Reply to the doubt: Abu Amr’s saying [I am ashamed to read: These two are magicians]

 

Some of those who challenge the Holy Qur’an have cited a hadith narrated on the authority of Abu Amr ibn al-Ala’, from which they understood his challenge to the Holy Qur’an. It is: On the authority of Abu Amr, he said : [ I am ashamed to read: “Indeed, these two are magicians .”]

The answer to this effect is from two aspects:

The first face: a novel.

We say that the trace: has no basis [1]. It was mentioned by Abu al-Qasim al-Naysaburi (Ijaz al-Bayan - 2/549), al-Razi (Mafatih al-Ghayb - 22/65), and others without a chain of transmission. I did not find it with a chain of transmission after a long search. The chain of transmission is the path that leads to the authenticity of the text, and there is no good in a text without a chain of transmission. On the authority of Yahya bin Saeed al-Qattan, he said: [ Do not look at the hadith, but look at the chain of transmission. If the chain of transmission is authentic, then fine. Otherwise, do not be deceived by the hadith if the chain of transmission is not authentic ] [2].

The second aspect: knowledge.

On the authority of Al-Asma’i, he said: I heard Abu Amr ibn Al-Ala’ say : “ If it were not for the fact that I cannot recite except as it was recited, I would have recited the letter [3] such-and-such and the letter such-and-such ” [4]. So his saying ( was recited ) means: I recited it to my sheikhs. And (a group of the imams of the Salaf used to say: [ Recitation is a followed Sunnah ] [5], meaning: [ The later takes it from the earlier, and the person stops at what is heard, he does not recite as he wishes ] [6]. Ibn al-Jazari said: [ Therefore, recitation is prohibited by absolute analogy, which has no basis in recitation to which one can refer, nor a strong pillar in performance that can be relied upon, as we narrated from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab and Zayd ibn Thabit - may God be pleased with them - from the Companions, and from Ibn Al-Munkadir, Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz and Amir al-Sha’bi from the Tabi’een said: “Recitation is a Sunnah that the latter takes from the former, so recite as you have been taught . ” [7] Accordingly, Abu Amr’s statement means: “I am ashamed to recite ( Indeed, these two are magicians ) because I cannot recite except as it has been recited – I recited it to my sheikhs – and the way to accurately recite the Qur’an is to hear and receive it from the mouths of the sheikhs. If it were not for that, I would recite with such and such a letter from the other letters.” Abu Amr’s shyness comes from the fact that he does not recite except as he received it from his sheikhs. From reading, while other readings were confirmed to him as is apparent from the trace, not because he believed that the verse was incorrect.[8]

May God bless and grant peace to our Prophet Muhammad, his family and all his companions.

[1] - Al-Suyuti said

: (Their statement (this hadith has no basis, or no basis), Ibn Taymiyyah said: Its meaning is that it has no chain of transmission). (Tadrib al-Rawi - 1/350).
[2] - Tahrir Ulum al-Hadith (1/24), and he authenticated the aforementioned trace of al-Qattan there.
[3] - What is meant by the letter here is the recitation.
[4] - Narrated by Ibn Mujahid in al-Sab’ah (47), and al-Mustaghfiri in Fada’il al-Qur’an (1/373), and authenticated by al-Saloum, the investigator of al-Fada’il. [5]
- It is proven from the hadith of Ali with a chain of transmission traceable back to the Prophet, and Zaid bin Thabit, Muhammad bin al-Munkadir, and Urwah bin al-Zubayr from their statement. See: (al-Muqaddimat al-Asasiyah - 180)
[6] - al-Muqaddimat al-Asasiyah (179).
[7] - al-Nashr fi al-Qira’at al-‘Ashr (1/17).
[8] - Benefit: ((Indeed, these two are magicians)), (in) was read with a light pronunciation, and (hadhan) with an alif, - and this is the reading of Hafs Asim - and its explanation: that the original is (indeed, these two), so (inna) was lightened by deleting the second nun, and it was neglected as is most common in it if it is lightened, and what comes after it is raised by the beginning and the predicate, so the alif was brought, and its equivalent: that you say: (indeed, Zaidan is standing), so if you lighten it, then it is more correct to say: (indeed, Zaidan is standing), on the beginning and the predicate, God - the Most High - said: ((Indeed, every soul has a guardian over it)), and (inna) was read with a shaddah and (hadhan) with an alif, - and this is a reading and it is the reading of the majority except for Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, and Hafs from Asim -, and it is in the language of Bilharith bin Kaab, Khatham, Zubayd, Kinanah, and others, where they always ask for the dual with an alif, you say: (The two Zayds came), (I saw the two Zayds), ​​(I passed by the two Zayds), ​​and (these two) were read - with a shaddah on the “nun” of (in) and with a “ya” in (these two) - and this is the reading of Abu Amr ibn al-Ala’ al-Basri, and it is in accordance with the well-known traditions of Arabic.