(Quraan Series – Part 4)
Yahya bin Aktham (rahimahullah) narrates the following incident:
Ma’moon Ar-Rasheed, one of the Muslim rulers, used to host gatherings wherein scholars would discuss various issues. On one occasion, a Jew who was well dressed, respectable in appearance and eloquent in speech arrived at the gathering and joined in the discussion. When the crowd began to disperse after the discussion was concluded, Ma’moon called the Jew and asked him, “Are you a Jew?” The man replied, “Yes.” Ma’moon next invited the Jew to embrace Islam. The Jew, however, refused saying, “I cannot leave my religion and the religion of my forefathers.”
One year later, the man returned and had now accepted Islam! On this occasion when he joined the gathering, he was even able to deliver an academic discourse on Islamic Jurisprudence. When the discussion was over, Ma’moon asked him, “Are you not the Jew who attended this gathering last year?” The man replied in the affirmative to which Ma’moon asked, “What caused you to embrace Islam?”
The man responded saying, “After leaving your gathering last year, I decided to embark on a study to compare religions. As I am a fine calligrapher, I wrote out three copies of the Towrah in which I added a few words and also deleted a few words. I then entered a synagogue and sold all three copies. I next wrote out three copies of the Injeel in which I added and deleted a few words. I took these three copies to a church and sold them all as well. Finally, I wrote out three copies of the Quraan Majeed in which I added a few words and deleted a few words. When I presented them to the Muslim booksellers, they insisted on examining them before purchasing them from me. On examining them, they immediately noticed the errors and rejected the copies. I then realized that the Quraan Majeed was the divine book of Allah Ta‘ala and thus divinely protected. This led me to embrace Islam.”
Yahya bin Aktham (rahimahullah) thereafter mentions: “After this incident transpired, I went to Makkah Mukarramah to perform hajj. When in Makkah Mukarramah, I met Sufyaan bin ‘Uyaynah (rahimahullah) to whom I narrated the entire incident. After hearing the incident, Sufyaan (rahimahullah) commented, ‘Mention of this phenomenon can be found in the Quraan Majeed.’ ‘Where in the Quraan?’ I enquired. Sufyaan (rahimahullah) explained, ‘Allah Ta‘ala mentions in reference to the Towrah and Injeel:
بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُوا مِن كِتَابِ اللَّـهِ
They were entrusted the protection of Allah’s book
Allah Ta‘ala entrusted them with the task of protecting His divine Books and they neglected to protect them properly. In reference to the Quraan Majeed, however, Allah Ta‘ala mentions:
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ
Certainly We are the Ones who revealed the Quraan and surely We have taken the responsibility of safeguarding it.
Allah Ta‘ala himself protects the Quraan for us and it thus remains completely protected.’” (Al-Muntazam vol. 10 pg. 51)