Zaid Ibn Thabit - The Compiler of the Quran
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This is the story of an Ansari man from Medina, who has been credited for compiling and preserving the Quran in writing. As you may recall, Islam was brought to the people of Makkah after a long period of Jahiliyah, or ignorance. Many people were illiterate, meaning they could not read or write, including the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Due to the nature of storytelling in the culture and the majority of people being illiterate, the Quran was taught and learned verbally in groups from the Prophet ﷺ. Zaid Ibn Thabit was the one who succeeded the most in learning, writing, and compiling the Quran.
Background
Zaid Ibn Thabit was only 11 years old, when the Muslims migrated from Makkah to Medina. His entire family became Muslim after the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ and he also became Muslim. Not long after the Hijrah, the Muslims fought against the Quraysh in the Battle of Badr. Zaid’s father and uncle went to join the Prophet ﷺ, so Zaid followed with them. However, the Prophet ﷺ sent him back because he was still young.
Years later, during the Battle of Uhud, Zaid came to the Prophet ﷺ again, this time with a group of other young boys. He begged him to allow him to join in battle this time. The Prophet ﷺ chose some of the boys who had turned 15 or showed strength to handle being in battle. Zaid was once again refused from joining in battle as the Prophet ﷺ worried about the boys who were still young and had not grown mature yet. SubhanAllah, how gentle and empathetic the Prophet ﷺ was! Because the boys begged and cried for this honorable position, the Prophet ﷺ promised that they could join the army in the next battle.
In the 5th year after Hijrah, Zaid Ibn Thabit joined the Muslims in the Battle of the Trench. From this point onwards, his character continued growing as a man of strength and intelligence.
A Respectable Man
All these years, Zaid (RA) would learn and memorize the Quran with vigor. He would also write down the verses and parts of the Quran for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. As the message of Islam grew and reached people of other cultures and countries, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ looked for people who can support in this message. He told Zaid Ibn Thabit (RA) to learn new languages so he can meaningfully spread the message of Islam to others.
Zaid rose up to the challenge and became an ambassador of Islam. There have been multiple accounts of praise and respect from other Companions about his knowledge and character. He was a chief of judgment in Medina, giving religious verdicts, teaching others the correct recitation of the Quran, and had a lot of knowledge about religious matters.
Thabit Ibn Obaid (RA) once said,
“I have never known a man more humorous in his house and respected in his sitting (with people outside the house) than Zaid Ibn Thabit.”
Ibn Abbas (RA) also said,
“The Companions of the Muhammad were well-aware that Zaid Ibn Thabit was from among the firmly established in religious knowledge.”
Compiling the Quran
It is important to note that the Quran was not revealed all at once. It began with the verses from Surah Qalam when the Prophet ﷺ was meditating in Cave Hira. For approximately the next 21-23 years, the Quran was brought down in parts, a few Verses or a Surah at a time. This meant that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would have sessions where he would teach the Sahabah the new Verses of the Quran each time they were revealed. Some groups of the Companions were very eager to memorize the Quran and memorized it by heart. Those who knew to read and write would try to save and write down the Verses which they knew. Some of the Companions responsible for preserving the Quran through memorization or writing were Abi Ibn Abu-Talib (RA), Obayy Ibn Ka’b (RA), Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood (RA), and Abdullah Ibn Abbas (RA).The best of those and the most prominent of those was Zaid Ibn Thabit (RA).
During the end of the revelation and life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, he would sit and recite the Holy Quran, arranging its Verses and Surahs.
After the Death of the Prophet ﷺ
After the death of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, there was a lot of concern about the preservation of the Quran and the trueness of Islam. This concern grew after the Battle of Yamama, where many of the reciters and keepers of the Quran were martyred. After the battle, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (RA) went to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (RA) who was now the leader of the Muslims and told him of this concern. He asked that the Quran be compiled in its entirety before the rest of the keepers are martyred.
After meeting with some Companions, Abu Bakr (RA) called for Zaid Ibn Thabit (RA), saying, “you are a man of sound mind, and beyond all doubts”, and ordered him to start collecting the different parts of the Holy Quran. As before, Zaid took on the challenge. He began his work by finding and talking to many Companions who had learned parts of the Quran by heart, finding the fragments that were written, and writing them in the order than the Prophet ﷺ had taught them.
This was a very intense and important task which Zaid (RA) worried about messing up. By the Grace and Will of Allah SWT, Zaid was successful in compiling and preserving the Quran. We know that it was in fact preserved exactly as intended because of this Ayah from Surah Hijr:
إِنَّا نَحۡنُ نَزَّلۡنَا ٱلذِّكۡرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَٰفِظُونَ
We have, without a doubt, sent down the message; andÂ
We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)
The Caliphate of Uthman (RA)
As Zaid worked hard to compile as much of the Quran as possible, he came across some differences in its different versions. At first, it was agreed to maintain all the version to preserve the authenticity of the Quran according to the time of the Prophet ﷺ. However, by the time Uthman Ibn Affan (RA) was the leader, or Khaleefa, of the Muslims, there came a new fear.
Islam was spreading fast and far to new places, and there were whole generations of new Muslims who were still learning about Islam. A group of Companions went to Uthman Ibn Affan (RA) to suggest unifying the Quran in one version, such that no differences or changes emerge amongst the new Muslims.
Once again, Zaid (RA) was called for this task. Along with the help of other keepers and writers of the Quran, Zaid (RA) was able to compile the Quran into one cohesive document. Whenever they came upon a difference or question, they asked Zaid for his opinion and his response was final. Now, alhamdulillah, we have the blessing of picking up a printed copy of the Quran wherever we go, or finding digital versions online without worry. Each time we recite the Quran, we should take a moment to send prayers and blessings upon Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and pray for Allah SWT to have Mercy on Zaid Ibn Thabit (RA).