The fate of the Ibn Masud codex

In this article, I am going to do a thorough analysis of the Quranic reading of Ibn Masud and why this reading effectively ceased to exist after the first 70 years of Islam, as well as the fate of the man himself: Ibn Masud. To do this though, we need to look a bit at the context of the establishment of the Quran of the caliphs.

For a brief summary of the standardisation of the Quran, after Muhammad died the Muslim community was engaged in civil war across the region, and after the battle of Yamana which happened less than a year after Muhammad died many of the Companions and reciters of the Quran died Including Salim, the freed slave of hudaifa.

Umar after realising that a verse was lost (Kanz ul Ummal, Volume 2 page 574) pleaded with Abu Bakr to make a physical copy of the Quran to make sure no more is lost. He agreed and Zayd Thabit was appointed to compile this (bukhari 4896).

Later on, during the Caliphate of Uthman, he heard that many Muslims in different regions such as Kufa were arguing that they can recite the Qur’an better, and they had differences between them. Upon hearing this, Uthman ordered the burning of both fragmentary manuscripts and whole copies of the Qur’an. After that he made a codex from what Zayd bin thabit had originally compiled, he gave it to the major cities where people would get their Quran from (bukhari 4897).

With this, we come to Abdullah Ibn Masud. Ibn Masud was probably one of the most important Quran scholars of the Sahaba. Muhammad himself gave him praise and told people to learn the Quran from him:

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Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) neither talked in an insulting manner nor did he ever speak evil intentionally. He used to say, “The most beloved to me amongst you is the one who has the best character and manners.” He added, ” Learn the Qur’an from four persons. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa, Ubai bin Ka`b, and Mu`adh bin Jabal.”
Bukhari 3759 and 3760

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Ibn Masud is probably the most famous of the men on this list of scholars because of how vocal he was on the issue. Ibn Masuds reputation as a Quran teacher and expert is impeccable and found in multiple places in the hadith. For instance from Bukhari 5002:

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Narrated `Abdullah (bin Mas`ud): By Allah other than Whom none has the right to be worshipped! There is no Sura revealed in Allah’s Book but I know at what place it was revealed; and there is no Verse revealed in Allah’s Book but I know about whom it was revealed. And if I know that there is somebody who knows Allah’s Book better than I, and he is at a place that camels can reach, I would go to him.

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No record of Ibn Masud travelling to someone for knowledge on the Quran exists. In bukhari 4987 that i linked above, it reads that Hudhaifa was afraid of the differences in the recitation of the Qur’an between the people of Iraq and Sham, so he said to `Uthman, “O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book”. The “Iraq” here is actually Kufa and the recitation he is talking about is the recitation of Ibn Masud. We read in Ibn Abi Dawuds, Kitab al-Masahif, p.13-14:

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Hudhaifah said “It is said by the people of Kufa, ‘the reading of Abdullah (ibn Mas’ud)’, and it is said by the people of Basra, ‘the reading of Abu Musa’. By Allah! If I come to the Commander of the Faithful (Uthman), I will demand that they be drowned”. Abdullah said to him, “Do so, and by Allah you will also be drowned, but not in water”. Hudhaifah went on to say, “O Abdullah ibn Qais, you were sent to the people of Basra as their governor and teacher and they have submitted to your rules, your idioms and your reading”. He continued, “O Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, you were sent to the people of Kufa as their teacher who have also submitted to your rules, idioms and reading”. Abdullah said to him, “In that case I have not led them astray. There is no verse in the Book of Allah that I do not know where it was revealed and why it was revealed, and if I knew anyone more learned in the Book of Allah and I could be conveyed there, I would set out to him”.

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Ultimately, Hudaifah was not convinced by Ibn Masuds knowledge of the Quran and went back to Uthman (see bukhari 4987). After Caliph Uthman ordered the destructions of the manuscripts, an enraged Ibn Masud delivered a sermon to his people in Kufa telling them to go against the order and conceal his Musahif.

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Az-Zuhri said: “‘Ubaidullah bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Utbah informed me that ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud disliked Zaid bin Thabit copying the Musahif, and he said: ‘O you Muslims people! Avoid copying the Mushaf and the recitation of this man. By Allah! When I accepted Islam he was but in the loins of a disbelieving man’ – meaning Zaid bin Thabit – and it was regarding this that ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud said: ‘O people of Al-‘Iraq! Keep the Musahif that are with you, and conceal them. For indeed Allah said: And whoever conceals something, he shall come with what he concealed on the Day of Judgement (3:161). So meet Allah with the Musahif.’” Az-Zuhri said: “It was conveyed to me that some men amongst the most virtuous of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah disliked that view of Ibn Mas’ud.”

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This sermon to the Sahaba and Tabi’un are recorded in many places. This version is from Tirmhidi 3104 and was classed Sahih by Darussalam and Hasan-Sahih by Tirmhidi. It is also found in Bukhari 5000 and Muslim 2462 as well as Mustadrak 2896 which was classed Sahih by both Hakim and Dhahabi. Ibn Sa’d’s, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, Vol. 2, p.444 also records him as emphatically saying: “So conceal the manuscripts! I like it better to read according to the recitation of him whom I love more than that of Zayd bin Thabit.” But even more damning, is this quote from Musnad Ahmad: “I had heard seventy Surahs from the tongue of the Holy Prophet, shall I leave all those things that I had obtained from the tongue of Holy Prophet?” This narration was classed Sahih by Ahmad Shakir in Musnad Ahmad, Volume 4 page 88 Hadith 3929 and Hasan by Shuayb Arnaut in Syar alam alnubala volume 1 page 487.

Shortly after his fiery sermon, it would seem that there was an increase in tensions between Kufa and the central government. Uthman soon after wrote a letter to Ibn Masud calling for his capitulation in the name of Unity. From al-Bidaya wal al-Nihaya 7/244 by ibn Kathir:

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فكتب إليه عثمان رضي الله عنه يدعوه إلى إتباع الصحابة فيما أجمعوا عليه من المصلحة في ذلك، وجمع الكلمة، وعدم الاختلاف، فأناب وأجاب إلى المتابعة، وترك المخالفة رضي الله عنهم أجمعين.

And Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to him, calling him to follow the Companions in what they have agreed was for the greater good, and unifying the community and not having disagreements. So he relented and agreed to follow and to let go of dissent, may Allah be pleased with them all.

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Shortly after receiving this letter, he left Kufa to go to Uthman in order to make peace. As he was leaving the people of Kufa were incredibly upset at this news, and pleaded with him to not go and that they would protect him from the Uthman government. From Siyar a`lam al-nubala 1/489 by Dhahabi:

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اجتمع إليه الناس ، فقالوا : أقم فلا تخرج ، ونحن نمنعك أن يصل إليك شيء تكرهه . فقال : إن له علي طاعة ، وإنها ستكون أمور وفتن لا أحب أن أكون أول من فتحها . فرد الناس وخرج إليه

The people gathered around him and told him “Stay and do not go. We will protect you from anything that might harm you.” And he said: “I owe him my obedience and there will be conflicts and tribulations and I do not want to be the one that starts them.” So he refused the people and traveled to Uthman.

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Ibn masud was very clear with his words that the only reason he capitulated to the government is for the purpose of unity and to prevent a civil war, not that he thought that the Uthman Quran was correct.

The reports after this differ slightly but have the same central narrative. Ibn Masud went to Uthman in the prophets mosque, was insulted by Uthman, words were exchanged and Uthman had him violently thrown out where he had ribs broken. He was banned from leaving Medina and his pension was severed for the rest of his life. He died around the age of 60 in medina.

Despite the attempts to have his Quran erased from the world by Uthman, its textual variants survived throughout the centuries fragmented and passed on through the tabiun such as Qatadah Diamah, Mujahid Jabr, Alqama, Muqatil Sulayman, Sufyan Al-Thawri, Atta Rabah, Ibn Juraij and Al-Amash among others.

Examples of these variants that these men passed down include Ibn Masud reciting Quran 51:48 as إني أنا instead of ٱللَّهَ هُوَ (Tirmhidi 2940), Quran 3:81 as وإذ أخذ الله ميثاق الذين أوتوا الكتاب instead of وَإِذْ أَخَذَ ٱللَّهُ مِيثَٰقَ ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ لَمَآ ءَاتَيْتُكُم مِّن كِتَٰبٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ (tafsir Tabari for Quran 3:81), Quran 17:23 as ووصى instead of وَقَضَىٰ (Tabarani 8598), Quran 62:9 with  فامضوا instead of فاسعوا (tafsir Manthur 8/161), Quran 93:8 with عديما instead of عائلا (tafsir Manthur 8/544), Quran 4:40 with نملة instead of ذرة‏ (Tafsir Thalabi 3/308), Quran 26:20 with الجاهلين instead of الضالين (Tafsir Ibn Hatim 8/275), in Quran 3:33 he added the words  وآل محمد على العالمين (Shawahid al-Tanzil, Volume 1/152), he added in 18:79 the word صالـحة (Tafsir Tabari for Quran 18:79), he added the words وَقالُوا وَلَبِثُوا in 18:25 (tafsir Tabari 18:25), recited Quran 92:3 as والذكر والأنثى instead of وَمَا خَلَقَ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنثَى (Bukhari 4944), he added the words وأنا كتبتها عليك to Quran 4:79 (tafsir manthur 2/597) and so much more.

To get a grasp of the tiny amount of variants i have cited from Ibn Masud here, know that on top of this number, Muqatil Sulayman cited variant readings from him 16 times, Sufyan Al-Thawri 17 times and Ibn Abu Dawud’s Kitab al-Masahif fill up no less than nineteen pages, chocked full of reports of Ibn Masuds variants (Kitab al-Masahif, pages 54-73).

On top of these variations, Ibn Masud also believed that whole chapters of the current Quran should not have been included:

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أخبرنا : محمد بن الحسن بن مكرم بالبصرة قال: ، حدثنا : داود بن رشيد قال : ، حدثنا : أبو حفص الأبار ، عن منصور ، عن عاصم بن أبي النجود ، عن زر بن حبيش قال: لقيت أبي بن كعب فقلت له: إن بن مسعود كان يحك المعوذتين من المصاحف ويقول: أنهما ليستا من القرآن فلا تجعلوا فيه ما ليس منه

Narrated Zirr ibn Hubaysh: ‘I met Ubai bin Ka’b and said to him: ‘Ibn Masud used to remove the verses of refuge from the Quranic codices, saying: ‘Both of them are not part of the Quran and do not include in it what is not part of it”.

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Pretty self explanatory I would say. This particular narration was recorded in Sahih Ibn Hibban, Volume 10 page 274 Hadith 4429. Another one appears in Majma al-Zawa’id 11562 and was classed Sahih by Haythami. Ibn Hajar deemed it Sahih in Fath al Bari, Volume 8 page 74 and Suyuti quoted multiple places where this narration exists such as Ziarat Al-Musnad, Al-Tabarani, Musnad Bazaar and Ibn Majah. Then said all of the narrations are Sahih in Al-Itqan volume 1 page 212.

Muslim scholars however were gravely unhappy with Ibn Masud for this. From Tafsir Razi (English) translated by Sohaib Saeed, pages 343 and 344:

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It is recorded in early sources that Ibn Masud denied that Surat al-Fatiha is part of the Quran, and the same for the two protection seeking suras (Mu’awwidh-at or Mauzatain). Know that this is extremely problematic, for if we say that there was mutawatir communication at the time of the companions of the fact that the fatiha is part of the Quran, then Ibn Masud must have known that; as such, denying it would entail either unbelief or loss of mind. If, on the other hand, we say that there was no widespread communication to this effect during that period, then it follows that the Quran was not subject to mass transmission at its origin, which in turn would preclude its status as a decisive proof. Most likely, these narrations concerning Ibn Masud are deceitful and false; this allows us to escape the thorny problem“.

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This claim of mutawatir transmission is certainly one that has recently been put under scrutiny, a video explaining it can be found here.

Despite the burning by Uthman and the capitulation of Ibn Masud, the kufans still used his readings for at least 5 decades after the Uthman rescension. At this time, an initiative was created by Al-Hajjaj Al-Yusuf and heavily endorsed by the central government to completely eliminate all textual variations and make a standardised Quran to regain political image for the umayyad government, wildly unpopular after a massive civil war between them and their opponents. (see: The second Masāhif-Project. A Step towards the canonization of the Qur’anic Text, page 799 by Omar Hamdan.)

Ibn Masuds reading was target number one for the second Masahif project, and even Hajjajs predecessor tried to erase the ibn Masud reading. From The second Masāhif-Project. A Step towards the canonization of the Qur’anic Text, page 798-799 by Omar Hamdan:

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Moreover, Ubayd Allah b. Ziyad provoked the kufans by reciting, for the first time in public prayers the two invocative surahs (Surah no. 113 and 114) – the so called muawwidhadan – because those two Surahs were missing from the codex of Ibn Masud which was read by the Kufans at that time. […] He [Al-Hajjaj] mocked Ibn Mas‘ūd (d. 32/652) and his Qur’anic reading. Is it reported that he said: “How I wonder about Ibn Mas‘ūd! He claimed to have read the [original] Qur’an of God. I swear by God that it is just a piece of rajaz poetry of the Bedouins.” Aṣ-Ṣalt b. Dīnār reported: “I heard al-Ḥajjāj saying: ‘Ibn Mas‘ūd is the chief of hypocrites. If I had lived in the same time as his, I would have soaked the ground with his blood. In addition, the well-known Kufan Qur’an reader, ‘Āṣ im b. Bahdala (d. 127/745), reports that al-Ḥajjāj would often threaten to kill the people of Kufa should they not cease following the reading of Ibn Mas‘ūd. “Al-Ḥajjāj swore that he would erase this [Ibn Mas‘ūd’s] reading from the muṣḥaf even if it would be with the rib of a swine

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Ultimately, the project in this regard was successful in the elimination of the manuscript of Ibn Masud, and eventually the elimination of the reading in Kufa. From The second Masāhif-Project. A Step towards the canonization of the Qur’anic Text, page 829 by Omar Hamdan:

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As for the fate of the codex of Ubayy b. Ka‘b, the well-known Qur’an reader Khalaf b. Hishām (d. 229/844) speaks about the existing codex with skepticism. He uses the common expression yunsabu, “is ascribed to”…regarding the codex of Ibn Mas‘ūd (d. 32/652), Khalaf was similarly circumspect…in these traditions there is no longer any mention of previous codices. Rather, there is mention of a certain Qur’anic codex which supposedly corresponds to the alleged reading of Ubayy or Ibn Mas‘ūd. In other words, codices containing older recensions ceased to exist at that time…by the end of the second century AH any mention of an ‘Uthmānic codex was strongly distrusted.”

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Judging from Hajjajs comments promoting the murder of Ibn Masud and kufans, it should be no surprise that he had no problem invading the homes of the people to destroy their personal copies. From The second Masāhif-Project. A Step towards the canonization of the Qur’anic Text, page 829 by Omar Hamdan:

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“…the search and destruction of differing recensions was not limited to public property like the case of ‘Uthmān, but rather included both public and private property.”

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In similar fashion, hajjaj and one of his top cronies in the project, al-Hasan Basri would immediately fire a prayer leader who made a linguistical “mistake”. Hajjaj only had arabs or non Arab recognised Quran leaders on the job (see page 826).

Ultimately as Omar Hamdan says on pages 825 and 826, the establishment of a standardised oral qiraat was unsuccessful. As such, the Ibn Masud codex, the codex that Ibn Masud never distanced himself from, the codex of Muhammads hand picked primary Quran teacher lives on; fragmented across the Muslim sources.