Summarised from a monograph written by Imam Ahmad Rida on the topic of the compilation of the Qur’an. Full English translation of this monograph to be released soon.
A tribute to Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab – The first ever compilation of the Qur’an was done acting upon the counsel of Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab.
The Qur'an was revealed over a period of 23 years. During the period in which the Qur'an was being revealed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had scribes who would write the revelation as soon as certain verses [ayah] were revealed. He would instruct where to put the verse and to which subchapter [surah] a certain verse belonged.
Although the entire Qur'an was written during the physical life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, different portions of the Qur'an were preserved in different places - it was not compiled in its entirety in one place. After the Messenger of Allah ﷺ left this mundane world and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr became the rightful Khalifa, a battle (battle of yamamah) was fought against Musaylamah Khaddhab (the cursed one who claimed Prophethood) in which many companions who had memorised the entire Qur'an (huffaz) were martyred. Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab, concerned with the martyrdom of countless huffaz companions, approached the rightful leader of the Muslims, Abu Bakr Siddiq, and expressed his concern. Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab feared that if the companions who had memorised the entire Qur'an were to be martyred in great numbers in the forthcoming battles just as in the battle of yamamah, vast portions of the Qur'an would be lost – as at that particular time, it was not compiled or preserved in a specific place.
Sayyiduna Umar requested Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq to give the order of gathering the Qur’an from wherever it could be found. At first Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq was unconvinced, thinking that how can he give the order for such a task to be carried out when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself never ordered for it to be done. Sayyiduna Umar addressed this question of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq with the following words: “By Allah! it is a virtuous task.” After the guidance of the remaining companions, who all concurred with the view of Sayyiduna Umar, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr issued an order for the entire Qur’an to be collected and compiled. When this copy was finalised, it remained with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq, then with Sayyiduna Umar, thereafter with his daughter, Sayyidah Hafsa.
From this brief account, it can be seen that the concern of Sayyiduna Umar, and his request in the court of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq, resulted in the first ever compilation of the Qur’an – referred to by the scholars as suhuf (folios). Sayyiduna Uthman, during his time as the Khalifa, prepared a standardised codex from these suhuf and distributed them throughout the Islamic countries – this standardised codex prepared by Sayyiduna Uthman is referred to as the mushaf (codex). This mushaf is what has been passed down to us through mass transmission [tawatur] and we refer to as the Qur’an: the precise and unchanged word of Allah.
Although rarely discussed and unknown to many, the first ever compilation of the Qur’an was done acting upon the counsel of Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab.
By Muhammad Kalim (Preston, UK)
