Anyone who studies the history of the Quran’s compilation after the prophet’s death will encounter the questionable origins of verses 9:128 and 129 and how these verses were eventually included in the Quran’s mushaf.
MAKKI VS. MADANI
Before getting into some crucial details about this narration, it is worth considering the addition of these verses in the context of the overall Quranic revelation. Every Sura in the Quran is considered either Meccan or Medinan. According to the book “An Introduction to The Sciences of The Quran,” pp. 27-28:
There is a common misunderstanding that Makki means the surah was revealed in Makkah and Madani means it was revealed in Medinah. This is not the case. Makkan revelation is anything that was revealed before the migration of the Prophet from Makkah to Medinah whereas Madani revelation is anything that was revealed after migration. It is a classifcation based on the time of revelation with migration serving the determining factor.
Therefore, if the revelation occurred before the Hijra to Medina, it is considered Meccan. If it was revealed after the Hijra, it is considered Medinan.
Sura 9, Barã’ah, sometimes also called At-Tawba, was the second last Sura revealed and is, therefore, considered a Medinan sura. This is except for verses 128 and 129, which are regarded as Meccan. The problem with this claim is that until the Hijra, all the revelations occurred in Mecca, and after the Hijra, all the revelations occurred in Medina. So, it does not make sense that a Medinan Sura ends with two Meccan verses.
Additionally, we will see that the only witness to these two verses, Khuzayma ibn Thabit Dhu al-Ansari, was an Ansari (resident of Medina), as his name implies. So how did an Ansari companion be the only one to witness these two Meccan verses?
Another problem with this narrative is that it is well understood that all of Sura Barã’ah was revealed in full, and it would be contradictory if it had two Meccan verses at the end of it.
Narrated Al-Bara: The last Sura which was revealed in full was Baraa (i.e. Sura-at-Tauba), and the last Sura (i.e. part of a Sura) which was revealed was the last Verses of Sura-an-Nisa’: — “They ask you for a legal decision. Say: Allah directs (thus) About those who have No descendants or ascendants As heirs.” (4.177)
حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ رَجَاءٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْرَائِيلُ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنِ الْبَرَاءِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ آخِرُ سُورَةٍ نَزَلَتْ كَامِلَةً بَرَاءَةٌ، وَآخِرُ سُورَةٍ نَزَلَتْ خَاتِمَةُ سُورَةِ النِّسَاءِ {يَسْتَفْتُونَكَ قُلِ اللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِي الْكَلاَلَةِ}
Sahih al-Bukhari 4364
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4364
See also: Sahih Muslim 1618c https://sunnah.com/muslim:1618c
Abu Ishaq said that he heard al-Bara’ b. ‘Azib (Allah be pleased with him) say: The last complete sura revealed (in the Holy Qur’an) is Sura Tauba (i e. al-Bara’at, ix.), and the last verse revealed is that pertaining to Kalala.
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْحَنْظَلِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا عِيسَى، – وَهُوَ ابْنُ يُونُسَ – حَدَّثَنَا زَكَرِيَّاءُ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنِ الْبَرَاءِ، أَنَّ آخِرَ، سُورَةٍ أُنْزِلَتْ تَامَّةً سُورَةُ التَّوْبَةِ وَأَنَّ آخِرَ آيَةٍ أُنْزِلَتْ آيَةُ الْكَلاَلَةِ .
Sahih Muslim 1618c
https://sunnah.com/muslim:1618c
9:128-129 WAS NOT PART OF THE QURAN REVELATION BUT AN ADDENDUM TO WHAT WAS REVEALED TO MUHAMMAD
The above is not an anomaly but a confession that 9:128-129 was not part of the original Quran given to the prophet. These verses were added to the end of the Quranic revelation at the end of Sura 9 as a seal, and the following Hadith clearly articulates this.
The following narration from the compilation Kitab Al Masahif from Ibn Abu Dawud states that after the completion of writing the Quran under the reign of Uthman, one person by the name of Khuzaymah bin Thabit (Al-Ansari) pointed out that he left out two verses. Then Umar supposedly testified that these sentences were from God, yet he does not indicate they were part of the original Quran. This is why it states that Umar did not know where to place these two sentences and resorted to asking Khuzaymah where he thought they should be placed.
The narration then ends with the most blatant admission that these verses were not part of the original Quran because Khuzayma states, “Seal them at the end of what was revealed of the Qur’an.” This clearly states that these two verses were not part of what was revealed of the Quran but an addition to the existing Quran as a seal.
Narrated Abdullah, he said: Abu Tahir narrated to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Umar bin Talha al-Laithi informed me, from Muhammad bin Amr bin Alqamah, from Yahya bin Abd al-Rahman bin Hatib, who said: Umar bin al-Khattab wanted to compile the Qur’an, so he stood among the people and said: Whoever has received anything of the Qur’an from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), let him bring it to us. They had written it on sheets, boards, and palm branches. He would not accept anything until two witnesses testified. Umar was killed while compiling it. Then Uthman bin Affan stood up and said: Whoever has anything of the Book of Allah, let him bring it to us. He would not accept anything until two witnesses testified. Khuzaymah bin Thabit came and said: I see you have left out two verses that you have not written. They said: What are they? He said: I received from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) {There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.} [S 9:128] to the end of the surah. Uthman said: I testify that they are from Allah. Where do you think we should place them? He said: Seal them at the end of what was revealed of the Qur’an, so they were sealed at the end of Surat al-Bara’ah.
حدثنا عبد الله قال: حدثنا أبو الطاهر، أخبرنا ابن وهب أخبرني عمر بن طلحة الليثي، عن محمد بن عمرو بن علقمة، عن يحيى بن عبد الرحمن بن حاطب قال: أراد عمر بن الخطاب أن يجمع القرآن فقام في الناس فقال: من كان تلقى من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم شيئًا من القرآن فليأتنا به، وكانوا كتبوا ذلك في الصحف والألواح والعسب، وكان لا يقبل من أحد شيئًا حتى يشهد شاهدان. فقتل وهو يجمع ذلك إليه، فقام عثمان بن عفان فقال: من كان عنده من كتاب الله شيء فليأتنا به، وكان لا يقبل من ذلك شيئًا حتى يشهد عليه شاهدان، فجاء خزيمة بن ثابت فقال: إني قد رأيتكم تركتم آيتين لم تكتبوهما، قالوا: وما هما؟ قال: تلقيت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم {لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَؤُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ} [س ٩: ١٢٨] إلى آخر السورة. قال عثمان: فأنا أشهد أنهما من عند الله فأين ترى أن نجعلهما؟ قال: اختم بها آخر ما نزل من القرآن فختمت بها براءة.
Kitab Al Masahif Ibn Abu Dawud p.17
See also: Kitab Al Masahif Ibn Abu Dawud pp. 38-39
Here is the breakdown of this exact statement to show that they are admitting that these two verses were not part of the Quran:
فأين ترى أن نجعلهما؟ قال: اختم بها آخر ما نزل من القرآن فختمت بها براءة
| Arabic Text | Transliteration | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| فأين | fa’ayna | So where |
| ترى | tara | do you see |
| أن | an | that |
| نجعلهما | naj’alahuma | we place them? |
| قال | qala | He said, |
| اختم | ikhtim | Seal (it) |
| بها | biha | with it |
| آخر | akhir | the last |
| ما | ma | of what |
| نزل | nazala | was revealed |
| من | min | from |
| القرآن | al-Qur’an | the Qur’an |
| فختمت | fakhtimtu | so it was sealed |
| بها | biha | with it |
| براءة | Bara’ah | Bara’ah (Sura 9) |
DESTROYING THE ORIGINAL QURAN
If this was a big nothing burger, one has to ask what happened to the original Quran, which it states was with Hafsa, the daughter of Umar and the prophet’s wife. Multiple hadith claim that Marwan personally had the original Quran forcefully confiscated and burned after the Uthman’s compilation of the Quran.
The narration states that after Zaid ibn Thabit compiled the entire suhuf of the Quran, it was with Abu Bakr until he died in 634 CE, then went to Umar ibn Khattab until he died in 644 CE, and then to Umar’s daughter and the prophet’s wife Hafsa. When Uthman began his efforts to compilet his mushaf he requested to obtain the Quran from Hafsa. Hafsa reluctantly obliged but was concerned that he would destroy it. He promised to return it, which he did, but then shortly after, Marwan confiscated the original Quran and burned it.
Narrated Abdullah, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Malik informed me, from Ibn Shihab, from Salim and Kharija, that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq had collected the Qur’an in parchments, and he had asked Zaid ibn Thabit to look into it. Zaid refused until Abu Bakr sought help from Umar, and then he agreed to do so. Those parchments remained with Abu Bakr until he passed away, then they were with Umar until he passed away, and then they were with Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Then Uthman sent for her, but she refused to give them to him until he promised to return them to her. She sent them to him, and he copied them into these mushafs, then returned them to her. Marwan sent for them, took them, and burned them.
حدثنا عبد الله قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب قال: أخبرني مالك، عن ابن شهاب، عن سالم وخارجة أن أبا بكر الصديق كان جمع القرآن في قراطيس وكان قد سأل زيد بن ثابت النظر في ذلك، فأبي حتى استعان عليه بعمر، ففعل، وكانت تلك الكتب عند أبي بكر حتى توفي، ثم كانت عند عمر حتى توفي، ثم كانت عند حفصة زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فأرسل إليها عثمان فأبت أن تدفعها إليه حتى عاهدها ليردّها إليها، فبعثت بها إليه فنسخها في هذه المصاحف ثم ردّها إليها حتى نزل مروان حتى أرسل مروان فأخذها فحرقها.
Ibn Shihab narrated that Salim bin Abdullah said: When Hafsa passed away, Abdullah bin Umar sent her scrolls to Marwan. Marwan took them and burned them to avoid any discrepancies, following the example of Uthman’s compilation of the Qur’an.
قال ابن شهاب: فحدثني سالم بن عبد الله قال: فلما توفيت حفصة أرسل عبد الله بن عمر بحزامها فجاءوا ليبعثوها بها، فأرسلوا حفصة أرسل بها عبد الله بن عمر إلى مروان فأخذها وحرقها فمشى في شيء من اختلاف لما نسخ عثمان ما نسخ رحمه الله عليه.
Kitab Al Masahif Ibn Abu Dawud p. 28
Narrated Abdullah: Muhammad bin Auf narrated to us: Abu al-Yaman narrated to us: Shu’aib narrated to us from al-Zuhri who informed me that Salim bin Abdullah said that Marwan used to send to Hafsa requesting the manuscript from which the Quran was copied, but Hafsa refused to give it to him. Salim said: When Hafsa passed away and we returned from her burial, Marwan sent someone to Abdullah bin Umar requesting that he send him those manuscripts. Abdullah bin Umar sent them to him, and Marwan ordered that they be shredded. Marwan said: “I only did this so that no one would remain with anything of this matter in their heart in the future, or say that there was something in it that was not written.”
حدثنا عبد الله قال: حدثنا محمد بن عوف قال: حدثنا أبو اليمان قال: أخبرنا شعيب عن الزهري أخبرني سالم بن عبد الله أن مروان كان يرسل إلى حفصة المصحف التي كتب منها القرآن فيأبى حفصة أن تعطيه إياه. قال سالم: فلما توفيت حفصة ورجعنا من دفنها أرسل مروان بالعزية إلى عبد الله بن عمر ليرسل إليه بتلك الصحف، فأرسل بها إليه عبد الله بن عمر، فأمر بها مروان فشقت. قال مروان إنما فعلت هذا لئلا يكون في قلب أحد بعدهم شيء من هذا الشأن في زمان، أو يقول إنه قد كان شيء منها لم يكتب.
Kitab Al Masahif Ibn Abu Dawud p. 32
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