Tuesday

Compilation of the Qur’aan


The earliest compilation of Al Quran
Musailamah, who was a liar, called himself a prophet even during the lifetime of Nabi SAW. After the death of Nabi SAW, people of weak faith, especially among the travelling Arabs, began to leave Islam and become rebels and non Muslims. Musailamah took advantage of the situation and succeeded in causing a large number of people to follow him. Sayidina Abu Bakr RA decided to put a stop to this attack on Islam. A fierce battle was fought with Musailamah, in which the Muslims won with the help of Allah and Musailamah was killed. However, a good number of Sahabah , including many Huffaz, lost their lives. 

After this battle, Hadhrat Umar went to Hadhrat Abu Bakr and said: "Many Huffaz have been killed in this battle. I am afraid that we are likely to lose a good portion of the Qur’an if we have to fight a few more battles and suffer a loss of Hufaaz at this rate. I therefore suggest that the Qur’aan may be collected and safeguarded in the form of one complete book."
Hadhrat Abu Bakr stated: "How can I undertake something that was not done in the lifetime of Nabi SAW ?" However Hadhrat Umar was firm on his point so much so that Hadhrat Abu Bakr agreed to it. 

He sent for Zaid bin Thabit RA and informed him of what had been discussed between him and Sayidina Umar RA and then said:
"You are young and intelligent. Everybody considers you trustworthy. Moreover, you were chosen by Nabi SAW with the writing of the Qur’aan during his lifetime. I therefore request you to go to the people and collect the Qur’aan from them and compile it in a book form."

 Zaid RA says: "By Allah, if Abu Bakr RA had asked me to shift a mountain from one place to another, it would not have been so hard for me as the compilation of the Qur’aan. I said, 'How do you both dare to take up something which was not done by Nabi SAW? They explained to me their point, till Allah made the truth dawn on me, and I also was certain of the importance of the task. I then started going to the people and collecting the Qur’aan from those who had written it and from those who had learnt it by heart, till the final collection was ready."

Look at the spirit of the Sahabah with regards to how strictly they followed Nabi SAW. Shifting of a mountain from itsposition was not as difficult for them as doing a thing that they had not seen Nabi SAW doing. Allahgave them the honor of providing the greatest service to Islam by collecting the Qur’aan, which is the source-book of Islam. Zaid RA was so particular and careful that he would only accept the verses when these were proved to be written during the lifetime of Nabi SAW and only after they were duly confirmed by the recitation of those who had memorized the Qur’aan.
Al Quran Compilation 
Thanks to the efforts of Zaid RA . No doubt, he had to go from door to door and person to person, before Allah made it possible for every word revealed to be collected and compiled. Zaid RA was always assisted by  Ubayy bin Ka'ab RA , whom Nabi SAW had declared a great expert in Qur'anic knowledge. The Muslims of all times are highly grateful to the Sahabah for their wonderful achievement.

Compilation of the Qur’aan

Musailamah, who was a liar, called himself a prophet even during the lifetime of Nabi SAW. After the death of Nabi SAW, people of weak faith, especially among the travelling Arabs, began to leave Islam and become rebels and non Muslims. Musailamah took advantage of the situation and succeeded in causing a large number of people to follow him. Sayidina Abu Bakr RA decided to put a stop to this attack on Islam. A fierce battle was fought with Musailamah, in which the Muslims won with the help of Allah and Musailamah was killed.

However, a good number of Sahabah , including many Huffaz, lost their lives. After this battle, Hadhrat Umar went to Hadhrat Abu Bakr and said: "Many Huffaz have been killed in this battle. I am afraid that we are likely to lose a good portion of the Qur’an if we have to fight a few more battles and suffer a loss of Hufaaz at this rate. I therefore suggest that the Qur’aan may be collected and safeguarded in the form of one complete book."

Hadhrat Abu Bakr stated: "How can I undertake something that was not done in the lifetime of Nabi SAW ?" However Hadhrat Umar was firm on his point so much so that Hadhrat Abu Bakr agreed to it. He sent for Hadhrat Zaid bin Thabit and informed him of what had been discussed between him and Hadhrat Umar and then said:
"You are young and intelligent. Everybody considers you trustworthy. Moreover, you were chosen by Nabi SAW with the writing of the Qur’aan during his lifetime. I therefore request you to go to the people and collect the Qur’aan from them and compile it in a book form."

Hadhrat Zaid says: "By Allah, if Abu Bakr had asked me to shift a mountain from one place to another, it would not have been so hard for me as the compilation of the Qur’aan. I said, 'How do you both dare to take up something which was not done by Nabi SAW? They explained to me their point, till Allah made the truth dawn on me, and I also was certain of the importance of the task. I then started going to the people and collecting the Qur’aan from those who had written it and from those who had learnt it by heart, till the final collection was ready."

Look at the spirit of the Sahabah with regards to how strictly they followed Nabi SAW. Shifting of a mountain from itsposition was not as difficult for them as doing a thing that they had not seen Nabi SAW doing. Allahgave them the honor of providing the greatest service to Islam by collecting the Qur’aan, which is the source-book of Islam. Hadhrat Zaid was so particular and careful that he would only accept the verses when these were proved to be written during the lifetime of Nabi SAW and only after they were duly confirmed by the recitation of those who had memorized the Qur’aan.

Thanks to the efforts of Hadhrat Zaid . No doubt, he had to go from door to door and person to person, before Allah made it possible for every word revealed to be collected and compiled. Hadhrat Zaid was always assisted by Hadhrat Ubayy bin Ka'ab , whom Nabi SAW had declared a great expert in Qur'anic knowledge. The Muslims of all times are highly grateful to the Sahabah for their wonderful
achievement.

The Qur'an is the Holy Book of Islam. It is the word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, over a period of 23 years (from 610 to 633 CE) through the angel Jibreel (Gabriel). The Qur'an is still in its original form as it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam.During the time of Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, the Qur'an was mainly preserved through memorization. Hundreds of Companions of the Prophet, were huffaz, or memorizers of the whole Qur'an and had memorized the Qur'an without any mistakes. But the Qur'an was also preserved through writing.Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, made special arrangements to have it written down. When Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, used to receive a revelation, he dictated it to a Companion, who wrote it down on anything that was available: bark, stone, bones, leaves, etc. The companion then read, what he had written, to the Prophet. If there were any mistakes, Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, would correct it and then let it be brought before everyone. Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, also told the order of the verses, etc, and they were written accordingly.So, in the days of the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, one copy of the Qur’an existed of what he had gotten written under his personal supervision. It was not in book form but in different parchments. Other Companions also had collections of the Qur'an for their personal record but no standard copy of the Qur'an in book form existed.


Hadith About Reading From a Transcript

Some people argue that the Qur'an was not written at all during the time of Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. This is not true as there are many Hadith, or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, that indicate that the Qur'an did exist in written form during the time of Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. For example, the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, has said:


If anyone recites the Qur'an without seeing the transcription, the reward is one thousand times, and if he reads it from the transcription, the reward is two thousand times.”This Hadith shows that Companions did possess written copies of the Quran during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam.


Compilation in the Khilafah of Abu Bakr

After Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, died in 633 CE, Sayyidna Abu Bakr, Radi-Allahu anhu, became the Khalifah (caliph). The need of the compilation of the whole Qur’an in the form of a Book was seen. In the battle of Yamamah and other battles, many huffaz were martyred. Sayyidna Umar, Radi-Allahu anhu, noticed this and went to the Khalifah, and told him about this matter. At first Sayyidna Abu Bakr, Radi-Allahu anhu, hesitated in doing something that the Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, hadn’t done but then, seeing the importance of this, he agreed.


Then Sayyidna Zayd bin Thabit, Radi-Allahu anhu, was called. Hazrat Zayd bin Thabit, Radi-Allahu anhu, used to write the Qur'an for the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, during his time. At first, Sayyidna Zayd, Radi-Allahu anhu, refused to do so but then, he, too, agreed.


The compilation of the Qur'an started, with Sayyidna Zayd bin Thabit, Radi-Allahu anhu, in charge. Lots of companions, including himself had memorized the whole Qur'an and so the Qur'an could have easily been written down from memory. There were also complete collections of the verses of the Holy Qur'an available with many companions. But Sayyidna Zayd bin Thabit, Radi-Allahu anhu, knew he had to be careful. He used both methods by collecting verses that were written during the time of Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam and also using memory. He followed four steps.


First he verified the verse with his own memory. Sayyidna Umar, Radi-Allahu anhu, who was a Hafiz, was also in charge of the project and he verified it, too. Then, before the verse could be accepted, the two reliable witnesses had to testify that it was written in the presence of Prophet Muhammad Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam.


After that, written verses were collated with the collections of different Companions. The purpose of this method was so that the utmost care be taken in the transcription of the Qur'an, and rather then rely on memory, it should be transcribed from verses that were written in the presence of the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam.


It was this way that the Qur'an was compiled. In this copy, all Surahs were written separately. The purpose of this transcription was to prepare an organized document with the endorsement of the whole Ummah so that reference could be made to it when required. The transcripts stayed with Sayyidna Abu Bakr, Radi-Allahu anhu. After his death in 634 CE they were passed on to the second Khalifah Sayyidna Umar, Radi-Allahu anhu. And after Sayyidna Umar, Radi-Allahu anhu, they were given to his daughter, Hazrat Hafsah, Radi-Allahu anha.


Compilation in the Khilafah of Sayyidna Uthman

When Sayyidna Uthman, Radi-Allahu anhu, became Khalifah in 644 CE, Islam had spread to far areas such as Iran and Byzantine. People who accepted Islam learned how to read the Qur'an from Muslim soldiers, traders and other Muslims. There are seven different ways to recite the Qur'an and different Companions had learned it from the Holy Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, in different recitals. People though that only their way of reciting was correct and started disputing with other people. Sayyidna Uthman, Radi-Allahu anhu, accomplished the feat of making the Qur'an’s recitation standard.First, Sayyidna Uthman, Radi-Allahu anhu, borrowed the first copy of the Holy Qur'an from Hafsah, Radi-Allahu anha. He then formed a group of four companions, Sayyidna Zayd bin Thabit, Abdullah bin Zubayr, Saeed ibn al Aas, and Abdur Rahman bin Harith Radi-Allahu anhuma. The group had the task of making transcripts of the original copy and also to put the Surahs in sequence. Other companions were also called upon to help them.After having these standard transcripts prepared, all other transcripts were burnt, so that all copies of the Qur'an become uniform in script and the sequence of Surahs, leaving no room for differences. The copy produced by Sayyidna Uthman, Radi-Allahu anhu, is still extant. All copies of the Qur'an available today in the world are exactly identical to the Uthmani Version, which was completed less than twenty years after the death of Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam.


Later some improvements were made in the Arabic script, like the adding of dots and diacritical marks, to make it easier for non-Arabs to read, but of course, the text of the Qur'an has remained, and will remain the same forever.