An Incident from the Court of Mamun

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah (the Glorious and Exalted) says, ‘Whoever is kept from beseeching Me for My blessings because he is engaged in the recitation of the Quran (will be one to whom) I give more than what I give to those who beseech Me.’ The superiority of the words of Allah over all other words is like the superiority of Allah over His creations.” [Tirmidhi]

Imam Al-Qurtubi authentically reported an event from the court of Abbasi Khalifah Al-Ma’mun. Al-Ma’mun was used to patronizing debates on intellectual issues in his court where all scholars were welcome. It so happened that a Jew came to attend one of these debates. By his looks, dress and manners, he seemed to be an elegant person. Then, his address during the debate was also eloquent and intellectually bright.

When the meeting was over, Ma’mun called for him and asked him if he were an Israelite, which he confirmed. Ma’mun asked him to become a Muslim in which case he could hope to have the best possible treatment from him. But the man said that he was not willing to leave the religion of his forefathers. The matter ended there and the person went away.

After a year, the same person returned as a Muslim and made a very distinct contribution in the court on the subject of Islamic jurisprudence. After the session was over, Ma’mun called for him and asked him if he was the same person who had come the year before. He confirmed that he was. Ma’mun asked: “At that time you had refused to accept Islam. Tell me what made you accept it.”

He replied: “When I went back from here, I decided to do some research on contemporary religions. I am a scribe. I write books and sell them. They fetch good prices. This time I wanted to conduct a test. First, I calligraphed three manuscripts of the Torah in which I made some additions and deletions of my own. I took these manuscripts to the synagogue. The Jews found them interesting and bought them.

“Then, I did the same things with the Injeel. I calligraphed three manuscripts, complete with my additions and deletions, and took them to the church where the Christians were pleased with these manuscripts and bought them from me.

“After that, I tried the same thing with the Qur’an. I calligraphed three good looking manuscripts of the Qur’an, of course with the usual additions and deletions of my own. But when I went out to sell them, I faced a problem. Every buyer I went to would take the manuscript, look into it to determine if it was correct or not, and when he would notice additions or deletions made into it, would quietly return the manuscript to me. From this episode, I learnt my lesson that this Book is protected, and protected by Allah Ta’ala Himself. Therefore, I embraced Islam.”

Qadi Yahya ibn Aktham, the narrator of this event, says that he had the good fortune of performing his Hajj that same year. There he met Sufyan ibn Uyainah to whom he related this event. Sufyan said: “Surely, this is how it should be because this is confirmed by the Qur’an.” Yahya ibn Aktham asked about the Ayah he had in mind. Sufyan replied that when the glorious Qur’an mentions the Torah it says: “…they (the Jews) were ordained to protect the Book of Allah” [Surah al-Ma’ida, Ayat 44] while regarding the Quran it says: “and We are there to protect it.” [Surah al-Hijr, Ayat 9]

When the Jews and Christians did not fulfill their duty of protecting their scriptures they were lost through distortions and alterations. This is contrary to the case of the Quran which Allah Ta’ala has Himself undertaken the protection of. Therefore, the thousands of efforts made by its enemies could not result in a change of a single dot or case mark in the Quran.

Today, over fourteen hundred years have passed since the blessed age of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam), yet the continuous arrangement of memorizing the Holy Qur’an all over the world stands as firmly established as it ever was. In every period of time, there are millions of blessed Muslims, old and young, male and female, in whose hearts and minds the Holy Qur’an lives protected. The person who memorizes the Quran and retains it to his death is one who has been granted a share in this undertaking of Allah’s.