Follow The Truth Wherever It May Lead

The Quran has many different versions, more than 40. Muslims call them Qira'at (قراءات)

21 of these versions are listed on this Islamic website: Comparison of different Quran versions (readings), namely:

1. حفص عن عاصم
2. قالون عن نافع
3. ورش عن نافع
4. ورش عن نافع من طريق الأصبهاني
5. البزي عن ابن كثير
6. قنبل عن ابن كثير
7. دوري أبي عمرو
8. السوسي عن أبي عمرو
9. هشام عن ابن عامر
10. ابن ذكوان عن ابن عامر
11. شعبة عن عاصم
12. خلف عن حمزة
13. خلاد عن حمزة
14. أبو الحارث عن الكسائي
15. الدوري عن الكسائي
16. ابن وردان عن أبي جعفر
17. ابن جماز عن أبي جعفر
18. رويس عن يعقوب الحضرمي
19. روح عن يعقوب الحضرمي
20. إسحاق الوراق عن خلف البزار
21. إدريس الحداد عن خلف البزار

These versions have hundreds of differences between each other. Examples of differences:

1. Syntactical differences:

   Differences in syntax that do not necessarily change meaning. For example verse 57:24 has a dropped preposition (هو):

   

2. Grammatical differences:

   Differences in grammar that significantly change meaning. For example verse 37:12 has a changed accent (الضمّة) which changes the pronoun "you" (wondered) to "I" (wondered):

   

3. Differences in accents:

   They chanage the meaning of the words.

What is the meaning of this? Despite knowing the facts, some muslims continue lying about this, and claiming that not a single letter in the Quran has been changed. For example see islamqa.info and islamweb.net.

To explains these different Qira'at, Muslims rely on the Hadith. They go back to a specific hadith (that the Quran was given in seven "letters"), but there is no agreement among Muslim scholars as to how to explain this hadith (for example see this discussion by Dr. Yasir Qadhi "One of the most confusing issues of Hadith science is Qira'at issue").

But on top of this, the whole of Hadith "science" (علم الإسناد) is completely debunked according to the same scholar who said: "No body in the academy affirms the Muslim Sunni science of Hadith, it is considered to be completely discredited":

Which means that the Hadiths are lies made up by Muslims to explain contradictions which Muhammad came up with. An evidence of this is the lack of agreement among classical/traditional Muslim scholars. Muslims cannot explain many of the Hadiths. Take the Hadith about Jesus being replaced by someone else. It is merely a lie. Same goes about the definition of Messiah (المسيح).