The Need to Compile a Single Version of the Holy Qur’an
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:
“During the time of Hazrat Uthman (ra), instead of the people of Mecca living only in Mecca, the people of Medina only residing in Medina, the people of Taif only remaining confined to Taif, the people of Najd remaining in Najd, the people of Yemen living in Yemen alone and being unaware of each other’s language and idioms, Medina had become the capital and all tribes had become one. Since the governance was in the hands of the people of Medina, a large portion of whom were the Muhajireen of Mecca, even the residents of Medina had learnt the Hijaz dialect of Arabic owing to their association and interaction with the Meccans. Thus, since they were responsible for enforcing the law and they were responsible for the wealth (i.e. those who were in authority) and the eyes of everyone were fixed upon them, the people of Taif, Najd, Mecca, Yemen and also the majority of the people residing in other areas would regularly travel to Medina. They would meet the Muhajireen and Ansar of Medina and learn about Islam from them. Thus, over time the official language of academia through which the teachings were imparted became one. Then, some of them even came and settled in Medina and so they fully adopted the Hijazi dialect. When these people would return to their hometowns, since they were scholars and teachers, most certainly them travelling there would have had an effect on the people.
“Aside from this, owing to the wars that were taking place, people of various tribes had the chance to stay together. Given that the officers [of the army] were the eminent companions, staying in their company would instil within them a natural desire to emulate their example and this would include learning their language as well. Although in the beginning, people may have had some difficulties understanding the Quran; however, after Medina became the capital and all the tribes of Arabia began regularly converging upon Medina as the centre of Arabia, this difficulty [in understanding the Quran] would have been removed. The reason for this is that by that time, all those who possessed a scholarly disposition became fully acquainted with the language and meanings of the Quran.
“Thus, when the people understood this fully, Hazrat Uthman (ra) ordered that from then on, only the Hijazi qirat [reading] of the Quran would be used and no one was permitted to use the other readings. The intention behind this command was that people had become acquainted with the Hijazi dialect, therefore there was no longer any reason for people to be permitted to substitute words for Hijazi Arabic [dialect].
“Owing to this command issued by Hazrat Uthman (ra), the Shias – who are opposed to the Sunnis – say that the current manuscript of the Quran is the version created by Uthman (ra). However, this allegation is completely false; up until the era of Hazrat Uthman (ra), owing to their social interactions and intermingling, the various Arab tribes had become familiar with the differences in the dialects of their language. By this time, there was no need for the permission to recite the various qiraat to remain.
“This permission was only temporary and the reason it was granted was that they were the early days and there were different tribes; within these tribes a difference in dialect changed the meanings of certain words. Owing to this difference, for a brief time, those tribes were permitted to substitute the words of the actual revelation with other words revealed by God Almighty that were prevalent within those tribes. The reason for this was so that the commandments of the Holy Quran could be understood and there would be no obstacle preventing people from understanding it; also so that each tribe could read the Quran using the idioms of their language and in their own dialect.
“When 20 years had elapsed since this permission was granted, the situation had changed completely and the tribes had progressed. Those Arabs that were once several tribes had become one mighty tribe; in fact, they had become a formidable government. They were responsible for upholding the law and providing an education. They had the power to distribute various offices and began implementing penal laws. Subsequently, there were no longer any impediments in people understanding the primary dialect in which the Quran was revealed.
“When this situation became prevalent, Hazrat Uthman (ra) annulled the permission that was only meant to be temporary and this indeed was the will of God. However, the Shias allege this to be Hazrat Uthman’s (ra) biggest mistake in that he stopped all other qiraat [readings] and only adopted one reading. However, if they had pondered over the matter, they would have realised that Allah the Almighty permitted the reading of the different qiraat in the second era of Islam, not in the early era. This proves the fact that although Holy Quran was revealed in the Hijazi dialect, the different qiraat came about as various tribes accepted Islam. The language between the different tribes varied and they either could not pronounce certain words correctly or specific words have different connotations amongst the different tribes. For this reason, in such cases where this difference would have arisen, under the directive of God Almighty, the Holy Prophet (sa) granted permission to use a word from a different dialect or to use a different word in its place. However, this difference had no bearing on the meaning or understanding of the verses; in fact, if this permission was not given, then this difference [in meaning and understanding] would certainly have arisen.
“We find proof of this from the fact that the Holy Prophet (sa) taught one qirat [reading or recitation] of a particular chapter to Hazrat Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud and a different qirat of the same chapter to Hazrat Umar (ra). The reason for this was that Hazrat Umar (ra) was born and brought up in a city and Hazrat Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud was a shepherd and comparatively interacted more with Bedouins. Thus, both languages were very different.
One day, Hazrat Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud was reciting that same chapter of the Holy Quran and when Hazrat Umar (ra) walked past he heard Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud reciting the chapter with certain differences. Hazrat Umar (ra) was astonished as to how this could be because the wording he knew was different and Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud was reading it in another way. Hazrat Umar (ra) took hold of him by the neck and said, ‘I will present your matter before the Holy Prophet (sa). Some words of the chapter are different to the way you are reading them.’ Thus, Hazrat Umar (ra) brought him to the Holy Prophet (sa) and said, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! You have taught me this chapter in one way and Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud is reciting it in another.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) asked Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud how he was reading the chapter. He became worried and began trembling thinking that he had made a mistake, but the Holy Prophet (sa) said to him not to worry and to recite it. When Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud recited the chapter, the Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘This is absolutely correct.’ Hazrat Umar (ra) responded, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! You taught me in another way.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘That way is also correct.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) then added, ‘The Holy Quran has been revealed in seven qiraat [readings]. Do not quarrel amongst yourselves about these minor differences.’ The reason behind this difference was that the Holy Prophet (sa) thought since Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud was a shepherd, his dialect was different and so he taught him the reading that was closest to his dialect.
Regarding Hazrat Umar (ra), the Holy Prophet (sa) considered that since he belonged to the city, therefore he should be taught the Meccan dialect in which the Quran was primarily revealed. Thus, the Holy Prophet (sa) permitted Hazrat Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud to recite the chapter in his own dialect and Hazrat Umar (ra) to recite the chapter in the dialect known in the city. These minor differences have arisen due to the various qiraat [readings]. However, there was no difference in the actual meaning of the text and everyone knew that this was a natural consequence of the various civilisations, education and differences in the dialects.”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) further states:
“[…] The [Muslim] civilisation and government transformed individual tribes into one nation and one language and everyone became familiar with Hijazi Arabic. Therefore, Hazrat Uthman (ra) thought that to keep the use of different Qiraat would be the means of creating division [among the tribes] and he was absolutely correct. For this reason, he stopped the common use of different qiraat, but the qiraat themselves would remain preserved in the books of qiraat. Thus, keeping this virtuous intention in mind, he forbade the common use of any other qiraat other than the Hijazi script, which was the original dialect. Subsequently, in order to unify both Arabs and non-Arabs alike for the recitation of the Quran, he permitted the Hijazi script which was the initial qirat [reading].”
(Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 9, pp. 49-51)