The ʿUthmānic Codex: Understanding how the Qur’an was Preserved
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Introduction
The history of the preservation of the Qur’an has been studied and written about by Muslim scholars in extensive detail. It is a scripture that is intimately familiar to the heart and tongues of countless believers, memorized word-for-word by Muslims across the globe and continuously recited in daily prayer. The Qur’an is the Divine speech of Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ through the angel Jibrīl (Gabriel), and its preservation has been assured by Allah Most Exalted Himself. Allah says, “Verily, We have revealed the Qur’an and We will surely protect it.”
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This is in contrast to previous scriptures revealed by Allah, such as the Tawrāt and Injīl, whose preservation was entrusted to the People of the Book:
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“To them was entrusted the protection of Allah’s Book.”
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The timeless preservation of the Qur’an has even been regarded by many scholars as one facet of its miraculous nature.
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It is important for Muslims to understand precisely what is meant by the preservation of the Qur’an. The Qur’an was preserved through both mass memorization and written recording.
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The written preservation of the Qur’an occurred in stages, the final stage of which was commissioned by the third caliph, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (d. 35 AH/656 CE). Through a process unlike any other in human history, the words and verses of the Qur’an populated the pages of manuscripts around the world with the same clarity with which they were etched in the hearts and minds of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ.
It is that process that the present article aims to explain, providing an overview of the history behind the ʿUthmānic codex and how it was compiled. The discussion will draw upon primary sources in the Islamic tradition (including historical works and Hadith literature) along with analysis of classical and contemporary Muslim scholarship on this topic. It will also evaluate a number of theses that have emerged in Western academia with respect to the history of the Qur’anic text including research related to Qur’anic manuscripts.
The present article is the sequel to the authors’ previous article discussing the variant readings of the quran that existed during the time of the Prophet’s companions. To briefly recap the context provided there: during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Qur’an was revealed piecemeal over a period of 23 years. As reported by numerous companions, the Prophet ﷺ himself reviewed the Qur’an annually with angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) every Ramadan, and twice during the final year of his life.
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Whenever Allah revealed verses of the Qur’an, the Prophet ﷺ would recite them aloud to the companions who would memorize them, and he would summon scribes to write the verses down. A total of 65 companions reportedly served as scribes.
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The evidence indicates a large number of companions had memorized the Qur’an in its entirety during the Prophet’s lifetime or shortly after.
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The Qur’an’s description of itself as both recitation and book alludes to its own oral and textual preservation.
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Although all of the Qur’an was written down during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ (according to the strongest view), the written fragments were not gathered into an official unified compilation,
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although some individual companions had written personal codices.
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Following the death of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in 11 AH/632 CE and under the caliphate of Abū Bakr (d. 13 AH), the first official compilation of the Qurʿan was undertaken in the year 12 AH.
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Abū Bakr was persuaded by ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (d. 23 AH) who emphasized the importance of compiling the Qur’an after a large number of its reciters were martyred during the Battle of al-Yamāmah.
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Zayd ibn Thābit was appointed to the task by Abū Bakr, and he compiled the Qur’an “from date-palm tree bark, parchment, thin white stones, and the hearts of men.”
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Imam Layth ibn Saʿd (d. 175 AH) said, “The first to compile the Qur’an was Abū Bakr and Zayd transcribed it. The people would come to Zayd ibn Thābit and he would not write a single verse except with two witnesses.”
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Zayd did not transcribe verses from memory despite the fact that he and other companions had them memorized. Nor did he simply transcribe the Qur’an from existing written copies. Rather, he followed a meticulous process ensuring that the memory and writing of every verse was backed by direct testimony. Al-Sakhāwī (d. 643 AH) explained that the requirement for ‘two witnesses’ meant two people who possessed it in writing and could testify to having written down the verse from the Prophet ﷺ precisely as they had learned it.
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Thus, the compilation process for each verse in the Qur’an was backed by the combined attestation of written materials, memorization, and direct testimony.
While scribes had written the verses of the Qur’an on different materials during the time of the Prophet ﷺ, they had not been compiled into a single text.
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Indeed, it would not have made sense to do this during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, when verses were still being revealed and added to various chapters while other verses were abrogated, and the predominantly unlettered community of Muslims could rely on direct oral transmission from the Prophet ﷺ himself.
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It was only after the revelation had ceased that such a task was necessary. The result of Abū Bakr’s project was that the written text of the Qur’an was gathered into a single compilation; this process took less than a year (between the Battle of al-Yamāmah in 12 AH and Abū Bakr’s death in 13 AH).
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The Qur’an was written on parchment,
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a material derived from the untanned skins of goats, sheeps, and calves cut into sheets. Written sheets of parchment bound together are termed a codex, the ancestor of the modern book. Similarly, the Arabic word muṣḥaf (pl. maṣāḥif) linguistically refers to a text that consists of written pages between two covers, and has come to refer exclusively to written copies of the Qur’an.
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About The Author
