Why are Muslim Scholars MOVING THE GOALPOSTS?

It is clear that all Muslims everywhere for the past 1300 years (note: not 1400 years) have believed that the Qur'an is completely preserved from any corruption, deletion, or any changes. Why, because the Qur'an stipulates that no one can change the 'Word of God' (Surahs 10:15, and 18:27), and that Allah will preserve and guard the Qur'an (Surah 15:9).

And this has also been the same narrative for two of the world's leading Muslim Scholars, Dr Shabir Ally and Dr Yasir Qadhi for as long as they have been teaching...until these past two months.

Yasir Qadhi has said numerous times that the Qur'an is the same today..."word for word, and letter for letter" as the Qur'an from the time of Muhammad and Uthman.

Shabir Ally has always maintained that the oldest Qur'anic manuscripts are exactly the same as the Hafs text which we use today.

Now, however, both scholars seem to be changing their narratives. They have both admitted within the past few weeks that there are variants in the Qur'an, and that the Qur'an used in North Africa has words and letters which are different from the Hafs Qur'an.

Dr Ally admitted in an interview which was just posted yesterday (July 7th) that there were different synonyms used in different dialectical Qur'ans, that the word order was changed in certain Qur'ans, and that different writings, even additions to the text can be found in the earliest manuscripts.

His only caveat was that these different words, letters, writings and additions didn't change any doctrines, beliefs or practices.

Even his daughter, Dr Saffiyah asked him how convincing his arguments were? To which he replied that they were for Muslims, but possibly not for secular scholars, which is certainly very true.

In the 24 years that I've known and engaged with Dr Ally, I've never heard him say what he is saying today.

Indeed, it seems that he and Dr Qadhi are now changing the goalposts concerning just how preserved and guarded their Qur'an really is.

© Pfander Centre for Apologetics - US, 2020
(34,180) (Music: "small adventure", by Rafael Krux (from filmmusic-io - License CC BY)