The outcome of Abu Bakr’s compilation


Thus by relying on written material, backed by witnesses, comparing the written material against the memories of other Companions, and his own memory, Zayd ensured that the Mus- huf that he compiled was indeed the same Book that Allah had revealed to His Messenger, and had promised to preserve. For this first time, the entire Qur’an was in one Book. This compilation accommodated the various dialects of the Arabs. After the death of Abu Bakr, the Mus-huf was passed on to Umar, then to Hafsah after the death of Umar.


Compilation of the Qur’an in time of Uthmaan


By the time Uthmaan assumed leadership of the Ummah, the Muslims had conquered many lands. The Islamic Empire was still growing, fighting on a number of fronts. One such front was the territories of Azerjeban and Armenia. Hudayfah ibn Yamaan noticed that the disagreement about recitation of the Qur’an had emerged among the armies engaged in battle in Azerjeban. He returned to Madinah in 25H to inform Uthmaan about this alarming development, saying:
‘O Commander of the Faithful, save this ummah before it disagrees about its Book, like the christians and jews did before it’. (Bukhari). Ali narrated that Uthmaan assembled the Companions and said: ‘I see that we bring the people on a single mushaf, so that there is neither division nor discord’. And we said: ’an excellent proposal’. (ibn Abi Dawood).


Uthmaan then requested the mus-haf from Hafsa, in order to make copies from it. A
committee of four companions were entrusted with the task of making the copies:


• Zayd ibn Thabit
• Abdullah ibn Zubayr
• Saad ibn al Aas
• Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Harith ibn Hishaam






The latter three were all Qurayshi, and the Arabic style of Saad ibn al Aas was very similar to that of the Prophet. Uthmaan told the committee: ‘should you (three) and Zayd differ (on how to spell a word), then spell it in the dialect of Quraysh, for verily it was revealed in their dialect’. (Bukhari). This was said in response to a difference of opinion regarding spelling the word “taboot” (in 2:248). Should it be spelt in the Qurayshi style; ‘taboot’, or the Madanee style of ‘tabooh’. Uthmaan orderd it to be written in the Qurayshi style.


Sometimes when a difference arose regarding a spelling, they would call the scribe who had written the ayah for the Prophet (sallahu alaihi wa sallam), to ask him the spelling. “Where is the scribe. Precisely how did the Prophet teach him this verse.” (ibn Abi Dawood).


After the committee had completed making the copies of the mushaf, Uthmaan ordered these copies to be sent to every major province, and ordered that all other copies or fragments of the Qur’an should be burnt. Any copy of the Qur’an, written from now on, would have to conform to the Uthmaani mushaf. Thus any abrogated readings were also eliminated. The latter existed due to some companions being unaware of the Prophet’s final recitation to Jibraeel. Ali ibn Talib said: ‘If I were in charge when Uthmaan had been, I would have done the
same as he did’






With every copy of the Qur’an, Uthmaan sent a qari to teach it. This was to emphasise that the recitation of the Qur’an had to be learnt orally through a teacher who had an authentic transmission going back to the Prophet (sallahu alaihi wa sallam). Recitation could never be solely based on the text. The script itself was in the Koofee script without nuqat and tashkeel.


The different mushafs


The various mushafs did not match each other, letter for letter. This was deliberate. The number of verses within each mushaf remained the same, but there were additional or different letters in some of the mushafs. This was done in order to accommodate the various authentic recitations of a particular verse. If the Prophet (sallahu alaihi wa sallam) had recited the verse in a number of different ways, and it was possible to accommodate all of those recitations within in a single spelling, then the word was written with that spelling. For example; maaliki, and malaki was written with one spelling.


However, if the recitations could not be accommodated in one spelling, then it was written with one recitation in one mushaf and another recitation in the other mushaf. For example in
91:25 most people recite: wa laa yakhaafu. But in one mushaaf, it is spelt: fa laa yakhaafu.


Abdullah ibn Abi Dawood (d316) gives a number of examples of this in his book, Kitab al
Masaahif. These differences made no change to the meaning of the words.


The Seven Ahruf


Ibn Taymiyyah states that the Uthmaani mushaaf preserved those elements of the seven ahruf to the extent that his script allowed. Thus only a portion of the seven ahruf were preserved. Certain ways of recitation (of the same verse) were originally part of the seven ahruf, but were abrogated by the final reading of the Prophet (sallahu alaihi wa sallam) to Jibraeel in his final Ramadan. Zayd only preserved the portions of the ahruf that the Prophet (sallahu alaihi wa sallam) had recited with Jibraeel. Hence any qiraat with an authentic chain going back to the Prophet, and conforming to the rules of Arabic grammer, but not being in accordance with the Uthmaani mushaaf was called Shahdh – and hence rejected.


The outcome of Uthmaan’s compilation


Uthmaan successfully brought to an end the differences and resulting arguments that had arisen due to incorrect recitations of the Qur’an. The entire ummah was united upon a single mushhaf, and all future mushaafs up to this day have relied on the Uthmaani mushaaf.


The differences in the compilations


1. Abu Bakr compiled the Qur’an due to the fear of it being lost, whereas Uthmaan complied it in response to the inauthentic recitations, and the subsequent differing. His aim was to unite the Muslims upon the proper recitation of the Qur’an.


The Prophet (sallahu alaihi wa sallam) compiled the Qur’an in writing and encouraged the Companions to memorise it and teach it, in order to provide the community with the revelation as it came.