One of the Shī`ī Ithnā’ `Asharī scholars who fearlessly declared their belief in the distortion [taĥrīf] of the Holy Qur’ān is al-Mīrzā Ĥusayn al-Nūrī al-Ţabarsī (d. 1320). He compiled an entire book to prove this belief, and titled it Faşl al-Khitāb fī Taĥrīf Kitāb Rabb al-Arbāb [“The Decisive Speech Concerning the Distortion of the Book of the Lord of Lords”].

 

In the very beginning of the work, he explicitly states:

 

هذا كتاب لطيف وسفر شريف عملته في إثبات تحريف القرآن وفضائح أهل الجور والعدوان

 

“This is a subtle book, a noble compilation, which I have written to prove the distortion of the Qur’ān and the disgraces of the people of tyranny and oppression.”

 

·         Faşl al-Khiţāb fī Taĥrīf Kitāb Rabb al-Arbāb, of al-Nūrī al-Ţabarsī (d. 1320), page 2 [Tehran]

 

The sentence above is found in and can be confirmed by every single copy of Faşl al-Khiţāb available to date.

 

The following is an confirming image of the handwritten manuscript of Faşl al-Khiţāb by the Shī`ī Ithnā’ `Asharī al-Sayyid Ibn Muĥammad Riđā’ Aĥmad al-Ţabāţabā’ī—whose manuscripts of Murtađá al-Anşārī’s works are relied upon by Shī`ī scholars even today—that can be found at the Ministry of Endowments & Religious Affairs Central Library in Baghdad [§23072]:

 

 

When this fact, and others that come along with it, about al-Nūrī and his work are advanced by the Sunnīs during discussion, one not only finds the Shī`īs with the most defensive attitude, but also choosing deceptive ways to counter the Sunnīs:

 

Answering-Ansar and al-Nūrī

 

The Answering-Ansar team has also replied to the Sunnī objections evidenced with the deletion of an entire chapter called “Sura al-Wilāya” from the Holy Qur’ān mentioned in Faşl al-Khiţāb.

 

They write in their article entitled ‘The creed of Shia'a; explained’:

 

 

One can clearly see from the above how the Answering-Ansar team swiftly declares al-Nūrī a deviant while defending and explaining the creed of the Shī`a. This leaves the reader under the impression that al-Nūrī is considered a deviant by the Shī`īs, and thus it would be unfair to criticize the Shī`a about it. The truth, however, is much different from what the Answering-Ansar team has tried to deceptively portray.

 

al-Nūrī is in no way considered a deviant according to the Shī`a Imāmiyya Ithnā’ `Ashariyya. In fact, he is rather considered to be one of the greatest scholars to have ever lived, with praises and appellations showered at him by their scholars every time that he is mentioned. His works, such as Mustadrak al-Wasā’il, are counted among the most authoritative texts according to them and referred to as sources of guidance. And his remembrance is so important to them that after his demise, he was also made effectively fortunate to be buried next to Imām `Alī in Najaf by them.

 

`Alī ibn Ĥasan al-Bilādī (d. 1340), a respected Ithnā’ `Asharī scholar and contemporary of al-Nūrī, describes him as:

 

والفاضل المعاصر الأخير ثقة الإسلام المحدث المتتبع الماهر الميرزا حسين النوري الطبرسي ره صاحب المصنفات الجليلة كنفس الرحمن في فضائل سلمان وفصل الخطاب وجنة المأوى ومستدرك الوسائل ومستنبط الدلائل وغيرها من المصنفات الفاخرة وكان هذا الشيخ آية من آيات الله في الاطلاع والتتبع والتحقيق وكثرة الإحاطة كالمولى المجلسي والورع والتقوى

 

“The other brilliant contemporary, the trustworthy personage of Islam, the imitated and skilled scholar of narrations, al-Mīrzā Ĥusayn al-Nūrī al-Ţabarsī—May Allāh’s mercy be on him—: Author of several venerable works, such as Nafs al-Raĥmān fī Fađā’il Salmān, Faşl al-Khiţāb, Jannat al-Ma’wá, Mustadrak al-Wasā’il wa Mustanbaţ al-Dalā’il and other splendid books. This Shaykh was a proof among the proofs of Allāh with respect to study, scrutiny, research, ample perception such as that of Master al-Majlisī, godwariness and scrupulosity.”

 

·         Anwār al-Badrayn fī Tarājim `Ulamā’ al-Qaţīf wa al-Aĥsā’ wa al-Baĥrayn, of `Alī ibn Ĥasan al-Bilādī (d. 1340), page 129-130 [Najaf]

 

The prominent Shī`ī scholar Āyat Allāh `Abbās al-Qummī (d. 1359) also candidly mentions him as:

 

شيخ الاسلام والمسلمين مروج علوم الأنبياء والمرسلين عليهم السلام الثقة الجليل والعالم الكامل النبيل المتبحر الخبير والمحدث الناقد البصير ناشر الآثار وجامع شمل الاخبار صاحب التصانيف الكثيرة الشهيرة والعلوم الغزيرة الباهر بالرواية والدراية والرافع لخميس المكارم أعظم راية وهو أشهر من أن يذكر وفوق ما تحوم حوله العبارة

 

“The chief of Islam and the Muslims, the promoter of the knowledge of Prophets and Messengers (as), the trustworthy, the venerable, the perfected, righteous, profound and well-informed scholar, the critical and insightful expert in the field of narrations; disseminator of traditions, compiler of composite reports, author of many famous works, a man of overabundant knowledge; the brilliant authority in both narrating and deriving knowledge and the conveyor of the five excellent traits [i.e. patience, faith, obedience, nobility and generosity]; greatest of the symbolic figures. He is more famous than one can mention and above what can be described about him by expression.”

 

·         al-Kuná wa al-Alqāb, of `Abbās al-Qummī (d. 1359), volume 2, page 445 [Tehran]

 

Āyat Allāh Muĥammad Ĥusayn Āl Kāshif al-Ghiţā’ (d. 1373), a known Shī`ī scholar and propagandist, states while describing al-Nūrī:

 

علامة الفقهاء والمحدثين جامع أخبار الأئمة الطاهرين حائز علوم الأولين والآخرين حجة الله على اليقين من عقمت النساء عن أن تلد مثله وتقاعست أساطين الفضلاء فلا يداني أحد فضله ونبله التقي الأواه المعجب ملائكة السماء بتقواه من لو تجلى الله لخلقه لقال هذا نوري مولانا ثقة الإسلام الحاج ميرزا حسين النوري أدام الله تعالى وجوده الشريف

 

“The savant amongst the jurisprudents [fuqahā’] and scholars of narrations [muĥaddithīn], compiler of the reports of the pure Imāms, retainer of the knowledge of the first and the last, and the proof of Allāh upon certitude; a man whose like women are incapable of bearing; he who, if Allāh had manifested Himself to His creation, He would have said: ‘This is My light!’; many notable authorities broadened their chests but none gets close to his excellence and nobility; the godwary and forbearing individual; amazed are the angels in the sky due to his godwariness; our master, the trustworthy personage of Islam, al-Ĥāj Mīrzā Ĥusayn al-Nūrī—May Allāh the Exalted immortalize his noble existence.”

 

·         Kashf al-Astār `an Wajh al-Ghā’ib `an al-Abşār {Muqaddima}, of al-Sayyid `Alī al-Mīlānī, page 7 [Beirut]

 

Whereas the Shī`ī Ithnā’ `Asharī scholar and biographer al-Mīrzā Muĥammad `Alī al-Mudarris al-Tabrīzī (d. 1373) writes about him in Rayĥānat al-Adab fī Tarājim al-Ma`rūfīn bi al-Kunya aw al-Laqab:

 

“The divine and most holy scholar, the man with sacred inflow, the seal quintessence of the early and later jurisprudents and scholars of narrations, the disseminator of the reports of the pure Imāms, al-Ĥāj al-Mīrzā Husayn ibn Muĥammad Taqī ibn Mīrzā Muĥammad `Alī al-Nūrī al-Ţabarsī:

 

He was among the most trustworthy eminent individuals and greatest scholars of the Shī`a Imāmiyya Ithnā’ `Ashariyya in the early fourteenth Islamic century; a jurisprudent, scholar of narrations, mentor, commentator, expert in the field of narrator-criticism, devoted worshipper, ascetic, scrupulous and godwary individual; known for his sacred status, scrupulosity, godwariness, worship, and spiritual perfections. He has no match in the science of narrations, commentary (of the Qur’ān) and knowledge of the conditions and layers of scholars of narrations and narrators, and the conditions of the scholars of Islam.

 

He was heedful of proclaiming the state of the Ja`farī school of thought, conforming the mainstays of the truthful sect—the Ithnā’ `Ashariyya—and disseminating the reports of the pure Imāms (as). Seldom did anyone reach his status with respect to religious services. He was, in reality, the next of the three Muĥammads [i.e. al-Kulaynī (d. 329), al-Şadūq (d. 391) and al-Ţūsī (d. 460)] and the third of the Majlisīs [i.e. Muĥammad Taqī al-Majlisī (d. 1070) and Muĥammad Bāqir al-Majlisī (d. 1110)]; in fact, some of the greatest teachers of his time preferred him over al-Majlisī as well.”

 

·         al-Najm al-Thāqib fī Aĥwāl al-Imām al-Ĥujja al-Ghā’ib {Introduction}, of al-Sayyid Yāsīn al-Mūsawī, volume 1, page 85 [Qum]

 

This is the actual view of the Shī`a about al-Nūrī. He is, according to them, a holy chief of the Muslims who is one of the most major and greatest Ithnā’ `Asharī scholars to have ever lived and whose likes women cannot give birth to today, as obvious from the above, not a “deviant” individual who does not represent the Shī`a to any extent, as the Answering-Ansar team has deceitfully tried to portray to their readers.

 

In fact, al-Nūrī’s rank among them is such, that even after his advocacy of the idea that the Holy Qur’ān is distorted, it was the belief in the protection of the Holy Qur’ān that was brought to judgment by the Shī`a, not him.

 

Contemporary Shī`ī Ithnā’ `Asharī polemicist, `Alī Āl Muĥsin, justifies for al-Nūrī and writes:

 

والميرزا حسين النوري رحمه الله له جهود مشكورة وآثار مشهورة في نصرة الإسلام والذب عنه وهفوته في هذا الكتاب لا تجعلنا نتجاهل كل جهوده ولا تسقط شيئا من اعتباره فإن لكل جواد كبوة ولكل عالم هفوة هذا مع أنه لم يقل إن القرآن الموجود بين أيدينا محرف تحريف الزيادة والتبديل وإنما قال إن بعض كلمات أو آيات القرآن سقطت من القرآن الموجود بين أيدينا

 

“al-Mīrzā Ĥusayn al-Nūrī—May Allāh’s mercy be upon him—has many grateful efforts and well-known impacts in regard to the assistance of Islam. And contesting him, and his slip in this book [i.e. Faşl al-Khiţāb], will neither make us ignore all his efforts nor take away anything from his credibility, for every pious man has a slight fault; for every man of knowledge has a slip.

 

This, is along with the fact that he did not say: ‘The Qur’ān present in our hands is distorted in terms of addition and deletion,’ rather what he said is: ‘Indeed, some words or verses of the Qur’ān were omitted from the Qur’ān present in our hands.’”

 

·         Li Allāh Thumm li al-Ĥaqīqa, of `Alī Āl Muĥsin, page 542 [Beirut]

 

Āyat Allāh al-Sayyid `Alī al-Mīlānī, another Shī`ī scholar and polemicist, also writes about al-Nūrī:

 

صحيح أن الميرزا نوري من كبار المحدثين إننا نحترم الميرزا النوري الميرزا النوري رجل من كبار علمائنا ولا نتمكن من الاعتداء عليه بأقل شئ ولا يجوز وهذا حرام إنه محدث كبير من علمائنا

 

“It is certainly correct that al-Mīrzā Nūrī is from among major scholars of narrations and we respect al-Mīrzā al-Nūrī. al-Mīrzā al-Nūrī is one of our major scholars, and neither is it possible for us to even slightly be hostile towards him, nor is it permissible; (doing) this is forbidden [ĥarām]! Verily, he is a major expert in the field of narrations from among our scholars.”

 

·         al-Muĥāđarāt fī al-I`tiqādāt, of al-Sayyid `Alī al-Mīlānī, volume 2, page 602 [Qum]

 

He further writes after admitting that Faşl al-Khiţāb promotes the belief in distortion of the Holy Qur’ān and offering apologetic replies for it:

 

أما أن نكفره ونطرده عن طائفتنا ونخرجه عن دائرتنا كما يطالب بعض الكتاب المعاصرين من أهل السنة فهذا غلط وغير ممكن أبدا وهل يفعلون هذا مع كبار الصحابة القائلين بالنقصان ومع كبار المحدثين منهم الرواة لتلك الأقوال

 

“As for our anathematizing and repulsing of him from our faction, and expelling him from our circle, as demanded by some of the contemporary writers from Ahl al-Sunna, then that is wrong and absolutely impossible. Do they do this with the major Companions who were proponents of deletions (from the Qur’ān) and with their scholars of narrations who related these opinions?”

 

·         al-Muĥāđarāt fī al-I`tiqādāt, of al-Sayyid `Alī al-Mīlānī, volume 2, page 608 [Qum]

 

It is crystal-clear from the quotes above that the status of al-Nūrī according to Shī`īs is such, that even when his “slips” in Faşl al-Khiţāb are realized, people are reminded about the impossibility and forbiddance of criticizing major figures, while likening it to the Sunnīs’ view of the Companions. This, of course, shows the deception of Answering-Ansar’s misleading declaration to soothe their readers that al-Nūrī is a “deviant” according to the Shī`a.

 

Contradictions of Liars – Shī`ī Scholars’ Paradoxes

 

Interestingly, the case of al-Nūrī and his work, Faşl al-Khiţāb, not only uncovers the blatant dishonesty of Shī`īs behind Answering-Ansar, but also of their scholars, and their contradictions with each other—all in their attempts to find excuses for Faşl al-Khiţāb.

 

When an unaware individual, confused and perplexed about Shī`īs, the belief in the distortion of the Qur’ān and Faşl al-Khiţāb, asked Grand Āyat Allāh al-Sayyid Şādiq al-Shīrāzī about the issue, he replied:

 

أجمعت الشيعة على عدم تحريف القرآن وعدم الزيادة والنقص فيه

 

“The Shi'a scholars are unanimously of the belief that no corruption or distortion has occurred in the Qur'an, and nothing has been added to or eliminated from it.”

 

·         http://www.alshirazi.com/rflo/ajowbeh/arshif/bohooth.htm

 

·         http://www.shirazi.org.uk/the%20holy%20quran.html

 

And he further said:

 

والحق أنه لا يوجد عالم من علمائنا يقول بالتحريف بمعنى تغير آيات الله سبحانه لفظا وأما الكتاب المذكور فصل الخطاب ففيه قصة مفصلة صنعها بعض خصوم الشيعة حيث أن الحاج النوري رحمه الله كتب كتاباً اسماه فصل الخطاب في الرد على تحريف الكتاب وقد ذكر فيه أقوال البعض القائلين بتحريف القرآن وردها جميعاً ليثبت عدم التحريف ولكن الخصوم صنعوا مكيدة فأخذوا ما أورده من شبهات يقولها القائلون بالتحريف ولم يذكروا أجوبته وطبعوا الكتاب

 

“In fact there is no one of our scholars who claims that any of the ayat of the book has changed.

 

As for the book you have referred to in your email, it has an a devious and a cunning story behind it, created by the opponent of the Shi'a in order to discredit them.  The eminent scholar Sheikh al-Noori wrote a book called (read the title of the book carefully) Fasl-il-Khitab fi al-Radd ‘Ala Tahreef al-Kitab{Detailed Account in Refuting the Corruption of the Book}in which he reported all the statements made by others (none-Shi'a) about the corruption of the holy Qur'an and refuted all of them, by presenting relevant evidence and arguments, therefore establishing the immunity of the Qur'an from corruption and distortion.  What the opponents of the Shi'a did was to reprint the book again but removing all of his arguments he had made against the claims made by others about the corruption of the Qur'an, and leaving only the statements the author has reported from those who have claimed that the Qur'an has been corrupted in the book, and furthermore they went on to make a “slight” change to the title of the book: Fasl-il-Khitab fi Ithbat wa Tahreef al-Kitab {Detailed Account in Proving the Corruption of the Book}!!!”

 

·         http://www.alshirazi.com/rflo/ajowbeh/arshif/bohooth.htm

 

·         http://www.shirazi.org.uk/the%20holy%20quran.html

 

Thus, according to al-Shīrāzī:

 

1.      al-Nūrī refuted the belief in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān held by non-Shī`īs in his Faşl al-Khiţāb, and the opponents changed its title and removed al-Nūrī’s replies to print it again and attack the Shī`a.

 

2.      Not even a single Shī`ī scholar believes in the distortion of the Holy Qur’an, and they are unanimous about its protection from distortion.

 

Now let us see how both of these claims are outright lies:

 

One – al-Nūrī’s Stance in Faşl al-Khiţāb

 

According to al-Shīrāzī, al-Nūrī reported all the statements of non-Shī`īs who believed that the Holy Qur’ān is distorted, and then he refuted those statements. The opponents of the Shī`a—or the Sunnīs to be precise—removed al-Nūrī’s replies to those non-Shī`īs and published it again by changing its title so they can criticize the Shī`a.

 

However, al-Nūrī himself, and Shī`ī scholars `Alī Āl Muĥsin and Āyat Allāh al-Mīlānī have already been quoted above to show al-Nūrī’s advocacy of the belief in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān, and how it does not undermine his efforts or effect his rank according to them.

 

Additionally, `Alī Āl Muĥsin also says at a point in the same work quoted above:

 

ومع أن الميرزا النوري رحمه الله قد بذل غاية جهده في تكثير القائلين بالتحريف في كتابه فصل الخطاب في المقدمة الثالثة صفحة ٢٥ في ذكر أقوال علمائنا رضوان الله تعالى عليهم أجمعين في تغيير القرآن وعدمه حيث نسب القول بالتحريف لجماعة منهم الشيخ الكليني وعلي بن إبراهيم القمي والعياشي ومحمد بن الحسن الصفار ومحمد بن العباس بن علي بن مروان الماهيار والشيخ الطبرسي صاحب كتاب الاحتجاج لوجود روايات في كتبهم ظاهرة في التحريف أو لوجود عناوين أبواب فهم منها القول بالتحريف

 

“Also, al-Mīrzā al-Nūrī—May Allāh have mercy on him—has exerted his utmost effort in increasing the names of the proponents of the belief in the distortion of the Qur’ān in his book Faşl al-Khiţāb—in the third prologue entitled ‘The Opinions of our Scholars For and Against the Belief in the Alteration of the Qur’ān;’ page 25—when he attributed the belief in distortion to a group such as al-Kulaynī, `Alī ibn Ibrāhīm al-Qummī, al-`Ayyāshī, Muĥammad ibn Ĥasan al-Şaffār, Muĥammad ibn al-`Abbās ibn `Alī ibn Marwān al-Māhyār, Shaykh al-Ţabarsī the author of al-Iĥtijāj, due to the presence of narrations in their books that are apparently about the distortion or headings of chapters understood as the belief in the distortion.”

 

·         Li Allāh Thumm li al-Ĥaqīqa, of `Alī Āl Muĥsin, page 423-424 [Beirut]

 

This obviously shows that `Alī Āl Muĥsin possesses and has referred to Faşl al-Khiţāb to declare that al-Nūrī believed in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān in the sense of incompleteness, as it was quoted earlier. Also, it shows that in one of the parts of the book, al-Nūrī collected the opinions of Shī`ī scholars in favor of the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān and put immense effort in showing how many major Shī`ī Ithnā’ `Asharī scholars believed in the distortion.

 

al-Mīlānī also states in another one of his works while defending al-Nūrī:

 

وهو المشتهر بهذا القول في المتأخرين وله فيه كتاب فصل الخطاب الذي سبب تنديد بعض الجهلة والأعداء بالشيعة والتهويس عليهم ذاهلين عن أنه رأي شخصي من هذا المحدث العظيم وليس رأي الطائفة

 

“He is famous for this opinion [i.e. belief in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān] among the later scholars and he has a book about it, ‘Faşl al-Khiţāb,’ which is a reason for some ignoramuses and enemies to censure and confound the Shī`a, forgetting that it is a personal opinion of this great scholar of narrations, and not the opinion of the whole faction.”

 

·         al-Taĥqīq fī Nafī al-Taĥrīf `an al-Qur’ān al-Sharīf, of al-Sayyid `Alī al-Mīlānī, page 132 [Qum]

 

He further adds:

 

ويؤكد ما ذكرناه من أنه رأي شخصي أن علماء الشيعة المعاصرين له والمتأخرين عنه تناولوا كتابه بالرد والنقد كالسيد محمد حسين الشهرستاني والشيخ محمود العراقي وغيرهما وللشيخ البلاغي بعض الكلام في هذا الباب في مقدمة تفسيره آلاء الرحمن بل إن الشيخ النوري نفسه يعترف بصراحة بتفرده في هذا القول كما لا يخفى على من راجع كتابه

 

“What we mentioned—that this is his personal opinion—is affirmed by the fact that his contemporary Shī`ī scholars, and those who came after him, treated his book with refutation and criticism, such as al-Sayyid Muĥammad Ĥusayn al-Shahrastānī, Shaykh Maĥmūd al-`Irāqī and those other than them. And Shaykh al-Balāghī (also) has some discourse on this issue in the introduction of his commentary, ‘Ālā’ al-Raĥmān.’ In fact, Shaykh al-Nūrī himself has explicitly admitted his singularity concerning this opinion, as it is not hidden to he who refers to his book.”

 

·         al-Taĥqīq fī Nafī al-Taĥrīf `an al-Qur’ān al-Sharīf, of al-Sayyid `Alī al-Mīlānī, page 132 [Qum]

 

al-Mīlānī’s words are also clear in showing that al-Nūrī believed in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān and expressed this belief in the book, which al-Mīlānī learned of after referring to the work. His excuse, however, is that al-Nūrī’s opinion expressed in the book was “personal” and cannot be considered a belief of Shī`īs.

 

Another thing of note here is that according to al-Mīlānī, Shī`ī scholars wrote refutations and critiques of Faşl al-Khiţāb. If al-Nūrī was indeed refuting the non-Shī`īs and their belief in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān in his Faşl al-Khiţāb, then what were the other Shī`ī scholars refuting when they penned down refutations of Faşl al-Khiţāb?

 

Dr. Fatĥ Allāh al-Muĥammadī, who is one of those Ithnā’ `Asharī contemporary refuters, has studied Faşl al-Khiţāb in his Salāmat al-Qur’ān min al-Taĥrīf and confirmed that al-Nūrī believed in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān.

 

He writes:

 

يشتمل كتاب فصل الخطاب لمؤلفه الميرزا حسين النوري ت ١٣٢٠ هـ على ثلاث مقدمات وبابين وقد تحدث النوري في المقدمة الأولى عن النصوص الواردة في جمع تأليف القرآن وأن هذا الجمع مخالف لتأليف مصحف الإمام على، كما تحدث في المقدمة الثانية عن أنواع التغيير في القرآن سواء في ذلك الممكن تحققه أو الممتنع كذلك أما المقدمة الثالثة فذكر الميرزا النوري فيها جملة من أقوال علماء الشيعة الواردة حول مسألة تغيير القرآن وعدمه وعقيب المقدمات الثلاث خصص النوري الباب الأول من كتابه لعرض الأدلة المزعومة وهي اثنا عشر دليلا لإثبات ما توهمه من وقوع التغيير والنقصان في القرآن الكريم فيما ركز في الباب الثاني جهوده على مناقشة أدلة القائلين بسلامة القرآن عن التحريف بعد ذكرها دليلا دليلا

 

“The book ‘Faşl al-Khiţāb’ by its author al-Mīrzā Ĥusayn al-Nūrī (d. 1320) comprises of three prologues and two chapters.

 

In the first prologue, he has discoursed on the documented texts concerning the collection, or compilation, of the Qur’ān, and that this collection was different from the copy compiled by Imām `Alī. Similarly, he discoursed on the types of alteration in the Qur’ān, be it the possible one that he believed in or the impossible, in the second prologue. As for the third prologue, al-Mīrzā al-Nūrī mentioned a series of documented statements of Shī`ī scholars about the alteration of the Qur’ān and against it in it.

 

Following the three prologues, al-Nūrī devoted the first chapter of his book to advancing the purported proofs—and these are a total of twelve proofs—for establishing what he conceived to be occurrence of alterations and deletions in the Noble Qur’ān. He concentrated his efforts in the second chapter on disputing the proofs of the proponents of the protection of the Qur’ān from distortion, after mentioning them one proof after another.”

 

·         Salāmat al-Qur’ān min al-Taĥrīf wa Tafnīd al-Iftirā’āt `ala al-Shī`a al-Imāmiyya, of Fatĥ Allāh al-Muĥammadī, page 93 [Qum]

 

Further in the same work, he goes on to cite the arguments of al-Nūrī and even quoting his explicit statements straight from Faşl al-Khiţāb in order to reply to them.

 

Such as:

 

قال النوري إن اليهود والنصارى غيروا وحرفوا كتاب نبيهم بعده فهذه الأمة أيضا لا بد وأن يغيروا القرآن بعد نبينا صلى الله عليه وآله لأن كل ما وقع في بني إسرائيل لا بد وأن يقع في هذه الأمة على ما أخبر به الصادق المصدق صلوات الله عليه

 

“al-Nūrī said: ‘Indeed, the Jews and Christians altered and distorted the book of their Prophets after them. Thus, it is necessary that this nation will alter the Qur’ān after our Prophet (saws) because all that had occurred with Banī Isrā’īl will necessarily occur in this nation, per what is reported by the Truthful Confirmer (saws)…’”

 

·         Salāmat al-Qur’ān min al-Taĥrīf wa Tafnīd al-Iftirā’āt `ala al-Shī`a al-Imāmiyya, of Fatĥ Allāh al-Muĥammadī, page 99 [Qum]

 

And:

 

قال النوري إن كيفية جمع القرآن وتأليفه [بعد وفاة النبى صلى الله عليه وآله] مستلزمة عادة لوقوع التغيير والتحريف فيه

 

“al-Nūrī said: ‘Verily, the condition of collecting the Qur’ān (after the demise of the Prophet [saws]) conventionally necessitates alteration of and distortion in it…’”

 

·         Salāmat al-Qur’ān min al-Taĥrīf wa Tafnīd al-Iftirā’āt `ala al-Shī`a al-Imāmiyya, of Fatĥ Allāh al-Muĥammadī, page 100 [Qum]

 

Similarly, the late contemporary Āyat Allāh and author of the famous ‘Abdu'l-lah Ibn Saba and Other Myths,’ al-Sayyid Murtađá al-`Askarī (d. 1428), has also scrutinized Faşl al-Khiţāb in detail in his attempts to prove that Shī`īs do not believe in the distortion of the Qur’ān. In al-Qur’ān al-Karīm wa Riwāyāt al-Madrasatayn, he has studied Faşl al-Khiţāb and confirmed throughout the work that al-Nūrī believed in the distortion and cited numerous narrations to prove it in it.

 

At one point, while constrainedly replying to a narration which al-Nūrī used to prove the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān, al-`Askarī even clearly states:

 

ولا يصح للشيخ النوري ان يأتي بهذه الفرية من الغالي دليلا على مراده في إثبات تحريف القران

 

“It is not correct for Shaykh al-Nūrī to bring forth this aspersion of the extremist (narrator) as a proof for his intended establishment of the distortion of the Qur’ān.”

 

·         al-Qur’ān al-Karīm wa Riwāyāt al-Madrasatayn, of al-Sayyid Murtađá al-`Askarī (d. 1428), volume 3, page 344 [Qum]

 

All of the above undoubtedly shows that al-Nūrī did not merely collect statements of non-Shī`īs in Faşl al-Khiţāb and write the book to refute those statements, rather he explicitly expressed his belief that the Holy Qur’ān is textually distorted in the work, collected proofs for it in it, and put immense effort to show that other Shī`ī scholars, such al-Kulaynī (d. 329) and al-Māhyār (d. 4^th), also held the same belief—in other words, he wrote the book to prove the belief in the distortion of the Qur’ān.

 

Lastly, we also have the Answering-Ansar team that belies al-Shīrāzī by admitting that al-Nūrī believed in an entire missing chapter called “Sura al-Wilaya” and thus even going to the extent of declaring him a “deviant” for their readers.

 

To quote Answering-Ansar again:

 

 

This should be sufficient to demonstrate to readers that what al-Shīrāzī has said about al-Nūrī and Faşl al-Khiţāb has no truth to it, and its only purpose is to deceive the unaware individuals.

 

Two – The Feigned Unanimity of Shī`ī Scholars

 

The second claim of al-Shīrāzī is that not even a single Shī`ī scholar believes in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān, and thus they are all unanimous about the belief in its protection from distortion.

 

As quoted earlier, he explicitly said:

 

والحق أنه لا يوجد عالم من علمائنا يقول بالتحريف بمعنى تغير آيات الله سبحانه لفظا

 

“In fact there is no one of our scholars who claims that any of the ayat of the book has changed.”

 

·         http://www.alshirazi.com/rflo/ajowbeh/arshif/bohooth.htm

 

·         http://www.shirazi.org.uk/the%20holy%20quran.html

 

Even though the existence of al-Nūrī’s Faşl al-Khiţāb is sufficient in proving that this is a case of outright dishonesty, let us further cite another Ithnā’ `Asharī scholar to make this lie as clear as daylight.

 

Grand Āyat Allāh Muĥammad Ĥusayn al-Najafī, an eminent Shī`ī scholar of the Indian Subcontinent, clearly states in his work endorsed by around nine major Shī`ī Ithnā’ `Asharī scholars, Aĥsan al-Fawā’id:

 

ہاں يہ درست ہے کے ہمارے بعض علماء تحريف کے قائل ہيں

 

“Yes, it is true that some of our scholars are proponents of distortion (of the Qur’ān).”

 

·         Aĥsan al-Fawā’id fī Sharĥ al-`Aqā’id (Urdu), of Muĥammad Ĥusayn al-Najafī, page 491 [Sargodha]

 

Readers should compare these two quotes and see how it is proven that the second claim of al-Shīrāzī is also a lie.

 

The Dishonesty of Mulla Asgharali Jaffer and the Ahlul Bayt `Aalim Network

 

Another person to have adopted the same dishonest approach that al-Shīrāzī adopted is Mulla Asgharali M. M. Jaffer, the recently demised leader and scholar of the Shī`ī community in the West. In his replies for the ‘Ahlul Bayt `Aalim Network,’ hosted by the Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project (DILP) [www.al-islam.org], he clearly denied that any Shī`ī scholar believed in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān.

 

He was asked by an individual taken aback by the existence of Shī`ī scholars who believed in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān:

 

“I heard from sunnis that there are Shia allims who believe that the quran was changed !!!. Is this is true ?”

 

To this, Asgharali replied:

 

“The general consensus of Shia Ulama, right from the earliest era, has been and remains that the Qur'an has not changed at all.”

 

·         http://www.al-islam.org/organizations/AalimNetWork/msg00492.html

 

However, as it is obvious from the exposition above, this is also a blatant lie.

 

Furthermore, Shī`ī scholars themselves have mentioned their disagreement over the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān, “right from the earliest era.”

 

It is narrated in the most authoritative Shī`ī text, al-Kāfī, from Imām al-Bāqir:

 

ما ادعى أحد من الناس أنه جمع القرآن كله كما أنزل إلا كذاب وما جمعه وحفظه كما نزله الله تعالى إلا علي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام والأئمة من بعده عليهم السلام

 

“No one from the people claimed that he compiled the entire Qur’ān, as it was revealed, except that he is a liar. No one compiled and protected it as Allāh, the Exalted, revealed it except `Alī ibn Abī Ţālib (as) and the Imāms (as) after him.”

 

·         al-Kāfī, of Abū Ja`far al-Kulaynī (d. 329), volume 1, page 228 [Tehran]

 

·         Tahdhīb al-Maqāl fī Tanqīĥ Kitāb al-Rijāl, of al-Sayyid Muĥammad `Alī al-Abţaĥī (d. 1423), volume 3, page 154 [Qum] – Chain of narration declared rigorously authentic [şaĥīĥ] by the author.

 

Muĥammad Bāqir al-Majlisī (d. 1110), a celebrated Shī`ī Ithnā’ `Asharī scholar who was given the highest position of scholarly authority by the Shī`īs of his time, states in the commentary of this narration:

 

ما ادعى أحد أي غير الأئمة عليهم السلام والمراد بالقرآن كله ألفاظه وحروفه جميعا والمراد بكما أنزل ترتيبه وإعرابه وحركاته وسكناته وحدود الآي والسور وهذا رد على قوم زعموا أن القرآن ما في المصاحف المشهورة وكما قرأه القراء السبعة وأضرابهم واختلف أصحابنا في ذلك فذهب الصدوق ابن بابويه و جماعة إلى أن القرآن لم يتغير عما أنزل و لم ينقص منه شي‏ء وذهب الكليني والشيخ المفيد قدس الله روحهما وجماعة إلى أن جميع القرآن عند الأئمة عليهم السلام وما في المصاحف بعضه وجمع أمير المؤمنين صلوات الله عليه كما أنزل بعد الرسول صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم وأخرج إلى الصحابة المنافقين فلم يقبلوا منه وهم قصدوا لجمعه في زمن عمر وعثمان‏ كما سيأتي تفصيله في كتاب القرآن

 

“‘No one from the people claimed…’: meaning, those other than the Imāms (as). What is meant by ‘the entire Qur’ān’ is all its words and letters, and what is meant by ‘as it was revealed’ is its arrangement, declensions, vowellike and vowelless diacritics, and the length of verses and chapters.

 

This is a refutation of the faction that claims that the Qur’ān is what is in the known copies and as read by the reciters of the seven variant readings and their likes.

 

Our associates differed concerning that; al-Şadūq ibn Bābawayh and a group opined that the Qur’ān did not alter from how it was revealed and nothing was deleted from it, while al-Kulaynī and al-Shaykh al-Mufīd—may Allāh sanctify both of their souls!—and a group opined that the whole Qur’ān is with the Imāms and what is in the copies is some of it. And the Commander of the Believers [`Alī] (as) compiled it as it was revealed after the Messenger (saws), and went out to the hypocritical Companions, but they did not accept it from him and rather approached its compilation during the reigns of `Umar and `Uthmān, as it will soon be detailed in Kitāb al-Qur’ān.”

 

·         Mir’āt al-`Uqūl fī Sharĥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl, of Muĥammad Bāqir al-Majlisī (d. 1110), volume 3, page 30 [Tehran]

 

·         Mir’āt al-`Uqūl fī Sharĥ al-Kāfī min al-Rawđa wa al-Furū` wa al-Uşūl, of Muĥammad Bāqir al-Majlisī (d. 1110), volume 1, page 171 [Tehran]

 

Note: This should also give readers an idea about al-Majlisī’s own belief about the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān.

 

Similarly, the known Shī`ī Ithnā’ `Asharī scholar al-Sayyid `Alī Khān al-Madanī (d. 1120), quotes some Shī`ī scholars who denied the belief in the distortion in his Riyāđ al-Sālikīn, and then concludes the Shī`ī opinion with:

 

وقال بعض المتأخرين من أصحابنا إسقاط بعض القرآن وتحريفه ثبت من طرقنا بالتواتر معنى كما يظهر لمن تأمل في كتب الأحاديث من أولها إلى آخرها ودلت الأخبار على وجود مصحف غير هذا المشهور بين الناس وهو موجود عند أهله والظاهر إنا مأمورين بقراءة ما في هذا القرآن ولا يجوز لنا الزيادة على ما فيه بما ورد في بعض الروايات أنه اسقط منه

 

“Some of our latter-day associates said: ‘The omission of some of the Qur’ān, and its distortion, is proven from our chains that are mass-transmitted in meaning [bi al-tawātur ma`nan], as it is obvious to the one who refers to our collections of narrations from their beginning to end. And the reports prove the existence of a copy (of the Qur’ān) other than this famous one among the people, and it is present with those it belongs to. However, it is obvious that we have been commanded to recite whatever is in this Qur’ān, and it is not permissible for us to add to it what has been reported to have been deleted from it in some narrations.’”

 

·        Riyāđ al-Sālikīn fī Sharĥ Şaĥīfat Sayyid al-Sājidīn, of al-Sayyid `Alī Khān al-Madanī (d. 1120), page 392 [Qum]

 

It is evident from both these quotes, and those cited above, that Shī`ī scholars have differed over whether the Holy Qur’ān present in our hands is distorted or not, with a group of scholars, both early and late, holding the view that the complete Qur’ān is present with the Imāms. This, unfortunately, shows that Mulla Asgharali and the Ahlul Bayt `Aalim Network also deceived an unwary individual by not only hiding about al-Nūrī’s Faşl al-Khiţāb, but also by blatantly lying and stating that Shī`ī scholars have always had a consensus that the Holy Qur’ān is not distorted.

 

A Lesson to Unbiased Muslim Researchers

 

One should think after reading the above about how many unbiased and unwary Muslims would have been deceived by the lies of Shī`ī scholars in their replies to queries about the existence of scholars who believed in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān, and particularly al-Nūrī’s Faşl al-Khiţāb.

 

It is of no surprise that due to this, one finds contemporary Shī`ī scholars contradicting each other about every single issue related to Shī`ī scholars and the belief in the distortion. As it was seen in this study:

 

1.     al-Shirāzī states that al-Nūrī did not believe in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān, and he rather wrote Faşl al-Khiţāb to refute the non-Shī`ī proponents of this belief.

 

2.     al-Mīlānī states that al-Nūrī wrote the book to prove the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān, but it was his “personal opinion” which was refuted.

 

3.     Asgharali states that the Shī`ī scholars have always unanimously believed that the Holy Qur’ān is not distorted.

 

4.     al-Najafī states that there are Shī`ī scholars who believe in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān.

 

5.     al-Shīrāzī states that there is not even a single Shī`ī scholar who believes in the distortion of the Holy Qur’ān.

 

Who is lying and who is saying the truth? What is tried to be hidden by the Shī`ī scholars’ providing of such a contradictory and murky picture about this issue? And to top it all off, how can any of these statements be considered truthful in light of al-Majlisī’s words which show that there is a difference of opinion among Shī`ī scholars about the distortion, with a good portion of them being of the opinion that the Qur’ān in our hands is incomplete?

 

All unbiased Muslim researchers should take heed from this, and realize that they are not simply being lied to by Shī`ī propagandists such as the Answering-Ansar team, but also by Shī`ī scholars to whom they pose their questions.

 

Conclusion

 

In conclusion, it is known that despite of the contradictions and excuses of Shī`ī scholars, al-Nūrī remains a revered figure that they cannot possibly be hostile towards according to them. This is the opinion of the Shī`a Imāmiyya Ithnā’ `Ashariyya about al-Nūrī, and the Answering-Ansar team has blatantly lied by portraying him as a deviant according to them.

 

This should remind Answering-Ansar’s readers of an interesting note mentioned by their writers in ‘Yazeed (L'aeen)’:

 

 

Subĥan Allāh

 

Instead, it is more interesting to note that al-Nūrī, who is counted among the greatest Ithnā’ `Asharī scholars to have ever lived by the Shī`a, “miraculously transforms” into a deviant individual who does not even represent them, only on account of deceiving those who object.

 

انْظُرْ كَيْفَ كَذَبُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ

 

“See how they will lie about themselves, and all that they used to forge will vanish from them.” [6:24]

 

May Allāh (swt) save us from such deviance and dishonesty.

 

It is only Allah (swt) who gives success, and blessings and peace be on the Seal of the Prophets, his Pure Progeny and his Noble Companions

 

♦        ♦        ♦

 

 

 

_______________________________________________________________

Works Cited

 

Shī`ī texts:

 

1.       al-Kāfī

Abu Ja`far al-Kulayni (d. 329)

Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya

Tehran, Iran

 

2.       Mir’āt al-`Uqūl fī Sharĥ Akhbar Āl al-Rasūl

Muĥammad Bāqir al-Majlisī (d. 1110)

Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya

Tehran, Iran

 

3.       Mir’āt al-`Uqūl fī Sharĥ al-Kāfī min al-Rawđa wa al-Furū` wa al-Uşūl

Muĥammad Bāqir al-Majlisī (d. 1110)

Offset Lithograph

Tehran, Iran

 

4.       Riyāđ al-Sālikīn fī Sharĥ Şaĥīfat Sayyid al-Sājidīn

al-Sayyid `Alī Khān al-Madanī (d. 1120)

Muassasat al-Nashr al-Islami

Qum, Iran

 

5.       Faşl al-Khiţāb fī Taĥrīf Kitāb Rabb al-Arbāb

al-Nūrī al-Ţabarsī (d. 1320)

Offset Lithograph

Tehran, Iran

 

6.       Faşl al-Khiţāb fī Taĥrīf Kitāb Rabb al-Arbāb (Manuscript: §23072)

al-Nūrī al-Ţabarsī (d. 1320)

Ministry of Endowments & Religious Affairs Central Library

Baghdad, Iraq

 

7.       Kashf al-Astār `an Wajh al-Ghā’ib `an al-Abşār

al-Nūrī al-Ţabarsī (d. 1320)

Muassasat al-Nashr li al-Matbu`at

Beirut, Lebanon

 

8.       al-Najm al-Thāqib fī Aĥwāl al-Imām al-Ĥujja al-Ghā’ib

al-Nūrī al-Ţabarsī (d. 1320)

Markaz al-Abhath al-Aqaidiyya

Qum, Iran

 

9.       al-Kuná wa al-Alqāb

`Abbās al-`Qummī (d. 1359)

Maktabat al-Sadr

Tehran, Iran

 

10.    Li Allāh Thumm li al-Ĥaqīqa

`Alī Āl Muĥsin

Dar al-Hadi

Beirut, Lebanon

 

11.    al-Muĥāđarāt fī al-I`tiqādāt

al-Sayyid `Alī al-Mīlānī

Markaz al-Abhath al-Aqaidiyya

Qum, Iran

 

12.    al-Taĥqīq fī Nafī al-Taĥrīf `an al-Qur’ān al-Sharīf

al-Sayyid `Alī al-Mīlānī

Intisharat al-Sharif al-Radi

Qum, Iran

 

13.    Anwār al-Badrayn fī Tarājim `Ulamā’ al-Qaţīf wa al-Aĥsā’ wa al-Baĥrayn

`Alī ibn Ĥasan al-Bilādī (d. 1340)

Matba`at al-Numan

Najaf, Iraq

 

14.    Salāmat al-Qur’ān min al-Taĥrīf wa Tafnīd al-Iftirā’āt `ala al-Shī`a al-Imāmiyya

Fatĥ Allāh al-Muĥammadī

Markaz al-Abhath al-Aqaidiyya

Qum, Iran

 

15.    al-Qur’ān al-Karīm wa Riwāyāt al-Madrasatayn

al-Sayyid Murtađá al-`Askarī (d. 1428)

Sharikat al-Tawhid

Beirut, Lebanon

 

16.    Aĥsan al-Fawā’id fī Sharĥ al-`Aqā’id (Urdu)

Muĥammad Ĥusayn al-Najafī

Thanai Press

Sargodha, Pakistan

 

17.    Tahdhīb al-Maqāl fī Tanqīĥ Kitāb al-Rijāl

al-Sayyid Muĥammad `Alī al-Abţaĥī (d. 1423)

Qum, Iran