Ahmad ibn Yunus narrated to us; he said: Zuhayr narrated to us; he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Rufayʿ narrated to us; he said: Shaddad ibn Maʿqil narrated to us; he said: ʿAbd Allah (Ibn Masʿud) said, “This Quran that is in your midst is soon going to be taken away from you.” I asked, “O ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud, how can it be taken from us when Allah has secured it in our hearts and we have written it down in our maṣāḥif (codices)?” He replied, “During a single night it will vanish: what is in the hearts will be removed and what is in the maṣāḥif will be carried off.” He then recited: “And if We willed, We could surely take away that which We have revealed to you” (al-Isrāʾ 17:86).

Al-Humaydi narrated to us; Sufyan said: ʿAbd al-ʿAziz transmitted this same report. Sufyan added the continuation of the verse: “Then you would find for yourself none to act on your behalf against Us” (al-Isrāʾ 17:86), meaning: “You would find no one empowered to guarantee that it would not be removed.”