Question:

Why did Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud reject the Qur’an of Zaid Ibn Thabit?

Answer:

Ibn Ishaq reported that Abu Al-Aswad or another said: “One said to Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud: “Are you not reading according to the reading of Zaid?” He said: “What do i have to do with Zaid and the reading of Zaid? I took seventy chapters from the mouth of the messenger (s.) and Zaid Ibn Thabit is a Jew with two curls.” [Tarikh-ul-Madinah of An-Numairi, Volume 3 Page 225]

حدثنا الحماني قال حدثنا شريك عن ابن إسحاق عن أبي الأسود أو غيره قال: قيل لعبد الله ألا تقرأ على قراءة زيد قال: ما لي ولزيد ولقراءة زيد لقد أخدت من في رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم سبعين سورة وإن زيد بن ثابت ليهودي له ذوأبتان

Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah writes: “Many of the pious ancestors made mistakes in many of these matters and it was agreed that it is invalid to declare them unbelievers for this reason. For example, some of the companions denied that the dead man hears the call of the living and some of them denied that the Prophet’s heavenly journey took place in an awake state. Some of the Companions denied that Muhammad saw his Lord, and some of them disagreed about the succession and preference among themselves, which are well-known statements. In the same way, some of the companions fought each other, cursed each other and accused each other of disbelief, which are well-known statements. Al-Qadi Shuraih used to refuse the reading of the one who would read: “But no! I am astonished while they scoff.” (37:12) And he said: “God does not get amazed!” Thereupon Ibrahim An-Nakha’i heard about it and said: “Shuraih is a poet whose knowledge amazes. Abdullah is wiser than he is and he used to say: “But no! I am amazed.” For this reason, he refused a confirmed reading and denied a quality proven by the Qur’an and the Sunnah, but the community agreed that he is an Imam of the Imams. In exactly the same way, some of the pious ancestors rejected some letters of the Qur’an. For example, some of them rejected His word: “Do not those who believe know?” (13:31) And they said that the verse goes like this: “Or is it not clear to those who believe?” And others refused to read His Word: “And your Lord has decreed that you shall serve only Him. (17:23) And they said that the verse reads thus: “And thy Lord hath prescribed.” And some of the companions removed the last two chapters of the Qur’an (Al-Falaq and An-Nas) and others wrote down a chapter called Al-Qunut and this is a mistake known by consensus and multiple and uninterrupted tradition (Mutawatir) and despite this they are not declared unbelievers by it until they have reached the multiple and uninterrupted tradition and the one who has received the proof by the multiple and uninterrupted tradition becomes an disbeliever.” [Majmu’-ul-Fatawa, Volume 12 pages 492 – 493]

قال أحمد بن تيمية: فإن السلف أخطأ كثير منهم في كثير من هذه المسائل, واتفقوا على عدم التكفير بذلك مثلما أنكر بعض الصحابة أن يكون الميت يسمع نداء الحي , وأنكر بعضهم أن يكون المعراج يقظة , وأنكر بعضهم رؤية محمد ربه , ولبعضهم في الخلافة والتفضيل كلام معروف , وكذلك لبعضهم في قتال بعض , ولعن بعض , وإطلاق تكفير بعض , أقوال معروفة . وكان القاضي شريح ينكر قراءة من قرأ : { بل عجبتُ ويسخرون } ويقول : إن الله لا يعجب , فبلغ ذلك إبراهيم النخعي فقال . : إنما شريح شاعر يعجبه علمه , كان عبد الله أفقه منه , فكان يقول : بل عجبتُ فهذا قد أنكر قراءة ثابتة , وأنكر صفة دل عليها الكتاب والسنة , واتفقت الأمة على أنه إمام من الأئمة , وكذلك بعض السلف أنكر بعضهم حروف القرآن , مثل إنكار بعضهم قوله : { أفلم ييأس الذين آمنوا } وقال : إنما هى : أولم يتبين الذين آمنوا , وإنكار الآخر قراءة قوله : { وقضى ربك ألا تعبدوا إلا إياه } وقال : إنما هى : ووصى ربك . وبعضهم كان حذف المعوذتين , وآخر يكتب سورة القنوت , وهذا خطأ معلوم بالإجماع والنقل المتواتر , ومع هذا فلما لم يكن قد تواتر النقل عندهم بذلك لم يكفروا , وإن كان يكفر بذلك من قامت عليه الحجة بالنقل المتواتر