Quran Compiled

[yahya]

Assalam alikum brother I was just wondering why was the quran not compiled as a book in the prophets time peace be upon him not until abu barkers time  jazzakkallah

[Joseph Islam]

Dear Yahya,

As-salamu alaykum

There is no mention of Abu Bakr by name or in this context in the entire Quran. There is also no unequivocal proof that the Quran was not compiled during the Prophetic ministry. In contrast, it appears that contrary to popular belief, the Quran was in fact compiled during the time of the Prophet and with the prophet's supervision.

Please kindly see below.

THE COMPILATION OF THE QURAN
http://quransmessage.com/articles/the%20compilation%20of%20the%20quran%20FM3.htm

Please may I also kindly request that you attempt to see if a query that you are about to raise has been addressed in the plethora of material found on this site by either way of the articles or comprehensive writings on the forum.

I trust that you will agree we would not wish to create unnecessary threads particularly where the subject matter has already been dealt with / addressed by not only myself but also other vastly knowledgeable contributors on this forum.

I hope this helps, God willing.

Regards,
Joseph

[yahya]

Thanks jazzakkallah

[yahya]

Assalam alikum brother joesph I was just wondering when you say the quran was compiled in the prophets time do you mean it was literally made into a book like now in the prophets time or do you mean it was was all put down in the prophets time but on bones and leafs etc also was the vowls and dielect marks put down in the prophets time as well. in the book and leafs and bones or was the vowls and dielect marks put down in the quran years after the prophet time like in the umayah period or were they put down in the prophets time or abu barkr or umar or uthman or ali or hasan time period the vowls and dielect marks if you can get back to me that would be great jazzakkallah and sorry to bother you

[Joseph Islam]

Wa alaikum assalam Yahya,

I have humbly argued in the article above and cited again below that noble scribes also committed the Quran to written format [1]. There would have arguably been no need to commit such a central holy text to bones and leaves in the main, as parchments were known to exist at the time of the prophetic ministry (qirtas - 6:91) and writing on such material was an ancient practice (87:18-19).

It is noteworthy that the 'written' format was merely a backup of the primary source of revelation which was 'oral'. As noble scribes were committing the text to parchments (80:13-16), there could have been arguably many copies of the Quran being made and disseminated during the time of the prophet's ministry. It is not necessary to assume that only one copy of each verse was being written down at any one time. Copies of copies are just as likely particularly as dissemination may have become necessary as the religion spread far and wide across lands.

Many of the originals may or may not be extant now, as further copies could / would have been made. 

As far as diacritical marks are concerned in general, it is useful to remember that these were also aids to reading and correct pronunciation. If one compares two relatively similar scripts today but representing different languages such as Arabic and Urdu, one will note that one conversant with Urdu will require little or no diacritical marks to read a newspaper. They will know how to pronounce the words in context and read the text correctly.

However, an Arabic speaker, also somewhat familiar with the Urdu script reading the same newspaper would arguably struggle to pronounce the words correctly and may require diacritical marks to aid reading / correct pronunciation.

Similarly, an Arabic newspaper does not have many diacritics but is understood by the Arabs. One only needs to compare an Arabic Quran for the 'Arabic speaking community' and one for non-natives to see the emphasis on diacritical marks.

I have assumed the term 'diacritics' generally, albeit it is well known to academics that there are various diacritics including tashkil (which also includes harakat - vowel marks; fathah, dhamma, kasrah, maddah etc) and 'ijam.

I hope this helps, God willing
Joseph


REFERENCE:

[1] THE COMPILATION OF THE QURAN
http://quransmessage.com/articles/the%20compilation%20of%20the%20quran%20FM3.htm

[yahya]

Thanks jazzakkallah so when would you say the vowls and dielect marks were put down like witch caliph and what year period would you say ordered for them to be put down jazzakkallah the history of it jazzakkallah

[Joseph Islam]

witch caliph and what year period would you say ordered for them to be put down jazzakkallah the history of it jazzakkallah

Dear Yahya,

As-salamu alaykum

My view is restricted to what the Quran discerns. What exactly happened later in history is outside the remit of my response and not something I (or arguably any other) can confirm without any doubt. However, I would assume as the Quran spread in different lands or where the dialect was different, such diacitrics may have been introduced to aid reading. This process may have also started at the time of the prophet's ministry or immediately afterwards through the subsequent caliphs.

Please kindly see the wisdom from verse 18:22 regarding the cave sleepers:

"Enter not, therefore, into controversies concerning them, except on a matter that is clear,"

Please let us kindly remain focused / firm on matters that are clear, God willing.

Regards,
Joseph

[yahya]

Ok thanks jazzakkallah