In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Ever-Merciful…

Today, more than two months since open clarifications have been published, Huda TV uploads yet another video of Yusuf Estes reinforcing his belief that the mus-haf itself is not the Quran, and that it only represents the Quran.  In this video, Yusuf Estes (may Allah guide him) says:

Well, if we go back and look at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and what he actually did, you might be amazed to find out that he never held a Quran in his life!  He didn’t have a Quran, because Quran doesn’t mean a book.  Quran means recitation.  He held the Quran in his heart, because Quran is what you say, not what you hold in your hand – this is called “mus-haf”.  When you have the book in your hand, this is “mus-haf”, or scripture, huh?

Source: An episode from the series “Closing the Gap” uploaded to YouTube on Nov. 8, 2012 (!) by Huda TV Channel Limited.  On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7xBGt7OZnY&t=15m16s

Important Commentary

The scandal and deception continue unabated, as Yusuf Estes clearly states here – once again – that the mus-haf is not the actual Quran, and that the Quran is not a book. This video was uploaded more than two months after Yusuf Estes began making deceitful claims that “the Quran is a book as we have always believed.”  This shows decisively how he and his conspirators at Huda TV hold very little regard for correct beliefs in Islam or the intellects of their viewers, and how they will knowingly continue to spread falsehood after the issues have been made clear.

These statements are violations of the basic Islamic belief that Ahlus-Sunnah hold by consensus, recorded in the source books of Muslim creed.

The Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) said, what means:

(( Do not travel with the Quran, since I can not guarantee that the enemies would not get a hold of it. )) [Saheeh Muslim #1869]

Quite obviously, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) was not referring to the Quran memorized in their hearts or the Quran in al-Lowh al-Mahfooth (the Preserved Tablet)! He was referring to the mus-haf, the written Quran, and he explicitly called it “the Quran”, that which Yusuf Estes claims the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) didn’t have.

Aboo Bakr As-Siddeeq, the first Caliph, placed Zayd ibn Thaabit (may Allah be pleased with them both) in charge of compiling the scattered writings of the Quran into one mus-haf, as the era of Divine Revelation had just ended, and the Quran could not have been compiled into one book while it was still coming down. Zayd said about the gravity of this task:

“I swear by Allah, had they placed me in charge of moving a mountain, it would not have been more heavy than the task he ordered me with of compiling the Quran (into one mus-haf)!” [Al-Bukhaaree #4986]

During that time and ever since, this event is referred to by the Muslim scholars as Jam’ al-Quran, or the compilation of the Quran (into one mus-haf).  Furthermore, the imams of Islam have always included this essential point in their basic definition of the Quran.

Aboo Haneefah (d.150), the first of the four widely-followed imams (may Allah have Mercy on him), said:

“The Quran is written in the mus-hafs, memorized in the hearts, and recited on the tongues.” [Al-Fiqh al-Akbar]

Another of the great imams, Ash-Shaafi’ee (d.204), said:

“What we recite from the Quran on our tongues, listen to with our ears, and write in our mus-hafs is all called the Speech of Allah.” [Ali-tiqaad of al-Bayhaqee]

Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d.241), the fourth of the widely-followed imams (may Allah have mercy on him), was reported to have said:

“You interact with the Quran in five ways: [1] memorizing it by heart, [2] reciting it on the tongue, [3] listening to it with the ear, [4] viewing it with the eye, and [5] writing it by hand.”

He went on to explain this patiently and methodically, saying:

“A heart is something created, yet what is memorized by it (the Quran) is not created. A tongue is something created, yet what is recited with it (the Quran) is not created. An ear is something created, yet what is heard with it (the Quran) is not created. An eye is something created, yet what is viewed with it (the Quran) is not created.” [Al-Ebaanah of Ibn Battah]

Imam Ibn Jareer at-Tabaree (d.310) said:

The Speech of Allah, the Mighty and Honored, is not created, no matter how it is written, no matter how it is recited, no matter where it is recited, whether it is found in the heavens or on earth, wherever it is memorized, whether it is written in al-Lowh al-Mahfooth (Preserved Tablet) or drawn on the boards in children’s classrooms, whether it is engraved on a stone, written on a paper, memorized by heart, or recited verbally. Whoever says otherwise, or claims that a Quran on earth or in the heavens is not the same Quran we recite with our tongues and write in our mus-hafs, or believes otherwise, whether he hides it or speaks openly with it as his Religion, such a person is a disbeliever in Allah, subject to capital punishment. He is free from Allah, and Allah is free from him… [Sareeh as-Sunnah, p.18]

These ideas propagated by Yusuf Estes and Huda TV are serious errors, identified unanimously by our early scholars as statements of disbelief. These beliefs were actually the ones held by the heretical ancient sects of the Jahmiyyah Cult.

For more information on this important topic, and what the Muslims of Ahlus-Sunnah have always believed, refer to this free e-book:

The Teachings of Yusuf Estes About the Quran (PDF)