The belief in Tahreef is something the Shia scholars inherit. The same way Jaza’iri inherited it from Majlisi, or Kulayni inherited it from `Ali bin Ibrahim, today we will see how al-Qadi Sa`id al-Qummi inherited it from his teacher al-Fayd al-Kashani.
Al-Qadi Sa`id Muhammad bin Muhammad Mufid al-Qummi (d.1107 AH) was favored by the Safavid kings of Persia especially Shah `Abbas and he wrote many books one of which is “Al-Arba`iniyat li Kashf Anwar-ul-Qudsiyat” and it is the book we will be quoting from today.
On pages 65-66 of this book, the author writes about why all Qur’anic recitations are binding but decides to boast about `Ali’s personal recitation and the superior Qur’an possessed by their 12 Imams as opposed to ours and here is the calamity.
كما أن القرآن الذي عند أئمتنا عليهم السلام هو بعينه المسموع من النبي صلى الله عليه واله بسماع علي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام حين سماع غير علي عليه السلام هذا القرآن. وأين سماع مولانا -مولى الأنام- من سماع الرعايا !! مثلا : حين ما سمع ابن مسعود او غيره من النبي هذه الآية (إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُنْذِرٌ وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٍ). وسمع علي (عليه السلام) هكذا: (إِنَما أنت منذر لعباد وعلي لكل قوم هاد). فـــــي الحالة التي سمع القوم بدون لفظة: ((علي)) وذلك للاتساع الالهي والوحدة الجامعة للكلم الرباني وهكذا الحكم في اختلاف القراءات السبع حيث يسمع كل قوم من النبي او الوصي مايوافق لغتهم ومحاورتهم في سماع واحد ومكان واحد. فأحتفظ بذلك التحقيق فإنه من مشرب الرحيق والحمد لله على فضله
[Just like the Qur’an stored with our Imams (as) is the same one heard from the Prophet (saw) but through the hearing of `Ali ibn abi Talib (as) not the hearing of others. And how can one compare the hearing of our master -meaning `Ali- (as) to that of the other subjects!? For example: When Ibn Mas`oud or others heard this verse from the Prophet (saw): {You are only a warner, and for every people is a guide.} [13:7] `Ali (as) heard it like this: “You are only a warner to servants and `Ali to all people is a guide.” So the folks heard it without the word “`Ali”. That is because of the godly vastness and the unity binding the Lord’s speech, such is the ruling concerning the differences between the seven recitations as each person hears from the Prophet (saw) or his legatee (Wasi) what suites their languages and dialects in the exact same hearing and place.]
According to this genius, the Prophet (saw) taught `Ali one Qur’an and taught the rest of us another. Maybe that’s the author’s solution to all the narrations claiming corruption of the Qur’an in Shia books, he thinks that `Ali being the great man that he is magically hears the same verse in a different way, a more superior way as the author is clearly hinting, thus the hidden Qur’an that the 12th man is hiding is much better than ours.
Because that hidden man’s book contains this verse:
“You are only a warner to servants and `Ali to all people is a guide.”
Instead of this verse found in our Qur’an today:
{You are only a warner, and for every people is a guide.} [13:7]
Leave a Reply