Page 225 - History of The Quranic Text | Kalamullah.Com

THE SO-CALLED MU~1:lAF OF IBN MAS'UD 205

written asI;;. Conceivably the same could be true of the Yemeni fragments.
Differences on this level pose no confusion; we must treat the issue exactly
the same as color V5. colour, and center V5. centre, since orthographic diver-
gence isan integral thread of every language.P But if any scrap of parchment
falls into our inquisitive hands and, despite our best allowance for ortho-
graphic differences,failsto slipcomfortably into the 'Uthmani skeleton, then
we must cast it out as distorted and void. Of course if there is a consonantal
character missing due to scribal error then it will be accepted as a piece
of the Qur'an with such. For example, J->yiJ\ is scribed (mistakenly) as
J->)1, where the scribe dropped the letter J.30

ii. Examples of Scholars Punished for Violating the Above Principles

Ibn Shanbudh (d. 328 A.H./939 C.E.), one of the greatest scholars
of his day in the field of qira'at, decided to ignore the 'Uthmani
text in reciting the Qjir'an. Because the reading was proven correct
through different transmission channels and conformed with the
rules of Arabic grammar, he claimed that it retained validity even
if it differed from 'Uthman's Mu~J:.1a£ Put to trial, he was asked to
repent and finally received ten lashes as punishment. 31
An-Nadim quotes Ibn Shanbudh's letter of confession."
J) o~ ~.....All>.;l.;J? i}1 ~ ..1.9» y y-I J ..L..>-I J..w: J~ :~
tk.>. ~~ 0\ J o~ ~ ,"';.I} ~ ~.illl Jy.J ,_,.>1..,.......1~I ...-UI ,~~I (o~
J
...-UI ~I Y' ow... ~ oiS ~j " ....r. ~ ............I:Yo .illl JlJ ,~=-J ,yW ~ wiJ
«Ji' l)< YJ ,.u')\>. jp.< Y
In these lines Ibn Shanbudh accepts his guilt for violating the
one Mushaf which enjoys the backing of the entire umma, and seeks
Allah's pardon.
Another scholar, Ibn Miqsam (d. 354 A.H./965 C.E.), was asked to
repent in the presence of fuqahd' (.~: professors of Islamic law)
and qurrd' for his theory on recitation. This theory held that any
reading, if in line with the Mushaf of 'Uthman and the rules of

29 To this we can append certain differences in the pronunciation of the consonantal
text; just as 'bridge' is read 'brij', so in the Qur'an we eye ~,:r but read mimba'd, and
this in no way constitutes a deviation from 'Uthman's Mushaf
30 F.Deroche and S.N. Noseda, Sources delatransmission manuscnte dutexte Coranique, Les
manuscrits destyle lJigii:(i, Volume 1, p. 126.
31 Al-jazarl, Tabaqdial-Qyrrli',ii:53-55.
32 An-Nadim, al-Fihrist, p. 35.