The Verses That Disappeared
One of Islam's most closely guarded secrets is that the Quran is incomplete. According to Islam's own most authentic sources, numerous Quranic verses were lost, forgotten, or eaten by animals after Muhammad's death. This directly contradicts the claim that the Quran has been perfectly preserved.
These are not fringe or weak traditions—these accounts appear in Sahih (authentic) hadith collections that Muslims themselves consider authoritative. The evidence from Islamic sources themselves proves the Quran we have today is not complete.
The Verse of Stoning Eaten by a Goat
Perhaps the most embarrassing incident involves verses that were literally eaten by a domestic animal. Aisha, Muhammad's favorite wife, narrated:
"The verse of stoning and of breastfeeding an adult ten times was revealed, and the paper was with me under my pillow. When the Messenger of Allah died, we were preoccupied with his death, and a tame sheep came in and ate it." — Sunan Ibn Majah 1944
This hadith is graded as hasan (good/acceptable) by Islamic scholars. It reveals that:
- Quranic verses existed on paper that could be destroyed
- No one had memorized these verses well enough to preserve them
- Allah's eternal word could be obliterated by a sheep
- Muslims lost divine revelation due to negligence
If the Quran truly was "guarded" by Allah as claimed in Quran 15:9, how could he allow a sheep to eat it?
The Missing Stoning Verse
The verse of stoning (rajm) for adultery is one of the most significant missing verses. Multiple sahih hadith confirm this verse existed and was part of the Quran:
"Umar said: 'I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, "We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) in the Book of Allah," and consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah has revealed... So, in recitation, we used to recite: "The elderly man and woman, when they commit illegal sexual intercourse, stone them to death..." And surely We had recited this Verse in the lifetime of Allah's Apostle.'" — Sahih al-Bukhari 8:817
Umar, the second caliph, explicitly states this was part of the Quran but is no longer in the written text. Yet Muslims still practice stoning based on this missing verse, applying a punishment from a verse that doesn't exist in their "perfectly preserved" Quran.
Surah al-Ahzab: Missing Two-Thirds
Aisha reported that Surah 33 (al-Ahzab) used to be much longer:
"Surat al-Ahzab used to be recited in the time of the Prophet with two hundred verses, but when Uthman compiled the Quran, he was unable to procure more than what is in it today." — Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran by Al-Suyuti
The current Surah al-Ahzab has only 73 verses. If it originally had 200 verses, then approximately 127 verses—two-thirds of the surah—have been lost. Where did they go? What did they say? Muslims today will never know.
Biblical Contrast: Extensive Manuscript Evidence
The Bible's manuscript tradition is transparent about its transmission. With thousands of manuscripts from different times and places, scholars can identify any variations and reconstruct the original text with high confidence.
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." — Matthew 24:35
Questions to Consider
- If Allah promised to guard the Quran, why did He allow verses to be eaten by a sheep?
- Why do Muslims stone adulterers based on a verse that no longer exists in the Quran?
- If two-thirds of Surah al-Ahzab is missing, what else was lost?
- How can Muslims claim perfect preservation when their own sources document lost verses?
Conclusion
The evidence from Islam's own sources is clear: the Quran is incomplete. Verses were lost, forgotten, eaten by animals, and eliminated during Uthman's standardization. The claim that the Quran has been perfectly preserved "letter for letter" is contradicted by authentic Islamic traditions that document significant losses.
Related articles: The Compilation of the Quran, Variant Quran Manuscripts