Burning the infringing Qurans
Burning the contradictory copies of
the Qur’an After Uthman had completed copying the Qur’an and sent it to the provinces, it was necessary to prevent everything that contradicted it. He ordered anyone who had anything other than the pages on which they had written the Qur’an to burn it, so that no one would take anything except those copies of the Qur’an that had the consensus of the Companions.
On the authority of Anas bin Malik regarding Uthman’s collection of the Qur’anic manuscripts, he said: “Until they copied the manuscripts into the manuscripts,
Uthman returned the manuscripts to Hafsah, and sent to every region a manuscript of what they had copied, and he ordered that everything else of the Qur’an in every manuscript or manuscript be burned.” (1) There are different narrations about what Uthman did with the manuscripts that were with the people. The previous narration of al-Bukhari says: “And he ordered that everything else of the Qur’an in every manuscript or manuscript be burned.” To be burned.
Al-Hafiz said: In the narration of most of them (to tear) with the voiced kha… and in the narration of Al-Ismaili: (to erase or burn). (2)
And in Ibn Abi Dawud from the hadith of Anas bin Malik: And he ordered them to burn every copy of the Qur’an that differed from the copy of the Qur’an that he sent with, and that was the time when the copies of the Qur’an in Iraq were burned with fire. (3)
And this narration is explicit that what they did was to burn those pages with fire, to remove them, and to protect them from being trampled underfoot. And
in his book also from the path of Abu Qilabah: So when he finished with the Qur’an, he wrote to the people of the provinces, that I have done such and such, and erased what I had, so erase what you have. (4)
Ibn Hajar said: And erasure is more general than washing or burning, and most of the narrations are explicit about burning, so that is what happened, and it is possible that each of them happened according to what the one who had something of that in his hand saw.
Judge Iyad asserted that they washed them with water, then burned them to exaggerate their removal. (5)
Ibn Abi Dawud narrated on the authority of some of the people of Talha ibn Musarrif that he said: Uthman buried the copies of the Qur’an between the grave and the pulpit. (6)
This trace is weak, as it contains an unknown person, who is the narrator from Talha ibn Musarrif. However, it contradicts the authentic previous traces in Sahih and other sources, that Uthman burned the copies of the Qur’an, and that none of the Companions objected to that.
The Companions agreed with Uthman on what he wanted to do in terms of burning the copies of the Qur’an that they were writing, so they responded to him and burned their copies of the Qur’an.
On the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib, he said: O people, do not exaggerate in Uthman, and do not say anything about him except good things about the Qur’an and the burning of the Qur’an, for by God, he did not do what he did about the Qur’an except on the authority of all of us. He said: By God, if I were appointed, I would do what he did. (7)
And on the authority of Mus’ab ibn Sa’d, he said: I knew the people when Uthman split the Qur’an, and they were pleased with that, or he said: No one criticized that. (8)
As for the pages that were written during the time of Abu Bakr, Uthman returned them to Hafsa after writing the Qur’an, as in the hadith of Anas ibn Malik, who said: Until when they copied the pages into the Qur’an, Uthman returned the pages to Hafsa. (9)
And Uthman kept the pages that Abu Bakr had written, because he had promised Hafsa -May God be pleased with her- to return it to her, as in the hadith mentioned above, on the authority of Anas bin Malik, who said: So Uthman sent to Hafsa, saying: Send us the scrolls so that we may copy them into the copies of the Qur’an, then we will return them to you. So Hafsa sent them to Uthman.
And according to Ibn Abi Dawud, through Ibn Shihab, on the authority of Salim, he said: So Uthman sent to her, but she refused to give it to him, until he promised her that he would return it to her, so she sent it to him. (10)
It is also possible that he kept it also because of the possibility of referring to it, because it was the origin of his copies of the Qur’an, and the consensus of the Companions was reached on it. As for the others, they might be in contradiction with his copies of the Qur’an, and thus be a cause of disagreement.
Al-Ja’bari said: And his burning of what was other than it (11) was applied to the copies of the Qur’an of the Companions, because they used to write in them the interpretation that they heard from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. And this is possible in the case of scraps of paper, so that someone who did not know their order would not copy them, and thus it would be confused, not the pages, because of the possibility of referring to them. (12)
And when Marwan ibn al-Hakam (13) assumed the leadership of Medina during the caliphate of Mu’awiyah, he asked Hafsa, may God be pleased with her, to burn them. So that no one would have any doubts about it, thinking that it contained something that contradicted the established Mushaf, or thinking that it contained something that Uthman had not written in the Mushafs. Hafsa refused to give it to her, so those pages remained with her until her death. When she died, Marwan attended her funeral, then he sent to Abdullah bin Umar with the order to send him the pages, so he spread them among the people and burned them, so that everyone would know about that, and no one would be eager to see what was in them, thinking that it differed from Uthman’s Mushafs. It was narrated
on the authority of Salim bin Abdullah that Marwan used to send to Hafsa asking her for the pages from which the Qur’an was written, but Hafsa refused to give them to him. Salim said: When Hafsa died and we returned from burying her, Marwan sent a command to Abdullah bin Omar to send him those pages, so Abdullah bin Omar sent them to him, and Marwan ordered them to be torn up. Marwan said: I only did this because what was in them had been written and preserved in the Mushaf, so I feared that if time passed, someone would doubt the matter of these pages, or say: There was something in them that was not written. (14)
In another narration: So he spread them out and burned them, fearing that there might be a difference in any of that when Uthman - may God have mercy on him - copied them. (15)
In another narration: So he washed them thoroughly. (16)
It is not far-fetched that Marwan did all of the mentioned things with the pages, such as tearing them up, washing them, and burning them.
Ibn Hajar said: It is agreed that he did all of this with the pages, from splitting, then washing, then burning. (17)
The ruling on what has worn out from the pages that contain the Qur’an
. The scholars differed regarding the pages that contain the words of God if they have worn out, and it becomes necessary to dispose of them.
Many scholars have held that it is permissible to burn them to protect them from being trampled on or dishonored, and some have held that they should be washed with water, and some of them held that they should be buried in the ground.
On the authority of Ibn Tawus, on the authority of his father, that he did not see any harm in burning books, and he said: Water and fire are two creations of God Almighty. (18)
Ibn Battal said, commenting on the previous statement of Anas bin Malik: (And he ordered that everything other than it of the Qur’an in every page or mushaf be burned), he said: In this hadith is the permissibility of burning books that contain the name of God with fire, and that this is an honor for them and a protection from being trampled upon by feet. (19)
Al-Suyuti said: It is not permissible to put them in a crack or other place, because it may fall and be trampled upon, and it is not permissible to tear them up, because that involves cutting the letters and separating the words, and in that is a disgrace to what is written. (20)
Al-Hulaimi said: (21) He may wash them with water, and if he burns them with fire, there is no harm.
Al-Zarkashi said: And others mentioned that burning is better than washing; Because the washer may fall on the ground. (22)
Judge Hussein (23) of the Shafi’i school of thought was certain that burning is prohibited, because it is contrary to respect, and al-Nawawi was certain that it is disliked. (24)
On the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari that a book was brought to him, and he said: If I were not afraid that it contains the remembrance of Allah, I would have burned it. (25)
In some Hanafi books it is stated that if the Qur’an wears out, it should not be burned, but rather a hole should be dug for it in the ground and it should be buried.
Al-Zarkashi said: It was also transmitted from Ahmad, and one may hesitate about it because it is exposed to being trampled on by feet. (26)
What appears to be more correct from these statements is the statement of those who saw it being burned with fire, because it was the action of the Companions, and none of them disagreed with that, and if some of them disliked burning it, it would have been transmitted to us.
We have recently come across the reports that mention the burning of the pages during the time of Uthman, in which all of the Companions were pleased with what was done.
-----
(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari in his Sahih: Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an, Chapter on Collecting the Qur’an (8/626), Hadith 4987.
(2) Fath al-Bari, Explanation of Sahih al-Bukhari (8/636).
(3) Kitab al-Masahif, p. 27.
(4) Kitab al-Masahif, p. 29.
(5) Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari (8/636).
(6) Kitab al-Masahif by Ibn Abi Dawud, chapter on Uthman’s taking away the Mushafs, p. 43.
(7) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, chapter on Uthman’s collection of the Mushafs, p. 30. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: With a sound chain of transmission. Fath al-Bari (8/634).
(8) Narrated by al-Dani in al-Muqni’ fi Ma’rifat Rasm Masahif al-Amsar, p. 18, and narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, chapter on the people’s agreement with Uthman on collecting the Mushafs, p. 19, and his wording is: And none of them denied that.
(9) Narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih: Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an, Chapter on the Collection of the Qur’an (8/626) Hadith 4987.
(10) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Book of the Qur’an, Chapter on the Collection of the Qur’an by Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, p. 16. According to Al-Tahawi: And he swore to her that he would return the scroll to her. Interpretation of the Mushkil Athar, Chapter on the Clarification of the Difficult Reports Narrated from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, regarding his saying: The Qur’an was revealed in seven letters. (4/193).
(11) He means the scrolls that Abu Bakr wrote.
(12) See Al-Kawakib Al-Durriyyah, p. 25.
(13) He is Marwan bin Al-Hakam bin Abi Al-Aas, born in the year two of the Hijrah, and did not see the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Muawiyah, peace and blessings be upon him, appointed him. On Mecca, Medina and Taif, and he was pledged allegiance to as caliph after the death of Muawiyah bin Yazid bin Muawiyah, and the duration of his rule was nine or ten months. Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma’rifat al-Sahaba (5/144,145).
(14) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, chapter on Uthman’s collection of the Mushafs, p. 32. Al-Haythami said: It was narrated by al-Tabarani and its men are the men of Sahih. Majma’ al-Zawa’id (7/159), Ibn Kathir said: Its chain of transmission is sound. Fadha’il al-Quran, p. 46.
(15) Kitab al-Masahif by Ibn Abi Dawud, p. 28.
(16) It was mentioned by al-Hafiz in al-Fath (8/636).
(17) Fath al-Bari bi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari (8/636).
(18) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, chapter on burning the Mushaf if one no longer needs it, p. 224.
(19) See Fath al-Bari (8/637).
(20) al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran (4/165).
(21) He is Imam Abu Abdullah Al-Hussein bin Al-Hasan Al-Halimi Al-Bukhari, the Sheikh of the Shafi’i school, and the head of the hadith scholars and theologians of what is beyond the river, the author of Al-Minhaj fi Shu’ab Al-Iman, he died in the year 403 AH. See Shudharat Al-Dhahab (3/167-168), and Siyar A’lam Al-Nubala (17/231-232).
(22) Al-Burhan fi Ulum Al-Quran (1/477).
(23) He is Judge Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Marwazi, the Shafi’i sheikh of his time and the author of famous fatwas. He died in the year 462 AH. See Shudharat al-Dhahab (3/310).
(24) al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamalat al-Quran, p. 89, and al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran (4/165).
(25) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, Chapter on Burning the Mushaf if One Does Not Need It, p. 224.
(26) al-Burhan fi Ulum al-Quran (1/477).
the Qur’an After Uthman had completed copying the Qur’an and sent it to the provinces, it was necessary to prevent everything that contradicted it. He ordered anyone who had anything other than the pages on which they had written the Qur’an to burn it, so that no one would take anything except those copies of the Qur’an that had the consensus of the Companions.
On the authority of Anas bin Malik regarding Uthman’s collection of the Qur’anic manuscripts, he said: “Until they copied the manuscripts into the manuscripts,
Uthman returned the manuscripts to Hafsah, and sent to every region a manuscript of what they had copied, and he ordered that everything else of the Qur’an in every manuscript or manuscript be burned.” (1) There are different narrations about what Uthman did with the manuscripts that were with the people. The previous narration of al-Bukhari says: “And he ordered that everything else of the Qur’an in every manuscript or manuscript be burned.” To be burned.
Al-Hafiz said: In the narration of most of them (to tear) with the voiced kha… and in the narration of Al-Ismaili: (to erase or burn). (2)
And in Ibn Abi Dawud from the hadith of Anas bin Malik: And he ordered them to burn every copy of the Qur’an that differed from the copy of the Qur’an that he sent with, and that was the time when the copies of the Qur’an in Iraq were burned with fire. (3)
And this narration is explicit that what they did was to burn those pages with fire, to remove them, and to protect them from being trampled underfoot. And
in his book also from the path of Abu Qilabah: So when he finished with the Qur’an, he wrote to the people of the provinces, that I have done such and such, and erased what I had, so erase what you have. (4)
Ibn Hajar said: And erasure is more general than washing or burning, and most of the narrations are explicit about burning, so that is what happened, and it is possible that each of them happened according to what the one who had something of that in his hand saw.
Judge Iyad asserted that they washed them with water, then burned them to exaggerate their removal. (5)
Ibn Abi Dawud narrated on the authority of some of the people of Talha ibn Musarrif that he said: Uthman buried the copies of the Qur’an between the grave and the pulpit. (6)
This trace is weak, as it contains an unknown person, who is the narrator from Talha ibn Musarrif. However, it contradicts the authentic previous traces in Sahih and other sources, that Uthman burned the copies of the Qur’an, and that none of the Companions objected to that.
The Companions agreed with Uthman on what he wanted to do in terms of burning the copies of the Qur’an that they were writing, so they responded to him and burned their copies of the Qur’an.
On the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib, he said: O people, do not exaggerate in Uthman, and do not say anything about him except good things about the Qur’an and the burning of the Qur’an, for by God, he did not do what he did about the Qur’an except on the authority of all of us. He said: By God, if I were appointed, I would do what he did. (7)
And on the authority of Mus’ab ibn Sa’d, he said: I knew the people when Uthman split the Qur’an, and they were pleased with that, or he said: No one criticized that. (8)
As for the pages that were written during the time of Abu Bakr, Uthman returned them to Hafsa after writing the Qur’an, as in the hadith of Anas ibn Malik, who said: Until when they copied the pages into the Qur’an, Uthman returned the pages to Hafsa. (9)
And Uthman kept the pages that Abu Bakr had written, because he had promised Hafsa -May God be pleased with her- to return it to her, as in the hadith mentioned above, on the authority of Anas bin Malik, who said: So Uthman sent to Hafsa, saying: Send us the scrolls so that we may copy them into the copies of the Qur’an, then we will return them to you. So Hafsa sent them to Uthman.
And according to Ibn Abi Dawud, through Ibn Shihab, on the authority of Salim, he said: So Uthman sent to her, but she refused to give it to him, until he promised her that he would return it to her, so she sent it to him. (10)
It is also possible that he kept it also because of the possibility of referring to it, because it was the origin of his copies of the Qur’an, and the consensus of the Companions was reached on it. As for the others, they might be in contradiction with his copies of the Qur’an, and thus be a cause of disagreement.
Al-Ja’bari said: And his burning of what was other than it (11) was applied to the copies of the Qur’an of the Companions, because they used to write in them the interpretation that they heard from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. And this is possible in the case of scraps of paper, so that someone who did not know their order would not copy them, and thus it would be confused, not the pages, because of the possibility of referring to them. (12)
And when Marwan ibn al-Hakam (13) assumed the leadership of Medina during the caliphate of Mu’awiyah, he asked Hafsa, may God be pleased with her, to burn them. So that no one would have any doubts about it, thinking that it contained something that contradicted the established Mushaf, or thinking that it contained something that Uthman had not written in the Mushafs. Hafsa refused to give it to her, so those pages remained with her until her death. When she died, Marwan attended her funeral, then he sent to Abdullah bin Umar with the order to send him the pages, so he spread them among the people and burned them, so that everyone would know about that, and no one would be eager to see what was in them, thinking that it differed from Uthman’s Mushafs. It was narrated
on the authority of Salim bin Abdullah that Marwan used to send to Hafsa asking her for the pages from which the Qur’an was written, but Hafsa refused to give them to him. Salim said: When Hafsa died and we returned from burying her, Marwan sent a command to Abdullah bin Omar to send him those pages, so Abdullah bin Omar sent them to him, and Marwan ordered them to be torn up. Marwan said: I only did this because what was in them had been written and preserved in the Mushaf, so I feared that if time passed, someone would doubt the matter of these pages, or say: There was something in them that was not written. (14)
In another narration: So he spread them out and burned them, fearing that there might be a difference in any of that when Uthman - may God have mercy on him - copied them. (15)
In another narration: So he washed them thoroughly. (16)
It is not far-fetched that Marwan did all of the mentioned things with the pages, such as tearing them up, washing them, and burning them.
Ibn Hajar said: It is agreed that he did all of this with the pages, from splitting, then washing, then burning. (17)
The ruling on what has worn out from the pages that contain the Qur’an
. The scholars differed regarding the pages that contain the words of God if they have worn out, and it becomes necessary to dispose of them.
Many scholars have held that it is permissible to burn them to protect them from being trampled on or dishonored, and some have held that they should be washed with water, and some of them held that they should be buried in the ground.
On the authority of Ibn Tawus, on the authority of his father, that he did not see any harm in burning books, and he said: Water and fire are two creations of God Almighty. (18)
Ibn Battal said, commenting on the previous statement of Anas bin Malik: (And he ordered that everything other than it of the Qur’an in every page or mushaf be burned), he said: In this hadith is the permissibility of burning books that contain the name of God with fire, and that this is an honor for them and a protection from being trampled upon by feet. (19)
Al-Suyuti said: It is not permissible to put them in a crack or other place, because it may fall and be trampled upon, and it is not permissible to tear them up, because that involves cutting the letters and separating the words, and in that is a disgrace to what is written. (20)
Al-Hulaimi said: (21) He may wash them with water, and if he burns them with fire, there is no harm.
Al-Zarkashi said: And others mentioned that burning is better than washing; Because the washer may fall on the ground. (22)
Judge Hussein (23) of the Shafi’i school of thought was certain that burning is prohibited, because it is contrary to respect, and al-Nawawi was certain that it is disliked. (24)
On the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari that a book was brought to him, and he said: If I were not afraid that it contains the remembrance of Allah, I would have burned it. (25)
In some Hanafi books it is stated that if the Qur’an wears out, it should not be burned, but rather a hole should be dug for it in the ground and it should be buried.
Al-Zarkashi said: It was also transmitted from Ahmad, and one may hesitate about it because it is exposed to being trampled on by feet. (26)
What appears to be more correct from these statements is the statement of those who saw it being burned with fire, because it was the action of the Companions, and none of them disagreed with that, and if some of them disliked burning it, it would have been transmitted to us.
We have recently come across the reports that mention the burning of the pages during the time of Uthman, in which all of the Companions were pleased with what was done.
-----
(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari in his Sahih: Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an, Chapter on Collecting the Qur’an (8/626), Hadith 4987.
(2) Fath al-Bari, Explanation of Sahih al-Bukhari (8/636).
(3) Kitab al-Masahif, p. 27.
(4) Kitab al-Masahif, p. 29.
(5) Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari (8/636).
(6) Kitab al-Masahif by Ibn Abi Dawud, chapter on Uthman’s taking away the Mushafs, p. 43.
(7) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, chapter on Uthman’s collection of the Mushafs, p. 30. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: With a sound chain of transmission. Fath al-Bari (8/634).
(8) Narrated by al-Dani in al-Muqni’ fi Ma’rifat Rasm Masahif al-Amsar, p. 18, and narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, chapter on the people’s agreement with Uthman on collecting the Mushafs, p. 19, and his wording is: And none of them denied that.
(9) Narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih: Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an, Chapter on the Collection of the Qur’an (8/626) Hadith 4987.
(10) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Book of the Qur’an, Chapter on the Collection of the Qur’an by Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, p. 16. According to Al-Tahawi: And he swore to her that he would return the scroll to her. Interpretation of the Mushkil Athar, Chapter on the Clarification of the Difficult Reports Narrated from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, regarding his saying: The Qur’an was revealed in seven letters. (4/193).
(11) He means the scrolls that Abu Bakr wrote.
(12) See Al-Kawakib Al-Durriyyah, p. 25.
(13) He is Marwan bin Al-Hakam bin Abi Al-Aas, born in the year two of the Hijrah, and did not see the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Muawiyah, peace and blessings be upon him, appointed him. On Mecca, Medina and Taif, and he was pledged allegiance to as caliph after the death of Muawiyah bin Yazid bin Muawiyah, and the duration of his rule was nine or ten months. Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma’rifat al-Sahaba (5/144,145).
(14) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, chapter on Uthman’s collection of the Mushafs, p. 32. Al-Haythami said: It was narrated by al-Tabarani and its men are the men of Sahih. Majma’ al-Zawa’id (7/159), Ibn Kathir said: Its chain of transmission is sound. Fadha’il al-Quran, p. 46.
(15) Kitab al-Masahif by Ibn Abi Dawud, p. 28.
(16) It was mentioned by al-Hafiz in al-Fath (8/636).
(17) Fath al-Bari bi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari (8/636).
(18) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, chapter on burning the Mushaf if one no longer needs it, p. 224.
(19) See Fath al-Bari (8/637).
(20) al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran (4/165).
(21) He is Imam Abu Abdullah Al-Hussein bin Al-Hasan Al-Halimi Al-Bukhari, the Sheikh of the Shafi’i school, and the head of the hadith scholars and theologians of what is beyond the river, the author of Al-Minhaj fi Shu’ab Al-Iman, he died in the year 403 AH. See Shudharat Al-Dhahab (3/167-168), and Siyar A’lam Al-Nubala (17/231-232).
(22) Al-Burhan fi Ulum Al-Quran (1/477).
(23) He is Judge Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Marwazi, the Shafi’i sheikh of his time and the author of famous fatwas. He died in the year 462 AH. See Shudharat al-Dhahab (3/310).
(24) al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamalat al-Quran, p. 89, and al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran (4/165).
(25) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, Chapter on Burning the Mushaf if One Does Not Need It, p. 224.
(26) al-Burhan fi Ulum al-Quran (1/477).
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment