The Qur’an An Abiding Wonder
The Preservation of the Qur’an
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and came to Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, to discuss
this” (Fathul Bari, v. 9, p. 5). Salim was one of the
few surviving companions who had been selected
by the Prophet himself to spread the teachings of
the Qur’an. The solution suggested by Umar to Abu
Bakr was to preserve the Qur’an by making a
formal compilation of it in written form.
As has been established, the Prophet always
arranged for each passage of the Qur’an to be
recorded in writing as soon as it was revealed.
This
kitabat
(writing down on paper) was so
meticulous a procedure that after verse 95 of
chapter 4 had been revealed, and the words
“except those who are disabled” were revealed
again as an addition to the same verse, it was
arranged that this phrase – according to Imam,
Malik – be written at the same moment by the
transcriber.
(Durr Mansoor,
Vol. 2, p.203)
It was customary for the Prophet to ask the
transcriber to read out the verses after writing them
down. According to Zayd ibn Thabit, if any part was
missed out in the writing, he would correct it and
only after this written work was fully completed
