Different Arrangements of Quran

A Wahhabi alleged that it is reported in al-Kafi (one of the Shi'ite Hadith collection) that the Shia Imam said: "No one compiled the Quran completely except the Imams".

There is no such a tradition in Usul Kafi. I question the validity of the booklets that have misquoted the traditions. What is written in Usul Kafi in a tradition is as follows:  I heard Abu Ja'far (AS) saying: "No one (among ordinary people) claimed that he gathered the Quran completely as it was revealed except a liar; (since) no one has gathered it and memorized it completely as revealed by Allah, the Most High, except Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) and the Imams after him (AS)". (Usul al-Kafi, v1,p228, Hadith #1).

There are two other traditions which I will mention few lines later. The above tradition does not say Quran is incomplete. Rather it states it is not completely in the arrangement as it was sent down. The above tradition is not something new. As a matter of fact, the Quran that we use which was compiled by the companions is not in the sequence that has been revealed. In fact, the Sunni scholars confirm that the first Chapter of Quran which was sent down to the Prophet (PBUH&HF) was Chapter al-Iqra' (al-Alaq, Ch. 96).

This man (Abdullah Ibn Masud) not only had a different Quran but also (based on Sunni sources) he had a different sequence of chapters and different set of aayaat. He alleged that the present Quran has some extra words, and he swears in the name of Allah for his claim! (see Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English version, 6.468, 5.105, 5.85). He also falsely alleged that the last two chapters of Quran are not Quranic chapters and they are only some prayers (Du'aa). (see Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English version, 6.501)

According to the Shia, these allegations by the companions reported in Sahih al-Bukhari concerning Quran having extra words are FALSE. No single verse of Quran is extra.

Also it seems that Aisha has a different opinion as to which chapter was revealed first:

Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 6.515 Narrated Yusuf bin Mahk:

While I was with Aisha, the mother of the Believers, a person from Iraq came and asked, "What type of shroud is the best?" 'Aisha said, "May Allah be merciful to you! What does it matter?" He said, "O mother of the Believers! Show me (the copy of) your Quran," She said, "Why?" He said, "In order to compile and arrange the Quran according to it, for people recite it with its Surahs not in proper order."  'Aisha said, "What does it matter which part of it you read first? (Be informed) that the first thing that was revealed thereof was a Sura from al-Mufassal, and in it was mentioned Paradise and the Fire.

The second tradition in Usul Kafi which has been widely misinterpreted, states that what has been revealed to Prophet was as much as 17000 verses. Although this tradition is not rated authentic, there are two explanations for that. The first possibility mentioned by our scholars is that, the verses of Quran were originally shorter, and when the companions compiled the Quran, they appended short verses and thereby the number of verses reduced without any change to content of Quran. The second possibility is that which was given by Shaikh Saduq (RA) who is the number one Shi'a scholar in the field of Hadith:

"We say that so much of revelation has come down which is not embodied in the present Quran that if it were to be collected, its extent would undoubtedly be 17000 verses ...  Although all of them were revelation but they (the extra ones) are NOT a part of
Quran. If they would be a part of Quran, it would surely have been included in the Quran we have."

Shi'i reference: Shi'ite Creed (al-I'tiqadat al-Imamiyyah), by Shaykh Saduq, English version, pp 78-79.

The transcript of the Quran that Imam Ali wrote contained commentary and hermeneutic interpretation (Tafsir and Ta'wil) from the Holy Prophet some of which had been sent down as revelation but NOT as a part of the text of Quran. A small amount of such texts can be found in some traditions in Usul al-Kafi and else. These pieces of information were Divine commentary of the text of Quran which was revealed along with Quranic verses but were NOT parts of Quran. Thus the commentary verses and Quranic verses could sum up to 17000 verses. As Sunnis know, Hadith Qudsi is also revelation, but they are not a part of Quran. In fact Quran testifies that anything that Prophet said was revelation. Allah Almighty said in Quran about Prophet Muhammad that:

"Nor does he (Muhammad) speak out of his desire. It is no less than a revelation that is revealed." (Quran 53:3-4).

Thus all the speeches of Prophet were revelation, and surely the speeches of Prophet was not limitted to Quran. It includes interpretation of Quran (part of which were direct revelation) as well as his Sunnah (part of which
were indirect revelation).

The third tradition in Usul Kafi which is misinterpreted is as follows:

Abu Jafar said: "No one can claim that he completely has the Quran  with its appearance (Dhahir) and its meaning (Batin), except the executors (Awsiyaa)." (Usul al-Kafi, Tradition #608).  Again this tradition is referring to the fact that the commentary of Quran
is missing. Although we have the appearance of Quran, its meaning (i.e.,divine commentary) is not with it. The traditions refers to the Quran which was compiled by Imam Ali (AS) which included the commentary.

In a follow up article, I will give some information about the Quran which was compiled by Imam Ali (AS) which included all the above-mentioned divine commentaries.

It is necessary to emphasize here that all grand scholars of the Imami Shia are in agreement that the Quran which is at present among the Muslims is the very same Quran that was sent down to the Holy Prophet, and that it has not been altered. Nothing has been added to it, and nothing is missing from it. The Quran which was compiled by Imam Ali (excluding the commentaries)
and the Quran that is in the hand of people today, are identical in terms of words and sentences.  No word, verse, chapter is missing.

A Wahhabi mentioned that al-Kafi is an authentic book of Hadith for the Shia, and as such Shia believe that Quran is not complete.

The above conclusion is based on two wrong hypotesis. First what was mentioned in the book of al-Kafi does not necessarily indicate that Quran is incomplete (see the above explanation). Second, we do not consider al-Kafi to be all-authentic book of tradition, nor his auther ever mentioned such a thing.

It is true that al-Kafi is among the most important Shia collections of traditions. The traditions of al-Kafi cover all the branches of faith and ethics, and all the fundamental of fiqh (jurisprudence). It includes more traditions than all 6 Sunni collections together (provided that if we remove the repetitions). For instance, al-Kafi has 16121 traditions, while Sahih al-Bukhari which has many repetition in itself has only 7275 traditions. If we remove the repetitions, al-Kafi has 15176 traditions while Sahih al-Bukhari will end up with 4000 traditions. The traditions mentioned here include both Usul al-Kafi and Furu' al-Kafi.

The author of al-Kafi, Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Yaqub al-Kulain al-Razi (d.329/941), may Allah have mercy upon his soul, is considered to be highly honest and highly reliable. However, we should emphasize that neither the traditions are equal in value and significance, nor are the supportive evidence for the narrations. The authorities of the chain of narrations are not also equal in terms of reliability and credibility, and one can in NO way regard them as equally dependable.

A glance at the book entitled "Mir'atul Uqul" (reflection of the minds) will reveal this very point to the researcher in more detail. "Mir'atul Uqul" is an explanatory book to al-Kafi written by another great Shia scholar of Hadith, Muhammad Baqir Majlisi (d.1111/1700) who is among the most loyal and faithful to the book of al-Kafi. Majlisi has rated some of the traditions of al-Kafi as WEAK. However, being weak, does not mean the tradition is forged. If one of the chain of the authorities of a tradition is missing, Then the tradition is weak in Isnad without regard to its content. In fact, there are a number of traditions in al-Kafi which have one or more elements from the chain of narrators are missing. As such, all of them are regarded weak in Isnad. It might also be that a tradition is specific for a person who reported it from Imam, and may not have meant for the whole people. This very point is mentioned in Usul al-Kafi itself:

Ibn Abi Ya'fur said, I inquired of Abu Abdillah (AS) about the different traditions related by those whom we trust and also by those    whom we don't." Hearing this, the Imam (AS) replied: "Whenever you receive a tradition which is borne out by any verse from the book of Allah or by a (established) saying of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), then accept it. Otherwise, the tradition is meant only for the one who has brought it to you." (Usul al-Kafi, Arabic-English version, Tradition #202) Shaikh al-Kulaini (RA), the author of al-Kafi, in the introduction of his book, mentioned the following:

 Brother, may Allah lead you to the right path.  You ought to know that it is not for anyone to distinguish the truth in the conflicting narrations attributed to the Ulama (i.e., Imams), peace be upon them, except through the standards which were declared by al-Alim (i.e., the Imam), peace be upon him: "Test the (conflicting) traditions by the Book of Allah, and that which agrees with it take it, and that which disagrees with it reject it..." (Usul al-Kafi, Arabic version, Introduction by al-Kulaini, v1)

Is there any explanation better than that of the author? He mentioned that there are some conflicting narrations in his book, al-Kafi.He also mentioned that we should follow those Hadiths that are in agreement with the Book of Allah, and leave that which is in clear disagreement with Quran. To prove this point, al-Kulaini (RA) quoted a part of the Hadith of Ahlul-Bayt (AS) that, in fact, confirms it as a criterion for the all the followers of Ahlul-Bayt (AS).

After all, do the opponents of Shi'a expect us to leave what the author of al-Kafi confirmed in his own book, and to believe their false accusation that al-Kafi is all-authentic Hadith collection for the Shi'a? Also a Wahhabi mentioned that in the introduction to the al-Kafi, it is written that the al-Mahdi has examined the book and said that it is good for his followers.There is no such a thing in the introduction written by al-Kulain himself (who is the author of al-Kafi). This is what another person has mentioned in his own introduction to introduce al-Kafi and its author, which is placed before the introduction of the author. Also you did not correctly mentioned what is attributed to Imam Mahdi (AS). If such report is ever true, Imam Mahdi (AS) said: "al-Kafi is sufficient of our Shia (followers)." There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, as I mentioned, al-Kafi's traditions cover all the branches of faith and ethics, and all the fundamentals of fiqh. Imam Mahdi (AS) did NOT say whatever written in it is correct. Rather he [reportedly] said, it is sufficient, and includes all what his followers need in terms of the traditions. Again, such tradition is not mentioned by al-Kulain himself.
al-Kafi means something that is sufficient. It does not mean all its content are perfectly correct, since the narrators were not perfect.
Actually the reason that the author named his book al-Kafi was explained in the introduction of the book written by himself. The scholars of his time asked him to compile a book of traditions which covers all necessary branches of religion of Islam. He wrote in his introduction that:... and you complained that there is no book that could cover all the  branches of the knowledge of religion (Ilm al-Din) to save the seeker of truth from referring to many books and which could not suffice as a guide and source of spiritual light in the matters of theology and the traditions of rightly guided Imams, peace be upon them. You expressed the urgent need of such a book and I hope that the present book would serve this purpose. (Usul al-Kafi, Arabic-English version, introduction by al-Kulaini, part 1, pp 17-18) al-Kulaini (RA) is not one of the twelve Imams of the Shi'ites. He was only a Hadith recorder who reported what was conveyed to him through one or more sources. He never said that he heard from Imam al-Sadiq (AS), and he stated only a Hadith that came to him through some reporters. Let it be stated that the tradition of al-Kafi or any other Shia/Sunni book is NOT acceptable to the Imami Shi'ites if it wants to ever imply the incompleteness of the Quran. These few traditions are rated weak. Even if we suppose that they are true, then the extra verses would mean the divine commentary of Quran which were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad along with Quran but not as a part of Quran as Shaykh Saduq and other scholars specified.

So, if one brings a weak tradition from Usul al-Kafi and then misinterpret the Hadith, it can not represent a belief of the Shia. However, when Sunnis claim that Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are all-authentic, they will have a big problem when they reach to those traditions in these books which allegedly imply the incompleteness of Quran. Do you see the difference, my friend? In book, entitled "Science of Hadith" written by Zainul-Abideen Qurbani, discusses in great detail the traditions in which may imply the incompleteness of the Quran. Here is one passage from it:

More than 95% of Shia scholars believe that there has been absolutely  no tampering of the Quran and that the Quran we hold in our hands today is exactly the same Quran that was revealed to Muhammad (saw), without a single word missing or being extra. To quote the words of Shia scholars in this regard would require a whole separate treatise. But we briefly name just a few of them:

Beginning with Shaikh Suduq, whose words we already quoted, to Shaikh Mofid, Sayyed Murtada, Shaikh Tusi,..., Allamah Hilli, Muqaddas Aridibili, Khashif al-ghitaa, Shaikh Bahai, Fayz Kashani, Shaikh Hurr Ameli, Mohaqiq Kurki, Sayyed Mehdi Bahr ul-Uloom, Sayyed Muhammad Mujahid Tabataba'i, Shaikh Muhammad Husain Ashtiyani, Shaikh Abdullah Mamqani, Shaikh Javad Balaghi,Sayyed Hibbat al-Din Shahristani, Sharif Radi, Ibn Idris, Sayyed Mohsin Amin Ameli, Sayyed Abdul-Husain Sharif al-Din, Sayyed Hadi Milani, Sayyed Muhammad Husain Allamah  Tabataba'i, Sayyed Abul-Ghasim Khoei, Sayyed Muhammad Rada Golbayegani, Sayyed Shahab al-Din Mar'ashi Najafi, Ruhullah Khomeini, etc.

The author then goes on to quote several pages of statements by top Shia scholars about the completeness and perfect authenticity of the Holy Quran.It is hoped that what was offered on this subject is sufficient for those who try to find the truth, that the Shia are the true believers in Quran. It is improper for those who seek the truth to accuse others of something which they are entirely innocent of.

Wassalam

Quran surat 75, verse 17

Transliteration:   Inna AAalayna jamAAahu waqur-anahu 

Literal : That truly on Us (is) gathering/accumulating it , and its reading/recitation .

Free-Minds:   It is for Us to gather it and relate it.

Rashad Khalifa: It is we who will collect it into Quran.

Yusuf Ali:  It is for Us to collect it and to promulgate it:

Arberry:  Ours it is to gather it, and to recite it.

Malik :  It is Our responsibility to collect it in your memory, and make you recite it Sarwar: We shall be responsible for its collection and its recitation.

 Looks like God is responsible of collecting the Quran! Is there any more reliable gatherer ?

Some of the references of this article:
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic English version
- al-Imam al-Sadiq, printed by Dar al-Fikr al-Arabi Egypt
- al-Burhan, by al-Zarkashi
- al-Itqan, by al-Suyuti
- Fathul Bari, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
- Irshad al-sari, by al-Qastalani
- al-Kafi, printed by al-Haidari Printings - Tehran, Iran
- Shi'ite Creed (al-I'tiqadat al-Imamiyyah), by Shaykh Saduq
- Masadir al-Hadith 'Indal Shia al-Imamiyyah", by Muhammad Husain Jalali
- Science of Hadith, by Zainul-Abidin Qurbani