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How many times has the Quran been rewritten
Executive summary
Scholars and believers disagree about whether the Qur’an has been “rewritten.” Traditional Islamic accounts say the text was fixed early and preserved both in memorized chains and in a standard written codex; many Muslim defenders point to continuous memorization (huffādh) and early manuscript evidence as proof [1] [2] [3]. Revisionist and critical scholars have argued for later stages of textual development and changes in orthography or readings — debates that intensified in the 1970s and persist in academic literature [3] [4].
1. Early Islamic claim: a single fixed text preserved by memorization and copies
Classical Muslim sources and apologetic accounts assert that the Qur’an was collected soon after the Prophet’s death, transmitted by thousands of memorisers (huffādh), and written down into an authoritative text whose chain of memorized transmission never broke; proponents cite this double transmission (oral chains and early written copies) to argue against substantive changes [1] [2]. These sources present preservation as both communal practice and doctrine, and they treat the Qur’an as “unchanging and unchangeable” in belief-led defenses [5] [1].
2. The Uthmanic codex and what “rewrite” can mean
Historical summaries note a widely circulated narrative that Caliph ʿUthmān commissioned a standardized recension to unify divergent readings and copies; scholars debate the scope of that recension — whether it eliminated small orthographic variants and dialectal readings or entailed larger “rewriting.” Modern mainstream scholarship tends to accept an early canonization nearer the mid‑7th century but allows for variation in readings and orthography in early manuscripts [3]. Some historians and journalists have described orthographic reforms (e.g., marking vowels/diacritics later) as significant editorial acts in the text’s written history [6] [3].
3. Revisionist scholarship: challenges and pushback
From the 1970s a revisionist school applied source-critical methods (archaeology, epigraphy, manuscript studies) to question a straightforward early canonical date and to propose that the Qur’an’s final textual shape may have solidified later in the seventh century; this sparked substantial debate in the field [3]. The revisionist view provoked rejoinders from scholars supportive of an earlier Uthmanic canon; with discoveries of early manuscripts that align with a Uthmanic standard, some historians argue the most radical revisionist positions have become “untenable,” though disagreement continues [3].
4. Manuscripts and material evidence: partial agreement, persistent questions
Discoveries such as the Ṣanʿāʾ and Birmingham fragments, radiocarbon-dated to the seventh century, show that substantial portions of the Qur’anic text go back to the early Islamic period; researchers note that many early manuscripts conform broadly to the later standard, but they also reveal orthographic variants and different readings that invite technical textual study [3]. Reporting describes those finds as undercutting the most radical claims that the Qur’an was substantially rewritten late, while still leaving room for scholarly debate about the process of transmission [3].
5. What “rewritten” typically refers to in public debates
In popular and polemical usage, “rewritten” can mean very different things: deliberate doctrinal alteration, later orthographic and diacritical additions, redaction of variant recitations, or modern editorial changes in print editions. Critics and skeptics often emphasize apparent stylistic shifts or contradictions to argue for post‑revelation revision; defenders counter that observed differences reflect orthography, recitational variants, or later explanatory devices rather than wholesale corruption [4] [5].
6. Contemporary perspectives and the practical takeaways
Apologists, educational sites and many Muslim scholars insist the Qur’an has not been changed and emphasize continuous memorization and early codices as evidence [1] [2]. Academic historians acknowledge early canonization but continue to explore manuscript variation, orthographic development, and the timing of standardization; they differ on how much those technical changes should be labeled “rewriting” [3] [4]. Journalistic accounts note the sensitivity of the topic and that scholarly work has sometimes provoked strong reactions in religious communities [6].
Limitations and next steps
Available sources here outline the major positions and cite manuscript finds and historiographical debates, but they do not quantify “how many times” the Qur’an was rewritten as a single number. If you want a more granular timeline (specific editorial acts attributed to particular figures or cataloged manuscript variants) I can compile a chronology from academic papers and manuscript catalogues; current reporting and the cited surveys instead map competing frameworks — preservation claims, orthographic reforms, and scholarly revisionism — rather than a discrete count [3] [5] [1].