
The Corruption of the Quran
Muslims believe that the Quran has been perfectly preserved by Allah, but according to Islam's most trusted sources, this is far from the truth.
The Quran says in Surah 15:9 that Allah will guard and protect the Quran from corruption, yet according to the Hadith at least two Surahs (chapters) of the Quran were forgotten and lost, at least two verses of the Quran about breastfeeding adults have been lost (at least one was eaten by a sheep), the Quran was revealed in seven different ways, there were different ways Muhammad's companions recited the Quran, Muslims were confused about what should and shouldn't be in the Quran, Muhammad forget on at least one occasion what was in the Quran, and one of the early caliphs actually had Quranic manuscripts burned in an attempt to make only one version of the Quran because of the discrepancies in the way early Muslims were reciting it.
Below is a list of verses from the Hadith that show the corruption of the Quran:
A verse about stoning and breastfeeding adults that was part of the Quran went missing because a sheep ate it: Sunan Ibn Majah 1944 (Dar-us-Salam reference).
Caliph Uthman confirmed that the verse about stoning and adult breastfeeding that Muhammad received went missing from the Quran: Sahih Muslim 17:4194.
At least two verses revealed in the Quran (both about breastfeeding adult men) are missing from today's Quran (Sahih Muslim 8:3421-3422; Muwatta Malik 30:17). At least one of these verses was eaten by a sheep after Muhammad died: Sunan Ibn Majah 1944 (Dar-us-Salam reference).
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, a companion of Muhammad and an early authority on the Quran, said he forgot two Surahs (chapters) of the Quran: Sahih Muslim 5:2286.
Ibn Abbas, Muhammad's cousin, said he didn't know whether something Muhammad said was part of the Quran or not: Sahih Al-Bukhari 76:445.
People considered a saying from Muhammad as part of the Quran until Surah 102 was revealed: Sahih Al-Bukhari 76:446.
During the caliphate of Uthman (who was a companion of Muhammad and the 3rd caliph) Muslims used to recite the Quran differently, so Uthman had a copy made, distributed one copy to all of the Muslim provinces, and had all the other Quranic materials burned: Sahih Al-Bukhari 61:510.
A blind man changed one of the "revelations" that Muhammad received by asking him a question. So now in Surah 4:95 it makes an exception for disabled people: Sahih Al-Bukhari 61:512.
Muhammad said he asked Gabriel to recite the Quran in different ways, until Gabriel recited it seven different ways: Sahih Al-Bukhari 61:513.
When two Muslims (Hisham and Umar) recited the same Surah in different ways, Muhammad said the Quran was revealed in seven different ways and told them to recite it in whichever way was easier: Sahih Al-Bukhari 41:601, 61:514, 93:640; Sahih Muslim 4:1782.
Muhammad thanked a man for reciting verses in the Quran that he had forgotten: Sahih Al-Bukhari 61:556, 61:558; Sahih Muslim 4:1720.
Ubay had 116 chapters in his Quran, Zaid had 114 chapters in his version of the Quran, and Ibn Mas'ud had only 111 chapters in his version.
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Not only does the Hadith, the most scared writings in Islam behind only the Quran, show that the Quran has not been perfectly preserved, but an analysis of the early Quranic manuscripts will also reveal thousands of textual variants. In fact, as of December 2019, there has been 2,364 scribal changes and errors recorded in early Quranic manuscripts on "Qur'an Gateway" (https://info.qurangateway.org/), a website created to offer advanced research tools for the study of the Quran for Quranic scholars and independent researchers. This website assembled and worked with a team of international scholars and specialists in Islam and the text of the Quran to advise and counsel them on accuracy. So not only does the Hadith show that the Quran has been corrupted, but the early manuscripts of the Quran also show thousands of textual errors and changes to the Quran.
So in short, at least two chapters of the Quran have been forgotten, at least two individual verses of the Quran have been lost, the Quran was revealed in seven different ways, there were different ways Muhammad's companions recited the Quran, Muslims were confused about about what should and shouldn't be in the Quran, a blind man changed a verse in the Quran by asking a question, Muhammad thanked a man for reminding him of verses in the Quran he had forgotten, one of the early caliphs actually had Quranic manuscripts burned in an attempt to make only one version of the Quran because of the discrepancies in the way early Muslims were reciting it, and there are thousands of recorded errors and changes to the text of the early manuscripts of the Quran. The evidence overwhelmingly shows that the Quran has not been perfectly preserved as Muslims claim.