Page:William Goldsack-The Qurān in Islām (1906).djvu/34

 Rh "” "Two lights,” by which Muhammad and ʿAli are meant. The reader may find this remarkable Sūra quoted in full in pages 11–13 of the book “Tahqiq-al-Imān.” It is most probable that this Sūra was present in ʿAli’s copy of the Qurān; but unfortunately that is no longer available. The Shiahs, however, believe that when Al Māhdi, the last Imām, appears, the complete Qurān will once again be given to the world.

Any study of the traditions makes it clear that, in the time of Muhammad, the Qurān was very much larger than it is to-day. Thus a tradition of Abi-Abdulla recorded by Hasham-ibn-Shālam relates that,

“There were 17,000 verses in that Qurān which Gabriel delivered to Muhammad, upon whom be blessing and peace.” But according to Baizāwi the present Qurān only contains 6,264 verses; so that we learn from this important tradition, which is supported by others to the same effect, that the present Qurān is only about two-thirds the size of the original volume!

In another tradition it is recorded that,

"Muhammad-ibn-Nasar heard from him (Abi-Abdulla). He said, In Sūra Lam Yakin there were (once) the names of seventy Quraish, and the names of their fathers.” A search reveals the fact that this list of names has disappeared absolutely from the present copy of the Qurān. The obvious explanation is that they formed a part of that large portion of the Qurān which has been lost, and which is referred to in the tradition quoted above.