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One of the most influential books in the history of literature, recognized as the greatest literary masterpiece in Arabic, the Qur'an is the supreme authority and living source of all Islamic teaching. This sacred text sets out the creed, rituals, ethics, and laws of Islam.
When the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) responded to the call of his Master Almighty, he left the Qur’an written in separate parchments along with hundreds of human hearts. The said parchments were not compiled into a single codex. Although the Qur’anic text was fully inscribed, it must be codified properly. It was very easy for any faithful Companion to Codify the Qur’an individually, but the Companions left no stone unturned to remove any possible doubts relating to the Qur’anic codification. So, just after the sorrowful demise of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the first Caliph Abu Bakr (R.A) commissioned a committee of the learned Companions to codify the Qur’an, who was considered the best reciters of the Qur’an among them. The commission comprised Umar bin Khattab, Ubayi ibn Ka’ab, and Zayd ibn Thabit (R.A). The main objective of the commission was to codify the Qur’an with mass consensus and collective endorsement of the Companions so that no one would have a reason to doubt this Codified Qur’an.
The method that was adopted by this Commission was as follows:
1. They had the original parchments of the Qur’an that were inscribed in the presence of the Prophet (PBUH).
2. Certain Companions had compiled their own copies of the Qur’anic text with Prophet’s permission; among these Companions were Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Amr, Ubayi ibn Ka’ab and Muadh ibn Jabl (R.A).
3. They invited the Companions to bring any piecemeal of the Qur’anic passages that they had written down with the Prophet’s permission.
4. They compared all of the available inscribes with each other and with their own sharp memory.
5. Thus they inscribed the Qur’an on leather parchments, arranging the chapters in the order they had been taught by the Prophet (PBUH).
Caliph Abu Bakr (R.A) was himself overseeing the Commission. Thus, the Ummah had a Qur’anic Codex, that was collectively endorsed and successively transmitted.
Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
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- Sajid Mahmood Ansari
- Research Scholar, Writer, Blogger