The Qur’an An Abiding Wonder
The Preservation of the Qur’an
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THE PRESERVATION OF THE QUR’AN
The very first injunction given to the Prophet –
‘Read in the name of your Lord who created’,
stresses the importance of knowledge (96:1). And
the last words of revelation pertains to the life
hereafter (2:281).
The Quran was revealed over a period of twenty-
three years and was written down in its entirety
during the Prophet’s lifetime, although the verses
were not gathered together in one volume at that
time (AI-Katani, V.2, p.384).
For the first twenty-three years the Prophet himself
was the fountainhead of Qur’anic learning. Then he
appointed certain of his followers to convey the
message of the Qur’an after him. These were men
who, having memorized the entire Quranic text
with complete accuracy, were fully competent to
impart its teachings. During the caliphate of Umar
Faruq, the second caliph of Islam, a man who had
come from Kufa to Madina told the caliph that there
was someone in Kufa who was teaching the
scriptures from memory. At this Caliph Umar was
