of Islam was still unthreatened. 'Ali's pretensions were as yet undeveloped. No sufficient object can, therefore, be assigned for the perpetration by 'Usman of an offence which Muslims would have regarded as one of the blackest die. Again, at the time of the recension, there were still multitudes alive who had learnt the Qur-án by heart as they had heard it originally delivered; and copies of any passages favouring ’Ali, if any such passages ever existed, must have been in the hands of his numerous adherents, both of which sources would have proved an effectual check upon any attempt at suppression. Further, the party of 'Ali, immediately on 'Us̲man's death, assumed an independent attitude, and raised him to the Caliphate. Is it conceivable that, when thus arrived at power, they would have tolerated a mutilated Qur-án, mutilated expressly to destroy their leader‘s claim? Yet we find that they continued to use the same Qur-án as their opponents and raised not the slightest objection against it."
The Shias, however, do not all believe that portions of the Holy Qur-án have been lost or that passages favouring 'Ali's claims were intentionally omitted by Zaid or 'Us̲man. The vast majority of them admit that the Holy Qur-án has been handed down to us in all its purity. Such is the belief of the more learned Shias, while it is largely the ignorant masses that think that some portions have been lost. In the Tafsir Ṣáfi, an important Shia commentary on the Holy Qur-án, the author, Mulla Muhsin, thus denounces the ignorant Shias who taught that certain portions were lost:—
"Certain men from among us and the Hashwia masses have reported that the Qur-án has suffered loss and alteration. But the true belief of our friends is against this, and such is the belief of the vast majority. For the Qur-án is a miracle of the Holy Prophet and the source of all knowledge relating to law and all religious injunctions, and the learned Muslims have taken the utmost pains for its protection, so that there is nothing relating to its vowel-points, its recital, its letters, and its verses, which they do not know. With such strong measures of protection and such faithful preservation of the Holy Book [by the Muslims] it cannot be supposed that any alteration or loss could take place" (p. 14).
The learned author goes on to say:—
"Surely the Qur-án was collected and arranged in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet exactly as it is in our hands. This is inferred from the fact that the Qur—án was even then recited and committed to memory as a whole, and there was a body of the companions whose duty it was to commit it to memory. It was also recited and read out as a whole to the Holy Prophet [by the angel]. A large number of the companions, as 'Abdulla bin Mas'ud and Ubayy bin Ka'b, had finished the Holy Qur-án in the presence of the Holy Prophet several times. All these facts show conclusively that the Holy Qur-án was complete and collected in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, and it was not dispersed or scattered. It has been stated that those from among the Hashwia and Imamia sects [of the Shias] who hold a contrary view are nothing when compared with the vast majority who hold the right view. It should also be borne in mind that the contrary view was held only by some of the reporters who gave circulation to very weak and unreliable reports."
After this, Mulla Muhsin quotes the opinions of several learned Shias, honoured and respected by the whole Shia world, who taught in clear words that "the Qur-án as sent down by God to His Prophet is exactly what is now between the two boards [that is, in the written volume] and in the hands of the people." He also quotes a report the trustworthiness of which has never been questioned by any Shia. That report also supports the conclusion that the Holy Qur-án has come down to us without the alteration or loss of a single word or letter.
