Why does the Qur'an say that Jesus was not killed or crucified?

 

وَمَا قَتَلُوۡهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوۡهُ وَلٰـكِنۡ شُبِّهَ لَهُمۡ

 

"they did not slay him; nor did they crucify him, but it appeared so unto them." (Surah 4:157)

 

note: the verse does not say there was a substitute Yubaddil يُبَدِّل as some claim, rather it says شُبِّهَ appeared to them. One does not have to witness an incident for it to appear to them like it happened e.g., court case, a reconstruction of the scenario is presented to the jury to make it appear to them it happened that way. Dishonestly could convince the jury i.e., making it appear to them it’s the truth.  Another example is, reading a book whether its historical, factual, fictional or biography the character is made to appear regardless the subject being the antagonist or protagonist your reading will portray a different picture i.e., it will appear to you. Stories passed down through traditions could also make it appear to the listener, e.g., a rabbi reading an account from the Talmud and the Talmud narrates the name of the teacher who got it from his teacher, and he got it from his teacher going back several generations and so forth. Note, the reader is not the witness to the account rather it is only appearing to him through what he read and heard. Isa AS was not killed nor crucified.

by Ibn Anwar  

The crucifixion of Jesus is addressed in the Qur'an in 4:157 which reads as follows:

"That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-"

Central to the tenets of Christianity is the belief that Jesus was crucified at the behest of the Jews and the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate. By questioning the bedrock of Christianity, Islam sets itself apart from that religion which it deems as having gone astray from the original path that Jesus had taught his followers. Many have conjectured as to the meaning of the crucial part of the verse above that contains the negation to the crucifixion, namely "they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them." In previous articles, I have addressed the expression "shubbiha lahum" or "it was made to appear so," here, we shall briefly consider the section "ma qataluhu wa ma salabuhu" or "they killed him not and they did not crucify him." Although the verse is applicable to Christians and their conjectural beliefs regarding the crucifixion, contextually, the verse is addressing the Jews* and one might wonder why would the Qur'an be negating two things with regards to the alleged death of Jesus, namely the "killing" of Jesus and the "crucifixion" of Jesus. Perhaps to understand the reason behind it, we might turn to one of the primary extra-biblical material that Jewish tradition regards essential in their faith, i.e., the Talmud. In the Talmud, which predates the Qur'an, we come to know that the authors had put forward a particular claim concerning Jesus and what they supposedly did to Jesus. The text comes from the Sanhedrin Tractate 43a which reads as follows:

וכרוז יוצא לפניו לפניו אין מעיקרא לא והתניא בערב הפסח תלאוהו לישו והכרוז יוצא לפניו מ' יום ישו יוצא ליסקל על שכישף והסית והדיח את ישראל כל מי שיודע לו זכות יבא וילמד עליו ולא מצאו לו זכות ותלאוהו בערב הפסח

"The mishna teaches that a crier goes out before the condemned man. This indicates that it is only before him, i.e., while he is being led to his execution, that yes, the crier goes out, but from the outset, before the accused is convicted, he does not go out. The Gemara raises a difficulty: But isn’t it taught in a baraita: On Passover Eve they hung the corpse of Jesus the Nazarene after they killed him by way of stoning. And a crier went out before him for forty days, publicly proclaiming: Jesus the Nazarene is going out to be stoned because he practiced sorcery, incited people to idol worship, and led the Jewish people astray. Anyone who knows of a reason to acquit him should come forward and teach it on his behalf. And the court did not find a reason to acquit him, and so they stoned him and hung his corpse on Passover eve."

In the Talmudic text above, we see the allegation made: the Jews stoned (killed) Jesus and after that, they hung (crucified) his body on a tree which essentially corresponds to Deuteronomy 21:23 which states, "If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree." The sin mentioned in the Deuteronomic passage in question may pertain to a number of sins, but if the sin is that of idolatry, which is the sin supposedly committed by Jesus according to the Talmudic text above, then, the execution would take the form of stoning as per Deuteronomy 13:10 that states, "Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."

Commenting on the Talmudic text above, Peter Schäfer, who is a highly regarded German scholar of ancient religious studies, states:

"Now the death penalty and the execution. Here we have a major discrepancy between the New Testament and the Talmud: according to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified (obviously following Roman law), whereas according to the Talmud, he was stoned and subsequently hanged (following rabbinic law)." [1]

Granted that the Talmud speaks of Jesus being "hung on a tree," but this expression correlates to the crucifixion because to be hung on a tree, according to ancient Jewish law in the Deuteronomic texts cited above, essentially means to be crucified which is why in speaking of Jesus' crucifixion, Paul describes it as Jesus hanging on a tree as seen in Galatians 3:13:

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

In the above, Paul is recapitulating Deuteronomy 21:23 in which it is said, "...anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse."

Having full knowledge of the calumnies of the Jews that they levelled against Jesus, Allah in His final revelation refutes their Talmudic allegation in no uncertain terms.

Considering that the Prophet s.a.w. was unlettered and so were many of his companions, the fact that he had intimate knowledge of what the Jews believed regarding Jesus as found in their Talmud--which may not even have been accessible in the deserts of Arabia, one must wonder as to the origin of the Prophet's s.a.w. knowledge. As Muslims, we insist and rightly so that the source must be nothing but Almighty God.

Notes:

*Although a Qur'anic text may contextually refer to a particular situation or group of people, it may at the same time, simultaneously, refer to multiple other situations or groups of people that are relevant to the subject matter. That 4:157 is in reference to the Jews is evident from its immediate context, but at the same time, it is also applicable to Christians that put their faith upon what they allege the Jews to have done, namely putting Jesus to death.

[1] Schäfer, P. (2007). Jesus in the Talmud. New Jersey: Princeton. p. 71

Story of the Cranes (al-Gharaniq) “The Satanic Verses”

Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim

1. Ibn Sa`d (d. 230) in his al-Tabaqat al-Kubra (reprint Beirut: Dar Sadir), vol. 1 said:

[p. 205] Muhammad ibn `Umar(*) narrated to us: (1) Yunus ibn Muhammad ibn Fadala al-Zafari narrated to me: From his father who said: (2) From Kathir ibn Zayd: From al-Muttalib ibn `Abd Allah ibn Hantab who said:-

[(*) Muhammad ibn `Umar al-Waqidi (d. 207), Ahmad ibn Hanbal said of him: “He is a liar.” Al-Bukhari and Abu Hatim al-Razi said: “Discarded.” Ibn `Adi said: “His narrations are not retained, and their bane comes from him.” Ibn al-Madini said: “He forges hadiths.” Al-Dhahabi said: “Consensus has settled over his debility.” Mizan al-I`tidal (3:662-666 #7993).]

Allah’s Messenger – Allah bless and greet him – saw rejection coming from his people, so he sat in isolation, wishing to himself: Would that nothing is revealed to me that would drive them away from me. Thereafter Allah’s Messenger – Allah bless and greet him – approached his people again and made overtures to them, and they responded to him. One day he sat with them in one of the usual public gatherings around the Ka`ba and he recited to them “By the Star when it setteth” (Sura 53, al-Najm). When he reached the words:

19. Have ye thought upon Al Lat and Al Uzza?

20. And Manat, the third, the other?

the devil interjected two phrases (kalimatayn) upon his tongue:
“Those are the elevated cranes: truly their intercession is dearly hoped!”

Allah’s Messenger spoke these two phrases then went on to finish the entire Sura, then he prostrated and all those in attendance prostrated. Al-Walid ibn al-Mughira took a handful of earth and [applying it to his forehead] prostrated on it, for he was an aged old man who could not prostrate. It is also said that Abu Uhayha Sa`id ibn al-`As was the one who did this…. and some say both did it.

They [the Quraysh] were elated at what Allah’s Messenger – Allah bless and greet him – had spoken, saying: “We definitely know that Allah gives life and gives death as well as creates and sustains, but these our gods intercede for us before Him, so if you give them their share, we are with you.” This statement of theirs bore heavily on the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – and he withdrew to his house. When evening came, Gibril came to him and rehearsed the Sura with him, whereupon Gibril said: “Did I bring you those two phrases (al-kalimatayn)?” Allah’s Messenger said: “Have I said on Allah’s part something He never said?” Whereupon Allah revealed to him [p. 206] the verse: { And they indeed strove hard to beguile thee (Muhammad) away from that wherewith We have inspired thee, that thou shouldst invent other than it against Us; and then would they have accepted thee as a friend.} (17:73)

2. Imam al-Baghawi (d. 510) said in his commentary of the Qur’an entitled Lubab al-Ta’wil fi Ma`alim al-Tanzil (Dar al-Fikr ed. vol. 3) concerning the story of the cranes (qissat al-gharaaneeq):

[p. 293] Ibn `Abbas, Muhammad ibn Ka`b al-Qurazi and others of the commentators of Qur’an said that when the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – saw the turning away of his people from him and it bore heavily on him to see the distance grow between them and what he brought them on Allah’s part, he desired in his soul (tamanna fi nafsihi) that there come from Allah something that would bridge the gap between him and his people, for he was deeply concerned that they should have faith. As he was in a gathering of the Quraysh one day, Allah revealed Sura al-Najm (53), whereupon Allah’s Messenger – Allah bless and greet him — began to recite it, until he reached His saying:

19. Have ye thought upon Al Lat and Al Uzza?

20. And Manat, the third, the other?

whereupon the devil interjected upon his tongue (alqa al-shaytan `ala lisanihi) in connection with that of which he spoke to himself and was hoping for:

“Those are the elevated cranes:
truly their intercession is dearly hoped!”

When the Quraysh heard this, they rejoiced greatly. Allah’s Messenger proceeded with his recitation until the end of the Sura, at which point he prostrated, and the Muslims prostrated with him as well as all those of the pagans that were in the mosque. There remained no-one in the mosque, neither believer nor non-believer, except he prostrated, but for al-Walid ibn al-Mughira and Abu Uhayha Sa`id ibn al-`As who took a handful of earth and applied it to their foreheads, prostrating on it, for they were aged old men who could not prostrate. Then the Quraysh dispersed in elation at the way they had heard their gods mentioned, saying: “Muhammad has mentioned our gods in the best way possible.” They also said: “We definitely know that Allah gives life and gives death as well as creates and sustains, but these our gods intercede for us before Him, so if Muhammad gives them their share, we are with him.” When evening came, Gibril came to Allah’s Messenger – Allah bless and greet him – and said: “O Muhammad! What have you done? You have recited to the people something which I never brought you from Allah Exalted and Almighty.” Hearing this, the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – was deeply grieved and feared much from Allah (swt). So Allah revealed to him the following verse in which he consoled him , as He was ever merciful towards him:

{ Never sent We a messenger or a Prophet before thee but when He recited (the message) Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of that which he recited thereof. But Allah abolisheth that which Satan proposeth. Then Allah establisheth His revelations. Allah is Knower, Wise} (22:52)

Meanwhile those of the Prophet’s Companions who were in Abyssynia heard the news of the prostration of the Quraysh and the rumor that the Quraysh and the Meccans had accepted Islam, so most of them returned to their kindred. But when they neared Mecca the news reached them that what they had heard of the Islam of the Meccans was false. So no-one actually entered Mecca except under protection or stealthily. When the above verse was revealed, the Quraysh said: “Muhammad regrets his words about the status of our gods before Allah and has now changed them.” The two phrases that the devil had interjected upon the tongue of Allah’s Messenger – Allah bless and greet him – by then were in the mouth of every idolater, and their hostility increased in intensity against those who had accepted Islam.

3. Al-Tabari (d. 310) said in his commentary entitled Jami` al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an (30 vols.) Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1405/1985, reprint of the Bulaq 1322-1330/1904-1911 ed. vol. 17:

[p. 186] The sayings concerning the interpretation of the verse:

{ Never sent We a messenger or a Prophet before thee but when He recited (the message) Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of that which he recited thereof. But Allah abolisheth that which Satan proposeth. Then Allah establisheth His revelations. Allah is Knower, Wise} (22:52):

It was said that the reason for which this verse was revealed upon the Messenger of Allah – Allah bless and greet him – is that the devil had interjected upon the Prophet’s tongue – Allah bless and greet him – during some of his recitation of the Qur’an as it had been revealed to him by Allah, something which Allah had not revealed. Then this bore heavily on Allah’s Messenger – Allah bless and greet him – who became despondent, whereupon Allah Almighty comforted him by revealing to him the above….

[Then al-Tabari proceeds to narrate reports to that effect, all of them weak, but the collective weight of which suggests authenticity as stated by Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (see below).]

[p. 190] The gist of the interpretation of the verse is: “We never sent before you any Messenger nor Prophet except that, when he uttered Allah’s Book in recitation, or discoursed and spoke, the devil interjected something into what he uttered of Allah’s Book in recitation or into his discourse and speech, { But Allah abolishes that which the devil interjects} , i.e. He removes whatever suggestion the devil interjects upon the Prophet’s tongue and nullifies it.”

[Al-Tabari goes on to state that the verses that follow make explicit the fact that the reason for this incident was to test the belief of those who harbored a disease in their hearts and increase the belief of those who were rightly-guided – and this test continues until our time:

22:53 { That He may make that which the devil proposeth a temptation for those in whose hearts is a disease, and those whose hearts are hardened. Lo! the evil-doers are in open schism.}

22:54 { And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it is the truth from thy Lord, so that they may believe therein and their hearts may submit humbly unto Him. Lo! Allah verily is guiding those who believe unto a right path.}

22:55 { And those who disbelieve will not cease to be in doubt thereof until the Hour come upon them unawares, or there come unto them the doom of a disastrous day.}

22:56 { The Sovereignty on that day will be Allah’s. He will judge between them. Then those who believed and did good works will be in Gardens of Delight,}

22:57 { While those who disbelieved and denied Our revelations, for them will be a shameful doom.} ]

4. Al-Jassas (d. 370), Ahkam al-Qur’an (5 vols.), ed. Muhammad al-Sadiq Qamhawi (Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-`Arabi, 1405/1985) 5:83-84:

Concerning the verse:

{ Never sent We a messenger or a Prophet before thee but when He recited (the message) Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of that which he recited thereof. But Allah abolisheth that which Satan proposeth. Then Allah establisheth His revelations. Allah is Knower, Wise} (22:52):

It was narrated from Ibn `Abbas, Sa`id ibn Jubayr, al-Dahhak, Muhammad ibn Ka`b, and Muhammad ibn Qays that the circumstance of revelation fof this verse was that when the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him recited { Have ye thought upon Al Lat and Al Uzza? And Manat, the third, the other?} (53:19-20), the devil interjected (alqa) into his recitation: “Those are the elevated cranes: truly their intercession is dearly hoped!”

There is difference of opinion over the meaning of “the devil interjected.” Some said that when the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – recited this sura and mentioned in it the idols, the pagans knew that he would vilify them and so one of them said, at the time the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – reached the words { Have ye thought upon} etc. “Those are,” etc. in full presence of the multitude of the Quraysh in the holy Mosque. At that time the generality of the pagans who were far back said: “Muhammad just praised our divinities!” and they conjectured that this was part of his recitation. Thereafter, Allah declared this claim of theirs false, and showed that the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – never recited it in the first place, but that it was only recited by one of the pagans. Allah named that person “Satan” because he was one of the devils of humankind… “shaytan” being a name for every obdurate rebel among jinn and humankind. It was also said that it is possible that he was one of the devils of the jinn.

5. Al-Tha`alibi’s (d. 876) al-Jawahir al-Hisan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an (4 vols.), Beirut: Mu’assasa al-A`lami li al-Matbu`at, 1970?, Reprint of the original 1323/1905 Algerian edition, 3:84:

Al-Qadi `Iyad said [in al-Shifa]:

Suffice it for you that this narration was not documented by any of the scholars of sound hadith, nor have any of the trustworthy narrators related it with a healthy, uninterrupted chain. The only ones to be interested in it are the type of commentators and historians who are interested in every strange matter, blindly compiling from the books everything their hands fall upon, whether it is sound or feeble.

Qadi Abu Bakr told the truth.

6. Abu al-Su`ud’s (d. 951) Irshad al-`Aql al-Salim ila Mazaya al-Qur’an al-Karim (9 vols.), Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-`Arabi, 6:113:

Concerning the verse:

{ Never sent We a messenger or a Prophet before thee but when He recited (the message) Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of that which he recited thereof. But Allah abolisheth that which Satan proposeth. Then Allah establisheth His revelations. Allah is Knower, Wise} (22:52):

It was said that he [the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him] hoped, because of his yearning that his people should have faith, that there be revealed to him something that would bring them nearer to him, and he persisted in this until he was among them and Sura al-Najm was revealed; whereupon he began to recite it, and when he reached { And Manat, the third, the other} , the devil whispered to him with the result that his tongue tripped in inattention and he said “Those are the elevated cranes: truly their intercession is dearly hoped!” Whereupon the pagans rejoiced and joined him in prostration when he prostrated at the end of the Sura, and there remained none in the Mosque – whether believer or pagan – except they all prostrated. After this, Gibril – upon him peace – warned him of the mistake, then Allah the Exalted rebuked him with this verse. This account is rejected by the scholars of verification.

7. Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari, 1959 ed. vol. 8:

[p. 439] All the paths of this hadith are either weak or cut off, except for that of Sa`id ibn Jubayr… However, the profusion of the chains show that the story has a basis, furthermore, there are two other “mursal” chains whose narrators are those of Bukhari and Muslim. The first one is that narrated by al-Tabari through Yunus ibn Yazid from Ibn Shihab [al-Zuhri]: “Abu Bakr ibn `Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham narrated to me,” etc. The second is what al-Tabari also narrated through al-Mu`tamir ibn Sulayman and Hammad ibn Salama from Dawud ibn Abi Hind from Abu al-`Aliya…. Contrary to what Abu Bakr ibn al-`Arabi and al-Qadi `Iyad have claimed whereby the story has no basis at all…. When the paths of a hadith are many and distinct, it shows that the report has a basis…. So, as I said, there are three sound but ‘mursal‘ chains for it, among them what meets the criteria of the two Sahihs but for the fact that they are ‘mursal‘. These constitute proof for both those that accept ‘mursal’ reports as proofs and those that do not, due to the mutual strengthening of the chains.

This said, it is required to interpret the incident and address what appears to be reprehensible, namely the statement “the devil interjected upon the Prophet’s tongue – Allah bless and greet him – the words ‘Those are the elevated cranes: truly their intercession is dearly hoped.'” Such a thing is precluded from being accepted in literal terms for it is impossible for the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – to add something to the Qur’an that does not belong to it whether deliberately (`amdan) or erroneously (sahwan). …

[p. 440] Al-Qadi `Iyad did well when he said: “It is possible the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – was mentioning the belief of the pagans by way of derision, noting that at that time it was permitted to speak in the midst of prayer. To this position leaned Ibn al-Baqillani. It was also said that when he reached the words { Have ye thought upon Al Lat and Al Uzza? And Manat, the third, the other?} the pagans feared lest he would add something to mock their gods, so they hastened to interject and jeer so as to cover up what was coming next, as was their habit stated in the verse { Those who disbelieve say: Heed not this Quran, and drown the hearing of it; haply ye may conquer} (41:26). This act on their part was attributed to the devil as it was he that inspired it to them. Or, what was meant by the devil was the devil of humankind…. It was also said that the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him used to recite the Qur’an slowly, so that the devil lay in wait for one of the pauses and uttered the words in question with the same timbre of voice. Those that were near him heard it as if coming from the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – and attributed it to him. This is the best of all interpretations.”

Ibn al-`Arabi also approved of the latter interpretation, saying: “This verse [{ Never sent We a messenger or a Prophet before thee but when He recited (the message) Satan proposed (opposition) in respect of his amaniyya (=”that which he recited thereof”)} (22:52)] is an explicit proof-text, in our school, to the innocence of the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – of what was imputed to him. The meaning of ‘amaniyya‘ in the verse being: ‘recitation’. Allah Almighty therefore informed us in this verse that His way with His Messengers is that when they say something, Satan adds something to it on his part. This is an explicit proof-text that it is Satan that conveys this statement inside the Prophet’s words – Allah bless and greet him – and it is not the latter that says it. A precedent for this view was given by al-Tabari, in keeping with his high erudition, vast learning, and perspicuous analysis, and HE DECLARED IT THE CORRECT INTERPRETATION, AND SETTLED ON IT.”

—

There are two recent booklets from the late Nasir Albani’s printing house, al-Maktab al-Islami out of Beirut, on the topic:

1- Nasb al-Majaniq li-Nasf Qissat al-Gharaniq (“The Hoisting of Catapults for the Destruction of the Story of the Cranes”) by M. Nasir al-Albani, 3rd ed. 1996.

2- Al-Gharaniq: Qissatun Dakhilatun `ala al-Sirati al-Nabawiyya (“The Cranes: A Story Interpolated into the Prophetic Sira”) by Albani’s student Salih Ahmad al-Shami, 1st ed. 1998.

The first work argues for the invalidity of the story from the viewpoint of isnad, a weak argument as shown in the preceding discussion.

The second work argues for the invalidity of the story from the viewpoint of chronology, a strong and conclusive argument from the face of it, making the following points:

– Surat al-Najm (in which the disputed verses were purported to belong) was revealed in one whole in the tenth year of the Hijra.

– The First Hijra to Abyssinia took place in the fifth year, between Rajab and Shawwal.

– How then could the revelation of Surat al-Najm and the subsequent events – prompting the rumors of mass conversion in Mecca – that all took place in the tenth year, be a cause for the return of the Abyssinian Emigrants in the fifth?

– The true reason for the return of the Muslims from the first Abyssinian Emigration was alienation and difficult conditions as spoken by Asma’ bint `Umays in the narration of al-Bukhari in his Sahih:

“Asma’ bint `Umays went in to see Hafsa the wife of Rasulullah Sallallahu `alayhi wa Alihi wa Sallam, and she was one of those who had emigrated to the Negus. Whereupon `Umar came in to see Hafsa while Asma’ was with her. He asked who she was and Hafsa told him. `Umar said: She is the Abyssinian? The one from accross the sea? Asma’ said yes. `Umar said: We all [emigrants to Madina] made Hijra before you all [emigrants to Abyssinia], so we are more entitled to the Messenger of Allah than you – Allah bless and greet him. She became angry and said: Not at all, by Allah! You were with the Messenger of Allah – Allah bless and greet him – at a time he fed your hungry ones and admonished your ignorant ones, while we were in the abode of alienation and detestation (dar al-bu`ada’ wa al-bughada‘) in Abyssinia, all for the sake of Allah and for the sake of Rasulullah! And, by Allah, I shall not eat one morsel of food nor drink one drop of water until I mention what you said to Rasulullah! And how much did we suffer, and how we lived in fear! But I shall mention this to the Prophet! Etc.”

– All the above does not preclude the fact that the Meccan unbelievers did prostrate upon hearing Sura al-Najm exactly as it was revealed, due to its majesty and the fear caused in them by the invocation of punishment pronounced towards its end. One needs only to imagine them gathered together with the Muslims before the Ka`ba as the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – himself recited this newly-revealed Sura to them from beginning to end. Similar examples are the reactions of the unbelievers at the invocations of punishment they heard from the believers. For example, `Utba ibn Rabi`a’s reaction when he heard the verse { If they turn away, tell them I have warned you of a destruction similar to that of `Ad and Thamud} (Fussilat 13). Upon hearing this `Utba placed his hand on the mouth of the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – so that the threat of punishment would be averted. And when Khubayb ibn `Adi pronounced a similar threat, Abu Sufyan lied down on the ground together with his son Mu`awiya to deflect its harm.

Al-Shami also makes note of the book Hadha al-Habib by the late Abu Bakr al-Jaza’iri in which the author advocates the position that the story did take place and that the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – was in fact mislead. This is the same man who used to sit in the Haram of Madina attacking the Awliya and Sufis, and who wrote that the father and mother of the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – are in Hellfire. He was refuted among others by the two Moroccan authors of the book Wa`izun Ghayru Mutta`iz (“A Heedless Admonisher”).

The late al-Sayyid `Abd Allah Siraj al-Din al-Halabi (died March 2002 rahimahullah) also has a long, extremely detailed treatment of the story of the cranes in his masterful book _Hady al-Qur’an al-Karim ila al-Hujjati wal-Burhan_ 2nd edition, 1994, p. 155-182. He too concludes that it is a forgery.

W’Allahu ta`ala a`lam.

Blessings and salutations of Allah on the Prophet, his Family, and all his Companions. Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

Hajj Gibril

COMPANION MEMORIZERS OF QUR'AN

Refutation of False Claims Made by Christian Missionaries

by Dr. G. F. Haddad

Allah Glorious and Exalted said in His Book which falsehood cannot approach in the least: "And in truth We have made the Quran easy to remember; but is there any that remembereth?" (54:17, 25)

He also said in the Divine Hadith: "I am going to descend upon you a Book which water can never wash away, and which you shall be reciting both in sleep and wakefulness." Narrated by Muslim as part of a longer narration.

Imam Abu al-Khayr ibn al-Jazari said: "Reliance upon the memorization of hearts and breasts for the transmittal of the Qur'an rather than upon volumes and books, is the noblest specialty which Allah gave to this Community."

The men and women Companions known as the memorizers of Qur'an (al-qurra') were:

1-4. The Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs. However, Abu Bakr and `Umar died before memorizing it completely, while `Uthman and `Ali were among those who gathered (jama`a) the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him. `Uthman was one of those who used to recite the entire Qur'an in one day and night.

5. `Abd Allah ibn Mas`ud -- Allah be well-pleased with him -- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him.

6. Salim, Mawla Abi Hudhayfa -- Allah be well-pleased with him -- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him.

7. Mu`adh ibn Jabal -- Allah be well-pleased with him -- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him.

8. Ubay ibn Ka`b -- Allah be well-pleased with him -- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him. He would recite it all in eight days.

9. Zayd ibn Thabit -- Allah be well-pleased with him -- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him.

10. Abu Zayd -- Allah be well-pleased with him -- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him.

11. Abu al-Darda' -- Allah be well-pleased with him-- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him. His class in the mosque of Damascus counted 1,600 students, each ten with one monitor. If a student made a mistake the monitor corrected him, and if the monitor made a mistake Abu al-Darda' corrected him.

12. Abu Musa al-Ash`ari -- Allah be well-pleased with him -- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him.

13. `Abd Allah ibn `Amr ibn al-`As -- Allah be well-pleased with him. He was ordered by the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- to recite it in no less than seven days.

14. Talha ibn `Ubayd Allah -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

15. Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

16. Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

17. Abu Hurayra -- Allah be well-pleased with him. He was examined by Ubay.

18. `Abd Allah ibn al-Sa'ib -- Allah be well-pleased with him. He was examined by Ubay.

19. `Abd Allah ibn `Umar -- Allah be well-pleased with him -- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him.

20. `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas -- Allah be well-pleased with him. He was examined by Ubay.

21. `Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

22. `A'isha bint Abi Bakr -- Allah be well-pleased with her.

23. Hafsa bint `Umar -- Allah be well-pleased with her.

24. Umm Salama -- Allah be well-pleased with her.

25. `Ubada ibn al-Samit -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

26. Mu`adh Abu Halima -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

27. Mujammi` ibn Jariya -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

28. Fadala ibn `Ubayd -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

29. Maslama ibn Mukhallad -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

30. Anas ibn Malik -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

31. Umm Waraqa bint `Abd Allah ibn al-Harith -- Allah be well-pleased with her.

32. Abu Umama al-Bahili -- Allah be well-pleased with him.

33. `Utba ibn `Amir -- Allah be well-pleased with him -- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him.

34. Tamim al-Dari -- Allah be well-pleased with him -- one of those who gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- and who used to recite the entire Qur'an in one day and night.

When the above are added to the seventy Ansar who were killed in the battle of Yamama against Musaylima the Arch-Liar, and who were all memorizers of the Qur'an (qurra') [Bukhari and Muslim], the number of the Companions who had memorized the Qur'an rises to over a hundred. This number excludes the numerous Companions -- whether named or unnamed -- whose status of memorizers did not reach us through isnad, as well as the women of both the Muhajirin and the Ansar. All of this memorizing was mass-transmitted. The numbers of the next generations, of course, keep rising exponentially in identical fashion of transmission, and praise belongs to Allah.

Sources: 

1. al-Nawawi, al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamala al-Qur'an (p. 31); 

2. al-Dhahabi, Tabaqat al-Qurra' (1:24-50)

3. al-Suyuti, al-Itqan fi `Ulum al-Qur'an (1:70-72); 

4. al-Zarkashi, al-Burhan fi `Ulum al-Qur'an (1:241-243); 

5. Nur al-Din `Itr, `Ulum al-Qur'an al-Karim (p. 164-166).

Remarks:

1. The Prophetic hadith narrated by `Abd Allah ibn `Amr ibn al-`As: "Learn the Qur'an from these four: `Abd Allah ibn Mas`ud, Salim, Mu`adh, and Ubay ibn Ka`b" [Bukhari] means: because they have the time and leisure to teach it in addition to their knowledge and competence, and Allah knows best.

2. Anas' reply, when asked who had gathered (jama`a) the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him: "Four men, all of them of the Ansar: Ubay ibn Ka`b, Mu`adh ibn Jabal, Zayd ibn Thabit, and Abu Zayd" [Bukhari] means: because Anas thought of a particular characteristic of theirs, or because they came to his mind at the time the question was asked, since this is by no means an exhaustive list, and Allah knows best.

3. The hadith of `Abd Allah ibn `Amr shows that there were two sources available to the Companions for the memorization of Qur'an: the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- and the knowledgeable Companions. This is confirmed by the narration of `Abd Allah ibn Mas`ud that he had memorized seventy suras "directly from the Prophet's mouth" [Bukhari], i.e. in contradistinction from what he memorized from others, since he is also "among those who had gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet."

4. The claim that "they gathered the Qur'an" does not automatically signify "they memorized it" is an anachronism projecting on the Companions our modern notions that we can possess and read books without memorizing them. It is unthinkable that the Companions -- Arabs of superlative mnemonic skills, and pious men and women in obsessive pursuit of divine acceptance, would store a shred of Allah's Book without memorizing it. Similarly, their reciting the Qur'an only means "by heart," and one known to be "a reciter" means that he has reached a level where he has memorized the Qur'an and is able to teach it.

5. As for the false view that some reciters were not memorizers on the basis of the following text:

Sahih Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 468: Narrated Ibrahim: The companions of 'Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) came to Abu Darda', (and before they arrived at his home), he looked for them and found them. Then he asked them, 'Who among you can recite (Qur'an) as 'Abdullah recites it?" They replied, "All of us." He asked, "Who among you knows it by heart?" They pointed at 'Alqama.

The above, first of all, is a translation adduced by someone who is not even able to verify if its grammatical and lexical rendering is accurate or not, I mean Jochen Katz. Then he wants to dispute the authenticity of the Qur'an. The same person has complained that his likes should not be compared to Jehovah Witnesses, but he himself recently cited Khalifa's English mutilation of the meanings of the Qur'an side by side with Muhammad Pickthall's translation -- placing together a Muslim with a known apostate -- in order to recycle old insinuations about "contradictions in Qur'anic translations."

Anyway, this Bukhari translation is false and unreliable. It was the height of irresponsibility to bring it out in its present state on the part of those who failed to review or have it reviewed after authoring it, and those who published it and disseminated it; Allah hears and sees who plays havoc with Religion for a cheap gain -- to sell books! Yet the fact that Allah uses them to misguide the enemies of Islam, shows that there is wisdom even in what seems the death of wisdom.

The original Arabic does not say what the above rendering has. An accurate rendering would be:

He asked them: "Who among you recites (ayyukum yaqra') Qur'an according to `Abd Allah's [canonical] reading?" They replied: "All of us." He asked: "And who among you is the best memorizer?" (fa ayyukum ahfaz). They pointed to `Alqama.

Thus it can be seen that the whole edifice of this would-be critic crumbles because he misread the original meaning "Who among you is the best memorizer" to read "Who among you knows it by heart." They all knew it by heart. But they considered that the best memorizer was `Alqama, i.e. the foremost among them in fiqh and the Prophet's Sunna in addition to mere memorization. And would someone who does not memorize claim that he can recite Qur'an in the first place?!

"I myself have heard a good number of Qur'an recitations in various Muslim gatherings. Sometimes a passage was recited from memory, but more often the open Qur'an was in front of the reciter and he recited while reading the text. The ability to recite the Qur'an seems to refer more to the art of recitation, the right intonation, etc, than to having memorized the text. A reciter is not the same as a memorizer."

His saying that he heard the Qur'an recited in Muslim gatherings, is like a blind art critic who went to the Louvre a good many times. Then he wants to discuss with you color, perspective... He is not even aware that the reward of reciting Qur'an from an open mushaf is greater than reciting it from memory because the former method adds the worship of the eyes to that of the rest of the limbs, as prescribed in the Sunna. This has no bearing on whether the reciter has memorized what he recites or not.

Many of (the passages) of the Qur'an that were sent down were known by those who died on the day of Yamama... but they were not known (by those who) survived them, nor were they written down, nor had Abu Bakr, Umar or Uthman (by that time) collected the Qur'an, nor were they found even with (one person) after them. (Kitab al-Masahif, p.23)

Kitab al-Masahif was compiled by `Abd Allah ibn Sulayman ibn al-Ash`ath al-Sijistani, known as Ibn Abi Dawud, the son of the major early hadith master Abu Dawud. This is what the authorities said about Ibn Abi Dawud:

Ibn `Adi narrated in al-Kamil fi al-Du`afa' with his chain from `Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn al-Junayd: I heard Abu Dawud say: "My son, `Abd Allah, is a liar."

Ibn Sa`id said: "Suffice it for us, what Ibn Abi Dawud's father said about him."

Ibrahim ibn Awrama al-Asbahani said: "Ibn Abi Dawud is a liar."

Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi received a paper from Ibn Abi Dawud in which the latter asked him about the wording of a hadith related from his grandfather. Al-Baghawi read the paper then said: "I swear by Allah that in my view you have brought yourself out of hadith science."

Sources: Ibn `Adi, al-Kamil fi al-Du`afa' (4:226); al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-I`tidal (2:433) and Siyar A`lam al-Nubala' (10:582).

It follows that anything that comes only from Kitab al-Masahif must be held in suspension until corroborated by an independent, reliable source or declared authentic by one of the competent authorities, or adduced by them.

It is reported from Ismail ibn Ibrahim from Ayyub from Naafi from Ibn Umar who said: "Let none of you say 'I have acquired the whole of the Qur'an'. How does he know what all of it is when much of the Qur'an has disappeared? Rather let him say 'I have acquired what has survived.'" (as-Suyuti, Al-Itqan fii Ulum al-Qur'an, p.524).

This reference to the Itqan is untraceable as no edition of it is in less than two volumes to my knowledge.

The above refers to a famous saying of Ibn `Umar, once again deceptively/ignorantly mistranslated so as to mislead readers to think it means other than its actual meaning.

The words used by Ibn `Umar for the terms given as "acquired," "disappeared," and "what has survived" above were -- I am quoting from memory -- respectively "ahattu" (I have encompassed), "faatahu" (escapes him), and "ma tayassara minhu" (whatever amount of it has been facilitated). The actual meaning of Ibn `Umar's words is:

"Let no one say: I have encompassed the whole of the Qur'an [= its meanings]. How does he know what all of it is when much of the Qur'an escapes him? Rather, let him say: I have encompassed whatever amount of it has been facilitated [for me to know]."

Ibn `Umar was famous for his strictness in refraining from interpreting the Qur'an, even criticizing Ibn `Abbas's interpretive zeal in the beginning, then accepting its authority. He was not referring to the collection of the Qur'an! But only to the ethics of the exegete, in the same line as Ibn `Abbas's saying narrated by al-Tabari and cited by al-Suyuti and al-Zarkashi: "There are ambiguous verses in the Qur'an which no one knows besides Allah. Whoever claims that he knows them, is a liar."

Also Ibn `Abbas's and `Abd al-Rahman ibn `Awf's saying: "The Qur'an has an outward meaning, [literally 'a back'] (zahr) and an inward meaning [literally 'an inside'] (batn)."

Some parts might have been written down but not memorized by people who survived. It got lost because the manuscripts disappeared. Ubayy said, 'It used to equal the length surat al Baqara and we used to recite in Ahzab the stoning verse.' Zirr asked, 'What is the stoning verse?' Ubayy recited, 'If the saikh and the saikha fornicate, stone them outright as an exemplary punishment from God. God is might, wise.' (Jalal al Din `Abdul Rahman b. abi Bakr al Suyuti, "al Itqan fi `ulum al Qur'an", Halabi, Cairo, 1935/1354, pt 2, p. 25)

I was able to trace the above according to the page and number given. Al-Suyuti cited the above report among many other reports in the chapter entitled "The Abrogating and the Abrogated," section entitled "Verses Whose Recitation Was Abrogated But Not Their Legal Ruling." Enough said.

Years ago I replied to another ignoramus on the same lines. At that time I had written in reply to an article in which Steve Walker wrote:

In Sahih al-Bukhari vol 8, p.539, Umar says: "Allah sent Muhammad (saw) with the truth and revealed the Holy Book to him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the Rajam (stoning of married person who commit adultery) and we did recite this Verse and understood and memorised it. Allah's Apostle (saw) did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did we after him. I am afraid that after a long time has passed, somebody will say, 'By Allah, we do not find the Verse of the Rajam in Allah's Book', and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation which Allah has revealed."

In the Qur'an as it is today, the only punishment for adulterers is 100 lashes, with no distinction between married and unmarried people. Umar was clearly convinced that this passage was meant to be part of the Qur'an.

I had replied:

Amazing, how knowledgeable you are of a Companion's mind when you don't even understand his language!

No, `Umar was not convinced that this passage was meant to be part of the Qur'an. As a matter of fact `Umar told Zayd ibn Thabit that he (Zayd) was wrong to include it when he himself (`Umar) had seen the Prophet (s) not include it! The latter hadith is in al-Hakim and Ibn Hajar cites it in his commentary on the reason why the verse was abrogated. Fath al-Bari 12:174 (#6829).

As for the next verse which `Umar mentions in the same hadith and which you also bring up, it too was abrogated for other reasons which `Umar in no way questions. The fact that he mentions these two verses does not suggest revisionism on his part -- this would be the manner of archbishops and Councils -- rather he reminds the people that their rulings are still very much in effect, and he warns them not to forget them. Both are unambiguously confirmed by the Sunna.

End of reply to Walker.

John Burton quotes plenty of additional evidence explaining the workings of the abrogation of that particular verses in part 5 of his book The Collection of the Qur'an (1977) which was posted in full three years ago in SRI and from which Katz et al. cull their insinuations then rechew them before us every year.

`A'isa explains how the wording came to be omitted from the mushaf: The stoning verse and another verse were revealed and recorded on a sheet (sahifa) which was placed for safe-keeping under her bedding. When the Prophet fell ill and the household were preoccupied with nursing him, a domestic animal got in from the yard and gobbled up the sheet. (Burhan al Din al Baji, "Jawab", MS Dar al Kutub, Taimur "majami`", no. 207, f. 15)

The above report is also taken from Burton. I consider it a forgery and add that its content is absurd, since the Companions did not rely on this missing piece to ascertain the existence of the wording or its abrogated status. At any rate, such a report stands out for not being cited in any of the recognized sources in the technical literature.

--

Because of Katz's constant hankering after half-truths and misconstructions, one cannot follow-up on his posts except with a broom and pail. I feel sorry for the victims of his deluded websites but suspect that, like the Khalifites, their numbers in real terms are negligible.

I only wrote the above material in hope that it will benefit myself and other students in the sciences of the Qur'an, by way of refutation. It is obvious to all that neither Katz's material stands to scrutiny, nor is he himself apt to discuss his own material or understand a refutation. One who violates truth long enough, cannot go back to distinguishing it from falsehood anymore. Let us not waste time, and success is from Allah alone.

A parting note:

Says Francis Cardinal George, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Chicago, speaking to a Library of Congress conference on ``Frontiers of the Mind in the 21st Century'':

"In the next millennium as the modern nation state is relativized and national sovereignty is displaced into societal arrangements still to be invented, it will be increasingly evident that the major faiths are carriers of culture...''

And he added:

"The conversation between Christianity and Islam is not yet far advanced, but its outcome will determine what the globe will look like a century from now.'' 


-------------------

we can show you ten thousand names, all you need to do is show us 25.

SubhanAllah we have the the biography of Ten Thousand Sahabah (ra) documented.

usud al-ghabah fi ma'rifat al-sahabah 

By Shaykh Ibn Athir Jazari (r.a) – Shaykh Abdush Shakoor Farooqi Lakhnavi (r.a)

Imagine 10,000 Sahaba (ra) biography are preserved and documented. the actual eyewitnesses, who they are, and what we know about them, who physically saw the Prophet Muhammed Pbuh. Each companions are carefully documented and written about.

The Question is can a single Christian name us 25 witnesses out of the 500 Paul was mentioning in Corinthians 15?

"After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep."

just give us the names of 25 people that's all. we can show you 10,000 names you show us 25.

if you can't even name 25 people how reliable are your sources?