The Cairo Standard: How One Version of the Quran Took Over While the Rest Were Burned or Forgotten
What Muslims Say:
“The Quran has been perfectly preserved — every word, every letter, just as it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.”
But here’s the truth:
The Quran that most Muslims read today — the Hafs version — was officially chosen by a government panel in Egypt in the 20th century. It’s not the original. It’s a modern edition picked for convenience, not divine authority.
And the man who passed down this version, Hafs ibn Sulayman, was actually rejected as unreliable by major Islamic scholars.
As for the many other versions of the Quran that existed in early Islam? Most were either burned, banned, or just vanished over time.
This is the part of Islamic history that rarely gets mentioned — and it turns the “perfect preservation” claim on its head.
Part One: The 1924 Cairo Decision That Changed Everything
In the early 1900s, Egyptian schools had a problem. Students were memorizing different versions of the Quran. Some had different verse counts. Some had slight wording differences. Even the pronunciation and rhythm varied depending on the region or teacher.
It was messy, confusing, and hard to manage in classrooms.
So in 1924, Al-Azhar University — one of the highest Islamic authorities — stepped in to fix it. A committee was formed, and they picked one version of the Quran to standardize and print across Egypt.
They chose: Hafs ‘an ‘Asim — a version originally passed down from Kufa, Iraq.
This Cairo edition became the default Quran in Egypt. Then it spread to the rest of the Muslim world, especially when Saudi Arabia started printing it in bulk and distributing it globally through the King Fahd Quran Printing Complex.
From that point on, Hafs became the Quran — not because it was divinely preserved, but because a committee said so.
Part Two: The Problem With Hafs Himself
Now here’s where it gets uncomfortable.
Hafs ibn Sulayman — the man whose version became the standard — wasn’t actually considered trustworthy by early Islamic scholars. In fact, when it came to hadith (sayings of the Prophet), they openly rejected him.
Here’s what those scholars said:
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Ibn Hajar: “Hafs is abandoned. His hadiths are not written down.”
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Ahmad ibn Hanbal: “He was a liar.”
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Yahya ibn Ma’in: “He’s not trustworthy.”
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Abu Zur’ah: “His narrations are not accepted.”
Think about that: the man whose transmission now forms 90% of the world’s Qurans was considered unreliable by the very scholars Muslims trust to judge authenticity.
When asked about this, modern Muslims will say, “Well, he wasn’t good at hadith, but he was reliable in Quran.”
That’s a convenient claim, but it doesn’t really make sense. If someone’s known for poor memory, inaccuracies, or even lying, why trust him with transmitting the Quran — word-for-word, letter-for-letter?
Part Three: What Happened to the Other Qurans?
To understand how we ended up with just one version, we have to go back further — to the 7th century.
According to Sahih Bukhari (Volume 6, Book 61, Hadith 510), Caliph Uthman ordered that all other Quranic materials be destroyed, keeping only his official version. He then sent copies of it to various provinces and commanded that any differing materials be burned.
Here’s what that means:
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The Quran of Ibn Mas‘ud — who supposedly rejected 3 surahs — was wiped out.
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The Quran of Ubayy ibn Ka‘b — which included two extra chapters — was erased.
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Other early versions, with different readings or wordings, disappeared.
Why destroy all this material if the Quran was truly preserved and passed down by thousands (mutawātir) with no differences?
And it didn’t end with Uthman. The Cairo committee in 1924 did the same thing — not with fire, but with printing presses. They chose one version and dropped the rest.
Let’s Think About This Logically:
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If the Quran was perfectly preserved, why did it need to be standardized in 1924?
Perfect preservation means no need for cleanup. -
If Hafs was unreliable in transmitting hadith, why would we trust him with the Quran?
It doesn’t add up. -
If other versions were authentic, why were they destroyed or silenced?
A truly divine book wouldn’t need that kind of censorship.
So What’s the Bottom Line?
The Quran most Muslims read today — the Hafs version — is not the original Quran of Muhammad.
It is:
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One version out of many that once existed.
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Passed down by a man dismissed by Islamic scholars.
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Chosen by a government committee in 1924.
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Mass-produced and enforced, while all others were erased from memory.
That’s not divine preservation.
That’s historical editing.
About the Author
Mauao Man is a blog created by a New Zealand writer who believes in following the evidence wherever it leads. From history and religion to culture and society, Mauao Man takes a clear, critical, and honest approach — challenging ideas without attacking people. Whether exploring the history of Islam in New Zealand, the complexities of faith, or the contradictions in belief systems, this blog is about asking the hard questions and uncovering the truth.
If you value clarity over comfort and truth over tradition, you’re in the right place.
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