Although our primary focus on this site is addressing the misconception of Qirāʾāh bil Maʿnā (QBM) and the Divine Permission Model, we encountered a serious accusation in an article by the American preacher Yasir Qadhi against Al-Qādī Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī. While this allegation is somewhat tangential, it is still relevant to our subject, and thus, we decided to briefly mention and respond to it for the benefit of our readers.
Before doing so, Qadhi comments on the variations between the Uthmanic manuscripts:
In the opinion of the author of this article, it is problematic to use the word ‘error’ or ‘mistake’, since describing these differences as ‘mistakes’ directly contradicts the explicit prohibition mentioned in the very hadith of the ahruf, such as ‘Do not argue over the Qur’an…’ and ‘All of them are pure and whole…’and other such phrases. In fact, interestingly, this sentiment of problematizing such differences and considering them mistakes was precisely the mindset of the new converts during the wars of ‘Uthmān’s time who almost excommunicated each other because of their differences. When one understands the Divine Permission model, these differences are perfect and trivial examples of it, and hence allowed by the hadiths of the ahruf. Thus, in the opinion of this author they are not and should not be characterized as ‘mistakes’ or ‘errors’. Notice as well, the precise wording that ibn al-‘Arabi uses to describes these differences. It is of course not impossible that these variations were intentional; if one holds this view, this point can be excluded from the fifteen concerns listed.[1]
From Qadhi’s words, it can be understood that these variations were not intentional, yet they should not be described as errors. In his view, the “divine permission” encompasses mistakes and forgetfulness, not merely individual ijtihād.
Qadhi explains:
Ibn al-‘Arabi writes, “During the course of transcribing [the ‘Uthmānic] mushafs, the mushafs differed in some letters, perhaps four or five, and then this issue increased until the reciters differed in over forty letters, including the wāw, the alif, and the yā. As for an entire word, this only occurred twice, once in [Surah] al-Tawbah, and the other in [Surah] al-Hadid… and this is a trivial matter which neither affects the religion nor faults the concept of the preservation of the Qur’ān (wa hādhā amr yasīr lā yu’athir fì al-dīn wa lā yahuttu min hifz al-Qur’ān)”. See: Ibn al-‘Arabī, al-Awāsim min al-Qawāsim, p. 358-9. It is clear that ibn al-‘Arabi is ascribing the origin of these differences to the scribes and hence feels the need to state that this does not affect the concept of Divine preservation – this caveat is only needed, and such a reconciliation can only happen, if one believes in the Divine Permission model, which, as we quoted above, ibn al-‘Arabī does.[2]
However, Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī also stated the following at the end of his commentary on Surat Al-Tawbah:
وهذه المصاحف إنما كانت تذكر لئلا يضيع القرآن، فأما القراءة فإنما أخذت بالرواية لا من المصاحف، إما إنهم كانوا إذا اختلفوا رجعوا إليها فما كان فيها عولوا عليه، ولذلك اختلفت المصاحف بالزيادة والنقصان، فإن الصحابة أثبتت ذلك في بعض المصاحف، وأسقطته في البعض، ليحفظ القرآن على الأمة، وتجتمع أشتات الرواية، ويتبين وجه الرخصة والتوسعة، فانتهت الزيادة والنقصان أربعين حرفًا في هذه المصاحف.
“These manuscripts were mentioned only to prevent the Qurʾān from being lost. However, the recitation was taken from oral transmission, not from the manuscripts. If there were disagreements, they would refer to these manuscripts and rely upon whatever was found in them. This is why the manuscripts varied in terms of additions and omissions. The Sahabah recorded certain parts in some manuscripts and omitted them in others to preserve the Qurʾān for the ummah, unify the scattered narrations, and clarify the concessions and ease. These additions and omissions amounted to forty letters across these manuscripts.”[3]
This statement directly contradicts the conclusion drawn by Yasir Qadhi. Moreover, when we return to the earlier text from Al-ʿAwāṣim, we observe no explicit reference to these differences being errors in the first place.
Allah, the Exalted, knows best, and may peace and blessings be upon His Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
Sources:
- Ibn al-ʿArabī, Abū Bakr. Aḥkām al-Qurʾān. Beirut: al-Maktaba al-ʿAṣriyya.
- Qadhi, Yasir. “An Alternative Opinion on the Reality of the ‘Seven Ahruf’ and Its Relationship with the Qira’at.” History of the Quran – Approaches and Explorations, edited by F. Redhwan Karim. Kube Publishing, 2024