Editing Quran (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Quran|Historiography of early Islam}}

=== Prophetic era ===
[[Sīrah|Islamic tradition]] relates that [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]] received [[Muhammad's first revelation|his first revelation]] in 610 CE in the [[Jabal al-Nour|Cave of Hira]] on the [[Night of Power]]<ref name="surah al-qadr">{{qref|97|c=y}}</ref> during one of his isolated retreats to the mountains. Thereafter, he received revelations over a period of 23 years. According to {{Transliteration|ar|[[hadith]]}} (traditions ascribed to Muhammad){{Efn|Hadith are primarily from Muhammad but some are from those closest to him. Muslim scholars have worked carefully to authenticate them; see [[Hadith studies#Evaluating authenticity]].}}<ref name="handbook">{{Cite book |last1=Sandıkcı |first1=Özlem |title=Handbook of Islamic Marketing |last2=Rice |first2=Gillian |date=2011 |publisher=Edward Elgar |isbn=978-1-84980-013-6 |page=38}}</ref> and [[History of Islam|Muslim history]], after Muhammad and his followers [[Hijra (Islam)|immigrated to Medina]] and formed an independent Muslim community, he ordered many of his [[sahabah|companions]] to recite the Quran and to learn and teach the laws, which were revealed daily. It is related that some of the [[Quraysh]] who were taken prisoners at the [[Battle of Badr]] regained their freedom after they had taught some of the Muslims the simple writing of the time. Thus a group of Muslims gradually became [[Literacy|literate]]. As it was initially spoken, the Quran was recorded on tablets, bones, and the wide, flat ends of date palm fronds. Most [[Surah|suras]] (also usually transliterated as Surah) were in use amongst early Muslims since they are mentioned in numerous sayings by both [[Sunni]] and [[Shia]] sources, relating Muhammad's use of the Quran as a call to Islam, the making of prayer and the manner of recitation. However, the Quran did not exist in book form at the time of Muhammad's death in 632 at age 61–62.<ref name="Britannica" /><ref name="LivRlgP338">{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=Mary Pat |author-link=Mary Pat Fisher |title=Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths |date=1997 |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris Publishers|I. B. Tauris Publishers]] |edition=Rev. |location=London |page=338}}</ref><ref>{{qref|17|106|b=y}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Tabatabae|1988|p=98}}</ref><ref name=watt>{{cite book|last=Richard Bell (Revised and Enlarged by W. Montgomery Watt)|title=Bell's introduction to the Qur'an|year=1970|publisher=Univ. Press|isbn=978-0-85224-171-4|pages=31–51}}</ref><ref name=chi>{{cite book|last=P.M. Holt, Ann K.S. Lambton and Bernard Lewis|title=The Cambridge history of Islam|year=1970|publisher=Cambridge Univ. Press|isbn=978-0-521-29135-4|page=32|edition=Reprint.}}</ref> There is agreement among scholars that Muhammad himself did not write down the revelation.<ref name=denffer>{{cite book|last=Denffer|first=Ahmad von|title=Ulum al-Qur'an: an introduction to the sciences of the Qur an|year=1985|publisher=Islamic Foundation|isbn=978-0-86037-132-8|page=37|edition=Repr.}}</ref>
[[File:Iqra.jpg|thumb|200px|Traditionally believed to be [[Muhammad]]'s first revelation, [[Al-Alaq|Sura Al-Alaq]], later placed 96th in the Quranic regulations, in current writing style]]

{{Transliteration|ar|[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]}} narrates Muhammad describing the revelations as, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell" and [[A'isha]] reported, "I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)."{{Efn|"God's Apostle replied, 'Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form of Inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says.' ʻAisha added: Verily I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the Sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/001-sbt.php |title=Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110054749/http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/001-sbt.php |archive-date=10 January 2012 |website=Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement |publisher=University of Southern California}}</ref>}} Muhammad's first revelation, according to the Quran, was accompanied with a vision. The agent of revelation is mentioned as the "one mighty in power,"<ref>{{qref|53|5|b=y}}</ref> the one who "grew clear to view when he was on the uppermost horizon. Then he drew nigh and came down till he was (distant) two bows' length or even nearer."<ref name=watt /><ref>{{qref|53|6-9|b=y}}</ref> The Islamic studies scholar Welch states in the ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'' that he believes the graphic descriptions of Muhammad's condition at these moments may be regarded as genuine, because he was severely disturbed after these revelations. According to Welch, these seizures would have been seen by those around him as convincing evidence for the superhuman origin of Muhammad's inspirations. However, Muhammad's critics accused him of being a possessed man, a [[Clairvoyant|soothsayer]], or a [[magician (paranormal)|magician]] since his experiences were similar to those claimed by such figures well known in [[Pre-Islamic Arabia|ancient Arabia]]. Welch additionally states that it remains uncertain whether these experiences occurred before or after Muhammad's initial claim of prophethood.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Buhl |first=Fr. |orig-date=1913–1936 |date=2012 |article=Muhammad |title-link=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam |edition=1 |editor-link1=Martijn Theodoor Houtsma |editor-first1=M. Th. |editor-last1=Houtsma |editor-link2=Thomas Walker Arnold |editor-first2=T. W. |editor-last2=Arnold |editor-first3=R. |editor-last3=Basset |editor-first4=R. |editor-last4=Hartmann |doi=10.1163/2214-871X_ei1_SIM_4746 |isbn=978-90-04-08265-6}} <!--url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-1/muhammad-SIM_4746?s.num=1&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.cluster.Encyclopaedia+of+Islam&s.q=muhammad --></ref>

The Quran describes Muhammad as "{{Transliteration|ar|ummi}}",<ref>{{qref|7|157|b=y}}</ref> which is traditionally interpreted as 'illiterate', but the meaning is rather more complex. Medieval commentators such as [[al-Tabari]] ({{Died in|923}}) maintained that the term induced two meanings: first, the inability to read or write in general; second, the inexperience or ignorance of the previous books or scriptures (but they gave priority to the first meaning). Muhammad's illiteracy was taken as a sign of the genuineness of his prophethood. For example, according to [[Fakhr al-Din al-Razi]], if Muhammad had mastered writing and reading he possibly would have been suspected of having studied the books of the ancestors. Some scholars such as [[W. Montgomery Watt]] prefer the second meaning of {{Transliteration|ar|ummi}}—they take it to indicate unfamiliarity with earlier sacred texts.<ref name=watt /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Günther|first=Sebastian|title=Muhammad, the Illiterate Prophet: An Islamic Creed in the Quran and Quranic Exegesis|journal=Journal of Quranic Studies|year=2002|volume=4|issue=1|pages=1–26|doi=10.3366/jqs.2002.4.1.1| issn=1465-3591}}</ref>

The final verse of the Quran was revealed on the 18th of the Islamic month of [[Dhu al-Hijjah]] in the year 10 [[Hijri year|A.H.]], a date that roughly corresponds to February or March 632. The verse was revealed after [[Event of Ghadir Khumm|the Prophet finished delivering his sermon at Ghadir Khumm]].

According to Islamic tradition, the Quran was revealed to Muhammad in seven different {{Transliteration|ar|[[ahruf]]}} (meaning letters; however, it could mean dialects, forms, styles or modes).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Origins of the Variant Readings of the Qur'an |url=https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/the-origins-of-the-variant-readings-of-the-quran |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research |language=en}}</ref> Most Islamic scholars agree that these different {{Transliteration|ar|ahruf}} are the same Quran revealed in seven different Arabic [[dialect]]s and that they do not change the meaning of the Quran, the purpose of which was to make the Quran easy for recitation and memorization among the different Arab [[tribe]]s.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Philips |first=Abu Ameenah Bilal |title=Tafseer Soorah Al -Hujurat |publisher=International Islamic Publishing House |year=2006 |isbn=9960-9677-0-0 |edition=New Revised Edition 2 |pages=50–54}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2023-02-15 |title=Qira't and the 7 Ahruf: All You Need To Know |work=Arabian Tongue |url=https://www.arabiantongue.com/qirat-and-the-7-ahruf/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Academy |first=Ulum Al-Azhar |date=2024-08-13 |title=What Is Ahruf And Qirat? {{!}} A Full Guide - Ulum Al Azhar |url=https://ulumalazhar.com/what-is-ahruf-and-qirat/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Background of 7 Ahruf (Dialects) of the Quran |url=https://www.rizqankareem.com/introduction-to-the-quran-ndash-revelation-compilation-memorization--preservation/the-7-dialects-ahruf-in-which-the-quran-was-revealed |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Rizqan Kareem - Most Excellent Sustenance |language=en}}</ref> While Sunni Muslims believe in the seven {{Transliteration|ar|ahruf}}, some Shia reject the idea of seven Quranic variants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=معهد الفتح الإسلامي يرحب بكم |url=https://www.alfatihonline.com/en/articles/ahruf.htm |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=www.alfatihonline.com}}</ref> A common misconception is that the seven {{Transliteration|ar|ahruf}} and the {{Transliteration|ar|[[qira'at]]}} are the same.

=== Compilation and preservation ===
{{Main|Canonization of Islamic scripture|Ahruf|Qira'at}}
Following Muhammad's death in 632, a number of his companions who memorized the Quran were killed in the [[Battle of al-Yamama]] by [[Musaylima]]. The first caliph, [[Abu Bakr]] ({{Reign|632|634}}), subsequently decided to collect the book in one volume so that it could be preserved.<ref name="jecampo" /> [[Zayd ibn Thabit]] ({{Died in|655}}) was the person to collect the Quran since "he used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle".<ref name="Donner-Companion">{{Cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'ān |publisher=Cambridge University Press |last=Donner |first=Fred |date=2006 |author-link=Fred Donner |editor-last=McAuliffe |editor-first=Jane Dammen |editor-link=Jane Dammen McAuliffe |pages=31–33 |article=The historical context}}</ref> Thus, a group of scribes, most importantly Zayd, collected the verses and produced a hand-written manuscript of the complete book. The manuscript according to Zayd remained with Abu Bakr until he died. Zayd's reaction to the task and the difficulties in collecting the Quranic material from parchments, palm-leaf stalks, thin stones (collectively known as {{Transliteration|ar|suhuf}}, any written work containing divine teachings)<ref name="demyth-62">{{cite journal |author=Roslan Abdul-Rahim |title=Demythologizing the Qur'an Rethinking Revelation Through Naskh al-Qur'an |journal=Global Journal Al-Thaqafah|date=December 2017 |volume=7 |issue=2 |issn=2232-0474 |page=62 |ref=RARDtQ2017 |doi=10.7187/GJAT122017-2 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and from men who knew it by heart is recorded in earlier narratives. In 644, Muhammad's widow [[Hafsa bint Umar]] was entrusted with the manuscript until the third caliph, [[Uthman]] ({{Reign|644|656}}),<ref name="Donner-Companion" /> requested the standard copy from her.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wat is de Koran? |url=https://koran.nl/wat-is-de-koran/ |website=Koran.nl |language=nl |date=18 February 2016}}</ref> According to historian [[Michael Cook (historian)|Michael Cook]], early Muslim narratives about the collection and compilation of the Quran sometimes contradict themselves: "Most ... make Uthman little more than an editor, but there are some in which he appears very much a collector, appealing to people to bring him any bit of the Quran they happen to possess." Some accounts also "suggest that in fact the material" Abu Bakr worked with "had already been assembled", which since he was the first caliph, would mean they were collected when Muhammad was still alive.{{sfn|Cook|2000|p=121}}

Around the 650s, the Islamic expansion beyond the [[Arabian Peninsula]] and into [[Iran|Persia]], the [[Levant]] and [[North Africa]], as well as the use of the seven {{Transliteration|ar|ahruf}}, had caused some confusion and differences in the pronunciation of the Quran, and conflict was arising between different Arab tribes due to some claiming to be more superior to other Arab tribes and non-Arabs based on dialect, which Uthman noticed.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> In order to preserve the sanctity of the text, he ordered a committee headed by Zayd to use Abu Bakr's copy and prepare a standard text of the Quran.<ref name="Tabatabae1988p99">{{harvnb|Tabatabae|1988|p=99}}: {{Blockquote|Since the word of God seemed threatened with alteration, the [third] caliph ordered that five of the {{lang|arb-Latn|qurrā'}} from amongst the companions, (one of them being Zayd ibn Thābit who had compiled the first volume), produce other copies from the first volume which had been prepared on the orders of the first caliph and which had been kept with Ḥafṣah, the wife of the Prophet and daughter of the second caliph.

The other copies, already in the hands of Muslims in other areas, were collected and sent to Medina where, on orders of the Caliph, they were burnt (or, according to some historians, were destroyed by boiling). Thus several copies were made, one being kept in Medina, one in Mecca, and one each sent to Sham (a territory now divided into Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan), Kufa and Basra.

It is said that beside these five, one copy was also sent to Yemen and one to Bahrein. These copies were called the Imam copies and served as original for all future copies. The only difference of order between these copies and the first volume was that the chapters "Spirits of War" and "Immunity" were written in one place between "The Heights" and "Jonah."}}</ref><ref name="sbukhari1">{{cite web|last=al-Bukhari|first=Muhammad|title=Sahih Bukhari, volume 6, book 61, narrations number 509 and 510|url=http://www.sahih-bukhari.com/Pages/Bukhari_6_61.php |orig-date=810–870 |website=sahih-bukhari.com|access-date=16 February 2018}}</ref> Thus, within 20 years of Muhammad's death in 632,{{sfn|Cook|2000|p=117}} the complete Quran was committed to written form as the [[Uthmanic codex]]. That text became the model from which copies were made and promulgated throughout the urban centers of the Muslim world, and other versions are believed to have been destroyed.<ref name="Tabatabae1988p99" /><ref name="rippin">{{harvnb|Rippin|2006}}:

*"Poetry and Language", by [[Navid Kermani]], pp. 107–20.
*For the history of compilation see "Introduction," by [[Tamara Sonn]], pp. 5–6
*For eschatology, see "Discovering (final destination)", by Christopher Buck, p. 30.
*For literary structure, see "Language," by Mustansir Mir, p. 93.
*For writing and printing, see "Written Transmission", by [[François Déroche]], pp. 172–87.
*For recitation, see "Recitation," by [[Anna M. Gade]] pp. 481–93</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Mohamad K. |last=Yusuff |url=http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_251_300/zayd_ibn_thabit_and_the_glorious.htm |title=Zayd ibn Thabit and the Glorious Qur'an}}</ref>{{sfn|Cook|2000|pp=117–124}} and the six other {{Transliteration|ar|ahruf}} of the Quran fell out of use.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> The present form of the Quran text is accepted by Muslim scholars to be the original version compiled by Abu Bakr.<ref name="watt" /><ref name="chi" />{{Efn|"Few have failed to be convinced that … the Quran is … the words of Muhammad, perhaps even dictated by him after their recitation."<ref name=peters-1991>{{harvnb|Peters|1991|pp=3–5}}</ref>}}{{Efn|There is some disagreement among early Muslim sources disagree over who was the first to collect the narrations. At least one source credits Salim, the freed slave of [[Abu Hudhaifah ibn al-Mughirah|Abu Hudhaifah]] with collecting the Quran into a mushaf: 
"It is reported... from Ibn Buraidah who said:
{{blockquote |The first of those to collect the Qur'an into a mushaf ([[codex]]) was Salim, the freed slave of [[Abu Hudhaifah ibn al-Mughirah|Abu Hudhaifah]].<ref>John Gilchrist, Jam' Al-Qur'an. ''The Codification of the Qur'an Text A Comprehensive Study of the Original Collection of the Qur'an Text and the Early Surviving Qur'an Manuscripts'', [MERCSA, Mondeor, 2110 Republic of South Africa, 1989], Chapter 1. "The Initial Collection of the Qur'an Text", citing as-Suyuti, ''Al-Itqan fii Ulum al-Qur'an'', p. 135).</ref>}}}}

[[File:Quran by Imam ali.JPG|thumb|Quran − in [[Mashhad]], Iran − [[Mushaf of Ali|said to be written by Ali]]]]

[[Qira'at]] which is a way and method of reciting the Quran was developed sometime afterwards. There are [[Ten recitations|ten canonical recitations]] and they are not to be confused with ahruf. Shias recite the Quran according to the {{Transliteration|ar|qira'at}} of [[Hafs]] on authority of [[Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud|‘Asim]], which is the prevalent {{Transliteration|ar|qira'at}} in the Islamic world<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geocities.com/noorullahwebsite/shiites.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027121038/http://geocities.com/noorullahwebsite/shiites.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 October 2009|title=Noorullah Website - Is the Qur'an Corrupted? Shi'ites View|date=27 October 2009}}</ref> and [[Shia view of the Quran|believe that the Quran]] was gathered and compiled by Muhammad during his lifetime.<ref name="Shirazi01">{{cite book |last=Shirazi |first=Muhammad |title=The Qur'an - When was it compiled? |year=2001 |publisher=Fountain Books |location=London,UK |pages=5, 7}}</ref><ref name="Shirazi03">{{cite book |last=Shirazi |first=Muhammad |title=The Shi'a and their Beliefs |year=2008 |publisher=Fountain Books |location=London,UK |page=29}}</ref> It is claimed that the Shia had more than 1,000 [[hadith]]s ascribed to the [[Imamah (Shia doctrine)|Shia Imams]] which indicate the distortion of the Quran<ref>{{cite journal|author1=HADDADIAN ABDORREZA|author2=MOADDAB SEYYED REZA|title=A STUDY ON TRADITIONS OF DISTORTION IN AYYASHI EXEGESIS|journal=Hadith Studies|volume=4|issue=8|pages=141–166}}</ref> and according to Etan Kohlberg, this belief about Quran was common among Shiites in the early centuries of Islam.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Sayyari|editor1-last=Kohlberg|editor1-first=Etan|editor2-last=Amir-Moezzi|editor2-first=Mohammad Ali|title=Revelation and Falsification: The Kitab al-qira'at of Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Sayyari: Critical Edition with an Introduction and Notes by Etan Kohlberg and Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi|journal=Texts and Studies on the Qurʼān |date=2009 |volume=4 |page=vii |url=https://archive.org/details/KitabAlQiratOfAhmadB.MuhammadAlSayyari|publisher=BRILL|issn=1567-2808}}</ref> In his view, [[Ibn Babawayh]] was the first major [[Twelver]] author "to adopt a position identical to that of the [[Sunni]]s" and the change was a result of the "rise to power of the Sunni '[[Abbasid caliphate]]," whence belief in the corruption of the Quran became untenable vis-a-vis the position of Sunni "orthodoxy".<ref>Kohlberg & Amir-Moezzi 2009, p.24-26-27</ref> Alleged distortions have been carried out to remove any references to the rights of Ali, the Imams and their supporters and the disapproval of enemies, such as [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyads]] and Abbasids.<ref>Kohlberg & Amir-Moezzi 2009, pp.20, 24</ref>

Other personal copies of the Quran might have existed including [[Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud|Ibn Mas'ud]]'s and [[Ubay ibn Ka'b]]'s codex, none of which exist today.<ref name="Britannica" /><ref name="Tabatabae1988p99"/><ref name="leaman">{{cite book|editor-last=Leaman|editor-first=Oliver|editor-link=Oliver Leaman|url=https://archive.org/details/quranencyclopedi2006unse|title=The Qur'an: an Encyclopedia|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=978-0-415-32639-1|location=New York|url-access=registration}}

* For God in the Quran (Allah), see "Allah", by Zeki Saritoprak, pp. 33–40.
* For eschatology, see "Eschatology," by Zeki Saritoprak, pp. 194–99.
* For searching the Arabic text on the internet and writing, see "Cyberspace and the Qur'an", by [[Andrew Rippin]], pp. 159–63.
* For calligraphy, see by "Calligraphy and the Qur'an" by [[Oliver Leaman]], pp. 130–35.
* For translation, see "Translation and the Qur'an," by Afnan Fatani, pp. 657–69.
* For recitation, see "Art and the Qur'an" by [[Tamara Sonn]], pp. 71–81; and "Reading", by Stefan Wild, pp. 532–35.</ref>