Variations

Question:-

There are repetitions of the same story in Quran and yet each repetition is different from the others. If we assume that the repetitions exist because they are taken from the memories or records of different people, then the fact that these vary from each other indicate that they are not records of the revelations but interpretations of those who heard them. What is the answer to this argument? Consider the story of Prophet Shuayb in Quran 7:85-93, 11:84-95 and 26:176-196.

Answer:-

That is mere speculation. One need not make such assumptions at all. When the Quran was gathered into a book this repetition must have been obvious but it was not regarded as a problem of the kind you mention. Each of these versions has a different context with respect to which it should be understood. It is perfectly possible that the same subject was used at different times in relation to different circumstances to strengthen the same lesson or to teach different lessons by showing different aspects of the same event. Putting them all together into just one section might have overwhelmed the mind with excessive information resulting in superficial instead of deeper understanding. There are obvious as well as more subtle inner psychological meaning to the verses that require meditation and absorption rather than mere reading.

Let us examine the verses you mentioned:-

(1) Firstly, they are not simple narratives about an event, but are meant to teach a moral or natural lesson. The factual sequence or wording is not important.

(2) Secondly, the number of verses in these sections is not the same. They are, therefore, unlikely to be referring to the same revelation.

(3) Thirdly, though the Prophet's exhortations are the same they have been stated in different ways in order to elaborate and explain them and there is a difference in the argument. Compare 7:85-87 with 11:84-86 and 26:176-184.

Surah 7 - "And unto Median did We send their brother Shu'eyb, who said: O my people! Serve Allah; you have no God save Him. There has come to you a manifest Sign from your Lord. So give good weight and full measure, and be not niggardly of your good works (or of the gifts you have received) to mankind, and do not evil in the earth after it has been rightly ordered. That is better for you if you are believers. And lurk not in every path, threatening (and corrupting) and hindering from the path of Allah those who believe in Him, craving to make it crooked. Remember when you were few (small or weak) and He multiplied (increased, strengthened) you; and see what was the end of the corrupters! And if there be a party of you who believe in what I am sent with, and a party who believe not, then wait patiently until Allah judges between us, for He is the best of Judges." 7:85-87

Surah 11 -"And unto Midian (We sent) their brother Shu'eyb. He said: O my people! Serve Allah; you have no God but Him, and give not short measure and weight. Verily, I see you well off; but, verily, I fear for you the torments of an encompassing Day. O my people! Give measure and weight fairly, and defraud not men of their due; and wreak not wrong in the earth, corrupting it. That which Allah leaves for you is better for you if you be believers. But I am not a guardian (or keeper) over you." 11:84-86

Surah 26 - "The Dwellers of the Grove (Midianites) denied the messengers. Shu'eyb said unto them: Will you not fear? Verily, I am to you a faithful Messenger. So do your duty to Allah and obey me. I ask not of you for it any wages; my wage is only the concern of the Lord of the Worlds. Give full measure, and be not of those who diminish (give less than due); and weigh with a true balance, and wrong (or cheat) not mankind of their goods; and waste not the land, despoiling it; and keep your duty unto Him who created you and the generations of the past!" 26:176-184

The instruction in the verses are:- (i) Do not cheat but do justice in exchange (ii) Do not be mean but generous in doing good. (iii) Do not disrupt the environment creating disorder. (iv) Do not corrupt people, either openly or secretly, subtly or unobtrusively or divert or distract them from the path of righteousness. (v) When there is a difference of opinion leave judgement to God. (iv) Do your duty to your creator.

These instructions are not merely intellectual ideas but are meant to inform the feelings and motives and to transform behaviour. The stories in these verses are meant to be absorbed as an experience that connects with various aspects of the psyche. The people of Midian, for instance represent not merely types of people in the society, but also various features in the minds of the reader or hearer and the Messenger represents his own spirit and conscience. This is normally dormant and is to be stimulated and awakened by this memory deposit.

In Surah 7, the argument is:- (i) There is no God but Allah who should be obeyed (rather than whim and greed). (ii) He has sent a sign as instruction and warning. (iii) It is better for people to do or avoid the things mentioned. (iv) People prospered when they did good but not when they did evil. (v) If there is a difference of opinion then it can only be settled by real events, by God who is the best of Judges.

The argument in Surah 11 is:- (i) There is no God but Allah who should be served. (ii) Though the people are well of, the Messenger fears a disaster coming because of their misdeeds. (iii) That which God provides is better and believers can see and accept that.

The argument in Surah 26 is:- (i) People ought to fear God. (ii) He, Shu'eyb is a Messenger from God and should be obeyed. (iii) He is not asking from them for any wages, profit or advantages for himself. (iv) He leaves the judgement of what he deserves to God. (v) People have an obligation to do their duty to Him who created them.

(4) Fourthly, the reactions of the people are described differently. Compare 7:88-90 with 11:87 and 26:185-187.

Surah 7 - "The chieftains of his people, inflated with arrogance said: We will of a surety turn you out, O Shu'eyb, and those who believe with you, from our communities, unless you return unto our faith. ….But the chiefs of those who disbelieved amongst his people said: If you follow Shu'eyb, verily, you shall be the losers;" 7:88, 90

Surah 11 - "They said: O Shu'eyb! Do your prayers bid you that we should forsake what our fathers served, or that we should not do as we please with our own property? You are, forsooth, the clement and straight-forward one (or simpleton)!....They said: O Shu'eyb! We do not understand much of what you say, and we see that you are weak (powerless) amongst us; and were it not for your family we would stone you, nor could you have power over us." 11:87, 91

Surah 26 - "Said they: Thou art only of the bewitched; And you are only a mortal like ourselves; and, verily, we think that you are surely of the liars; So make portions of the heaven fall down upon us, if you are of the truthful!" 26:185-187

(5) Fifthly, the replies of the Prophet are different. Compare 7:88-89 with 11:88-93 and 26:188.

Surah 7 - "Said he: What! Even if we be averse to it? We shall have devised a lie against Allah if we return unto your faith, after Allah has saved us from it; and what should ail us that we should return thereto, unless that Allah our Lord should please? Our Lord is All-comprehending in His knowledge. In Allah do we place our trust. Our Lord! Decide with truth between us and our people, for you are the best of those who decides." 7:88-89

Surah 11 - "He said: O my people! Bethink you, if I stand upon a manifest sign (clear proof) from my Lord, and He provides me from Himself with a goodly provision, how can I concede aught to you. I desire not to do behind your backs that which I forbid you. I desire naught but to reform you so far as I am able. Nor comes my grace through any one but Allah. On Him do I rely, and unto Him I turn. O my people! Let not a breach with me cause you to so sin that there befall you the like of that which befell the people of Noah, or the people of Hud, or the people of Salih, nor are the people of Lot far off from you! So ask pardon from your Lord, then turn to Him repentant; verily, my Lord is Merciful, Loving! They said: O Shu'eyb! We do not understand much of what you say, and we see that you are weak (powerless) amongst us; and were it not for your family we would stone you, nor could you have power over us. He said: O my people! Are my family more esteemed by you than Allah? Or have you taken Him as something to cast behind your backs? Verily, my Lord, surrounds all you do. O my people! Act according to your power; verily, I too will act, and you soon will know on whom comes a doom that will abase them, and him who is a liar. Watch then; verily, I am watching with you." 11:88-93

Surah 26 - "Said he: My Lord knows best what you do!" 26:188

(6) Sixthly, there is a variation in the description of the disaster that overtook the unbelievers. Compare 7:91-92 with 11:94 and 26:189.

Surah 7 - "So the earthquake seized them, and in the morning they lay prone in their dwellings. Those who denied Shu'eyb, became as though they had not dwelt there! - Those who had denied Shu'eyb, they were the losers!" 7:91-92

Surah 11 - "And when Our commandment came, We saved Shu'eyb, and those who believed with him, by Our Mercy; and the great noise seized those who had done wrong, and on the morrow they were found prostrate in their houses." 11:94

Surah 26 - "But they rejected him, so the torment of the day of gloom seized them. Lo! It was the retribution of an awful day." 26:189

(7) Seventhly, the inferences or conclusions are different. Compare 7:93 with 11:93 and 26:190-210

Surah 7 - "And he turned away from them and said: O my people! I delivered unto you the messages of my Lord, and I gave you good advice; how should I be vexed for a people who disbelieve?" 7:93

Surah 11 - "As though they had not dwelt therein. Behold! Removed was Midian! As was removed Thamud!" 11:95

Surah 26 - "Verily, in this is a sign; but most of them are not believers. Verily, your Lord, He is indeed the Mighty, the Merciful. And, verily, it is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds, which the Faithful Spirit of Truth (Gabriel) has brought down upon your heart, that you may be one of the Warners, in plain Arabic language, and verily, it is also in the scriptures of the past! Is it not a sign for them that the learned men of the children of Israel recognize it? Had We sent it down to any one of any other nation but the Arabs, and he had read it unto them, they would not have believed therein. Thus have We made for it a way into the heart of the guilty; but they will not believe therein until they see the painful doom. And it shall come to them suddenly when they perceive not. They will say: Shall we be reprieved? What! Do they wish to hasten on Our penalty? What think you? If We let them enjoy life for years, and then there comes to them that which they are promised, that which they had to enjoy will avail them not. But We destroy not any population but it had its Warners for reminder, for We are never unjust. No devils (or evil ones) brought down this revelation." 26:90-210

The idea that the different versions of the story are superfluous repetitions is, therefore, unjustifiable. The resemblance between them is superficial and ought to alert readers to deeper levels of meaning.

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