Umar called the people...

Umar called the people, so when two people bore witness to a Verse of the Quran, he would write it down, and what no more than one person bore witness to, he threw it out and he did not get it written, and Umar said – and I was listening: ‘On the Day of Yamama (a battle), men who would recite of the Quran (who had memorised it) were killed, and what they did not recite has been lost’.

And a goat came to the Parchment and ate it – which Umar had made them (people) to write down, and what was in it had been lost, and the Book today written by Usman, what do you -asws say about it?

وسمعت عمر يقول وأصحابه الذين ألفوا ما كتبوا على عهد عثمان: (إن الأحزاب كانت تعدل سورة البقرة، والنور ستون ومائة آية، والحجرات تسعون آية) فما هذا؟ وما يمنعك – يرحمك الله – أن تخرج إليهم ما قد ألفت للناس؟ وقد شهدت عثمان حين أخذ ما ألف عمر فجمع له الكتاب وحمل الناس على قراءة واحدة ومزق مصحف أبي بن كعب وابن مسعود وأحرقهما بالنار.

فما هذا؟ And I (Talha) heard Umar say, as well as his companions who composed it in the era of Usman that, ‘Al-Ahzaab (Chapter 33) was equal to Surah Al-Baqarah (Chapter 2), and Al-Noor (Chapter 24) had one hundred and sixty Verses, and Al-Hujuraat (Chapter 49) had ninety Verses, so what is this? And what prevented you -asws – may Allah -azwj have Mercy on you -asws – to bring out to the people what you -asws had composed?

And I witnessed Usman when he took what Umar had composed, so he composed the Book and made the people agree over one recitation and ripped the Parchments of Ubay Bin Ka’ab and Ibn Mas’ood and burnt both of these in the fire.