Assalamu Akaykum dear brothers and sisters.
Before I ask the question I would want to apologize as recently Ive been somewhat annoying with these questions and all of them are regarding the preservation of the Quran, and I believe I should be a little more general on the blog than just focus on one topic such as this, but hopefully this topic will benefit us InshaAllah.
I came across these hadith:
Narrated Alqama:
I went to Sham and was offering a two-rak`at prayer; I said, "O Allah! Bless me with a (pious) companion." Then I saw an old man coming towards me, and when he came near I said, (to myself), "I hope Allah has given me my request." The man asked (me), "Where are you from?" I replied, "I am from the people of Kufa." He said, "Weren't there amongst you the Carrier of the (Prophet's) shoes, Siwak and the ablution water container? Weren't there amongst you the man who was given Allah's Refuge from the Satan? And weren't there amongst you the man who used to keep the (Prophet's) secrets which nobody else knew? How did Ibn Um `Abd (i.e. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud) use to recite Surat-al-lail (the Night:92)?" I recited:-- "By the Night as it envelops By the Day as it appears in brightness. And by male and female." (92.1- 3) On that, Abu Darda said, "By Allah, the Prophet (ﷺ) made me read the Verse in this way after listening to him, but these people (of Sham) tried their best to let me say something different."
Sahih al-Bukhari 3761
Book 62, Hadith 108
Vol. 5, Book 57, Hadith 105
Narrated Alqama:
I went to Sham with a group of the companions of `Abdullah (bin Mas`ud). Abu Ad-Darda' heard of our arrival so he came to us and said, "Is there anybody among you who can recite (Qur'an)" We replied in the affirmative. Then he asked, "Who is the best reciter?" They pointed at me. Then he told me to recite, so I recited the verse:-- 'By the night as it envelops 'By the day as it appears in brightness; By (Him Who created) male and the female.' (92.1-3) Abu Ad-Darda' then said to me, "Did you hear it (like this) from the mouth of your friend (`Abdullah bin Mas`ud)?" I said, "Yes." He said, "I too, heard it (like this) from the mouth of the Prophet, but these people do not consider this recitation as the correct one."
Vol. 6, Book 60, Hadith 467
Book 65, Hadith 4943
Narrated 'Alqamah:
"We arrived in Ash-Sham and we went to Abu Ad-Darda. So he said: 'Is there any among you who can recite for me according to the recitation of 'Abdullah?'" He said: "They pointed to me, so I said: 'Yes, [I (can recite)].' He said: 'How did you hear 'Abdullah recite this Ayah: By the night as it envelopes?'" He said: "I said: 'I heard him recite it: "Wal-Laili Idha Yaghsha, Wadh-Dhakari Wal-Untha" Abu Ad-Darda said: 'Me too, By Allah, this is how I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting it. But these people want me to recite it: Wa Ma Khalaqa but I will not follow them.'"
English reference : Vol. 5, Book 43, Hadith 2939
Arabic reference : Book 46, Hadith 3191
As we can see in the aforementioned hadith, there was a dispute amongst Abu Darda, Alqama and indirectly Ibn Masud and the people of Sham regarding the correct recitation of the
chapter. How did this come to be? Is this a difference in Qiraat. Can someone provide a historical background to the matter? Did thia happen before the distribution of the Uthmanic Mushaf? Or is this as Christian Missionaries claim, man made interpolation (of course not, we bring it up just for the sake of argument though). Some say the recitement got abrogated and this is the opinion of Ibn Hajar but theres no proof as far as Im concerned that supports such a thing. Did Abu Darda switch to the modern day recitement which reads:"And [by] He who created the male and female..." which is dufferent from what he/they discuss and recite in the hadith above?
Assalamu alaykum we rahmatullahi we barakatuhu.
