COMPILATION OF THE

HOLY QURAN
By Shahroz Asif
Class 7B3
Subject: Islamic

How Was the Quran Compiled Under the

Supervision of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)?
The Quran was not only told, but was also written down during the
life time of the Prophet (PBUH). But not on paper, but on leather,
leaves, and wood. Prophet Mohammed(PBUH) recited portions of
the Quran for his companions to memorize. What he had left
before his death were merely scattered parts of the Quran written
on leather, clay, and palm leaves. When the compiling of the
Quran was initiated, the companions did not assign any specific
person to collect these pieces but asked everyone who held
pieces of the Quran to bring it to them. It seems clear that
Muhammad had never thought to collect the Quran. During the
lifetime of the Prophet (P.B.U.H) the Quran was written down on
parchments and other materials. The Quran was not compiled
then into one copy because of the short interval between the last
verses that were revealed and the death of the Prophet (P.B.U.H).

How Was the Quran Compiled During the Time

of Abu Bakr (RA)?
In the battle of Yamama, in the time of Abu Bakr (RA), a
group of Muslims who had memorized the Quran were
killed. Abu Bakr (RA) told Zaid bin Thabit to collect the
Quran that was written and also from those who had
memorized it. The compiled Quran was kept by Abu Bakr
(RA) until he died, then the Quran came to Umar bin
Khattab (RA).

How Was the Quran Compiled Under the

Supervision of 'Uthman bin 'Affan(ra)?
Uthman bin Affan decided to compile the Quran.That
decision was made after many conflicts occured between
Muslims about the Quranic readings. The conflict was about
the difference in wording of the Quran. the conflict spread
throughout Iraq, Syria/Al-Sham, and Medina.

Why Was the Compilation of the Quran

Necessary?
The article by Abdus Samad Abdul Kader titled "How the
Quran was Compiled" states: It was necessary that the
Scripture that was to be for all mankind and for all times,
should be complete, perfect and change-proof. An
incomplete scripture, and one that men changed from time
to time, cannot be a guide to mankind. ... A Scripture that is
meant for the whole of mankind ... has to be protected from
being interpolated and changed by human hands. (AlBalaagh, Vol. 11 No.2, p.1).

Some more Points:

It has to be Arabic because other languages don't have
certain letters to represent some Arabic letters. and by
trying to choose letters might change the meaning of the
Arabic word to something totally different and cause
confusion.. like the word Ramadan... different people write
it Ramadhan, Ramazan, Ramadan etc.. which is
pronounced most similar like TH a hard TH as in THose,
THat, etc.. with almost a hard D instead of the T sound.. its
very difficult to find a letter replacement in English.. so that's
where the mistake comes in in translating the Quran.