Quranic errors or is the Qur’an perfectly preserved?

Quranic Errors

It is the belief of many Muslims that Quranic errors do not exist. Abul A’la Maududi stated this when he wrote:

The Quran that we possess today corresponds exactly to the edition which was prepared on the orders of Abü Bakr and copies of which were officially sent, on the orders of ‘Uthmän, to various cities and provinces. Several copies of this original edition of the Quran still exist today. Anyone who entertains any doubt as to the authenticity of the Quran satisfy himself by obtaining a copy of the Quran from any bookseller, say in West Africa, and then have a häfiz  (memorizer of the Quran) recite it from memory, compare the two, and then compare these with the copies of the Quran published through the centuries since the time of ‘Uthmän. If he detects any discrepancy, even in a single letter or syllable, he should inform the whole world of his great discovery!

Not even the most sceptical person has any reason to doubt that the Quran as we know it today is identical with the Quran which Muhammad (peace be on him) set before the world; this is an unquestionable, objective, historical fact, and there is nothing in human history on which the evidence is so overwhelmingly strong and conclusive. To doubt the authenticity of the Quran is like doubting the existence of the Roman Empire, the Mughals of India or Napoleon! To doubt historical facts like these is a sign of stark ignorance, not a mark of erudition and scholarship. ¹Towards Understanding the Quran, Vol.1, translated and edited by Zafar Ishaq Ansari [Leicester: U.K., 1988], 22

However, the process of printing has introduced Quranic errors:

The Qurʾāns of India and Pakistan are characteristically individual in appearance and are often the result of personal devotions rather than the product of corporate investment or organized outreach. The Qurʾān of 1964 published in Shillong, East Pakistan embodies these idiosyncrasies. It is an Arabic text with English translation and with running commentary by Khadim Rahmani. In his introduction he says, “This being the first edition and the process of printing being a difficult one, we had to engage a local press for doing the job, so as to maintain a constant vigil and guidance all along the printing. Yet in spite of our best efforts, some printing mistakes cropped up.”

The same difficulties are noted in The divine Qurʾān with Arabic text, translation into English and English commentary by S.M. Abdul Hamid published in Dacca in 1962. The English translation is typewritten and comments are typed footnotes. In his introduction Abdul Hamid laments the poor quality of the paper and printing: “Some of my friends desired better printing and paper. But those who are aware of the difficulties of publishing will admit that in Pakistan [sic] we are to depend on the paper supplied by the local mills, and printing cannot be controlled unless one has got his own press.” Like Khadim Rahmani, Abdul Hamid calls on his readers to alert him to printing mistakes. Even the prestigious edition with English translation of Abdullah Yusuf Ali published serially in Lahore beginning in 1937 bears the translator’s request for corrections. (Michael W. Albin, “Printing of the Qur’an.” Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe [Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2005], CD-ROM version)

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