What he had done was to unite the Muslims on the recital...

What he had done was to unite the Muslims on the recital which was followed in Medina, and forbid all other recitals, which had sprung up here and there. Those interested to study this in depth should refer to his al-Bayan from p. 187 to p. 278.

However, once this story of later days collection was established it was easy to circulate ahadith showing that a lot of verses, even some surahs, were lost and could not be found at the time when Hazrat Abu Bakr and/or Hazrat 'Uthman wanted to collect it in Book form. They attributed such statements to great companions and wives of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him & his progeny).

Mesmerized by those traditions, the Muslims forgot that Allah Himself is the Protector of His Book and that the Prophet had appointed the Qur'an as the standard to test the authenticity of traditions. They turned the table and began testing the authenticity of the Qur'an through those alleged ahadith! [^13] al Bayan, p. 37: Ahmad Amin, Fajru 'l-Islam, p. 215. [^14] at-Tabari, Tarikh at-Tabari, vol. 6 (Beirut: Mu'assasatu l-A'lami) p. 299: Ibn al-Athir, Tarikh al-Kamil, vol.