فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ فَأَنْزَلْنَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رِجْزًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ

"But those who were unjust substituted another word for the one that was set for them. So We sent down upon those who were unjust a scourge from heaven, because they have been acting sinfully." (2:59)

This verse is a continuation of the preceding verse. Allah had commanded the Israelites to keep, while entering the city, repeating the word Qittatun (which indicates repentance for one's sin and the request for pardon). But they replaced this word with another phrase by way of mockery, and started saying, Habbatun fi sha'irah (grain in the midst of barley), or Hintatun (wheat). The punishment which descended on them was plague that wiped out seventy thousand men (Qurtubi). In passing, we may recall a hadith which says that plague is a for the disobedient, and a blessing for the obedient.

Injunctions And Related Considerations

The Israelites were punished for having changed a word ordained by Allah, and substituted a phrase of their own invention, thus distorting the meaning itself. According to the consensus of the Fuqaha' (Muslim jurists), a change in the words of the Holy Qur'an, or of a Hadith, or of a divine commandment which invents or distorts the actual meaning is impermissible.

This should be obvious enough. But there is another question -- is it permissible to change the words in such a way that the meaning does not suffer but remains intact? In his commentary, Imam al-Qurtubi says that in certain texts and in certain kinds of speech the words are as much a part of the intention as the meanings and equally necessary for conveying an idea, and that in such a case it is not permissible to change the words. For example, in the Adhaan (the call for prayers) it is not permissible to employ words other than those which have been laid down for the purpose by the hadith. Similar is the case of the Salah: the different things to be recited in them (like Subhanaka Allahumma, At-Tahiyyat, Qunoot) or the glorification of Allah during the Ruku' (bowing down) and the Sajdah (prostration) -- all these must be said exactly in the words which have been reported in the hadith; substituting other words is not allowed, even if the meaning does not undergo a change.

This rule applies to each and every word of the Holy Qur'an. All the Injunctions with regard to the recitation of the Holy Qur'an strictly pertain to those words alone which Allah has revealed to the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam). According to the hadith, the merit of reciting the Holy Qur'an is so great that for every letter that one reads or recltes one gets the reward which one would get for performing ten good deeds. But if one reads a very accurate translation of the Holy Qur'an or even an Arabic version in which the original words have been replaced by certain other words without injuring the sense, the Shari'ah shall not accept it as a recitation of the Holy Qur'an, and one will not get any reward of recitation for it. For, it is not the meanings alone which constitute the Holy Qur'an; "Qur'an" is the name of meanings inherent in the words revealed by Allah (azza wa jal) to the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) so that the two are inseparable from each other.

It appears from the present verse that Allah had commanded the Israelites to say this particular word, Hittatun, while offering their Taubah (repentance), and hence changing the ordained word was in itself a sin. They went so far as to distort even the meaning, and drew upon themselves the divine punishment.

Now, as for other kinds of speech in which it is the meanings that are really intended and not the words, the masters of the science of hadith and the jurists in general believe that in such places words can be changed provided that the meaning does not suffer but remains intact. Al-Qurtubi (rahmatullahi alaih) has cited Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik and Imam Shafi'ee (rahmatullahi alaihim) as holding the view that it is quite permissible to report a hadrth with regard to its meaning alone provided that the man who reports it should have a perfect knowledge of the Arabic language and also be familiar with the situation to which this particular hadith pertains, so that he should not misinterpret the text or distort the sense. On the other hand, certain masters of the science of hadith do not allow the slightest change in the words of a hadith, and insist that it should be reported exactly in the words in which one has received it.

This, for example, is the view of Mubammad ibn Sirin, Qasim ibn Muhammad etc. Some of them even insist that if in reporting a hadzth a reporter has made a lexical mistake, the man who has heard the hadith from him must, in his own turn, report it in exactly the same words including the mistake, only indicating what the correct word is likely to be. Such scholars cite a hadith in support of their view. It has been reported that the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) advised a man to say this prayer before going to sleep at night: "I have faith in Your Book which You have made to descend, and in Your prophet whom You have sent." The prescribed prayer had the word Nabiyy (Prophet), but the man changed it for Rasool (Messenger). The Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) Instructed him not to make a change, but to say the prescribed word Nabiyy. This shows that it is not permissible to change a singleword in reporting a hadith. Similarly, another hadith says: "May Allah make the man flourish who heard my speech, and then conveyed it exactly as he had heard." This also indicates that it is necessary to report the exact words of a hadith as one has received them.

Most of the jurists and the masters of the science of hadith, however, believe that although it is better to report a hadith as far as possible in exactly the same words as one has heard without making any change intentionally, yet if one cannot recall the exact words, it is also permissible to report the meaning in one's own words, and that the words of the hadith quoted above - "... conveyed it exactly as he had heard" - might also mean that one should report the meaning of a hadith exactly and without any alteration. Obviously, changing the words does not necessarily go against this provision. Imam al-Qurtubi (rahmatullahi alaih) has, in support of his view, pointed out that this very hadith goes to prove that changing words, when necessary, is permissible, for this hadith itself has come down to us in different words in different versions. As for the other hadtth in which the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) has insisted that the word Nabiyy should be recited and not the word Rasool, one might explain it in this way.

The word Nabiyy (prophet) carries the sense of sublimity much more than does the word Rasool, for the latter is employed for any messenger whatsoever, while the former is reserved only for those who are specially chosen by Allah for being directly addressed through revelation (Wahy), and who thus occupy a rank higher than all other men. There is another explanation too. As far as prayers are concerned, the words appointed for the purpose by Allah (azza wa jal) or by the Holy Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wasallam) have a much greater efficacy than any other words can have. (Qurtubi) That is why those who prepare: ta'widh (translated as 'charms' in absence of an exact counterpart) or 'awdhah, or suggest words to pray are very careful in keeping to the authentically reported words without the slightest change.

So, one may say that the prayers which are considered to be very efficacious, should be included in the first category of speech in which not only the meanings but the words also must be carefully safeguarded, for both are equally intended. (Ma'ariful Qur'an)

» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 30th January 2011

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