Found in the 6 earliest extant Qur’ans

Where we plan to go…

Areas we will observe

[A] The Consonantal Variants in the 6 Earliest Manuscripts of the Qur’an

•          Topkapı Variants

•          Samarkand Variants

•          Ma’il Variants

•          Petropolitanus Variants

•          Husseini Variants

•          Sana’a Variants

[B] Consonants (Rasm) defined

Dan Brubaker’s Book:

Highlighting just 20 out of a total of 4,000 he has now uncovered

7 Types of Variants

Areas we will observe

•            Insertions (?)

•            Erasures (390)

•            Erasures Overwritten (560)

•            Overwriting without Erasures (190)

•            Selective Coverings (515)

•            Selective Coverings Overwritten (210)

•            Tapings

Insertions

Erasures (390)

Erasures Overwritten (560)

Overwriting without Erasures (190)

Either to restore a portion of text that has faded with time, or to change the text entirely

Selective Covering (515)

Intentional changes directly over portions of text

Selective Covering Overwritten (210)

Writing added into the text over the top of tape

Tapings

A patch appears to be serving some other purpose than the repair of the page

Topkapı

Variants

Topkapı Mushaf: early-Mid 8th century

Insertion in the Topkapı (pg.101)

Sura 2:25

Note the vowelization on inserted words

The verse in the Topkapı used to say: “as a provision. ‘If only we had been provided with this before’”

Now it says: “as a provision. They said, ‘This is that with which we were provided before.’”

The new word is: رِّزْقًا

A provision has been added to the text, to make it conform to the current 1924 Hafs text.

Insertion in the Topkapı (pg.102)

Sura 2:196

Note the insertion on the far right, 3rd line

The verse in the Topkapı now includes “that surely Allah”

The new words are: أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ

“That surely Allah” has been added to the text, to make it conform to the current 1924 Hafs text.

Insertion in the Topkapı (pg.102)*

Sura 3:31

Note the insertion on the far left, 2nd line

The verse in the Topkapı 1st said: ‘Allah will forgive you’

Now it says: “Allah will forgive you your (mp) sins”

The new word is ’dhunubikum’: ذُنُوبَكُمْ

“your (mp) sins” has been added to the text, to make it conform to the current 1924 Hafs text.

Insertion in the Topkapı*

Sura 3:47

Note the vowelization on the inserted words

The verse in the Topkapı reads “Thus Allah creates. When he decrees a matter...”

In the 15th century, someone added ‘what he wills’ [ma yashaa] with all the vowels that are missing from the text around it. Making it agree with the standard 1924 Hafs text today

Insertion in the Topkapı (pg.103)*

Sura 9:72

Note the insertion in the middle, 2nd line

The verse in the Topkapı now reads: “it (m.) is”

The new word is ‘huwa’: هُوَ

“it (m.) is” has been added to the text, to make it conform to the current 1924 text.

Insertion: in the Topkapı Mushaf

              s66:8*

Erasure in the Topkapı (pg.161)*

Sura 5:176

Note that it could be a ‘nun’

The verse in the Topkapı used to read “and are they siblings?”

The 1924 Text: “and if they are siblings”

Possibly a ‘nun’ was erased

Here is an example of someone erasing a previous text to conform to the 1924 text. We cannot know for sure what they erased

Erasure overwritten in the Topkapı

Sura 7:38

Note the vowelization on inserted words

The verse in the Topkapı now reads “he said, to each is a double...”

The 1924 Arabic Text:

قَالَ لِكُلٍّ ضِعْفٌ

Here is an example of someone erasing a previous text, and then writing the current text over top. We cannot know what they erased

Erasure: in the Topkapı Mushaf

              s73:20

•       S73:20 A single word was erased between the words “two third” and “the night”.

•       Unfortunately, we will never know what the word was which was erased….

•       Nonetheless, the current text now agrees with the 1924 ‘Hafs’ text

Overwriting without Erasure in the Topkapı

Sura 70:32

Illegible overwriting

“They” in the text is written over top replacing something which is not discernible. Because of the change it now agrees with the 1924 Qur’an.

Al Husseini

Examples of Variants

Al Husseini Muṣḥaf (mid- 8th century)

Francois Deroche

Note the coverings over the text (see the blue arrows to the right), signifying hiding, or censoring the original written text so that it now corresponds with the 1924 Hafs text.

Covering in the Al-Husseini Cairo Manuscript

Sura 2:187

Illegible overwriting

It now covers something between the words “so eat” and “until”.

1924 Qur’an reads “so eat _________and drink, until the white thread of dawn appear. . .”

What was originally covered in the area which now reads “and drink,” we will never know. But whatever it was, it is not in the Qur’an Muslims read today.

Covering in the Al-Husseini Cairo Manuscript

Sura 2:191-193

Censorship?

Phrases (which are in the 1924 Qur’an) covered in the al-Husseini are “drive them out from where,” “and if they fight you,” “then you kill them,” “and if they desist,” “forgiving,” “merciful,” “the religion belongs to Allah,” “enmity” and “in the mouth”.

What was originally covered? We will never know. Why was this portion of text censored?

(Dan Brubaker, Intentional Changes in Qur’an Manuscripts, p. 289)

Covering in Al Husaini, Cairo

Al Husaini Cairo manuscript,

s3:161 – That, which in the modern edition which Muslims use, reads “he brings” and “judgement”, is covered here – Thus, censored. Why?

Erasure: in the Al Husaini

 Cairo MANUSCRIPT – s49:6

•       S49:6 Something is erased after the word fasaqa...

•       Also, while for this verse, the word fasaqa is used in this manuscript, the word fasiqu is used instead in the 1924 Hafs text.

Parisino-Petropolitanus

Variants

Insertion in the Petropolitanus*

Sura 2:137

Note the vowelization on inserted words

The verse in the Arabe 331 reads “If they believe in that which you have believed...”

Later insertion ‘similarly’ [bimithli] is a different color, with dots and vowel soundings. Unlike the earlier text, it now conforms to the standard text. Yet, some texts today (Mas’ud & Ubayy) still do not include this insertion.

Erasure Overwritten:

       Paris Petropolitanus MANUSCRIPT*

               (S3:171)

•       s3:171 There is an erasure, overwritten with the word “favor”

•       It has been added later by a different scribe

•       Yet, it was not originally there

Insertion: in the BnF araba 327*

              s23:86

Erasure in the Petropolitanus

Sura 56:11

The verse in the BNF Arabe 331 originally read: “Those they [are] the nearest...”.

However, the ’they’ [hum] has been rubbed out to conform to the standard Hafs canonical text

Sana’a

Variants

Overwriting without erasures Sana Mushaf Sharif manuscript,

Sana Mushaf Sharif manuscript,

s3:104, there is a combination of letters that do not make sense written over some text, which, in the modern 1924 Quran, reads “the commanding”

Erasure in the Sana’a Mushaf

Insertion: in the Sana’a Mushaf

              s49:15

Conclusions:

What do these thousands of Consonantal corrections mean?

•            There are around 4,000 of these corrections discovered by Dr Dan Brubaker to date

•            They include insertions, erasures, coverings, and tapings

•            They were all carried out long after the original manuscripts were completed

•            They all bring the manuscripts into conformity with today’s standard Hafs text

•            Does this not also suggest human intervention and manipulation of the Qur’anic text over the centuries?

•            So, why was this Hafs text chosen as the final canonized text?