Ibn Hibban

Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) called me after the Battle of Yamama, and Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (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 Muslims were martyred in the Battle of Yamama. I fear that if people continue to be martyred in different regions in this way, much of the Qur'an will be lost, which has not been preserved. I wish that you order the collection of the Qur'an. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said, "How can you do something which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not do?" So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "This is better." After this, they continued to discuss this matter until Allah Almighty opened my heart regarding this, and my opinion became the same as that of Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). (Sayyiduna Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates) Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was sitting with them, he did not say anything. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You are a young and intelligent man, and we do not accuse you of anything. You used to write down the revelation for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so you should search for the Qur'an and collect it." Sayyiduna Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: By Allah! If they had ordered me to move a mountain, it would not have been as difficult for me as the order to collect the Qur'an. I said: "How can you 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! This is better." After that, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) continued to discuss this with me until Allah Almighty opened my heart regarding this, just as He had opened the hearts of 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: So I began the task of searching for the Qur'an. I collected it from written pieces and from the hearts of people, until I found the last verses of Surah Tawbah with Sayyiduna Khuzaymah Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him); I did not find these verses with anyone else except him. "There has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves..." The manuscript that I had collected remained with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) during his lifetime, then when he passed away, it came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and when he passed away, it came to Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).

Ibn Shihab narrates: Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) told me this. He participated in the battles with Azerbaijan and Armenia, and in the wars with the people of Sham and Iraq. They discussed the Qur'an, and there arose a difference among them to the extent that it was possible that fighting would break out among them. When Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the people differing about the Qur'an, he rode to Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "The people have differed about the Qur'an. I fear that the same situation will befall them as befell the Jews and Christians due to their differences." So Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) became extremely worried. He sent a message to Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) and took out the manuscript which Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) had ordered Sayyiduna Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) to collect. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) had several copies made of this manuscript and sent them to different regions. Then, when Marwan became the governor of Madinah Munawwarah, he sent a message to Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) and requested that she send him the Mushaf so that he could tear it up. He feared that some people might oppose others regarding it, so I forbade him from doing so. Ibn Shihab narrates: Salim bin Abdullah told me this. When Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) passed away, Marwan sent a message to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), making him swear (to send him the Mushaf). So when they were returning from the funeral of Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her), Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) sent that copy to Marwan, and Marwan burned it, fearing that there might be differences regarding it, i.e., that there might be differences with the copy which Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) had prepared.