Quoted from the "ISLAM MUHAMMAD & THE KORAN"


THE HISTORY OF THE KORAN

Chapter 7

How the Koran Was Written

Sheikh Abd El-Fatah El-Kady wrote in his book Al Mushaf Al-Shareef  (The Koran - Its History and Tests), pages 14 and 55.

He continues:

Not only were the Koranic writings disorganized, but there were seven different versions of them.  The reason for these different versions of the Koran is that the Koran was revealed to Muhammad in seven different ways (Al-Mushaf Al-Shareef, page 64).
Muhammad said in the Hadith:

Tabari, the great expositor of the Koran, said that the difference between, the seven versions of the Koran (Al-Ahruf Al-Sabaa) was not in the meaning but in the words.  To illustrate: A person can use the word grace, gracefulness. Or the work goods, possessions, or property. But the fact is that the difference in those seven versions were not purely of words but at times related to the basic content of the Koran's text itself.

After Muhammadís death, at the time of caliph Abu-Bakr, ,many of those who had memorized the Koran died while fighting the apostates in the battle of " Alyamama, "Omar feared that the death of those men would result in the loss of a great portion of the Koran and suggested to Abu-Bakr that the Koran should be collected in one volume.  Abu-Bakr was reluctant to do that, because Muhammad did not collect the Koran in one volume during his life.  After much discussion Omar persuaded Abu-Bakr to order the collection of the Koran. Abu-Bark ordered Aid Bin Sabot to do the job (Al-Mush Al-Shareef, page 59,60).

It is quite clear that the collection of the Koran is something which Muhammad did not do.  It is also clear that the Koran was not completely written in one volume during Muhammadís life.  This is why Omar and Abu-Bakr feared the loss of great portions of the Koran, If the men who memorized it should die.

Therefore Zaid Ibn Sabit agreed to collect the various pieces of the Koran.  However, when Islam became the religion of many countries, every country used the version of the Koran which was known among them:  the Syrians read AbiKaabís version, the people of Kofa read Abdallah Ibn Massoudís version, others read Abu Moussa Alashabyís version and so on.
When Caliph Uthman took the caliphate, he was confronted by such confusion and sedition concerning the reading of the Koran in the different Islamic countries that he ordered it to be rewritten.

After Uthman competed his Koran he forced all the Islamic countries to have one Koran - and banned all other codices.  He finished the matter by burning all other codices of the Koran.

Dr. Taha Hussein , a well known author, college professor, and minister of education in Egypt, wrote in his book Al- Fitnato Al-Korba (The Great Sedition):