Page 213 - History of The Quranic Text | Kalamullah.Com

THE MUSLIM EDUCATIONAL METHODOLOGY 193

turns afterfajr prayer they would listen to his recitation then emulate him,
reciting amongst themselves for practice.52
Conceding the involvement of two different methodologies in the spread
of the Qur'an versus the sunna, there are nevertheless a few points common
to the transmission of both:
1. Knowledge requires direct contact, andexclusive reliance onbooks isprohibited.
Simply owning a Mushaf can never displace the necessityof learning
how to recite from a knowledgeable instructor.
2. A stringentstandardofmorality isdemandedofallteachers. If an individual's
peers know him to be of questionable habits, no one will seek his
tutelage.
3. Skeuhing transmission diagrams using bibliographicaldata alone does notprovide
afull view ofthe subjecrs immensity. To outline the Qur'an's diffusion,
as we did with the sixth part of one manuscript of Sunan IbnMOja,
would require a registry of every Muslim who has walked this earth
from the dawn of Islam to our present day.

10. Conclusion

Recourse to a recognised instructor, inspection of biographies to uncover
personal character, legitimacy as established through reading certificates,
and other facets of this methodology united to form a powerful barrier
against distortion in the books of sunna. But with the exception of professional
reciters, the one field not subjected to vigorous isniidswas the transmission
of the Qur'an, for in this sale area was textual corruption impossible. That
the exact same words echoed from every mosque, school, house and bazaar
throughout all corners of the Muslim nation was a greater safeguard against
corruption than anything any human system could have promised.

52 Adh-Dhahabi, Seyr, ii:346.