The Story of the Quran (part 3 of 4): A Revelation Well Preserved and Guarded

“It is We Who have sent down the remembrance (i.e. the Quran) and surely, We will guard it from corruption.” (Quran 15:9)

When God revealed His words of guidance for the whole of humankind – the Quran, He guaranteed to preserve it.  One of the ways in which it was preserved was that the men, women and children around the Prophet Muhammad memorized Quran, paying careful attention to each word.  In the very early days of Islam the emphasis was on memorization, however soon, those who had mastered the art of reading and writing began to write down the words of Quran on whatever writing material available.  They wrote on flat stones, bark, bones, and even animal skins.

As the words of God were revealed, to Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, by the Angel Gabriel, it is said that he would call for a scribe to write down the words as they began to flow from his lips.  The principle scribe was a man named Zaid Ibn Thabit.  Many companions reported that Prophet Muhammad would call for Zaid saying“let him bring the board, the ink pot and the scapula bone”.[1]  In the lifetime of the Prophet, the Quran existed on bits and pieces of writing material, rather than in book form.

One of the reasons that Quran was not at that stage, in the form of a book was that it was not revealed in order.  Rather the chapters and verses were revealed over a period of 23 years often in response to happenings in the life and times of the early Muslim community.  However, the order of the chapters and verses of Quran was known to Prophet Muhammad.  When the Angel Gabriel would reveal the divine words of God, he would also issue instructions as to what verses and chapters belonged where.

The Quran was written down under the direct supervision of Prophet Muhammad.  Uthman, one of the Prophet’s closest companions recalled that, “when something was revealed to him, Prophet Muhammad would call someone from amongst those who used to write for him and say,‘place these verses in the chapter in which such and such is mentioned’and if only one verse was revealed he would say,‘place this verse in this chapter’”[2].

Thus at the time of the Prophet’s death pieces of Quran were held in trust by many members of the Muslim community.  Some had only a few pages from which they were learning to recite, others such as the scribes, had several chapters and still others had pieces of bark or animal skin containing only one verse.

During the time of Abu Bakr, the man chosen to lead the Muslim nation after the death of Prophet Muhammad, the wider Muslim community found itself in a time of civil strife.  False Prophets arose and many bewildered people, unable to sustain their faith without Prophet Muhammad, left the fold of Islam.  Battles and skirmishes took place and many of the men who had memorized the Quran lost their lives.

Abu Bakr was afraid that the Quran would be lost, so he consulted some of the senior companions about compiling the Quran into a single book.  He asked Zaid ibn Thabit, to oversee this task.  At first, Zaid felt uneasy about doing something that Prophet Muhammad did not specifically authorize.  However, he did agree to collect pieces of Quran, both written and memorized and compile a book – theMushaf.  In the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, we find Zaid Ibn Thabit's own recollection of how the compilation of Quran came about.[3]

“Abu Bakr sent for me when the people of al-Yamaamah had been killed [i.e., a number of the Prophet's Companions who fought against the false prophet Musaylimah].  I went to him and found Umar ibn al-Khattab sitting with him.  Abu Bakr then said to me, ‘Umar has come saying the casualties were heavy among those who knew the Quran by heart, and I am afraid that more heavy casualties may take place on other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost.  Therefore I suggest that you (Abu Bakr) order that the Quran be collected.”

I said to Umar, “How can you do something that the Messenger of God did not do?”  Umar said, “By God, this is something good”.  Umar kept on urging me to accept his proposal until God opened my heart to it and I began to realize the good in the idea.  Then Abu Bakr said (to me).  “You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicion about you, and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for the Messenger of God, so search for the fragmentary scripts of Quran and compile them into one book.”

“By Allah (God) if they had ordered me to move one of the mountains, it would not have been heavier for me than this (ordering me to compile the Quran).  Then I said to Abu Bakr, “How can you do something that the Messenger of God did not do?”  Abu Bakr replied, “By God, it is a good thing.”  Abu Bakr kept on urging me to accept his idea until God opened my heart to that to which He had opened the hearts of Abu Bakr and Umar.  Therefore, I started looking for the Quran and collecting it from what it was written on, palm stalks, thin white stones and also from the men who knew it by heart, until I had collected it all.

Zaid had memorized all of the Quran and had been Prophet Muhammad’s most trusted scribe; therefore, it would have been possible for him to have written the whole Quran from his own memory.  However, he did not use this method alone.  He was very careful and methodical in his compilation of the Quran and would not write down any verses unless they had been confirmed by at least two of Prophet Muhammad’s Companions.

Thus, the Quran came to be written and compiled in book form.  It remained with Abu Bakr until his death, at which time it came into the possession of Umar Ibn al Khattab.  After Umar’s death, it was entrusted to his daughter Hafsah.  This however is not the end of the story of Quran.  In the time of Uthman, the third leader of the Muslim nation, the book in which the Quran (the words of God) is contained, theMushaf, became standardized.  The Quran was no longer written in the various dialects of Arabic.  In part 4 we will discover how theMushafknown as the Uthmani Quran, came into being.

Footnotes:

The Story of the Quran (part 4 of 4): Then, Today, and for all Time

When Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel, it was revealed in seven Arabic dialects[1], therefore when different Companions recited there were sometimes slight differences in pronunciation.  While Prophet Muhammad was alive, he was able to clarify and resolve any pronunciation disputes.

From the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, Umar Ibn Al Khattab narrates an anecdote that clearly shows how the people around the Prophet were anxious to preserve the authenticity of Quran and that the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, was able to mediate any disputes.  He says,

I heard Hisham ibn Hakim reciting in a way different to that of mine.  Therefore, I was about to quarrel with him (during the prayer) but I waited until he finished, then I brought him to God’s Messenger and said, “I have heard him reciting in a way different to the way you taught it to me.”  The Prophet ordered me to release him and asked Hisham to recite.  When he recited it, God’s messenger said, “It was revealed in this way.”  He then asked me to recite the same verses.  When I recited it, he said, “It was revealed in this way.  The Quran has been revealed in seven different ways, so recite it in the way that is easier for you.”[2]

After the death of Prophet Muhammad, hundreds of thousands of non-Arabs converted to Islam.  By the time Uthman Ibn Affan was leader of the Islamic nation the Quran was recited in a variety of different accents and dialects.  Many people especially those new to Islam were becoming confused and some of the Companions of Prophet Muhammad began to fear that the authenticity of Quran would be compromised.

Whilst on a journey, one of Prophet Muhammad’s companions noticed that there were many different recitations of Quran throughout the Muslim Caliphate.  He suggested to Uthman that there be an official version recited in the dialect of the tribe of Quraish and written in the style used in the city of Medina.  All dialects of the Arabic language were renowned for their eloquence but the dialect of Quraish was considered the most expressive and articulate, and thus over generations, it came to be known as the dialect of the Quran. 

Uthman Ibn Affan knew the Quran by heart and had intimate knowledge of the context and circumstances relating to each verse, thus he was a fitting person to oversee the standardization of the Quran.  As we know, the Quran had been gathered together during the time of Abu Bakr and was in the safekeeping of Umar Ibn Al Khattab’s daughter, and Prophet Muhammad’s wife, Hafsah.  Uthman sent word to Hafsah, and took possession of the originalMushaf.  The authentic traditions of Prophet Muhammad relate the event as follows.

Hudhaifah came to Uthman at the time when the people of Syria and the people of Iraq were at war with Armenia and Azerbaijan.  He was alarmed by their (the people of Syria and Iraq) differences in the recitation, so he said to ‘Uthman, “O leader of the believers!  Save this nation before they dispute about the Quran as the Jews and the Christians did dispute about their books.”  Therefore, ‘Uthman sent a message to Hafsah saying, “Send us the manuscript so that we may make copies and we will return the manuscript to you.”[3]

Once again, the leaders of the Muslim Caliphate and the men and women Companions of the Prophet made great efforts to preserve the words of God and to remain faithful to the Message.  Uthman ordered some of the most trusted companions, including for a second time Zaid Ibn Thabit, to make careful copies of theMushaf, saying “in case you disagree, copy it into the dialect of Quraish”.[4]

The original manuscript was sent back to Hafsah and Uthman then ordered all otherunofficialcopies to be burned or otherwise destroyed.  Thus, an end was put to the dispute and the Muslims were united.  The Uthmani Quran is theMushafused by more then 1.2 billion Muslims throughout the world today.  The Quran has remained preserved from generation to generation. EachMushafis an exact copy of the original.

“Verily, it is We Who have sent down the remembrance (Quran), and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).” (Quran15:9)

It is not known exactly how many copies were made by Uthman, but many believe it to be five, not including his own copy.  The cities of Mecca, Medina, Damascus, Kufa, and Basra each received a copy.  Throughout early Islamic literature, references are made to these copies and it is believed that original copies exist to this day in Turkey and Uzbekistan.

Ibn Batuta, in the 14^thcentury C.E.  said he had seen copies or sheets from the copies of the Quran prepared under Uthman, in Granada, Marrakesh, Basra, and other cities.  Ibn Kathir related that he had seen a copy of the Uthmani Quran, which was brought to Damascus from Palestine.  He said it was ‘very large, in beautiful clear strong writing with strong ink, in parchment, I think, made of camel skin’.[5]  Ibn Jubair said he saw the Uthmani manuscript in the mosque of Medina in the year 1184 C.E.  Some say it remained in Medina until the Turks removed it in WW1.  The Treaty of Versailles contains the following clause:

Article 246: Within six months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, Germany will restore to His Majesty, King of Hedjaz, the original Koran of Caliph Othman, which was removed from Medina by the Turkish authorities and is stated to have been presented to the ex-Emperor William II.”[6]