Examining Burton’s Stance on the Differences Among the Recitations of the Qur’ān

Document Type : Scholary

Author

Department of Qur’ān and Hadīth Sciences, Faculty of Theology, College of Farabi, University of Tehran, , Iran

Abstract

Orientalists have conducted extensive studies on the reasons for differences among the Qur’ān recitation modes. One of these figures is John Burton, the British Qur’ān researcher. He believes the Qur’ān that exists today has been compiled during the lifetime of the Prophet (s) and by His Majesty. In his view, the topic of «recitation differences among the Companions’ copies of the Qur’ān» is a pretext to delete the Prophet’s (s) role in the compilation of the Qur’ān. That is, the topic of «recitation differences among the Companions’ copies of the Qur’ān» is not a reality. Rather, it was fabricated by some jurists who tried to use it in their debates with other jurists to support their jurisprudential decrees not supported by the current copy of the Qur’ān. If it were said that the Prophet (s) had compiled the qur’ānic verses as one copy of the Qur’ān, then those jurists could not suggest the recitation differences among the Companions’ copies. Thus, they concluded that if they fabricated some narrations, they could remove the role of the Prophet (s) in the compilation of the Qur’ān and present its compilation as something that happened after his demise. Despite some positive points in Burton’s theory, there exist some major criticisms against the principles of his theory.

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Classical and Contemporary Islamic Studies
Volume 8, Issue 1
Winter & Spring 2026
January 2026
Pages 97-103

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