Wesley Huff

in the succession after Muhammad, he's the person who starts the process of kind of bringing together all of these recitations of the Quran. And then that's finalized under a later caliph by the name of Uthman. And Uthman, I... I think when they come to Abu Bakr, the statement literally that they say is, save us before we differ like the Christians and the Jews before us.

in the succession after Muhammad, he's the person who starts the process of kind of bringing together all of these recitations of the Quran. And then that's finalized under a later caliph by the name of Uthman. And Uthman, I... I think when they come to Abu Bakr, the statement literally that they say is, save us before we differ like the Christians and the Jews before us.

And that they saw that there were some things that the Christians and the Jews were disagreeing on between their written texts, and they didn't want that to happen with the Quran. And so there's a period of time under Uthman where it's called the Uthmanic revision, where he gathers all of these...

And that they saw that there were some things that the Christians and the Jews were disagreeing on between their written texts, and they didn't want that to happen with the Quran. And so there's a period of time under Uthman where it's called the Uthmanic revision, where he gathers all of these...

documents together, all of these different recitations, and he codifies it into one document, and he destroys all of the differing ones. So in that sense, you do have a standardized version. But in terms of the history of how texts are produced and disseminated, it's what's called a controlled transmission. And it's essentially a government oversight of it, right?

documents together, all of these different recitations, and he codifies it into one document, and he destroys all of the differing ones. So in that sense, you do have a standardized version. But in terms of the history of how texts are produced and disseminated, it's what's called a controlled transmission. And it's essentially a government oversight of it, right?

So the great thing about having only one version is that you don't have any disagreements, but if you only have one version, you have to trust that the guy who compiled that one version got it right.

So the great thing about having only one version is that you don't have any disagreements, but if you only have one version, you have to trust that the guy who compiled that one version got it right.

And there were actually companions of Muhammad within the oral or within the traditional sources of Islamic literature called the Hadith that talk about the fact that there were particular individuals who were very close to Muhammad during his lifetime who did not want to give their...

And there were actually companions of Muhammad within the oral or within the traditional sources of Islamic literature called the Hadith that talk about the fact that there were particular individuals who were very close to Muhammad during his lifetime who did not want to give their...

Quran kind of versions to Uthman because they knew that theirs was going to differ with Uthman's and he would probably destroy it. And so you have these, these are not, I mean, controversial in the sense that these are part of the traditional Islamic sources in the Hadith.

Quran kind of versions to Uthman because they knew that theirs was going to differ with Uthman's and he would probably destroy it. And so you have these, these are not, I mean, controversial in the sense that these are part of the traditional Islamic sources in the Hadith.

But I think within the history of how the Quran gets put together, you see something very different than what you see in the Bible.

But I think within the history of how the Quran gets put together, you see something very different than what you see in the Bible.

And so when you're reading it, especially if what I did, you know, open up the front and then read all the way through, there are parts of the Quran that are confusing because they don't necessarily follow what would be considered a like overly rational order in terms of the flow of the text, right? So I open it up. I read it.

And so when you're reading it, especially if what I did, you know, open up the front and then read all the way through, there are parts of the Quran that are confusing because they don't necessarily follow what would be considered a like overly rational order in terms of the flow of the text, right? So I open it up. I read it.

Some things sound familiar in some ways in that it's talking about Moses and Noah and even, you know, Jesus, Mary are in there. But there are components of it that just they're so far from what the biblical narrative is that it just seems off.

Some things sound familiar in some ways in that it's talking about Moses and Noah and even, you know, Jesus, Mary are in there. But there are components of it that just they're so far from what the biblical narrative is that it just seems off.

That's off? Well, the stories are very different a lot of the time. So what I think we can derive from the historical record is basically that if you take the traditional Islamic narrative, Muhammad was illiterate. So he's not said to have been a learned individual. And so he is, if we take the traditional narrative once again, he's a caravaner in 7th century Arabia.

That's off? Well, the stories are very different a lot of the time. So what I think we can derive from the historical record is basically that if you take the traditional Islamic narrative, Muhammad was illiterate. So he's not said to have been a learned individual. And so he is, if we take the traditional narrative once again, he's a caravaner in 7th century Arabia.