Compilation of The Holy Quran

Compilation of Divine Revelation
The compilation of the Holy Qur’an took place in three stages:
1. During the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (saw)

2. During the caliphate of Caliph Abu Bakr (rad)
3. During the caliphate of Caliph Uthman bin Affan
Preservation In the Lifetime of the Holy Prophet (saw)
The entire Quran was revealed from 610-632 A.D, during the lifetime of the
Holy Prophet[pbuh]. It was not only revealed during this time but also in the
written form.
Whenever any verse was revealed by Allah, the Holy Prophet would advise
his scribes to write down that piece of revelation. [There were atleast 40
scribes of the holy Quran.]
After the scribes had written the verses,Prophet [phuh] would listen and
make corrections if needed.
Here are a few things on which the verses of the Holy Quran were written.
● Papers
● Stones
● Pieces of leather
● Shoulder blades of camels
● Palm leaves
● Quran had been written but also was memorized by the Muslims by
heart .
The verses of the Holy Quran were revealed according to the needs of that
time. But they are not in the sequence of revelation. Whenever any verse
was revealed, it was also advised which Surah the verse should be placed
in. So even the sequence of placement of the verses was revealed by
Allah. The scribes placed each verse in the same order they were asked to
do.
In this way, the sequence of the Holy Quran was never changed. Not only
the sequence of verses but the names of Surahs were also revealed by
Allah.
In the last year of his life ,the Prophet [s.a.w] recited complet text of the
holy Quran twice in the month of Ramadhan to Angel Jibrail which was
listened by his companions also.
This is howthe Divine Message was recorded in scriptural form and learnt
by heart to be preserved for the coming generations.
In the time of Caliph Abu Bakr (ra) OFFICIAL COPY
A detailed account of this is contained in an account given by Zaid bin Thabbit in Sahih
Bukhari. After the demise of the Holy Prophet (saw) an imposter called Muslimah announced
falsely his own Prophethood.
Caliph Abu Bakr sent a Muslim expedition against him and a harsh battle took place in
632 A.D (11 A.H) at the place of Yamama during which hundreds of hafiz were martyred.
Hazrat Umar bin Kattab (rad) became concerned at the heavy loss of casualties, fearing that
a large part of the Qur’an could be lost if the rate of martyrdom increased. He expressed
these fears to the Caliph Abu Bakr (rad) and asked him to compile the Qurán into a
permanent book form.
Caliph Abu Bakr was at first shocked at the request and said he could not do something
that the Holy Prophet (saw) had never done in his own lifetime. However, Hazrat Umar
(rad) continued to persuade him until Caliph Abu Bakr said his heart was opened by Allah
(swt) and he agreed to the suggestion.
Caliph Abu Bakr called upon Hadrat Zaid bin Thabbit (rad) to collect and compile the
Qur’an into one volume. Hadrat Zain bin Thabbit was also astonished at this request and
declared it would have been easier for him to shift a mountain than to do such a task. He
too questioned how they could do something that the Holy Prophet (saw) had never done.
Caliph Abu Bakr (rad) replied this was a good thing and began to persuade him until Allah
(swt) opened the heart of Hadrat Zaid bin Thabbit who agreed to do this too.
“Law of Witness” Methodology:

Abi Dawud stated: Abu Bakr told `Umar and Zayd: ‘Sit at the entrance to
the [Prophet’s] masjid. If anyone brings you a verse from the Book of Allah
and two witnesses, record it.’
Though Zayd ,along Hazrat Umar, knew the whole Qur’an by heart, along
with many others, he followed a meticulous procedure in its compilation.
Following is a brief description:
“Law of Witness” Methodology: The process of compiling the Quran from
these various written pages was done in four steps:
i."started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments,
scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew
it by heart)".
II .Zayd bin Thabit and Hazrat Umar ibn Al-Khattab verified each verse
with their own memory .Both men had memorized the entire Quran.
Iii. He always tried to find a verse in written form before including it in his
manuscript. Companion who brought written verse , they had to bring two
reliable witnesses to testify that the verses were written in the presence of
the Prophet Muhammad (S.a.w]).
iv.The verified written verses carefully compared and after cross
check of each ayah, he compiled the written Qur’an into one
single volume.Abdullah bin Masood named it Mashaf .
In connection with this precision, utmost care and dedication, it is
impossible not to see the manifestations of Divine will and God’s
help, as mentioned in the verse,
“Indeed it is We, We Who send down the Reminder, and it is

indeed We Who are its Guardian” (Hijr 15:9).
. Caliph Abu Bakr became its official custodian, passing on to
Hazrat Umar bin Kattab (rad) during his caliphate. After his
demise the Qur’anic volume was passed into the custody of his
daughter and widow of the Prophet [s.a.w]Hadrat Hafsa. This
copy of the Quran came to be known as Mashaf e Hafsa
In the time of Caliph Uthman bin Affan [ Standardized]
As the Islamic empire increased it incorporated many different

nations and tribes who did not speak and understand Arabic. As a
result difference in reciting the Qur’an and pronunciation began to
occur.
It is reported by Hadrat Anas bin Malik that Hadrat Hudaifah bin

Yaman had been involved in the victories of the Muslim in Syria,
and Iraq over Armenia and Azerbaijan.
He heard the differences in the recitation of the Qur’an by the

inhabitants there. Upon his return he related these concerns to
Caliph Uthman who expressed a deep apprehension at this new
development. They both feared conflicts could arise, replicating
the problems that had occurred in the authenticity of the Bible
and Torath.
Caliph Uthman took action and asked Hadrat Hafsah for the
original volume of the Qur’an promising to return it to her once
copies were made. She sent it immediately to him.
Hadrat Zaid bin Thabbit, having been responsible for the first
compilation was appointed as the head of a committee to make
exact and perfect copies of the original. The other committee
members consisted of Hadrat Abdullah bin Zubair, Hadrat Sa’id
bin Al A’as and Hadrat Abdur Rahman bin Harirth .
Hadrat Uthman gave them instructions that the Holy Quran

should be written in the language of the Quraish as that was the
tongue in which the Qur’an was revealed.
Once copies were made the original was returned to Hadrat

Hafsah . The Quran was recited in Masjid e Nabwi to clear the
doubts of Muslims regarding any change in the Holy Quran .
The new copies were then distributed to every Muslim province

with the orders that all other copies of the Qur’an, be they full or
partial copies, were to be burnt and replaced by this original one.
For his services Hazrat Usman is called Jami al Quran .
Since that day the Holy Qurán has remained in its original
pristine form and will remain as such in the future by the Grace
and Blessings of Allah Almighty.

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Compilation of Divine Revelation

The compilation of the Holy Qur’an took place in three stages:

1. During the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (saw)

Preservation In the Lifetime of the Holy Prophet (saw)

In the time of Caliph Abu Bakr (ra) OFFICIAL COPY

(swt) and he agreed to the suggestion.

“Law of Witness” Methodology:

“Indeed it is We, We Who send down the Reminder, and it is

In the time of Caliph Uthman bin Affan [ Standardized]

As the Islamic empire increased it incorporated many different

It is reported by Hadrat Anas bin Malik that Hadrat Hudaifah bin

He heard the differences in the recitation of the Qur’an by the

Hadrat Uthman gave them instructions that the Holy Quran

Once copies were made the original was returned to Hadrat

The new copies were then distributed to every Muslim province

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