Hazrat Shaykh Ibn Babway said that our belief about the measure of the Qur’an was that the Book, which was revealed to the Prophet by God was the same as that which was read by the people today in normal binding. For the people of Sunni faith, it has one hundred and fourteen Suras, but according to Imamia faith the numbers of Suras were one hundred and twelve, since we count Surah Al-Dhuha and Surah Alam Nashra as one Surah and Surah La Ilaf and Surah Alum Tara Kaifa as one Surah. In this way, the total measure of the Qur’an remained the same between all Muslims.

If any person claimed that we believe in a Qur’an, which had more material, then such a person was a liar. Those of our narrations that favoured the reading of one complete Surah of the Qur’an equivalent to the blessing of completing the whole Qur’an, and the permission of reading two Suras in one Rakat of non-obligatory prayers, against the recitation of two Suras in one Rakat of the obligatory prayers (we cannot recite incomplete Suras in any Rakat of obligatory prayers), was a proof of our point of view that we conformed to the same measure of the Qur’an, which was held by ordinary people.

Similarly, the instructions that reading of the Qur’an should not be completed in one night, or it should not be completed in less than three days also proved our point of view. However, we had the belief that several Wahy were sent to the Prophet outside the revelation of Qur’an, and if these were included with the present Qur’an then its Verses would be seventeen thousand in number, (let me quote some examples). Just as Gabriel had said to the Prophet, “God commands you to greet His creatures in a kind and benevolent manner, the way He treats you.”

Gabriel had conveyed at other occasions:

“Beware of the people’s jealousy and animosity.”

“Live as long as you want but you have to die, enjoy whatever you desire but you have to part with it, do whatever you want but you have to reap its fruit.”

“The late-night prayer is an act of elegance for a believer, and not to harm people is the sign of greatness and respect.”

The Prophet said that Gabriel always reminded him to brush his teeth and while he (the Prophet), feared that (due to excessive brushing) his teeth might fall.

Similarly, Gabriel had reminded him to take care of his neighbours in a way that he thought they might become shareholder in his legacy.

Gabriel was prompting him so much about women that he felt as if divorcing a woman was not right. Similarly, Gabriel was persuading him to take care of the slaves so much that he thought that their period of freedom might be introduced and they would be free men automatically.

The Prophet said after the battle of trenches that Gabriel had approached him and told him that God had commanded him to offer his afternoon prayer among the tribe of Bani Qoraiza.

Similarly, God had instructed him to be kind and compassionate to people, in a way that was very similar to the obligatory duties of the religion.

The Prophet said that we, the Prophets had been instructed by God to speak to people keeping their intellectual limits in mind.

The Prophet said that once Gabriel came to him with a message that made his eyes shine with pleasure, the message was that Ali was the leader of all believers and of the radiant-faced people (all believers on the Day of Judgement would be radiant-faced irrespective of their skin colour in the world).

Once Gabriel came to him and said that God had performed the Nikah ceremony of Fatimah with Ali and made His Angels a witness to this rite, therefore, he should also perform the same service on the Earth, making best of the people of his Ummah as the witness for this act.

Anyhow, there were many of such traditions, which were sent to the Prophet through Wahy, but those could not be called Qur’an, because if it were so, they should not be separated from the Qur’an.

When Amir Al-Mu’minin (‘a) completed the collection of Qur’an and presented it to the people by saying, “It is the book of God and it is in the same form in which it has been revealed to the Prophet, and it has no additions or deletions.” The people (in authority) said that they did not require that book, since they had a similar book with them as it was in his hands. Amir Al-Mu’minin (‘a) returned from there saying,

فَنَبَذُوهُ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ وَاشْتَرَوْا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ۖ

“But they flung it behind their backs and bought therewith a little gain. Verily evil is that which they have gained thereby” (3:187).

Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (‘a) said that the Qur’an was unique, it had been sent by the only God to his Last Messenger (who was also unique), but a difference in (dialect) had been created due to its narrators, such as the Verses containing the subjects like these:

لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

“If thou ascribe a partner to Allah thy work will fail and thou indeed will be among the losers!” (39:65).

وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“But if they had set up (for worship) aught beside Him, (all) that they did would have been vain” (6:88).

Or:

‏ لِّيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ

“That Allah may forgive thee of thy sin that which is past and that which is to come…” (48:2).

Or:

وَلَوْلَا أَن ثَبَّتْنَاكَ لَقَدْ كِدتَّ تَرْكَنُ إِلَيْهِمْ شَيْئًا قَلِيلًا

“And had We not given thee strength, thou wouldst nearly have inclined to them a little” (17:74).

إِذًا لَّأَذَقْنَاكَ ضِعْفَ الْحَيَاةِ وَضِعْفَ الْمَمَاتِ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُ لَكَ عَلَيْنَا نَصِيرًا

“In that case We should have made thee taste an equal portion (of punishment) in this life, and an equal portion in death: and moreover, thou wouldst have found none to help thee against Us” (17:75).

We believed that all such Verses of the Qur’an, were in line with the Arabic language proverbs, wherein the real addressees were the followers of the Prophet but the Prophet was addressed to highlight the significance of those subjects. For all Qur’anic Verses that start with “Ao” or “Ya”, its delegate had the right to adopt whatever meanings that were suitable for him e.g. in repayment for breaking an oath, the Qur’anic Verse stated:

فَكَفَّارَتُهُ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَاكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ

“…The expiation thereof is the feeding of ten of the needy with the average of that wherewith ye feed your own folk, or the clothing of them, or the liberation of a slave” (5:89).

Wherever in the Qur’an the phrase

“Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu”1

had appeared, Torah had used “Ya aiyyuha al-masakeen” for the same. In Qur’anic context, the beneficiary of this title was Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib (‘a), the leader of the faithful, who was the seniormost individual in Islam.

Those Verses that pointed towards the Paradise were for the true followers of the Prophets and the Shi’as of Ahl al-Bayt, and those that promised Hell were for the enemies of the Prophet and his progeny. Those Qur’anic Verses that praised or admonished the people of the earlier Ummah should also be considered for the benefit of this Ummah.

There was no Prophet or a Messenger that could be compared to Muhammad (S) in stature and neither was there any legatee (of other prophets) who could be compared to the legatees of Prophet Muhammad (S), nor any Ummah that could be weighed against the Ummah of the Prophet. The real Ummah of the Prophet were his true followers and not those who battled against him, and there was none worst among the human beings who was the enemy of the Prophet and his progeny.

• 1. The phrase "يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا" (Ya ayyuha alladhina amanu) appears 89 times in the Holy Quran:
  2:104; 2:153; 2:172; 2:178; 2:183; 2:208; 2:254; 2:264; 2:267; 2:278; 2:282; 3:100; 3:102; 3:118; 3:130; 3:149; 3:156; 3:200; 4:19; 4:29; 4:43; 4:59; 4:71; 4:94; 4:135; 4:136; 4:144; 5:1; 5:2; 5:6; 5:8; 5:11; 5:35; 5:51; 5:54; 5:57; 5:87; 5:90; 5:94; 5:95; 5:101; 5:105; 5:106; 8:15; 8:20; 8:24; 8:27; 8:29; 8:45; 9:23; 9:28; 9:34; 9:38; 9:119; 9:123; 22:77; 24:21; 24:27; 24:58; 33:9; 33:41; 33:49; 33:53; 33:56; 33:69; 33:70; 47:7; 47:33; 49:1; 49:2; 49:6; 49:11; 49:12; 57:28; 58:9; 58:11; 58:12; 59:18; 60:1; 60:10; 60:13; 61:2; 61:10; 61:14; 62:9; 63:9; 64:14; 66:6; 66:8.