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Compilation of the Qur’ān .
According to Islāmic beliefs, the Qur’ān was revealed when Muḥammad began proclaiming his faith and reciting portions of it for his followers to memorize. When the Meccans persisted in rejecting Muḥammad and his followers, they emigrated to Medina around us AD 621. This migration is known in Islāmic sources as the Hijra, or Hegira. Then, in Medina, another portion of the Qur’ān was given.
Muḥammad was in the habit of asking his scribes to add new verses to different texts. However, this procedure did not apply to all the Qur’ānic passages. What he had left before his death (AH 11/AD 632) were merely scattered fragments written on primitive materials, like leather, clay, and palm leaves. These pieces were not kept with Muḥammad or anyone in particular. When the compiling of the Qur’ān was initiated, the compilation committee did not designate any specific person to collect these pieces but asked everyone who held any portion of the Qur’ān to bring it forth. It seems clear that Muḥammad had never sought to collect the Qur’ān. One Muslim scholar explained that “Muḥammad did not compile the Qur’ān in a book because he anticipated abrogations of some of its rulings or recitations.”
A partial writing of the Qur’ān took place in Medina, which means the Meccan portion of the Qur’ān (two-thirds of the Qur’ānic material) was never written. If there was a possibility that Muḥammad wrote some of the texts in Mecca, they must have been lost, because the historical annals do not mention the Muslims taking Qur’ānic texts with them during the Hijra. In addition, we don’t find in the historical sources any mention of scribes in Mecca. The only possible reference suggesting the existence of a scribe at that time mentions ‘Abd Allah Ibn Abī Sarḥ, who recounted that he wrote the Qur’ān for Muḥammad in Mecca.
Later, he broke off his association with Muḥammad and joined the Quraysh after the falsehood of Muḥammad’s claims to prophethood became apparent to him.
Ibn Sa‘d quoted a list of “those who compiled the Qur’ān” during Muḥammad’s time: Ubayy Ibn Ka‘b,
Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal, Abū al-Dardā’, Zayd Ibn Thābit, Sa‘d Ibn ‘Ubayd, Abū Zayd Ibn ‘Ubayd, and Mujma‘ Ibn Jārīya. It is further said that Ibn Mas‘ūd learned part of the Qur’ān from Mujma‘ Ibn Jārīya. Another report mentioned by Ibn Sa‘d adds more names: ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān, Tamīm al-Dārī, Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal, ‘Ubāda Ibn al-Ṣāmit, and Abū Ayūb.
It seems that the meaning of “compilation” here is actually memorization. The Islāmic historiographers unanimously agree that the first compilation of the Qur’ān, in terms of writing it down, happened later under the supervision of Zayd Ibn Thābit. There is no doubt, however, that those who “compiled” the first Qur’ān, whether in writing or by memorizing, gathered it in part, not in whole; there was no written text yet and Muḥammad was still amending it by adding to parts of the Qur’ān, abrogating some, and removing others.
We notice that the figures who are said to have collected the Qur’ān during Muḥammad’s lifetime, except for ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān, had no social status because they were distant from the decision-making arena. It seems that they were merely loyal to the call of Islām. Considering that ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān was under the criticism of numerous Muslims during his reign, perhaps his name might have been added to this list to confer a kind of holiness upon him.
Therefore, throughout the Meccan period and during some of the Medina periods, memory was the main tool to record the Qur’ānic passages. However, memory is not a reliable tool, for it failed Muḥammad himself. “Hence, we see him comforting the believers in Q 2.106, saying that Allah will grant them a better one in place of each verse that fell victim to forgetfulness.”
Abu Bakr and ‘Umar’s Compilation
Two major compilations, assembled during two different caliphs but under the direction of the same committee leader, eventually produced the first rudimentary codex. The primary purpose of the first compilation was to collect and preserve manuscripts to ensure the survival of the Qur’ān.
Zayd’s First Compilation The first compilation of the Qur’ān was done by Abū Bakr, who succeeded Muḥammad in leading the Muslims (AH 11-13/AD 632-634
He fought a series of wars against the tribes that refused to submit to the authority of Muslims. These wars (known in the Islāmic sources as Ḥurūb al-Ridda, or Wars of Apostasy) ended with a bloody war against Musaylima, a rival of Muḥammad who also claimed prophethood, in al-Yamāma (AH 12/AD 633). There, the Muslims achieved a great victory but at a high human toll.
According to the narrations, some of those who were killed in this decisive war were those who had memorized the Qur’ān. Consequently, ‘Umar Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb suggested to Abū Bakr that he compile the Qur’ān. In response, Abū Bakr asked him how he could do something that Muḥammad wouldn’t do. But ‘Umar defended the rightness of his opinion, saying that more wars would follow the al-Yamāma war, and if more preservers of the Qur’ān are killed a large portion of the Qur’ān would be lost.
Therefore, “Abū Bakr, concerned that the Qur’ān might be lost,” charged ‘Umar Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and Zayd Ibn Thābit with the duty of compiling the Qur’ān.
Some accounts alluded to the fears of Abū Bakr concerning the loss of the Qur’ān (without mentioning ‘Umar’s advice) and states in short that “when the Muslims were killed in the al-Yamāma war, Abū Bakr was terrified. He feared that a group of preservers of the Qur’ān might perish. So, people came forth with what they had till it was collected on paper during the time of Abū Bakr, the first to compile the Qur’ān into manuscripts.”
The mentioning of “paper” in the narration reveals the manipulation of the stories in the Islāmic sources, because the Arabs used papyrus after the occupation of Egypt during the reign of ‘Umar, and paper was made a century and a half later in Samarqand. Its production in Baghdad did not start until the end of the eighth century AD with the help of the Chinese.
Abū Bakr assigned the duty of compiling the Qur’ān to Zayd because Zayd used to write the Qur’ān for Muḥammad: “You are a sensible youth; we have nothing against you. You wrote the revelation to the prophet. Follow the trace of the Qur’ān in order to collect it.”
This assignment was not easy, as explained by Zayd:
“If they had assigned me the burden of moving mountains, it would have been easier than what they assigned me. I followed the trace of the Qur’ān from the chests of men [meaning: what the men had committed to memory], the palm leaves, leather pieces, ribs, and pieces of stone and pottery.”
The collection process took place in the following manner: Abū Bakr sent after those people who were known for their high quality of memorization and asked them to work under the leadership of Zayd. A meeting was held in the house of ‘Umar to discuss the manner of how to compile the Qur’ān and to divide the tasks.
They asked Bilāl to announce in Medina to those who had in their possession written Qur’ānic pieces to submit them to the writing committee.
The testimony of two people was required to confirm a piece was Qur’ānic.
One interesting story is told that ‘Umar brought to the committee the verse on stoning (al-rajm), but Zayd except himself.
The process of compiling lasted about a year.
After completing the task, Zayd handed it over to Abū Bakr. Then ‘Umar received it when he became the second successor (caliph) following Muḥammad’s death.
The manuscripts ended up with his daughter, Ḥafṣa, after his death.
‘Uthmān’s Compilation .
Multiple maṣāḥif (codices) and variant readings escalated conflicts among Muslims. To help reduce these tensions and unify the different Muslim groups, ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān (third caliph) established a compilation committee to create one standard Qur’ān for all. Zayd’s Second Compilation A singular story narrates that ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān collected the Qur’ān during the reign of ‘Umar Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb.
It is not understood from this story if ‘Uthmān compiled the Qur’ān by himself or if he participated in the committee work under Zayd. However, if what is meant is that he participated in the committee, the story is acceptable. Approximately the year AH 25, (or, it is also said, AH 30), ‘Uthmān Ibn ‘Affān made the decision to compile the Qur’ān.
That decision was made after conflicts arose between Muslims about the Qur’ānic variant readings. The conflict concerning the difference in wording was widespread:
• Iraq: The Islāmic armies included competing tribes and clans. Based on this clan division, conflicts arose among the Muslims on various issues, including the Qur’ān. A schism occurred between the people of Basra who recited their Qur’ān according to how Abū Mūsā read it and the people of Kufa who recited their Qur’ān according to how Ibn Mas‘ūd read it.
• Iraq/Syria (al-Shām):
The dissension over which muṣḥāf was the correct Qur’ān spread outside Iraq. When the Muslim combatants from Iraq and those from the Syria (al-Shām) were together fighting at the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, they started quarrelling about the question of who had the right Qur’ān.
The people of Hums considered the codex of al-Miqdād Ibn al-Aswad the most credible one, while the rest of the people of the Syria held to the codex of Ibn Ka‘b. The people of Kufa considered Ibn Mas‘ūd’s recitation to be the standard one, while the people of Basra considered Abū Mūsā’s text to be the most reliable one.
The reports about the quarrels reached ‘Uthmān.
• Medina: The dissension over the reading had also spread in Medina, which was the heart of Islām at that time. Even the teachers of the youngsters were in dispute: “Some of them even counted the others’ reading to be blasphemous. That news reached ‘Uthmān as well, so he rose up and said, ‘You are in presence, yet you disagree about it and say it incorrectly. Those who are in faraway regions are even in more disagreement and grammatical incorrectness. Gather ye, O Companions of Muḥammad, and write for the people an Imām [a standard to follow].’”
He also said, “Your prophet was just taken fifteen years ago, and you already disagree about the Qur’ān’s text itself!?”
Moreover, the expansion of Muslims and their mixing with other people groups led to the blending of languages. So it appeared that the evolutionary linguistic process would put the Qur’ān “in jeopardy of corruption, distortion, addition and deletion.”
Reliance on Ḥafṣa’s Manuscript
There is no doubt that the presence of hundreds of Qur’ānic manuscripts among the Muslims nurtured the schism in the different cities (Kufa, Basra, Medina) and regions (Iraq, Syria) over which Qur’ān was the standard one. A historian estimated the number of codices at the end of ‘Umar Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb’s reign (AH 13-23/AD 634-644) to be 100,000 codices distributed in Iraq, Syria, and Egypt.
We do not agree with this estimate, because it is not based on historical data but only on assumptions. Even if there was a large number of manuscripts at that time in each city, there should have remained at least a few. Certainly all the copies of the Qur’ān were partial and not the complete manuscript. Some might have had a few sūras, while others could have had larger portions. However, it is highly unlikely that 100,000 complete copies of the Qur’ān existed then. If this large total was true, we would have at least dozens of these manuscripts today. The first compilation attempt revealed that the written Qur’ānic manuscripts were spread among many Muslims, not taking into account the parts of the Qur’ān that were committed to memory only. The only copy that was completed by Zayd’s first committee took more than a year to compile. It was the only copy that was considered somewhat complete and was ultimately given to Ḥafṣa for safekeeping. No extra copies of it were made for circulation.
Since the only unique compiled copy was the one entrusted to Ḥafṣa, ‘Uthmān asked her to submit it so that it would become the basis for the work he was about to start. He appointed an editing committee consisting of Zayd Ibn Thābit, Sa‘īd Ibn al-‘Āṣ, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Ibn al-Ḥārith Ibn Hishām, and ‘Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr. In another account the list included Zayd Ibn Thābit, ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Amr Ibn al-‘Āṣ, ‘Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr, Ibn ‘Abbās, and ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Ibn al-Ḥārith Ibn Hishām.
From another source we see that ‘Uthmān appointed a committee of twelve men from the two groups, the Emigrants (al-Muhājirūn) and the Helpers (al-Anṣār).
‘Uthmān asked the compiliation committee to write the Qur’ān in the language of the Quraysh. This condition is attributed to ‘Umar Ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who had required the members of Zayd’s initial committee to write the Qur’ān in “the language of Muḍar.”
After the committee completed the task entrusted to it, several copies were made and distributed to those present. ‘Uthmān also sent copies to the Islāmic governing centers, ordering the governors to destroy the codices in their possession.
He sent a copy each to Kufa, Basra, and Syria, and he kept one for himself. It is said that seven copies were made and that ‘Uthmān sent them to Mecca, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Basra, and Kufa. He also left one in Medina. The Islāmic view tends to prefer the story that he sent four copies.
After that, ‘Uthmān returned Ḥafṣa’s copy to her, and she kept it until the days of the rule of Marwān Ibn al-Ḥakam.
After her death, Marwān asked ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Umar (Ḥafṣa’s brother) to send him the copy.
‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Umar sent it to Marwān, who burned it, “fearing something might be different from what ‘Uthmān copied.”
No opposition was reported to ‘Uthmān’s action, except the objection of Ibn Mas‘ūd.
The prominent figures in Medina supported the decision of unifying the Qur’ān. Historical sources agree that ‘Alī Ibn Abī Ṭālib recognized ‘Uthmān for his work in compiling the Qur’ān and said, “O ye people, do not malign ‘Uthmān and say nothing but good to him regarding the burning of the maṣāḥif [codices], for by Allah he did what he did to the maṣāḥif in the presence of us all.”
‘Alī Ibn Abī Ṭālib announced that if he was in power, he would have done what ‘Uthmān did about this matter.
Ibn Mas‘ūd’s Rejection
Ibn Mas‘ūd refused to acknowledge the ‘Uthmānic codex for personal reasons. His heart was filled with bitterness because he was excluded from the compilation committee. He said, “O Muslims! I get removed from writing down the Qur’ān’s copies, and the charge is given to a man [Zayd], that by Allah, when I became a Muslim, he was still in the custody within the inner being of his father [before conception], a kāfir [an infidel, or unbeliever].”
Ibn Mas‘ūd believed that he had the right to supervise the writing of the Qur’ān. He said bitingly, “I learned from the mouth of (Muḥammad) seventy sūras, while Zayd Ibn Thābit barely had two locks of hair and was playing with the boys.”
Ibn Mas‘ūd pushed the people of Kufa to reject the official Qur’ān imposed by ‘Uthmān’s decision.
As a result, the people of Kufa stayed firm to the codex of Ibn Mas‘ūd until al-Ḥajjāj Ibn Yūsuf al-Thaqafī came to power.
Source: Qur'an Dilemma
Mwisho utajamba kama huyu Mchungaji mwenzako na kusema Huyo ni Roho Mtakatifu wako , na Alina mgen na wakristo wenzako mtaitikia Aaamin 😛😛😛😛😛😛
Roho Mtakatifu katoka makalioni
Gonga
A priest farts in the middle of mass and says it was the Holy Spirit
