The Collection of the Qur'an
Al-Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi al-Khui
Chapter# /Title
Chapter 5: The Contrariety of the Collection Traditions to Rational Judgment
These traditions are also contrary to rational judgment. Undoubtedly, the greatness of the Qur’an in itself, the measures taken by the Prophet to memorize it and recite it, the importance attached by Muslims to the measures taken by the Prophet, and the divine reward they will get for that all these factors go against the collection of the Qur’an in the way it is described in these traditions. There are numerous aspects to the Qur’an, anyone of which would be sufficient cause for the Qur’an to be a subject of attention for Muslims, and a reason for its popularity, even among children and women, let alone men. These, aspects are [the following]:
- The eloquence of the Qur an: The Arabs used to attach much Importance to the memorization of eloquent speeches, and for this reason they used to memorize the .pre-Islamic poetry and speeches. Thus, how would they fail to memorize the Qur’an, which challenged all the eloquent speakers with its eloquence, and silenced all the articulate speakers with its expressive language. Indeed, all the Arabs had turned toward it, regardless of whether they were believers [in it] or unbelievers. The believer memorized it because of his faith, and the unbeliever did so because he aspired to counter it and invalidate its evidential character.
- The Prophet’s expression of his desire to memorize it and to protect it: He had special power and authority in the community, and customarily, when the leader expresses his desire to protect a book or to read it, that book would become wide-spread among the subjects who wish to gain his pleasure for the sake of religious or worldly gain.
- Memorization of the Qur’an was a cause for raising the stature of a person among the people and gaining their respect. Those who are well informed about history know that the readers and the memorizers of the Qur’an enjoyed enormous prominence and great prestige among the people. This was one of the most powerful reasons for the people to have an interest in memorizing the Qur’an, either in its entirety, or any portion of it possible.
- Requital and reward [in the hereafter] accrued to the reader and memorizer of the Qur’an for reciting and preserving it.
These are the most important factors that induced the people to memorize and to safeguard the Qur’an. The Muslims attached great importance to the Qur’an and safeguarded it more than their own selves, or their wealth and their children. It has been related that a number of women collected the entire Qur’an. Ibn Sa’d, in his al-Tabaqat relates the following narrative:
Al-FadI b. Dakin informed us, al-Walid b. ‘Abd Allah b. Jami related to us, saying: “My grandmother told me about Umm Waraqa bint ‘ Abd Allah b. al-Harith, whom the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny) used to visit and call a martyr (shahida), and she used to collect the Qur’an. When the Messenger of God was about to leave for the battle of Badr, she said to him. ‘Do you allow me to come out with you to nurse your wounded and take care of your sick? Maybe God would lead me to martyrdom (shahida).’ The Prophet replied, ‘Indeed, God has planned martyrdom for you through your collection of the Qur’an.”‘ 12
If this was the case with women in the matter of the collection of the Qur’an, what would be the case with the men? A large number of those who memorized the Qur’an during the Prophet’s time are cited in the sources. Thus, al-Qurtubi writes: “Seventy Qur’an reciters were killed during the battle of Yamama, and a similar number had been killed during the Prophet’s time at Bi’r Mauna.” 13
In tradition l0, cited above, it was mentioned that the reciters who were killed in the battle of Yamama numbered four hundred. Moreover, the importance that was attached by the Prophet to the Qur’an–in fact, he had many scribes, particularly since the Qur’an was revealed gradually in twenty-three years-impels us to conclude with certainty that the Prophet had ordered the writing of the Qur’an during his lifetime. To this effect, Zayd b. Thabit reported, “We used to record the Qur’an from parchments in the presence of the Messenger of God.” And, about this tradition, al-Hakim says: “According to the rules set by the two shaykhs [al-Bukhari and Muslim], this tradition is sound, although they have not mentioned it. Hence, this tradition provides clear evidence that the Qur’an was collected during the Prophet’s time.” 14
As for memorization of some suras or part of a sura, this was very common. In fact, there was rarely a Muslim man or woman who did not do that. ‘Ubada b. al-Samit reports:
“The Messenger of God used to be busy. Thus, when any person immigrated and came to the Messenger, he would send him to one of us to teach him the Qur’an.” 15
Kulayb related:
“I was with’ Ali (peace be upon him). He heard the voices of those who were reciting the Qur’an in the mosque. At that he said, “Blessed be those. …” 16
In another tradition, ‘Ubada b. al-Samit says:
“When a person used to migrate [to Medina], the Messenger of God used to turn him over to one of us to teach him the Qur’an. Thus, the mosque of the Messenger of God used to reverberate with the sounds of recitation of the Qur’an, until the Messenger of God ordered them to lower their voices so as not to make errors.” 17
It can be maintained with certainty that memorization of the Qur’an, however partially, was prevalent among Muslim men and women, to the extent that a Muslim woman used to make her bridal gift [i.e., she accepted her husband’s teaching her as being the bridal gift to which she was entitled] teaching her a sura or more from the Qur’an.18 In the light of all this interest, how is it possible to say that the collection of the Qur’an was delayed until the caliphate of Abu Bakr, and that Abu Bakr, in collecting the Qur’an, needed to have, [for every fragment], two witnesses who would testify that they had heard it from the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny)?