One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Islam is the fact that the source book of this religion, the Holy Qur’an, has existed unaltered in its entirety for over 1400 years. Many people find this fact hard to believe and several have tried to prove the contrary. However, a close examination of the history of the Qur’an and the process through which it has been preserved clearly shows that the claim about the Qur’an’s authenticity is correct beyond doubt.
The Language of the Qur’an
One problem with languages that are fortunate enough to survive for an extended period of time is that they change over the years and often become difficult to understand within the span of a few hundred years due to these changes. For example, the literary English of the middle ages is very difficult to understand for the masses today except for a few scholars and linguists. Therefore, for a religious book to remain always understandable and relevant, it must be in a language that will not change. The Qur’an was revealed in the purest form of the Arabic language, which was spoken by Bedouins in Hejaz. This language has remained unaltered for the past 1400 years and due to its powerful linguistic characteristics, eloquence, conciseness and lyricism, it is most suitable for an everlasting divine message like the Qur’an.
The Process of Preservation
The Qur’an was preserved very methodically and meticulously; this process is unique to the Qur’an as the text of no other religious book has been preserved with such care. Whenever an ayah (or verse) of the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) he took the following measures:
Writing: The Prophet (SAW) asked the people who were literate to write down the ayahs (verses) that were revealed, in his presence, to make sure that it was written correctly.
Memorizing: All of the Sahaba (companions) were then asked to memorize what was revealed and then recite it in their daily prayers. Therefore, the text of the Qur’an was constantly recited several times a day during prayers, which helped the companions in retaining it.
Reading from an authentic teacher: In the beginning, the Prophet (SAW) himself taught all of his companions how to recite the Qur’an, but when the numbers of Muslims started growing, it became practically impossible for him to personally teach every Muslim how to recite the Qur’an. He then appointed some of his companions who were exemplary in the art of Qur’anic recitation and allowed them to teach and certify the Muslims. This same process is followed till today in all of the madrasas (Muslim religious schools) where a certified teacher teaches the students and this chain of teachers can be traced back to the Prophet (SAW) himself. In fact, the chain goes further back to include Jibreel (AS), who taught it to the Prophet (SAW), and finally Allah (SWT), who taught it to Jibreel (AS).
Compilation of Qur’an
The compilation of the Qur’an was carried out in three stages:
First Stage
The first stage of compilation occurred during the life of the Prophet (SAW). In this stage, the arrangement and order of the surahs (chapters) and ayahs (verses) were specified by the Prophet (SAW) and the text was written down. However, at this stage, the Qur’an was not compiled into a single book, rather was available in separate parchments and was memorized in its entirety by several sahaba (companions).
In order to ensure the integrity of the text, the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to recite the whole Qur’an (to the extent that was revealed by that time) every year during Ramadan. On this occasion, all of the companions who had the written text, would bring their copies and collate. During the last year of his life, the Prophet recited the whole Qur’an twice to make sure that it was preserved in its entirety as it was revealed to him.
Second Stage- Compilation by Caliph Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him):
The second stage of compilation took place during the caliphate of Abu Bakr (RAA). In the battle of Yamama a large number of sahaba, who had memorized Qur’an, were martyred. This became a source of grave concern for many companions of the Prophet (SAW) and they feared about the preservation of Qur’an. Therefore Umer (RAA) suggested to the Caliph that the Qur’an should be collected and compiled into a single book in order to ensure its preservation. Abu Bakr liked the idea but was hesitant because the Prophet himself had never taken this step and he (Abu Bakr) feared that this action might be considered a deviation from the Sunnah.
However, he was finally convinced and asked Zayd Bin Thabit (RAA) to chair the commission that was formed to compile the Qur’an. All of the members of this commission were renowned Haffaz (memorizers) of the Qur’an, i.e. they had already memorized it in its entirety.
The sahaba who possessed the written text that was collated during the yearly Ramadan recitation of the Prophet were asked to bring their copies to the commission. The commission used the copies of the text collected from the companions and only accepted the ayas that were present in at least two copies. This was done to eliminate the human errors that could have been made by the scribes. Once the whole text was collected and compiled, the commission carefully proofread it and certified that it was correct and present in its entirety.
Third Stage- Contribution of Caliph Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him)
A serious issue related to the recitation of the Qur’an surfaced during the era of the third Caliph Uthman bin Affan. Although the text of the Qur’an was universally accepted, Arabs from different parts of the Islamic state recited it according to their dialect. This presented two problems: firstly that everybody considered their dialect to be correct which gave rise to disputes; and secondly it was feared that if this went on, there will be no universally accepted version of Qur’an left.
Caliph Uthman (RAA) ordered a commission to prepare a written text according to the pronunciation of the natives of Hejaz (the Bedouins). This commission was again chaired by Zaid ibn Thabit (RAA), the great companion who had chaired the earlier commission during the caliphate of Abu Bakr (RAA). The commission prepared the text accordingly and then several copies were made and sent to different parts of the Islamic state with the instructions that only this should be considered the official and authentic text of Qur’an.
It is important to mention here a misunderstanding regarding the contribution of Caliph Uthman. In some parts of the Muslim world, especially in Pakistan and India, the imams often use the title ‘Jaami’-ul-Qur’an’ for Caliph Uthman in their Friday sermons. This term is technically incorrect because the Qur’an was compiled in the form a complete written book during the caliphate of Abu Bakr not by Caliph Uthman. The title ‘Jaami’-ul-Qur’an’ for Caliph Uthman has also given rise to the incorrect, yet very dangerous assertion that the Qur’an was collected and compiled 15-20 years after the passing of the Prophet (SAW). This in turn has unnecessarily given rise to doubts about the integrity of the text.
Valuable Efforts Made in Our Times
Some very valuable efforts have also been made in our time to further eliminate any chances of the misrepresentation of the Qur’anic text. The government of Saudi Arabia has formed a foundation that prints thousands of copies of the Qur’an according to the version compiled during the caliphate of Hazrat Uthman and distributes it around the world. In addition, several years ago, the government of Egypt had their best Qaris recite the Qur’an in different styles of recitation and distributed this recording all over the world to be used as an authentic reference.
Suggested reading: Al-Azami, Muhammad Mustafa, The History of The Qur’ānic Text from Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments
Assalamualaikum,
Dear Brother, Absar, Your effort is appreciated and valuable. Please guide us that where from this all information is gathered?
Thanks,
Muhammad Sufian Amir
amir163@hotmail.com
Your comment..Ahamdu Lillah!
I m sorry but I think u r wrong in saying this that the title “Jami-al-Quran” should not be given to Hazrat Uthman. This title means that he brought the Muslims around to a uniform reading of the Quran. The Quran that is being read today is the same as in the time of Hazrat Abu Bakr. Nothing has been added or deleted from it. The arrangement of the chapters and verses are in the same order as proclaimed by the Holy Prophet pbuh, in accordance with Divine instructions.
mashallah! nice information
the title given to hazrat usman (i.e. jaami’-ul-Qur’an) is correct because it means that the caliph brought all the muslims to a uniform reading of the holy quran..which undoubetly erases all the misunderstandings that this is technically incorrect..
JazakAllah Khair for sharing this important info. Please can you also provide information regarding the sequence of the compilation, how was it decided which sura was to follow which sura.
I think the title of “Jaami’-ul-Qur’an” is given to Hazrat Usman (Razi Allaho Anho) bin Affan because he compiled the Qur’an in a single dialect.
MA SHA ALLAH…… very nice information nd every Muslim should know about these information of QURAN……….. It is a complete code of life nd ALLAH himself take the responsibility of its protection, thts why quran will b in real form till qayamat
Salam
First of all thanks for nice sharing and i have question about the history of compilation Quran; Can u explain in detail what was the contribution of Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Omer in the compilation of Quran ? B/c some where i heared dispute on this issue could u plz explain in detail the whole scenario ?
Regards
Safdar Ali
plxxxx tell tha number of copies prepared in the reign of hazrat usmaan(r.a)
4 copies were made And were sent to capitals of Muslim empire:Makkah,Kufa ,Basra,Damascus
not 4 copies.. 7 copies were made and were sent to Makkah, Madina, Syria, Kofa,Basra,Bahrain and Yemen..
Was Hadith given with these copies of the Quran?
The article contains very valuable information, yet i want to know if any body on earth has knowledge of where about of those four copies written by Hazrat Usman rw , as of today, ii.e in which country and which libraries those copies are kept. The other thing i have heard that in some copies the number of ‘Surats’ are less then actual and that there is some over writings too.
please, if any body can give any information to that effect, I will be highly obliged.
regards
in third caliph time, was there unmatched copies of the holy Qur’an with those kept with the commision? and are those rejected
copies were set ablaze by Usman(RAA)?
Thank you Mr Absar Kazmi sahab first time I came to know about The History of the Completion of The Qur’an’ give more information about The Qur’an’ thanks once again.
Al hamdulillah .I came to know the compilation of holy Qura’an . ALLAH MADE IT PERFECT … jazakallauu khairan
Salam, Please clairify the sequence of teaching the Qur’an. Wasn’t it taught by Allah swt to Jibril a.s. Then, Jibril a.s. taught to Prophet Muhammad s.w.t. As opposed to your script.
salam… sir your article gives complete information about compilation of Qur’an …thanks for this information i like your article
Salamailaikum dear Absar Kazmi
Can I use some information of your article on ‘The History of the Compilation of The Qur’an’ for a research purpose. I would like to acknowledge your writing.
Kind Regards
You can but leave a link back to the original article.
i want more information about the before and after’s
events and compilation of the holy quran
rashad khalifa claimed on the basis of the miracle of 19 that the the last two verses of surah tawba is a fabrication.how can we refute him?
In the Itqan, Al-Suyuti discussed the number of witnesses required for writing down a revelation of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and quoted the following from Ibn Ashta’s Kitab Al-Masahif:
A narration reports:
“The people would come to Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) ibn Thabit and he would only write a verse from two upright witnesses. Even though the end of Sura al-Baraa (At-tawbah) was not found except with Khuzaima (may Allah be pleased with him) ibn Thabit, he said: ‘Write it, for God’s messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, made his [Khuzaima (may Allah be pleased with him) ibn Thabit’s] testimony as the testimony of two men. So it was written, even though Umar (may Allah be pkeased with him) brought the verse of stoning and it was not written.” because he was alone.
Salamailaikum dear Absar Kazmi
Can I use some information of your article on ‘The History of the Compilation of The Qur’an’ for a research purpose. I would like to acknowledge your writing.
Kind Regards
Dr Safia Akhter