Regarding the first copies of the Quran written by Zaid bin Harith - As sanctioned by the 3rd Caliph Uthman, 20 years after the death of teh Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

"...Narrations differ as to how many copies were directly ordered and sent out by the Caliph `Uthman, but they range from four to seven. It seems certain from various Muslim historical sources that several were lost, through fire amongst other things. There are some copies that are attributed to `Uthman."
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/Mss/

"The historical credibility of the Qur'an is further established by the fact that one of the copies sent out by the Caliph Uthman is still in existence today. It lies in the Museum of the City of Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Central Asia....and an early manuscript on gazelle parchment exists in Dar al-Kutub as-Sultaniyyah in Egypt. More ancient manuscripts from all periods of Islamic history found in the Library of Congress in Washington, the Chester Beatty Museum in Dublin (Ireland) and the London Museum have been compared with those in Tashkent, Turkey and Egypt, with results confirming that there have not been any changes in the text from its original time of writing [44]."

From http://www.iiie.net/Articles/AuthenticQuran.html

1. The Tashkent Quran (Uzbekistan)
Samarkand Text Link

Original Mushaf written by Zaid bin Harith. A Photocopy of this mushaf is available at the Columbia University Library in the USA.

2. The Topkapi Quran (Turkey)
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/Mss/topkapi.html

3. The Al-Hussein Mosque Manuscript. (Egypt)
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/Mss/hussein.html

"...is perhaps the oldest of all the manuscripts, and is either `Uthmanic or an exact copy from the original with similarity to the Madinan script..."

Here are more references to Original Manuscripts:
1) Maktabat al-Jami` al-Kabir, Yemen. "Among the manuscripts in the collection is a copy of the Qur'an reputed to be in the handwriting of Al-Imam `Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Zayd Ibn Thabit and Salman al-Farsi, in two parts, each of 150 pages, in large unpointed Kufic script."
-Zaid ibn Thabit being the original scribe who wrote the first official Quran. I dont know if these are Uthmani Qurans.

2) Islamic Museum, Jerusalem, Palestine. "One of the most important manuscript in this collection is the Kufic copy of the second half of the Qur'an, the transcription of which is attributed to Al-Hasan b. Al-Husayn b. `Ali b. Abi Talib. The pages in this manuscript are beautifully illuminated, with each surah heading bearing its own distinct style of decoration; the covers are also decorated on both sides, but are of the Mamluk period."

Ali being a close companion of the Prophet, and of Uthman. I dont know if this is an Uthmani Quran, but same time period. Munawar

Edited by Munawar

Hello Iznogoodh,

Thanks for the posting. This idea of "Different versions of the Quran" has been answered many times by Arabic Scholar.

The general gist of the reply is: In Arabic, the same sentance can be said in different ways, depending on the dialect of the Arabic used.

The best English equivalent would be saying "I cannot do that" and saying "I can't do that". They mean the same thing, but are written differently.

The Quran was revealed in 6 different dialects. All of them meaning the exact same thing. For a full response, see this website:

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/Qiraat/hafs.html #5

The best quote being:

"In cases where there are no variations within each transmission itself, certain differences between the two transmissions, at least in the copies consulted, occur consistently throughout. None of them has any effect in the meaning."

Munawar

Edited by Munawar

Hi Iznogoodh,

As I stated before, the Quran was revealed in 6 different dialects. They have seperate spellings and pronunciations for each dialect. You should read the link I provided, if you are serious about understanding this issue.

Submission.org (Not a Mainstream Muslim group) is stating the old missionary attacks against the Quran.

Iznogoodh, you can research this all you want, it all comes back to the same thing. The Quran in Turkey and Uzbekistan haven't changed, and all Qurans are exact to these Qurans (when in the same dialect).

Let me ask you something - If they HAD been changed, dont you think Muslims would hide the proof of that, and not leave it so wide open that a simple A/B comparison would catch it?! Come on, give us more credit then that.

Munawar

Hello Iznogoodh,

I'm not here to argue what Submission.org states or claims.

The fact remains that the Tashkent and Uzbekistan Qurans haven't changed, and differences between them and other Qurans is based on dialect. Different spelling, same meaning.

Munawar

Hi Seeker,

If you reread my post, you'll see that this is not a "Translation Issue". The Quran was revealed in 6 dialects. All dialects mean the same thing. But, the spellings of the words are different.

Therefore, very simplified:

1. Quran Dialect 1 Means the same thing as Quran Dialect 2
2. Quran Dialect 1 looks different from Quran Dialect 2


1. Bible VERSION 1 Looks different from Bible Version 2
2. Bible Version 1 has a different meaning from Bible Version 2
3. Bible Version 1 contains different content from Bible Version 2

Hi Seeker,

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. The Quran does not need external Analysis to understand its base message. Peace, love and the belief in One God. It needs external analysis to understand its deeper secrets.

Munawar

Dear Khaled,

So tell me...is the small girl 9 years old or 15 years old?

Cheers