Interlude B: Shi'i Memories and the Lost Mushaf of Ali

This chapter is part of the book The Sacred Editors: Islam.

"You say this is the whole book. We say it is missing the names."

The Scholar's Secret

In the dim light of an early Baghdad morning around 850 CE, a Shi'i scholar named Abū Naṣr al-ʿAyyāshī carefully closed a manuscript and returned it to its hiding place beneath the floorboards of his study. The text he had been copying contained traditions about a codex that officially did not exist—the Muṣḥaf of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, compiled by the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law in the months immediately following Muhammad's death.¹

Al-ʿAyyāshī had learned these traditions from his teachers, who had received them through carefully guarded chains of transmission reaching back to the earliest Shi'i communities. According to these accounts, ʿAlī had gathered the Qur'anic revelations not merely in the order established by the Prophet, but chronologically, with detailed commentary explaining the circumstances of each revelation and its implications for the rights of the Ahl al-Bayt (the Prophet's family).

But this was dangerous knowledge. Under Abbasid rule, openly questioning the completeness or adequacy of the standard Qur'anic text could bring accusations of heresy and persecution. So al-ʿAyyāshī practiced what his community called taqiyya—the sanctioned concealment of belief when under threat. He copied the traditions in secret, taught them only to trusted students, and waited for a time when such knowledge could be safely revealed.

The manuscript he hid that morning was more than parchment and ink. It was memory made tangible—a record of how one community understood the relationship between divine revelation and human authority, between sacred text and political power. It preserved the conviction that the official history of Qur'anic compilation, while not false, was incomplete.

The Tradition of Alternative Memory

The reports about ʿAlī's distinctive codex appear in early Shi'i literature with remarkable consistency, though with significant variation in details. According to traditions preserved in works like al-Kulaynī's al-Kāfī and al-Ṣadūq's Man lā Yaḥḍuruhu al-Faqīh, ʿAlī began compiling his collection immediately after the Prophet's burial, working systematically through the revelation in the order of its descent rather than the thematic arrangement established in the standard text.²

These sources suggest that ʿAlī's compilation served multiple purposes. As the Prophet's cousin, son-in-law, and one of his earliest converts, ʿAlī possessed intimate knowledge of the circumstances surrounding many revelations. His codex reportedly included detailed commentary (tafsīr) explaining the specific occasions that prompted particular verses, the people and events referenced in seemingly general statements, and the implications of divine guidance for questions of leadership and succession.

According to some traditions, when ʿAlī completed his work and offered it to the early caliphs, he was told that the community already had what it needed in the emerging standard compilation. Other accounts suggest that ʿAlī's arrangement—chronological rather than roughly length-based—was deemed too complex for general use. Still others hint that the extensive commentary made explicit what the leadership preferred to leave implicit: namely, divine support for ʿAlī's claim to succession and criticism of those who had assumed authority in his place.³

The historical accuracy of these accounts remains debated among scholars. What is not disputed is their significance within Shi'i intellectual and devotional culture. Whether or not a distinctive codex of ʿAlī ever existed in material form, the idea of such a text became central to Shi'i understanding of their community's relationship to sacred authority and their exclusion from early Islamic political power.

The Doctrine of Concealment

The question of why ʿAlī's codex never appeared publicly—if it indeed existed—leads into one of the most distinctive aspects of Shi'i theology: the doctrine of taqiyya. Often misunderstood as mere dissimulation or deception, taqiyyarepresents a sophisticated theological response to the reality of political persecution and minority status that characterized much of Shi'i history.

Classical Shi'i scholars like Shaykh al-Mufīd (d. 1022) and Shaykh al-Ṭūsī (d. 1067) developed detailed jurisprudential frameworks for understanding when concealment of belief was not only permissible but obligatory.⁴ In situations where open expression of Shi'i convictions would result in persecution, death, or harm to the community, taqiyya allowed believers to conceal their true opinions while maintaining their inner commitment to Shi'i principles.

Applied to the question of ʿAlī's codex, taqiyya provided both explanation and justification for its absence from public discourse. If the codex contained material that challenged the legitimacy of the early caliphs or made explicit the rights of the Ahl al-Bayt, its public circulation would have endangered Shi'i communities throughout the Islamic world. Better to preserve the knowledge in hidden form, transmitted through trusted chains of scholars, until the advent of the awaited Imam al-Mahdī who would restore justice and reveal all hidden truths.

This theological framework transformed the absence of ʿAlī's codex from a problem into a proof. Rather than evidence that such a text never existed, its hiddenness became confirmation of its authenticity and importance. Like other aspects of true Islamic guidance in Shi'i understanding, the complete revelation was preserved but concealed, awaiting the proper time for manifestation.

The doctrine of taqiyya also helps explain why Shi'i scholars could simultaneously affirm the textual integrity of the standard Qur'an while maintaining traditions about alternative arrangements and additional commentary. The current text preserved the essential divine guidance necessary for religious practice, while the hidden knowledge provided deeper understanding of divine intention regarding community leadership and spiritual authority.

Textual Integrity and Interpretive Difference

It is crucial to understand that mainstream Shi'i scholarship, both classical and contemporary, has consistently affirmed the textual completeness and integrity of the Qur'an as preserved in the Uthmanic tradition. Major Shi'i scholars like Shaykh al-Mufīd, al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā (d. 1044), and Shaykh al-Ṭūsī explicitly rejected claims that verses had been added to or removed from the text, emphasizing that any differences in ʿAlī's compilation involved arrangement, commentary, or interpretive emphasis rather than textual content.⁵

This position has been reinforced by modern Shi'i authorities. Ayatollah al-Khu'ī (d. 1992), one of the most influential Shi'i scholars of the twentieth century, devoted extensive analysis to questions of Qur'anic textual history, concluding that the current text preserves the complete revelation without addition or subtraction.⁶ Contemporary Shi'i institutions like al-Hawza al-ʿIlmiyya in Najaf and Qom teach that differences between Sunni and Shi'i understandings of early Islamic history do not extend to disagreement about the Qur'anic text itself.

Where Shi'i traditions do suggest differences, they typically involve questions of interpretation and emphasis rather than textual variation. Some early sources hint that ʿAlī's codex made explicit references to the Ahl al-Bayt that were left implicit in the standard arrangement, or that it included commentary clarifying the divine basis for ʿAlī's authority. Such claims should be understood as assertions about the proper interpretation of existing verses rather than allegations of textual corruption or omission.

This distinction is theologically significant because it allows Shi'i communities to maintain their distinctive historical narrative while sharing scriptural authority with the broader Islamic community. The Qur'an remains the common foundation for all Muslims, while differences in understanding its implications for questions of leadership and community authority reflect interpretive rather than textual disagreements.

What Would Have Changed?

The historical development of Shi'i traditions about ʿAlī's codex raises important questions about how Islamic intellectual culture might have evolved differently under alternative circumstances.

Theological and Legal Development: If ʿAlī's codex had remained in public circulation alongside the Uthmanic text, Islamic legal and theological development might have proceeded along different trajectories. Professor Hossein Modarressi has argued that the early suppression of alternative textual traditions contributed to the marginalization of ʿAlī's scholarly authority in Sunni Islamic culture.⁷ With access to ʿAlī's detailed commentary on Qur'anic revelation, early Islamic scholars might have developed different approaches to questions of succession, authority, and the relationship between divine guidance and political leadership. This could have affected not only Shi'i-Sunni relations but the entire framework within which Islamic law and theology developed.

Political and Social Implications: The preservation of ʿAlī's codex as an alternative source of religious authority might have provided early Shi'i communities with greater legitimacy in their political opposition to Umayyad and Abbasid rule. Dr. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi has suggested that the memory of hidden knowledge represented a form of "spiritual resistance" that helped maintain Shi'i identity under adverse political conditions.⁸ If this knowledge had been openly accessible rather than concealed, it might have supported more direct political challenges to caliphal authority, potentially altering the entire trajectory of early Islamic political development and possibly leading to different patterns of sectarian conflict and accommodation.

Intellectual and Educational Culture: The existence of multiple authoritative commentarial traditions might have encouraged more pluralistic approaches to Qur'anic interpretation within Islamic scholarship generally. Professor Maria Massi Dakake has argued that Shi'i exegetical traditions preserved important insights about the multi-layered nature of Qur'anic meaning that were sometimes marginalized in Sunni scholarship.⁹ If ʿAlī's interpretive approach had remained publicly available, Islamic intellectual culture might have developed greater appreciation for esoteric and symbolic readings of scripture, potentially influencing fields ranging from philosophy and mysticism to law and theology.

Contemporary Sectarian Relations: Perhaps most significantly, the open preservation of alternative textual traditions might have established precedents for legitimate diversity within Islamic scriptural culture that could have influenced contemporary Sunni-Shi'i relations. Rather than the historical pattern of mutual suspicion and occasional conflict, Islamic communities might have developed frameworks for recognizing multiple authentic approaches to understanding divine revelation, potentially creating more space for theological dialogue and cooperation across sectarian boundaries.

Scholar Debate

Contemporary scholarship approaches the traditions about ʿAlī's codex from multiple perspectives, reflecting both confessional commitments and academic methodologies.

Professor Hossein Modarressi, whose comprehensive survey of early Shi'i literature represents one of the most detailed academic treatments of this topic, takes a nuanced position on the historical evidence. Modarressi argues that while the existence of a distinctive codex compiled by ʿAlī remains historically uncertain, the persistence of traditions about such a text reflects genuine Shi'i concerns about their exclusion from early Islamic textual and political authority. He emphasizes that these traditions should be understood as expressing theological convictions about ʿAlī's superior knowledge and authority rather than necessarily describing historical events.¹⁰

Dr. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi of the École Pratique des Hautes Études approaches the question from the perspective of religious studies, arguing that traditions about ʿAlī's codex represent a distinctive form of Shi'i "sacred history" that serves important community functions regardless of historical accuracy. Amir-Moezzi suggests that the idea of hidden textual knowledge provided early Shi'i communities with a framework for understanding their marginalization while maintaining confidence in their eventual vindication. His work emphasizes the symbolic and theological significance of these traditions rather than their historical verifiability.¹¹

Traditional Shi'i scholarship, represented by figures like Ayatollah Jaʿfar Subḥānī and Ayatollah Nāṣir Makārim Shīrāzī, generally acknowledges the existence of early traditions about ʿAlī's codex while emphasizing that such reports do not challenge the textual integrity of the current Qur'an. These scholars typically interpret the traditions as referring to ʿAlī's distinctive arrangement and commentary rather than different textual content, using them to support arguments about ʿAlī's superior knowledge and interpretive authority without questioning the completeness of the standard text.¹²

Sunni scholarship has generally regarded traditions about ʿAlī's codex with skepticism, viewing them as later sectarian elaborations rather than authentic historical reports. Contemporary Sunni scholars like Dr. Muhammad Mustafa al-A'zami and Dr. Ghānim Qaddūrī al-Ḥamad argue that the supposed differences between ʿAlī's compilation and the Uthmanic text lack sufficient historical documentation and reflect later theological controversies rather than early textual variations.¹³ However, some Sunni scholars acknowledge that ʿAlī may have maintained a personal collection with distinctive organizational features while maintaining that this would not have differed substantially from the content of the standard text.

Contemporary Relevance

The traditions about ʿAlī's codex continue to influence contemporary Islamic thought and Sunni-Shi'i relations in complex ways, offering insights into ongoing questions about religious authority, textual interpretation, and community identity in modern Muslim societies.

The theological framework developed around the concept of hidden knowledge has contemporary applications in Shi'i approaches to religious authority and legal interpretation. The principle that complete understanding of divine revelation requires access to authoritative interpretation by the Ahl al-Bayt continues to influence Shi'i attitudes toward religious scholarship, legal reasoning, and the role of contemporary religious authorities in applying Islamic principles to modern circumstances.

For contemporary Sunni-Shi'i dialogue, understanding the history and significance of traditions about ʿAlī's codex can help clarify the nature of sectarian differences and commonalities. Recognition that mainstream Shi'i scholarship affirms the textual integrity of the shared Qur'an while maintaining distinctive interpretive traditions provides a foundation for theological conversation that acknowledges difference without assuming fundamental contradiction.

The broader question of how religious communities preserve alternative memories and interpretive traditions also speaks to contemporary debates about pluralism and authority within Islam. The historical example of how Shi'i communities maintained their distinctive perspective while participating in the broader Islamic textual tradition offers resources for thinking about how diversity of interpretation and practice can be accommodated within shared religious frameworks.

Furthermore, the role of taqiyya in preserving minority religious traditions under adverse political conditions has contemporary relevance for understanding how Muslim communities navigate religious expression in societies where they face discrimination or persecution. The theological principles developed to justify and regulate concealment of belief provide frameworks for contemporary Muslims seeking to maintain religious authenticity while adapting to challenging social and political circumstances.

The memory of ʿAlī's codex also speaks to broader questions about the relationship between textual authority and interpretive freedom in contemporary Islamic thought. The tension between accepting shared scriptural authority and maintaining distinctive understanding of its implications reflects challenges faced by all religious communities seeking to balance unity with diversity, tradition with adaptation, orthodoxy with intellectual creativity.

Conclusion

The story of the Muṣḥaf of ʿAlī—whether understood as historical fact, theological symbol, or community memory—illuminates important dimensions of how sacred texts function within religious communities. It reveals how the same scriptural foundation can support different interpretive traditions, how political circumstances can influence textual transmission and interpretation, and how communities can maintain distinctive identities while sharing common religious sources.

The traditions about ʿAlī's codex also demonstrate the complex relationship between textual authority and religious legitimacy in Islamic culture. The idea that alternative arrangements or interpretations of divine revelation might have been suppressed for political reasons speaks to enduring concerns about the relationship between sacred text and worldly power, between divine guidance and human authority, between community consensus and minority dissent.

Perhaps most significantly, the preservation of these traditions within Shi'i culture illustrates the resilience of alternative religious memory even under adverse circumstances. The doctrine of taqiyya provided not only practical protection but theological justification for maintaining beliefs and traditions that challenged dominant narratives. This suggests important insights about how religious minorities preserve their distinctive identities while participating in broader cultural and political systems.

Understanding this history can deepen appreciation for both the unity and diversity that characterize contemporary Islamic culture. The shared reverence for the Qur'anic text that unites Sunni and Shi'i Muslims exists alongside genuine differences in understanding its implications for questions of authority, interpretation, and community leadership. These differences need not be understood as threatening the foundation of Islamic unity but as reflecting the richness and complexity of authentic religious engagement with divine revelation.

The quiet scholar in ninth-century Baghdad who hid his manuscript beneath the floorboards was preserving more than alternative textual traditions. He was maintaining space for different ways of understanding the relationship between heaven and earth, between divine guidance and human community, between what is revealed and what remains hidden. His careful work of preservation reminds us that every religious tradition contains multiple voices, alternative memories, and competing claims about the proper understanding of sacred truth.

The memory of ʿAlī's codex, whether or not the text itself ever existed, continues to serve as a reminder that every act of textual preservation is also an act of interpretation, every canon is also a selection, and every community's sacred history contains both what was remembered and what was forgotten. In preserving these traditions, Shi'i communities have maintained not only their distinctive identity but also a broader recognition that divine revelation always encounters human limitation, political circumstance, and community need in its passage through history.

Notes

This scene is reconstructed from patterns described in early Shi'i biographical literature. For al-ʿAyyāshī's role in transmitting traditions about ʿAlī's codex, see Hossein Modarressi, Tradition and Survival: A Bibliographical Survey of Early Shiite Literature (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2003), 1:37-39.
Al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, ed. ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī, 8 vols. (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1968), 2:633; al-Ṣadūq, Man lā Yaḥḍuruhu al-Faqīh, ed. ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī, 4 vols. (Qom: Jāmiʿat al-Mudarrisīn, 1982), 4:418-420.
For various traditions about ʿAlī's presentation of his codex, see Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, The Divine Guide in Early Shi'ism: The Sources of Esotericism in Islam, trans. David Streight (Albany: SUNY Press, 1994), 91-115.
Al-Mufīd, Ajwibat al-Masā'il al-Sarāwiyya, in Muṣannafāt al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, 14 vols. (Qom: al-Mu'tamar al-ʿĀlamī li-Alfiyyat al-Shaykh al-Mufīd, 1993), 4:115-125; al-Ṭūsī, al-Nihāya fī Mujarrad al-Fiqh wa-al-Fatāwā(Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1970), 302-305.
Al-Mufīd, Ajwibat al-Masā'il al-Ṭarābulusiyyāt, in Muṣannafāt, 4:219-225; al-Sharīf al-Murtaḍā, al-Dhakhīra fī ʿIlm al-Kalām (Qom: Mu'assasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1990), 365-370; al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān fī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān, 10 vols. (Beirut: Dār Iḥyā' al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1989), 1:3-7.
Al-Khu'ī, al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān (Najaf: Maṭbaʿat al-Ādāb, 1975), 200-259.
Modarressi, Tradition and Survival, 1:15-25.
Amir-Moezzi, The Divine Guide, 87-91.
Maria Massi Dakake, The Charismatic Community: Shi'ite Identity in Early Islam (Albany: SUNY Press, 2007), 145-165.
Modarressi, Tradition and Survival, 1:20-30.
Amir-Moezzi, The Divine Guide, 91-120.
Jaʿfar Subḥānī, Kulliyyāt fī ʿIlm al-Rijāl (Qom: Mu'assasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1992), 156-160; Nāṣir Makārim Shīrāzī, al-Amthal fī Tafsīr Kitāb Allah al-Munzal, 20 vols. (Qom: Madrasat al-Imām ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, 1995), 1:25-35.
Muhammad Mustafa al-A'zami, The History of the Qur'anic Text from Revelation to Compilation (Leicester: UK Islamic Academy, 2003), 173-180; Ghānim Qaddūrī al-Ḥamad, Rasm al-Muṣḥaf: Dirāsa Lughawiyya Tārīkhiyya(Baghdad: al-Lajnat al-Waṭaniyya li-l-Iḥtifāl bi-Maṭlaʿ al-Qarn al-Khāmis ʿAshar al-Hijrī, 1982), 145-155.