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The problems posed by the scripta defectiva of early versions of the Koran inevitably led to the growth of different centers with their own variant traditions of how the texts should be pointed or vowelized. Despite ‘Uthman’s order to destroy all texts other than his own, it is evident that the older codices survived.
Charles Adams says, "It must be emphasized that far from there being a single text passed down inviolate from the time of ‘Uthman’s commission, literally thousands of variant readings of particular verses were known in the first three (Muslim) centuries. These variants affected even the ‘Uthmanic codex, making it difficult to know what its true form may have been."
Some Muslims preferred codices other than the ‘Uthmanic, for example, those of Ibn Mas’ud, Uba ibn Ka’b, and Abu Musa. Eventually, under the influence of the great Koranic scholar Ibn Mujahid (died 935), there was a definite canonization of one system of consonants and a limit placed on the variations of vowels used in the text that resulted in acceptance of seven systems.
But other scholars accepted ten readings, and still others accepted fourteen readings. Even Ibn Mujahid’s seven provided fourteen possibilities since each of the seven was traced through two different transmitters, viz,
1. Nafi of Medina according to Warsh and Qalun
2. Ibn Kathir of Mecca according to al-Bazzi and Qunbul
3. Ibn Amir of Damascus according to Hisham and Ibn Dakwan
4. Abu Amr of Basra according to al-Duri and al-Susi
5. Asim of Kufa according to Hafs and Abu Bakr
6. Hamza of Kuga according to Khalaf and Khallad
7. Al-Kisai of Kufa according to al Duri and Abul Harith
In the end three systems prevailed, those of Warsh (d. 812) from Nafi of Medina, Hafs (d. 805) from Asim of Kufa, and al-Duri (d. 860) from Abu Amr of Basra.
At present in modern Islam, two versions seem to be in use: that of Asim of Kufa through Hafs, which was given a kind of official seal of approval by being adopted in the Egyptian edition of the Koran in 1924; and that of Nafi through Warsh, which is used in parts of Africa other than Egypt.
As Charles Adams reminds us:
It is of some importance to call attention to a possible source of misunderstanding with regard to the variant readings of the Quran. The seven (versions) refer to actual written and oral text, to distinct versions of Quranic verses, whose differences, though they may not be great, are nonetheless substantial. Since the very existence of variant readings and versions of the Quran goes against the doctrinal position toward the Holy Book held by many modern Muslims, it is not uncommon in an apologetic context to hear the seven (versions) explained as modes of recitation; in fact the manner and technique of recitation are an entirely different matter.
Guillaume also refers to the variants as "not always trifling in significance." For example, the last two verses of sura LXXXV, Al Buraj, read: (21) hawa qur’anun majidun; (22) fi lawhin mahfuzun/in. The last syllable is in doubt.
If it is in the genitive -in, it gives the meaning "It is a glorious Koran on a preserved tablet"—a reference to the Muslim doctrine of the Preserved Tablet. If it is the nominative ending -un, we get "It is a glorious Koran preserved on a tablet." There are other passages with similar difficulties dealing with social legislation.
If we allow that there were omissions, then why not additions? The authenticity of many verses in the Koran has been called into question by Muslims themselves. Many Kharijites, who were followers of ‘Ali in the early history of Islam, found the sura recounting the story of Joseph offensive, an erotic tale that did not belong in the Koran.
Hirschfeld questioned the authenticity of verses in which the name Muhammad occurs, there being something rather suspicious in such a name, meaning ‘Praised’, being borne by the Prophet.
The name was certainly not very common. However the Prophet’s name does occur in documents that have been accepted as genuine, such as the Constitution of Medina.
Most scholars believe that there are interpolations in the Koran; these interpolations can be seen as interpretative glosses on certain rare words in need of explanation.
More serious are the interpolations of a dogmatic or political character, which seem to have been added to justify the elevation of ‘Uthman as caliph to the detriment of ‘Ali.
Then there are other verses that have been added in the interest of rhyme, or to join together two short passages that on their own lack any connection.
Bell and Watt carefully go through many of the amendments and revisions and point to the unevenness of the Koranic style as evidence for a great many alterations in the Koran:
There are indeed many roughness of this kind, and these, it is here claimed, are fundamental evidence for revision. Besides the points already noticed—hidden rhymes, and rhyme phrases not woven into the texture of the passage—there are the following:
abrupt changes of rhyme
repetition of the same rhyme word or rhyme phrase in adjoining verses
the intrusion of an extraneous subject into a passage otherwise homogeneous
a differing treatment of the same subject in neighbouring verses, often with repetition of words and phrasesbreaks in grammatical construction which raise difficulties in exegesis
abrupt changes in length of verse
sudden changes of the dramatic situation, with changes of pronoun from singular to plural, from second to third person, and so on
the juxtaposition of apparently contrary statements; the juxtaposition of passages of different date, with intrusion of fare phrases into early verses.
In many cases a passage has alternative continuations which follow one another in the present text. The second of the alternatives is marked by a break in sense and by a break in grammatical construction, since the connection is not with what immediately precedes, but with what stands some distance back.
The Christian al-Kindi (not to be confused with the Arab, Muslim philosopher) writing around 830 C.E., criticized the Koran in similar terms:
The result of all this (process by which the Quran came into being) is patent to you who have read the scriptures and see how, in your book, histories are jumbled together and intermingled; an evidence that many different hands have been at work therein, and caused discrepancies, adding or cutting out whatever they liked or disliked. Are such, now, the conditions of a revelation sent down from heaven?
I would appreciat if you would stop trying to hijack Islam,
good muslims like it straight and not apologized for . If you dont like Islam leave it ,
and run for your life as you will lose your head traitor.
Kafir need to know what Islam is and fear and submit
they dont have to like it or agree .
Hell fire for you hypocrite.
He is trying to say that islam is a peacefull loving religion which Abraham set up for all humanity and stands against devision between racial complexity or national racists like him, who is a nazi.
read his 2nd post here, he said some nazis ( aka racist psycho killers) are good people.
He is trying to say that islam is a peacefull loving religion which Abraham set up for all humanity and stands against devision between racial complexity or national racists like him, who is a nazi.
read his 2nd post here, he said some nazis ( aka racist psycho killers) are good people.
Actually I thought it referred to what happened if you ever decided to leave the religion. Perhaps he can enlighten me on that.
It means good muslims will kill him for being a traitort to islam something he needs to be remind of when he want to paint Islam as a rational choice.
Not all muslims are evil but Islam is just like not all nazus were bad but nazism is the same thngs islam some part of the Quran and hadith are almost indistinguishable from Mien Kampf.
I really need to get to putting that all together as a gameshow Hitler or Mohammeed.
"Existence impels the Jew to lie, just as it compels the inhabitants of Northern countries to wear warm clothing" -Mein Kampf, p. 305
"...the Jews are a nation of liars...the Jews are a treacherous, lying, and evil people." -Ishaq Hadith 240
And I will be happey to direct to to where you can probalby find answers to questions you may have about Islam. Or answer them straight up either way,
I wont tell you something you cannot confirm if you know what question to ask.
If I dont know where to find something it one of my friends may .
Pretty huge site you guys have here.
Punishing apostasy not arbitrary interpretation
Abu Mubarak
Aug 15, 05 3:55pm
Responding to Apostates will ‘die in unbelief’, Truth Seeker should understand that the death punishment for apostasy is held valid by the Syafie, Maliki, Hambali and Hanafi mazahib schools of thought. It is also accepted by the Syiah school of thought. The Hanafis, however, are in the opinion that female apostates should be imprisoned, instead of being sentenced to death.
Thus, punishing apostasy is not Mujahid Yusof Rawa’s interpretation of Islam. Neither is it the interpretation of Islam by PAS, the party he belongs to. This ruling could not have been arbitrarily interpreted by any individual or political party. This is not political issue.
The majority of Muslims in Malaysia are of the mazhab Syafie, including those in Umno. In fact, Dr Amran Kasimin, the Serdang Umno Division chief and Bangi state assemblyperson, wrote in his book Satu analisa mengenai murtad (pg 66):
‘Ulamak telah sepakat mengatakan bahawa hukum murtad ialah hukum bunuh berdasarkan hadis ... Hukum bunuh ke atas orang murtad ialah qat’ie, iaitu hukum yang tidak boleh dipinda atau diubah suai. Hak Allah yang wajib dilaksanakan.’ (It is the consensus among the ulama that the punishment for apostasy is death. This death sentence is a very clear ruling, which cannot be amended or modified. It is the command from Allah to be implemented).
I can comfortably say, this opinion is the de facto in the Islamic fiqh, worldwide. It is not my intention to debate on this ruling. I’m merely emphasising that when a Muslim scholar says that freedom of faith doesn’t mean a Muslim is free to commit apostasy, he is merely conveying the existing Islamic worldview on the matter.
It is certainly not of their invention. Don’t blame the postman when you don’t like the bill in your letter box.
To force any Muslim scholar to retract this ruling is like forcing the postman to amend the bill they are entrusted to deliver to your letter box. It is clear to any just-minded person that this approach would not work.
Religion is not man’s invention. The best man can do with religion is to preach and practice its teachings. If the Islamic teaching says we should condemn apostates to death, what right do we have to amend this no matter how absurd it is in the eyes of the other faiths?
Umran Kadir argued that punishing apostates is in clear contradiction of Quranic teachings though there are many hadith which he could refer which would certainly negate his argument. In fact, the first person to declare war against organised apostasy was Abu Bakar As-Siddiq, the highest ranking among the Prophet Muhammad’s many companions.
Certainly, Abu Bakar, the most highly regarded of the Prophet’s companions, would not have acted against the teachings of the Quran, which he understood very well. http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/39055
Freedom of worship ios a bedrock issue in western style democracies
Sa'id Raja'i-Khorassani, the Permanent Delegate to the United Nations from the Islamic Republic of Iran, declared, according to Amir Taheri, that "the very concept of human rights was 'a Judeo-Christian invention' and inadmissible in Islam. . . . According to Ayatollah Khomeini, one of the Shah's 'most despicable sins' was the fact that Iran was one of the original group of nations that drafted and approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
That fact is at the core of Bush’s reshaping the ME theory bringing freedom to leave Islam with out earthly repercussion from devout Muslims.
Unfortunately his approach will take 30 generations and America will long since have fallen to islam by then.
Or best chance to survive is top end immigration and begin repatriation of all Muslims and French ..
Apologists' notions of a tolerant, multi-cultural, pluralistic Islam crumbles to dust upon careful examination of Islamic texts as well as an honest, unrefined, politically-incorrect look at its history.
Intolerance of other religions was a staple of Muhammad's prophecy, and this has been pointed out on numerous occasions, citing authoritative Muslim sources exclusively.
Having a complete understanding of the meaning of jihad in Islamic jurisprudence, I've moved on to studying its history, using the later years of Muhammad's life as well as the rule of the "Rightly Guided" caliphs as a starting point.
Right off the bat, we learn that after the prophet's death, several of the previously converted tribes of Arabia apostasized (rejected Islam). Abu Bakr then began a series of campaigns known as the Riddah Wars, which translates literally to Wars of Apostasy.
'No compulsion in religion' is a verse that is often used as a deflection against dozens upon dozens of other verses from several sources of Islamic doctrine that state otherwise. But if Bakr, the first of the Rightly Guided--ie. the Caliphs who served the prophet during his lifetime--felt the need to 'compel' these apostates to return to Islam or face the sword, why should it be any different today?
Bakr's letter to the apostate tribes:
I have learnt with regret that under the misguidance of the Devil you have apostatized from Islam, the true faith of God. I am sending to you a Muslim force consisting of the Muhajreen and the Ansar. I have instructed them not to launch the attack against you, without offering you lslam in the first instance. He who repents, re-enters the fold of Islam, desists from hostile activities against Islam, and does good deeds will be forgiven and granted amnesty. He who refuses to accept Islam, and persists in hostilities will be given no quarter. Force will be used against him, and it will not be possible for him to avert that Allah has ordained for him. Such persons will be put to sword, slaughtered, or burnt to death. Their women and children will be taken captive. Nothing short of allegiance to Islam will be accepted. If after considering this warning, any person seeks his refuge in Islam, such faith will stand him in good stead. But he who persists in his apostasy will never be able to humble God. I have instructed my envoys that they should read this message of mine in public gatherings. Calling the Azan will be regarded as an indication of the acceptance of Islam. If there is no Azan this will be taken to mean that the tribe persists in its apostasy. [LINK]
Was Bakr an extremist who twisted Qur'anic verse to justify evil? Why would a tolerant, pluralistic ideology feel the need to use force to bring apostates back into the fold? Apostates were put to the sword at Zafar, Naqra and Yamamah in 632 CE., as well as Bahrain, Oman, Mahrah Yemen, and Hadramaut the following year.
11/9/05
International Religious Freedom Report 2005: Iran
Released by US State Department, The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
There was no substantive change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the reporting period. Members of the country's religious minorities--including Sunni and Sufi Muslims, Baha'is, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians--reported imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on their religious beliefs. Government actions created a threatening atmosphere for some religious minorities, especially Baha'is, Jews, and evangelical Christians.
The U.S. Government makes clear its objections to the Government's treatment of religious minorities through public statements, support for relevant U.N. and nongovernmental organization (NGO) efforts, as well as diplomatic initiatives among all states concerned about religious freedom in the country. Since 1999, the Secretary of State has designated Iran as a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act for its particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
In December 2003, the U.N. General Assembly passed Resolution 58/195 on the human rights situation in the country that expressed serious concern about the continued discrimination against religious minorities by the Government. In the fall of 2004, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the human rights situation in Iran.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has an area of approximately631,660 square miles, and its population is an estimated 69 million. The population is approximately 97 percent Muslim, of which an estimated 89 percent are Shi'a and 8 percent are Sunni, mostly Turkmen, Arabs, Baluchs, and Kurds living in the southwest, southeast, and northwest. Sufi Brotherhoods are popular, but there are no reliable figures available regarding the size of the Sufi population.
According to the country's most recent official national census, taken in 1996, there were an estimated 59.8 million Muslims, 30,000 Zoroastrians, 79,000 Christians, and 13,000 Jews, with 28,000 "others" and 47,000 "not stated."
Baha'is, Jews, Christians, Mandaeans, and Zoroastrians constitute less than 1 percent of the population combined. The largest non-Muslim minority is the Baha'i community, which has an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 adherents throughout the country. Credible estimates on the size of the Jewish community vary from 20,000 to 30,000. This figure represents a substantial reduction from the estimated 75,000 to 80,000 Jews who resided in the country prior to the 1979 Islamic revolution. According to U.N. figures, there are approximately 300,000 Christians, the majority of whom are ethnic Armenians. Unofficial estimates indicate an Assyrian Christian population of approximately 10,000. There also are Protestant denominations, including evangelical churches. The U.N. Special Representative reported that Christians are emigrating at an estimated rate of 15,000 to 20,000 per year. The Mandaeans, a community whose religion draws on pre-Christian gnostic beliefs, number approximately 5,000 to 10,000 persons, with members residing primarily in Khuzestan in the southwest.
The Government estimates the Zoroastrian community at approximately 30,000 to 35,000 adherents; however, Zoroastrian groups cite an estimated 60,000 adherents. Zoroastrians mainly are ethnic Persians concentrated in the cities of Tehran, Kerman, and Yazd. Zoroastrianism was the official religion of the pre-Islamic Sassanid Empire and thus played a central role in the country's history.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The Government restricts freedom of religion. The Constitution declares the "official religion of Iran is Islam and the doctrine followed is that of Ja'fari (Twelver) Shi'ism." All laws and regulations must be consistent with the official interpretation of the Shari'a (Islamic law). The Constitution states that "within the limits of the law," Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians are the only recognized religious minorities who are guaranteed freedom to practice their religion; however, members of these recognized minority religious groups have reported imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on their religious beliefs. Adherents of religions not recognized by the Constitution do not enjoy freedom to practice their beliefs. This restriction seriously affects adherents of the Baha'i Faith, which the Government regards as a heretical Islamic group with a political orientation that is antagonistic to the country's Islamic revolution. However, Baha'is view themselves not as Muslims, but as an independent religion with origins in the Shi'a Islamic tradition. Government officials have stated that, as individuals, all Baha'is are entitled to their beliefs and are protected under the articles of the Constitution as citizens; however, the Government has continued to prohibit Baha'is from teaching and practicing their faith.
The tricameral government structure is ruled over by a supreme religious jurisconsult, or "Supreme Leader." This Supreme Leader, chosen by a group of 83 Islamic scholars, oversees the State's decision-making process. All acts of the Majlis (legislative body or parliament) must be reviewed for conformity with Islamic law and the Constitution by the Council of Guardians, which is composed of six clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader, as well as six Muslim jurists (legal scholars) nominated by the Head of the Judiciary and approved by the Majlis.
The Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance (Ershad) and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) monitor religious activity closely. Adherents of recognized religious minorities are not required to register individually with the Government; however, their communal, religious, and cultural events and organizations, including schools, are monitored closely. Registration of Baha'is is a police function. The Government has pressured evangelical Christian groups to compile and submit membership lists for their congregations, but evangelicals have resisted this demand. Non-Muslim owners of grocery shops are required to indicate their religious affiliation on the fronts of their shops.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
By law and practice, religious minorities are not allowed to be elected to a representative body or to hold senior government or military positions; however, 5 of a total 270 seats in the Majlis are reserved for religious minorities. Three of these seats are reserved for members of the Christian faith, two seats for the country's Armenian Christians, and one for Assyrians and Chaldeans. There is also one seat for a member of the Jewish faith, and one for a member of the Zoroastrian faith. While members of the Sunni Muslim minority do not have reserved seats in the Majlis, they are allowed to serve in the body. Members of religious minorities, including Sunni Muslims, are allowed to vote. All of Iran's minority religions, including Sunni Muslims, are barred from being elected President.
All religious minorities suffer varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment, education, and housing. The Government does not protect the right of citizens to change or renounce their religious faith. Apostasy, specifically conversion from Islam, may be punishable by death; however, there were no reported cases of the death penalty being applied for apostasy during the reporting period.
Members of religious minorities, excluding Sunni Muslims, are prevented from serving in the judiciary and security services and from becoming public school principals. Applicants for public sector employment are screened for their adherence to and knowledge of Islam. Government workers who do not observe Islam's principles and rules are subject to penalties. The Constitution states that the country's army must be Islamic and must recruit individuals who are committed to the objectives of the Islamic revolution; however, in practice no religious minorities are exempt from military service. http://www.payvand.com/news/05/nov/1072.html
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