The Forgotten Qurans of Ibn Mas‘ud and Ubayy ibn Ka‘b
❓ What Do Muslims Claim?
“The Quran has been preserved perfectly — word-for-word, letter-for-letter — since it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.”
But what if two of Muhammad’s top companions — both personally named by the Prophet as authorities on the Quran — had versions that contradict today’s Quran?
This isn’t a footnote of history — it’s a direct challenge to the doctrine of perfect preservation.
🧠 The Forgotten Qurans
📘 1. Ibn Mas‘ud’s Quran
-
ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿud was one of the earliest converts to Islam and a direct student of Muhammad.
-
Muhammad said:
“Take (learn) the Quran from four: Ibn Mas‘ud, Salim, Mu’adh, and Ubayy ibn Ka‘b.”
— Sahih Bukhari 4999 -
Ibn Mas‘ud had his own Quranic codex which reportedly excluded the following three surahs:
-
Surah al-Fatiha (1)
-
Surah al-Falaq (113)
-
Surah al-Nas (114)
-
He considered these personal prayers, not part of divine revelation.
He resisted Uthman’s standardization and is recorded as saying:
“I learned from the mouth of the Prophet 70 surahs while Zayd was still a youth with two plaits and playing with children. Should I now be expected to take the Quran from him?”
— Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqat al-Kubra, Vol. 2, p. 441
📗 2. Ubayy ibn Ka‘b’s Quran
-
Chief scribe of Muhammad and one of the four men Muhammad told Muslims to learn the Quran from.
-
His Quran included two surahs not found in today’s Quran:
-
Surah al-Khal‘
-
Surah al-Hafd
-
These were liturgical prayers used in early Islamic communities and treated by some as Quranic revelation.
Examples from these surahs:
Surah al-Khal‘:
“O Allah, we seek Your help and ask Your forgiveness,
And we praise You and are not ungrateful to You…”
Surah al-Hafd:
“O Allah, You we worship and to You we pray and prostrate,
And for Your sake we strive…”
These are documented in:
-
Fihrist by Ibn al-Nadim
-
Al-Itqan by as-Suyuti
-
Kitab al-Masahif by Ibn Abi Dawud
⚔️ The Uthmanic Recension
Ubayy’s and Ibn Mas‘ud’s Qurans were in circulation until Caliph Uthman ibn Affan ordered the destruction of all Qurans that didn’t match the standardized version compiled by Zayd ibn Thabit.
Sahih Bukhari 6.61.510 records:
“Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Quranic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burned.”
This is not divine preservation. It is textual suppression.
⚖️ The Logical Fallout
Syllogism A – Preservation Breakdown
-
If the Quran was perfectly preserved, all companions would agree on its contents.
-
Ibn Mas‘ud and Ubayy ibn Ka‘b had different Qurans.
-
∴ The Quran was not perfectly preserved.
Syllogism B – Canon vs. Corruption
-
Genuine preservation allows transparent documentation of all variants.
-
Uthman burned all rival Qurans and enforced one version.
-
∴ The current Quran is the product of political standardization, not divine preservation.
📊 Summary Table
| Companion | What Was Different? | Status in Today’s Quran |
|---|---|---|
| Ibn Mas‘ud | Excluded Surahs 1, 113, and 114 | All included |
| Ubayy ibn Ka‘b | Included Surahs al-Khal‘ and al-Hafd | Both excluded |
✅ Final Verdict
The Qurans of Ibn Mas‘ud and Ubayy ibn Ka‘b destroy the myth of one, unchanged Quran passed from Muhammad to today.
These were not fringe figures. They were handpicked by Muhammad himself to teach the Quran. And yet their texts contradict the current Quran.
Conclusion:
The Quran’s history is one of variant texts, political suppression, and enforced uniformity — not miraculous preservation.
No comments:
Post a Comment