes store in Vancouver, just behind the residence of late missionary Abu Aly. He is over 70 years old and suffers with diabetic. He is virtually blind by one eye. He came in Vancouver about in 1975 and was then a staunch Ismaili, but due to his dispute with the leaders of the Canadian Council (I dont know nature of his dispute), he began to rebuke him verbally and then through leaflets. It was actually a trial period of his faith (iman), but he did not control himself and began to broadcast his anti-propaganda against the Ismailis and then openly against our faith and Imam. At least he was outcast from the community in 1989.
***If one has faith, it does not mean that he is a true follower of the Imam. Faith can be dwindled during the trial, therefore, the Imam emphasised upon us to pray for the strength of our faith daily. As a building cannot be raised without a long program of its construction, but the same construction building can be easily demolished. Likewise, faith cannot easily be strong, it needs time, but it breaks in twinkle of eyes.
"AND you will be tested in yourself and in your possessions.."
Sura al An'aam was revealed in Mecca and the great Sufi Najmuddin Kubraa used to say..."the truth alone knows what is true.." and in this sura you will sense that certain verses do highlight distinctions between subjective imaginations and objective reality !
Seeking the "essence of God" - here the word essence means "wajh" conveys a meaning of aim, goal, objective, sense, honor and sake....the instructions to Muhamad (peace be on him) and by extension to his family (the Ahl al Bayt), is to avoid interposing as an object but to refer all truth to Allah who is the source and origin....
If one takes the time to read Sura al Nisa and Sura al Munafiqun....you will find corroboration here.....
Then if one is to read the mutawatir ahadith of the prophet(SAW).....there is corroboration.....and then Sura Yaseen - verse 12...it is abundantly clear as crystal that Ismaili Imamat is the right one and the rest of the unjust ones and the wrong - doers have since then disappeared as had been inidcated by Allah to Abraham (Sura al Baqara - 124)..Now what is maherally barking about? or is he not happy with his new found religion which he calls the "Deen" of Islam and invites ismailis to join his "Deen"?
I can bring out many ayats which support Imamat ! how come people have abandoned the wise ones?
So which "Deen of Allah" is he talking of ? the Wahabbi one which is a conspiracy of the British and one of the biggest "innovators" of their time who call other sects "Kafirs" and have destroyed the Islamic holy shrines? which one?
Imam Ali says:..."whoever deviates from truth because of ignorance, will always take good for evil and evil for good and he will always remain intoxicated with misguidance....that is Maherally and his cohorts who pamper his ego...
"..And whoever makes a breach (with Allah and His Messenger) his path becomes difficult, his affairs will become complicated and his way to salvation will be uncertain..."
They are those who have abandone the Prophet and his beloved family - the Prophet has likened his family as the NOAH's ARK !
It took how many years for maherally to realize he wasn't in the "Deen" of islam? 40 years ? 50 years? he makes me wonder ! does he understand the ditinctions between a Deen and a Madhab? I doubt !
I just found this website, it is one of our Shia Ismaili brother site who dedicated much of his time in order to build his private site. He has wrote many article through providing enough sources from the Quran.....
Quran of God as revealed to Muhamad is intact and complete and safe and well protected !!!!
People have this tendency to mix apples with oranges....even many commentators of the quran will caution readers NOT to call the translations and TEXTS as The Quran but just Translations....
Allah's BOOK is Perspicous !
The study of the Holy Qur’an reveals that there are TWO ‘books’ to which Allah refers, in 56:77-80:
Prophet referred to it as TWO weighty things....Thaqlayn !!!! So who is the master of Thaqlayn....
“Verily it is a Qur’an most honourable... [b]In a Book well-guarded.... None touches it save those who are pure..... Sent down by the Lord of the worlds.” (sent down by the Lord of the worlds...it does not mean what was put together by man)
The Book (Qur’an) is an honourable book and it is "in" a well-guarded Book...do you read it ? a Book within a Book which is well guarded !!!
"And WE have sent you a Perfect Light and a Perspicous BOOK.."!
033.046
YUSUFALI: And as one who invites to Allah's (grace) by His leave, and as a lamp spreading light.
PICKTHAL: And as a summoner unto Allah by His permission, and as a lamp that giveth light.
SHAKIR: And as one inviting to Allah by His permission, and as a light-giving torch.
In the Qur'an, Surah 33, ayat 46, the Holy Prophet Muhammad is described as "sirajam-munira" or the "Luminous Lamp".
When Bibi Aeisha was asked whether she had read the quran, she replied "the Prophet was a Living Quran" ! At the battle of Siffin Imam Ali(as) had also said so....kindly check history !
Hazrat Ibn-e-Abbas (Allah is well pleased with him) cousin of the holy prophet (Allah's Grace and Peace be upon Him) says in the commentary of the verse 35 from chapter 24: Sura Noor. "The similitude of the Noor (Light) of Allah is Noor (light) of the Holy Prophet (Allah's Grace and Peace be upon Him), when he was in the backs of ancestors". (Tafseer-e-Ibne Abbas page 372)
Now I am giving you the names of the books in which this hadith has been narrated. Allama Ibne Hagar hatiami wrote in his book that the hadith, "Undoubtedly Allah Almighty created the "Noor of Prophet Muhammad (Allah's grace and Peace be upon Him) before every thing", has been narrated by Imam Abdur Razzaq in his book of hadith (Fatawa -e- Hadithia, page 289)
There are many other great ulemas who have narrated this hadith in their books , I am writing for you the names of few books with their writers :
1. Allama Hassan -bin- Muhammad Diyar Becri, "Tarekh -ul- Khamees".
2. Shah Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlvi, "Madarig-un-Nabuwwah" Vol 2, page 2
3. Allama Zarqani, "Sherha Movahib", vol. 1, page 55
4. Allama Abdul Ghani, " Al Hadiqa tul Ndiyah", Vol. 2, page 375”
Want more? Here, feast on it :
“Once Hazrat Jaabir (radi Allahu anhu) asked the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) whom Allah Ta'ala created before anything else. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) stated:
"O Jaabir! Verily, before the creation of anything else Almighty Allah created the Noor of your Nabi from His Noor." (Muwahibul Laduniya; Zirkani Shareef)”
And some more food ....
Noor is a light on its own and also gives light to others.
The meaning that will be taken for Noor will be that which is apparent and makes apparent. ...what is apparent is NOT hidden but hazirul maujood !
For this same reason the Prophets are called Noor.
They are guided and they are the medium for others to get guidance. In the Dua اللهم اجعلنى نورا the same is meant.
The names Noorudeen, Noorulislam, Noorullah are kept with the same purpose. Noor comes in the Qur’an for guidance just as Dhulmat (darkness) comes for going astray. Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an:
He who is dead, then We granted him life and gave him a light by which he may walk among people better than someone like him who is a multitude of darkness from which he will not come out?(Al-Anaam-122)
For something to be Noor does not mean that it cannot be human also.
If this was the case then it would not be correct for a human to make this Dua اللهم اجعلنى نورا, because it would mean, O Allah take me out of the fold of humanity.
Rasullah (Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam) was human as well as Noor. Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an:
Say (O Muhammad) I’m verily a human like yourselves. (Al-Kahf-110)
"And had WE made him the Prophet (an angel), WE would have certainly made him a man and disguised him before them in garments like their own" (6:9)....
‎Verily came to you from Allah noor and the clear book. (Al-Maidah-15)
Many Mufassireen (Commentators of the Qur’an) have stated that by Noor here is meant Rasullah (Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam).
The Prophet was Noor. He was guidance for the whole of mankind. Therefore, he was both Noor and human.
To say that Rasullah (Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam) is made of Noor or made from the Noor of Allah and is not human is incorrect. Him being human is proven from the ayat of Qur’an.”
Fatawa Mahmoodia (1:102) Maktaba Mahmoodia
Ahsan Al-Fatawa (1:56) H.M. Saeed Company
The Prophet said :
"Why do you not bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, and that Paradise is true, Hell is true, Death is true, Resurrection after death is true, that the Day of Judgment will doubtlessly come and that Allah will raise to life the dead from their graves?."
They the muslims said: "O Yes! We bear witness to all this." Then he said:
"O Allah! You also may witness." Then he said: 'O my people! Allah is my Mawla and I am Mawla of the faithful and I have superior right on and control over their lives.
And this Ali is the mawla of all those of whom I am mawla.
O Allah! Love him who loves him and hate him who hates him." He further said: "O my people! I will precede you and you also shall arrive at the pool of Kawthar, the pool wider than the distance between Basrah and San'a', and there are on the pool as many goblets of silver as stars.
When you shall reach me I shall interrogate you about your behavior towards the two in-valuable assets after my death.
The major asset is the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, one end of which is in the hand of Allah, the Exalted, and the other end of which in your hands.
Grasp it tightly and do not go astray and do not change or amend it.
The other asset is my Progeny, who are my Ahl al-Bayt. Allah the Gracious and Omniscient has informed me that the two will not part from each other before they reach me at the pool.
WHOEVER I AM HIS MASTER, ALI IS HIS MASTER (repeating three times).
O’ God! Love those who love him.
Be hostile to those who are hostile to him. Help those who help him. Forsake those who forsake him. And keep the truth with him wherever he turns (i.e., make him the axis of the
truth).”
“Ali, the son of Abu Talib, is my brother, my executor (Wasi), and my
successor (Caliph), and the leader (Imam) after me.
His position to me is the same as the position of Haroon (Aaron) to Moses, except thatthere shall be no prophet after me. He is your master after Allah and His Messenger.”
“O Folk! Verily Allah has appointed him to be your Imam and ruler.
Obedience of him is obligatory for all Immigrants (Muhajirin) and
Helpers (Ansar) and those who follow them in virtue, and on the
dwellers of the cities and the nomads, the Arabs and the non-Arabs,
the freeman and the slave, the young and the old, the great and the
small, the white and the black.”
“His commands should be obeyed, and his word is binding and his order
is obligatory on everyone who believes in one God.
Cursed is the man who disobeys him, and blessed is the one who follows him, and he who believes in him is a true believer.
His WILAYAH (belief in his
mastery) has been made obligatory by Allah, the Powerful, the
Exalted.”
O Folk! Study the Quran. Reflect on its clear verses and do not
presume the meaning of the ambiguous verses.
For, by Allah, nobody can
properly explain them to you its warnings and its meanings except me
and this man (i.e., Ali) whose hand I am lifting up in front of
myself.“
“O People! This is the last time that I shall stand in this assembly.
Therefore listen to me and obey and submit to the command of Lord.
Verily Allah, He is your Lord and God. After Him, His prophet,
Muhammad who is addressing you, is your master.
Then after me, this
Ali is your master and your leader (Imam) according to Allah’s
command.
Then after him leadership will continue through some selected
individuals in my descendants till the day you meet Allah and His
Prophet.”
“Behold! Certainly you shall meet your Lord and He will ask you about
your deeds.
Beware! Do not become infidels after me by striking the
necks of one another. Lo! It is incumbent upon those who are present
to inform what I said to those who are absent for perhaps the informed
one might comprehend it (understand it) better than some of the
present audience.
Behold! Haven’t I conveyed the Message of Allah to
you?
Behold! Haven’t I conveyed the Message of Allah to you?” People
replied: “Yes.” The Prophet said: “O God! Bear witness.”
References:
- A’alam al-Wara, pp 132-133
- Tadhkirat al-Khawas al-Ummah, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi al-Hanafi, pp 28-33
- al-Sirah al-Halabiyyah, by Noor al-Din al-Halabi, v3, p273
ADDITIONALLY ...Almost 108 companions of the Prophet confirm this ! You will find this reflected in Sh'ia/Sunni books...
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concluded that “[The Quran] strikingly lacking in overall structure, frequently obscure and inconsequential in both language and content perfunctory in its liking of disparate materials and given to the repetition of whole passages in variant versions. On this basis, it can be argued that the book is the product of a belated and imperfect editing of materials from a plurality of traditions.” Crone (cited Warraq, 1998, p. 33) wrote elsewhere that “The Quran has generated masses of spurious information”.
