2 kuran ayeti-aisah y. musa

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Controversies over 9:128/129

Copyright (c) 1995

Aisha Y. Musa

All Rights Reserved

The history of the text the Qur'an shows that verses found at the endof Surat al-Tawba (9:128/129) are distinguished from other verses inthe Qur'an by the number and variety of conflicting reports regardingtheir collection and placement in the text.

These reports are related by such well-respected and widelyaccepted scholars as al-Bukhari and Jalal al-Din alSuyuti, among

others. The verses are unique in two important respects. These areclassical orthodox Muslim sources, not the works of heterodox, or heretical sects.

Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Bukhari (d. 256 AH/870 CE) is famousas a collector of hadiths, or traditions of Muhammad. His mostfamous work al-Jami’ al-Sahih is considered by the majority of traditional Muslims to be the most authentic collection of prophetichadiths, and the most important book after the Qur’an.

Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 1509 CE) was renown as a scholar in avariety of disciplines who wrote many important works. The onewhich concerns us here is his, al-Itqan fi `Ulumil-Qur’an, one themost extensive works ever written on the various fields of Qur’anicStudies.

Here, we will examine the various reports found in these and other works, related to 9:128/129, and bring out some of the questionsthese reports raise about the collection of the text and the criteriaused to include, or exclude verses. We will consider some of theanswers suggested by traditional scholarship, as well as what

remains to be addressed and answered.

We will see that the verses are unique in two important respects.First, it is generally agreed upon by Muslims that God determinedthe arrangement of the Qur’an’s verses (al-Suyuti vol. 1, 60). But wewill see that several reports indicate the placement of 9:128/129 inthe written text was decided by others after Muhammad's death.Second, although other verses required a minimum of two witnessesto be accepted and written in the text, 9:128/129 was reportedlyfound with only one man.

Accounts differ as to exactly who that man was, and as to thecircumstances under which the verses were placed in the Qur'an.



But each account shows just one man reporting them.

Two men whose names figure prominently in the reports we willexamine are Zaid ibn Thabit and Ubayy ibn Ka’ab. Both of these

men were from Medina, and were Muhammad’s chief secretaries.They were primarily responsible for writing down the verses of theQur’an as they were revealed. In his History, al-Tabari reports thatUbayy was the first to write for Muhammad in Medina (vol. 9, 147).Various sources indicate that Zaid ibn Thabit was quite young at thetime of the Hijra--Muhammad’s emigration from Mecca to Medina in622 CE—being only about 11. Despite his youth, Zaid’s intelligenceand language abilities gained him a position as one of Muhammad’smost important secretaries. It was Zaid who was given the primaryresponsibility for collecting and organising the text of the Qur’an after Muhammad’s death (EI 1, viii, 1194b-1195a).

The first indication of the uniqueness of 9:128/129 appears in thestory related by al-Bukhari about the collection of the Qur'an duringthe Caliphate of Abu Bakr. After describing how Abu Bakr and`Umar convinced him to collect the Qur'an, Zaid ibn Thabit says:

So I pursued collecting the Qur'an from bare palm branches,thin, flat, white stones, and the hearts of men until I found theend of Surat al-Tawba with Abu Khuzaima al-Ansari. I did not find it with anyone other than him: Indeed a messenger has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering ishard on him... to the conclusion of Bara'a (al-Bukhari, Matn vol.3, 225). Three versions of this account are found in al-Bukhari,in his sectionon the collection of the Qur'an (cited above), in his section on thescribe of the messenger, and in his section on the explanationof Surat Bara'a [al-Tawba]. Some versions say the verses werefound with Khuzaima al-Ansari rather than Abu Khuzaima (al-Bukhari,Matn; vol. 3, 140, 226 ). Every history of the collection of theQur'an quotes some version of it, making it perhaps the most

repeated story on the subject.

One other verse, 33:21, is the subject of a similar report mentioningKhuzaima al-Ansari. Two versions are included by alBukhari, in thediscussion of the collection of the Qur'an under `Uthman, and in thesection on the explanation of Sura 33 (al-Azhab). The second of these quotes Zaid ibn Thabit as saying:

When we copied the pages into volumes, I failed to find a versefrom Sura al-Azhab, that I used to hear God's messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, reciting. I did not find it with

anyone except Khuzaima al-Ansari, whose testimony God'smessenger, peace and blessings be upon him, had made as the



testimony of two men... (al- Bukhari, Matn vol. 3, 175). This account differs significantly from the account about 9:128/129 inthat here Zaid says that he used to hear the messenger recite the

verse in question. But when in the report regarding the end of Surat al-Tawba, he says he found it with no one else.

The story about the verse in Surat al-Ahzab is the only account in al-Bukhari that accords special status to Khuzaima’s testimony. Butthis is odd, because Zaid himself says he heard the verse fromMuhammad, making him a second witness. A similar account, in thesection on the collection of the Qur’an, does not mention suchspecial status. Nor is it mentioned in any of the accounts al-Bukharirelates from Zaid about 9:128/129. It has however, on the strengthof Zaid’s word in this single report, served to support the inclusion of

these two verses in the Qur’an.

Although it is not found in the editions of al-Bukhari consulted here,in al-Burhan fi `Ulum al-Qur'an, al-Zarkashi quotes a variant accountof the collection under Abu Bakr, citing al-Bukhari as his source,which says: with Abu Khuzaima alAnsari whose testimony theprophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had made as thetestimony of two men (al-Zarkashi vol. 1, 234).

In the Itqan, al-Suyuti quotes the collection account from al-Bukhari

as it appears in the edition cited here. But in his discussion of thenumber of witnesses he quotes from Ibn Ashta's Kitab al-Masahif :

The people would come to Zaid ibn Thabit and he would only write a verse from two upright witnesses. Even though the end of Surat al-Bara'a was not found except with Khuzaima ibnThabit, he said: Write it, for God's messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, made his testimony as the testimony of two men. So it was written, even though `Umar brought theverse of stoning and it was not written because he was alone(Ibn Ashta in al-Suyuti vol. 1,58). Special status allegedly accorded to Khuzaima's (or AbuKhuzaima's) testimony by the Prophet is one way in which thediscrepancy in the number witnesses has been addressed. Another argument mentioned by al-Suyuti is that two witnesses meant onewritten and one remembered. He mentions two views of thisargument. One is that writing without memory was not sufficient andthe other that memory without writing was not sufficient. So, whenZaid ibn Thabit said, I did not find it with anyone other than him, itmeant he did not find it in writing with anyone else (al-Suyuti; vol. 1,58).

This argument implies that it was memorized by others. But if this



was the case, and if memory and writing constituted the two requiredwitnesses, why was there concern that Khuzaima was the onlywitness? We will see that this discussion of what constituted "twowitnesses" takes on added significance in light of other accounts

related to 9:128/129.

So far, we have considered only the accounts reported in alBukhari.But what of the series of reports that mention others as the solewitness, reporting these verses under other circumstances? In thereports of Zaid ibn Thabit only Khuzaima or Abu Khuzaima isassociated with 9:128/129. But a number of accounts in al-Suyutiand other sources offer quite a different story about these versesand their placement in the text.

By far, the greatest number of varying accounts is found in Kitab al-

Masahif by Ibn Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (d. 316 AH), son of thefamous hadith collector Abu Dawud, whose Sunan is one of the sixcanonical collections of hadith accepted by the vast majority of traditional Muslims. This important work was discovered and editedby Arthur Jeffery in the first half of this century. His main interestwas in Ibn Abu Dawud’s detailed listing of a number of variantQur’an codices, rather than the diverse assortment of traditionsregarding the collection of the text.

In addition to sections on the collection's of Abu Bakr and Ùthman,Ibn Abu Dawud also includes a section about a collection done byÙmar ibn al-Khattab and a section devoted specifically to reportsabout verses 9:128/129. Along with several variants of the accountsrecorded in alBukhari Ibn Abu Dawud includes quite a differentstory:

On the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaàb, they were collecting theQur'an from the volume of Ubayy. Men were writing, whileUbayy ibn Kaàb was dictating to them. When they reached theend of the verse in surat Bara'a {S. 9 V. 127}: Thus, God has diverted their hearts, for they are people who do not

comprehend, they asserted that this verse was the last of what God, the Exalted, revealed of the Qur'an. Then, Ubayy said,"God's messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, had merecite two verses after this: Indeed, a messenger has come toyou from among yourselves. Your suffering is hard on him. Heis anxious over you, compassionate and merciful tothe believers..." , to the end of the sura. He said, "So this is thelast of what wasrevealed of the Qur'an" (Ibn Abu Dawud vol.2,30). The above is from the section on verses 9:128/129. The same story

is included in the section on the collection of Abu Bakr, where it saysthat this occurred at that time (vol. 1, 9). This story raises some



important issues. First, it mentions neither Zaid, nor Khuzaima.Instead, we see Ubayy ibn Ka`ab as the only person who knew theverses in question. The others believed that 9:127 was the end of the sura and of the revelation. It also says that Ubayy was dictating

to them from his volume (mashaf). This indicates that Ubayy notonly knew the verses, but had them in writing. If Ubayy knew themand had them in his mashaf, how could Zaid find them with onlyKhuzaima (or Abu Khuzaima)?

It is important to remember that Zaid and Ubayy were Muhammad’schief secretaries and close companions. They were primarilyresponsible for recording the verses of the Qur’an, as they wererevealed. It is unreasonable to think that one of them did not knowwhat the other had recorded.

It could be argued that the dictation mentioned took place based onwhat Zaid had already collected. But if that was the case, Zaidwould have already established the authenticity and placement9:128/129. Why then, would the writers who were taking dictationthink that 9:127 was the end of the revelation?

Further, Ubayy says they were the last of what was revealed. Thiswould mean that they were revealed in Medina. But the traditionallyaccepted view is that they were revealed in Mecca. Al-Suyuti quotesthe same story, claiming Ibn Abu Dawud as his source, with slight,but significant variations:

On the authority of Ubayy ibn Ka`ab, they were collecting theQur'an and when they reached the end of the verse in surat Bara'a: Thus, God has diverted their hearts, for they are peoplewho do not comprehend, they thought that this was the last of what had been revealed. Then, Ubayy said,"God's messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, had me recite two versesafter this: Indeed, a messenger has come to you from among yourselves..."to the end of the sura, (and he said) "Meccan." (al-Suyuti vol. 1, 61). In Ibn Abu Dawud’s account, both in the section on Abu Bakr’scollection, and in the section on 9:128/129, there is no mention of Ubayy saying, “Meccan.” The issue of when the verses wererevealed is important. If they had been revealed in Mecca, can it bereasonably argued that they were known by only one man—whether Khuzaima or Ubayy—from Medina? Would they not have beenmemorised, if not written, by some of the Muslims who had migratedfrom Mecca?

Further questions are raised by two other accounts reported by Ibn

Abu Dawud. n the beginning of the section on 9:128/129 he cites:



Ibn Zubair said, "Al-Harith ibn Khuzaima brought two versesfrom the end of surat Bara'a: Indeed, a messenger has come toyou from among yourselves. Your suffering is hard on him. Heis anxious over you, compassionate and merciful to the

believers, until His saying, the Lord of the glorious throne, toÙmar. So he [Ùmar] said, 'Who is with you in this?' He [Al- Harith] said, 'I only know that I bear witness that I heard themfrom God's messenger, peace and blessings be uponhim.' Then, Ùmar said, 'And I bear witness that I heard themfrom God's messenger, peace andblessings be upon him.' Then he said, 'If it was three verses, I would make thema separate sura. Then, they looked for a sura from the Qur'anand attached them to it. Thus, it was attached at the end of Bara'a" (Vol. 2, 30). This story adds al-Harith ibn Khuzaima and Ùmar to the list of thosewho reportedly knew verses 9:128/129, with Ùmar supporting al-Harith's testimony. If Ùmar heard them from the messenger, whydid Zaid reportedly find them only with Khuzaima (or AbuKhuzaima)? This again, goes back to al-Suyuti's discussion of whatconstituted "two witnesses."

It also indicates that they used their own reasoning to decide wherethe verses would go in the text. In his discussion of this report, al-Suyuti says,

Ibn Hajar says, "This shows that they were putting together theverses of the suras according to their own reasoning [ijtihad],while the rest of the reports indicate that they did not do any of that except according to what was determined by God [tawqif]" (vol. 1, 61). The final account Ibn Abu Dawud relates regarding 9:128/129 onceagain credits Khuzaima ibn Thabit with reporting them, but under very different circumstances than the other accounts involvinghim:

So, Ùthman ibn Àffan stood up and said, 'Whoever hassomething from the Book of God, let him bring it to us.' And nothing would be accepted until two witnesses testified to it.Then, Khuzaima ibn Thabit came and said, "I see that you left out two verse that you did not write." They said, "What arethey?" He said, "I learned from God's messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, {S. 9 V. 128}: Indeed, a messenger hascome to you from among yourselves. Your suffering is hard onhim. He is anxious over you, compassionate and merciful tothe believers...," to the end of the sura. Ùthman said, "I bear

witness that they are from God. So, where do you think youshould put them?" He said, "Conclude the last of what was



revealed of the Qur'an with them." So Bara'a was concluded with them (vol. 2, 31). Again, we are faced with several important issues. First, Khuzaima

informs Ùthman that the two verses had been left out of the Qur'an.This is implies that the collecting and writing had already takenplace. Why would Khuzaima go to ̀ Uthman with the verses if Zaidhad already collected them from him? Moreover, if Zaid hadcollected them already, why would Ùthman ask Khuzaima to decidewhere they should go in the text?

Second, there is no question here of Khuzaima as the sole witness,nor any mention of his testimony being equal to that of two men. Infact, here Ùthman serves as the second witness to their authenticity. If ‘Uthman knew the verses and could witness their

authenticity, how could Zaid have found them only with Khuzaima?

These various reports related to verses 9:128/129 leave us with anumber of important unanswered questions. Who knew theseverses? Was it Khuzaima, Abu Khuzaima, Harith Ibn Khuzaima,Ubayy ibn Kaàb? Were they revealed in Mecca, or Medina? Whenand how where they placed in the text?

One possible response to the reports and the questions they raise isthat most are simply not sound and have, therefore, been rejected.Soundness is traditionally determined by scrutinising the chain of transmitters (isnad) of a given report. Regarding this, Jeffery says inhis introduction:

The greatest difficulty has been with the isnads quoted by theauthor, and although all available controls were applied tothem, there may still be some that will not stand the scrutiny of isnad critics. The assistance of Muslim savants in thismatter was not very helpful for we could not overcome the principle that every isnad that led to a statement at variancewith orthodoxy was ipso facto condemned (viii). We have seen that al-Suyuti quotes various reports from Ibn AbuDawud in his discussion of the collection of the Qur’an. While hestates that certain reports are weak because of problems with their isnads, he does not do so with respect to the reports dealing with9:128/129.

These reports and the questions they raised take on added importance in

light of another report related by al-Suyuti in the Itqan:

On the authority of Muhammad ibn Sirin, on the authority of Ìkrima, who said, "After Abu Bakr's inauguration, Àli ibn Abu



Talib stayed in his house. So it was said to Abu Bakr, 'He isaverse to swearing allegiance to you.' Then Abu Bakr sent for him and said, 'Are you averse to swearing allegiance to me?' He said, 'No. By God.' He [Abu Bakr] said, 'What makes you

upset with me?' He said, 'I think something has been added tothe Book of God. So I said to myself that I will not put on my street clothes except for the Friday prayer until it has been resolved.'" (Vol. 1,57-58). Àli does not specify what he thinks was added, but this is a veryserious charge. Although many of the Qur'an's verses are thesubject of various, often conflicting reports about their meaning,interpretation, or circumstances revelation, no other verses in theQur'an are the subject of so many diverse reports regarding their

collection and placement in the text. Could they be what had madeÀli so upset that he would not leave his house except for prayer?

BIBLIOGRAPHYAhmad ibn Hanbal. Musnad. vol. 5. Cairo: 1313/1896.

al-Bukhari, Abu ̀ Abdullah Muhammad b. Ismaìl. Matnal-Bukhari. vol. 3 - 4. N.P.: Ìsa al-Halabiand Company. 1981.

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Ann Arbor: University Microfilm

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First Recorded Version. trans. Bernard Weiss,M.A. Rauf, Monroe Berger. Princeton, N.J.: TheDarwin Press, 1975.

al-Saydawi, Yusuf. Baidat al-Dik: Naqdun li Kitab'al-Kitab wal-Qur'an'. NP: ND.Sharur, Muhammad. al-Kitab wal-Qur'an: Qira'tunMuàsiratun. Revised Fifth Edition. Damascus:al-Ahali, 1992.

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