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Section 2

The role of the Sahabah and Ahlul Bayt in compiling the Glorious Qur’an

 

We will learn of the critical role played by the Sahabah and Ahlul Bayt in compiling the noble Qur’an during the lifetime of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the era of Abu Bakr, and the era of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhuma.

 

The Qur’an during the Prophetic Era

The revelation of the Glorious Qur’an upon the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam began in Makkah. The revelation continued until he passed away in Madinah. It is affirmed in the glorious Qur’an itself that the revelation was gradual, as Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala declares:

ﭜ ﭝ ﭞ ﭟ ﭠ ﭡ ﭢ ﭣ ﭤ

And [it is] a Qur’an which We have separated [by intervals] that you might recite it to the people over a prolonged period. And We have sent it down progressively.^[1]

ﯯ ﯰ ﯱ ﯲ ﯳ ﯴ ﯵ ﯶ ﯷ ﯹ ﯺ ﯻ ﯼ ﯾ ﯿ

And those who disbelieve say, “Why was the Qur’an not revealed to him all at once?” Thus [it is] that We may strengthen thereby your heart. And We have spaced it distinctly.^[2]

 

The Qur’an was revealed gradually over twenty-three years, according to particular incidents and occurrences and needed rulings to strengthen the hearts of the believers.

The Qur’an was written during the lifetime of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. The revelation had various scribes including Zaid ibn Thabit—the most prominent scribe, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Ibn Abi Sarh, and others.

At the demise of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the Qur’an had not yet been compiled between covers—as far as we know. The hadith of Zaid ibn Thabit radiya Llahu ‘anhu indicates to this in which Abu Bakr al Siddiq radiya Llahu ‘anhu tells him, “Search for the Qur’an and gather it,” and his recall, “I thus searched for the Qur’an, compiling it from palm leaf stalks, thin white stones, and the chests of men.”^[3]

It is appropriate to know that the focus on memorising the Qur’an and teaching it was one of the characteristics of the era of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Many had memorised the Qur’an. In the incident of Bi’r Ma’unah, seventy of the Qurra’—proficient reciters of the Qur’an—were martyred, which indicates the large number of memorisers of the Qur’an. In fact, the large number of casualties among the memorisers of the Qur’an was the main factor leading to the beginning of the active compilation of the Qur’an. This indicates that memorisation was more widespread among the Sahabah than its writing in manuscripts.

The Qur’an was not compiled between two covers in the era of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam due to certain factors, including:

a. Abrogation was still in play. Some verses were abrogated in recitation while others’ rulings were abrogated. Had it been compiled, and then the recitation been abrogated, this would lead to dispute and the confusion of a vital aspect of religion. Thus, Allah protected it in the hearts until the era of abrogation ended. He then inspired the Rightly-guided Khalifas to compile it.

b. There was no pressing need for it. Nothing transpired demanding actively engaging in compiling the entire glorious Qur’an. Had it been something the Ummah needed at the time, it would have been necessarily implemented, as it is not permissible to neglect what the Ummah needs.

 

The Qur’an in the era of the Sahabah

1. In the era of Abu Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhu

The fear of losing the Qurra’ and the demise of plenty of them was the leading factor to the Sahabah’s strong desire to compile the Qur’an between two covers. Zaid ibn Thabit radiya Llahu ‘anhu shouldered this great responsibility in the twelfth year of Hijrah after the Battle of al Yamamah. There were many factors making him worthy of this task, viz:

• He was a young intelligent man.
• He was not accused by the Sahabah of anything tainting his reputation.
• He was from the scribes of revelation, in fact, the most prominent one.

Zaid radiya Llahu ‘anhu was given the lead as his handwriting was the finest, he was the most aware of the abrogated and abrogating verses, he was the most knowledgeable of the most recent affairs of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he was the last to write revelation for the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and he was present at the last two presentations of the Qur’an and wrote them. Consideration in compilation was not given to age or precedence, that others be given the lead, but rather the youth are more active in accomplishing such a task than the elderly.^[4]

The objective of this compilation may be summarised as follows: simply compiling a complete written manuscript between two covers.

Zaid radiya Llahu ‘anhu relied on the two primary sources which gathered the Qur’an in the life of the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam viz. the hearts of men and scattered pages and articles on which the Qur’an was written.

The compilation was finalised and authenticated by consensus. It remained by Abu Bakr, then ‘Umar, then Hafsah bint ‘Umar ibn al Khattab radiya Llahu ‘anhum until she passed away.

At the end of this discussion, we reproduce the words of the comprehensive speaker, Zaid ibn Thabit radiya Llahu ‘anhu:

 

أرسل إلي أبو بكر مقتل أهل اليمامة فإذا عمر بن الخطاب عنده قال أبو بكر رضى الله عنه إن عمر أتاني فقال إن القتل قد استحر يوم اليمامة بقراء القرآن وإني أخشى أن يستحر القتل بالقراء بالمواطن فيذهب كثير من القرآن وإني أرى أن تأمر بجمع القرآن قلت لعمر كيف تفعل شيئا لم يفعله رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال عمر هذا والله خير فلم يزل عمر يراجعني حتى شرح الله صدري لذلك ورأيت في ذلك الذي رأى عمر قال زيد قال أبو بكر إنك رجل شاب عاقل لا نتهمك وقد كنت تكتب الوحي لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فتتبع القرآن فاجمعه فوالله لو كلفوني نقل جبل من الجبال ما كان أثقل علي مما أمرني به من جمع القرآن قلت كيف تفعلون شيئا لم يفعله رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال هو والله خير فلم يزل أبو بكر يراجعني حتى شرح الله صدري للذي شرح له صدر أبي بكر وعمر فتتبعت القرآن أجمعه من العسب واللخاف وصدور الرجال حتى وجدت آخر سورة التوبة مع أبي خزيمة الأنصاري لم أجدها مع أحد غيره لَقَدۡ جَآءَكُمۡ رَسُولٞ مِّنۡ أَنفُسِكُمۡ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيۡهِ مَا عَنِتُّمۡ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيۡكُم بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رَءُوفٞ رَّحِيمٞ حتى خاتمة براءة فكانت الصحف عند أبي بكر حتى توفاه الله ثم عند عمر حياته ثم عند حفصة بنت عمر

Abu Bakr sent for me after the martyrdom of the people of al Yamamah. I came and found ‘Umar ibn al Khattab by him. Abu Bakr said, “‘Umar came to me suggesting, ‘Martyrdom has seized plenty Qurra’ of the Qur’an on the Day of al Yamamah. I fear that if Qurra’ are martyred at this rate at different battles, much of the Qur’an will be lost. I feel that you should order the compilation of the Qur’an.’

I asked ‘Umar, ‘How can you do something that the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not do?’

‘Umar said, ‘This, by Allah, is best.’ ‘Umar continued explaining to me until Allah granted my heart satisfaction with this and I held the same view ‘Umar held.”

Abu Bakr continued, “You are a young, intelligent man. We do not accuse you. You would write revelation for the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, so search for the Qur’an and gather it.”

Zaid comments, “By Allah, had they tasked me with moving a mountain, it would not be weightier upon me than the compilation of the Qur’an they instructed me to carry out.”

I objected, “How can you do something the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not do?”

Abu Bakr emphasised, “It is good, by Allah.” Abu Bakr continued explaining to me until Allah granted my heart satisfaction as He granted to the hearts of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.

I thus searched for the Qur’an, compiling it from palm leaf stalks, thin white stones, and the chests of men until I found the [copy of the] last verse of Surah al Tawbah with Abu Khuzaymah al Ansari which I did not find by anyone else: There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you [i.e., your guidance] and to the believers is kind and merciful^[5] until the end of Bara’ah. The scripts were kept by Abu Bakr until he passed away, then by ‘Umar for the remainder of his life, then by Hafsah bint ‘Umar.^[6]

 

2. In the era of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu

During this era, a dispute over the Qur’an took place. People relied on the written text in reciting the Mushaf after reliance on the confluence [i.e. both transmission from memory and the written text]. ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu thus undertook the task of compilation at the end of 24 AH and the beginning of 25 AH.^[7] He undertook this mammoth task to realise a few objectives, viz:

• To copy the master scripts^[8] which Zaid ibn Thabit had compiled during the era of Abu Bakr al Siddiq into various Mushafs.
• To send a manuscript to each of the main cities, which will be a reference for people to recite and teach, and which they may refer to in case of dispute.
• To burn all manuscripts besides these.

 

A special committee was formed for this compilation comprising of certain individuals:

• Zaid ibn Thabit al Ansari, who undertook the task of compilation during Abu Bakr’s era.
• ‘Abdullah ibn al Zubair.
• Sa’id ibn al ‘As.
• ‘Abdur Rahman ibn al Harith ibn Hisham.
• Ubayy ibn Ka’b and others.

He stipulated for them a specific methodology to adopt in writing, i.e. to write the Qur’an in the Qurashi dialect as the Qur’an was revealed in their dialect.^[9] The object of this task was to copy various manuscripts from the scripts of Abu Bakr which served as the master copy.^[10]

After the completion of the copying of the ‘Uthmani manuscripts in the manner we mentioned previously, Amir al Mu’minin ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan radiya Llahu ‘anhu instructed they be sent to the main Islamic cities. He sent with each Mushaf a proficient teacher of the Qur’an whose Qira’ah was mostly similar to the Qira’ah of that area. This is because heart-to-heart transmission is the basis in recitation of the Qur’an.^[11]

He commanded that all other personal copies or manuscripts by the Sahabah which differed from it to be burnt, to remove the root of the cause of this dispute between the Muslims in the recitation of the Book of Allah. The Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum complied to this. All copies and manuscripts were gathered then burnt or washed with water.

We reproduce the hadith on this topic which al Bukhari narrates from Ibn Shihab on the authority of Anas ibn Malik radiya Llahu ‘anhu:

 

أن حذيفة بن اليمان قدم على عثمان وكان يغازي أهل الشأم في فتح أرمينية وآذربيجان مع أهل العراق فأفزع حذيفة اختلافهم في القراءة فقال حذيفة لعثمان يا أمير المؤمنين أدرك هذه الأمة قبل أن يختلفوا في الكتاب اختلاف اليهود والنصارى فأرسل عثمان إلى حفصة أن أرسلي إلينا بالصحف ننسخها في المصاحف ثم نردها إليك فأرسلت بها حفصة إلى عثمان فأمر زيد بن ثابت وعبد الله بن الزبير وسعيد بن العاص وعبد الرحمن بن الحارث بن هشام فنسخوها في المصاحف وقال عثمان للرهط القرشيين الثلاثة إذا اختلفتم أنتم وزيد بن ثابت في شيء من القرآن فاكتبوه بلسان قريش فإنما نزل بلسانهم ففعلوا حتى إذا نسخوا الصحف في المصاحف رد عثمان الصحف إلى حفصة وأرسل إلى كل أفق بمصحف مما نسخوا وأمر بما سواه من القرآن في كل صحيفة أو مصحف أن يحرق قال ابن شهاب وأخبرني خارجة بن زيد بن ثابت سمع زيد بن ثابت قال فقدت آية من الأحزاب حين نسخنا المصحف قد كنت أسمع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقرأ بها فالتمسناها فوجدناها مع خزيمة بن ثابت الأنصاري مِّنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رِجَالٞ صَدَقُواْ مَا عَٰهَدُواْ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيۡهِۖ  فألحقناها في سورتها في المصحف

Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman came to ‘Uthman. He had been fighting alongside the people of Greater Syria in the conquest of Armenia and Azerbaijan with the people of Iraq. Their dispute in recitation worried Hudhayfah.

Hudhayfah said to ‘Uthman, “O Amir al Mu’minin, save this Ummah before they differ in the Book like how the Jews and Christians differed.”

‘Uthman sent word to Hafsah, “Send to us the scripts which we will copy in the Mushafs, then return them to you.”

Hafsah sent them to ‘Uthman who instructed Zaid ibn Thabit, ‘Abdullah ibn al Zubair, Sa’id ibn al ‘As, and ‘Abdur Rahman ibn al Harith ibn Hisham to copy them in the Mushafs.

‘Uthman said to the three Qurashi individuals, “When you and Zaid ibn Thabit differ over any aspect of the Qur’an, then write it in the dialect of the Quraysh as it was revealed in their dialect.” They completed the task.

When they copied the scripts into the Mushafs, ‘Uthman returned the scripts to Hafsah. He sent a Mushaf they copied to every horizon and commanded that all Qur’an in all scriptures and manuscripts be burnt.

Ibn Shihab continues: Kharijah ibn Zaid ibn Thabit informed me that he heard Zaid ibn Thabit affirm, “I could not find a verse of al Ahzab while we were copying the Mushaf that I heard the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam reciting. We searched for it and found it by Khuzaymah ibn Thabit al Ansari: Among the believers are men true to what they promised Allah.^[12] We added it to its respective Surah in the Mushaf.^[13]

 

NEXT⇒ Section 3 – The Sahabah’s and Ahlul Bayt’s concern with the Tafsir of the Qur’an – Their interest in the knowledge of Tafsir

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^[1]  Surah al Isra’: 106.

^[2]  Surah al Furqan: 32.

^[3]  Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith: 4986.

^[4]  Abu al Fadl al Razi: Ma’ani al Ahruf al Sab’ah, pg. 545-546.

^[5]  Surah al Tawbah: 128.

^[6]  Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith: 4986.

^[7]  Fath al Bari, 9/17.

^[8]  Each Surah was compiled in a separate script in the first compilation. Hence, there were 114 scripts.

^[9]  One example of the nature of the dispute is that they disputed over the word al tabut, should it be written with an open ta’ or a closed, round ta’. A weak view suggests that the angle of the dispute was in selecting one harf (dialect) which will be written from the seven, and preferring the dialect of Quraysh over others.

^[10]  Some scholars view that ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan selected one of the seven dialects and wrote it and stuck to it in the Mushaf. This is the view of al Tabari. Others feel that ‘Uthman wrote the Mushaf in a manner that will accommodate the seven dialects as far as possible. Some will not be accommodated by the text, despite them not being abrogated. Some such scholars name this type of writing transcribing upon one dialect like Makki ibn Abi Talib. Some do not call it such like Ibn al Jazari. However, Ibn al Jazari stipulates the task of encompassing the dialects in the text in a manner that does not leave out a single dialect from the final presentation. Some hold this view that the scripts did not sequence the Surahs, so ‘Uthman gave them sequence.

^[11]  Ibn al Jazari writes, “He wrote a few Mushafs. He sent a Mushaf to Basrah, a Mushaf to Kufah, a Mushaf to Greater Syria, a Mushaf to Makkah, a Mushaf to Yemen, a Mushaf to Bahrain, left a Mushaf in Madinah, and kept a Mushaf for himself which was called al Imam.”

^[12]  Surah al Ahzab: 23.

^[13]  Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith: 4987.