Is the Qur’an Mass-Transmitted (Mutawātir) According to the Qur’an and Hadith?
Source: Fatāwā Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question:
Is the Qur’an transmitted through tawātur (continuous mass transmission)?
❖ Answer:
The Noble Qur’an is the true speech of Allah ﷻ, His miracle, and not created. Allah ﷻ spoke it with letters and sound. It is revealed revelation, sent down via Jibrīl عليه السلام to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
It is written in the Muṣḥafs, memorized in the hearts, and transmitted through tawātur. Reciting it is an act of worship.
✿ Statements of the Scholars
✔ Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Qāsim رحمه الله (d. 1392H):
إن القرآن كلام الله حقيقة، منزل غير مخلوق… محفوظ بين الدفتين وفي صدورنا، يسمع ويكتب ويحفظ…
“The Qur’an is truly the speech of Allah, revealed, not created. Jibrīl عليه السلام heard it from Allah, Muhammad ﷺ heard it from Jibrīl, and the Companions رضي الله عنهم heard it from Muhammad ﷺ.
It is the very Qur’an we recite with our tongues, preserved between two covers (the Muṣḥaf) and in our hearts. It is heard, written, and memorized. Every letter — such as Bāʾ and Tāʾ — is the uncreated speech of Allah. It originated from Him and will return to Him. Its words and meanings are all from Allah, not just words alone or meanings alone…”
(Muqaddimah al-Tafsīr, pp. 13–25)
✔ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله (748H):
أما القرآن العظيم، سوره وآياته، فمتواتر، ولله الحمد، محفوظ من الله تعالى لا يستطيع أحد أن يبدله…
“As for the Glorious Qur’an — its sūrahs and verses are mutawātir, all praise is due to Allah. It is preserved by Allah’s protection; no one can alter it, add a verse, or insert an independent sentence. Whoever deliberately does so exits the religion.”
(Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ: 10/171)
✿ Evidence from the Companions
Narration of Zayd ibn Thābit رضي الله عنه:
نسخت الصحف فى المصاحف، ففقدت آية من سورة الأحزاب كنت أسمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقرأ بها، فلم أجدها إلا مع خزيمة بن ثابت الأنصاري…
“I compiled the Qur’an from scattered parchments into one Muṣḥaf. I missed a verse from Sūrah al-Aḥzāb which I used to hear the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reciting. I only found it with Khuzaymah ibn Thābit al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه, whose testimony the Prophet ﷺ considered equal to that of two men. That verse was:
مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ
‘Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah…’”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2807; Sūrah al-Aḥzāb: 23)
✿ Clarification of the Objection
Some raise an objection from this ḥadīth, arguing that not every verse of the Qur’an was mutawātir, since this verse of Sūrah al-Aḥzāb was only found with Khuzaymah رضي الله عنه, making it a solitary report (khabar wāḥid).
Response:
The narration does not mean that only Khuzaymah رضي الله عنه knew this verse or that he alone testified it was Qur’an. Rather, Zayd رضي الله عنه is speaking about his personal situation — he had forgotten the verse and remembered it when Khuzaymah رضي الله عنه reminded him, as he had already heard it from the Prophet ﷺ himself.
Moreover, the Qur’an was not preserved only in written parchments but also in the hearts of the Companions, ensuring its tawātur.
Conclusion:The Qur’an, from beginning to end, is mutawātir in transmission, preserved by Allah ﷻ in writing and in memory, and safeguarded against alteration.
