Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

It is a beautiful hadith, but confuses me the same time. I was of the understanding that our holy book Quran was compiled much latterduring the caliphate of Hazrat Abu Baker Siddique after passing away of the prophet (PBUH). I infer from this hadith that at least Abdullah ibne umer had access to a compiled form of Quran!

I will appreciate if you can shed some light on the authenticity of this Hadith?

Jazzakullah.

Abdullah ibn Amr asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) 'In how many days should I complete the recitation of the whole Qur`an, O Messenger of Allah(peace and blessings be upon him)?'

He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: 'In one month.'

He said: 'I am more energetic to complete it in a period less than this.'

He kept on repeating these words and lessening the period until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)said: 'Complete its recitation in (maximum) seven days.' He again said: 'I am more energetic to complete it in a period less than this.'

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)said: 'He who finishes the recitation of the Qur`an in less than three days does not understand it!'

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 1385 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-`As

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Recite quran in more than three days

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 6.201 Narrated by Zaid bin Thabit Al Ansari

Hadrat Zaid (r.a.) who was one of those who used to write the Divine Revelation said: ‘Abu Bakr sent for me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra' were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said, "Umar has come to me and said, 'The people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be more casualties among the Qurra' (those who know the Qur'an by heart) at other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Qur'an may be lost, unless you collect it (in a manuscript). And I am of the opinion that you should collect the Qur'an.'" Abu Bakr added, "I said to 'Umar, 'How can I do something which Allah's Prophet (saws) has not done?' 'Umar said (to me), 'By Allah, it is (really) a good thing.' So 'Umar kept on pressing, trying to persuade me to accept his proposal, till Allah opened my bosom for it and I had the same opinion as 'Umar." (Zaid bin Thabit added:) 'Umar was sitting with him (Abu Bakr) and was not speaking. Abu Bakr said (to me), "You (Zaid) are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness): and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Prophet (saws). Therefore, look for the Quran and collect it (in one manuscript)." By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains (from its place) it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Quran. I said to both of them, "How dare you do a thing which the Prophet (saws) has not done?" Abu Bakr said, "By Allah, it is (really) a good thing." So I kept on arguing with him about it till Allah opened my bosom for that which He had opened the bosoms of Abu Bakr and Umar. So I started locating Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leaf-stalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart).

The manuscript on which the Quran was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with 'Umar till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa, Umar's daughter.

It would not be accurate to say that the Quran was only written after the death of the Prophet (saws). The truth is that the Glorious Quran was very much documented during the very life-time of the Prophet (saws), for whenever an Ayaah or Surah was revealed, the scribes appointed by the Prophet (saws) would immediately document the Revelations verbatim from the Prophet (saws). The Messenger of Allah (saws) had appointed specific scribes, who would immediately document the Revelations as soon as they were revealed to the Prophet (saws) on partchments, scapula, leaf-stalks, etc.; and besides scores if not hundreds or thousands amongst the noble companions had secured the Glorious Quran to their memories!

After the death of Prophet Mohamed (saws) the need arose to document the Glorious Quran in an authorized Book form, a process which was started during the reign of Hadrat Abu Bakr (r.a.) and completed during the reign of Hadrat Uthmaan (r.a.).

Your Question: I infer from this hadith that at least Abdullah ibne umer had access to a compiled form of Quran!

I will appreciate if you can shed some light on the authenticity of this Hadith?

The hadith narrated by Hadrat Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-Aas (r.a.) and recorded by Abu Dawood is indeed considered sound by the scholars and jurists in Islam. Whether Hadrat Abdullah ibn Amr (r.a.) had a precise copy of the manuscript or whether he had secured the Quran to his memory is known to Allah Subhanah Alone.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan