1 00:00:01,691 --> 00:00:04,291 Meezan - Tadabbur-e Quran (Understanding the Quran) 2 00:00:05,894 --> 00:00:09,114 Meezan and Furqan, Disputes of recitation. Lecture. 13 A. 12-04-2002 3 00:00:10,468 --> 00:00:12,968 Scholar. Javed Ahmed Ghamidi 4 00:00:14,477 --> 00:00:18,918 [Javed Ahmed Ghamidi] Alhumdulillah All Praise is due to Allah, 5 00:00:18,918 --> 00:00:22,428 Peace and Blessings be upon His Trustworthy Prophet Muhammad. 6 00:00:23,428 --> 00:00:25,388 I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. 7 00:00:25,388 --> 00:00:27,898 In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent and Ever Merciful. 8 00:00:30,322 --> 00:00:32,122 Ladies and gentlemen, 9 00:00:35,014 --> 00:00:39,704 In the debate about Meezan and Furqan, 10 00:00:41,688 --> 00:00:48,858 we have been studying the various points of views about Qiraat of the Quran. 11 00:00:50,784 --> 00:00:56,864 We saw in it that even though it is usually thought that 12 00:00:56,864 --> 00:01:01,738 there is more than one single recitation of the Quran, 13 00:01:01,738 --> 00:01:06,288 but when we look at it in light of the Quran itself 14 00:01:06,288 --> 00:01:11,498 as well as in light of the entire history which we have with us, 15 00:01:11,498 --> 00:01:17,878 when we study this whole issue, then an entirely different scenario emerges. 16 00:01:18,891 --> 00:01:22,331 Hence we also saw in great detail 17 00:01:22,331 --> 00:01:25,431 what the Quran itself says about its recitation and 18 00:01:25,431 --> 00:01:27,627 its process of compilation and order. 19 00:01:30,144 --> 00:01:35,154 We then also saw that the corpus that we possess with us with respect to 20 00:01:35,154 --> 00:01:37,984 Uloon-ul-Quran (sciences of the Quran), 21 00:01:37,984 --> 00:01:41,244 what are the historical traditions written in it conveying? 22 00:01:42,707 --> 00:01:47,367 From that it became clear that one reading of the Quran is that 23 00:01:47,367 --> 00:01:52,327 in which it was being revealed during the first stage. 24 00:01:52,327 --> 00:01:57,257 After that, Allah Himself gave it a new order and arrangement. 25 00:01:57,257 --> 00:02:01,897 And based on that order, a second recitation of the Quran was revealed. 26 00:02:01,897 --> 00:02:10,257 And even in that, due regard was taken to reveal that second recitation twice. 27 00:02:10,257 --> 00:02:13,657 And there was a group from among the Companions 28 00:02:13,657 --> 00:02:16,627 who were present with the Prophet (pbuh) during that event 29 00:02:16,627 --> 00:02:21,517 when in the last year of the Prophet's life, Archangel Gabriel recited it twice. 30 00:02:21,517 --> 00:02:27,147 Along with this historical record, we had also seen previously 31 00:02:27,147 --> 00:02:31,147 that the Quran itself says the same thing about itself. 32 00:02:31,147 --> 00:02:34,597 And it has made it absolutely clear 33 00:02:34,597 --> 00:02:38,597 that the Almighty also knew what the contemporary situation was, 34 00:02:38,597 --> 00:02:41,070 and is revealing the Quran accordingly. 35 00:02:41,070 --> 00:02:44,440 And 'Sanuqri'uka fala tansa Illa masha'allah 36 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,110 innahoo ya'lamul jahra wa ma yakhfa'. 37 00:02:47,110 --> 00:02:49,520 And later, the things which were hidden 38 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,310 those which were not told to the Prophet or the Companions, 39 00:02:52,310 --> 00:02:54,480 but which Allah is well aware of, 40 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,240 and the tribulations which the Muslims will be faced with till Judgement Day, 41 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:58,890 which Allah knows too, 42 00:02:58,890 --> 00:03:00,850 hence taking into consideration these factors, 43 00:03:00,850 --> 00:03:02,950 He would give the whole of Quran a new order. 44 00:03:02,950 --> 00:03:05,040 This is something which the Quran has stated itself. 45 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,730 It has also made it clear that it then becomes imperative 46 00:03:08,730 --> 00:03:11,410 that only the second recitation should be followed. 47 00:03:11,410 --> 00:03:15,810 So this second recitation which is termed as arzah al-akhirah (final presentation), 48 00:03:15,810 --> 00:03:19,170 we have read about this in great detail. 49 00:03:19,170 --> 00:03:22,710 Towards the end of it, this question had come up that 50 00:03:22,710 --> 00:03:25,530 what would be said about that narration 51 00:03:25,530 --> 00:03:27,820 which is written in the books of Hadith 52 00:03:27,820 --> 00:03:32,010 about the Quran being revealed in Seven Ahruf. 53 00:03:32,010 --> 00:03:36,780 Thus we were highlighting certain critical points about this narration 54 00:03:36,780 --> 00:03:38,880 based on the contents of its text. 55 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,650 In this, two aspects had come under discussion. 56 00:03:43,729 --> 00:03:46,939 The first point that came under discussion was that 57 00:03:46,939 --> 00:03:50,069 there is no doubt that this narration can be found 58 00:03:50,069 --> 00:03:52,939 in the primary books of Hadith. 59 00:03:52,939 --> 00:03:57,309 At the moment, the science of Hadith which we have with us, 60 00:03:57,309 --> 00:04:00,839 in light of that, the chain of transmission of this narration 61 00:04:00,839 --> 00:04:03,759 cannot be brought under question in a way that would 62 00:04:03,759 --> 00:04:07,059 make it stand abolished or rejected. 63 00:04:07,059 --> 00:04:09,839 In its chain of transmission, such trusted personages are found 64 00:04:09,839 --> 00:04:12,189 whole reports are generally considered trustworthy and acceptable. 65 00:04:12,189 --> 00:04:16,369 Nor is there any kind of a break in the chain of transmission, apparently. 66 00:04:16,369 --> 00:04:21,809 But what does it mean? What is the meaning of this report? 67 00:04:21,809 --> 00:04:24,489 The report does not mean anything in itself. 68 00:04:24,489 --> 00:04:28,319 There is a verse of the Quran and if no one in the world 69 00:04:28,319 --> 00:04:32,319 can understand its meaning, then what opinion can be formed about it? 70 00:04:32,319 --> 00:04:33,919 What exactly is it then? 71 00:04:33,919 --> 00:04:38,139 So the first thing we read about it was, what is its subject matter? 72 00:04:38,139 --> 00:04:40,302 What is its meaning? 73 00:04:40,302 --> 00:04:44,302 What is it trying to say? What does 'Seven Ahruf' in it imply? 74 00:04:44,302 --> 00:04:48,302 When it is said that the Quran is revealed in Seven Ahruf (Seven Ways), 75 00:04:48,302 --> 00:04:52,423 there must be some referent in light of which this claim is being made. 76 00:04:52,423 --> 00:04:56,053 What is it? So we saw that in the last fourteen centures, 77 00:04:56,053 --> 00:04:59,073 no consensus has been achieved about it. 78 00:04:59,073 --> 00:05:04,593 Moreover, it is a wilderness of opinions in which ones finds himself confounded. 79 00:05:04,593 --> 00:05:08,324 Hence I had stated that Al-Suyuti who is a very well read and erudite person, 80 00:05:08,324 --> 00:05:13,673 in fact it is absolutely correct about Imam Ibn Taymiyyah and Al-Suyuti, 81 00:05:13,673 --> 00:05:16,973 that in our historical corpus and in our traditions, 82 00:05:16,973 --> 00:05:20,713 if they don't know something, then it is not known to anyone else either. 83 00:05:20,713 --> 00:05:23,133 Both of them are very widely read and erudite. 84 00:05:23,133 --> 00:05:26,373 It is a very famous saying about Imam ibn Taymiyyah, 85 00:05:26,373 --> 00:05:30,373 that 'Ammal Hadees fala yaa'rifu ibn Taymiyyah falaysa bi-Hadees.' 86 00:05:30,373 --> 00:05:32,963 It means that a Hadith not known to ibn Taymiyyah, 87 00:05:32,963 --> 00:05:34,453 is simply not a Hadith report. 88 00:05:34,453 --> 00:05:40,103 It speaks of his reach and erudition. And the case with al-Suyuti is the same. 89 00:05:40,103 --> 00:05:43,204 One can have a discussion about his understanding, 90 00:05:43,204 --> 00:05:48,403 the way he collated information, and his method of critique and analysis used, 91 00:05:48,403 --> 00:05:50,041 those can be discussed too. 92 00:05:50,041 --> 00:05:52,471 But he too was an extremely well read and erudite. 93 00:05:52,471 --> 00:05:54,471 In his book Al-Itqaan, 94 00:05:54,471 --> 00:05:56,971 and Al-Itqaan which we have, 95 00:05:56,971 --> 00:05:58,901 in addition to al-Burhan by Zarkashi, 96 00:05:58,901 --> 00:06:00,641 and Al-Itqaan by Suyuti, 97 00:06:00,641 --> 00:06:06,595 these two books are actually central to the discipline of Uloom ul-Quran. 98 00:06:06,595 --> 00:06:08,965 So they are the primary texts, 99 00:06:08,965 --> 00:06:12,085 Al-Itqaan by Suyuti, and al-Burhan by Zarkashi. 100 00:06:12,085 --> 00:06:16,294 Uloom ul-Quran means that whatever commentaries and materials 101 00:06:16,294 --> 00:06:18,963 we have with us about the Quran, all of it is collated together. 102 00:06:18,963 --> 00:06:21,683 About how the Quran was revealed, which verses are there in it, 103 00:06:21,683 --> 00:06:24,063 what is the history of its compilation and arrangement, 104 00:06:24,063 --> 00:06:26,663 what have been the different styles of commentaries on it, 105 00:06:26,663 --> 00:06:28,253 and what is the issue around its recitations. 106 00:06:28,253 --> 00:06:31,723 All of these aspects are brought together under a discipline, 107 00:06:31,723 --> 00:06:34,593 and these two texts are the primary books of that discipline. 108 00:06:35,783 --> 00:06:39,133 So naturally Suyuti has discussed about it in his Al-Itqaan. 109 00:06:39,133 --> 00:06:42,873 It is a very comprehensive debate in which he elaborates 110 00:06:42,873 --> 00:06:46,173 on what this narration says, and what is its subject matter. 111 00:06:46,173 --> 00:06:50,823 So in that he acknowledges the fact that there are about forty different opinions 112 00:06:50,823 --> 00:06:53,683 which have been formed about the narration up till then. 113 00:06:53,683 --> 00:06:57,683 But not even a single opinion is such which does not fall short of adequate. 114 00:06:57,683 --> 00:07:01,683 At the very first glance it can be seen that it is not a suitable stance. 115 00:07:01,683 --> 00:07:03,263 That the narration is still an enigma. 116 00:07:03,263 --> 00:07:05,923 It is as if an utterly senseless opinion has been given 117 00:07:05,923 --> 00:07:08,817 only to satisfy oneself, but that has not worked successfully. 118 00:07:08,817 --> 00:07:11,063 This is what Suyuti himself has acknowledged! 119 00:07:11,063 --> 00:07:14,513 And after that acknowledgement, the last point he has made 120 00:07:14,513 --> 00:07:16,733 in his commentary on Al-Muwatta, titled Tanwir al-hawalik, 121 00:07:16,733 --> 00:07:18,523 so he has a commentary on Al-Muwatta as well. 122 00:07:18,523 --> 00:07:21,963 And the text which I have cited from the narration is from Al-Muwatta. 123 00:07:21,963 --> 00:07:25,593 I have also mentioned that this text can be found in other Hadith collections too. 124 00:07:25,593 --> 00:07:28,863 But since Al-Muwatta is the primary book, so I have copied the text from it. 125 00:07:28,863 --> 00:07:31,593 And Suyuti's Tanwir al-hawalik is the commentary of that very book. 126 00:07:31,593 --> 00:07:33,276 So when he has come to this narration in his book, 127 00:07:33,276 --> 00:07:36,396 he has acknowledged that it must be accepted that 128 00:07:36,396 --> 00:07:38,836 even though this narration exists, 129 00:07:38,836 --> 00:07:42,286 but it must be regarded as being from the matters which are mutashabihat. 130 00:07:42,286 --> 00:07:45,886 It means that no one can know what it means. This must be accepted. 131 00:07:45,886 --> 00:07:48,516 And if the meanings cannot be known, then the debate comes an end here. 132 00:07:48,516 --> 00:07:51,256 What can be further said about this narration? 133 00:07:51,256 --> 00:07:53,966 Because whatever we have to believe or know about the narration, 134 00:07:53,966 --> 00:07:55,856 has to be based on its very meaning. 135 00:07:55,856 --> 00:07:58,126 The narration has been written down, and it can remain there. 136 00:07:58,126 --> 00:08:01,146 This is the first point, that no one has succeeded in offering an explanation 137 00:08:01,146 --> 00:08:02,686 of its meaning. 138 00:08:02,686 --> 00:08:04,746 Even the people who have worked extraordinarily hard for it. 139 00:08:04,746 --> 00:08:11,266 In the modern era too, the scholars who believe this narration to be true, 140 00:08:11,266 --> 00:08:15,266 or based on this narration they hold a positive viewpoint 141 00:08:15,266 --> 00:08:17,426 regarding multiple recitations. 142 00:08:17,426 --> 00:08:19,316 I have seen all of their reasonings as well. 143 00:08:19,316 --> 00:08:21,353 And even in that, there is the same kind of acknowledgement to be found. 144 00:08:21,353 --> 00:08:24,313 Even in our contemporary times, the people who wrote some books 145 00:08:24,313 --> 00:08:26,743 on Uloom ul-Quran, including the ones written in Urdu, 146 00:08:26,743 --> 00:08:31,266 they too find themselves forced to admit that it has no meaning. 147 00:08:31,266 --> 00:08:33,926 What the meaning of the narration is, is hard to figure out. 148 00:08:33,926 --> 00:08:37,926 Then it also happens that they sometimes consider a worthless opinion 149 00:08:37,926 --> 00:08:40,346 to be the closest to being adequate. 150 00:08:40,346 --> 00:08:42,536 That is, comes close to being the correct understanding. Yes? 151 00:08:42,536 --> 00:08:46,908 [Student] Sir when people say about this narration that it is hard to understand, 152 00:08:46,908 --> 00:08:50,028 do they still abide by the idea that it was revealed in seven ways? 153 00:08:50,028 --> 00:08:52,648 [Ghamidi] Well their being convinced by this notion is a separate story. 154 00:08:52,648 --> 00:08:56,648 I am only talking about what the meaning of this narration is. 155 00:08:56,648 --> 00:08:58,358 Everyone actually accepts it, 156 00:08:58,358 --> 00:09:00,798 we have already stated that previously and we will summarize it again later on. 157 00:09:00,798 --> 00:09:03,408 There is no dispute among people when it comes to believing in it. 158 00:09:03,408 --> 00:09:05,467 But what is the meaning of this narration? 159 00:09:05,467 --> 00:09:09,058 [Student] His question was that if we say that 160 00:09:09,058 --> 00:09:12,218 this narration is such that no one can understand its meaning, 161 00:09:12,218 --> 00:09:14,958 then on what basis do they claim to abide by the Seven recitations? 162 00:09:14,958 --> 00:09:16,878 [Ghamidi] What do you mean by Seven recitations? 163 00:09:16,878 --> 00:09:19,848 No one believes in seven recitations. 164 00:09:19,848 --> 00:09:22,138 People believe in dozens of recitations actually. 165 00:09:22,138 --> 00:09:23,998 [Student] That there is another recitation of the Quran apart from this one reading. 166 00:09:23,998 --> 00:09:25,378 [Ghamidi] Yes that is what you should say. 167 00:09:25,378 --> 00:09:27,308 About that, people say it exists. 168 00:09:27,308 --> 00:09:31,448 And I have already discussed that and explained to you that they say it exists. 169 00:09:31,448 --> 00:09:34,918 And those other readings people are relating and they are found in some books, 170 00:09:34,918 --> 00:09:37,438 and some people are narrating it with its oral chain of transmission, 171 00:09:37,438 --> 00:09:40,558 or someone is teaching it. People do say all these things. 172 00:09:40,558 --> 00:09:43,428 In fact I have already told you that on the basis of it 173 00:09:43,428 --> 00:09:47,588 an official Quran has been published in our contemporary times. 174 00:09:47,588 --> 00:09:49,638 I have placed that Quran before you as well. 175 00:09:49,638 --> 00:09:52,098 So there is no denying that other readings exist. 176 00:09:52,098 --> 00:09:54,748 And based on the fact of their existence, 177 00:09:54,748 --> 00:09:57,058 people believe that these recitations exist. 178 00:09:57,058 --> 00:09:59,508 It is something which is lying before us. 179 00:09:59,508 --> 00:10:03,928 And some people present this narration too as a source of that. 180 00:10:03,928 --> 00:10:07,878 What I am saying is that this narration should not be a matter of confusion. 181 00:10:07,878 --> 00:10:10,778 [Student] So people cite this report as as a support for other recitations? 182 00:10:10,778 --> 00:10:12,488 [Ghamidi] No there is no need to present it as a support, 183 00:10:12,488 --> 00:10:14,628 but since there is a mention of difference over recitations, 184 00:10:14,628 --> 00:10:16,978 it naturally becomes a matter of concern for us, doesn't it? 185 00:10:16,978 --> 00:10:19,958 It would be presented as a supportive evidence when it would have any meaning. 186 00:10:19,958 --> 00:10:23,958 So firstly the meanings should be clear. Does it even mean something? 187 00:10:23,958 --> 00:10:25,748 You might have missed this sentence. 188 00:10:25,748 --> 00:10:27,908 I had started the debate about this narration by saying that 189 00:10:27,908 --> 00:10:30,958 here it is possible that the narrative on the Seven Ahruf 190 00:10:30,958 --> 00:10:33,326 might cause some confusion for some people in this regard. 191 00:10:33,326 --> 00:10:37,666 So it is quite possible that after listening to this whole debate on Qirat, 192 00:10:37,666 --> 00:10:40,586 one might say this narration which is found in the books of Hadith 193 00:10:40,586 --> 00:10:44,057 that there was a dispute which arose over the recitations of the Quran, 194 00:10:44,057 --> 00:10:46,706 or disagreements of this kind were present, 195 00:10:46,706 --> 00:10:48,686 so could it be referring to those very disagreements? 196 00:10:48,686 --> 00:10:49,776 That is possible right? 197 00:10:49,776 --> 00:10:52,126 So we have to discuss this narration from that aspect. 198 00:10:52,126 --> 00:10:54,486 On the basis of this narration, I have told you 199 00:10:54,486 --> 00:10:58,486 what can anyone say, for people had to acknowledge 200 00:10:58,486 --> 00:11:01,776 that it holds no meaning at all. 201 00:11:01,776 --> 00:11:04,653 So how can anyone present it as an evidence? 202 00:11:04,653 --> 00:11:06,963 Since it does not seem to have any meaning in its substance. 203 00:11:06,963 --> 00:11:11,333 Whatever this narration is conveying, that itself is impossible to determine. 204 00:11:11,333 --> 00:11:16,913 Hence we must acknowledge that it is from the verses related to mutashabihat matters 205 00:11:16,913 --> 00:11:18,954 and its meaning is only known to Allah. 206 00:11:18,954 --> 00:11:20,703 Because we know about the mutashabihat 207 00:11:20,703 --> 00:11:23,239 that it is said that their meanings are known only to God. 208 00:11:23,239 --> 00:11:25,169 So when something can be known by God alone, 209 00:11:25,169 --> 00:11:28,249 there is no way after the finality of Prophethood to know its meaning. 210 00:11:28,249 --> 00:11:30,509 Only after the veil of the Judgement Day will be lifted, 211 00:11:30,509 --> 00:11:32,789 and we will have the honor to talk to Allah, 212 00:11:32,789 --> 00:11:36,129 does it seem possible that its meaning can be conveyed. 213 00:11:36,129 --> 00:11:37,989 As of now, it holds no meaning. 214 00:11:37,989 --> 00:11:40,751 This is what I am saying about this narration. 215 00:11:41,479 --> 00:11:45,659 The second point about this which I had presented before you was, 216 00:11:45,659 --> 00:11:50,189 that one explanation of this narration is there which could have been plausible. 217 00:11:50,189 --> 00:11:53,659 And people did try to explain it that way. 218 00:11:53,659 --> 00:11:58,499 That explanation could have been that actually the disagreement which is in it, 219 00:11:58,499 --> 00:12:01,249 where Syedna Umar heard the recitation and 220 00:12:01,249 --> 00:12:03,819 Hisham ibn Hakeem ibn Hizam was reciting, 221 00:12:03,819 --> 00:12:07,269 which Umar felt was different from his own and he responded angrily. 222 00:12:07,269 --> 00:12:09,589 He dragged Hisham over to the Prophet (pbuh). 223 00:12:09,589 --> 00:12:13,719 So this actually wasn't a dispute over the meanings or of the words, 224 00:12:13,719 --> 00:12:16,219 but rather was one of pronunciation. 225 00:12:16,219 --> 00:12:18,999 This could have been a very plausible explanation. 226 00:12:18,999 --> 00:12:22,149 Because disagreements over pronunciations in reading a language 227 00:12:22,149 --> 00:12:25,419 or in speaking it, is a very natural thing which can occur. 228 00:12:25,419 --> 00:12:28,669 If the people of one geographical area speak a word in one way, 229 00:12:28,669 --> 00:12:30,539 people from another area can pronounce it in another way. 230 00:12:30,539 --> 00:12:35,098 Even today we see that the same Arabic is written, and the word Hajj is there, 231 00:12:35,098 --> 00:12:37,978 but Egyptians will still pronounce it as 'Hagg'. 232 00:12:37,978 --> 00:12:41,128 The reason for that is that they cannot pronounce the letter 'J'. 233 00:12:41,128 --> 00:12:43,908 Similarly you can see in Urdu language, 234 00:12:43,908 --> 00:12:47,318 the people from Hyderabad will pronounce 'K' as 'kh' only. 235 00:12:47,318 --> 00:12:49,368 You can force them as much as you want, 236 00:12:49,368 --> 00:12:52,338 but that is the sound they produce. 237 00:12:52,338 --> 00:12:54,256 So this is the case with pronunciations and dialects. 238 00:12:54,256 --> 00:12:57,026 Even with Arabs, they have numerous dialects. 239 00:12:57,026 --> 00:13:02,226 A lot of people are there, when we read the history of Arabic language, 240 00:13:02,226 --> 00:13:04,376 or the history of their dialects, 241 00:13:04,376 --> 00:13:06,156 a lot of books have been published on this. 242 00:13:06,156 --> 00:13:09,746 So from those we know that for instance the people from Banu Taym tribe, 243 00:13:09,746 --> 00:13:11,676 on the contrary to the people from the Hijaz, 244 00:13:11,676 --> 00:13:14,226 like we say in Arabic, 'akram tuk'. 245 00:13:14,226 --> 00:13:17,906 'I give you respect, I hold you in high esteem.' 246 00:13:17,906 --> 00:13:20,676 So in the Hejazi dialect, this sentence is enough to convey this. 247 00:13:20,676 --> 00:13:23,806 But the Banu Taym people will say 'akram tukas'. 248 00:13:23,806 --> 00:13:30,816 So in their dialect, after the sentence is said, a sound of 's' is produced. 249 00:13:30,816 --> 00:13:33,036 Even though they are saying that same Arabic sentence. 250 00:13:33,036 --> 00:13:36,226 Similarly, there are many Arabic dialects in which 251 00:13:36,226 --> 00:13:38,216 the letters 'alif' and 'laam' of Arabic, 252 00:13:38,216 --> 00:13:40,226 turns into 'alif meem'. 253 00:13:40,226 --> 00:13:43,316 That famous incident is there when some people came to the Prophet (pbuh), 254 00:13:43,316 --> 00:13:45,726 and 'laysam im birrim tamum bi l safar'. 255 00:13:45,726 --> 00:13:48,016 'Laysa minal birri taamu fi l safar' 256 00:13:48,016 --> 00:13:51,076 So 'alif laam' became 'alif meem' in their dialect. 257 00:13:51,076 --> 00:13:53,456 This incident has been recorded in the Hadith as well. 258 00:13:53,456 --> 00:13:57,176 So this is not an isolated incident, there are numerous dialects in fact. 259 00:13:57,176 --> 00:14:00,286 Even in the current era you can see, there are so many dialects of English, 260 00:14:00,286 --> 00:14:02,606 even Urdu has some dialects although there are not many. 261 00:14:02,606 --> 00:14:05,246 And Punjabi of course has many. 262 00:14:05,246 --> 00:14:08,026 You can see the Punjabi of Khushab, or the one spoken in Majha, 263 00:14:08,026 --> 00:14:12,776 or in Kallar, or you can see the Punjabi inspired by Gulabi Urdu of Lahore. 264 00:14:12,776 --> 00:14:15,804 So there are dozens of dialects of the Punjabi language as well, 265 00:14:15,804 --> 00:14:17,594 in which people converse. 266 00:14:17,594 --> 00:14:19,664 So this could have been a plausible explanation, 267 00:14:19,664 --> 00:14:25,394 that Syedna Umar felt that Hisham is not reading the Quran in our dialect. 268 00:14:25,394 --> 00:14:27,357 This could have been a very probable reasoning. 269 00:14:27,357 --> 00:14:29,857 And this could be conveyed in Arabic by saying that 270 00:14:29,857 --> 00:14:32,297 I heard him reciting the Quran in a different way. 271 00:14:32,297 --> 00:14:34,017 This can be said. 272 00:14:34,017 --> 00:14:37,287 When we Hindi speaking people speak Arabic, 273 00:14:37,287 --> 00:14:40,477 so if we do not speak Arabic with the Arabs' pronunciation, 274 00:14:40,477 --> 00:14:44,477 or if we haven't practiced it well, then they would find it hard to understand us. 275 00:14:46,017 --> 00:14:49,157 This is what we call tajweed. What exactly is it? 276 00:14:49,157 --> 00:14:53,157 It is actually an imitation of the Arabic dialect. 277 00:14:53,157 --> 00:14:55,917 What is the Arabic dialect? That is what we train ourselves to speak in, 278 00:14:55,917 --> 00:14:58,567 as a proper science. Even in that, how far we manage to succeed, 279 00:14:58,567 --> 00:15:01,097 that is a separate debate, but the fact is we have to learn it. 280 00:15:01,097 --> 00:15:04,687 The art of Qirat, of Tajweed, this is the reason we have to learn these things. 281 00:15:04,687 --> 00:15:09,567 So this could have been a plausible explanation, it could have been acceptable 282 00:15:09,567 --> 00:15:12,237 had it been said that there was a difference of dialect 283 00:15:12,237 --> 00:15:14,207 between these two Companions. 284 00:15:14,207 --> 00:15:16,617 One was from the tribe of Quraysh and the other was from Banu Taym. 285 00:15:16,617 --> 00:15:18,797 Or one was a Qurayshi and the other was from Banu Hudhayl. 286 00:15:18,797 --> 00:15:21,284 Or one was a Qurayshi and the other had migrated from somewhere in Iraq, 287 00:15:21,284 --> 00:15:24,734 or from Syria. So since there was a difference between their pronunciations, 288 00:15:24,734 --> 00:15:26,374 hence Syedna Umar felt a difference in recitation. 289 00:15:26,374 --> 00:15:29,714 And that is a very natural fact, it is not something improbable. 290 00:15:29,714 --> 00:15:32,894 But then, the text of the narration, 291 00:15:32,894 --> 00:15:37,044 as I had said, it dismisses this explanation. 292 00:15:37,044 --> 00:15:41,044 The reason for that is that both the Companions were Qurayshi. 293 00:15:41,044 --> 00:15:44,104 So either one of the individuals would have to be changed in the narration. 294 00:15:44,104 --> 00:15:49,174 For it is not possible that people of the same community, of the same tribe, 295 00:15:49,174 --> 00:15:51,564 have such a difference in their pronunciations. 296 00:15:51,564 --> 00:15:53,874 To make a mistake is a separate thing, 297 00:15:53,874 --> 00:15:56,424 but the dialect simply cannot be distinct. 298 00:15:56,424 --> 00:15:58,614 And it was not like a modern nation or community, 299 00:15:58,614 --> 00:16:00,934 where 'community' is used to refer to a population of 140 million people. 300 00:16:00,934 --> 00:16:03,064 These were people living in the same area, in the same village. 301 00:16:03,064 --> 00:16:04,764 After all, what was the total population of Mecca? 302 00:16:04,764 --> 00:16:07,324 Despite their best efforts, how many fighters could the Quraysh bring together 303 00:16:07,324 --> 00:16:08,764 in the battles of Badr and Uhad? 304 00:16:08,764 --> 00:16:10,224 You can get an idea of their population from this. 305 00:16:10,224 --> 00:16:11,914 The men of fighting age who came on the battlefield, 306 00:16:11,914 --> 00:16:13,627 their numbers were not more than a thousand. 307 00:16:13,627 --> 00:16:16,497 So within such a small community, that difference is simply not possible. 308 00:16:16,497 --> 00:16:18,987 It is the same tribe, and they have such a small population, 309 00:16:18,987 --> 00:16:20,977 and for them to have such a huge difference in their dialect is impossible. 310 00:16:20,977 --> 00:16:24,397 So this explanation does not seem acceptable to the text of the narration. 311 00:16:24,397 --> 00:16:27,206 If you were to remove the names of both of the Companions from the report, 312 00:16:27,206 --> 00:16:30,296 and for instance the situation is that one person learnt the Quran from someone, 313 00:16:30,296 --> 00:16:33,989 and heard another person reciting it, and felt there was a difference in dialect. 314 00:16:33,989 --> 00:16:36,339 Then this explanation would become acceptable. 315 00:16:36,339 --> 00:16:41,019 After this, the third aspect towards which I have tried to bring your attention, 316 00:16:41,019 --> 00:16:43,007 in relation to this narration, 317 00:16:43,007 --> 00:16:44,237 is that 318 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:48,470 suppose for a while that this was in fact a difference of pronunciations. 319 00:16:48,470 --> 00:16:50,530 Let us ignore the obvious contradictions. 320 00:16:50,530 --> 00:16:52,870 Ignore for a while the fact that both the Companions were Qurayshi. 321 00:16:52,870 --> 00:16:55,570 And let us accept this explanation, let us suppose it for the sake of argument 322 00:16:55,570 --> 00:16:58,230 for a while we accept that it was the case. 323 00:16:58,230 --> 00:17:01,670 But the narration does not speak of a difference in their dialects. 324 00:17:01,670 --> 00:17:06,078 The narration says that the Quran itself was revealed in a different dialect. 325 00:17:06,078 --> 00:17:08,198 This is what the narration is saying. 326 00:17:08,198 --> 00:17:10,168 That one Quran was revealed in one way, 327 00:17:10,168 --> 00:17:12,928 and the other Quran was revealed in another way. 328 00:17:12,928 --> 00:17:15,928 So now naturally if it were to be said 329 00:17:15,928 --> 00:17:20,306 that the people were permitted to recite the Quran in various ways and dialects, 330 00:17:20,306 --> 00:17:22,266 for this is what would follow right? 331 00:17:22,266 --> 00:17:23,666 That there were different pronunciations, 332 00:17:23,666 --> 00:17:25,396 if someone wants to read it in the Iraqi dialect, he may. 333 00:17:25,396 --> 00:17:26,886 Or someone else can recite it in the Egyptian dialect if he wants to. 334 00:17:26,886 --> 00:17:30,176 They why is the word 'unzila' (revealed) used in the narration? 335 00:17:30,176 --> 00:17:32,626 This makes no sense, no matter what explanation you offer. 336 00:17:32,626 --> 00:17:35,456 The reason being that its revelation is something entirely different. 337 00:17:35,456 --> 00:17:37,856 The revelation has been done in the language of the Quraysh. 338 00:17:37,856 --> 00:17:40,516 It is absolutely correct that the people were told 339 00:17:40,516 --> 00:17:43,356 that you may recite it with your own pronunciations and in your own dialects. 340 00:17:43,356 --> 00:17:47,986 Bismillah. But to say that Quran itself has been revealed in various dialects, 341 00:17:47,986 --> 00:17:49,836 what is the reason for that claim? 342 00:17:49,836 --> 00:17:51,786 One fails to understand this. 343 00:17:51,786 --> 00:17:58,286 So these are the three aspects which are in the way of introduction to this debate. 344 00:17:58,286 --> 00:18:02,926 But the last aspect which calls for serious deliberation, 345 00:18:02,926 --> 00:18:05,956 and which holds extraordinary elegance, 346 00:18:05,956 --> 00:18:11,226 is that the Companion Hisham ibn Hakeem ibn Hizam, 347 00:18:11,226 --> 00:18:13,536 the one about whom it is being narrated 348 00:18:13,536 --> 00:18:17,536 that Syedna Umar heard him reciting the Quran. 349 00:18:17,536 --> 00:18:20,096 About him, all the historians who have 350 00:18:20,096 --> 00:18:22,626 collected material about the lives of the Companions, 351 00:18:22,626 --> 00:18:25,256 all of them agree on the fact that Hisham converted to Islam 352 00:18:25,256 --> 00:18:27,196 on the day Mecca was conquered. 353 00:18:28,164 --> 00:18:31,964 Hisham ibn Hakeem ibn Hizam, the person who is reciting the Quran, 354 00:18:31,964 --> 00:18:34,524 converted to Islam on the day Mecca was conquered. 355 00:18:34,524 --> 00:18:36,884 This means that he converted in eighth Hijri year. 356 00:18:36,884 --> 00:18:38,674 That is what it would imply right? 357 00:18:38,674 --> 00:18:43,784 Now imagine for a while, that there is no need for a debate 358 00:18:43,784 --> 00:18:49,214 about this fact of Quran's revelation that it was revealed to the Prophet (pbuh) 359 00:18:49,214 --> 00:18:52,004 for ten years while he was in Mecca. 360 00:18:52,004 --> 00:18:53,354 More or less. 361 00:18:53,354 --> 00:18:58,044 After that, till the day Mecca was conquered, eight more years had passed. 362 00:18:59,553 --> 00:19:03,713 So this means that there is a long period of Quran's revelation 363 00:19:03,713 --> 00:19:05,163 which has already passed. 364 00:19:05,163 --> 00:19:07,933 And this is also well known that there was very little Quran 365 00:19:07,933 --> 00:19:09,403 which was revealed after that period. 366 00:19:09,403 --> 00:19:12,333 The inherent testimony of the Quran itself tells us 367 00:19:12,333 --> 00:19:15,183 how much it was revealed after Mecca was conquered. 368 00:19:15,183 --> 00:19:18,301 After that event, there would be at most one or two Surahs 369 00:19:18,301 --> 00:19:22,103 which were revealed. Most of the Quran had already been revealed. 370 00:19:22,103 --> 00:19:25,188 Now who was Hazrat Umar? 371 00:19:25,188 --> 00:19:28,773 About him too, there is no debate about when he came to Islam. 372 00:19:28,773 --> 00:19:31,003 He certainly did not convert on the day Mecca was conquered. 373 00:19:31,003 --> 00:19:34,353 He was among one of the first few people of Mecca who converted. 374 00:19:34,353 --> 00:19:37,743 He was among those who did not travel anywhere after he converted. 375 00:19:37,743 --> 00:19:40,673 He stayed with the Prophet (pbuh) day and night. 376 00:19:40,673 --> 00:19:43,453 He spent the Meccan era with the Prophet (pbuh), 377 00:19:43,453 --> 00:19:46,413 he migrated to Medina with him. 378 00:19:46,413 --> 00:19:49,253 He used to be with the Prophet (pbuh) in such a way that 379 00:19:49,253 --> 00:19:53,253 historians relate that the situation was such that 380 00:19:53,253 --> 00:19:56,853 people would say, the Prophet (pbuh) had come along with Abu Bakr and Umar. 381 00:19:56,853 --> 00:19:58,983 The Prophet (pbuh) had come along with Abu Bakr and Umar, always. 382 00:19:58,983 --> 00:20:02,513 That is, he was a Companion of the Prophet (pbuh) and such a close one too. 383 00:20:02,513 --> 00:20:05,593 He was present in all the battles, he heard all the Friday sermons, 384 00:20:05,593 --> 00:20:07,653 he heard the Prophet's (pbuh) call to embrace Islam. 385 00:20:07,653 --> 00:20:09,403 He was among the Huffaaz (memorizers of the Quran), 386 00:20:09,403 --> 00:20:11,063 he learnt the Quran from the Prophet (pbuh) himself. 387 00:20:11,063 --> 00:20:15,063 He read the Quran. This was his extraordinary station. 388 00:20:15,063 --> 00:20:18,363 Syedna Umar is not some common man. 389 00:20:18,363 --> 00:20:23,193 So can it be accepted that Quran was being revealed in more than one Qirat, 390 00:20:23,193 --> 00:20:26,383 and it did not come to Umar's knowledge for eighteen years? 391 00:20:28,424 --> 00:20:31,024 Eighteen years is not a small period of time. 392 00:20:31,024 --> 00:20:35,434 It would mean that if he would not have prayed Salat behind Hisham ibn Hakeem, 393 00:20:35,434 --> 00:20:37,864 and if two more years would have passed, 394 00:20:37,864 --> 00:20:40,104 then suddenly fifteen more people could have claimed that 395 00:20:40,104 --> 00:20:43,144 the Prophet (pbuh) was teaching us the Quran in secret on a different Qirat. 396 00:20:43,144 --> 00:20:46,914 And is the Quran something to be taught in secret? 397 00:20:46,914 --> 00:20:52,894 Whoever will read the Quran will know that it is not a book 398 00:20:52,894 --> 00:20:56,534 that a writer is writing it while sitting in isolation. 399 00:20:56,534 --> 00:20:59,674 The situation with the Quran is that those Surahs are being read 400 00:20:59,674 --> 00:21:01,534 before its addressees. 401 00:21:01,534 --> 00:21:04,854 So debates are being held about those Surahs, questions are raised about them, 402 00:21:04,854 --> 00:21:06,474 all of these things are happening constantly. 403 00:21:06,474 --> 00:21:09,664 So if it was stated that in the Meccan period itself 404 00:21:09,664 --> 00:21:12,124 one Qirat was revealed at one point of time and another at a different time, 405 00:21:12,124 --> 00:21:14,254 alright, we will hold our tongue about it for sometime. 406 00:21:14,254 --> 00:21:17,474 But this narration itself is telling us that for eighteen years, 407 00:21:17,474 --> 00:21:20,244 even Syeda Umar did not know of it. 408 00:21:20,244 --> 00:21:21,994 And if Syedna Umar did not come to know of it, 409 00:21:21,994 --> 00:21:24,094 when and where did this whole incident take place? 410 00:21:24,094 --> 00:21:25,954 Where exactly did that revelation take place then? 411 00:21:25,954 --> 00:21:29,194 On a rational plain, this narration is so improbable, 412 00:21:29,194 --> 00:21:31,294 that it cannot be accepted under any circumstances. 413 00:21:31,294 --> 00:21:35,294 Either one has to believe that Syedna Umar did not hear of it. 414 00:21:35,294 --> 00:21:38,284 So the one listening to the recitation by Hisham was not Syedna Umar. 415 00:21:38,284 --> 00:21:39,414 Either one has to believe this. 416 00:21:39,414 --> 00:21:43,214 Or you would have to believe that Syedna Umar also converted that very day. 417 00:21:43,214 --> 00:21:47,584 If you look at all the narrations about the recitations of the Quran, 418 00:21:47,584 --> 00:21:49,644 all of them go back to Syedna Umar himself! 419 00:21:49,644 --> 00:21:52,284 That is, he is among the great Ulama of the Quran. 420 00:21:52,284 --> 00:21:54,254 He was a Companion of the Prophet (pbuh) day and night. 421 00:21:54,254 --> 00:21:58,394 He has been granted the great honor of being buried next to the Prophet (pbuh). 422 00:21:59,773 --> 00:22:01,773 So what is this incident that has occurred? 423 00:22:01,773 --> 00:22:03,253 What does it mean exactly? 424 00:22:03,253 --> 00:22:07,253 What impression does the narrator of this report intend to convey? 425 00:22:07,253 --> 00:22:11,253 Does he want to say that the Prophet (pbuh) used to teach the Quran 426 00:22:11,253 --> 00:22:16,033 to some people separately in secret with a different recitation? 427 00:22:16,033 --> 00:22:21,333 And neither Abu Bakr, nor Umar, nor any other people found out about it? 428 00:22:21,333 --> 00:22:23,953 What does it mean to say that Umar did not know of it? 429 00:22:23,953 --> 00:22:26,633 It means that he never heard the Prophet (pbuh) 430 00:22:26,633 --> 00:22:29,663 recite the Quran in a different way in the Friday sermons, 431 00:22:29,663 --> 00:22:32,583 nor did he see him read it differently during the prayers. 432 00:22:32,583 --> 00:22:34,203 This is what it would mean right? 433 00:22:34,203 --> 00:22:36,933 But Syedna Umar is one who used to read behind the Prophet (pbuh) 434 00:22:36,933 --> 00:22:40,053 day and night. And we know about the Prophet (pbuh) 435 00:22:40,053 --> 00:22:41,713 that he would recite the Quran for a long time. 436 00:22:41,713 --> 00:22:44,423 Moreover, he was one of those Companions who would join the Prophet (pbuh) 437 00:22:44,423 --> 00:22:46,043 during Tahajjud prayers! 438 00:22:46,043 --> 00:22:47,993 'Taa'ifatum minallazina ma'ak'. 439 00:22:47,993 --> 00:22:50,543 During which the Prophet (pbub) would recite approximately the entire Quran. 440 00:22:50,543 --> 00:22:53,753 He is also among those Companions whom the Prophet (pbuh) would often call 441 00:22:53,753 --> 00:22:55,823 to listen to and to recite the Quran. 442 00:22:55,823 --> 00:22:59,193 So this incident does not make sense in any way. 443 00:22:59,193 --> 00:23:02,093 Only if someone closes his eyes to the truth of the matter, 444 00:23:02,093 --> 00:23:03,733 can he possibly come to believe it. 445 00:23:03,733 --> 00:23:06,563 But it cannot be taken to make sense otherwise. 446 00:23:06,563 --> 00:23:08,933 Hence I have written about it here, 447 00:23:15,676 --> 00:23:19,676 Fourthly, it is known that Hisham had accepted Islam 448 00:23:19,676 --> 00:23:21,486 on the day Mecca was conquered. 449 00:23:23,849 --> 00:23:25,719 This is on page number thirty one. 450 00:23:25,719 --> 00:23:28,009 Fourthly, it is known that Hisham had accepted Islam 451 00:23:28,009 --> 00:23:30,179 on the day Mecca was conquered. 452 00:23:30,179 --> 00:23:36,239 Hence if this Hadith is accepted, it would mean that even after the conquest of Mecca 453 00:23:36,239 --> 00:23:41,689 that is, for 18 years, the illustrious Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) 454 00:23:41,689 --> 00:23:47,459 and even a close associate like Umar was unaware of the fact 455 00:23:47,459 --> 00:23:52,839 that the Prophet (pbuh) secretly taught the Quran in some other form and reading 456 00:23:52,839 --> 00:23:57,999 from the one openly heard from him for about twenty years 457 00:23:57,999 --> 00:24:01,999 and preserved it in writing and in memory according to his guidance. 458 00:24:03,501 --> 00:24:07,501 So the Quran was being heard all the time, was being recited, 459 00:24:07,501 --> 00:24:09,171 it has been read out loud during prayers, 460 00:24:09,171 --> 00:24:11,271 its preservation has always been ensured properly. 461 00:24:11,271 --> 00:24:15,061 There is this whole chronicle on the one hand, 462 00:24:15,061 --> 00:24:17,211 and on the other hand is this Hadith narration. 463 00:24:17,211 --> 00:24:20,391 Every person can realize how grave this claim is 464 00:24:20,391 --> 00:24:23,121 and how far reaching its affects are. 465 00:24:23,121 --> 00:24:28,561 The outcome of this can be imagined by every intelligent person. 466 00:24:28,561 --> 00:24:32,741 Hence this narration, about the Quran being revealed 467 00:24:32,741 --> 00:24:34,801 in Seven Ahruf (Seven ways), 468 00:24:34,801 --> 00:24:37,641 cannot be acceptable in any sense of the term. 469 00:24:37,641 --> 00:24:41,641 It is logically flawed, it is meaningless from a scholarly view, 470 00:24:41,641 --> 00:24:44,881 and there is no circumstance in which it can be accepted. 471 00:24:44,881 --> 00:24:47,841 It would be akin to saying that with regards to the narrations, 472 00:24:47,841 --> 00:24:50,571 we decide that if its chain of transmission is reliable, 473 00:24:50,571 --> 00:24:52,361 then it should be seen as an authentic report. 474 00:24:52,361 --> 00:24:56,445 And then just like Suyuti we acknowledge that only Allah knows its meaning. 475 00:24:56,445 --> 00:24:59,801 There is that one position where one can make peace with this narration. 476 00:24:59,801 --> 00:25:02,721 But if one tries to determine its meaning, 477 00:25:02,721 --> 00:25:07,351 then after that one would have to let go of the entire religious tradition. 478 00:25:07,351 --> 00:25:10,711 For then one would have to accept that nothing remains in it anymore. 479 00:25:10,711 --> 00:25:14,521 Because if Syedna Umar did not know even after twenty years 480 00:25:14,521 --> 00:25:16,941 that Quran was being revealed in another recitation as well, 481 00:25:16,941 --> 00:25:19,231 then how can we rely on anyone else's knowledge at all? 482 00:25:19,231 --> 00:25:20,881 What is there to believe at all then? 483 00:25:20,881 --> 00:25:24,881 Even he was not aware. And as I said, if two more years had passed 484 00:25:24,881 --> 00:25:28,881 and there wouldn't have been anyone going to the Prophet (pbuh) to ask! 485 00:25:28,881 --> 00:25:30,771 What has happened right now is that the narration tells us 486 00:25:30,771 --> 00:25:32,911 that Umar took Hashim to the Prophet (pbuh). 487 00:25:32,911 --> 00:25:36,721 And you can listen to this as well with bated breath. 488 00:25:36,721 --> 00:25:41,551 This narration which I have taken, since it relates to Syedna Umar 489 00:25:41,551 --> 00:25:44,491 and therefore I have taken this as the topic. 490 00:25:44,491 --> 00:25:47,341 Otherwise this same narration about multiple recitations, 491 00:25:47,341 --> 00:25:52,761 becomes even more preposterous with respect to another Companion. 492 00:25:52,761 --> 00:25:57,421 That narration says that when Hazrat Ubay Bin Ka'ab 493 00:25:57,421 --> 00:26:00,581 saw a similar incident before him, 494 00:26:00,581 --> 00:26:03,851 naturally when this would be seen to be happening after 19 or 20 years, 495 00:26:03,851 --> 00:26:05,201 what would happen? 496 00:26:05,201 --> 00:26:08,501 So he too went to the Prophet (pbuh) in a similarly agitated manner. 497 00:26:09,601 --> 00:26:14,251 And he asked the Prophet (pbuh) about what this is. 498 00:26:14,251 --> 00:26:16,561 And that is what he should have asked too. 499 00:26:16,561 --> 00:26:19,631 Because for twenty years I was reading the Quran in a certain way, 500 00:26:19,631 --> 00:26:23,631 but some person is reading the Quran in a different manner. 501 00:26:23,631 --> 00:26:26,351 So the Prophet (pbuh) told him, the Quran was revealed thus. 502 00:26:26,351 --> 00:26:27,840 Just like it says in this narration too. 503 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,180 He told them both that it was revealed thus. 504 00:26:30,180 --> 00:26:33,690 So he said that 'I felt I have lost my faith'. 505 00:26:33,690 --> 00:26:38,270 The narration says that 'I felt that I am no longer a believer'. 506 00:26:40,368 --> 00:26:42,798 So you can imagine his condition yourself. 507 00:26:42,798 --> 00:26:46,638 So after that the Prophet (pbuh) touched my chest and I was cured. 508 00:26:46,638 --> 00:26:48,328 Because it was imperative to cure him, 509 00:26:48,328 --> 00:26:51,638 and without a healing touch, our minds wouldn't believe that miracle. 510 00:26:51,638 --> 00:26:53,638 There was no other way to play it out. 511 00:26:53,638 --> 00:26:55,958 There was no other option, and the reason for that is 512 00:26:55,958 --> 00:26:59,208 that this situation gives rise to such a delicate question, 513 00:26:59,208 --> 00:27:01,968 that after that question, only that action should have followed, 514 00:27:01,968 --> 00:27:03,568 which has been narrated in that report. 515 00:27:03,568 --> 00:27:06,778 One figures from this that the people who have written this narration, 516 00:27:06,778 --> 00:27:09,748 they themselves realized what would follow as a consequence. 517 00:27:09,748 --> 00:27:12,748 So they have provided a cure for it in this other narration. 518 00:27:12,748 --> 00:27:16,782 That if your faith too comes under doubt, you can know that 519 00:27:16,782 --> 00:27:19,242 it will be only by the Prophet's (pbuh) touch. 520 00:27:19,242 --> 00:27:21,752 There is no other way for it to go. 521 00:27:21,752 --> 00:27:24,062 Because one cannot convince oneself based on reason and rationality. 522 00:27:24,062 --> 00:27:26,762 The reaction of Syedna Umar too which has been mentioned here 523 00:27:26,762 --> 00:27:28,112 is similarly grave and extreme. 524 00:27:28,112 --> 00:27:30,892 In this narration, he says it was difficult for him, 525 00:27:30,892 --> 00:27:32,528 if you were to believe the tradition, 526 00:27:32,528 --> 00:27:35,088 he says he finished his prayers with much difficulty, 527 00:27:35,088 --> 00:27:37,978 and then he dragged Hashim to the Prophet (pbuh). 528 00:27:37,978 --> 00:27:40,628 In a way saying, come with me, I will teach you a lesson. 529 00:27:40,628 --> 00:27:42,902 Just imagine for a while, it has been twenty years, 530 00:27:42,902 --> 00:27:44,911 and it is the Quran after all. 531 00:27:44,911 --> 00:27:48,102 If someone had said to Syedna Umar, and it has happened, 532 00:27:48,102 --> 00:27:50,462 that for instance some people said to Syedna Umar, 533 00:27:50,462 --> 00:27:54,202 that the Prophet (pbuh) had said that if you go to visit someone at their house, 534 00:27:54,202 --> 00:27:57,572 and you knock there three times, but you get no response, 535 00:27:57,572 --> 00:27:59,622 then turn around and come back. 536 00:27:59,622 --> 00:28:03,022 So Umar investigated this, because this is a statement 537 00:28:03,022 --> 00:28:05,232 which can be said to anyone. 538 00:28:05,232 --> 00:28:07,142 It is something which can be told to one person as advice. 539 00:28:07,142 --> 00:28:09,722 A person like Syedna Umar can be unaware of it. 540 00:28:09,722 --> 00:28:11,522 That does not go against reason. 541 00:28:11,522 --> 00:28:15,202 One statement related to etiquette the Prophet (pbuh) told to someone, 542 00:28:15,202 --> 00:28:16,712 and Umar did not hear about it. 543 00:28:16,712 --> 00:28:20,012 And even in that the reaction he had, it is said that he ordered the man, 544 00:28:20,012 --> 00:28:23,252 bring a second witness otherwise I will teach you a lesson. 545 00:28:23,252 --> 00:28:27,252 Because you people relate such reports, then bring another witness. 546 00:28:27,252 --> 00:28:30,292 Even in this he reacted, although one cannot rationally object to that, 547 00:28:30,292 --> 00:28:31,562 for it is possible it could have happened. 548 00:28:31,562 --> 00:28:33,091 There are many such things that could occur. 549 00:28:33,091 --> 00:28:35,961 For instance I have told you something and no one else hears of it. 550 00:28:35,961 --> 00:28:38,991 And it is related to general etiquette. But the Quran! 551 00:28:38,991 --> 00:28:43,376 That Quran about which it says itself that the Prophet (pbuh) 552 00:28:43,376 --> 00:28:46,886 took the trouble to convey each and every word of it to the people. 553 00:28:46,886 --> 00:28:51,164 It was being recited, it was being conveyed, it was being read aloud. 554 00:28:51,164 --> 00:28:54,714 And this narration tells us that for twenty years he was unaware of it. 555 00:28:54,714 --> 00:28:57,227 Who? Umar was not aware of it! 556 00:28:57,227 --> 00:29:01,437 So if Umar was not aware of it, then keep these recitations at your home. 557 00:29:01,437 --> 00:29:04,957 The ones that Umar was unaware of, for twenty years! 558 00:29:04,957 --> 00:29:07,607 So no thread of this narration is correct. 559 00:29:07,607 --> 00:29:12,007 In every sense, it is an unacceptable opinion to hold. 560 00:29:13,376 --> 00:29:17,546 After that, I have written that same is the case of the narratives, 561 00:29:17,546 --> 00:29:20,216 similar is the case of the narratives 562 00:29:20,216 --> 00:29:24,416 which in the time of the Caliphs Abu Bakr and Uthman, 563 00:29:24,416 --> 00:29:29,776 record the collection and arrangement of the Quran in the books of Hadith. 564 00:29:29,776 --> 00:29:33,916 If you go to this chapter in the books of Hadith, 565 00:29:33,916 --> 00:29:38,516 you will see that the way this narration is utterly opposed to reason, 566 00:29:38,516 --> 00:29:40,526 it goes against all knowledge. 567 00:29:40,526 --> 00:29:44,526 And to go against reason and knowledge does not mean 568 00:29:44,526 --> 00:29:46,576 that it is against the knowledge of Einstein. 569 00:29:46,576 --> 00:29:50,576 It is against the common sense, which God has given to every human being, 570 00:29:50,576 --> 00:29:53,879 and in light of which we believe in the religion of Allah, Islam. 571 00:29:53,879 --> 00:29:57,879 This narration is akin to saying that for twenty three years 572 00:29:57,879 --> 00:29:59,739 the Prophet (pbuh) taught about prophethood, 573 00:29:59,739 --> 00:30:02,429 and all of a sudden, after twenty three years Umar found out that 574 00:30:02,429 --> 00:30:04,829 God have mercy, he was teaching about idolatry! 575 00:30:04,829 --> 00:30:08,409 This narration creates a similar outrageous kind of situation. 576 00:30:08,409 --> 00:30:12,069 So a scenario of this kind which we have seen in this narration, 577 00:30:12,069 --> 00:30:14,859 exactly the same situation is of those narrations too 578 00:30:14,859 --> 00:30:17,829 in which the account of the compilation and arrangement of Quran is given. 579 00:30:17,829 --> 00:30:21,229 The Quran is being recited day and night, it is being memorized by the people, 580 00:30:21,229 --> 00:30:23,289 the Quran is being read in prayers. 581 00:30:23,289 --> 00:30:26,349 On the one hand we see the Quran is making a claim 582 00:30:26,349 --> 00:30:28,479 that O Prophet, you need not worry at all, 583 00:30:28,479 --> 00:30:34,829 for We will compile the entire Quran and the situations you are unaware of, 584 00:30:34,829 --> 00:30:37,849 that is, the Prophet was receiving the Quran is his own time and age, 585 00:30:37,849 --> 00:30:39,499 but the other situations God knows very well. 586 00:30:39,499 --> 00:30:42,249 So accordingly We will give it to you again with another recitation. 587 00:30:42,249 --> 00:30:47,059 And after arranging it, the second recitation is the one you have to follow. 588 00:30:47,059 --> 00:30:49,489 All of this the Quran has stated itself. 589 00:30:49,489 --> 00:30:51,449 Compiling it, ordering and arranging it. 590 00:30:51,449 --> 00:30:55,449 In fact it even says that if there is a question you still have about this, 591 00:30:55,449 --> 00:30:58,859 if there is still a doubt you have not understood, 592 00:30:58,859 --> 00:31:00,599 then We will clarify that for you as well. 593 00:31:00,599 --> 00:31:01,879 This is what the Quran is telling us. 594 00:31:01,879 --> 00:31:03,149 And this is just what history also tells us, 595 00:31:03,149 --> 00:31:04,589 that there was only one recitation according to which 596 00:31:04,589 --> 00:31:07,029 Abu Bakr read the Quran, and Umar and Uthman did too. 597 00:31:07,029 --> 00:31:08,859 We have already studied all this in the previous session. 598 00:31:08,859 --> 00:31:12,069 All of this can be seen. After that what suddenly happens is, 599 00:31:12,069 --> 00:31:14,639 that the work of compiling and arranging the Quran is being done, 600 00:31:14,639 --> 00:31:17,689 but sometimes a verse is misplaced and can't be found, 601 00:31:17,689 --> 00:31:19,899 or some Surah is missing and that is being searched. 602 00:31:19,899 --> 00:31:21,719 Sometimes two or four went missing. 603 00:31:21,719 --> 00:31:23,979 This was the story that we confront after this. 604 00:31:23,979 --> 00:31:30,179 And then, in the time of Syedna Uthman, there is this same story again. 605 00:31:30,179 --> 00:31:32,157 Same is the case of the narratives which 606 00:31:32,157 --> 00:31:35,107 in the time of the caliphs Abu Bakr and Uthman, 607 00:31:35,107 --> 00:31:39,107 record the collection and arrangement of the Quran in the books of Hadith. 608 00:31:39,107 --> 00:31:41,174 These narrations too... 609 00:31:41,174 --> 00:31:45,304 Well the implication of the usage of this word is that 610 00:31:45,304 --> 00:31:49,304 it has come through different chains. Otherwise the narration is the same. 611 00:31:49,304 --> 00:31:52,204 Actually the narration is the same in its substance. 612 00:31:52,204 --> 00:31:56,864 So it is just one same narration, and I have not done any debate about it here. 613 00:31:56,864 --> 00:31:58,254 The reason for that is that 614 00:31:58,254 --> 00:32:00,984 it would come under the topic of compilation and arrangement of the Quran, 615 00:32:00,984 --> 00:32:02,904 but I am only discussing about the recitations of the Quran here. 616 00:32:02,904 --> 00:32:06,904 Otherwise I would have shown you that it is word for word the same one. 617 00:32:06,904 --> 00:32:10,014 So those things are found in its very text, the same as in this narration. 618 00:32:10,014 --> 00:32:12,344 That you can try your best to explain it by saying that 619 00:32:12,344 --> 00:32:14,154 it is a difference of pronunciation and dialect, 620 00:32:14,154 --> 00:32:16,264 but the very text of the narration is telling us that that cannot be the case. 621 00:32:16,264 --> 00:32:18,464 The same is the situation with the other narration. 622 00:32:18,464 --> 00:32:22,674 As mentioned in the beginning of this discussion, the Quran specifies clearly 623 00:32:23,696 --> 00:32:27,976 that it was arranged and collected under the direct guidance of Allah, 624 00:32:27,976 --> 00:32:31,886 during the lifetime of the Prophet (pbuh). 625 00:32:31,886 --> 00:32:36,606 So in this regard, there is no need to even turn to any historical narration. 626 00:32:36,606 --> 00:32:39,936 Quran itself makes it very clear. 627 00:32:39,936 --> 00:32:43,936 The Quran has told us, it has made it absolutely clear, 628 00:32:43,936 --> 00:32:47,086 that We will recite the entire Quran for you, 629 00:32:47,086 --> 00:32:50,296 and then you will read the Quran according to that recitation, 630 00:32:50,296 --> 00:32:54,496 and its compilation and the second reading, that is Our responsibility. 631 00:32:54,496 --> 00:32:57,816 In fact, if there is a need to further elaborate and explain anything, 632 00:32:57,816 --> 00:32:59,856 that too will be our responsibility. 633 00:33:01,283 --> 00:33:03,723 [Student] If this narration has been under question, 634 00:33:04,540 --> 00:33:08,020 why didn't the scholars simply reject it then? 635 00:33:08,020 --> 00:33:11,270 [Ghamidi] Let it remain, how is it bothering you? 636 00:33:11,270 --> 00:33:13,260 It is enough that we have critiqued it. 637 00:33:13,260 --> 00:33:15,730 As mentioned in the beginning of this discussion, 638 00:33:15,730 --> 00:33:18,840 the Quran specifies clearly that it was arranged and collected 639 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:23,960 in the lifetime of the Prophet (pbuh) under the direct guidance of Allah. 640 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:28,300 On the other hand, these narratives present an entirely different picture 641 00:33:28,300 --> 00:33:33,280 which is not only against the Quran but also against common sense. 642 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:36,760 In 'si'aah', 643 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:40,760 'Si'aah' means the six canonical books of Hadith, 644 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:46,150 which are considered the most reliable ones based on their chain of transmission. 645 00:33:46,150 --> 00:33:50,150 The principles which the scholars of the science of Hadith have laid down 646 00:33:50,150 --> 00:33:52,190 to evaluate the chain of transmission, 647 00:33:52,190 --> 00:33:56,190 based on those the books of Hadith which are available to us today, 648 00:33:56,190 --> 00:33:59,000 they are not one or two but are dozens of them. 649 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:03,000 But out of them, six books have the stature of credibility, 650 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,520 for most of the narrations in them are reliable. 651 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:09,020 And in Bukhari and Muslim collections, there are very few narrations 652 00:34:09,020 --> 00:34:11,730 about which one can debate the credibility of their chain of transmission. 653 00:34:11,730 --> 00:34:14,360 Otherwise usually, they are reliable as far as their Isnaads go. 654 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:17,100 Therefore those books are called 'si'aah'. 655 00:34:17,100 --> 00:34:22,060 In the six canonical books this particular narrative as well as the other narrations, 656 00:34:22,060 --> 00:34:24,280 in the six canonical books they are primarily recorded 657 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:25,970 on the authority of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. 658 00:34:25,970 --> 00:34:29,350 So these are the few words about the chain of transmission of the narration. 659 00:34:29,350 --> 00:34:33,640 You know about this chain that even if it might have begun with Umar or Abu Bakr, 660 00:34:33,640 --> 00:34:36,780 the question is how did it reach us? 661 00:34:40,172 --> 00:34:41,082 Yes? 662 00:34:41,082 --> 00:34:43,434 I mean according to the Muhaddisiin (Hadith experts). 663 00:34:43,434 --> 00:34:46,754 According to the Muhaddisiin, it is not an objectionable narration. 664 00:34:46,754 --> 00:34:49,572 They accept the authority of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. 665 00:34:49,572 --> 00:34:53,122 I am going to talk about him now, and the Muhaddisiin say about him 666 00:34:53,122 --> 00:34:55,022 that he is ameer-ul-momineen fil hadith (chief of Muslims in hadith). 667 00:34:55,022 --> 00:34:57,542 But listen to a few things about him. 668 00:34:59,932 --> 00:35:01,955 In the six canonical books, these narrations are primarily recorded 669 00:35:01,955 --> 00:35:03,505 on the authority of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. 670 00:35:03,505 --> 00:35:05,055 That is, he is the one who has narrated them, really. 671 00:35:05,055 --> 00:35:06,965 If you were to compile all the chains of transmissions, 672 00:35:06,965 --> 00:35:09,375 then they are the actual reliable ones. The only authentic ones. 673 00:35:09,375 --> 00:35:11,095 So there are some other chains of transmissions as well. 674 00:35:11,095 --> 00:35:13,765 But in the primary canonical texts, they have come from him. 675 00:35:15,723 --> 00:35:19,053 Yes? Yes, those are the reports which have come down from him. 676 00:35:19,053 --> 00:35:21,283 In the six canonical books, these narrations are primarily recorded 677 00:35:21,283 --> 00:35:23,313 on the authority of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. 678 00:35:23,313 --> 00:35:25,813 Scholars of rijaal, the people who are 679 00:35:25,813 --> 00:35:29,393 authorities on the research regarding rijaal (Narrators), 680 00:35:29,393 --> 00:35:33,393 all fully concur on the fact that Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri 681 00:35:33,393 --> 00:35:36,129 is guilty of two things for certain. 682 00:35:36,129 --> 00:35:39,979 One is tadlis (hiding mistakes) and the other is idraaj (interpolation). 683 00:35:39,979 --> 00:35:42,829 Tadlis is a terminology of the science of Hadith. 684 00:35:42,829 --> 00:35:47,749 Tadlis means that the one who is narrating, 685 00:35:48,749 --> 00:35:52,919 hides a link in the chain of transmission, i.e. a name of one person, in the report. 686 00:35:55,013 --> 00:35:59,653 In the chain of transmission, he does not want to mention the authority of someone. 687 00:36:00,594 --> 00:36:03,694 If that link in the chain is mentioned, it might create some issues. 688 00:36:03,694 --> 00:36:05,204 This is called tadlis. 689 00:36:06,177 --> 00:36:10,177 It is something that calls for strong condemnation. 690 00:36:10,177 --> 00:36:15,187 You are narrating a report, so you must say from whom you have heard it. 691 00:36:15,187 --> 00:36:18,977 If there is an opportunity that someone in the chain will be removed, then he is. 692 00:36:18,977 --> 00:36:20,937 What does it mean to say 'if there is an opportunity'? 693 00:36:20,937 --> 00:36:26,187 For instance, these two people are contemporaries of each other. 694 00:36:26,187 --> 00:36:29,247 I have actually gotten this narration from this person. 695 00:36:29,247 --> 00:36:32,127 And he has gotten it from this other person. 696 00:36:32,127 --> 00:36:37,767 But since I knew that people will object to the authority of the first person, 697 00:36:37,767 --> 00:36:41,077 when I related the narration, I say I got it from him instead. 698 00:36:41,077 --> 00:36:45,127 Now it is not so easy to catch this deception. 699 00:36:46,533 --> 00:36:50,023 The reason for that is, all of us are contemporaries. 700 00:36:50,023 --> 00:36:54,203 And there is proof of my meeting with both these gentlemen. 701 00:36:54,203 --> 00:36:56,743 So one would think that alright, it is fine. 702 00:36:56,743 --> 00:36:59,293 The narration is correct, there can't be a break in it. 703 00:36:59,293 --> 00:37:03,123 So this is just one example, but it happens in many different ways too. 704 00:37:06,778 --> 00:37:11,198 Yes. So doing this is naturally a crime. But it occurs in many other forms. 705 00:37:11,198 --> 00:37:14,678 I have only told you this as an example, that the narrator is concealed. 706 00:37:14,678 --> 00:37:20,458 For instance, Hazrat Imam Malik in his al-Muwatta, 707 00:37:20,458 --> 00:37:26,698 related at some places that the narration I am doing is 'amman assiku-hu'. 708 00:37:26,698 --> 00:37:29,958 That is, I am referring to the authority of someone who I consider trustworthy. 709 00:37:32,861 --> 00:37:34,701 He has said this himself. There are many narrations in 710 00:37:34,701 --> 00:37:39,611 al-Muwatta of Imam Malik, in which he has said 'amman assikuhu'. 711 00:37:39,611 --> 00:37:42,601 Now when Imam Malike says 'amman assikuhu', 712 00:37:42,601 --> 00:37:45,111 then of course many people of subsequent generations 713 00:37:45,111 --> 00:37:47,801 wanted to see who that narrator was. 714 00:37:47,801 --> 00:37:50,821 So that 'amman assikuhu' in al-Muwatta of Imam Malik 715 00:37:50,821 --> 00:37:53,691 refers to Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri ninety nine percent of the time. 716 00:37:55,249 --> 00:37:58,329 Now this is not something over which there is any need to investigate. 717 00:37:58,329 --> 00:38:02,329 Because for all those narrations, we know from their other chains of transmissions 718 00:38:02,329 --> 00:38:05,359 through other sources, and the latter Muhaddisiin have mentioned them. 719 00:38:05,359 --> 00:38:09,359 Imam Malik's 'Amman assikuhu' is referring to Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri usually. 720 00:38:09,359 --> 00:38:12,689 Similarly, what Imam Malik sometimes does is that 721 00:38:12,689 --> 00:38:14,747 he removes the narrators in the middle of the chain, 722 00:38:14,747 --> 00:38:16,807 and after that he would relate it on the authority of the original source. 723 00:38:16,807 --> 00:38:20,307 That he heard it directly from so and so. This is called 'balaaghaat-e Imam Malik'. 724 00:38:20,307 --> 00:38:22,617 So in that he does not convey the entire chain of narration, 725 00:38:22,617 --> 00:38:24,547 but rather removes one or two people from the middle. 726 00:38:24,547 --> 00:38:27,827 Moreover, in his time since this science hadn't been fully established, 727 00:38:27,827 --> 00:38:29,887 so this was not considered objectionable. 728 00:38:29,887 --> 00:38:32,687 So leave it aside. Because back then people used to think 729 00:38:32,687 --> 00:38:35,227 that a statement has reached them and they have related it. 730 00:38:35,227 --> 00:38:39,227 This can be placed in the category of having an 'opitimistic view' of someone. 731 00:38:39,227 --> 00:38:43,227 But phrase 'amman assikuhu' itself is telling us 732 00:38:43,227 --> 00:38:47,007 that others object to it but he himself did not. 733 00:38:47,007 --> 00:38:50,007 And this truth will be revealed to you soon enough. 734 00:38:50,007 --> 00:38:53,387 In the 6 Hadith books they are recorded on the authority of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. 735 00:38:53,387 --> 00:38:56,177 All of these narrations, so the ones about the compilation of the Quran, 736 00:38:56,177 --> 00:38:58,307 as well as these ones have in reality come from him. 737 00:38:58,307 --> 00:39:00,957 And I will tell you the truth of this 'in reality' that I have said as well. 738 00:39:00,957 --> 00:39:04,177 When an absurd narration such as this one comes from somewhere, 739 00:39:04,177 --> 00:39:06,927 then to legitimize it, a lot of chains of transmissions are invented. 740 00:39:06,927 --> 00:39:08,597 But that is a separate debate. 741 00:39:08,597 --> 00:39:10,647 So actually they come on the authority of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. 742 00:39:10,647 --> 00:39:12,497 Authorities of rijaal regard him to be guilty of tadlis. 743 00:39:12,497 --> 00:39:16,227 Tadlis I have already explained to you. Let us also see what idraaj means. 744 00:39:16,227 --> 00:39:20,087 Both of these terms, usually one reads in the books of rijaal 745 00:39:20,087 --> 00:39:23,324 that so and so used to do tadlis, or someone else did idraaj, 746 00:39:23,324 --> 00:39:26,884 and the reader thinks tadlis must be a great thing. 747 00:39:26,884 --> 00:39:28,754 Because after all it used to be acceptable. 748 00:39:28,754 --> 00:39:31,114 But tadlis is in fact worthy of great condemnation. 749 00:39:31,114 --> 00:39:35,325 Even about tadlis some people keep an optimistic view, 750 00:39:35,325 --> 00:39:36,974 some of the experts of the science of Hadith, 751 00:39:36,974 --> 00:39:38,914 that since this science was not established in that time, 752 00:39:38,914 --> 00:39:41,624 so it is possible that the narrator was not removed from the middle 753 00:39:41,624 --> 00:39:43,344 with any bad intention. 754 00:39:43,344 --> 00:39:46,174 So this is fine, this can be said. 755 00:39:46,174 --> 00:39:48,064 But nevertheless, why was someone removed at all? 756 00:39:48,064 --> 00:39:50,084 What was the reason? This question remains right? 757 00:39:50,084 --> 00:39:53,228 And if the narration that is being related, is this one, 758 00:39:53,228 --> 00:39:55,628 then that creates a lot of issues. 759 00:39:57,318 --> 00:40:00,418 So this is one aspect. The meaning of idraaj is, 760 00:40:01,309 --> 00:40:03,889 suppose I am narrating a tradition. 761 00:40:03,889 --> 00:40:08,579 I started relating a statement of the Prophet (pbuh). 762 00:40:08,579 --> 00:40:11,509 In between I added my own words. 763 00:40:13,220 --> 00:40:16,040 Or added some explanation. 764 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:20,590 And I did not specify if the Prophet (pbuh) had said it or I am saying it. 765 00:40:21,877 --> 00:40:28,267 Similarly, I got part of a narration from him, and then from him, 766 00:40:28,267 --> 00:40:30,767 and some parts from a third and a fourth person. 767 00:40:30,767 --> 00:40:34,767 Now the science of Hadith requires that whatever I have gotten from him, 768 00:40:34,767 --> 00:40:39,907 I should specify it. And then specify what I got from the second person. 769 00:40:39,907 --> 00:40:43,397 And then again relate the part I got from the third person separately. 770 00:40:43,397 --> 00:40:45,358 So when I am relating a narration, 771 00:40:45,358 --> 00:40:47,267 and I am not talking about the issues which arise about it today. 772 00:40:47,267 --> 00:40:49,007 Today we talk from the standpoint of meaning. 773 00:40:49,007 --> 00:40:51,347 But when I am narrating a Hadith about the Prophet (pbuh), 774 00:40:51,347 --> 00:40:52,937 I would mention all this right? 775 00:40:52,937 --> 00:40:56,597 I would tell that I got this part of the narration from so and so person, 776 00:40:56,597 --> 00:40:58,287 and this much from a second person. 777 00:40:58,287 --> 00:41:01,899 But Imam Zuhri did not follow this protocal. Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. 778 00:41:01,899 --> 00:41:05,899 What he evidently does is that he would combine narrations of 4 people 779 00:41:05,899 --> 00:41:08,169 and make a story out of it and then relate it. 780 00:41:08,169 --> 00:41:14,389 Hence, a very evident example of this is Hadith al-ifk in Bukhari. 781 00:41:14,389 --> 00:41:20,069 The infamous incident about Syeda Ayesha that she was subject to an accusation 782 00:41:20,069 --> 00:41:22,689 and the Quran then clarified the incident. 783 00:41:22,689 --> 00:41:25,729 That narration also comes from Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. 784 00:41:25,729 --> 00:41:29,944 So this accusation against Syeda is also related by him. 785 00:41:29,944 --> 00:41:32,539 So if you open Bukhari, you'll find that this narration starts like this... 786 00:41:32,539 --> 00:41:35,679 he is saying that I heard from so and so, 787 00:41:35,679 --> 00:41:38,539 and I left something from the first narration, added something to the second, 788 00:41:38,539 --> 00:41:40,529 and bringing it all together I am relating this narration to you. 789 00:41:40,529 --> 00:41:42,509 These are the actual words in the text. 790 00:41:42,509 --> 00:41:45,709 So he is stating his 'idraaj' himself. 791 00:41:45,709 --> 00:41:49,159 The way it is mentioned in the Quran about the Prophet (pbuh), 792 00:41:49,159 --> 00:41:51,799 he told one of his wives a secret and she did not keep the secret. 793 00:41:51,799 --> 00:41:55,419 So he reprimanded her a little and then did not share the whole secret with her. 794 00:41:55,419 --> 00:41:59,649 That is a very laudable thing in that situation, but here, 795 00:41:59,649 --> 00:42:01,122 what are you narrating? 796 00:42:01,122 --> 00:42:05,422 The story you are making up would completely change the events as a result. 797 00:42:05,422 --> 00:42:08,092 You must relate all four reports separately first. 798 00:42:08,092 --> 00:42:11,512 And only after that you can give it a comprehensive form. 799 00:42:11,512 --> 00:42:15,512 Then we will have a way to investigate what you have added into it. 800 00:42:15,512 --> 00:42:18,342 So these are the various ways of doing idraaj. 801 00:42:18,342 --> 00:42:24,053 Authorities of rijaal concur on the fact that he was guilty of tadlis and idraaj. 802 00:42:24,053 --> 00:42:27,912 The scholars of rijaal, the authorites of the science of rijaal, 803 00:42:27,912 --> 00:42:30,612 Zuhri is their ameer-ul- momineen fil hadith as well, 804 00:42:30,612 --> 00:42:35,092 and simultaneously they hold him guilty of these two acts too. 805 00:42:35,092 --> 00:42:38,532 There is no dispute about this, every single person concurs with this. 806 00:42:39,391 --> 00:42:42,991 No one defends it. And defense is what I already told you. 807 00:42:42,991 --> 00:42:45,271 That he is from among the learned men of that era, 808 00:42:45,271 --> 00:42:46,981 about whom it is better to hold a favorable opinion. 809 00:42:46,981 --> 00:42:49,141 And because the science of Hadith hadn't been born yet. 810 00:42:49,141 --> 00:42:52,533 Alright, let us accept this reasoning for a while 811 00:42:52,533 --> 00:42:56,901 and look upon it favorably since in that time, the methodology hasn't established 812 00:42:56,901 --> 00:42:59,561 and people used to convey such narration without proper regard. 813 00:42:59,561 --> 00:43:03,401 Let us accept it. But what he narrates is always of this nature. Why so? 814 00:43:03,401 --> 00:43:07,561 Be it is the absurd, illogical account of the accusation on Syeda Ayesha, 815 00:43:07,561 --> 00:43:09,931 or this narration regarding the Quran, 816 00:43:09,931 --> 00:43:13,081 or whether it was about the Prophet (pbuh) on his deathbed, 817 00:43:13,081 --> 00:43:16,411 asking for a sheet of paper, and the reply of Syedna Umar Farooq, 818 00:43:16,411 --> 00:43:19,521 'God's refuge! God have mercy! He seems to be in delirium'. 819 00:43:19,521 --> 00:43:21,731 Why are there always these kinds of narrations by him? 820 00:43:21,731 --> 00:43:25,291 By Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. And why doesn't anyone else relate such things? 821 00:43:25,291 --> 00:43:30,281 When we look at any narration, there is either Hazrat Umar being reproached, 822 00:43:30,281 --> 00:43:33,221 or Syeda Ayesha is being accused. What is the reason for this? 823 00:43:33,221 --> 00:43:35,751 This is the question and I have placed it before you. 824 00:43:35,751 --> 00:43:39,221 Authorities of rijaal regard him to be guilty of tadlis and idraaj. 825 00:43:39,221 --> 00:43:40,101 Yes? 826 00:43:41,486 --> 00:43:45,486 Authorities of rijaal mean the scholars 827 00:43:45,486 --> 00:43:50,076 who study and investigate the narrators in a Hadith's chain of transmission. 828 00:43:50,076 --> 00:43:53,519 They tell you who that person was, can he be considered trustworthy, 829 00:43:53,519 --> 00:43:56,099 what was the reliance over his memory, they study all this. 830 00:43:56,099 --> 00:43:59,369 This is an extraordinary discipline. Something we Muslims can take pride in. 831 00:43:59,369 --> 00:44:02,308 See nothing is devoid of flaws, but it is an esteemed science, 832 00:44:02,308 --> 00:44:04,328 and a lot of work has been done in this. 833 00:44:04,328 --> 00:44:08,726 To determine the life conditions of 32,000 people, to convey them, 834 00:44:08,726 --> 00:44:13,816 and then to investigate them as far as possible, is an immense task. 835 00:44:13,816 --> 00:44:17,816 So this is one thing. This is something which the Muhaddisiin state themselves. 836 00:44:17,816 --> 00:44:19,936 The authorities of rijaal state this themselves 837 00:44:19,936 --> 00:44:22,756 that he was guilty of both tadlis and idraaj. 838 00:44:22,756 --> 00:44:26,006 Both of these things have been established about him. 839 00:44:26,006 --> 00:44:29,256 This debate, the one about tadlis and idraaj, 840 00:44:29,256 --> 00:44:31,966 if you want to read it in great detail, 841 00:44:31,966 --> 00:44:35,006 and of course most of these are in Arabic language, 842 00:44:35,006 --> 00:44:38,266 and in the books of rijaal which are of a very specialized nature, 843 00:44:38,266 --> 00:44:43,366 and in which the method of debate is also very technical and specialized, 844 00:44:43,366 --> 00:44:46,176 so a common man does not find it easy to read them. 845 00:44:46,176 --> 00:44:49,796 But two people have done extraordinary debates about these. 846 00:44:49,796 --> 00:44:53,976 First are the scholars who have written about hadith al-ifk in our times, 847 00:44:53,976 --> 00:44:56,996 among them is Hakeem Niaz Sahab too who has a book as well 848 00:44:56,996 --> 00:44:58,327 about the incident of Ifk (slander against Ayesha). 849 00:44:58,327 --> 00:44:59,607 There are other scholars too who have written about it. 850 00:44:59,607 --> 00:45:01,487 So naturally he had to address the whole debate. 851 00:45:01,487 --> 00:45:04,147 So he has collected a lot of material about it. 852 00:45:04,147 --> 00:45:08,147 And the second, and a lot of people would know about it, 853 00:45:08,147 --> 00:45:12,147 that there is a great esteemed scholar from our Punjab itself, 854 00:45:12,147 --> 00:45:16,147 who has written a great book entitled Ruhama'u Baynahum. 855 00:45:16,147 --> 00:45:19,617 It is about the interpersonal relations of the Companions. 856 00:45:19,617 --> 00:45:22,747 He has written about that. Usually, since in the later eras, 857 00:45:22,747 --> 00:45:25,707 the discord among them became the main subject of discourse, 858 00:45:25,707 --> 00:45:27,397 so he has focused on their relations. 859 00:45:27,397 --> 00:45:31,397 Even in that, since most of the narrations about the Companions 860 00:45:31,397 --> 00:45:33,997 which are the basis of reproach against them, come from him only, 861 00:45:33,997 --> 00:45:37,007 so Maulana Muhammad Nafe' also wrote three or four volumes 862 00:45:37,007 --> 00:45:39,487 of Ruhama'u Baynahum, in which he has done a very refined discussion 863 00:45:39,487 --> 00:45:40,927 about Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. 864 00:45:40,927 --> 00:45:44,737 So if anyone wants to read about it in more detail, you can refer to those books. 865 00:45:45,701 --> 00:45:49,321 Yes Tamanna Imadi also has a whole book, but who will read him? 866 00:45:49,321 --> 00:45:52,291 The issue with Tamanna Imadi is that he is a great researcher, 867 00:45:52,291 --> 00:45:56,291 a highly esteemed person, but it seems that there is a junkyard of information, 868 00:45:56,291 --> 00:45:58,851 of ideas and thoughts, of critique and analysis, 869 00:45:58,851 --> 00:46:00,921 which he has dumped onto some pages. 870 00:46:00,921 --> 00:46:03,631 Now it is your tenacity whether you can manage to comprehend it. 871 00:46:03,631 --> 00:46:07,631 So there is no style of composition, of compilation or order to be found in it. 872 00:46:07,631 --> 00:46:09,481 So it is quite difficult to read. 873 00:46:12,087 --> 00:46:14,327 Yes? No his book is in Urdu. 874 00:46:14,327 --> 00:46:17,667 That is why I said that the ones who want to read in Urdu, they can. 875 00:46:17,667 --> 00:46:20,217 Along with this, so it is a given that both of these things are there. 876 00:46:20,217 --> 00:46:22,137 Tadlees and idraaj are a given. 877 00:46:22,137 --> 00:46:24,917 There is no dispute about them. 878 00:46:24,917 --> 00:46:28,347 Besides these, if some other facets of his personality are kept in consideration, 879 00:46:28,347 --> 00:46:34,477 which are referred to by Imam al-Layth ibn Sa'd in his letter to Imam Malik, 880 00:46:34,477 --> 00:46:38,087 then none of the narratives reported by him regarding such important issues 881 00:46:38,087 --> 00:46:40,027 can be seen as acceptable. 882 00:46:40,027 --> 00:46:45,807 Imam al-Layth ibn Sa'd himself is an Imam of the same stature as Imam Malik. 883 00:46:45,807 --> 00:46:49,167 He is among the most esteemed scholars. 884 00:46:49,167 --> 00:46:53,167 Imam al-Layth ibn Sa'd wrote a letter to Imam Malik, 885 00:46:53,167 --> 00:46:56,107 which has been archived in our historical records. 886 00:46:56,107 --> 00:46:59,427 And here I have cited it as well, you can see the whole letter yourself. 887 00:46:59,427 --> 00:47:02,327 It is available written in his own hand. 888 00:47:02,327 --> 00:47:05,817 In that, he has commented upon Zuhri as well. 889 00:47:05,817 --> 00:47:09,137 And it seems that since Imam Malik trusted Zuhri, 890 00:47:09,137 --> 00:47:13,137 and Imam al-Layth ibn Sa'd used to criticize him. 891 00:47:13,137 --> 00:47:16,797 So because of this, Imam Malik used to be unhappy with Sa'd. 892 00:47:16,797 --> 00:47:19,297 So this letter has been written in the backdrop of this entire context. 893 00:47:19,297 --> 00:47:22,857 I have excerpted a part of the letter here. 894 00:47:22,857 --> 00:47:25,777 This is the letter of Imam al-Layth ibn Sa'd, 895 00:47:25,777 --> 00:47:30,457 and the book is I'lamul Muqayin, written by Ibn-e-Qayyim. 896 00:47:30,457 --> 00:47:33,337 Two pronunciations of this book title are correct, 897 00:47:33,337 --> 00:47:37,337 I'lamul Muqayin and I'lamul Muwaqi'in. 898 00:47:37,337 --> 00:47:40,537 The reason for that is I'qaa and tau'qee are synonyms, 899 00:47:40,537 --> 00:47:43,617 which mean mul'himeen. 900 00:47:45,297 --> 00:47:47,357 So this is the book by Ibn-e Qayyim. 901 00:47:47,357 --> 00:47:51,357 In its third volume, on page numbers 84 and 85, this whole letter is copied. 902 00:47:51,357 --> 00:47:53,507 Now see what he writes. 903 00:47:53,507 --> 00:47:58,357 He says about Ibn Shihab, that I do not consider him worthy of consideration. 904 00:47:58,357 --> 00:48:00,307 I do not accept anything that he says. 905 00:48:00,307 --> 00:48:03,077 And he says to Imam Malik that this distresses you, 906 00:48:03,077 --> 00:48:06,347 this attitude of mine. And I will tell you the reason for it. 907 00:48:06,347 --> 00:48:08,857 So the reason he gives is, 'wakaana yakoon min Ibn Shihab 908 00:48:08,857 --> 00:48:11,757 ikhtilaf katheer iza laqeenahu.' 909 00:48:11,757 --> 00:48:16,303 When we would meet Ibn Shihab, there arose a difference of opinion in many issues. 910 00:48:16,303 --> 00:48:18,713 But that is no big deal. 911 00:48:18,713 --> 00:48:23,283 He then says, 'wa iza kaatabahu baazuna farubamaa katabaa alayhi fi l shayl 912 00:48:23,283 --> 00:48:26,643 wahid ala fazil raai'hi wa ilmihi bisalasaati anwa yanquzu 913 00:48:26,643 --> 00:48:28,863 baazahu baaza.' 914 00:48:28,863 --> 00:48:33,279 In that era, knowledge comprised of collecting these narrations. 915 00:48:33,279 --> 00:48:38,239 So he says that when any one of us would ask him in writing about some issue, 916 00:48:38,239 --> 00:48:42,239 in spite of being so learned, and he certainly was a learned scholar, 917 00:48:42,239 --> 00:48:46,239 he would give three very different answers to the same question, 918 00:48:46,239 --> 00:48:48,789 each of which would negate the other. 919 00:48:48,789 --> 00:48:51,969 So if I asked something he would give one answer, 920 00:48:51,969 --> 00:48:53,979 if someone else asks the same thing he would give another answer. 921 00:48:53,979 --> 00:48:56,619 And by a different answer I mean the Hadith narrations. 922 00:48:56,619 --> 00:48:59,449 So he would give one narration to someone and another to someone else. 923 00:48:59,449 --> 00:49:01,239 This was his response. 924 00:49:01,239 --> 00:49:03,379 And then he says that the situation was that 925 00:49:03,379 --> 00:49:05,709 'wala yashiro billazii maza min raa'i fi zalik.' 926 00:49:05,709 --> 00:49:08,719 So what opinion and statement he had given prior to that, 927 00:49:08,719 --> 00:49:12,719 and what he had told us earlier, he would not even be aware of that. 928 00:49:12,719 --> 00:49:16,539 This was the situation. Then he writes 'fahaaz alladi yadooni ila tarki ma'an 929 00:49:16,539 --> 00:49:18,289 tartu tarki-iyaa.' 930 00:49:18,289 --> 00:49:21,019 It is because of these things that I had left him, 931 00:49:21,019 --> 00:49:22,729 something which you did not like. 932 00:49:22,729 --> 00:49:28,009 This issue with him, is actually the cause of me leaving him. 933 00:49:28,009 --> 00:49:34,619 And now in the contemporary times, the books about Shia Rijaal are known too, 934 00:49:34,619 --> 00:49:36,879 earlier there weren't many that we knew about, 935 00:49:36,879 --> 00:49:42,589 so this too you must know that Shias consider him as one of their Imams. 936 00:49:42,589 --> 00:49:45,319 The way we consider him as our ameer-ul-momineen fil hadith, 937 00:49:45,319 --> 00:49:48,339 he is one of their Imams of Hadith too. 938 00:49:48,339 --> 00:49:50,980 So this session comes to an end. I think time is up? 939 00:49:50,980 --> 00:49:52,590 Now there is a half hour break.