How the Holy Qur'an was preserved
Since the Holy Qur'an was not revealed all at once, i.e., different verses of it were being revealed as and when appropriate, it was not possible from the very beginning to write and preserve it in a book form.
So, during the initial stage of Islam, major emphasis was laid on memory as a means of preserving the Holy Qur'an.
When wahee (revelation) used to come in the very beginning, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) would tend to repeat its words instantly so that they would be memorised well enough.
Thereupon, Allah Almighty directed him through the verses of Soorah Qiyaamah that he need not repeat words in a hurry immediately as revelation came.
Allah Almighty would himself endow him with a memory that he will be unable to forget the words of the wahee once its descent had been completed.
So it was that the moment the Qur'anic verses would come to him, they would be committed to his memory the next moment.
Thus, the blessed chest of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), was the most protected vault of the Holy Qur'an, in which there was no chance of even some common mistake, editing or alteration.
Moreover, as a matter of additional precaution, he used to recite the Qur'an before angel Jibra'eel every year during the month of Ramadhaan.
It is reported that in the year he left this mortal world he completed a cumulative review of Qur'anic recitation twice with Jibra'eel.
(Saheeh Bukhaari with Fat'hul Baari) Again, as it was, he would not restrict his teachings of the Sahaabah (Companions) to just the meaning of the Holy Qur'an, but had them memorize its words as well.
Then, the revered Companions were themselves so enamored with a desire to learn and remember the Qur'an that everyone of them was anxious to get ahead of the other.
There were women who claimed no dowry from their husbands except that they would teach the Qur'an.
Hundreds of Companions, freeing themselves from all other concerns, had devoted their whole lives for this purpose.
Not only did they memorize the Qur'an but they also went on repeating it within the nightly prayers.
'When someone migrated from Makkah and came to Madeenah', says Ubaadah Ibne Saamit, 'the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) would entrust him to one of us Ansaar so that he could teach Qur'an to the new comer.' The mosque of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was so filled with voices generated by learners and teachers of the Qur'an that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) had to ask them to lower their voices so that mistakes are not made.
(Manaahilul 'Irfaan) So, within a fairly short time, there was on hand a large group of the noble Companions who had the Qur'aan all committed flawlessly to their memory. In short, memorisation of the Qur'an was given more emphasis in early Islam as this was the only protected and trustworthy method, given the conditions of that time.
The reason is that the number of people who could read or write was very limited in those days.
The means of publishing books, such as printing press, etc., were not there.
Therefore, in that situation, if writing was taken to be sufficient, it would have neither been possible to spread the Qur'an on an extensive scale nor to protect it reliably.
In its place, Allah Almighty had blessed the people of Arabia with a memory of such dimensions that thousands of poetic lines would normally rest in the memory of one person after another.
Common ordinary villagers would remember by heart their genealogies and those of their families and even those of their horses! Therefore, this power of memory was well utilized for the conservation and protection of the Qur'an and it was through it that the verses and chapters of the Qur'an reached to the far corners of Arabia. THE WRITING OF WAHEE: Besides having the Qur'an committed to memory, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) did make special arrangements to have the Qur'an committed to writing as well.
Zayd Ibne Thaabit says: "I used to write down the words of wahee for him.
When wahee came to him he felt burning with heat and the drops of perspiration would start rolling down on his body like pearls.
When this state would go away from him, I would present myself before him with shoulder-bone or a piece (of something else).
He would go on dictating and I would go on writing.
When I would be finished with writing, the shear weight of copying the Qur'an would give me the feeling that my leg is going to break and that I will never be able to walk.
In any case, when I would be finished with writing, he would say: 'Read.' I would read it back to him and if there was a shortcoming, he would have it corrected and then let it be known to people.
(Majma'uz Zawaa'id with reference to Tabraani) Besides Zayd Ibne Thaabit, there were other Companions who carried out the duty of committing the wahee to writing.
Some of those who can be specially mentioned, in addition to the four rightly guided Khulafaa, are Ubayi Ibne Ka'b, Zubayr Ibne Awwaam, Mu'aawiyah, Mugheerah Ibne Shu'bah, Khaalid Ibne Waleed, Thaabit Ibne Qays, Abaan Ibne Sa'eed and others.
(Fat'hul Baari) Uthmaan says that it was the practice of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) that, soon after the revelation of a certain portion of the Qur'an, he would pointedly instruct the scribe of the wahee to write it in such Soorah after such and such a verse.
(Fat'hul Baari, Zaadul Ma'aad) Since paper was not available in Arabia during those days, these Qur'aanic verses were mostly written on stone slabs, parchments, date branches, bamboo units, tree leaves and animal bones.
However, at times, paper pieces have also been used.
(Ibid) Thus, there existed, during the time of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), a copy of the Qur'an which he had arranged to be committed to writing under his supervision.
Although, it was not there as a formally prepared book, it certainly was there in the form of various units of available writing materials.
Along with it, it was also the practice of some revered Companions that they would make copies of the Qur'anic verses and keep them for personal recollection.
This practice was common since the very early period of Islam.
Accordingly, much before Umar embraced Islaam, his sister and brother-in-law had in their possession verses of the Qur'an which they had written and kept in a book form.
(Seerah Ibne Hishaam) IN THE PERIOD OF ABOO BAKR: It was the characteristic of all copies of the Qur'an made during the days of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) that they were either written on different available writing surfaces, for instance, a verse would appear on parchment, another on tree leaf and yet another on a bone; or they were not complete copies.
One Companion would have only a single soorah in his record while someone else would have five or ten soorahs and some others will have only a few verses.
Then there were Companions having in their possession explanatory sentences as well along with the text of the verses. On these grounds, Aboo Bakr, during his tenure of Khilaafah, thought it necessary to bring together all these scattered units of the Qur'an and have them preserved.
The motive and the methods behind this has been explained in detail by Zayd Ibne Thaabit.
He says: "One day, soon after the Battle of Yamaamah, Aboo Bakr sent a message calling me.
When I reached him, 'Umar was present there.
Aboo Bakr said to me, 'Umar has just come now and he tells me that a large group of Huffaaz (those who had committed the Qur'an to memory) have been martyred in the Battle of Yamaamah.
If the Huffaaz of the Qur'an continue to meet their martyrdom in this manner, I am afraid a large portion of the Qur'an may just go extinct.
So, in my view, you should begin the task of having the Qur'an collected together under your order.' I said to 'Umar, 'How can we do what the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) himself did not do?' 'Umar replied, 'By Allah, this is for nothing but good.' After that, this is what 'Umar continued telling me, until I too started seeing the truth, and now, my view was the same as 'Umar's.
After that Aboo Bakr said to me, 'You are young, and intelligent.
We have no doubts about you.
