ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Some Old Manuscripts of the Holy Qur'an Compilers of the Qur'an ========================== Ibn al-Nadim writes that from among the of the Prophet (S) 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (A), Said ibn 'Ubayd ibn al-Numan, Abu al-Darda', Mu'adh ibn Jabal, 'Thabit ibn Zayd 2 and 'Ubayd ibn Mu'awiyah ibn Zayd compiled the Qur'an during the Prophet's lifetime.

3 Al-Bukhari narrates from Anas ibn Malik that Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Mu'adh, Zayd ibn Thabit and Abu Zayd had collected the Qur'an during the Prophet's era. 4 In another narration he mentions the names of Abu al-Darda', Mu'adh ibn Jabal, Zayd ibn Thabit and Abu Zayd in this regard.

5 Al-Zarakshi narrates from al-Sha'bi that those who collected the Qur'an during the Prophet's lifetime were these six: Ubayy, Zayd, Mu'adh, Abu al-Darda', Sa'id ibn 'Ubayd and Abu Zayd, and lastly, Mujamma' ibn Jariyah, who had collected all the Qur'an except for two surahs. 6 Ibn al-Nadim describes the order of the surahs in the compilation of 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud and Ubayy ibn Ka'b, which shows that Ibn Mas'ud too had compiled the Qur'an; 7 or perhaps he did so after the Prophet's demise.

In al-Tamhid, Abu Musa al-'Ash'ari and Miqdad ibn al-'Aswad are mentioned among the compilers of the Qur'an. It adds that before the standardization of the codices by the order of 'Uthman, the people of Kufah recited according to the compilation of Ibn Masud, the people of Basrah according to the codex of Abu Musa, the people of Damascus according to the codex of Miqdad, while the rest of Syrians recited according to the codex of Ubayy ibn Ka'b.

8 Ibn al-Nad'im, al-Ya'qubi and many Shi'i traditionists have mentioned the episode of the compilation of the Qur'an by 'Ali (A) after the Prophet's demise. The arrangement of the surahs in 'Ali's mushaf, as mentioned by al-Ya'qubi in his history, 9 is different from those of Ibn Mas'ud and Ubayy ibn Ka'b, which have been described by Ibn al Nadim. 10 There are minor differences also in the names of the surahs from the well-known and presently popular names.

11 There is also a difference of sequence in the above-mentioned masahif. For instance, in Ibn Mas'ud's mushaf the Surat al-'Anfal is the twenty-fifth surah, while it is the ninth one in Ubayy ibn Ka'b's arrangement and the eighth one in the present compilation. And as we know, the present compilation is the one made by Zayd ibn Thabit at the order of Abu Bakr, the first caliph.