Abrogation of Recitation a Fact or a Myth

Most of the Sunni Ulama’ have mentioned that the recitation of some parts of the Qur’an was abrogated, confirming at the same time, through the reports, that those abrogated parts were in the Qur’an during the days of the Prophet (‘s). We will quote some of those reports here to prove that such a belief makes it necessary to also believe that an interpolation took place.

Tradition n. 1

(a) Ibn Abbas reports that Umar said while on the pulpit:

"God sent Muhammad (‘s) with Truth, and sent down unto him the Book. And among that which was revealed was an ayah about rajm which we read, understood and heeded. And based on that, the Prophet (‘s) stoned, and after him, we stoned. I fear that with the lapse of time, people may say: `we do not find the ayah of rajm in the book of God', and thus go astray by abandoning that which God has ordained. The ordi­nance of stoning was indeed prescribed for the adulterers in the book of God ….. And then, among verses we read, there was a verse which said1

ان لا ترغبوا عن ابائكم فانه كفر بكم أن ترغبوا عن آبائكم

or it was

ان كفرا بكم أن ترغبوا عن آبائكم

And Suyuti has mentioned: Ibn Ashtah has reported from Layth b. Sa'ad, who said:

"The first person to collect the Qur’an was Abu Bakr and Zaid wrote it down … And Umar came up with the ayah of rajm, but he did not record it because Umar was the sole reporter".2

This verse of rajm which Umar claimed to have been in the Qur’an, and was rejected, has been reported in several forms; among them are:

(i)

اذا زنى الشيخ والشيخة فارجموهما البتة . نكالا من الله والله عزيز حكيم

and (ii)

الشيخ والشيخة فارجموهما البتة بما قضيا من اللذة

and (iii)

ان الشيخ والشيخة اذا زنيا فارجموهما البتة

Whatever be the case, there is nothing in the Qur’an today which indicates the law of stoning the adulterers. And if the reports are to be considered true, then it follows that an ayah has definitely disappeared from the Qur’an.