The Corruption of the Qur’an: The Case of the Stoning Verse
Brother Daniel
Introduction
Muslim apologists often talk about textual variants within Biblical manuscripts in the hope of validating the Islamic allegation of the corruption of the previous scriptures. They point out those variant readings and charge Christians and Jews of tampering with the content of the Scriptures. They have so popularized this argument that average Muslims raise this topic during their dialogues with their Christian neighbors.
When it comes to the Qur’an, our Muslim friends boldly assume perfect preservation and textual integrity. Anyone who studies Islamic traditions, however, is aware that this is not the case even without having to trawl through manuscripts to look for variants. There are several reports in authentic ahadith which show that the Qur’an is not perfectly preserved but had a textual history that undermines its preservation, let alone its perfect preservation. In this article, we shall examine one such piece of evidence, the Hadith about the verse of stoning, which is reported in several instances in Islamic traditions.
The Hadith Reports
There are several reports about the verse of stoning which are found in the ahadith. The report in al-Bukhari gives the background story of the verse as follows:
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar:
The Jews came to Allah’s Apostle and told him that a man and a woman from amongst them had committed illegal sexual intercourse. Allah’s Apostle said to them, “What do you find in the Torah (Old Testament) about the legal punishment of Ar-Rajm (stoning)?” They replied, (But) we announce their crime and lash them.” Abdullah bin Salam said, “You are telling a lie; Torah contains the order of Rajm.” They brought and opened the Torah and one of them placed his hand on the Verse of Rajm and read the verses preceding and following it. Abdullah bin Salam said to him, “Lift your hand.” When he lifted his hand, the Verse of Rajm was written there. They said, “Muhammad has told the truth; the Torah has the Verse of Rajm. The Prophet then gave the order that both of them should be stoned to death. (‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar said, “I saw the man leaning over the woman to shelter her from the stones.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 829)
It seems it was at this moment that the law about stoning adulterers came to the attention of Muhammad. There are several reports about the verse originally being “revealed” to Muhammad as part of the Qur’an. Al-Bukhari reported the following:
In the meantime, ‘Umar sat on the pulpit and when the call makers for the prayer had finished their call, ‘Umar stood up, and having glorified and praised Allah as He deserved, he said, “Now then, I am going to tell you something which (Allah) has written for me to say. I do not know; perhaps it portends my death, so whoever understands and remembers it, must narrate it to the others wherever his mount takes him, but if somebody is afraid that he does not understand it, then it is unlawful for him to tell lies about me. Allah sent Muhammad with the Truth and revealed the Holy Book to him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the Rajam (the stoning of a married person (male & female) who commits illegal sexual intercourse, and we did recite this Verse and understood and memorized it. Allah’s Apostle did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did we after him… (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 817)
According to the foregoing Hadith, during the lifetime of Muhammad the verse of stoning was in the Qur’an but later taken out of the Qur’an for the reason we shall see soon.
Al-Bukhari reported that Ibn Abbas, who was one of the Sahābas affirmed the authenticity of the verse of stoning and expressed his concern that in the future the Muslim community may reject the practice because it is not there in the Qur’an:
Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas:
‘Umar said, “I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, ‘We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) in the holy book,’ and consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah has revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajam be inflicted on him who commits illegal sexual intercourse if he is already married and the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession.” Sufyan added, “I have memorized this narration in this way.” ‘Umar added, “Surely Allah’s Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajam, and so did we after him.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 816)
The verse of stoning is also mentioned by Ibn Ishaq who penned the very first biography of Muhammad:
“Verily stoning in the book of God is a penalty laid on married men and women who commit adultery, if proof stands or pregnancy is clear or confession is made” (Guillaume, 1967, p.684)
Though Muhammad was hesitant to stone people to death, there are several reports in the ahadith where he stoned adulterers or ordered his followers to stone them (Power, 2016, p. 44-45). For example, a report in al-Bukhari reads as follows:
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar: The Jew brought to the Prophet a man and a woman from amongst them who have committed (adultery) illegal sexual intercourse. He ordered both of them to be stoned (to death), near the place of offering the funeral prayers beside the mosque.” (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 2, Book 23, Number 413)
A similar report is found in Imam Malik’s Muwatta:
Ibn Shihab reported that a man in the time of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) acknowledged having committed adultery and confessed it four times. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) then ordered and he was stoned.” (Muwatta Imam Malik, p.350).
The Sahābas were also stoning adulterers:
Narrated Ash-Sha’bi: from ‘Ali when the latter stoned a lady to death on a Friday. ‘Ali said, “I have stoned her according to the tradition of Allah’s Apostle.” (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 8, Book 82, Number 803)
Someone may wonder if the verse was such important then what happened to it? There is a report which says that the verse was part of a large portion of the earliest Qur’an which is now missing from the book:
Narrated ‘Aasim ibn Bahdalah, from Zirr, who said:
Ubayy ibn Ka‘b said to me: How long is Soorat al-Ahzaab when you read it? Or how many verses do you think it is? I said to him: Seventy-three verses. He said: Only? There was a time when it was as long as Soorat al-Baqarah, and we read in it: “The old man and the old woman, if they commit zina, then stone them both, a punishment from Allah, and Allah is Almighty, Most Wise.” (Musnad Ahmad No. 21245)
This is very interesting because since al-Baqarah is 286 verses and al-Ahzab is 73 verses it means a portion of the Qur’an which amounts to 213 verses is missing. According to the popular fatwa website IslamQA.com The Hadith was narrated by ‘Abdullah the son of Imam Ahmad in Zawaa’id al-Musnad (21207), ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq in al-Musannaf (599), Ibn Hibbaan in his Saheeh (4428), al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (8068), al-Bayhaqi in as-Sunan (16911) and Ibn Hazm in al-Muhalla (12/175). Concerning its authenticity, the website states:
“Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This is a clearly saheeh isnaad, as clear as the sun, in which there is no fault. Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This is a hasan isnaad.” (IslamQA, 2014).
Though the Muslim scholars at IslamQA.com indicated that the verses were abrogated, there is no evidence in Islamic traditions that the missing portion as a whole was abrogated.
There is another interesting story concerning why the verse was missing from the Qur’an. The Hadith is reported by Muhammad’s juvenile wife Aishah:
It was narrated that ‘Aishah said: “The Verse of stoning and of breastfeeding an adult ten times was revealed, and the paper was with me under my pillow. When the Messenger of Allah died, we were preoccupied with his death, and a tame sheep came in and ate it.” (Sunan Ibn Majah 3:9:1944)
This Hadith is classified as hasan by Muslim scholars, and it is reported in several sources including Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Qutbah’s Tawil Mukhtalafi ‘l-Hadith, and As-Suyuti’s ad-Durru ‘l-Manthur. One may ask why the verse was excluded from the Qur’an if the Sahābas know that it was part of the Qur’an. According to As-Suyuti during the initial collection of the Qur’an when Umar brought the verse to the compilers’ committee headed by Zayid, it was rejected because there was no other witness for its inclusion in the text of the Qur’an (Al Suyuti, p. 385; Cited in: The Qur’an Dilemma; Vol. 1, p. 52). In another report, Zayd was supportive of its inclusion in the Qur’anic text but Umar hesitated:
Zaid ibn Thabit and Sa’id ibn al-As were writing out the mushaf (the written codex of the Qur’ān) and when they came to this verse Zaid said, “I heard the messenger of Allah (saw) say: ‘The adult men and women who commit adultery, stone them as a punishment”‘. Umar said, “When it was revealed I went to the Prophet (saw) and said, ‘Shall I write it?’, but he seemed very reluctant”. (As-Suyuti, p.528; Cited in Gilchrist, p. 40).
At this point, Islamic sources are contradicting each other as they are in many cases.
How do Muslim Scholars Explain the Puzzle?
According to Muslim scholars, this incident can be explained by the rule of abrogation. In Islam, there are three types of abrogations: abrogation of both the verses and the ruling, abrogation of the ruling but not the verses, and abrogation of the verses but not the ruling. Muslim scholars tell us that this verse is abrogated in reading but not in ruling (IslamQA, 2014). It is clear that Muslim scholars at this point are in the business of damage control. Why in the world such an important commandment which was originally in the text would be eventually canceled from the book when it is still applicable as the commandment of God? This makes no sense at all.
The first generation of Muslims was as confused as today’s Muslim scholars on the exclusion of this verse from the Qur’an. As we have seen from different Islamic sources, initially it was in the Qur’an as part of Surah al-Ahzab and lost from the Qur’an together with a large portion. According to Aishah, it was lost because it was eaten by a sheep or a goat. It seems that Aishah had a reason to dislike this verse because she was at one time accused of adultery (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 5, Book 59, Number 462; Guillaume, pp. 494–499). As we have seen earlier, according to one report Umar wanted it to be written but according to another report, he was hesitant because he had seen Muhammad being reluctant to write it down. It is puzzling how Muhammad became reluctant to write it down when it was a part of Surat al-Ahzab and also reported by Aisha that it was already written down and was under her bed when Muhammad died. Something doesn’t seem right here.
A Problem for the Perfect Preservation of the Qur’an
This incident is good evidence that the Qur’an is not perfectly preserved but suffered from major changes. Allah did not keep his promise to protect the Qur’an as something essential is missing from it.
It Undermines the Authority of the Qur’an
According to Islam, the Qur’an is a divine revelation from a heavenly tablet with Allah. It is above all revelations in terms of authority and authenticity. However, when it comes to the punishment of adultery, the Hadith triumphs the Qur’an as it abrogates the commandments in the Qur’an (Surah 4:15; 24:2).
A Witness to the Authenticity of the Bible
According to a story in the Hadith, the verse of stoning which was in the Torah was read in the presence of Muhammad and he acknowledged its veracity (Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 2, Book 23, Number 413). The Jews who brought the Torah to the presence of Muhammad were not accused of bringing the wrong Torah or a corrupted Torah. There was no question that the Torah in their hands was the true Torah. They were accused of covering the law within it, not for having a corrupt Torah. Muhammad in the Qur’an even acknowledged that they need not come to him for judgment but judge among themselves according to the Torah in their hands (Surah 5:43).
Its Implication on the Sharia Law
Stoning is one of the harshest punishments in the Old Testament. It shows the sacredness of marriage and the seriousness of violating the marital covenant. In the Biblical context, this law cannot be applicable in the absence of a theocratic state which was ended when Israelites were rejected and demanded to be ruled by earthly kings during the time of Samuel (1Samuel 8). That is why we see King David spared of being stoned to death when he committed adultery with Beersheba (2Samuel 11).
Islamic sharia law endorses the stoning of adulterers, both the man and the woman “if proof stands or pregnancy is clear or confession is made” (Guillaume, p.684). Such punishments must not be left to the judgment of mere men because they could be easily abused by men who want to harm someone as in the case of Iranian woman Soraya Manuchehri who was publicly stoned to death in 1986 in a small village in Iran. “She was allegedly convicted of adultery by her husband’s accusations, witnessed by 3 of his friends. Her husband, a prison guard with a petty criminal past, wanted to get rid of her without paying her dowry and marry a 14-year-old girl” (Yousefi, 2020). This is what happens when a man-made religion like Islam takes into its own hands a law that could be applicable only where true theocratic rule exists.
Conclusion
The Hadith report about the verse of stoning is one of the several instances which prove that the Qur’an is not in its original form. It shows that the Hadith triumphs over the Qur’an proving that the Qur’an is not a sufficient source for Sharia law. It also falsifies the oft-repeating claim of Muslim apologists that they accept the Hadith only if it agrees with the Qur’an. This is a good case in point for Christian apologists to undermine the preservation and authority of the Qur’an helping Muslims to consider the Bible which is the true word of God whose preservation is proven by withstanding the textual criticism of both Christian and non-Christian scholars for the last two centuries.
References
Former Muslims. (2011). The Qur’an Dilemma: Former Muslims analyze Islam’s holiest book. Vol. 1. Water of Life Publishing. Cherry St, Seattle, WA.
Gilchrist, John. (1989). Jam’ al-Qur’an: The codification of the Qur’an text. Jesus to the Muslims Ministry. Durban, SA.
Guillaume, Alfred. (1967). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah. Oxford University Press.
IslamQA. (2014). Soorat al-Ahzaab was as Long as Soorat al-Baqarah, then Most of it was Abrogated. Retrieved March 5, 2021, from https://islamqa.info/en/answers/197942/soorat-al-ahzaab-was-as-long-as-soorat-al-baqarah-then-most-of-it-was-abrogated
Muwatta Imam Malik. Retrieved March 5, 2021, from https://sunnah.com/malik
Power, Bernie. (2016). Challenging Islamic traditions: searching questions about the Hadith from a Christian perspective. William Carey Library.
Sahih Al-Bukhari. Retrieved March 5, 2021, from https://sunnah.com/bukhari
Yousefi, Yasaman. (2020). Constitutional Gender Violence: Stoning in Iran. Retrieved March 5, 2021 from https://sdwatch.eu/2020/07/constitutional-gender-violence-stoning-in-iran/