al-Shia wal-Quran
- Author died
- 1407 AH
- Editions
- Idarat Tarjuman al-Sunnah
al-Shia wal-Quran (The Shia and the Quran) is a polemical book written in Arabic by the Pakistani scholar Ihsan Ilahi Zaheer (d. 1407 AH / 1987 CE) examining Imami Shi'i theological positions regarding the preservation and textual integrity of the Quran .
Background and Composition
Prior to compiling the work, Zaheer had authored al-Shia wa-al-Sunnah after reading an Iranian Shi'i treatise by Lutfullah al-Safi titled Ma'a al-Khatib fi Khututihi al-Aridah, which was written to counter Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib's treatise al-Khutut al-Aridah . After completing another study titled al-Shia wa-Ahl al-Bayt, Zaheer received a subsequent booklet by al-Safi titled Sawt al-Haqq wa-Da'wat al-Sidq, which rejected the claim that the Shia believe in the alteration (tahrif) of the Quran and maintained that the text possessed by Muslims today is the authentic revelation .
In response, Zaheer composed al-Shia wal-Quran as an independent monographic study dedicated specifically to the subject of tahrif, intending to demonstrate that Shi'i tradition contains extensive textual reports asserting textual alterations, additions, and omissions in the Quran .
Content and Method
The primary substance of the book consists of extensive quotations and a large reproduced section of the 19th-century work Fasl al-Khitab fi Ithbat Tahrif Kitab Rabb al-Arbab, authored by the Shi'i traditionist Husayn Taqi al-Nuri al-Tabarsi . Zaheer relies directly on al-Tabarsi's compilation of Shi'i narrations and statements from early and late authorities, citing these reports to assert that belief in the alteration of the Quran is rooted in major Imami Shi'i sources .
Scholarly Assessment
In his study Usul Madhhab al-Shia al-Imamiyyah, the contemporary scholar Nasir al-Qaffari noted that most of al-Shia wal-Quran is a verbatim transcription of al-Tabarsi's Fasl al-Khitab without added commentary . Al-Qaffari observed that Zaheer reached the same conclusion as al-Tabarsi and Nimat Allah al-Jazairi, treating any Shi'i denials of tahrif as instances of dissimulation (taqiyyah) . Al-Qaffari critiqued this approach, arguing that academic objectivity required citing the arguments of the Shi'i scholars who rejected tahrif alongside the opposing faction, rather than omitting them entirely .
Publication
The work was published in several editions by Idarat Turjuman al-Sunnah in Lahore, Pakistan, including its fifth edition in 1404 AH (1983 CE) .
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