Page 324 - History of The Quranic Text | Kalamullah.Com

304 THE HISTORY OF THE QUR'ANIC TEXT

bridge, 1914;(2) G. Bergstrasser; "Plan einesApparatus Criticus zum Koran",
Sit:::;ungsberichte Bayer: Akad., Munchen, 1930, Heft 7; (3)O. Pretzl, "Die Fort-
fuhrung des Apparatus Criticus zum Koran", Sit:::;ungsberichte Beyer. Akad.,
Munchen, 1934, Heft 5; and (4)A.Jeffery, TheQyr'an asScripture, R.E Moore
Company, Inc., New York, 1952.
Jeffery has probably exerted the most effort on this subject.

2. Orientalist Criticism of the Qyr'an's Compilation

There are numerous gateways for an assault on the Qur'anic text, one of
which is to question its recording and compilation.? It is in this spirit that
Orientalists enquire why, if the Qur'an was indeed recorded during the
Prophet's lifetime, did 'Umar fear the death of the bziffG::;; on the Yamama
battlefields, informing Abu Bakr that much of the Book might disappear
with them." Furthermore, why was the recorded material not kept in the
Prophet's own custody? And if it was, why did Zaid bin Thabit fail to
utilise it in preparing the $ubzif? Reported by al-Bukhari and accepted by
Muslims, these details imply to Orientalists that the claims of early dictation
and recording are false.
A lack of knowledge, intentional ignorance (J-'>~), or a disregard for
Muslim educational policies are the central problems here. Let us first
assume that there was a copy of the Qjir'an in the Prophet's possession;
why did he neglect to make it available for the perusal and benefit of his
Companions? Most likely out of a concern that any abrogations, fresh
revelations, or shifts in verse sequences would not be reflected in this copy.
In such a case he would be furnishing incorrect information and doing a
disservice to his people, its pitfalls outweighing the benefits. If this copy
existed, however, why did Zaid b. Thabit neglect it as a resource during
the reign of Abu Bakr? Earlier I pointed out that, for a document to acquire
legitimacy, a pupil must act as an eyewitness and receive it from his teacher
in person. 'Where no element of bearing witnesswas present, coming across
a deceased scholar'sbook for example, then the value of the text was nullified.
So it was with Zaid b. Thabit, In dictating verses to his Companions the
Prophet was instituting viable transmission routes based on direct teacher-
pupil contact; conversely, because he never lent any written materials to
his pupils, no element of witness existed in these parchments and neither

2 InJefTery's words, "the Western scholars do not consent that the arrangement of
the text of the Qur'an which is in our hands now is the work of the Prophet" [M~iiJ;if,
Introduction, p. 5]. HereJefTery isreferring to the arrangement of both siiras and verses.
3 See this work p. 78.