Ibn Hibban

Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: After the Battle of Yamama, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) called me. At that time, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was also sitting with him. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Umar came to me and said: Many memorizers of the Qur’an were martyred in the Battle of Yamama. I fear that if people continue to be martyred in different places in this way, a large part of the Qur’an may be lost. Therefore, I think you should order the collection of the Qur’an. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I replied: How can I do something which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not do? So he said: By Allah! It is better. After that, he kept urging me about this matter until Allah Almighty granted me the same openness of heart regarding this as He had granted to Umar, and my opinion became the same as Umar’s opinion. (Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates) Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: You are a young man and intelligent as well. We do not suspect you of anything, and you used to write down revelation for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so you should search for the Qur’an and collect it in one place. Sayyiduna Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: By Allah! If he had ordered me to move a mountain, it would not have been as difficult for me as the command he gave me regarding collecting the Qur’an. I said: How can you people do something which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not do? So Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! It is better. After that, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) kept discussing this matter with me until Allah Almighty granted me the same openness of heart as He had granted to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I started searching for the Qur’an and began collecting it from written fragments and from the hearts of people until I found the last verses of Surah Tawbah with Sayyiduna Khuzaymah bin Thabit Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him). I did not find these verses with anyone else except him. “Indeed, there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves; it grieves him that you should suffer...” These are the last verses of Surah Tawbah. The narrator says: Then that manuscript remained with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) until when he passed away, it remained with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and when he passed away, it came to Sayyidah Hafsah bint Umar (may Allah be pleased with her). Ibn Shihab Zuhri narrates: Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this. Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him). He had participated in the battles of the people of Sham and the people of Iraq. Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) was concerned that people were differing in their recitation. He said: O Leader of the Believers! Take care of this Ummah before they differ about the Book of Allah as the Jews and Christians differed. So Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a message to Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) to send him her manuscript so that we may make several copies from it, and then we will return it to you. So Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) sent that copy to Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) called Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Sa’id bin Al-As (may Allah be pleased with him), and ordered them to prepare several copies of that manuscript. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them: If you and Zaid bin Thabit differ about any word, then write it in the dialect of Quraysh, for it was revealed in their dialect. Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) had several copies prepared and sent them to different regions, and he ordered that any other Qur’an in the form of a manuscript or written sheet should be erased or burnt. Ibn Shihab Zuhri says: Kharijah bin Zaid told me this; he heard Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrate: When I was copying the Mushaf, I could not find one verse of Surah Al-Ahzab which I had heard from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). I searched for that verse and found it with Sayyiduna Khuzaymah bin Thabit Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him). (That verse is:) “Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah...” So I included that verse in that Surah in the Mushaf. Ibn Shihab narrates: At that time, people differed about the word “Tabut” (chest/ark). Sayyiduna Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) said its recitation is “Tabuh,” while Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Sa’id bin Al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) said the word is “Tabut.” When their difference was presented before Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: Write it as “Tabut” because it is according to the dialect of Quraysh.