How the Sahaabah Compiled the Quran by Shaykh Abu Remlah Adam Al-Amreekee

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
but I wanted to take this opportunity to read through a beautiful narration from the companions
of the messenger of allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam regarding the compilation of the quran
جم القرآن after the death of the messenger of allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam
this is an authentic narration in sahih al-bukhari and what we’ll do is i’ll read through
the narration first and then thereafter mentioning specific points of benefit inshallah
so narrated muhammad ibn ubaidillah abu thabit who said that ibrahim ibn sa’id narrated to us
from ibn shihab from ubaid ibn al-sabbaq from zayd ibn thabit who said
abu bakr sent for me after the killing of the people of yamama and with him was omar
abu bakr said and abu bakr is saying this to zayd ibn thabit
indeed omar came to me and said the killing during the day of yamama has become severe among
the reciters of the quran and i fear that the killing might increase among the reciters of the
quran in all the other battles resulting in the loss of a great portion of the quran
i suggest that you command with the compilation of the quran so this is all what omar said to
abu bakr then abu bakr said to zayd i said how can i do something that the messenger of allah
sallallahu alaihi wasallam did not do omar replied by allah it is a good thing meaning to compile
the quran omar continued to press me meaning abu bakr omar continued to press me on the matter
until allah opened my chest to that which he had opened omar’s chest and i saw in it what omar had
seen so zayd said continuing abu bakr said to me you are a young intelligent man whom we do not
suspect meaning we don’t have any bad suspicions about you you used to write down the revelation
for the messenger of allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam so seek out the quran and compile it
so zayd said by allah if they had tasked me with moving a mountain from the mountains
it would not have been heavier upon me than the task of compiling the quran
i said meaning zayd how can you both do something how can you both meaning you abu bakr and you omar
how can you both do something that the messenger of allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam did not do
abu bakr replied by allah it is a good by allah it is good he continued urging me and discussing
it with me until allah opened my chest to what he had opened the chests of abu bakr and omar
and i came to see what they had seen so i began to search for the quran
and gather it from palm stalks meaning the branches of the palm trees that the quran had
been written on pieces of leather pottery shards meaning broken pieces of pottery
and the hearts of men i found the last part of surah at toba the verse that means there
has certainly come to you a messenger from among yourselves until the end of the surah
with joseima or abu joseima and i included it in its surah meaning he included it in surah toba
the compiled pages of the quran remained with abu bakr during his lifetime until allah the mighty
and majestic took him in death then with omar during his lifetime until allah took him in death
and then with hafsa the daughter of omar so this narration has many tremendous benefits and we’ll
try to mention some of those benefits inshallah in the time that we have today so first what i’ll
mention about the isnaad or the chain of narrators this of course is in sahil bukhari so it is from
that which this umma has agreed upon its authenticity sahil bukhari is the most authentic book
after the quran and imam al-bukhari rahim allah when he compiled his sahih whenever he included
a hadith or a narration that was musnad meaning that it was connected then he ensured that it was
authentic meaning that each and every person in that chain was somebody who was reliable
and trustworthy to be relied upon and that they indeed met that person that they are narrating
from so no doubt about the authenticity of this narration so zayd ibn thabit who was known as
kartebul wahi he was known as the writer of the revelation so he was one of the companions who
would accompany the master of allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam and write the ayat of the quran
when the messenger of allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam would receive the revelation
and he would recite it and zayd would be there to record what he heard from the messenger
sallallahu alaihi wasallam abu bakr sent for me after the killing of the people of yamama
so yamama this was a location in which there lived musaylama al-kaddab so this man musaylama
he was somebody that it died and nobua he was somebody who claimed to be a prophet
he was known as musaylama al-kaddab musaylama the liar because he claimed to be a messenger
along with muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam so he claimed that he also received the received
messages from allah and that he also received quran but his quran of course was nothing
in comparison to the beauty of the verses that muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam was sent
because musaylama of course was a liar and he made these statements and these verses up from himself
but many of the arab had left islam and joined musaylama so abu bakr
he had sent his armies to fight against the army of musaylama and many of those who were
killed were from the qurra from the reciters from those who were people of the quran from among
the companions of the messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam so that is a bit of context
about what is being spoken about about the people of yamama who were being killed so abu bakr said
to zaid indeed umar came to me and said the killing during the day of yamama has become
severe among the reciters of the quran and i fear that the killing might increase among the reciters
of the quran in all the other battles resulting in the loss of a great portion of the quran
so these men from among the companions of the master of allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam
they were people of the quran and it was from their clinging to the quran
their love of the quran and their iman in the quran that helped aid them or drove them in their
striving to defend the truth to defend the true religion under the guidance of their ruler abu
bakr radi allahu anhu in defending islam from this liar musaylama so that is an angle to benefit
from is that because they were people of the quran that their iman was so strong that they
were willing to sacrifice their own lives for defense of the religion defense of the religion
against this liar and his army likewise from this narration we see that it was not that
all of the companions of the master of allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam
were half of them we don’t see that all of the companions of the master of allah sallallahu
alaihi wasallam had memorized the quran if all of the companions had memorized the quran
or if most of the companions radi allahu and he had memorized the quran then this would not
have been a concern of Umar. This would not have been a concern of Umar, but rather due to the
relative few amount of companions who had actually memorized the Qur’an, that is why this was a great
concern from Umar. So we find that the companions of the Master of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
while they did strive in learning the Qur’an, and some of them would memorize the Qur’an,
but their focus and their priority was understanding the Qur’an so that they could
act upon the Qur’an, understanding the words of Allah so that they could act upon the words of Allah.
And we have from the examples of this, the narration from Abu Abdur Rahman al-Sulami,
Rahimahu Allah, who narrated that when the companions, radiAllahu anhum, when they would
seek to learn the Qur’an, they would not go beyond 10 verses. They would not go beyond
memorizing 10 verses until they learned its meanings, understood the meanings, and acted upon
those meanings. So the priority of the companions of the Master of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
was ilm wal-aimal, knowing and understanding them, the verses, so they could act upon it.
And it was not that their priority and goal was to memorize without the focus on understanding and
action. And it was even that there are some authentic narrations, so for example in Sahih
Bukhari Likewise, that the only ones who memorized the whole Qur’an during the life of the Messenger
of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was four men, was four men, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Zayd ibn Thabit,
Zayd, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Zayd ibn Thabit, and Abu Darda in a narration. And many of the companions,
radiAllahu anhum, they memorized the Qur’an after the death of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam. But from the beauty that we see in these narrations is how in that short time
that they had with the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, their focus was
understanding and acting upon the religion so that they could convey it accurately, rather than
focusing on memorization without the correct understanding and action. So I hope that point
is clear. So Omar continued, I suggest that you command with the compilation of the Qur’an.
So Abu Bakr said, how can I do something that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
did not do? Because apparently this would be a bid’ah, right? Abu Bakr, he knows this principle,
he knows that we don’t do something in the religion that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam didn’t do. So that’s why he said this. How can I do something that the Messenger
of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not do? So Omar replied, by Allah, it is a good thing.
And Omar continued to press me on the matter until Allah opened my chest to that which he had opened
Omar’s chest. And I saw in it what Omar had seen. And I saw in it what Omar had seen.
And this, no doubt, is a tremendous sign. First and foremost, let me clarify that
Abu Bakr and Omar, they did not innovate anything into the religion. Abu Bakr had the principle of
knowing that whatever the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam didn’t do in the
religion, then we are not to do it. But they saw, first Omar and then Abu Bakr, that this was
something, meaning compiling the Quran together, is something which has in it a tremendous maslaha,
a tremendous benefit for the Muslims. And they did not introduce anything into the Quran,
rather it was a means to preserve the Quran. Compiling the Quran, gathering the sur and the
ayat together in a single maslaha is a wasila, it’s a method or mechanism to bring about something
which is legislated anyway. To bring about something which is legislated anyway.
And Allah the Most High, He already promised that the Quran would be preserved.
As Allah said,
Indeed we have sent down the remembrance and indeed we will preserve it. So this compilation
and preservation of the Quran by Abu Bakr and Omar is from the preservation of Allah for it.
It is from the preservation of Allah for it. And from the benefits of this conversation,
we see that even though Abu Bakr is better than Omar, by the agreement of all the Muslims,
we know that Abu Bakr is better than Omar. But Omar and Abu Bakr, Omar had a level of fiqh or
understanding in this issue, a realization in this issue before Abu Bakr had the realization
of this urgency or necessity that Omar mentioned. So it may be that somebody who’s not
as virtuous as someone else, who’s not as knowledgeable as someone else, might have
a level of insight and understanding better than the person who is better than them
and the one who is more knowledgeable than them. So that’s important to recognize and realize
and benefit from the life of the Companions of the Master of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
And this was something normal to them. It was something acceptable to them.
It was not that Abu Bakr thought himself too high to accept his advice. He knew that hadith
about his virtue. And that didn’t stop him or make him arrogant from listening to the insights
of someone who might have more understanding than him in specific certain areas. So as Abu Bakr said,
Omar continued to press me on the matter until Allah opened my chest to that which he had opened
Omar’s chest. And I saw in it what Omar had seen. So Abu Bakr recognized and acknowledged
that Omar had this fiqh, had this understanding. He didn’t claim that it was all his idea,
but rather he gave Omar the credit where credit was due. And we see in this
the tabir that he used, the choice of words, that Omar pressed me in this until Allah opened my chest
to that which Allah opened the chest of Omar to. So this is the recognition and acknowledgement
that whatever you are blessed with from insights, from understanding, it’s from Allah.
You can’t guide yourself. You can’t bring about guidance for yourself. Guidance is from Allah.
The blessing of understanding is from Allah. As the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said,
whoever Allah wants good for, then he gives him the understanding of the religion,
gives him the understanding of the religion. So this fiqh, this understanding, this furqan,
this clear distinction between truth and falsehood is all from Allah. And this is
clearly apparent in the faith, the iman of Abu Bakr in his choice of words. So likewise, as we said,
that not only is Allah the one who opens up the understanding for everyone, but Allah might open
up understanding for certain people more than he opens up levels of understanding for people
who are even more knowledgeable or even better than them. And this is clearly apparent when we
look to the explanations of the scholars, when we look to the lessons of the scholars,
you might find there’s a hadith and one scholar will mention two or three benefits that they’ve
derived from a hadith. And another scholar might, after reading the same hadith, mention to you 10,
15, maybe even 20 benefits from this hadith. And that is due to what Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala,
Allah the glorified and majestic, the glorified and most high, what he wills to open up from
understanding and insights for whomever he wills.
Now, so Zayd continued. Zayd said,
Abu Bakr said to me, you are a young, intelligent man who we do not have any bad suspicions about.
You used to write down the revelation for the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
So seek out the Qur’an and compile it. In this we have a beautiful example of the wisdom of Abu Bakr
in his good choice, his beautiful choice, in that he selected the right person for the specific job.
So this is a benefit for all of us. If we need help with anything, if we needed to be to be aided in
anything, if we want to do anything to aid the religion, then let us have, let us have good
choice, let us be wise in our choices, in who we select to help us in any situation, and that we
select the people with the right attributes to help us in any situation, just like Abu Bakr.
Zayd said after he was asked or ordered by Abu Bakr, so seek out the Qur’an and compile it. Zayd
said, by Allah, if they had tasked me with moving a mountain from the mountains, it would not have
been heavier upon me than the task of compiling the Qur’an. So in this we see the weight of this
job, the seriousness of this job, the severity of this job upon Zayd, the level of responsibility,
the weight that he compared to the weight of a mountain in the responsibility of compiling the
Qur’an for this ummah. So Zayd said, how can you both do something that the Messenger of Allah
did not do? So Zayd had the same principle, firmly ingrained in him, that the Prophet said,
he would repeat this in his khutbah, whenever he would give a khutbah, he would repeat this,
beware of the newly invented matters, for indeed every newly invented
affair is a bid’ah, and every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the
hellfire. So this was well known, firmly ingrained in the companions of the Messenger of Allah, so
Zayd asked Abu Bakr and Omar, how can you both ask me to do this? To do something that the
Messenger of Allah did not do. So Abu Bakr replied, by Allah it is good, this is something good,
this is something important, it’s something needed. He continued urging me and discussing it with me,
until Allah opened my chest to what he had opened the chests of Abu Bakr and Omar, and I came to see
what they had seen. So it wasn’t just smooth talking, it wasn’t just convincing.
Zayd said, until Allah opened my chest to understand the affair, the way that Abu Bakr
and Omar understood the affair. So Allah opened up for Zayd this level of understanding,
so that he may proceed in compiling the Qur’an together as Abu Bakr and Omar had understood.
And no doubt this hadith or this narration from the companions of the Messenger of Allah,
is a beautiful example of when we say that the foundations of the Sunnah with us
is following what the companions of the Messenger of Allah were upon. So this issue of compiling
the Qur’an, even though the Prophet did not directly order with compiling the Qur’an,
this was what the companions of the Messenger of Allah agreed upon.
This is what they agreed upon, and there’s no possibility that they could have agreed upon
anything unless it was the truth. So Zayd continued by saying, after Allah had opened this affair to
him and he understood the responsibility, so I began to search for the Qur’an and gather it
from the palm stalks, the branches of the palm trees, pieces of leather, pottery shards, and the
hearts of men. So everywhere that he could gather and compile the verses of the Qur’an, he would go
to the different companions who had it written down. Some of them had it written on the flat
side of the palm branches, some of them had it written on leather, some of them had it written
on pieces of pottery. When a large pottery pot would break, then you’d have panels of the pottery
that could be written on. He would gather it from the shoulder blades of the animals that had been
sacrificed and eaten, and then the shoulder blade is a perfect place to use for writing, so they
would write the chapters of the Qur’an or ayat from the Qur’an on all of these things.
And Zayd said, I have found the last part of Surah At-Tawbah until the end of the Surah with
Abu Huzaima, and he included it in the Surah. The compiled pages of the Qur’an
remained with Abu Bakr during his lifetime until Allah the Mighty and Majestic took him to death
then with Umar during his lifetime until Allah took him to death, and then with Hafsa
the daughter of Umar radiAllahu anhum ajma’in. So this is a likewise a beautiful example of
of that refutes the false claim by many of the people that Islam doesn’t give due respect
to women. So no doubt we see that this one single compilation of the Mus’haf, this one single
compilation of the Qur’an, after it was entrusted after Abu Bakr kept it himself and then it was
entrusted for Umar himself and then thereafter it was kept with Hafsa bint Umar radiAllahu anhum
so she was the keeper of this one Mus’haf for the Ummah radiAllahu anhum ajma’in. So that’s the end
of this narration. Some additional benefits that I’ll point out is when we speak about the jama of
the Qur’an or the compilation of the Qur’an then there are two major times that this happened.
There’s of course what we just read about in the time of Abu Bakr radiAllahu anhu and then likewise
in the time of Uthman radiAllahu anhu. So the compilation of Abu Bakr of the Qur’an this was
to preserve the Qur’an and to prevent any verses or chapters being lost. It was to preserve the
Qur’an from any verses or chapters being lost and then thereafter in the time of Uthman radiAllahu
anhu in his Khilafah of course the Qur’an is complete and it’s preserved but the people were
starting to differ. The people were starting to argue. The people were starting to fight among
each other due to the way different people in different lands were reciting the Qur’an
or in which order they were reciting the surahs. For example so Uthman radiAllahu anhu his
compilation of the Qur’an was to unify the Muslims upon the one specific recitation
of Quraysh that he unified the Qur’an so he compiled the Qur’an in the specific
order that we have it in today and this order that we have it in today
is that which the companions of the master of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam agreed upon
that which they agreed upon. So I just wanted to mention that as a side point we have the compilation
of Abu Bakr and then the compilation of Uthman and the differences of why they were compiled
in those times. Now Jazakumullahu Khairan brothers may Allah benefit
all of us with the reminder inshallah. Jazakumullahu Khairan.