Originally posted by balaclava:
We can talk about who were the Arabs, whether the Quraish were true Arabs, the origins or the Arab language, how it evolved and how it changed, whether the original verses dictated by Muhammad were dictated in Arabic or written in Arabic and theres an abundance of evidence to show that the script used at that time in that region was NOT the same as the Arabic used today but that question posed by the OP pertained to the question, are the Arabic verses in todays copies of the Quran the same language and text as the original verses dictated by Muhammad and written down by the various scribes who recorded them as they are claimed to be my you ( and all Muslim). We can answer this easily by simply taking a look at the original verses written on the original bits of hide and bone - Ooops, oh no we cant do that because Uthman, the third Caliph (644-656) destroyed all the originals just 20 years after Muhammads death. WHY? Why did he do that? Clearly he did it to deny anyone the opportunity to see them. WHY? Why did he not want anyone to see the originals? Why, did he instigate the question, the doubt; did he know that keeping them for posterity would cause more doubt. If we can answer the question why did he destroy the originals we might come to an answer posed by the OP and answers to lots of questions about Islam!
Your penchant for basing your arguments on erroneous and inaccurate statements is astounding. The above paragraph contains several such statements. Ill start by pointing out how you first admit in a roundabout way that you brought up and tried to discuss points that were essentially irrelevant to the question posed by the OP (i.e. who were the Arabs, whether the Quraish were true Arabs, the origins of the Arab language, etc.). Nevertheless, all of those points were responded to and addressed sufficiently enough to illustrate how baseless your claims were. Next, you go on to claim that theres an abundance of evidence to show that the script used at the time of Muhammad in the region he was in was not the same as the Arabic script used today. In an earlier post you spend some time discussing the Kufic script, which was used during the early Islamic period, but you never talk about the Arabic script that is used today and what its relationship is to the Kufic script. Therefore, you imply that since the script that was used during Muhammads time is different from what is used today, a different language must have been used. I would like to respond to that claim. In an earlier post you stated that the al-mushaf al-Uthmani was written in the Kufic script, which you claimed to be the most commonly used script in the region at the time. Now generally speaking, there were two types of scripts used early on; Kufic and Naskhi. Kufic script is generally considered to be the earlier of the two scripts that were used. The Kufic script is more angular while the Naskhi script is more cursive. The modern Arabic script that is used today developed from the Naskhi script. Despite the different scripts being used, all represent the language of Arabic. The different scripts are not associated with different languages. Individuals who study languages never suggest that the different scripts are associated with different languages when discussing the Arabic language. Your suggestion is completely unfounded. Your unfamiliarity with the Arabic language and its history continue to shine through in your posts.
In your paragraph above you also make it seem as if Uthman personally destroyed all of the original verses written on bits of hide and bones in order to deny anyone else the opportunity to see them because if that were to happen, it would create more doubt. That thesis is full of inaccuracies. I have already provided an accurate account of events pertaining to the preservation of the Quran under the reign of Uthman in a previous post. However, you apparently decided to completely ignore/reject what I had written and simply continue to put forth the same tired inquiries like a broken record. Before you set out to reject a claim, make sure you get the facts straight first. An honest effort at doing that will help alleviate questions you may have. What follows is part of an earlier post pertaining to Uthman and his efforts at preserving the Quran in written form along with a more detailed explanation as to why he ordered all private copies (not Hafsahs copy, which is the original collection that you are referring to) destroyed:
Originally posted by karim06518:
During the reign of Uthman, the next leader of the Muslims after Umar, circumstances were brought to his attention which made it necessary to circulate official copies of the Quran, transcribed by official scribes, and suppress all those made by private individuals. Thus, after consultation with the general body of the Companions, it was decided that the collection made in the time of Abu Bakr would be obtained from Hafsah in order to have official copies transcribed from it for circulation. All private copies that existed were to be destroyed, which were perhaps not made with sufficient care and might have contained any variation of reading. Had the actions of Uthman in destroying all private copies of the Quran been arbitrary or unjustifiable, the Companions of the prophet would never have agreed to it. They, however, not only approved of his actions but also willingly carried out his orders. Thus, the purity of the text of the Quran can be conclusively demonstrated. The collection of Abu Bakr was a faithful reproduction of the revelation as reduced to writing in the presence of the prophet Muhammad, and agreed every bit in text as well as arrangement, with the Holy Quran as preserved in the memories of the Companions. The copies circulated by Uthman were true and faithful copies of Abu Bakrs collection and these copies have admittedly remained unaltered for over fourteen hundred years
The circumstances that I am referring to which prompted Uthman to act is the fact that Uthman was told by one of his generals that there were variations in the modes of reading the Quran in distant parts of the Muslim world. No such differences were pointed out to have existed anywhere within Arabia. It was only in newly converted countries, where Arabic was not spoken, that these differences were noticed. Although they were only differences in modes of reading or pronunctiation in different dialects, it was feared that if nothing was done to put a stop to the slight differences existing at the time, they might, after a few generations, develop into serious ones. And so those were the reasons why Uthman ordered the destruction of all private copies (but not the original collection in Hafsahs possession).
Wassalam,
Karim
