A Critique of Various Opinions on the Orthography of the Holy Quran

Rasm al-Mushaf, which is also called Rasm al-Uthmani, is a term used to refer to the Quran scribed in the time of Uthman. In Rasm al-Mushaf, the spelling of many words is different from the way they are spelled in Arabic today. On the other hand, there are other similar words in Rasm al-Mushaf, which have been written in two different ways. Many scholars have authored works on Rasm al-Mushaf so far, but the lack of independent research covering all the relevant opinions and their critique made the authors to examine and divide the opinions of scholars on Rasm al-Mushaf into three categories in the present article using the descriptive-analytical method. The first group believes that the text of the Quran is varied and a unique text should be created for it. The second group considers the differences in Rasm al-Mushaf an ijtihadi issue. Some of them believe that the orthography of the Quran should not be changed, and some others agree with changing Rasm al-Mushaf. The third group are people who agree with the unchangeability of the Rasm al-Mushaf and do not allow any change in it. There are people in this group who say that this type of orthography of the holy Quran is considered a miracle. Each of these views has the potential for scientific critique.