Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man used to write for the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He had memorized Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Aal-e-Imran, and whoever among us had memorized Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Aal-e-Imran was considered to be of great status and rank. When the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would {غَفُورًا رَحِیمًا} to this man, he would write {عَلِیمًا حَکِیمًا}, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would say to him: Write such and such, write as you wish. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have him write {عَلِیمًا حَکِیمًا}, but he would say: I will write {سَمِیعًا بَصِیرًا}. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Write as you wish. Then it happened that this man became an apostate from Islam and joined the polytheists, and he began to say to them: I know more than Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him); I used to write whatever I wished. Then he died, and the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The earth will not accept him. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) told me that he went to the area where that man had died, and he saw that his corpse was lying thrown outside. So he inquired about that man’s matter, and the people said: We have buried him many times, but the earth does not accept him.

(Second chain) Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: There was a man from our tribe, Banu Najjar, who had recited Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Aal-e-Imran, and he was a scribe of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But it so happened that he (became an apostate and) ran away and joined the People of the Book. They gave him great honor and said: This man was the scribe of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), so they were greatly astonished (thinking they had found a great proof against Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him). But after only a few days, Allah Almighty put an end to his story (and he died). They dug a grave for him and buried him in it, but when morning came, it was seen that the earth had thrown him out. They dug the grave again and buried him, but when morning came, again it was seen that the earth had thrown him out. They dug the grave again and buried him, but the same thing happened: the earth threw him out. So they left him lying on the surface of the earth.

Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that after the tragedy of the martyrdom of the memorizers (huffaz) in the Battle of Yamama, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) called me. When I arrived, Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was also sitting with him. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: This is Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) who has come to me and says that many memorizers of the Qur’an have been martyred in Yamama. I fear that if the martyrdom of the memorizers of the Qur’an continues like this, most of the Qur’an will be lost and will not be preserved. Therefore, in my opinion, an order should be given to compile the Qur’an. But I replied to him: How can I do something which the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not do? But he said: By Allah! This is a good deed. Then he kept insisting on this matter with me until Allah Almighty opened my heart and I also liked this opinion. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) remained silent. Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: O Zaid! You are a wise young man and a trustworthy person, and you used to write down the revelation for the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), therefore, you must carry out this task. Sayyiduna Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! If they had tasked me to move a mountain, it would not have been as heavy on me as the responsibility they placed on me to compile the Qur’an. So I said: How will you people do something which the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not do? However, after their insistence, I accepted this responsibility.

Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), the Companions compiled the Noble Qur'an in the form of a Mushaf. People would write, and Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) would dictate to them. When they reached this verse of Surah Bara'ah {ثُمَّ انْصَرَفُوْا صَرَفَ اللّٰہُ قُلُوبَہُمْ بِأَ نَّہُمْ قَوْمٌ لَا یَفْقَہُونَ} … then they turn back. Allah has turned their hearts, because indeed they are a people who do not understand. They thought that this was the last verse of the Surah, but Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had taught me these two verses after it: {لَقَدْ جَائَ کُمْ رَسُوْلٌ مِّنْ اَنْفُسِکُمْ عَزِیْزٌ عَلَیْہِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِیْصٌ عَلَیْکُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ رَئُ وْفٌ رَّحِیْمٌ۔ فَاِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُلْ حَسْبِیَ اللّٰہُ لَآ اِلٰہَ اِلَّا ھُوَ عَلَیْہِ تَوَکَّلْتُ وَھُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِیْمِ۔} … Surely there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves; it grieves him that you should suffer; he is full of concern for you, and is kind and merciful to the believers. But if they turn away, say: Allah is sufficient for me; there is no deity except Him; in Him I have put my trust, and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne. Then he said: This part of the Qur'an was revealed at the very end. Then he said: Thus, the religion was concluded with the same Tawheed with which it was begun; by this he meant "Allah, there is no deity except Him," and that is the statement of Allah the Exalted: {وَمَا أَ رْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِکَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا یُوحَی إِلَیْہِ أَ نَّہُ لَا اِلٰہَ إِلَّا أَ نَا فَاعْبُدُونِ} … And We did not send any Messenger before you except that We revealed to him that there is no deity except Me, so worship Me. (According to the mentioned narration, the word in the verse of the Noble Qur'an is "yuha ilayhi" — it was revealed to him (every Messenger). Whereas in our well-known recitation, it is "nuhi ilayhi" — We reveal to him. (Abdullah Rafiq))

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: When the manuscripts of the Qur'an were being written, I could not find one verse, although I used to hear it from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Eventually, I found that verse with Sayyiduna Khuzaymah Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him). That verse was: {مِنْ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوْا مَا عَاہَدُوا اللّٰہَ عَلَیْہِ … تَبْدِیلًا}. Sayyiduna Khuzaymah (may Allah be pleased with him) was called "the one with two testimonies" because the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) considered his testimony equal to that of two men. Imam Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Sayyiduna Khuzaymah (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred in the Battle of Siffin, while he was fighting on the side of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

(Second chain) It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: When we were writing the Mushaf, I could not find one verse of Surah Al-Ahzab, although I had heard it from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). That verse was: {رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوْا مَا عَاہَدُوا اللّٰہَ عَلَیْہِ … … }. When I searched for that verse, I found it with Sayyiduna Khuzaymah bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), so I wrote it in its surah in the Mushaf.

Khameer bin Malik says: When, during the era of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), the order was given to change the manuscripts of the Qur'an, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever among you can betray his manuscript, let him do so, because whoever betrays anything will bring it with him on the Day of Resurrection. Then he said: I have heard seventy (70) surahs from the blessed mouth of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), should I abandon them? In another narration it is stated: I had heard seventy (70) surahs from the blessed mouth of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at a time when Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) was still a child in matters of writing.

Abdur Rahman bin Abis says: A man from Hamdan told us, he was a student of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), he did not mention his name, he narrated to us that when Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) intended to depart from Kufa to Madinah Munawwarah, he gathered his students and said: By Allah! I hope that you are the best among the armies of the Muslims; you are learning religion, jurisprudence, knowledge, and reciting the Qur’an. This Qur’an was revealed upon seven modes of recitation. By Allah! Two men argue most severely about the Qur’an, but do not do so. When someone says that he taught me in such a way, then say to him that he says better. When another says that so-and-so taught me in this way, then say to both of them that they say better, because both have taught in different modes of recitation. Truth guides to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. Falsehood leads to evil, and evil leads to Hell. When any of you says to his companion that he has lied or committed immorality, and when someone has spoken the truth, then say to him: you have spoken the truth and done good. Surely, this Qur’an neither creates discord, nor does it become worn out, nor is it a contemptible thing, no matter how much it is repeated. Whoever recites it upon one mode, let him not abandon it out of disinterest, and whoever recites it according to those modes which the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught, then let him not abandon them out of disinterest either. Whoever denies one verse, it is as if he has denied all its verses; likewise is the matter of these modes of recitation. The difference in recitation is such as if someone said: I’jal, wa hayya halan. By Allah! If I knew that someone had more knowledge of what Allah Almighty revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) than me, I would surely seek him out so that I could increase my knowledge. Soon there will be people who will miss the prayers from their appointed times, but you should perform the prayer at its proper time, and if you get the opportunity with those who delay, then pray with them as well; this will be your voluntary prayer. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to review the Qur’an every Ramadan; in the year he passed away, I recited the Qur’an to him twice. He told me that I had done well, and I have heard seventy (70) surahs from the blessed mouth of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Falfala Jafi says: I was also among those who became anxious, who were troubled about the Qur'an, so we went to Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), and one of us said: We have not come just to meet, our purpose is that this news has greatly frightened us that (the Qur'an should be recited in the language of the Quraysh and other copies have been burned). He said: The Noble Qur'an was revealed to your Prophet in seven modes of recitation, whereas the previous books before you (Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) were revealed in only one mode of recitation.