WORKS IN THE HERITAGE tell us that when Muḥammad received the Revelation he asked one of the few who knew how to write to set down for him the new verses on palm leaves and bones and whatever they could find. We must bear in mind that the Arabic language in those days was at the beginning of its development and its orthography was not settled. It did not have diacritic dots or punctuation marks, and the letter alif was not used in the middle of a word.

Even today, in the Qur’ān of ‘Uthmān, we find a word such as عاليها ‘ālīhā written as  عليها ‘alīhā with a small alif added above the letter ‘ayn. It was therefore easy for a reader to confuse the two words and read the undotted يا yā’ as a تا tā’, ثا thā’ or با bā’, as happened with the famous reciter who read:

We shall gather them together on a day about which there is no doubt (lā rayba fīhi)[2] as We shall gather them together on a day in which there is no oil (lā zayta fīhi).

Let us now review some of the words that the copyists of the Book of Revelation miswrote on those leaves and bones.

When there is talk about the daughters of al-ḥūr in Sūrat al-Raḥmān, it states:

In them shall be those who restrained their eyes; before them neither man nor jinni shall have touched ( يَطْمِثْهُنَّ  yaṭmithhunna) them.[3]

The Lisān al-‘Arab lexicon says:

A woman is said to طمثت (ṭamathat) when she has her monthly period, and she is thus menstruating. And ṭāmith in their language means menstruating. When a camel ṭamathat it means that ‘no rope has ever touched this she-camel’.

It is clear that the word يَطْمِثْهُنَّ  yaṭmithhunna   has here contradicted the customary understanding of the word, so the commentators attempted to add a new meaning to it: they said ‘ṭamathhā means pry her open’. And Tha‘laba went on to state that “the original meaning referred to the woman’s monthly period, but later was used for sexual intercourse”. He believed that it referred to sexual intercourse on the evidence of this verse.

The original word in the verse must have been يطئهن yaṭa’uhunna to make   يطئهن and thus  لم يطئهن أنس قبلهم ولا جان  before them neither man nor jinni shall have had intercourse with them. Because there were no diacritical dots the readers read يَطْمِثْهُنَّ  yaṭmithhunna. This reading thus became fixed into the Qur’ān of ‘Uthmān. We should remember that all works of Islamic jurisprudence use the word الوطء to denote sexual intercourse; a man therefore will يطأ  yaṭa’  a woman and so on.

And when it speaks of Moses and the children of Israel following their Exodus from Egypt on their way to the land of Canaan which their Lord had promised them, the Qur’ān says:

And We wrote for him, upon the tablets, the lesson to be drawn from all things and the explanation of all things, then (bade him): Hold it fast; and command thy people (saying): Take the better (course made clear) therein. I shall show you the abode of evil-livers.[4]

The meaning here is not correct at all, as their Lord had promised Abraham that he would possess the land of Canaan, for himself and for his descendants right up until the Day of Resurrection. Instead of the undotted word سأريكم sa-urīkum “I will show you”, the writer of the Qur’ān should have written سأورثكم sa-ūrithkum “I will cause you to inherit” to make the verse read: “I will cause you to inherit the homes of the evil-livers.” This meaning is more in line with Jehovah’s promise to Abraham, that He will give him the land of Canaan to him and his descendants until the day they are resurrected.[5] The Qur’ān itself says in another verse:

And We desired to bestow a favour upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the Imams, and to make them the heirs.[6]

Given that He is to make them the inheritors, He must have said to them:  “I will cause you to inherit the homes of the evil-livers”.

Or do those who commit ( اجْتَرَحُوا ijtaraḥū) ill-deeds suppose that We shall make them as those who believe and do good works?[7]

The word ijtaraḥū comes from the root  j-r-ḥ denoting ‘wounding’. Arabs say ‘the witness is wounded’ if his testimony is suspect. They say, ‘I consider the hadiths wounded if they are corrupted and their authenticity is minimal.’ To ijtaraḥ or jaraḥ something, means to ‘acquire’ it (according to the Lisān al-‘Arab lexicon), and in general a person does not ‘acquire’ ill deeds – since such would be a detestable act – but instead ‘commits’ or ‘perpetrates’ them, and ‘acquires’ merits. The un-dotted word in the verse must have been اقترفوا iftaraqū notاجْتَرَحُوا ijtaraḥū. The copyist of the verses misread the letters f and q as j and ḥdue to thepoor script on the bones and palm leaves.

And they made the jinn associates with Allah, while He created them, and they falsely breached Him sons and daughters without knowledge; glory be to Him, and highly exalted is He above what they ascribe (to Him).[8]

We all know that the word خرق  kharaq means to ‘breach’ or ‘tear’ something, that is, make a hole or a perforation in it. And the Arabs say: “something breaching the ordinary” meaning ‘extraordinary’, that is, something passing beyond the scope of the conventional, such as a miracle, for example. They also say “the hole on the darn has widened” if something becomes difficult (cf. al-Qanūjī’s Abjad al- ‘Ulūm). The word kharaq also means antagonizing your imam, as Ibn Kathir says in his work Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya.  But how can they breach God with sons and daughters? The phrase must have been: and they created for Him sons and daughters, while the scribe mistakenly wrote: and they breached for Him.

Have you not considered the chiefs of the children of Israel after Moses, when they said to a prophet of theirs: Raise up for us a king, (that) we may fight in the way of Allah. He said: Would ye then refrain from fighting if fighting were prescribed for you?  They said: Why should we not fight in Allah’s way when we have been driven from our dwellings with our children? [9]

The verb عسى ‘asā is one of the verbs of approximation or expectation and is considered a cognate of kān ‘to be’. For example, in the verse that runs: it may be that you dislike a thing while Allah has placed abundant good in it,[10] the phrase that you dislike is the same as you were hating. The word  عَسَيْتُمْ  ‘asaytum (‘it may be that you’) in the verse in question has no place in the expression. The verse must have been Did you ruminate (حسبتم ḥasabtum), when fighting was prescribed for you …?  or Did you disobey (عصيتم ‘aṣaytum) when fighting was prescribed for you …? This establishes the correct meaning of the phrase.  

And if there were a Recitation that caused the mountains to move, or the earth to be torn asunder, or the dead to speak; nay! the commandment is wholly Allah’s, Have not yet those who believe known that if Allah so willed He would certainly guide all the people? And (as for) those who disbelieve, there will not cease to afflict them because of what they do a repelling calamity, or it will alight close by their abodes, until the promise of Allah comes about.[11]

First, the sentence is very poor because the word if is a condition, and must be followed by the proposed condition (the protasis) and its dependent response (the apodosis). For example, we say, “If the worker remains patient, then he will not regret it.” But in the above verse we find the protasis of the condition saying : if there were a Lecture that caused the mountains to move, or the earth to be torn asunder, or the dead to speak without there being the required apodosis response (then …). Now the word يأيئس ya’ay’as is a strange word here. Since the correct form is يَيْأَسِ  yay’as, from the root ya’s meaning ‘to despair’, as when we say ‘do not despair of God’s mercy’.  

The correct word in the verse must have been: Have not yet those who believe (يأنس ya’nus) that if Allah so willed He would certainly guide all the people? The word ya’nus here means ‘knows’, or ‘perceives’. For example, we say, “Whoever perceives himself to be competent should apply for the job.” Thus, the verse becomes Have not yet those who believe understood that if Allah so willed He would certainly guide all the people?

O ye who believe! when it is said unto you, ‘Make room!’ in assemblies, then make room; Allah will make way for you (hereafter). And when it is said, ‘Rise up!’, rise up; Allah will exalt those who believe among you, and those who have knowledge, to high ranks. Allah is Informed of what ye do.[12]

The imperative انْشُزُوا  inshuzū is derived from the word nashaz which means ‘elevated place’, and the verb nashaza  means ‘rose’. For example, we say, “he was standing on a raised area of the ground”. We also say: “the woman nashazat (‘rose up’)” if she has rebelled against her husband (The Al-Muḥīṭ dictionary). The word inshuzū is thus very odd in a verse that speaks of councils. The original word must have been انتشروا intasharū (‘disperse’) to make the phrase: And when it was said, ‘disperse’ they dispersed.  that is, they departed from the council.

When God was talking to Moses, He said:

I have attached you to Myself.[13]

It is strange that God ‘attached’ (  وَاصْطَنَعْتُكَ  wa-ṣṭana‘tuka ) Moses to Himself. The original phrase must have been واصطفيتك wa-ṣṭafaytuka (‘selected’) you for Myself, especially since the Qur’ān says in another verse:  Surely Allah اصْطَفَىٰ iṣṭafā (‘chose’) Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of Imran above the nations.[14]

Say: O my servants! who have acted extravagantly against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah.[15]

Now, when we address a person with the instruction: ‘say’,  the sentence that will follows will be the response of that interlocutor. For example, in the above verse, Muḥammad is therefore to say, O my servants! who have acted extravagantly against their own souls. But, of course, Muḥammad cannot say, O my servants, because he is not God. The verse must have originally been: Say to my servants who have acted extravagantly against their own souls.

And He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons the evil deeds and He knows what you do.[16]

The word عَنْ ‘an (translated here as ‘from’) is misplaced here. If we were to say: “he receives the award ‘an Muḥammad” we mean that someone else will receive the award on behalf of Muḥammad. How can God accept repentance on behalf of His servants? The original word must have been من  min (‘from’), as Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī states in his book Al-Itqān fī ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān.

Whoso intervenes in a good cause will have the reward thereof, and whoso intervenes in an evil cause will bear the consequence thereof. Allah is loathsome over all things. [17]

The word مُقِيتًا muqītan from the root m-q-t means ‘loathsome’. We use the word muqīt to refer to something hateful and abhorrent. The Lisān al-‘Arab lexicon defines al-muqīt as ‘powerful’, ‘mindful’ – and there is no doubt that its author Ibn Manẓūr came up with this definition in order to exonerate the Qur’ān from the possibility of any error in it, since the Qur’ān itself states: Lo! it was ever lewdness and abomination (وَمَقْتًا  maqtan) , and an evil way.[18]  The verb maqata means to ‘be abhorrent’. How can God be abhorrent? The original word must have been مثيبا muthīban (‘recompensing’) to make: Allah is recompensing in all things. The copyist was confused and wrote muqītan.

Surely you and what you worship besides Allah are the firewood of hell; to it you shall come.[19]

I think it’s clear to everyone that the word حَصَبُ ḥaṣab in the verse is a transcriptional error for حَطَبُ  ḥaṭab (‘firewood’).[20]

Or, do you feel secure that He will (not) take you back into it another time, then send on you a fierce gale (qāṣifan) and thus drown you on account of your ungratefulness? Then you shall not find any aider against Us in the matter.[21]

The word قَاصِفًا  qāṣifan  means ‘crowding’. The Al-Muḥīṭ dictionary states that qāṣifūn denotes ‘crowded’, whereby ‘some bear down upon others from over-crowding’.  A ra‘d qāṣif is a ‘roaring’ thunder. The Lisān al-‘Arab lexicon states that to qaṣaf something is to ‘break’ it. Al-Suyūṭī states in his book Al-Muzhir defines qaṣafa as to ‘revel’, ‘carouse’. None of these definitions are consistent with the content of the verse that states that “He sends gales over them and drowns them”. The drowning is caused by the huge waves stirred up by the gales, which overturn the boat and drown its passengers. I believe that the original word was عاصفاً ‘āṣifan (‘storm’) to make He will send upon you a storm of wind. In another verse the Qur’ān says:

He it is Who makes you travel by land and sea; until when you are in the ships, and they sail on with them in a pleasant breeze, and they rejoice, a violent wind overtakes them and the billows surge in on them.[22]

That’s why Yūnus (Jonas) drowned and the whale swallowed him.

They invoke in His stead only females; they pray to none else than Satan, a rebel.[23]

If we remove the diacritic dots from the word إِنَاثًا  ināthan (‘females’), we can imagine that the scribe was confused about the word, thought about it, and then conjectured that He must mean the goddesses Al-Lāt and al‘Uzza, so he wrote ‘females’. But the Arabs of the peninsula at that time worshipped, alongside Al-Lāt and al‘Uzza, the gods Hubal, Ba‘al and many gods mentioned by name. The word in question in the verse must have been be أوثانا awthānan ‘(idols’), to make: They invoke in His stead only idols.

Upon them shall be garments of fine green silk and thick silk interwoven with gold, and they shall be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord shall make them drink a pure drink.[24]

The reader does not need much effort to know that the letter alif in the word عَالِيَهُمْ ‘āliyahum ‘upon them’ is superfluous and what is meant is عليهم ‘alayhim. ‘Ā’isha herself read it as ‘alayhim.

And when they repented and saw that they had gone astray, they said: If our Lord show not mercy to us and forgive us we shall certainly be of the losers.[25]

The word سُقِطَ suqiṭa is from the root s-q-ṭ (‘fall’). We say “the boy fell”, and we mean that he ‘falls’ from his mother’s womb before he is fully grown. We also say things like “the falling off of things” meaning ‘trivial matters’ or “the man’s name dropped from of the isnad”, or ‘it dropped into his hand” (cf. al-Qanūjī’s Abjad al- ‘Ulūm). The literal phrase used in the above verse وَلَمَّا سُقِطَ فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ   and when it fell into their hands is not consistent with Arabic language that was common at the time of the Qur’ān’s emergence. The original form of the word must have been أُسقط   usqiṭa to give: and when (the matter) fell in their hands, that is, when they despaired.

It is clear from the above examples that the Qur’ān is not immune from the distortions that Muslims accused the scriptures of other religions. Every human endeavour is subject to errors that are clear to see.

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[1] Qur’ān X (Yūnus) 64.

[2] Qur’ān III (Āl ‘Imrān), 25:  إِذَا جَمَعْنَاهُمْ لِيَوْمٍ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ misread as إِذَا جَمَعْنَاهُمْ لِيَوْمٍ لَا زَيْتَ فِيهِ .

[3] Qur’ān LV (al-Raḥmān), 56: فِيهِنَّ قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنْسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلَا جَانٌّ 

[4] Qur’ān VII (al-A‘rāf), 145: وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُ فِي الْأَلْوَاحِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مَوْعِظَةً وَتَفْصِيلًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَخُذْهَا بِقُوَّةٍ وَأْمُرْ قَوْمَكَ يَأْخُذُوا بِأَحْسَنِهَا ۚ سَأُرِيكُمْ دَارَ الْفَاسِقِينَ

[5] The Qur’ānic author would thus be referencing Deuteronomy 26:1 – וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָבֹ֣וא אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֥בְתָּ בָּֽהּ  When thou are come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance and dwell therein. (Ed).

[6] Qur’ān XXVIII (al-Qaṣaṣ), 5.

[7] Qur’ān XLV (al-Jāthiya), 21: أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ اجْتَرَحُوا السَّيِّئَاتِ أَنْ نَجْعَلَهُمْ كَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ

[8] Qur’ān VI (al-An‘ām), 100: وَجَعَلُوا لِلَّهِ شُرَكَاءَ الْجِنَّ وَخَلَقَهُمْ ۖ وَخَرَقُوا لَهُ بَنِينَ وَبَنَاتٍ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۚ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ

[9] Qur’ān II (al-Baqara), 246: أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الْمَلَإِ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مُوسَىٰ إِذْ قَالُوا لِنَبِيٍّ لَهُمُ ابْعَثْ لَنَا مَلِكًا نُقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۖ قَالَ هَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ أَلَّا تُقَاتِلُوا ۖ قَالُوا وَمَا لَنَا أَلَّا نُقَاتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَقَدْ أُخْرِجْنَا مِنْ دِيَارِنَا وَأَبْنَائِنَا

[10] Qur’ān IV (al-Nisā’), 19.

[11] Qur’ān XIII (al-Ra‘d), 31: وَلَوْ أَنَّ قُرْآنًا سُيِّرَتْ بِهِ الْجِبَالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ الْأَرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتَىٰ ۗ بَلْ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ جَمِيعًا ۗ أَفَلَمْ يأيئس الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ لَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لَهَدَى النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا ۗ وَلَا يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا تُصِيبُهُمْ بِمَا صَنَعُوا قَارِعَةٌ أَوْ تَحُلُّ قَرِيبًا مِنْ دَارِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَ وَعْدُ اللَّهِ

[12] Qur’ān LVIII (al-Mujādila), 11: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمْ تَفَسَّحُوا فِي الْمَجَالِسِ فَافْسَحُوا يَفْسَحِ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ۖ وَإِذَا قِيلَ انْشُزُوا فَانْشُزُوا يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ ۚ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ

[13] Qur’ān XX (Ṭā Ḥā), 41: وَاصْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسِي

[14] Qur’ān III (Āl ‘Imrān), 33: إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَىٰ آدَمَ وَنُوحًا وَآلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَآلَ عِمْرَانَ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ

[15] Qur’ān XXXIX (al-Zumar), 53: قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ

[16] Qur’ān XLII (al-Shūrā), 25: وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَعْفُو عَنِ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ

[17] Qur’ān IV (al-Nisā’), 85: مَنْ يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُنْ لَهُ نَصِيبٌ مِنْهَا ۖ وَمَنْ يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يَكُنْ لَهُ كِفْلٌ مِنْهَا ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُقِيتًا

[18] Qur’ān IV (al-Nisā’), 22: إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَمَقْتًا وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا

[19] Qur’ān XXI (al-Anbiyā’), 98: إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ حَصَبُ جَهَنَّمَ أَنْتُمْ لَهَا وَارِدُونَ

[20] The Lisān al-‘Arab lexicon also lists the meaning ‘firewood’ under the entry for ḥaṣab,  possibly in another case of exonerating the Qur’ān from the possibility of an error. (Ed.)

[21] Qur’ān XVII (al-Isrā’) 69: أَمْ أَمِنْتُمْ أَنْ يُعِيدَكُمْ فِيهِ تَارَةً أُخْرَىٰ فَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ قَاصِفًا مِنَ الرِّيحِ فَيُغْرِقَكُمْ بِمَا كَفَرْتُمْ ۙ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا بِهِ تَبِيعًا

[22] Qur’ān X (Yūnus), 22: هُوَ الَّذِي يُسَيِّرُكُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ ۖ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا كُنْتُمْ فِي الْفُلْكِ وَجَرَيْنَ بِهِمْ بِرِيحٍ طَيِّبَةٍ وَفَرِحُوا بِهَا جَاءَتْهَا رِيحٌ عَاصِفٌ وَجَاءَهُمُ الْمَوْجُ

[23] Qur’ān IV (al-Nisā’), 117: إِنْ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ إِلَّا إِنَاثًا وَإِنْ يَدْعُونَ إِلَّا شَيْطَانًا مَرِيدًا

[24] Qur’ān LXXVI (al-Insān), 21: عَالِيَهُمْ ثِيَابُ سُنْدُسٍ خُضْرٌ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٌ ۖ وَحُلُّوا أَسَاوِرَ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ وَسَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا

[25] Qur’ān VII (al-A‘rāf),149: وَلَمَّا سُقِطَ فِي أَيْدِيهِمْ وَرَأَوْا أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ ضَلُّوا قَالُوا لَئِنْ لَمْ يَرْحَمْنَا رَبُّنَا وَيَغْفِرْ لَنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ