Journal of Islamic Sciences vol.1 issue.

June 3, 2013

Number of Surahs in the Mushaf of Ibn Masood

Waqar Akbar Cheema

Abstract:
One of the arguments used by Orientalist and
Missionary critics of Islam to cast aspersions
on Quranic preservation is related to the fact
that the beloved companion of the Prophet Ibn
Masood chose not to write three of the 114
surahs in his copy of the Quran. In order to
understand why he made such a choice and if
he considered these surahs part of the Quran,
the evidence that discusses these issues must be
examined. Throughout this presentation, it will
be proved that Ibn Masood did in fact consider
these surahs part of the Quran by the
testimony of the same people who noted that he
did not include them in his mushaf. After
reading the explanations provided herein, there
should be no doubt that Ibn Masoods mushaf
is in no way contradictory to the claimed
impeccable preservation of the Noble Quran
1. Introduction
Some of those who tend to question the
legitimacy of the claim of absolute preservation
of Noble Quran often bring up the issue of
surahs missing from Ibn Masoods (d. 33 AH)
mushaf.

shall first see the reports forming the basis for

the confusion and then probe further to
discover the truth.
2.1 Al-Fatihah
Al-Fatihah means al-fatihah al-kitab (opening
of the Book/Quran). Its status is such an
established one in Islam that no Muslim can be
negligent about it. It is recited multiple times in
every salah (prayer) five times a day.
2.1.1 Ibn Masood did recognize it as part of
the Quran
Al-Fatihahs status as a part of the Quran is
established from the Quran itself. In Surah alHijr it is said:

We have given you the seven oft-repeated
verses and the glorious Quran.2
Here seven oft-repeated verses refers to
Surah al-Fatihah.

2. Surahs missing in Ibn Masoods mushaf

Quoting Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Ibn adh-Dhurays,

Ibn al-Munzar and Ibn Mardwiyah, as-Suyuti
(d. 911 AH) gives us the following narration:

It is said that Ibn Masoods mushaf (codex)

did not have three surahs: al-Fatihah and almuawwazatayn (al-Falaq and al-Nas), i.e. nos.
1, 113 and 114.1

: { } :

We shall deal the issue of al-Fatihah and almuawwazatayn separately. For each case we

It is narrated from Ibn Masood, regarding

the word of Allah, We have given you the

as-Suyuti, al-Ittiqan fi Uloom al-Quran,Vol.1, 270

Quran 15: 87

Number of Surahs in the Mushaf of Ibn Masood

seven oft-repeated verses; he said, [It is]

Fatihah al-Kitab.3
This plainly confirms that the al-Fatihah was
indeed a part of the Quran in the view of Ibn
Masood just like the rest of Muslims.
2.1.2 Why did Ibn Masood not write it in his
mushaf?
If Ibn Masood did recognize al-Fatihah a part
of the Quran, why did he not write it in his
mushaf? He himself solves the riddle.
In a narration given by Abu Bakr al-Anbari
(d.304 AH), it is stated;

:
: . :

:
Abdullah bin Masood was asked as to why
he did not write al-Fatihah in his mushaf. He
replied, If I were to write I would write it
before every surah. Abu Bakr al-Anbari
explains this saying every rakaah (in
prayers) starts with al-Fatihah and then
another surah is recited. It is as if Ibn
Masood said, I have dropped it for the sake
of brevity and I have trusted its preservation
by Muslims (collectively).4
Thus we learn, if he did not write a certain
thing in his mushaf it does not mean it was not
part of the Quran to his understanding. This is
a vital point I will ask the readers to bear in
mind.

The evidence that Ibn Masood did consider almuawwazatayn a part of the Quran is too
strong. Consider the following points:
1- The foremost medium of preservation of the
Noble Quran has always been memory of the
Muslim masses. Almighty Allah said to the
blessed Prophet5:

I have revealed to you a Book that cannot
be washed away with water.6
Muslims experts of qiraat (recitals) have
always preserved the unbroken chain of
authorities of back to the blessed Prophet. The
mutawatir qiraats are the ultimate and greatest
authority on the words of the Noble Quran.
2- All the mutawatir qiraats do include almuawwazatayn (and certainly al-Fatihah as
well). And four of the mutawatir qiraats can
be traced back to the blessed Prophet through
Abdullah ibn Masood. Here I briefly mention
the mutawatir qiraats through Ibn Masood.
i- Qirat of Aasim: Its chain reaches back to
the blessed Prophet through Zirr through Ibn
Masood.
Please note that the same Aasim (d.128 AH)
and Zirr (d. 83 AH) who are the narrators of the
reports in Musnad Ahmad, etc. (given below)
showing Ibn Masood did not write the two
surahs in his mushaf are the narrators of a
mutawatir qiraat from Ibn Masood in which
they did recite the two surahs on his authority.7

2.2 Al-Muawwazatayn (Surahs 113 & 114)

5

2.2.1 Ibn Masood did recognize

muawwazatayn as part of the Quran

as-Suyuti, Durr al-Manthur fi Tafsir bil-Mathoor,

Vol.5, 94
4
al-Qurtubi, al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Quran,Vol.1, 115

al-

May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

standard salutation that should be said by Muslims after
uttering, reading or hearing the name of Prophet
Muhammad. For the purpose of writing, this salutation
will not be included after each instance of the name;
however the reader must say it.
6
Muslim bin Hajjaj, as-Sahih, Hadith 7207 (63-2865)
7
al-Jazri, Shams ad-Din, an-Nashr fi Qiraat al-Ashr,
Vol.1, 155

Journal of Islamic Sciences

ii- Qirat of Hamza: Its chain reaches the

blessed Prophet through Ibn Masood.8
iii- Qirat of al-Kisai: Its chain back to the
Prophet also involves Ibn Masood.9
iv- Qirat of Khalaf: It also rests on Ibn
Masoods authority.10
These mutawatir qiraats certainly include almuawazzatayn and al-Fatihah and thus leave no
doubt that Ibn Masood recognized and recited
them as Quran.
Also we must remember;

2.2.2 Reality of the opposing narrations

Now lets scratch the details of the opposing
narrations and see as to what they actually
suggest and where the truth lies.
a- Reports from Aasim and Zirr
Aasim narrates from Zirr, he told Ubayy (d. 32
AH) that;

Ibn Masood did not write
muawwazatayn in his mushaf.13

al-

Abdah and Aasim narrate from Zirr, he said:

By the consensus (ijma) of the ummah the

chains of ten qura (reciters) are strongest of
all the chains.11

: :

The narrations that hint otherwise will be dealt

with shortly.

I told Ubayy, your brother Ibn Masood

erases them (surah 113 & 114) from his
mushaf, and he did not object.14

3. Quoting from ad-Daylami, Ali al-Muttaqi

(d. 975 AH), in his gigantic Hadith collection,
records a very interesting narration.

:

Narrated Ibn Masood: Excessively recite
two surahs. Allah will make you reach
higher ranks in the Hereafter because of
them. They are al-muawwazatayn (i.e. alFalaq and an-Nas/nos. 113 & 114)12
Here, in most explicit terms, Ibn Masood
refers to al-muawwazatayn as two surahs,
showing he did believe in their divine origin
and Quranic authority.
8

Ibid., Vol.1, 165

Ibid., Vol.1, 172
10
Ibid., Vol.1, 185
11
al-Ansari, Muhammad bin Nizam ad-Din, Fawatih alRahmout fi Sharh Musallam at-Thabut, Vol.2, 12
12
Ali al-Muttaqi, Kanzul Ummal, Hadith 2743

Note the following points:

1- These reports say Ibn Masood did not write
the two surahs in his mushaf. Discussing the
case of al-Fatihah above we concluded not
writing in the mushaf is not the same as
refusing to accept as part of the Quran.
2- We learn that even after being told of Ibn
Masoods action, Ubayy did not object.
While it has always been an established fact in
the House of Islam that rejecting even a single
verse makes one a disbeliever and even liable
to capital punishment, it is impossible that
Ubayy would not react had he known Ibn
Masood to altogether reject two surahs.
Perhaps he knew Ibn Masood did not refuse to
accept them a part of Quran even though he
did not write them.

13
14

Ahmad bin Hanbal, al-Musnad, Hadith 21186

Ibid. Hadith 21189

Number of Surahs in the Mushaf of Ibn Masood

10

3- As-Suyuti quotes Abu Bakr al-Baqilani (d.

406 A.H.) who said:

.


.
It is not proved from him that these two
surahs are not from the Quran. He erased
them and dropped them from his mushaf
refusing to put them into writing, not
rejecting them as part of the Quran. It was
like this because to him nothing was to be
written in the mushaf except what was
commanded by the Prophet - peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him - and he did
not find them written nor heard an
instruction in this regard.15
4- With the above points in mind, recall that
Aasim and Zirr themselves recited almuawwazatayn along with the rest of the
Quran on Ibn Masoods authority. With the
same people reciting the surahs on his authority
and then reporting him not to write them in his
mushaf, the above mentioned explanation
sounds the best.
b- Report from Abdur-Rahman bin Yazid

" :
" :
Abdur-Rahman bin Yazid related: Ibn
Masood erased al-muawwazatayn from his
mushaf and said they were not part of the
Quran.16
The same is reported in Mujam al-Kabir17 of
at-Tabarani (d. 360 AH).

1- This report cannot be true for it is a solitary

report narrated only through Abdur-Rahman
bin Yazid. A solitary report that contradicts the
evidence based on mutawatir18 reports cannot
serve as a proof to any effect.
2- If one says that Ibn Hajr, al-Haithmi, etc.
have clearly graded its isnad (chain of
narrators) as authentic, then that person needs
to know that even if an isnad is authentic, a
report that contradicts overwhelmingly strong
evidence is known as muallal (defective).
Carefully read the definition of a defective
(muallal) hadith given by Ibn as-Salah (d. 643
A.H.) in his Magnus Opus Kitab Marifat
anwa ilm al-Hadith translated under the title
An Introduction to the Science of Hadith:
A defective hadith is one in which a defect
impugning its soundness is detected,
although it outwardly appears to be free of
the defect. That may apply to an isnad made
up of reliable transmitters which outwardly
seems to fulfill the conditions of soundness.
Someone being alone in transmitting the
hadith as well as others contradicting him
aid in catching the defect.19
3- Furthermore, this narration from AbdurRahman bin Yazid is shaadh (anomalous),
which is not acceptable. Ibn as-Salah quotes its
definition from ash-Shafii, who said:
the anomalous hadith is the one which a
reliable transmitter relates and which is in
conflict with what other people relate.20
Evidently it runs in direct contradiction to what
is known through mutawatir qiraats, as
mentioned above. Therefore it is rejected as
anomalous.
3. Ibn Masoods beliefs
18

15

al-Suyuti, al-Ittiqan, Vol.1, 271

Ahmad bin Hanbal, al-Musnad, Hadith 21188
17
at-Tabarani, Abu al-Qasim Suleman bin Ahmad,
Mujam al-Kabir, Hadith 9150
16

i.e. something narrated by such a large no. of people of

each generation that their agreement on falsehood or
mistake is well beyond reasonable doubt.
19
Ibn as-Salah, An Introduction to the Science of Hadith,
67
20
Ibid., 57

Journal of Islamic Sciences

Before quoting the scholars on the essence of

the whole issue, let me share further proofs that
it is inconceivable to have Ibn Masood
refusing to accept these surahs as part of the
Quran.

If this was his attitude in normal issues of

jurisprudence, what would he have done with
an issue about Quran? He has even said:

1- We know the report telling us that students

of Ibn Masood brought the fact of him not
writing the surahs in his mushaf to the notice of
other Companions. It shows the issue was
discussed. And had he actually not accepted the
surahs as part of the Quran, other Companions
would have certainly corrected him.

One who rejected a single letter of the

Quran, he (is like the one who) rejected the
whole of it.22

2- Other reports tell us that Ibn Masood would

discuss things with other Companions and
would not fail to revise his opinion and admit
his mistake, whenever it came to it.
We read in the al-Muwatta of Malik (d. 179
AH):

. .

. .
.
.
When Abdullah ibn Masood was in Kufa,
he was asked for an opinion about marrying
the mother after marrying the daughter
when the marriage with the daughter had
not been consummated. He permitted it.
When Ibn Masood came to Madinah, he
asked about it and was told that it was not as
he had said, and that this condition referred
to foster-mothers. Ibn Masood returned to
Kufa, and he had just reached his dwelling
when the man who had asked him for the
opinion came to visit and he ordered him to
separate from his wife.21

3- How is it that his students who discussed the

matter with other Companions would not
mention this to him and he would then not seek
to verify it, while we know of his cautiousness
on this issue, as he himself reports:

:
:
We differed about a surah. We said [and
differed if] it has thirty-five verses or thirty
six verses. So we went to the Messenger of
Allah may the peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him [to clarify the matter]23
If he would rush to the blessed Prophet on
differing about a single verse to clarify the
matter, how can one assume he would not
consult the Companions about three complete
surahs and that he would not have been
corrected by other Companions?
4. What the scholars say?
In the end lets have a look at what various
scholars said on this issue.
An-Nawawi (d. 676 A.H.) said:

22
21

Malik bin Ans, al-Muwatta, Hadith 1951

23

Abdur-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, Hadith 15946

Ahmad bin Hanbal, al-Musnad, Hadith 832

11

Number of Surahs in the Mushaf of Ibn Masood

12

The Muslims have all agreed that almuawwazatayn and al-Fatihah are part of
the Quran and whoever denies this becomes
a disbeliever. And whatever is quoted from
Ibn Masood in this regard is not true.24
Abu Hafs Ibn Adil al-Hanbali (d. 775 A.H.)
wrote:

The report of this opinion from Ibn
Masood is a lie and falsehood.25
Muhammad bin Nizam ad-Din al-Ansari (d.
1225 A.H.) said:

Attributing
the
rejection
of
almuawwazatayn as part of the Quran to Ibn
Masood is a grave mistake. And whoever
attributed such a thing to him, his isnad is
not reliable compared to the isnad which
have been accepted collectively by all the
scholars - in fact the whole Ummah. This
highlights that attribution of this rejection to
Ibn Masood is false.26
Al-Khifaji (d. 1069 A.H.) wrote in his notes to
al-Baydhawis commentary:

And what is reported from Ibn Masood

that al-Fatihah and al-muawwazatayn are
not from Quran has no basis.27
Other scholars who have vehemently rejected
the notion include, Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH),28
Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi (d. 543 AH),29
Fakhruddin ar-Razi (d. 606 AH),30 Zahid bin
Hassan al-Kawthari (d. 1371 AH).31
5. Summary & Conclusion
1- Ibn Masood did recite al-Fatihah and almuawwazatayn in Quran as proved from
rigorous evidence of four established qiraats
whose chains of authorities (isnad) are the
strongest chains unanimously accepted by the
ummah.
2- Ibn Masood categorically identified oftrepeated seven verses mentioned in Quran
15:87 as al-fatihah al-kitab (Opening Surah
of the Book).
3- He did not write al-Fatihah in his mushaf but
gave his reason and the reason was not refusal
or doubting its status as a part of the Quran.
This proves him not writing some verses is not
an evidence that he doubted their position
within the Quran.
4- Ibn Masood mentioned the virtues of two
surahs (al-muazzatayn), thus refuting the false
notions attributed to him.
5- There are narrations from Aasim and Zirr
that Ibn Masood did not write al-muazzatayn
in his mushaf. The same people (along with
other people) used to recite the two surahs with
the rest of Quran on Ibn Masoods authority.
So either the narrations are a mistake or just
like al-Fatihah, Ibn Masood had some other

27

24

al-Suyuti, al-Ittiqan, Vol.1, 271

al-Hanbali, Ibn Adil, al-Bab fi Uloom al-Kitab,
Vol.1, 249
26
al-Ansari, Muhammad bin Nizam ad-Din, Fawatih alRahmout fi Sharh Musallam at-Thabut, Vol.2, 12
25

al-Khifaji,Inaya al-Qadhi wa Kifaya ar-Razi ala

Tafsir al-Baydhawi, Vol.1, 29
28
Ibn Hazm, al-Muhalla (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr) Vol.1, 32
29
al-Suyuti, al-Ittiqan, Vol.1, 271
30
Ar-Razi, Fakhr ad-Din, Mafatih al-Ghayb, Vol.1, 190
31
al-Kawthari, Zahid bin Hassan, Maqalat al-Kawthari,
34-35

Journal of Islamic Sciences

reason for not writing the two surahs in his

mushaf.

12. Muslim bin Hajjaj, as-Sahih, Translated

6- The narration that says he categorically

denied their being a part of the Quran is
defective (muallal) and strange (shaadh)
because it is a solitary report, narrated only the
authority of Abdur-Rahman bin Yazid, and
contradicts the strongest and multiple isnads.

13. al-Qurtubi, Shams ad-Din, al-Jami alAhkam al-Quran (Cairo: Dar al-Kutab
al-Misriyah, 1964)
14. ar-Razi, Fakhr ad-Din Abu Abdullah,
Mafatih al-Ghayb (Beirut, Dar alAhuya al-Turath al-Arabi)
15. as-Suyuti, Jalal ad-Din, al-Ittiqan fi
Uloom al-Quran (Cairo: al-Haiya alMisriya, 1974)
16. as-Suyuti, Jalal ad-Din, Durr alManthur fi Tafsir bil-Mathoor (Beirut:
Dar al-Fikr)
17. at-Tabarani, Abu al-Qasim Suleman bin
Ahmad, Mujam al-Kabir, (Cairo:
Maktaba Ibn Taymiyya, 1994)

The above details make it absolutely clear that

Ibn Masood did not in any way differ with the
other companions and the ummah as a whole
on the number of surahs in the Noble Quran
the Last Testament of God to humanity.
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by Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Riyadh: Maktaba

Dar-us-Salam)

13