Zayd ibn Thabit
Encyclopedia
Zayd ibn Thabit was the personal scribe
of Muhammad
and an Ansar
.
. Since he was younger than 15 years old, Muhammad did not allow him to do so, and sent him back. He then decided to try to win favor with Muhammad by learning the Qur'an
. He was later appointed to write letters to non-Muslims and to collect and keep record of the Qur'anic verses.
Zayd was among those chosen by Muhammad to write down the verses of the Qur'an.
He used to spend most of his time reciting the Qur'an, and continued to learn the Quranic verses as they were recited by Muhammad.
Zayd later volunteered to fight when he was 19 years old. This time he was accepted in the ranks of the Muslim army. Zayd's time to fight had come nine years after the establishment of the Muslim community in Medina
.
.
During Abu Bakr
's reign as caliph
, he was given the task of collecting the Quranic verses from all over Arabia. Zayd finally accepted the task and, according to him, "started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart)".
When Zayd had completed his task, he left the prepared suhuf (sheets) with Abu Bakr. Before he died, Abu Bakr left the suhuf with Umar who in turn left it with his daughter Hafsah. Hafsah, Umm Salamah, and Aishah were wives of Muhammad who memorized the Qur'an.
, by which time Islam had spread far and wide, differences in reading the Quran in different dialects of Arabic language became obvious. A group of companions, headed by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman
, who was then stationed in Iraq
, came to Uthman and urged him to "save the Muslim ummah before they differ about the Quran".
Uthman obtained the manuscript of the Quran from Hafsah and again summoned the leading authority, Zayd ibn Thabit, and some other companions to make copies of it . Zayd was put in charge of the task. The style of Arabic dialect used was that of the Quraish tribe. Hence this style was emphasized over all others.
Zayd and other Companions copied many copies. One of these was sent to every Muslim province with the order that all other Quranic materials, whether fragmentary or complete copies, be burnt. When standard copies were made and were widely available to the Muslim community everywhere then all other material was burnt voluntarily by Muslim community themselves. This was important in order to eliminate variations or differences in the dialect from the standard text of the Quran. The Caliph
Uthman kept a copy for himself and returned the original manuscript to Hafsah.
stated: "I attended the funeral of Zaid bin Thabit. After he had been buried, ibn Abbas said, 'Oh you people! Whoever wishes to know how knowledge leaves us should know that it is like this that knowledge leaves. I swear by Allah
that a great deal of knowledge has just left us today." from Tabraani
Scribe
A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession and helps the city keep track of its records. The profession, previously found in all literate cultures in some form, lost most of its importance and status with the advent of printing...
of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
and an Ansar
Ansar (Islam)
Ansar is an Islamic term that literally means "helpers" and denotes the Medinan citizens that helped Muhammad and the Muhajirun on the arrival to the city after the migration to Medina...
.
Early life: 610 – 612
When Zayd was 6 years old his father died in the Battle of Bu'ath. Zayd was 13 years old when he asked permission to participate in the Battle of BadrBattle of Badr
The Battle of Badr , fought Saturday, March 13, 624 AD in the Hejaz region of western Arabia , was a key battle in the early days of Islam and a turning point in Muhammad's struggle with his opponents among the Quraish in Mecca...
. Since he was younger than 15 years old, Muhammad did not allow him to do so, and sent him back. He then decided to try to win favor with Muhammad by learning the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. He was later appointed to write letters to non-Muslims and to collect and keep record of the Qur'anic verses.
Zayd was among those chosen by Muhammad to write down the verses of the Qur'an.
He used to spend most of his time reciting the Qur'an, and continued to learn the Quranic verses as they were recited by Muhammad.
Zayd later volunteered to fight when he was 19 years old. This time he was accepted in the ranks of the Muslim army. Zayd's time to fight had come nine years after the establishment of the Muslim community in Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
.
Muhammad's era: 610 – 632
Zayd had the role of writing down the Quranic verses that were sent to Muhammad from Allah through the Angel GabrielAngel Gabriel
Angel Gabriel may refer to:*The Archangel Gabriel*The Angel Gabriel , an English galleon that sank off Pemaquid, Maine...
.
Abu Bakr's era: 632 – 634
After Muhammad's death Zayd, who became a Quran expert, was assigned the role of authenticating and collecting the oral Quranic traditions into a single bounded volume. This initiative was high on the Caliph Abu Bakr's agenda, especially after the Riddah Wars (wars of apostasy), and the Battle of Yamamah in particular, in which a large number of Quran memorizers (around 700) perished. Umar convinced Abu Bakr that the Quran should be collected in one manuscript.During Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
's reign as caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
, he was given the task of collecting the Quranic verses from all over Arabia. Zayd finally accepted the task and, according to him, "started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart)".
When Zayd had completed his task, he left the prepared suhuf (sheets) with Abu Bakr. Before he died, Abu Bakr left the suhuf with Umar who in turn left it with his daughter Hafsah. Hafsah, Umm Salamah, and Aishah were wives of Muhammad who memorized the Qur'an.
Umar's era: 634 – 644
Zayd ibn Thabit thus became one of the foremost authorities on the Quran. Umar ibn al-Khattab once addressed the Muslims and said: "O people, whoever wants to ask about the Quran, let him go to Zayd ibn Thabit."Uthman's era: 644 – 656
During the time of UthmanUthman
Uthman ibn Affan was one of the companions of Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He played a major role in early Islamic history as the third Sunni Rashidun or Rightly Guided Caliph....
, by which time Islam had spread far and wide, differences in reading the Quran in different dialects of Arabic language became obvious. A group of companions, headed by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman
Huthayfa ibn al-Yaman was a close companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and one of the earliest converts to Islam. He is particularly revered by the Sufis and he related a considerable number of hadith, particularly those relating to eschatology...
, who was then stationed in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, came to Uthman and urged him to "save the Muslim ummah before they differ about the Quran".
Uthman obtained the manuscript of the Quran from Hafsah and again summoned the leading authority, Zayd ibn Thabit, and some other companions to make copies of it . Zayd was put in charge of the task. The style of Arabic dialect used was that of the Quraish tribe. Hence this style was emphasized over all others.
Zayd and other Companions copied many copies. One of these was sent to every Muslim province with the order that all other Quranic materials, whether fragmentary or complete copies, be burnt. When standard copies were made and were widely available to the Muslim community everywhere then all other material was burnt voluntarily by Muslim community themselves. This was important in order to eliminate variations or differences in the dialect from the standard text of the Quran. The Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Uthman kept a copy for himself and returned the original manuscript to Hafsah.
Death
Said Ibn Al-MusayyibSaid Ibn Al-Musayyib
Said Ibn Al-Musayyib lived in Medina was among the foremost authorities in hadith, jurisprudence and Quranic interpretation among the Taba'een ....
stated: "I attended the funeral of Zaid bin Thabit. After he had been buried, ibn Abbas said, 'Oh you people! Whoever wishes to know how knowledge leaves us should know that it is like this that knowledge leaves. I swear by Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
that a great deal of knowledge has just left us today." from Tabraani
See also
- Zayd (name)Zayd (name)Zaid also transliterated as Zayd is an Arabic name, meaning "abundance", "growth" or one who progresses and makes other people progress....
- Thabit (name)Thabit (name)Thabit is an Arabic name for males that means "the imperturbable one". It is sometimes spelled Thebit.People using it in their patronymic include:*Zayd ibn Thabit - the personal scribe of Muhammad*Hassan ibn Thabit - Arabian poet and one of the Sahaba...
- Sunni view of the Sahaba
- Muadh bin Jabal