Some proponents of the theory of the Divine Permission Model or Qirāʾah bil Maʿna (or QBM) hold onto a recitation attributed to certain Sahabah, specifically their rendition of the verse as: “Indeed, the tree of Zaqqūm is the food of the evildoer (al-fājir).” This is a brief response to this misconception.
Abū al-Dardāʾ and the Alternative Recitation:
This hadith has been transmitted through reliable chains, yet there are minor variations that should not be overlooked:
1. Saʿīd bin Manṣūr narrated from Ibrāhīm: Abū al-Dardāʾ was teaching a non-Arab man, and when he recited the verse, “Indeed, the tree of Zaqqūm is the food of the sinner (al-athīm)” (طَعَامُ الْأَثِيمِ), the man struggled with the pronunciation of “al-athīm” (الأثيم) and instead said “orphan (al-yatīm)” (اليتيم). Abū al-Dardāʾ then said: “It is the food of the evildoer (al-fājir)” (طعام الفاجر).[1]
2. It was also narrated from Hammām: Abū al-Dardāʾ was teaching a man, but the man kept saying “the food of the orphan (al-yatīm)” (طعام اليتيم) instead of “the food of the sinner (al-athīm)” (طعام الأثيم). When Abū al-Dardāʾ realized the man could not grasp it, he said: “It is the food of the evildoer (al-fājir).”[2]
3. Al-Ṭabarī narrated from Hammām that Abū al-Dardāʾ was teaching a man the same verse, and when the man repeatedly said “the food of the orphan (al-yatīm)” instead of “the food of the sinner (al-athīm),” Abū al-Dardāʾ said: “It is the food of the evildoer (al-fājir).”[3]
4. Another narration from Hammām states that Abū al-Dardāʾ, after hearing the man’s repeated mistake, told him to say: “Indeed, the tree of Zaqqūm is the food of the evildoer.”[4]
5. Al-Ḥākim also narrated from Hammām: A man recited in front of Abū al-Dardāʾ, saying “the food of the orphan” instead of “the food of the sinner.” Abū al-Dardāʾ corrected him, instructing him to say: “the food of the evildoer.”[5]
The first three reports and the last two demonstrate significant differences. In the first three, Abū al-Dardāʾ is seen saying, “the food of the evildoer” (طعام الفاجر), which appears to be an explanation on his part. However, in the last two reports, Abū al-Dardāʾ explicitly commands the man, saying, “Say: the food of the evildoer.” Thus, the first three reports cannot be used to claim that Abū al-Dardāʾ was teaching a different word entirely.
As for the authenticity of the reports, all are considered sound, except for the first report narrated by Ibrāhīm, which is considered weak due to a double gap in the chain of transmission. Saʿīd bin Manṣūr narrates the ḥadīth from al-Mughīrah, who heard it from Ibrāhīm. However, Saʿīd never met al-Mughīrah, and Ibrāhīm himself did not hear this report from Abū al-Dardāʾ, as indicated by the other narrations. The editors[6] attribute this discontinuity to scribal errors.[7] Nonetheless, this report is not problematic, as it largely aligns with the second report mentioned by Saʿīd bin Manṣūr. Most importantly, the first report comes through the chain of al-Mughīrah from Shuʿbah, while the other narrations come through the chain of al-Aʿmash from Ibrāhīm, providing a strong corroboration for the second report.
Considering this, it remains difficult to determine which group of narrations contains the exact wording. However, this uncertainty weakens the argument that this narration serves as evidence of Abū al-Dardāʾ altering a recitation.
The Motivation Behind Using Synonyms:
If we assume the second wording of the narration is correct and that Abū al-Dardāʾ instructed the non-Arab to use a synonym, it is natural to question Abū al-Dardāʾ’s motivation behind this.
The second group of narrations does not provide any reasons, whereas the first group offers context for this narration: the man was not Arab and was unable to pronounce “the food of the sinner (al-athīm)” (طعام الأثيم) due to his dialect.
Abū Bakr al-Anbārī (d. 328 AH) comments on a similar narration mentioning ʿAbdullah bin Masʿūd[8] instead of Abū al-Dardāʾ: “There is no proof in this for the ignorant among those who deviate, that it is permissible to replace a letter from the Qurʾān with another. This was done by ʿAbdullah merely to accommodate the learner, prepare him to return to the correct pronunciation, use the truth, and articulate the wording as it was revealed by Allah and narrated by His Messenger (peace be upon him).”[9]
This suggests that Abū al-Dardāʾ’s intention may have been to facilitate understanding for the learner, allowing him to grasp the meaning before guiding him back to the accurate recitation.
It is also possible that Abū al-Dardāʾ chose to have the man read “the food of the evildoer (al-fājir)” (طعام الفاجر) simply because the man was unable to pronounce “the food of the sinner (al-athīm)” (طعام الأثيم). Using the term al-fājir for al-athīm is more in harmony with the context of the Qurʾān than the man’s reading of “the food of the orphan (al-yatīm)” (طعام اليتيم), which implies the orphans would enter the Hellfire.
Additionally, it is plausible that the reading “the food of the evildoer (al-fājir)” was indeed an revealed variant that was taught by the Prophet peace be upon him. This was the viewpoint supported by al-Bāqillānī.[10]
Methodology of Abū al-Dardāʾ:
When Abū al-Dardāʾ was in Syria, the locals attempted to correct his recitation by asking him to read: “And He created the male and the female” (وَمَا خَلَقَ الذَّكَرَ وَالأُنثَى) [Al-Layl: 3] instead of “the male and the female” (والذكر والأنثى). However, Abū al-Dardāʾ did not abandon the manner he was accustomed to reading. He did not inform the people of Syria that the meanings of the two recitations were similar. On the contrary, he remained steadfast in his position, stating, “These people kept at it until they nearly caused me to doubt, for I heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).”[11] This reflects his commitment to his recitation of the Qurʾān being down to the letter.
Abū al-Dardāʾ memorized the entire Qur’an during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and taught 1,600 individuals to read the Qurʾān in Damascus alone.[12] He assigned ten of his students to teach another ten each, and when one of these ten mastered the recitation, they would advance to learn directly from Abū al-Dardāʾ. In Damascus, we do not find students reading “the food of the evildoer (al-fājir)” (طعام الفاجر) instead of “the food of the sinner (al-athīm)” (طعام الأثيم). The only instance we find is a narration involving a non-Arab who could not read in Arabic.
Abū al-Dardāʾ was also very meticulous about narrating from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). If he were uncertain about the exact wording, he would say, “or something like it” at the end of the narration, out of fear of attributing something to the Prophet that he did not say.[13] How, then, can he be accused of replacing the words of the Qurʾān?
References:
– Al-Bāqillānī, Al-Intiṣār. Amman: Dar al-Fatḥ, 1422 AH.
– Al-Bukhārī, Muḥammad bin Ismāʿīl. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Riyadh: Dār al-Salām, 1419 AH.
– Al-Nīsābūrī, al-Ḥākim. Al-Mustadrak ʿalā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn. Beirut: Al-Maktabah al-ʿAṣriyyah, 2006.
– Al-Qurtubī, Abu ʿAbdillah. Aḥkām al-Qurʾān. Cairo: Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyyah, 1384 AH.
– Al-Ṭabarī, Muḥammad bin Jarīr. Jāmiʿ al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1412 AH.
– Ibn ʿAsākir, ‘Alī ibn al-Ḥasan. Tārīkh Dimashq. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 2012.
– Ibn Manṣūr, Saʿīd. Sunan Saʿīd bin Manṣūr. Riyadh: Dār al-Alūkah, 1433 AH.
- Ibn Manṣūr, 7/326. ↑
- Ibid. ↑
- Al-Ṭabarī, 11/243. ↑
- Ibid. ↑
- Al-Nīsābūrī, 4/1380-1381. ↑
- Supervisors: Dr. Saʿd al-Ḥamīd and Dr. Khālid al-Juraysī. ↑
- Ibn Manṣūr, 7/326. ↑
- The narration mentioned by al-Anbārī is largely identical to Abū al-Dardāʾ’s previous narration, although there is a gap as Ibn ʿAwn did not hear from Ibn Masʿūd. The similarity between the two narrations suggests they refer to the same incident, thus establishing Abū al-Dardāʾ’s account as the more reliable one. ↑
- Al-Qurtubī, 16/149. ↑
- Al-Bāqillānī, 1/383. ↑
- Al-Bukhārī, (6278). ↑
- Ibn ʿAsākir, 1/223. ↑
- Ibid. 25/505-506. ↑