CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE
DOCTRINES OF THE SUNNIS AND SHIAS COMPARED
The Sunnis are moderate in their beliefs. They are not fanatics and do not innovate in matters of religion. The Sunni doctrine comes directly from the Qur’ân and the most strongly supported evidence from the Sunnah of the Prophet. The Qur’ân is from Allah; He has made it a light, a guide, and evidence of truth for those who worship Him. It contains no errors and is not wanting in any way. The Qur’ân we have today is the same Qur’ân that the Messenger taught us. No one has added anything to it and no one has removed anything from it. Although the enemies of Allah try to twist the Qur’ân and to raise doubts about it, they will always fail since Allah has promised to preserve it as He says in the verse which reads: {"Indeed, it is We Who sent down the Message [i.e. the Qur’ân] and indeed, We will be its Guardian."}1
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1 Qur’ân 15: 9.
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The Shia Belief about the Qur’ân
The Shia scholars do state what contradicts this concept of Allah's guarantee to protect the Qur’ân. To illustrate, Hâshim Al-Bahrânî, a Shiite exegete, in the introduction of his book Al-Burhân fî Tafsîr Al-Qur’ân, the Hadîth scholar Mullâ Bâqir Al-Majlisî in his book Mir’âtul-`Uqûl (Mirror of Minds), Sheikh An-Nûrî At-Tubrasî2, Ni`matul-Lâh Al-Jazâ’irî in his book Al-Anwâr An-Nu`mâniyyah, and others of Shia scholars, state that the Prophet's Companions made additions to its text, removed parts of it, and changed others. An-Nûrî At-Tubrasî quoted from Ni`matul-Lâh Al-Jazâ’irî that, "The Shia scholars uniformly agree to the authenticity of the recurrent narrations indicating the change in the Qur’ân."3 Al-Kulaynî,4 in his book Al-Kâfî (The Sufficient) makes the same charge saying that the whole Qur’ân consists of seventeen thousand verses though it is well known that the number of verses in the Qur’ân we all use is somewhere in the neighborhood of six thousand.5 Finally, Al-Kulaynî asserts that
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2 An-Nûrî At-Tubrasî, Faslul-Khitab fî Ithbât Tahrîf Kitâb Rabb Al-Arbâb; see also Al-Sayyid Hâshim Al-Bahrânî, Al-Burhân fî Tafsîr Al-Qur’ân, p. 49; Bâqir Al-Majlisî, Mir’âtul-`Uqûl;Ni`matul-Lâh Al-Jazâ’irî, Al-Anwâr Al-Nu`mâniyyah, 2: 356.
3 An-Nûrî At-Tubrasî, Faslul-Khitâb fî Ithbât Tahrîf Kitâb Rabbul-Al-Arbâb, p. 30.
4 Muhammad Ibn Ya`qûb Ibn Ishâq Al-Kulaynî Ar-Râzî (d. 328/939). A principal Shia theologian and scholar [trans]. Al-Kulaynî is the author of the Shias' most authoritative book of fiqh, Al-Kâfî, which the Shias believe is more reliable than Sahîh Al-Bukhârî. Sheikh `Abdul-Husayn Al-Mûsawî says that Al-Kâfî is the best and most reliable book of the Shia (Al-Murâja`ât, pp. 110-311). Likewise, Sheikh Muhammad Sâdiq As-Sadr in his book Ash-Shî`ah (The Shia) says, "It is said that Al-Kâfî was shown to the Mahdî (the Twelfth Imam) who said, "This is sufficient for our faction."
5 In his exegesis of the Qur’ân entitled As-Sâfî (The Crystal Clear), Al-Kâshânî said, "As for Al-Kulaynî, may Allah bless him, he was convinced that [the Companions] had changed the
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the complete Qur’ân was only compiled by their Imams.6 According to him, Imam Ja`far As-Sâdiq, said, "We have Fâtimah's Qur’ân and by Allah your Qur’ân does not contain a word of it."7
Al-Kâshânî says that the Qur’ân we have is not the complete Qur’ân that the Prophet brought.8 According to him, the Qur’ân contradicts the Message revealed by Allah. He adds that some parts of it were not changed while other parts were deleted by the hypocrites (he means the Companions of the Prophet) such as deleting the name of `Alî from the Qur’ân. Al-Kâshânî also said, "…and they also removed the words ‘the family of Muhammad’ along with some of the hypocrites9." He further said, "As for our Qur’ân and removed parts of it. He said this in his book Al-Kâfî and never failed to defend this position. In the beginning of his book, Al-Kulaynî also mentions that both he and his elder scholar, `Alî Ibn Ibrâhîm Al-Qummî, were convinced by reports of this, and points out that Al-Qummî's commentary on the Qur’ân is "full of such reports." (see Al-Kâshânî, Tafsîr As-Sâfî, 47:1).
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6 Al-Kulaynî, Al-Kâfî, 1: 427; The Imams of the Ja`farî, or Imâmiyyah sect, with which this book is principally concerned, are twelve: `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib, Al-Hasan, Al-Husayn, `Alî Zayn Al-`Âbidîn Ibnul-Husayn, Muhammad Al-Bâqir Ibn `Alî, Ja`far As-Sâdiq Ibn Muhammad, Mûsâ Al-Kâzim Ibn Ja`far, `Alî Ridâ Ibn Mûsâ, Muhammad Al-Jawâd Ibn `Alî, `Alî Al-Hâdî Ibn Muhammad, Al-Hasan Al-`Askarî Ibn `Alî, Al-Mahdî Al-Muntazar (believed to be in occultation), see Sobhî Mahmasânî, Falsafat At-Tashrî` Al-Islâmî (Jurisprudence of Islamic Legislation), p. 45) [trans].
7 Al-Kulaynî, Al-Kâfî, 1: 240.
8 Al-Kâshânî, in his introduction to Al-Kulaynî's As-Sâfî. 9 He refers to the Companions by the word "hypocrites".
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[Shia's] scholar's belief in this regard, it is clear that Al-Kulaynî believed that the Qur’ân was changed; parts of it were changed and others were removed."10 An-Nûrî At-Tubrasî is among the most highly revered Shia scholars though he, in his book Faslul-Khitâb (Decisive Judgment), lists more than two thousand narrations of changes in the Qur’ân that he collected from a wide range of Shia books, among them Al-Kulaynî's Al-Kâfî. In reward for this, the Shias buried him in their most sacred cemetery, Al-Hujrah Al-Murtadawiyyah (i.e., the Room of Al-Murtadâ), at An-Najaf in Iraq.
Lastly, Kamâlud-Dîn Maytham Al-Bahrânî tells us in his commentary on Nahjul- Balâghah (Method of Eloquence) that `Uthmân Ibn `Affân "collected the Qur’ân according to the way of recitation of Zayd Ibn Thâbit, then he burned all the other copies, throwing out what was a doubtless part of the Qur’ân."11

Samples of "Changed" Verses
Al-Kulaynî and `Alî Ibn Ibrâhîm Al-Qummî12 assert that the Companions changed many verses of the Qur’ân. They give us examples of some of these, (the words that are asserted to have been removed are set in italics).
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10 Al-Kâshânî, also Al-Kashshî, Muhammad Murtadâ Mullâ Muhsin Al-Kâshânî (d. 1090 / 1679),As-Sâfî, pp. 14, 47.
11 `Abdul-Hamîd Ibn Hibatul-Lâh Al-Madâ’inî Ibnul-Hadîd (d. 586/1190), Sharh Nahjul-Balâghah (Explaining the Method of Eloquence), 1: 11 (Iran), a commentary on a collection of sayings attributed to `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib, may Allah be pleased with him.
12 `Alî Ibn Ibrâhîm Ibn Hâshim Al-Qummî, hereinafter referred to simply as "Al-Qummî," was a Shia exegete of the Qur’ân who lived in the fourth century after Hijrah. He is not to be confused with the faqîh Abû Ja`far Muhammad Ibn `Alî Ibnul-Husayn Ibn Mûsâ Ibn
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• And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger in the Imamate of `Alî and the Imams who succeed him has certainly attained a great attainment.13
• A supplicant asked for a punishment bound to happen - To the disbelievers; in the Imamate of `Alî of it there is no preventer.14
• And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down [i.e. the Qur’ân] upon Our Servant [i.e. Prophet Muhammad] concerning the Imamate of `Alî…15
• And those who have wronged the family of Muhammad are going to know to what [kind of] return they will be returned.
• You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind..., Commenting on this verse, Al-Qummî relates that Abû `Abdullâh said "Those who killed Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind?"
Someone asked him, "Then what did the Qur’ân really say?" He said, "You are the best Imams produced [as an example] for mankind?"16
• But if they had done what they were instructed in the matter of `Alî.Bâbawayh Al-Qummî As-Sâdiq, herein referred to as Ibn Bâbawayh Al-Qummî (d. 381 h.), author of the book `Uyûn Akhbâr Ar-Ridâ (Top Narratives of Ar-Ridâ) [trans].
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13 Al-Kulaynî, Al-Kâfî, 1: 414.
14 Ibid. 2 :422.
15 Ibid. 1:417.
16 This "interpretation" depends upon a rereading of one word in the Arabic original. The Arabic reads "Kuntum khaira ummatin ukhrijat lin-nâs." To support the interpretation reported above it is necessary to read "Kuntum khaira a’immatin ukhrijat lin-nâs." The substitution is the word a’immah (Imams) for ummah (nation). These words sound similar and are spelled similarly [trans].
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• "O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, in the matter of `Alî and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message."
Commenting on this verse, Al-Qummî said, "When Allah revealed this verse, the Prophet told `Alî Ibn Abû Tâlib, "Had I not conveyed what I had been ordered to covey about your succession (Imamate), my deeds would have been in vain."17
These are a few of the verses that the Shias accuse the Companions of changing. They do not seem to realize that this raises doubts about the Qur’ân since Allah says ,{"Indeed, it is We Who sent down the Message [i.e. the Qur’ân] and indeed, We will be its Guardian."}18 This means that Allah will preserve the Qur’ân, protect it, and prevent anyone from changing it.
Shah Muhammad,19 a Qajar ruler of Iran, once asked Sheikh `Alî Asghar Barjardî to write a book and explain clearly the beliefs of the Shias. In this book, called The Doctrines of the Shias,20 Barjardî explains that "We must believe that it is impossible to change the original Qur’ân, but the hypocrites [he means the Companions] both added things to the Qur’ân we have, and took things out of it. The original Qur’ân is with the Imam of the Age,21 may Allah hasten his return."22
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17 Tafsir Nûrul-Thaqalayn.
18 Qur’ân 15:9.
19 Shah Muhammad, ruled 1193/1779-1212/1797, first Shah of the Qajar dynasty of Iran. They were Turkmens of the Qajar tribe overthrown by Reza Khan, the father of the last Shah of Iran, Muhammad Reza, in 1924 [trans].
20 `Alî Asghar Barjardî, `Aqâ’id Ash-Shî`ah.
21 This refers to the Twelfth Imam who the Shias say disappeared into a cave a thousand years ago [trans].
22 `Alî Asghar Barjardî, `Aqâ’id Ash-Shî`ah, p. 27.
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There are some sincere Shias who reject this doctrine, but since they reject this part of Shia belief, why do they still blindly follow the rest of it? Why do they not condemn these heretical scholars and abandon Shiism? Merely denouncing their ideas while still following their sect is not enough. To stay in a sect founded in error is to stay in error.
Many Christians deny the doctrine of the Trinity and reject the cult of saints. Many of them do not believe in the divinity of human beings, but they still associate themselves with a religion that fails to convince them. Surely, they are only following the traditions of their ancestors.
Since most ordinary Shias have rejected the belief of distorting the Qur’ân, their sheikhs have become obliged to deny this shameful idea. But if they were sincere about this, they would admit what such books contain, for these books, which they regularly reprint, usually find their way into the hands of ordinary Muslims. In such books we can find many narrations that support the idea of changing the Qur’ân. This idea is greatly considered by Shia scholars and prominent figures as it is stated in their main references, such as Al-Kâfî.

Al-Khû’î's Attitude toward the Changing of the Qur’ân
There is a group of Shias who dissociate themselves from the belief that the Companions changed the Qur’ân. These follow Imam Al-Khû’î, a prominent scholar, who is the director of Al-Hawzah Al-`Ilmiyyah based at An-Najaf. He passed a ruling to prohibit this belief. While they say they follow him alone, they still overlook two points:
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1. Al-Khû’î is not a prominent figure in comparison with such scholars as Al-Kulaynî, Al-Qummî, Al-Majlisî, and other Shia scholars.23 The primary Shia references are still the books of major Shia scholars, all of which contain references to this belief while they are the main sources for students and scholars alike. So let Al-Khû’î talk on behalf of them and admit that the books of such prominent Shia scholars stated that the Qur’ân was changed; otherwise, he would be concealing testimony.
2. After considering all the views about the authenticity of the Qur’ân, Al-Khû’î says, "Clearly the story about how the Companions changed the Qur’ân is nothing but a fairy tale; only the feeble-minded could believe it."24
Nevertheless, Al-Khû’î himself still has an opinion, which someway resembles some o such "fairy tales". In the very book in which he rejected the idea of changing the Qur’ân, he says that, "There is a "Qur’ân of `Alî; the order of the chapters of this Qur’ân is different from the one present nowadays, and its existence is a fact that one should not doubt. Shia scholars are all agreed on the existence of `Alî's Qur’ân; and this consensus has sufficed us to undertake the effort to prove it. Having additions which do not appear in the present Qur’ân – even if this opinion is right – is not sufficient evidence to prove that such additions were part of the Qur’ân and were removed through distortion. The preponderant opinion is that the additions in `Alî's Qur’ân are
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23 Muhammad Al-Bâqir Ibn Muhammad At-Taqiyy Ibn Maqsûd `Alî Akmal Al-Majlisî Al-Isfâhânî (1110/ 1700). Hadîth scholar and theologian, author of numerous works including Bihâr Al-Anwâr (Seas of Lights) and Mir’âtul-`Uqûl (Mirrors of Minds) [trans].
24 Al-Khû’î, Al-Bayân fî Tafsîr Al-Qur’ân, p. 259.
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only meant to explain and interpret the text. It also may be included under interpretations revealed by Allah to explain Qur’anic verses."

Here Al-Khû’î confirms two things:
First, there is another Qur’ân, "`Alî's Qur’ân," which is different from the Qur’ân that Muslims have today in content and in chapter arrangement. Second, Allah revealed the Qur’ân and explained its meaning.
Can anyone believe that Allah revealed the Qur’ân with explanations of its meanings?
From a scholar, Al-Khû’î, who is known for being reasonable, such declarations are astonishing. Why should we not join in a common belief, one that is clear and honest?
Why should we not all recognize that the Qur’ân, that is with us and in our mosques, is the same Qur’ân that Muhammad taught us, which is free of additions and omissions?
When will we finish with this talk of a hidden Qur’ân with the Invisible Imam, about Fâtimah's Qur’ân and `Alî's Qur’ân? If we cannot agree on this, then how will our two communities ever find any common ground? And how could we possibly agree about anything else?