Zayd ibn Thabit (RA)
Early Aspirations to Join the Prophet’s Army:
In the second year of Hijrah, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was organising his first army in preparation for the Battle of Badr.
Zayd ibn Thabit, who was only thirteen years of age at the time, held up a sword and went to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saying: I dedicate myself to you, Messenger of Allah. Allow me to be with you and to fight the enemies of Allah under your command.
The Prophet admired his courage but refused to include him as part of his army because he was too young.
One year later, at the Battle of Uhud, Zayd ibn Thabit was still considered by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to be young to fight.
However, at the battle of the Khandaq, he was finally allowed to participate in Jihad.
Turning to Knowledge After Early Disappointment:
After Zayd ibn Thabit had been rejected at the Battle of Badr, he focused his attention on other ways to get closer to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
He wanted to memorise the entire Quran and mentioned this idea to his mother.
An-Nawar, his mother, then spoke to the Ansar about her son’s willingness to memorise the whole Quran.
The Ansar went to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and said: O Messenger of Allah, our son Zayd ibn Thabit has memorised seventeen Surahs of the Book of Allah and recites them as correctly as they were revealed to you. In addition to that he is good at reading and writing. It is in this field of service that he desires to be close to you. Listen to him if you will.
Recitation of the Quran to the Prophet:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then listened to Zayd ibn Thabit reciting the Quran, and his recitation was clear and beautiful.
It was very evident to the Prophet that Zayd had a great understanding of what he was reciting.
The Prophet’s Task for Zayd ibn Thabit:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then set Zayd ibn Thabit with a task and he told him: Zayd, learn the writing of the Jews for me. Zayd replied: At your command, O Messenger of Allah.
Zayd became proficient in the Jewish language and wrote it for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ whenever he needed to communicate with the Jews.
Zayd ibn Thabit also translated the Hebrew language to the Prophet whenever the Jews wrote to him.
Interpreter for the Prophet:
Zayd ibn Thabit was appointed as an interpreter for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ whenever he was dealing with non-Arabs.
Scribe of the Revelation:
After the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ witnessed the intelligence of Zayd ibn Thabit, he gave him the responsibility of recording Ayats from the Quran whenever they were revealed to the Prophet.
When any part of the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, he often instructed Zayd to write down the revelation.
Zayd ibn Thabit was one of forty eight people who wrote the revelations for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Zayd said: We used to compile the Quran from small manuscripts in the presence of the Messenger of Allah.
Zayd ibn Thabit experienced the Quran directly from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself and because of this, he had the honour of understanding the circumstances surrounding each revelation.
Compilation of the Quran During Abu Bakr’s Caliph:
After the death of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Zayd ibn Thabit was given the task to compile the Quran for the Ummah.
This was a very important task at that time as five hundred of the Hafiz of the Quran had been killed in the Battle of Yamamah.
Abu Bakr called for Zayd and said: You are an intelligent young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness) and you used to write the Divine revelation for Allah’s Messenger. Therefore look for (all parts of) the Quran and collect it in one manuscript.
Zayd ibn Thabit on the Magnitude of This Task:
Zayd ibn Thabit said about this command from Abu Bakr: 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.
Completing the Compilation of the Quran:
This was a difficult challenge for Zayd ibn Thabit but eventually, he completed this task and compiled the Quran into one Mushaf.
Standardisation of the Quran Under Uthman ibn Affan:
Zayd ibn Thabit then left the suhuf (copy of the Quran) with Abu Bakr.
Before he passed away, Abu Bakr left the suhuf with Umar ibn al-Khattab, who subsequently left it with his daughter Hafsa.
During the caliph of Uthman ibn Affan, the religion of Islam had spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula and all over the world, which led to many differences when people would recite the Quran
A group of companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ led by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, came to Uthman ibn Affan and said: save the Muslim Ummah before they differ about the Quran!
Zayd ibn Thabit’s Role in Standardising the Quran:
Uthman ibn Affan got the manuscript of the Quran from the Prophet’s daughter Hafsa and once again, Zayd ibn Thabit had the responsibility of making accurate copies of the Quran.
Zayd completed the task in the same manner in which he compiled the original suhuf during the caliph of Abu Bakr.
Along with his assistants, they wrote down many copies and Uthman ibn Affan sent one of these copies to every Muslim province.
Uthman ibn Affan then ordered for the previous copies of the Quran to be burnt to avoid differences in opinion and confusion with regards to the recitation of the Allah’s Book.
Recognition as Authority of 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.
Abu Hurayrah’s Testimony on Zayd ibn Thabit:
When Zayd ibn Thabit died, Abu Hurayrah said: Today, the scholar of this Ummah has died.
‘Surely We have revealed the Book of Remembrance and We shall certainly preserve it.’ (Quran, 15:9)
Zayd ibn Thabit preserved the Quran for the Muslim Ummah.
Hadiths Narrated by Zayd ibn Thabit:
It was narrated that Zayd ibn Thabit said: Abu Bakr sent for me when many of the people of Al-Yamamah were killed. Abu Bakr said: O Zayd ibn Thabit, you are a wise young man and we trust you. You used to write down the Revelation for the Messenger of Allah. Seek out the Quran and collect it. (Ahmad)
Zayd ibn Thabit narrated that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: the most virtuous prayer of yours is in your homes, except for the obligatory. (Tirmidhi)
When Zayd ibn Thabit was compiling the Quran, he said: A verse of Surah Ahzab was missed by me and I used to hear the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ reciting it. So we searched and found it with Khuza’ima bin Thabit Al-Ansari.
The Ayat was: ‘Among the believers are men who have been true in their covenant with Allah’. (Quran, 33:23) (Bukhari)