So Yasir Qadhi is no stranger to controversy. Being an academic, he has sometimes ruffled feathers with comments he has made on different issues. This time even worse than before.
has said something now that again has shaken the ground or pulled the rug below the dawah guy’s feet. So much so that Muhammad Hijab had to take drastic action that included distancing himself from what was said. He issued a statement that included “If Dr. Qadhi holds an opinion that opposes the ijma (consensus) of the Ummah or makes anti-normative claims he will be refuted”
Then he took the even more drastic step of deleting the last 30 minutes of his interview from the point Yasir Qadhi started talking about guess what… Quran preservation. Now how did this happen?
Yasir had established a rapport with Mohammad Hijab. Hijab was giving him the chance to air some difficult questions and tackle them on his established platform. This gives Yasir Qadhi credibility and a safe space to discuss with someone friendly on his side while quashing the worst rumors and attacks that are coming up against him. It’s a smart move.
The last conversation that Hijab had with Yasir Qadhi however took an unexpected turn. It went into a direction he wasn’t expecting and did not look good on Hijab. I think Qadhi doesn’t care that much what anyone thinks, so he just said what he wanted. He’s sort of untouchable and cares more about the truth than pleasing the audience. Or maybe he was just overconfident here. Hijab asked a question about the Quran email leaks (which I discussed in my video “Yasir Qadhi has doubts in Islam”. Hijab said Brother Imran (Dawahman) had leaked some Quran preservation emails and can you explain yourself. Do you consider the Hafs and Asem and so on “munazzil from Allah” (revelation from Allah)
Here is some of what Yasir Qadhi said:
” So one of the brothers did something unethical. He was expelled from the list and the list was basically bad because of that. He couldn’t refute my arguments so he sent it to one of your Maskhalis in England. And so then , of course, this Madkhali gave it to the other one and so obviously you know all of whatever broke loose. But again this was not something I brought up in public and I don’t think it is wise to bring up in public. Every single student of knowledge knows who studies uloom al Quran that the most difficult topics are Ahrufs and Qira’at. And the concept of Ahrufs and the reality of Ahrufs and the relationship of the {} with the Ahrufs and the preservation of the Ahrufs. Is it one, is three , or is it seven. And the relationship of the Qira’at to the Ahrufs. This is a topic that when you’re the beginning, beginning student of knowledge you’re like, “What is going on here?” When you go a little bit more, you learn to simply memorize what your teachers say and regurgitate it out, and you don’t fully comprehend. When you do a deep dive, is when things get very awkward and difficult and this isn’t new. This is from the time of the Sahaba…. [W]hat was the crisis? I mentioned it, referenced it but never explicitly said it. Why didn’t I say it? Because it should not be said in public…. This was the issue, that the issue of Ahrufs and preservation and Qira’at and relationships between them. These are very very difficult issues and the most advanced of our scholars they’re not quite fully certain how to solve all the unanswered questions there.”
Here, why should the discussion on such a fundamental topic be shrouded in privacy and only limited to a selected few?
Now Muhammad Hijab should have known about the Streisand effect. When Barbra Streisand tried to hide photos of her mansion in California it drew further attention to it. Hijab, if you try to hide something, you inadvertently just makes it go more viral. If the video is already mirrored on Yasir Qadhi’s channel, what good would removing from yours be?
Do you really think that will work? But I know what Hijab will say. We did this because we didn’t want to confuse the masses. Muslims don’t need to know about Quran preservation. It will hurt their Iman and cause more doubt. As Yasir Qadhi said, it’s not wise to discuss these issues in public. Better we keep it behind closed doors.
There was even a bigger bombshell that came later:
“And by the way this is now a well known open secret among Muslim graduate students and academics around the world. And this well known. Traditional understandings of Ahrufs and Qira’at cannot answer some of the pressing questioning that are now being poked by our people outside, by our academics outside of the faith tradition. You see in a Muslim, in a Muslim environment there is always some respect that we have for the Quran. We should. In a Muslim environment, we’ll press a little bit, and then we’ll say enough, we hear and obey. And that’s great. Alhamdulillah. When you go to academia, there they don’t have that redline….they’re just gonna point out “No, that doesn’t make any sense. Well that’s not true. And this and that.” They will bring issues which I’m not gonna mention explicitly that you know are true, because they’re in your own books. They’re not inventing anything new…..and it’s very clear to you and to every single very advanced student and specialist that the standard narrative has holes in it. That’s what I am gonna say…”
He just said ‘Alhamdulillah we poke a little and then stop.’ Is he serious? He’s saying it’s good to be a little bit skeptical but not actually follow the evidence where it leads? Why not? Because it will take you out of Islam? Because it will destroy the narrative of the Quran being fully preserved?
And then the final bombshell. Muhammad Hijab thought he was going to save the day with his question. But it so spectacularly backfired on him. It backfired so badly like you cannot believe it.
Hijab asks:
” If you had a blank mushaf (a Quran with no words) and write down with no human interference what was revealed from Allah, would you write what corresponds to the existing Quran we have ….. ? “
Yasir Qadhi interrupted him and did not want to answer this question.
“Its not an easy answer. It’s not an easy yes or no. It is enough for the Muslims to believe that the Quran …Very well. So Muhammad, after we get off this phone call, me and you lt have a number of discussions, no problem. I’m very open with advanced students. But these issues should not. Look, it is kalamullah (speech of Allah) what is going to be written.
Hijab: But what would you write?
“Let’s not, you’re pushing me, and I am saying it’s not hikmah to, listen I have a condition. Like I said everything I say is going to be factual. If i wanted to do tawri (concealment) and what not, I would do it right now in front of you. There is no need for twariya. The Quran is the uncreated speech of Allah, the Quran is preserved, the Quran is known, The Quran is mutawatir. Alhamdulillah. All of the Qira’at are the Quran, all of the Qira’at are authentic. Alhamdulillah. Leave it at that Hijab……Beyond this requires background information. It is enough for the Muslims to know that the Quran is the speech of Allah that has been protected, and what we recite is the Kalam of Allah….”
There you have it, folks. The Quran is the speech of Allah. It’s preserved (cuz it says it is). End of story. Stop asking questions.