Scribes of the Prophet - Manal Shoaib

Scribes of the Prophet

By: Manal Shoaib 

Scribes were those people who preserved the revelations of Quran in writing and in memory.

There were 40 members amongst the companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) who were the scribes of the Holy Quran, but among them the most well-known companions were:

·        Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A)

·        Hazrat Usman (R.A)

·        Hazrat Umar (R.A)

·        Hazrat Ali (R.A)

·        Abdullah Bin Masud (R.A)

·        Zaid Bin Thabit (R.A)

How they carried out their work?

●      Close companions of the Prophet.

●      Always stayed close to him.

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     • They re-ordered the revelations and inserted new ones as the Prophet directed        them to.
     • There was always a scribe on hand to take down a revelation from the Prophet.

●      Whenever the Prophet received a revelation, he immediately dictated it to them, as he himself could not read or write.

●      They would write it on pieces of wood, animal skins, palm leaves etc.

●      They would also learn the revelations by heart.

●   Whatever they recorded was checked and approved by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) himself, every word and every entrance were composed and verified fittingly.

●      They would add new verses and arrange them in order on the instructions of the Prophet.

●      They preserved the word of Allah.

Importance of their work:

The scribes of the divine revelation hold immense importance in Islam as they made sure that the revelations must be in written form because the Prophet did not know how to read or write. Apart from writing them, they also learnt the verses so that they remained in their memory. Thus they were Hafiz-e-Quran and they played a vital role in the preservation of Quran in its original form. If they had not written the revelations, the word of Allah might perish forever. This shows that their work played an important role in preserving Quran for future generations.

Zaid Bin Thabit:

·        Among the people to whom Muslims are to be grateful for the written preservation of the Holy Book of Islam is Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit, who was principal scribe of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

·        He was the principal/chief scribe.

       ●      Belonged to Khazraj tribe.

       ●      Accepted Islam before Prophet’s migration at the age of 11.

·         in spite of his persistent pleas, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) did

·        not allow him to participate in the Battles of Badr and Uhad as he was only 13 years old at that time.

·        However, subsequently, he took part in the battle of Khandaq and in the Tabuk Expedition.

       ●      Prophet’s secretary in 3 AH.

       ●      Took part in Trench and Tabuk expeditions.

       ●      Could speak many languages.

·        On the directions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), he learnt Hebrew and Syrian Languages

●      Had a very good memory.

●      He was a Hafiz-e-Quran.

●      Public treasurer in 3^rd caliphate.

●      Clear and beautiful recitation with proper punctuation.

·        and became an official interpreter and translator for him.

·        His deep knowledge of the Holy Quran made even the great Companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) resort to him and show special respect to him, despite the fact that he was much younger than most of them, being only 22 at the time of the death of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

·         He was the first Ansar to severe allegiance to Hazrat Abu Bakr as the Caliph.

·         He participated in the battle of Yamama and fought the apostasy war against Musailma, the liar.

·        During the Caliphate of Hazrat Umar, he was the Qazi of the city of Madinah and he was quite often appointed as a Deputy to look after the affairs of the State whenever the Caliph went to perform Hajj or Umrah or visited any other place.

·        After the battle of Yamama, he was chosen as the Head of the Committee which was given the task of compiling the Holy Quran in book form which job he did commendably

·        well. The text of the Holy Quran was also collected by him was then preserved and kept by Caliphs Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar and it was later on entrusted to Hazrat Hafsa, the wife of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

·        During the period of the Hazrat Uthman, it was Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit who was given the task of preparing a standard version of the Quran that he completed quite diligently.

·        It is this standard copy (known to be Usmani Script) prepared by Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit, which is recited as such, till this time in the entire Muslim world.

References:

·        And they say, “tales of the ancients which he has caused to be written: and they are dictated before him morning and evening”.

·        “(it is) in Books held (greatly) in honour. Exalted (in dignity) kept pure and holy "(written by) the hands of scribes, Honourable, pious and just" (80:15-16)