Under the section, “Signs that the Text Has Been Altered,” Robert Spencer wrote about evidence that the Qur’an has been edited:
The pioneering Qur’anic scholar Richard Bell (1876-1952) closely examined the Qur’anic text and identified numerous signs that the text has been changed. Lack of continuity and inherent contradictions are two of the most common indications. One curious passage Bell highlighted comes in a polemic against the Jews and Christians (2:116-21):
116. And they say, “God has taken to Him a son.” Glory be to Him! Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth; all obey His will—
117. The Creator of the heavens and the earth; And when He decrees a thing, He but says to it “Be,” and it is.
118. And they that know not say: “Why does God not speak to us?, Why does a sign not come to us?” So spoke those before them as these men say; their hearts as much alike. Yet We have made clear the signs unto a people who are sure.
119. We have sent thee with the truth, good tidings to bear, and warning. Thou shalt not be questioned touching the inhabitants of Hell.
120. Never will the Jews be satisfied with thee, neither the Christians, not till thou followest their religion. Say: “God’s guidance is the true guidance.” If thou followest their caprices, after the knowledge that has come to thee, thou shalt have against God neither protector nor helper.
121. Those to whom We have given the Bok and who recite it with true recitation, they believe in it; and whoso disbelieves in it, they shall be the losers.
Bell points out that all the polemical assertions in verse 116 and 117 answer the claim in verse 120, that the Jews and Christians will never be satisfied with the Muslim believers until they convert to their religions. He suggests that these verses were inserted later and were originally intended to follow verse 120 (Richard Bell, “From Introduction to the Qur’an,” in Ibn Waraq, ed., What the Koran Really Says [Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2002], 547). It also appears that verses 118 and 119 introduce some other argument, against those who demand miracles of the Muslim prophet, whose only miracles are the verses of the Qur’an themselves. As presented in the Qur’an we know today, these verses unaccountably interrupt the polemic against the People of the Book. The passage reads much more logically in this order:
120. Never will the Jews be satisfied with thee, neither the Christians, not till thou followest their religion. Say: “God’s guidance is the true guidance.” If thou followest their caprices, after the knowledge that has come to thee, thou shalt have against God neither protector nor helper.
116. And they say, “God has taken to Him a son.” Glory be to Him! Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth; all obey His will—
117. The Creator of the heavens and the earth; And when He decrees a thing, He but says to it “Be,” and it is.
121. Those to whom We have given the Book and who recite it with true recitation, they believe in it; and whoso disbelieves in it, they shall be the losers.
Bell also sees considerable manipulation of the text in this passage from sura 4:
23. Forbidden to you are your mothers, and your daughters, and your sisters, and your father’s sisters, and your mother’s sister’s, and your brother’s daughters, and your sister’s daughters, and your foster-mothers, and your foster-sisters, and your mothers-in-law, and your step-daughters who are under your protection, born of your women unto whom you have gone in—but if you have not gone in unto them, then it is no sin for you—and the wives of your sons who spring from your own loins. And (it is forbidden to you) that you should have two sisters together, except what has already happened in the past. Lo! Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.
24. And all married women (are forbidden to you) save those captives whom your right hands possess. It is a decree of Allah for you. Lawful to you are all beyond those mentioned, so that you seek them with your wealth in honest wedlock, not debauchery. And those of whom you seek content by marrying them, give them their portions as a duty. And there is no sin for you in what you do by mutual agreement after the duty has been done! Lo! Allah is ever Knower, Wise.
25. And whoever is not able to afford to marry free, believing women, let them marry from the believing maids whom your right hands possess. Allah knows best your faith. You proceed one from another; so wed them by permission of their folk, and give them their portions in kindness, they being honest, not debauched nor of loose conduct. And if when they are honourably married they commit lewdness, they shall incur the half of the punishment prescribed for free women. This is for him among you who fears to commit sin. But to have patience would be better for you. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
26. Allah would explain to you and guide you by the examples of those who were before you, and would turn to you in mercy. Allah is Knower, Wise. (Muhammad M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran [Elmhurst, NY: Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, 1999], language modernised)
Bell posits that “the marriage laws in Sura IV are a clear case of alternative continuations”—that is, an instance in which an editor simply tacked on his addition to an already complete passage, doing nothing to address the resulting contradictions. The first verse above, says Bell, “lays down the forbidden degrees of relationship, and reproduces the Mosaic list with some adaptation to Arab custom.” This was deliberate, Bell argues, as indicated by verse 26: “Allah would explain to you and guide you by the examples of those who were before you.” But, Bell continues, “at a later time . . . some relaxation appeared necessary.” This verse 25 was added, “allowing marriage with slaves,” and finally verse 24, which “gives ample liberty.”
Bell points out that the similar endings of verse 24 (“Allah is ever Knower, Wise”), the first part of verse 25 (“Allah knows best your faith”), and the latter part of verse 25 (“Allah is Knower, Wise”) provide evidence that “substitutions have been made” (Bell, “From Introduction to the Qur’an,” 547). Repeating whole phrases as taglines may have been an attempt to make sense out of what would otherwise be the most awkward of rhyme schemes—an attempt to make poetry out of prosaic, didactic material.” (Robert Spencer, Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam’s Obscure Origins [Washington, Del.: ISI Books, 2014], 138-42)
Elsewhere (Ibid., 194-95), Spencer wrote:
Hafs, Warsh, and Other Variants
The edition of the Qur’an published in Cairo in 1924 has won wide acceptance as an accurate reflection of the Uthmanic text. But little known even among Muslims is the existence of an entirely separate and officially sanctioned manuscript tradition. The Warsh tradition of the Qur’anic text predominates in western and northwest Africa; the Cairo Qur’an represents the more common Hafs tradition.
Most of the differences between the Hafs and Warsh traditions are one of orthography, some of which can be significant. There are also several instances of small but unmistakable divergences in meaning. In Qur’an 2:125, for example, the Hafs text has Allah commanding the Muslims: “Take the station of Abraham as a place of prayer” (Ibn Warraq, Virgins? What Virgins? And Other Essays [Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2010], 221). In Qur’an 3:13, Allah recalls of the Battle of Badr that there was “one army fighting in the way of Allah, and another disbelieving, whom they saw as twice their number, clearly, with their very eyes.” At least so goes the Hafs text. In the Warsh, the pronoun is different, so that the text reads “whom you saw” rather than “whom they saw” (Ibid., 222). In the Hafs Qur’an, sura 3:146 asks, “And with how many a prophet have there been a number of devoted men who fought?” the Warsh question is significantly different:” And with how many a prophet have there been a number of devoted men who were killed?” (Ibid., 223)
In recent decades, numerous other Qur’ans have been published that differ markedly in orthography from the Cairo text (Ibid., 219). In 1998 the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qu’an released an edition. In this Saudi edition, the Fatiha calls Allah “Master of the Day of Judgment” (1:4). The word malik means “master” with a long alif (a). With a short alif, however, the word means “king.” King of the Day of Judgment” is exactly how some other texts of the Qur’an render this verse, including a text published in Istanbul in 1993 (23).
At least one variant in modern Qur’ans involves a fat contradiction. The Hafs tradition presents Qur’an 3:158 this way: “And if you die, or are slain, lo, it is certainly to Allah that you are gathered.” On the other hand, a Qur’an published in Tehran in 1978 asserts: “And if you die, or are slain, lo, it is not to Allah that you are gathered” (Ibid., 223).