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Qur’an Preservation Efforts During the Prophet’s Lifetime

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Waqar Akbar Cheema

Abstract

One very important question that is raised when it comes to the Noble Qur’an is: how well was it preserved? This is not just important to the enemies of Islam – who seek to disprove its beautiful message – but this is very significant to Muslims as well. If Islam is your religion, then you should want to know how your Divine Message was maintained throughout the years because you want to know if what you are reading is actually the words of Allah- your Lord. Moreover, there are some claims that the Qur’an was compiled many years after the life of the Prophet, but this is a misconception that will be cleared to show that not only was it compiled during the lifetime of the Prophet, but it was done with his supervision. This article will cover some of the concerns that have been raised when it comes to the preservation of the Message, and it will prove – without a doubt – that the Qur’an is indeed the exact words of Allah, unchanged throughout the years.

1- Introduction

Some have spoken against the Qur’an in their bid to create confusion about its impeccable preservation. Here we briefly study the process of the Qur’an’s preservation and compilation during the lifetime of the blessed Prophet – may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

2- Memorization: The Primary Means of the Qur’an’s Preservation

One thing that ought to be kept in mind regarding the preservation of the Qur’an is that it was done more through memory than through writing. There was and is great wisdom in this. We see that in the case of earlier prophets whose teachings were not committed to memory were lost. Sometimes the invaders destroyed the manuscripts and sometimes the scribes intentionally or unintentionally made mistakes. So to avoid the same happening to the Qur’an, more emphasis was laid on its memorization although it was put into writing as well.

Therefore we read in Sahih Muslim that Allah Almighty said to the blessed Prophet:

وأنزلت عليك كتابا لا يغسله الماء

“I have revealed to you a Book that cannot be washed away with water.”[1]

This meant that the Qur’an will not be preserved only on scrolls but through some other medium as well. Right from the start, Muslims gave special attention to memorizing the Qur’an so not only the blessed Prophet himself but scores of his Companions learned the complete Qur’an by heart. They include Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ood, Talhah, Sa‘d, Hudhayfah, Ubayy bin Ka‘b, ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas, ‘Abdullah bin Zubayr, ‘Abdullah bin Say’b, Zaid bin Thabit, Abu Hurayrah, Abu ad-Darda, Mu‘adh bin Jabal, Anas bin Malik, Abu Moosa al-‘Ashari, Mu’awiyyah, Sayyidah ‘Aishah, Sayyidah Umm Salmah, Sayyidah Hafsah and many more.[2]

3- Preservation in writing during the life of the blessed Prophet

Nevertheless, Qur’an was also written down and this was done right during the lifetime of the blessed Prophet. All the later compilations of the Qur’an were based on what was dictated by the blessed Prophet himself. We shall see the details shortly.

The Qur’an repeatedly calls itself “al-kitab” i.e. something written. In fact it is so called right in the beginning of the scripture.

ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

“This is the Book (al-kitab) about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah.”[3]

“The Qur’an thus at its very beginning declares itself to be a written, not an oral, Revelation, passing only from mouth to mouth for generations. It is ‘Book’ essentially, and not by accident.”[4]

3.1 In Makkah before emigration

The Qur’an was preserved in writing right from the beginning. Khalid bin Sa’eed was one of the first few people who embraced Islam and was the first scribe of the Prophet.[5]

His daughter Umm Khalid relates:

أبي أول من كتب بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

“My father was the first one to write ‘Bismillahi ar-Rahman ar-Raheem.’”[6]

Also we know the incident of conversion of ‘Umar. He came out to go to the Prophet with an evil design. On his way he met Nu‘aym bin ‘Abdullah who warned him against any misadventure and to divert his attention asked him to take care of his own sister and brother-in-law who had embraced Islam.

فرجع عمر عائدا إلى أخته فاطمة، وعندها خباب بن الأرت معه صحيفة فيها ” طه ” يقرئها إياها.

“‘Umar then returned to his sister Fatima where Khabbab b. al-Aratt was; he had with him a manuscript of surat Taha that he was reading to her.”[7]

Other reports tell us that the manuscript also had Surah at-Takweer.[8]

All that was revealed in Makkah was put into written record even though Muslims were collectively under pressure. Ibn ‘Abbas stated:

إذا نزلت فاتحة سورة بمكة فكتبت بمكة

“When the beginning of a surah was revealed in Makkah it was written in Makkah.”[9]

In fact there is categorical proof that whatever was revealed before Hijrah (Emigration to Medina) was put into writing.

Quoting from az-Zubayr bin Bakkar’s Akhbar al-Madina Ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani (d. 852 AH) records the following statement reported by ‘Umar bin Hanzala;

وأنّ رافع بن مالك لما لقي رسول اللَّه صلّى اللَّه عليه وآله وسلّم بالعقبة أعطاه ما أنزل عليه في العشر سنين التي خلت، فقدم به رافع المدينة، ثم جمع قومه فقرأ عليهم في موضعه

“When Rafi’ bin Malik met the Messenger of Allah –may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- at al-‘Aqabah, he handed him whatever was revealed in the previous decade. Rafi’ took the same to Madinah, gathered them in their place and recited it to them.”[10]

It must be noted that if this was all possible in a city where the whole mission was rather secretive and Muslims were being suppressed and oppressed how much more would have been done later in Madina where Muslims were free and sovereign.

With this fact recorded, one can see how absurd is Jeffery’s assertion that, “That certain of these amanuenses were at times called upon to write out special pieces of revelation is not at all impossible.”[11]

If all the verses revealed in entire decade were put to written record how can then one justify the statement that scribes were called “at times” and that too only to write “special pieces” of revelation?

Besides everything else the Jeffery’s expression here is noteworthy. The pseudo-emphasis in the phrase “not at all impossible” is actually not even a hesitant acceptance of the well recorded fact. This is indeed a ‘wonderful’ way to avoid making a positive statement even when it is imperative. Later Orientalists especially Watt championed this deliberate and cunningly meaningful expression.

3.2 After emigration to Madina

When the Prophet migrated to Madina and established a city state, special arrangements were made for writing the Qur’an as and when some part was revealed.

In Madina, it appears from different reports; initially the responsibility was mainly on the emigrants (muhajirin). At-Tabari (d. 310 AH) reports.

على بن ابى طالب و عثمان بن عفان، كانا يكتبان الوحي، فإن غابا كتبه أبي بن كعب وزيد بن ثابت

“‘Ali bin Abi Talib and ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan used to write the revelations. And if they were both absent Ubayy bin Ka’b and Zaid bin Thabit used to write it.”[12]

Among the Ansar (the Helpers) at Madina, Ubayy was the first scribe of the Prophet.[13]

The blessed Prophet had more than 40 Companions who usually worked as scribes. The names of these Companions have been mentioned in various authentic works.[14]

The arrangement was so special that a person was supposed to replace any of the regular scribes in his absence. al-Jahshari (d. 331 AH) writes;

و كان حنظلة بن الربيع خليفة كل كاتب من كتاب النبى إذا غاب عن عمله

“Hanzala bin Rabi’ was the successor of every scribe of the Prophet when he was not available to write.”[15]

In defiance to these clear historical proofs A. Jeffery said, “It is difficult to take seriously, however, the theory that considers them as a body of prepared scribes waiting to take down revelations as they were uttered.”[16]

While no one claims that some people were always having writing material in their hands, yet the idea of having someone nominated as ready replacement of an absent scribe does show that it was indeed no casual an arrangement even if not a body of “prepared scribes” – whatever that means.

After the initial years in Madinah Zaid bin Thabit seems to have gradually risen to the status of the primary scribe of the Prophet. He lived in the neighborhood of the Prophet and was called for whenever a revelation came. He himself reported:

كنت جار رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فكان إذا نزل الوحي أرسل إلي فكتبت الوحي

“I was the neighbor of the Messenger of Allah. Whenever a revelation came down he called for me and I wrote it down.”[17]

3.2.1 The Prophet dictated and checked for possible scribal errors

How the Qur’an was written and how it was checked by the Prophet is evident from the following example:

عن زيد بن ثابت قال: كنت أكتب الوحي لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وكان إذا نزل عليه أخذته برحاء شديدة، وعرق عرقا شديدا مثل الجمان، ثم سري عنه ، فكنت أدخل عليه بقطعة الكتف أو كسرة، فأكتب وهو يملي علي، فما أفرغ حتى تكاد رجلي تنكسر من ثقل القرآن، وحتى أقول: لا أمشي على رجلي أبدا، فإذا فرغت قال: «اقرأه» ، فأقرؤه، فإن كان فيه سقط أقامه، ثم أخرج به إلى الناس

Zaid bin Thabit, one of the chief scribes, relates: “I used to write down the revelation for the blessed Prophet – may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. When the revelation came to him he felt intense heat and drops of perspiration used to roll down his body like pearls. When this state was over I used to fetch a shoulder bone or a piece of something else. He used to go on dictating and I used to write it down. When I finished writing the sheer weight of transcription gave me the feeling that my leg would break and I would not be able to walk anymore. Anyhow when I finished writing, he would say, ‘Read!’ and I would read it back to him. If there was an omission or error he used to correct it and then let it be brought before the people.[18]

This is a categorical proof that Companions used to write Qur’an in the supervision of the blessed Prophet and got it checked from him before making it public.

Making a revelation public also deserves to be highlighted because this ensured people immediately memorized and recorded it in their personal masahif.

Zaid was not the only one to be dictated by the Prophet. In a narration about Qur’an compilation efforts during the time of Uthman we read;

وكان الرجل يجيء بالورقة والأديم فيه القرآن، حتى جمع من ذلك كثرة، ثم دخل عثمان فدعاهم رجلا رجلا فناشدهم لسمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو أملاه عليك؟ فيقول: نعم

“One would come with a parchment or a scrap of leather with a Qur’an verse on it until there was gathered great store of such.’Uthman adjured them one by one, ‘You heard the Prophet recite this while he dictated it to you?’ They would answer that that was so.”[19]

This shows the Prophet personally dictated so much that a “great store” was gathered and that people to whom he dictated were not few.

It is pertinent to mention here that above translation of the narration is by John Burton[20] with the significant difference that he left out the most important phrase underlined above. While the words Burton did not translate are there on the very page of A. Jeffery’s edition of Kitab al-Masahif[21] that he referred to[22], it is difficult to accept it as an honest mistake.

3.2.2 Qur’an writing and compilation sessions

There is evidence that it was not only individually that people wrote the Qur’an in front of the Prophet rather there used to be sessions in which rather large number of people copied and compiled the Qur’anic text in his presence..

عن ابن عباس قال: ” كانت المصاحف لا تباع، كان الرجل يأتي بورقة عند النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فيقوم الرجل فيحتسب فيكتب، ثم يقوم آخر فيكتب حتى يفرغ من المصحف “

Ibn ‘Abbas stated: “The masahif were not sold. A person would come to the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with a parchment and someone would stand and write it for him voluntarily. Then another person would stand up and write until the mushaf was complete.”[23]

In another report we read;

عن زيد بن ثابت، قال: كنا عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نؤلف القرآن من الرقاع

Zaid bin Thabit said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah collecting the Qur’an on pieces of cloth.”[24]

Mark the plural pronouns here. This shows multiple people used to sit in the company of the Prophet and compile the Qur’anic verses on parchments.

Moreover, this tells us that not only were the verses written as and when revealed; they were also compiled in their specified order with the instructions of the Prophet. al-Bayhaqi writes;

وإنما أراد تأليف ما نزل من الآيات المتفرقة، في سورتها وجمعها فيها بإشارة من النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم

“What is meant is the compilation and collection of different revealed verses into surahs according to the instruction of the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.”[25]

3.2.2 The Prophet’s encouragement for writing the Qur’an

The reason for large number of people sitting with the Prophet and compiling the Qur’anic verses (revealed up to that time) and making copies of the same voluntarily for others is that the Prophet encouraged the people to write the Qur’an and leave it after them for the next generations. Mark the following narration:

 عن أبي هريرة، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: إن مما يلحق المؤمن من عمله وحسناته بعد موته علما علمه ونشره، وولدا صالحا تركه، ومصحفا ورثه، أو مسجدا بناه، أو بيتا لابن السبيل بناه، أو نهرا أجراه، أو صدقة أخرجها من ماله في صحته وحياته، يلحقه من بعد موته

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘The rewards of the good deeds that will reach a believer after his death are: Knowledge which he taught and spread; a righteous son whom he leaves behind; a copy of the Qur’an that he leaves as a legacy; a mosque that he built; a house that he built for wayfarers; a canal that he dug; or charity that he gave during his lifetime when he was in good health. These deeds will reach him after his death.’”[26]

It is thus clear that blessed Prophet had the clear motive of not only having the complete Qur’an written but also to get the people make and acquire Qur’anic manuscripts and leave it behind them as heirlooms. Such an arrangement had to be made to see what is now achieved.

4. Qur’anic Masahif were well spread during the life of the Prophet

The efforts of the Prophet in getting the whole Qur’an written were greatly successful. Even though there was no official complete copy of the Qur’an yet many companions had varying sizes of personal masahif. In fact the masahif of the Qur’an had become so common in the time of the Prophet that he had to issue special instructions regarding them. For instance:

عن عبد الله بن عمر رضي الله عنهما: أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى أن يسافر بالقرآن إلى أرض العدو

Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar: “Allah’s Messenger forbade the people to travel to a hostile country carrying (copies of) the Quran.”[27]

Likewise, there is evidence for the manuscripts of the Qur’an in the instruction of the blessed Prophet to Hakim bin Hizam when he sent him to Yemen as a governor. He said:

لا تمس القرآن إلا وأنت طاهر

“Do not touch the Qur’an except when you are in the state of purity.”[28]

At one stage the Qur’anic manuscripts were so much widespread that Prophet warned people against laxity in memorizing and practicing upon it.

عن أبي أمامة رضي الله عنه يبلغ به النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال لا تغرنكم هذه المصاحف المعلقة إن الله تعالى لا يعذب قلبا وعى القرآن

Abu Umamah conveyed that the Prophet said: “Let these hanging masahif not delude you. Verily Allah does not punish the one who has memorized (and paid heed to) Qur’an.”[29]

Towards the end of Prophet’s life writing Qur’an had become so widespread that people wondered as how knowledge can be taken away from them while they have the masahif.

At the eve of the last sermon when the Messenger of Allah asked people to acquire knowledge “before it is taken away”, a Bedouin asked;

يا نبي الله، كيف يرفع العلم منا وبين أظهرنا المصاحف وقد تعلمنا ما فيها، وعلمنا نساءنا وذرارينا وخدمنا؟

“O Prophet of Allah! How knowledge can be taken away from us while masahif[30] are with us and we learn their contents and teach it to our women, children and servants?”[31]

Another observation to be made here is that it was a Bedouin who said “masahif are with us” showing that the practice of writing Qur’an had well spread even outside Madina and with people other than Muhajirin (Emigrants) and Ansar (Helpers) were also used to it.

5. Complete Qur’an was preserved without any loss whatsoever

All these arrangements and developments ensured the preservation of the complete Qur’an without any loss whatsoever. Fragmentary Qur’anic manuscripts prepared by various companions under the direct supervision of the blessed Prophet later formed the basis of the official masahif which in turn became the standard unanimously followed by the entire Muslim community. Here is the testimony of a close companion of the Prophet.

عن عبد العزيز بن رفيع، قال: دخلت أنا وشداد بن معقل، على ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما، فقال له شداد بن معقل: أترك النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من شيء؟ قال: «ما ترك إلا ما بين الدفتين» قال: ودخلنا على محمد ابن الحنفية، فسألناه، فقال: «ما ترك إلا ما بين الدفتين»

Narrated ‘Abdul-‘Azeez bin Rufai’: “Shaddad bin Ma’qil and I entered upon Ibn ‘Abbas. Shaddad bin Ma’qil asked him, ‘Did the Prophet leave anything (besides the Qur’an)?’ He replied, ‘He did not leave anything except what is between the two bindings (of the Qur’an).’ Then we visited Muhammad bin al-Hanafiyyah and asked him (the same question). He replied, ‘The Prophet did not leave except what is between the bindings (of the Qur’an).’”[32]

6- Claim that the Qur’an was not written completely during the Prophet’s time

Some claim that the Qur’an was not written in full during the lifetime of the blessed Prophet but this is false because the entire Qur’an was indeed written with the supervision of the blessed Prophet though it was not compiled into one collection. This is testified by the statement of Zaid bin Thabit, one of the chief scribes. He said:

قبض النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ولم يكن القرآن جمع في شيء

“The Prophet passed away while the Qur’an was yet not gathered in anything.”[33]

Clearly the word used here is jumi‘a which means ‘gathered’ and not ‘written.’ The wisdom behind the fact that Qur’an was completely written but not compiled at one place during the life of the blessed Prophet is explained by al-Khattabi (d. 338 AH). He said:

إنما لم يجمع القرآن في المصحف لما كان يترقبه من ورود ناسخ لبعض أحكامه أو تلاوته فلما انقضى نزوله بوفاته ألهم الله الخلفاء الراشدين ذلك وفاء بوعده الصادق بضمان حفظه على هذه الأمة فكان ابتداء ذلك على يد الصديق بمشورة عمر

“The Messenger of Allah – may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him – did not gather the Qur’an in a mushaf because he had to wait if there was some abrogation of some commands or recitation but when he died and the revelation ceased (and thus abrogation as well); Allah, to fulfill his True Commitment of preservation (of Qur’an) for this Ummah, put this thought into the hearts of the Righteous Caliphs. Then this great task was undertaken by Abu Bakr on the advice of ‘Umar.”[34]

Truly, this should conclusively prove that the Qur’an was preserved and compiled during the lifetime of the blessed Prophet – upon him is the peace and blessings of Almighty Allah.
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References & Notes


[1]Muslim bin Hajjaj, as-Sahih, Translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Riyadh: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, 2007) Hadith 7207

[2] Names of these and other Companions who had rendered complete Qur’an to their memory can be found in an-Nashr fil Qira’at al-‘Ashr of al-Jazri and al-Ittiqan fi ‘Uloom al-Qur’an of Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti.

[3] Qur’an 2:2

[4] Daryabadi, Abdul Majid, Tafsir-ul-Quran- Translation and Commentary of the Holy Qur’an, (Lucknow: Academy of Islamic Research and Publications, 2007) Vol.1, p.7 n.30

[5] al-Ansari, Jamal ad-Deen Ibn Hadidah, Misbah alMudi fi Kuttab an-Nabi alUmmi, (Beirut: ‘Alam al-Kutab, n.d.) Vol.1, 90

[6] as-Sajistani, Ibn Abi Dawud, al-Ba’th wal Nushur,  (Cairo: Maktaba al-Turath al-Islami, 1406 AH) Narration 10

[7] Ibn Kathir, Abul-Fida ‘Imad ad-Deen, al-Sira al-Nabawiyya – The Life of the Prophet Muhammad, Translated by Prof. Trevor Le Gassick, (Reading: Garnet Publishing, 2006)Vol.2, 21

[8] as-Suhayli, Abul Qasim ‘Abdur-Rahman, Rawd al-Unuf fi Sharh Seerat al-Nabawiyya li-Ibn Hisham, (Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi, 2000) Vol3, 167

[9] Ibn ad-Durays, Fada’il al-Qur’an, (Damascus: Dar al-Fekr, 1987) 33

[10] al-‘Asqalani, Ibn Hajr, al-Isabah fi Tamayyiz as-Sahabah, (Beirut: Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyyah, 1415 AH) Vol.2, 370

[11] Jeffery, Arthur, Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur’an, (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1937) 6 n.1 [Emphasis Mine]

[12] at-Tabari, Abu Ja’far Ibn Jareer, Tarikh al-Rusul wal Malook, (Beirut: Dar al-Turath, 1367 AH) Vol.6, 179

[13] Ibn Sayyid an-Nas, ‘Uyun al-Athar, (Beirut: Dar al-Qalam, 1993) Vol.2, 382

[14] Muhammad Mustafa al-A’zmi’s book Kuttaab an-Nabi is comprehensive work on the subject. In it he has given good deal of information about 48 scribes of the blessed Prophet – may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all.

[15] al-Jahshari,  Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad, al-Wuzara wal Kuttaab,  (Baghdad: Maktaba al-‘Arabiyya, n.d.) 9

[16] Jeffery, Arthur, Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur’an, 6 n.1

[17] as-Sajistani, Ibn Abi Dawud, al-Masahif, (Beirut: Dar al-Basha’ir al-Islamiyya, 2002) Hadith 5-6. Also see,

a)    Ibn Sa’d, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir – Translated by S. Moinul Haq (New Delhi: Kitab Bhavan, 2009) Vol.1, 428

b)    at-Tabarani, Abul-Qasim Suleman, Mu’jam al-Kabir, (Cairo: Maktaba Ibn Taymiyya, 1994) Hadith 4882.

al-Haithmi classified it as hasan (good)  in Majma’ al-Zawa’id (Hadith 14199)

[18] at-Tabarani, Mu’jam al-Awst,  (Dar al-Haramain, Cairo, 1415 AH) Hadith 1913; authenticated by al-Haithami in Majma’ az-Zawa’id, Hadith 13938

[19] as-Sajistani, Ibn Abi Dawud, al-Masahif, Hadith 82. Ibn Kathir classified it as sahih (sound) in Fada’il al-Qur’an, 84

[20] Burton, John, The Collection of the Qur’an, 145

[21] Jeffery, Arthur (editor), Kitab al-Masahif, 24

[22] Burton, John The Collection of the Qur’an, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010) 242, 254

[23] al-Bayhaqi, Abu Bakr, Sunan al-Kubra, (Beirut: Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyah, 2003) Vol.6, 27 Hadith 11065

[24] at-Tirmidhi, Abu ‘Eesa, al-Jami’, Translated by Abu Khaliyl, (Riyadh: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, 2007) Hadith 3954; classified as sahih (sound) by al-Albani

[25] al-Bayhaqi, Abu Bakr, Shu’b al-Iman, (Riyadh: Maktaba al-Rushd, 2003) Vol.1, 342

[26] Ibn Majah, Muhammad bin Yazid, as-Sunan, Translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Riyadh: Maktabat Dar-us-Salam, 2007) Hadith 242; classified as hasan (good) by al-Albani

[27] al-Bukhari, Muhammad bin Isma’il, as-Sahih, Translated by Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Riyadh: Maktabat Dar-us-Salam, 1997) Hadith 2990

[28] al-Hakim, Abu Abdullah, al-Mustadrak, (Beirut: Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyyah, 1990) Hadith 6051; al-Hakim classified it as sahih (sound) and adh-Dhahabi agreed with him

[29] at-Tirmidhi, Abu ‘Abdullah al-Hakeem, Nawadir al-Usool fi Ahadith al-Rasool, (Cairo: Maktaba Imam al-Bukhari, 2008) Hadith 1339

The same report is given by ad-Darimi but he traces its chain back only to Abu Umamah. See,

ad-Darimi, Abu Muhammad ‘Abdullah, al-Musnad, (Riyadh: Dar al-Mughni, 2000) Hadith 3362; classified as sahih (sound) by Hussain Saleem Asad.

[30] With ad-Darimi the report has the words “while the Book of Allah is with us.” See, Hadith 246; authenticated by Hussain Saleem Asad.

[31] Ahmad bin Hanbal, al-Musnad, (Cairo: Dar al-Hadith, 1995) Vol.16 Hadith 22191; classified as hasan (good) by Hamza Ahmad al-Zain

[32] al-Bukhari, as-Sahih, Hadith 5019

[33] al-‘Asqalani, Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari,  (Beirut: Dar al-Ma’rifah, 1379 AH) Vol.9, 12

[34] as-Suyuti, Jalal ad-Deen, al-Itiqan fil ‘Uloom al-Quran, (Egypt: Haeya al-Masriyah al-‘Aamah lil-Kitab, 1974) Vol.1, 202

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Waqar Akbar Cheema

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