The Qur’an An Abiding Wonder
The Preservation of the Qur’an
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enraged. But when he found out that the person
was none other than Abdullah ibn Masood, he
regained his composure, (Istiab, Vol. I, p. 377) the
reason being that Abdullah ibn Masood was one of
those appointed by the Prophet himself to perform
this service. Other more prominent scholars of the
Qur’an were as follows: Usman, Ali, Ubayy ibn
Kaab, Zayd ibn Thabit, Ibn Masood, Abu Darda,
Abu Moosa Ashari, Salim Maula Abi Huzayfa.
However, these Muslims, who had been assigned
this task, could not survive forever. Undoubtedly,
they were going to leave the world one by one, and
then there would be the risk of the Qur’an falling
into the hands of less responsible, less
knowledgeable people, who might not preserve it
intact and who would almost certainly differ as to its
true meaning. There was even the danger of its being
entirely lost to posterity. With the death of 700 of the
Prophet’s Companions in the Battle of Yamamah in
12 A.H., this danger began to loom large.
It has been recorded in the annals of history that
“when Salim Maula Abi Huzayfa was martyred,
Umar felt the danger of the Qur’an being destroyed
