Later Corruption of the Text of the Qur'an?

The text we have today is not even Uthman's Revised Version of the Qur'an, but it incorporates changes by Al-Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf Al-Thakafi.

Al-Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf Al-Thakafi, who lived in the years A.D. 660-714, was a teacher of Arabic language in the city of Taif. Then he joined the military and became the most powerful person during the reign of Caliph Abd al-Malik Ibn Marawan and after him his son Al-Waleed Ibn Abd al-Malik. Because Al-Hajjaj taught Arabic, he gave himself the liberty to change several words of Caliph Uthman's Koran, which is an indication that he did not believe that the Koran was verbally inspired or was inscribed in a "tablet preserved."

We will mention but a few of the words Al-Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf Al-Thakafi changed:

(1) In Surat Yunus 10:22, he changed the word yanshorokom, which means "spread you," to yousayerokom, which means "makes you to go on."

(2) In Surat Ash-Shuara 26:116, he changed the word Al-Mukhrageen, which means "the cast out," to Al-Margoomeen, which means "those who are to be stoned [to death]."

(3) In Surat Ash-Shuara 26:167, he changed the word Min Al-Margoomeen, which means "those who are to be stoned to death," to Al-Mukhrageen, which means "those who will assuredly be cast out."

(4) In Surat Muhammad 47:15, he changed the word yasen, which is poor Arabic to Asen, which means "unpolluted."

(5) In Surat Al-Hadid 57:7, he changed the word wataqu, which means "feared Allah," to Wa-anfaqu, which means "spend in charity."

The above is excerpted from chapter 8 of the book Islam, Muhammad and the Koran.

Actually, according to Ibn Abi Dawud, Al-Hajjaj changed 11 verses of the Qur'an, available here in Arabic script.

More on al-Hajjaj


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