Reasons for collecting the Holy Quran during the reign of Uthman

 

Reasons for collecting the Holy Qur’an during the reign of Uthman

1 - The expansion of Muslim lands and the dispersion of the Companions in them
2 - The invasion of Armenia and Azerbaijan
Umar ibn al-Khattab assumed the caliphate after the death of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and his caliphate lasted ten years, during which the lands of the Muslims expanded, and the East and the West submitted to their rule. When Umar ibn al-Khattab was stabbed in the year twenty-three of the Prophet’s migration, and he was certain of the approach of death, he made the matter of the Muslims a consultation between six of the Companions, namely: Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, and Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas. The matter of consultation between these six ended with the selection of Uthman, so Uthman ibn Affan assumed the caliphate of the Muslims in the last days of the year twenty-three of the Prophet’s migration (1).

Events occurred during his time that led to thinking about collecting the Qur’an a second time, and sending copies of it to the provinces. The most important reasons for this collection were:

1 - The expansion of Muslim lands and the dispersion of the Companions in them.

It was a patch The lands of the Muslims expanded during the days of Omar ibn al-Khattab, until they reached Transoxiana in the east, and Tripoli in the west.
The conquests that Omar ibn al-Khattab began during the days of Uthman ibn Affan extended and continued throughout the period of his caliphate, conquering new lands and establishing the Muslims in the lands that had been conquered before. (2)
With the expansion of the Islamic state, the Muslims increased in number, and the Companions dispersed throughout the countries, calling to God, teaching knowledge, and reciting the Qur’an.
The people used to recite as they were taught. The people of Ash-Sham used to recite according to the recitation of Ubayy ibn Ka’b, the people of Kufa used to recite according to the recitation of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, the people of Basra used to recite according to the recitation of Abu Musa al-Ash’ari, and so on. (3)
Hudhayfah said: The people of Basra used to recite according to the recitation of Abu Musa, and the people of Kufa used to recite according to the recitation of Abdullah. (4)


These reciters from among the Companions had witnessed the revelation of the Qur’an, heard it from the Prophet, and learned the ways of reciting it. None of that was the case for those who learned from them in the cities. So if one of them met with someone who recited in a way other than the way he had recited, they would be amazed by that, and some of them would denounce others. It might even reach the point of declaring some of them sinful or unbelievers.
On the authority of Yazid bin Muawiyah al-Nakha’i, he said: I was in the mosque during the time of al-Walid bin Uqbah in a circle in which Hudhayfah was present, when a voice called out: Whoever recites according to the recitation of Abu Musa, let him come to the corner near the gates of Kinda, and whoever recites according to the recitation of Abdullah bin Mas’ud, let him come to this corner near the house of Abdullah. They differed over a verse from Surat al-Baqarah. This one recited: (And complete the Hajj and Umrah for the House), and this one recited: {And complete the Hajj and Umrah for Allah} (5). Hudhayfah became angry and his eyes turned red, then he stood up and spread out his shirt in his pocket (6) while he was in the mosque, and that was during the time of Uthman, and he said: Either the Commander of the Faithful rides to me, or I ride, for that is how those before you were… (7)
On the authority of Ali bin Abi Talib, that Uthman said: It has reached me that some of them say: My recitation is better than your recitation, and this is almost blasphemy. (8) We said: What do you think? He said: We think that we should gather the people on one Qur’an, so that there will be no division and no disagreement. We said: What you think is good. (9)


The Qur’an teaching circles spread, and the disagreement spread to the boys and teachers, so some of them accused others of making mistakes, and some of them denied the recitation of others.
On the authority of Abu Qilabah, he said: When it was the caliphate of Uthman, the teacher would teach the man how to read, and the teacher would teach the man how to read, so the boys would meet and differ, until it reached the teachers, he said: Until some of them disbelieved in the reading of others, so that reached Uthman, so he stood up as a preacher and said: You differ and make mistakes in my presence, and in the cities that are far from me, I differ more and make mistakes. Gather, O companions of Muhammad, and write an imam for the people. (10)


It appears that these events were before the conquest of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and when the severe disagreement and great strife occurred among the Muslims in the conquest of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the need for a new collection of the Qur’an became clear, with which the Muslims would be united and the roots of that strife would be uprooted.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: This story of Hudhayfah appears to me to have been earlier than the story that occurred to him in the recitation. (11) It was as if when he saw the difference between the people of Ash-Sham and Iraq, his fear intensified, so he rode to Uthman, and it happened that something similar had also occurred to Uthman. (12)




2 - The invasion of Armenia (13) and Azerbaijan (14)

In the year twenty-five of the Prophet’s migration, the people of Ash-Sham and the people of Iraq gathered to invade Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Al-Dhahabi said: The Romans were in a state of turmoil, until the princes of the Levant sought reinforcements from Uthman, so he reinforced them with eight thousand from Iraq. (15)
The commander of the Levant army in that army was Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri, and the commander of the Iraqi army was Salman ibn Rabi’a al-Bahili, and Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman was among those who fought with them, and he was in charge of the people of al-Mada’in in the provinces of Iraq. (16)
The people of the Levant used to recite according to the recitation of Ubayy ibn Ka’b, and the people of Iraq used to recite according to the recitation of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, so the people of the Levant and the people of Iraq disputed over the recitation, until some of them accused each other of error, and some of them declared each other to be infidels and innocent of each other, and there was almost a great tribulation.
The reason behind this disagreement was that these people did not witness the revelation of the Qur’an, and they were far from witnessing the permissibility of reading it in different ways, so each of them thought that what others read incorrectly was not permissible in the Book of God, and that tribulation almost occurred.


Makki bin Abi Talib said: It had become common among the Companions during the time of the Prophet, and no one would deny it to anyone else, because they had seen the one who permitted it, which was the Prophet. When that difference reached what the owner of the law did not see, nor did he know what he permitted of that, each group denied the others their recitation, and the dispute between them became intense. (17)
Hudhayfah bin Al-Yaman saw this great difference, in addition to what he saw of the difference between the people in recitation in Iraq, so he was alarmed to go to Uthman bin Affan, and warned him of the imminent danger, and that was added to what Uthman had witnessed of the difference between the teachers and also between the boys, so that confirmed what he had deduced that whoever was farthest from the Caliphate in Medina was more divided.


On the authority of Ibn Shihab, that Anas bin Malik told him that Hudhayfah bin Al-Yaman came to Uthman, and he was fighting the people of Ash-Sham in the conquest of Armenia and Azerbaijan with the people of Iraq. Hudhayfah was alarmed by their differences in the recitation, so Hudhayfah said to Uthman: O Commander of the Faithful, seize this nation before they differ in The Book of the Differences between the Jews and the Christians. (18)
On the authority of Zaid bin Thabit, that Hudhayfah bin Al-Yaman returned from a military campaign he had undertaken, and he did not enter his house until he came to Uthman, and he said: O Commander of the Faithful, catch up with the people! Uthman said: What is that? He said: I invaded the valley of Armenia, and the people of Iraq and the people of Syria were present. The people of Syria recited according to the recitation of Ubayy, and they did something that the people of Iraq had not heard, so the people of Iraq declared them infidels. And the people of Iraq recited according to the recitation of Ibn Mas`ud, and they did something that the people of Syria had not heard, so the people of Syria declared them infidels. Zayd said: So Uthman ordered me to write him a copy of the Qur’an. (19)

This incident was the most important reason for the compilation of the Qur’an during the time of Uthman, as it confirmed what he thought that the people of the provinces differed more than those in the Caliphate in Medina and its surroundings.


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(1) See: Al-Tarikh Al-Islami (The
Rightly-Guided Caliphs) (3/190), (3/234). (2) See: Al-Tarikh Al-Islami (The Rightly-Guided Caliphs) (3/190), (3/234).
(3) See Ta’wil Mushkil Al-Athar (4/193), Fath Al-Bari (8/633-634), and Manahil Al-Irfan (1/255).
(4) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab Al-Masahif. Chapter on Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud’s dislike of that. Page 20.
(5) Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 196.
(6) Al-Hijzah is the place where the garment is tied, and it is the middle.. Al-Nihaya fi Gharib Al-Hadith wa Al-Athar (1/344).
(7) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawud in Kitab Al-Masahif, p. 18.
(8) On the authority of Amr ibn Al-Aas that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: The Qur’an was revealed in seven letters, whichever letter you read, you have done right, so do not dispute about it, for dispute about it is disbelief. Narrated by Ahmad in his Musnad: Musnad Al-Shamiyyin (5/232) Hadith 17364.
(9) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawood in Kitab al-Masahif, Chapter on Uthman’s Collection of the Qur’an, p. 30. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: With a sound chain of transmission. Fath al-Bari (8/634).
(10) Narrated by Ibn Abi Dawood in Kitab al-Masahif, Chapter on Uthman’s Collection of the Qur’an, pp. 28-29.
(11) Meaning: In the conquest of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
(12) Fath al-Bari (8/634).
(13) Ibn Hajar said: And Armenia with a fatha on the hamza according to Ibn al-Sam’ani, and with a kasra according to others… and with a sukoon on the ra’, and a kasra on the meem, then a silent ta’, then a kasra on the noon, then a light open ta’, and it may be heavy, said Yaqut. Fath al-Bari (8/632). It is a large region in the north, and one of its cities is Tiflis. Mu’jam al-Buldan (1/191).
(14) With a fatha then a sukoon, and a fatha on the ra’, and a kasra on the unified ba’, and a silent ya’, and a jim. A famous region in the regions of the mountains of Iraq, west of Armenia. Dictionary of Countries (1/155-156).
(15) History of Islam - The Era of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, p. 309.
(16) See Fath al-Bari (8/632), and al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah (7/150).
(17) See al-Ibanah ‘an Ma’ani al-Qira’at, pp. 48-49.
(18) Narrated by al-Bukhari in his Sahih: Book of the Virtues of the Qur’an, Chapter on Compiling the Qur’an (8/626), Hadith 4987.
(19) Narrated by al-Tahawi in Ta’wil Mushkil al-Athar, Chapter on Clarifying the Difficult Verses Narrated from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, in his saying: The Qur’an was revealed in seven letters. (4/193). It was mentioned by al-Hafiz in al-Fath (8/633).