Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

I know that it is blasphemous to change the Qu’ran, or to even doubt its completeness and perfection. During prayers in the mosque, I have heard the Baisaheb (Imam) recite surah Alamnushra and changing the last word "funsub" to "funsib". I realize you cannot read the minds of people, but could you shed some light regarding the reason for the change, the difference between the two words and what effects the change have on the meaning of the surah.

Thanks.

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Answer:

Changing some words in the Quran

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The Truth is that the Quran is absolutely complete and what we have with us today is exactly the same Quran that Allah revealed to His slave and Messenger, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws). There is not a single word in the Quran that is not supposed to be there, nor is there anything that has been removed or changed. All the different sects of Islam and all their scholars are absolutely unanimous in their opinion that this is the exact same Quran hich was revealed to the Prophet (saws) (except the Dawoodi Bohras, of course!)

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 15 Surah Al Hijr verse 9: It is We (Allah), Who has sent down this Quran, and We will assuredly guard it against corruption.

Thus in the above aayah Allah declares that it is He who has sent down this Quran, and it is He Who will guard it against any corruption. Allah has taken upon Himself the responsibility to safe-guard this Quran, and that is why the Quran is available today exactly the way it was revealed, and will remain so, Insha Allah, until the Day of Judgement. No changes can be made in the Holy Quran whatsoever.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 67: O Messenger, convey to the people whatever has been revealed to you from your Lord; for if you do not do this, you will not be doing justice to His Message.

There are some mis-guided individuals who say that the Quran is incomplete! Here Allah commands the Prophet (saws) to convey whatever has been revealed to Him. And it is not conceivable that the Prophet (saws) kept some secrets to himself, and did not convey the complete Quran to the believers, as per the command of Allah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verse 15: When Our clear Revelations are recited to them, those who do not expect to meet Us, say: “Bring another Quran in its stead or make some amendment in it.” (O Prophet) say to them, “It is not for me to make any alteration in it of my own accord. I follow only what is revealed to me. Indeed, if I disobey my Lord, I fear the chastisement of a Dreadful Day.”

Here again, the Prophet (saws) is told to say that it is not even in his power to change or alter the Quran in any way.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 69 Surah Haaqqah verses 43-47: (This Quran) is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds. And if this (Prophet) had forged something himself and ascribed it to Us, We would have indeed seized him by his right-hand and cut off his neck-vein! Then none of you could have withheld Us from doing this.

If one reads the whole Quran, one will realize how much Allah has praised, loved and honored the Prophet (saws). But here He declares that if this same Prophet (saws) wrote something from himself into this Quran, he would cut his neck-vein! Not that, Allah-forbid, the Prophet (saws) even thought about such a thing … this was in response to the disbelievers who said that the Prophet (saws) had (Allah forbid) forged the Quran himself and said it is from Allah!

Thus it is absolutely inconceivable that there are any changes or any alterations to this Glorious Book of guidance from Allah.

Your Comment: During prayers in the mosque, I have heard the Baisaheb (Imam) recite surah Alamnushra and changing the last word "funsub" to "funsib".

Its unbelievable, but its true! The Dawoodi Bohra leadership have actually changed the Quran in about four or five places! And one of them is in the Surah Alam-Nashrah as stated by you.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 94 Surah Alam-Nashrah verses 7-8: Therefore, when you (O Prophet) are free (from your task), ‘funsub’ (still labor hard), And to your Lord turn all your attention.

‘funsub’ in Arabic would mean to make ‘oneself’ labor hard or make effort to stand straight (in this case for prayer, etc.)

‘funsib’ would mean to make ‘someone else’ labor hard or make effort to make ‘them’ strand straight.

The correct meaning of the above aayahs would be that Allah is commanding the Prophet (saws), that when he is free from all the duties and responsibilities he (saws) has to deliver to the believers and his family, to make effort and labor hard and stand in the worship of His Lord, and turn all his attention to Allah Subhanah.

To change the word to ‘funsib’ would mean that Allah is commanding the Prophet (saws), that when he is free from his responsibilities, he should tell the ‘others’ to make effort and labor hard to stand straight. (Actually it just does not make any sense!)

Your Comment: but could you shed some light regarding the reason for the change.

Brother, the first thing, we must, as believers realize, is that it is a major major sin and a blasphemy to change even a letter of the Quran! No one is allowed to change even a single letter in the Quran, and the curse of Allah be upon those who change the very words of Allah Subhanah. May Allah take a severe accounting of the people who try to change anything from the original Quran.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 79: Then woe to those who write The Book with their own hands, and then say, “This is from Allah”, so that they might gain some paltry worldly price. This writing of their hands will bring woe to them, and what they gain thereby will lead to their ruin!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verses 34-35: O you who believe! There are indeed many among the priests and the holy men who devour the wealth of others by evil means, and debar the people from the Way of Allah. Give them the good news of a painful torment, who hoard up gold and silver and do not expend these in the Way of Allah. The Day shall surely come when the same gold and silver shall be heated in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their bodies and their backs. (And it will be said): “Here is that treasure you had hoarded up for yourselves! Taste now the evil of your hoarded treasure!”

The fact is that although they don’t reveal this to everybody, the Dawoodi Bohra leadership have actually changed the words in about 4-5 places in the Holy Quran. But if you were to ask any scholar or bhaisaheb, he will confirm this with you. I personally don’t know where else they have changed all the words, but I know of one more word that they have changed in Chapter 37 Surah Saafaat verse 130, where instead of saying when the Quran says ‘ill Yaaseen’, the Bohras say, “aa’le Yaaseen”!

The reason is very obvious and very effective for their needs. These unscrupulous leaders, by saying that the Quran has been changed in 4-5 places, put doubts into their followers; that this Quran is not complete and has some errors… These are the same leaders who regularly say to their followers that they should never try to understand the Quran, because they might get mis-guided! How can This Book, which was revealed by Allah Himself for the guidance of mankind, misguide its readers? These are the same leaders who say that each word and each aayah of the Holy Quran has 10 meanings! These are the same leaders who say that it is impossible to understand the Quran! These are the same people who say, that only one man, or only his ‘chosen’ family can understand the Quran; and their followers just have to obey them in whatever they say! These are the same people who stress that the Quran can and should only be read in Arabic, thereby guaranteeing that no common Bohra will ever understand the clear guidance and teachings of the Holy Quran! These are the same leaders who say that there is a hidden meaning, and the names of their ‘pious’ holy men ‘deep’ inside the aayahs of the Quran, which only they know! These are the same leaders who say that the Quran has several meanings: the ‘zaahir’(open); the ‘baatin’(hidden); the ‘taaweel’ (the real meaning); etc. which are known only to one man or his family!

By creating these sort of doubts into the minds of their followers, these unscrupulous people have been successful in taking the Quran out of the system of the Bohras! They never use the Quran as their book of guidance… but instead use as their constitution a book called the ‘Daim ul Islam’ by an Egyptian cleric named Qadi Noaman, who incidentally wrote the book some 340 years after the death of the Prophet (saws). They never use the Holy Quran as their evidence for doing something! They never explain the meaning of the Quran from the beginning to the end … they may quote one aayah here and one aayah which suits them, there! But they simply never teach the Quran as a whole!

Even in their university, Al Jamea-tus-Saifeea in Surat, the students apparently go through 13 years of Islamic education, but the meaning and understanding of the Quran is not even one of their subjects or fields of study! Even these graduates have very little knowledge about the Quran, simply because they have never studied the Quran from beginning to end in all their 13 years! Neither do the Bohras have a translation of their own, nor do they endorse any existing translation.

Their plan is simple: Just keep their followers out of the understanding of the Holy Quran. And once any person is kept out of the understanding of this Book of Guidance, they can lead them anywhere they want, make them do anything they want them to do, take from them anything they want, and make them bow down to anyone they want! And the poor Bohras think that everything these leaders and holy men say is apparently from the Quran, and thus obey and follow them religiously!

That is the simple reasoning behind changing the words of the Holy Quran!

These unscrupulous self-made leaders and self-proclaimed holy men, then wear the garb of Islam, but guide their followers far far away from Allah and the True Deen of Islam. They guide them to the obedience and invocation of themselves and their ancestors, rather than guide them to the obedience and invocation of the One Lord Alone, Allah Subhanah! They guide them to bow down to human beings and graves of their ancestors, rather than bowing down to Allah Subhanah Alone! They guide them to become ‘abde-syedna’ (slaves of syedna), rather than guiding them to become ‘abd-Allah’ (slaves of Allah)!

These unscrupulous and greedy holy men might get away with their play in this world, but little do they realize that Allah is watching over everything they are doing. Not only will such people end up in the Wrath and Anger of Allah, they will take a multitude of their followers with them! They have been very busy collecting their power and their wealth, by promising intercession and distributing Paradise to their followers; and thus have forgotten the Hereafter. They have sold the words of Allah for a mere paltry gain in this world, in exchange for the everlasting torture of the Fire of Hell! What an evil bargain they have made with Allah.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verses 34-35: O you who believe! There are indeed many among the priests and the holy men who devour the wealth of others by evil means, and debar the people from the Way of Allah. Give them the good news of a painful torment, who hoard up gold and silver and do not expend these in the Way of Allah. The Day shall surely come when the same gold and silver shall be heated in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their bodies and their backs. (And it will be said): “Here is that treasure you had hoarded up for yourselves! Taste now the evil of your hoarded treasure!”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Al-Baqarah verse 174: Indeed those, who conceal the commands that Allah has sent down in His Book and barter them away for paltry worldly gains, fill their bellies with fire. Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He regard them as pure and there is a painful torment for them!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 159: Those who conceal the clear (Revelations) and Guidance We have sent down, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book, on them shall be Allah’s ‘laanah’ and the ‘laanah’ of those who are entitled to curse!

Brother, if you don’t believe what I have said, try this simple exercise for yourself. I humbly ask you to go to your nearest bhaisaheb and/or aamil and ask him simply that you want to understand the Quran in its entirety! Go to any institution of the kothar and find out if they have even one ‘sabaq’ or class whereby they teach you only from the Quran! And see for yourself the vague answers you are going to get…..

You must first study so and so books; and once you finish them (which will never finish) only then you can understand the message of the Quran!

You must first go here and there to get the basic knowledge, before you even try to understand the Quran!

You will just not be able to understand the message of the Quran in its entirety!

If you try to understand the Quran in its entirety, you will be misguided!

Each aayah of the Holy Quran has several meanings!

The Quran has ‘zaahir’ and ‘baatin’ meanings and you need to be so and so to understand it!

The Quran has many ambiguous meanings, which can only be understood by ‘the people of knowledge’; ie. Themselves!

We do not have the ‘raza’ (or permission) to start such a class or ‘sabaq’!

Or they will directly attack your belief and ask you questions which automatically put you on the defensive:

Do you believe in the Syedna or not?

Are you a true mu’min, or have you become a munafiq?

Do you think you know more than the Syedna?

Who do you think you are, coming and asking us that you want to understand the Quran in its entirety?

Allah states Himself in the Holy Quran, that He in His Sublime Mercy and Rahmah, revealed the Glorious Quran for the guidance of all of mankind. Contrary to what the Bohra leaders say about the complication and complexity of the Holy Quran, just take a look at what Allah says about His Book and His Message, and then decide who has more right that we should believe in. Allah, our Lord and Creator of everything that exists, or some men, who are engrossed in the subjugation and extortion of the common man!

Allah says in Chapter 2, Surah Baqarah aayat 185: Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down: this Book is a perfect guidance for mankind and consists of CLEAR teachings which show the right way and are a Criterion of the Truth and falsehood."

Allah says the Book is a perfect guidance and consists of clear teachings and is a barometer for the Truth and falsehood! But some ‘holy men’ say this Book is incomprehensible and impossible to understand.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 44 Surah Dukhan verse 58: We have made this Book easy in your own tongue so that they may ponder and take good counsel.

Allah says He has made this Book easy and in your own tongue so that we can think deeply about its verses! But some ‘holy men’ say this Book is incomprehensible and impossible to understand!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 43 Surah Zukhruf verses 1-3: Haa Meem. By this lucid (clear or open) Book. We have made it an Arabic Quran, so that you may understand it.

Allah swears in the Quran by His Own Words; the Quran “Mubeen” which literally means clear or open. And then Allah declares that He made it clear and open so that you may understand it. But some ‘holy men’ say this Book is incomprehensible and impossible to understand!!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 12 Surah Yusuf verse 1-2: These are the verses of the Book that makes its object perfectly clear. We have sent it down as a Quran in Arabic, so that you may understand it well.

Allah says the aayahs of the Quran make its intentions and objects perfectly clear, so that we muslims can understand it! But some ‘holy men’ say this Book is incomprehensible and impossible to understand!!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 89: We have sent down to you this Book, which makes everything plain, and is a guidance, blessing and good news to those who have surrendered themselves entirely.

Allah Himself says this Book makes everything plain, and is a guidance for the muslims. But some ‘holy men’ say this Book is incomprehensible and impossible to understand!!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 19 Surah Maryam verse 97: O Mohamed, We have made this Quran easy, and sent it down in your tongue so that you should give good news to the pious and warn the stubborn people.

Allah says that He has made this Quran easy. But some ‘holy men’ say this Book is incomprehensible and impossible to understand!!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse 1-3: All praise is for Allah Alone, Who has sent down this Book to His Servant (Mohamed (saws), and assigned nothing crooked to it. This Book says everything directly, so that he may warn the people of the severe chastisement of Allah and give good news to the believers, who do righteous deeds, that they will have an excellent reward.

Allah Himself declares that there is absolutely nothing crooked in this Quran. It says everything absolutely directly. But some ‘holy men’ say this Book is incomprehensible and impossible to understand.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 99: We have sent down to you Revelations that clearly expound the Truth, and none but the disobedient reject them.

Allah states that the aayahs clearly expound the Truth, and only the disobedient people, (those who do not actually believe in Allah and the Last Day) reject these verses!

My beloved brother in Islam, there is One Allah, and there is Only One version of the Holy Quran! Read it once with understanding and see for yourself how true is Allah and His Promises, and how misguided and dangerous are those who try to create doubts about the Quran in the minds of their followers, and thus guide them far away from Islam.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verses 103-106: Tell them (O Mohamed), “Should We tell you who are the most unsuccessful people and miserable failures in regard to their deeds? They are those, all whose endeavors in the worldly life, had gone astray from the Right Way, but all along they were under the delusion that everything they were doing, was rightly directed! Those are the people who rejected the Revelations of their Lord and did not believe that they would ever go before Him. Therefore all their deeds were lost, for We shall assign no weight to them on the Day of Resurrection. Their recompense is Hell for the disbelief they showed, and for the mockery they adopted in regard to My Aayahs and My Messengers!”

May Allah guide you and us to read and understand the clear and simple message of the Holy Quran. May Allah open our hearts to the understanding of the Glorious Quran. May Allah guide you and us all to the Straight Path of Islam.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan