The Qur'an and Its Study. Adnan Zarzour
any change or difference. However, the ‘Uthmānī copies did not follow this rule. They include many words or letters that are at variance with the way they are pronounced. This is due to some special rules of handwriting and spelling. All these special rules are concerned with omission, addition, substitution and connection. They may be also due to words that are pronounced in two different ways. These are written according to one of these ways.157 This is discussed in great detail by many scholars who cite numerous Qur’anic examples. Among these are al-Suyūṭī in his book Al-Itqān and al-Zarkashī in Al-Burhān. The latter discusses this topic at length under the heading Ikhtilāf rasm al-kalimāt fī al-muṣḥaf wal-ḥikmat fīh.158 Other scholars wrote separate works on this issue, including Abū ‘Amr al-Dānī in al-Muqni‘ and Abū al-‘Abbās al-Marākishī in ‘Unwān al-Dalīl fī Marsūm Khaṭṭ al-Tanzīl.
This method of writing remains standard to our present day; it has not been changed in any way. Muslim scholars of all generations agree that it must remain unchanged. They give rulings of ‘highly reprehensible’ or ‘forbidden’ on any change to match the changing ways of writing of any period of time or place. This reflects their great precautions against any change that may creep into the Qur’anic text, even in a purely technical aspect. Imām Mālik was asked: ‘Can the Qur’an be written according to people’s modern way of writing?’ He answered: ‘No, it must be written in the same way it was originally written.’159 Imām Aḥmad said: ‘It is forbidden to alter the writing of the ‘Uthmāni copy even in a single vowel of o, i, a, or anything else.’160
The differences between the ‘Uthmānī rasm and the normal way of writing that was universally adopted later, as clearly appears in the question put to Imām Mālik, are numerous. Ibn Qutaybah mentions that among the best known differences are the omission of the ‘ā’, which is the case marker in dual nouns, the addition of an ‘o’ character in words like ṣalāt, zakāt and ḥayāt, the replacement of the ‘ā’ character by an ‘o’ in a word like ribā. Other examples are writing one ‘l’ in alladhīna, (27: 21) and adding a silent ‘a’ character in words like laadhbaḥannah and laawḍa‘u (9: 47). Referring to these variations, Ibn Qutaybah said: ‘Such instances in the Qur’an are too many to count.’ We may say this with Ibn Qutaybah with even stronger emphasis. Moreover, the same word may be written differently in different verses. For example, the word ladā which occurs in 12: 25 and 40: 18 is written in two different forms of the final ‘a’ sound. Some commentators on the Qur’an explain this particular difference, saying that the word is slightly different in meaning in each case. In 12: 25, it means ‘at’, while in the surah it means ‘close to’. Hence, the difference in writing them.161
What scholars over the centuries have rejected is the subjection of the rasm ‘Uthmānī to the changes that apply to the rules of writing over time. They did not object to leaving it at variance with these subsequently introduced rules. The ‘Uthmāni copies were written at the time according to the ways of writing known or approved at that time. Hence, the generalised claim that the rasm ‘Uthmānī did not conform to the rules of writing is incorrect.
Opposition to subjecting the rasm ‘Uthmānī to modification and development, as happens with the ways of writing over time, should be supported. Hardly any language is written without some characters remaining silent, or others being pronounced in some words at variance with the way they are written. These variations are learnt by students. The Qur’an reflects the highest standard of Arabic, and mastering its language is achieved only through extensive learning. In the case of the Qur’an, learning its pronunciation is the key.
Any call to change this way of writing the Qur’an ‘to bring it in line with modern writing’ or ‘to make it easier to read’, is strange to say the least for it comes at a time of highly advanced methods of learning and the availability of varied teaching aids. The Qur’an has been preserved and its method of writing has remained well known, along with its grammatical and writing rules, for over fourteen centuries without the need for such teaching aids. Are the advocates of such change for the sake of modernity, and their contemporaries, happy to be accused of laziness and weakness? We would not like them to suffer such accusations.
As we have noted earlier, it was the Qur’an that standardised Arabic, made it permanent and protected it from disintegration. This has spared us much trouble in comparing the different stages, translations, studies and identifying the causes of development from an old form to a new one. All this takes place in other languages, as is the case in English, for example, in which three different stages are identified as Old, Middle and Modern English. In the case of Arabic and the language of the Qur’an, all we need is to learn a few minor differences between the old type of ‘Uthmānī writing and our modern type.
The call to write the Qur’an in Latin characters does not deserve even a mention. God describes His book, the Qur’an, as being ‘in the clear Arabic tongue’ (26: 195). He has made it inimitable in this tongue, and made it the most important miracle given to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), testifying to his being God’s Prophet and Messenger, as we will discuss later. He has made it easy for people to memorise it in full. We find that some people who do not speak Arabic, and do not even know the Arabic characters, are able to memorise and recite it perfectly. In other words, the Qur’an is memorised by Arabs and non-Arabs alike, so how can anyone advocate its being written in a non-Arabic script? Does Latin have the letter symbols to accommodate all Arabic sounds?
It is worth noting that all calls that have tried to meddle with the Qur’anic text – its words and meanings – have shown themselves to be either still born or survived for only a very short period. God will certainly keep His light shining. All praise be to God, the Lord of all the worlds.
7. Diacritics, Letter Dotting and other Markers in the Qur’an
The Stage of Improvement
The Qur’an was collated and copied during the reign of the rightly-guided Caliphs and the noble Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The addition of diacritics and letter dotting was done in the generation that followed. It is reported that the Umayyad Caliph, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwān, was the one who ordered this work.162 ‘It was al-Ḥajjāj who carried out this order, ensuring its accomplishment and adding other markers too. As ‘Abd al-Malik’s governor of Iraq, he instructed al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and Yaḥya ibn Ya‘mar to see to it.’163 Both were among the most distinguished scholars of the tābi‘īn, the generation that followed the Prophet’s Companions. Yaḥya was distinguished for his scholarship in the Qur’an and linguistics. He was a Shia, maintaining that members of the Prophet’s household ranked ahead of all others, without detracting from the status of any of the Prophet’s Companions. This was the type of Shī‘ism prevalent at the time, but which was no more than a form of pluralism in Muslim society.
When we consider all the reports we have about adding the diacritics and dotting to the writing of the Qur’an, we may conclude that Abū al-Aswad al-Du’alī and Naṣr ibn ‘Āṣim al-Laythī took part in this effort. Al-Zubaydī mentions that Ibn Sīrīn had a muṣḥaf and Yaḥya ibn Ya‘mar dotted it for him.164
The overwhelming majority of scholars did not object to adding these diacritics and dots to the writing of the Qur’an. Indeed, they welcomed it as al-Nawawī said: ‘According to scholars, dotting the Qur’an and adding diacritics is preferable, because it prevents mistakes when reading it.’ Even those scholars who disliked it, such as al-Sha‘bī and al-Nakha‘ī, ‘only expressed reservations at the time for fear that it could lead to changes in the Qur’an. In our time, such fears are no longer valid. Hence, there is no objection’.165
This is the reason why scholars did not dislike the subsequent addition of other markers, such as adding a marker after every ten verses. Markers were then added to divide the Qur’an into equal portions of ḥizb and juz’. Al-Dānī said that Muslims all over the world agree that this is perfectly permissible. Thus, the Qur’an is made up of sixty ḥizbs and these now appear in all editions printed anywhere in the world. However, each two of these, form one juz’, which appear in editions printed in eastern Muslim