@abdlquadri @DrJavadTHashmi @DrShadeeElmasry There are 20 tumultuous years between the prophet and the Uthmanoc text. A lot could have happened in between. But the fact that the Sanaa Palimpsest -- which is not an Uthmanic text -- is so close to the Uthmanic text gives some confidence the text was stable even earlier.

@abdlquadri @DrJavadTHashmi @DrShadeeElmasry Needless to say, the quran is a much more reliable source back to the prophet than hadith is, simply because it was codified and written down about a century earlier, and transmitted in written form with much more rigour.

@abdlquadri @DrJavadTHashmi @DrShadeeElmasry Can we be certain that every single word in the Quran is literally as the prophet said it? No. It is very likely that some of it isn't.
But that a significant portion goes back to the time of the prophet is clear. We have a stable text from the time companions were still alive.

@abdlquadri @DrJavadTHashmi @DrShadeeElmasry The difference is between absolute certainty, of every single word, for which you need faith.
But yes, most academic work on the assumption that the quran we have is close enough to be reliable for most purposes of literary and historical analysis.