|
|
|
following readings in the beginning of Surah ii. (Al Baqarah), ver. 100:—
|
|
Common Text:
|
مَا
نَنْسَخْ مِنْ آيَةِ أَوْ نُنْسِهَا
|
|
|
|
|
Ibn 'Amir:
|
&c
|
مَا نُنْسِخْ
|
|
|
|
|
Ibn Kathin:
|
نَنْسَأْهْا
|
|
|
|
|
Abu 'Amr:
|
نَنْسَأْهْا
|
|
|
|
|
Others:
|
نُنَسِّهَا
|
|
|
|
|
Others:
|
تَنْسَهَا
|
|
|
|
|
Others:
|
تُنْسَهَا
|
|
|
|
|
Others:
|
نُنْسِكَهَا
|
|
|
|
|
Abdu'llah:
|
مَا
نُنْسِكَ مِنْ آيةٍ أوْ نُنْسَخْهَا
|
|
So also in Surah ii, ver. 285, Baizawi 2 gives various readings thus:—
|
|
1. Common Text:
|
وَكُتُبِةِ
|
|
|
|
|
Hamzah and Al Kasai:
|
وَكِتَابِةِ
|
|
|
|
2. Common Text:
|
لاَ
نُفَرّقُ
|
|
|
|
|
Ya'qub:
|
لاَ
يُفَرّقُ
|
|
|
|
|
Others:
|
لاَ
يُفَرِّقوُنَ
|
|
Besides these, the leading Sunni Commentators admit various readings in many other passages: for
example, in Surahs vi. 91; xix. 35; xxviii. 48; xxxiii. 6; xxxiv. 18; xxxviii. 22.3
These, however, alter the meaning in each case very slightly, and make no difference in the doctrine
of the Qur'an. But what would Muslim theologians say if a Christian writer, because of these various
readings, were to assert that the
|
|
|
|
|
Qur'an had become corrupted? They would rightly say that the man who drew this conclusion thereby
exposed his own ignorance and his bigotry. The same reply might be given to those who, because of
various readings in the Bible, bring the like charge against it; but politeness prevents us from
uttering such words regarding our opponents. There are many more various readings in the Bible than
in the Qur'an, but the reasons for this are: (1) The size of the Bible is at least four times that
of the Qur'an; (2) The Bible is much the more ancient; (3) The Bible was composed in three different
languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, not in one only; (4) The readings in all the different
ancient Versions are counted, though many of them are known to be merely errors of translators and
not to represent a difference in the original text; (5) A vastly greater amount of care has been
taken to collect the various readings in the case of the Bible than in that of the Qur'an; (6) The
text of the Bible has never been rectified or edited by 'Uthman, as was that of the Qur'an, nor have
we had a Marwan to burn the most ancient copy spared even by 'Uthman.1 Taking into
consideration all the various readings in the Bible, they do not change any doctrine of the
Christian faith.
Commentators have occasionally found themselves unable to understand a word or a verse in the
Bible. They have therefore fancied that there was in the text some error of a copyist, and have
called it "corrupt" in the sense of
مُصَحّف. Muslim controversialists, like Shaikh
Rahmatu'llah, have erroneously translated this word by
مُحَرْف, and have then asserted that Christian
commentators admitted that the Bible was
مُحرْفَ. Such an error requires only to be pointed out to be
corrected.
|
|
