Abu Bakr's method in collecting the Qur'an

 

Abu Bakr's approach to collecting the Qur'an

The Companions' concern for preserving the Qur'an reached its utmost goal. Although they witnessed the Prophet reciting the Qur'an for twenty years, and although the Qur'an was actually written during the Prophet's time, it was still scattered, and although it was safe to forge anything that was not part of it, and although Zaid ibn Thabit (who compiled it) and other Companions had memorized the Qur'an, they followed a precise and careful approach in collecting the Qur'an during the time of Abu Bakr, which helped protect the Qur'an from all the suspicion of fabrication and forgery that befell other texts.

This approach can be summarized in the following points:

1 - That everyone who received something from the Qur'an from the Messenger of Allah should bring it to Zaid ibn Thabit and those with him.
This is indicated by what Ibn Abi Dawud narrated on the authority of Yahya bin Abd al-Rahman bin Hatib that Umar bin al-Khattab stood among the people and said: Whoever received something from the Messenger of Allah from the Qur’an, let him bring it to us. They wrote that on scrolls, tablets, and palm leaves, and he would not accept anything from anyone until two witnesses testified to it. (1)



2 - That nothing would not be accepted from anyone until two witnesses testified to it, meaning that he was not satisfied with merely finding something written down until two witnesses testified to it.
This is indicated by the previous report of Umar, as well as the saying of Abu Bakr to Umar bin al-Khattab and Zaid bin Thabit: Sit at the door of the mosque, and whoever brings you two witnesses to something from the Book of Allah, write it down. (2)
There is a difference of opinion regarding what is meant by testimony here:
Al-Sakhawi said: 3) What is meant is that they testify that what was written was written in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, or what is meant is that they testify that this is one of the ways in which the Qur’an was revealed.
Ibn Hajar said: It seems that what is meant by the two witnesses is memorization and writing. (4) Then he mentioned the possibility of the first two aspects.
Al-Suyuti said: Or what is meant is that they testify that this is something that was presented to the Prophet
in the year of his death. (5) What appears - and God knows best - is that what is meant is the testimony to its writing in the presence of the Prophet, and that it is something that was presented to Gabriel in the year in which the Messenger of God died, since the Qur’an was memorized in the hearts of many of the Companions, so if they wanted to testify to its memorization, they would have found dozens.



3 - That what is brought is written in the pages.
This is indicated by what Zayd said in the previous hadith about the collection of the Qur’an: “The pages in which the Qur’an was collected were with Abu Bakr until God took his soul, then with Umar until God took his soul, then with Hafsa bint Umar.” (6)
And what is in the Muwatta of Ibn Wahb on the authority of Ibn Umar, who said: Abu Bakr collected the Qur’an on papers.
In the campaigns of Musa bin Uqbah, on the authority of Al-Zuhri, he said: When the Muslims were afflicted in Yamamah, Abu Bakr was alarmed and feared that a portion of the Qur’an would be lost, so the people came with what they had and had with them, until it was collected on paper during the time of Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr was the first to collect the Qur’an on pages. (7)



4 - That nothing that is brought should be accepted except what fulfills the following conditions:
A - That it be written in the presence of the Prophet, not merely from memory, with exaggeration in memorization and adherence to this condition.
Abu Shamah said8) Their aim was that nothing should be written except from what was written in the presence of the Prophet, not merely from memory. (9)

B - That it be from what was proven to have been presented to the Prophet in the year of his death, i.e. in the final presentation.
That which has not been proven to have been presented in the final presentation has not been proven to be Qur’anic. The possibility of the testimony that what was written was among what was presented in the final presentation has been mentioned recently.
On the authority of Muhammad ibn Sirin, on the authority of Katheer ibn Aflah, he said: When Uthman wanted to write the copies of the Qur’an, he gathered twelve men from the Quraysh and the Ansar, among them Ubayy ibn Ka’b and Zayd ibn Thabit. He said: So they sent for the four who were in Umar’s house, and they were brought. He said: Uthman used to look after them, and if they disputed about something, they would delay it. Muhammad said: So I said to Katheer - who was among those who were writing: Do you know why they delayed it? He said: No. Muhammad said: I thought that they were only delaying it to look for the one who had the most recent experience with the final presentation, so that they could write it according to what he said. (10)



5 - That the verses be written in their surahs in the order and precision that the Muslims received from the Prophet. (11)
All the previous controls were strictly adhered to in this collection, to the extent that it was narrated that Umar ibn al-Khattab brought the verse of stoning, but it was not accepted from him because he was alone.
Ibn Ashtah narrated in his book of the Mushafs on the authority of al-Layth ibn Sa`d, who said: The first to collect the Qur’an was Abu Bakr, and Zayd wrote it down. The people used to come to Zayd ibn Thabit, and he would not write down a verse except with two just witnesses. The last verse of Surat al-Bara`ah was only found with Khuzaymah ibn Thabit, so he said: Write it down, for the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, made his testimony equal to the testimony of two men, so he wrote it down. Umar brought the verse of stoning, but he did not write it down. Because he was alone. (12)



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(1) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in the Book of the Mushafs, Chapter: Umar ibn al-Khattab’s Collection of the Qur’an, p. 17.
(2) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in the Book of the Mushafs, Chapter: Abu Bakr’s Collection of the Qur’an in the Mushafs, p. 12. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: Its men are trustworthy despite its interruption. Fath al-Bari (8/630).
(3) He is the Sheikh, Imam, scholar, Sheikh of the reciters and men of letters, the scholar of religion, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad, the most knowledgeable of people for an age. He was an Imam in Arabic, knowledgeable in the language, knowledgeable in the readings and their causes, skilled in them, skilled in interpretation. Despite the breadth of his knowledge and virtues, he was religious, of good morals, beloved by the people, and of great respect. He had no concern but knowledge and its dissemination. He died in the year 643 AH. Seerah A’lam al-Nubala’ (23/122), Shudharat al-Dhahab (5/222), and al-A’lam by al-Zirkali (4/332).
(4) Fath al-Bari (8/630).
(5) Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran (1/167), see also the same reference (1/142).
(6) It was previously graduated.
(7) See Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran (1/169), and Ibn Hajar mentioned these two narrations in Fath al-Bari (8/631), and indicated that they are the most authentic of what was transmitted regarding the collection of the Qur’an during the reign of Abu Bakr?
(8) Abd al-Rahman ibn Ismail al-Maqdisi al-Dimashqi, Abu al-Qasim Shihab al-Din, the historian and hadith scholar, and the head of Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya, he has many writings, and he endowed them all. He died in the year 665 AH. Al-A’lam by al-Zarkali (3/299).
(9) See Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran (1/167), and Fath al-Bari (8/630).
(10) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab al-Masahif, chapter on the collection of the Qur’an by Uthman, may God have mercy on him, p. 33.
(11) See Fath al-Bari (8/634).
(12) See Al-Itqan fi Ulum Al-Quran (1/167-168).