Zayd ibn Thabit
| Zayd ibn Thabit | |
|---|---|
| Scribe, Theologian, Disciple of Prophet Muhammad | |
| Born | c. 610 C.E. Medina |
| Died | c. 660 C.E. |
| Venerated in | Islam |
| Influences | Prophets of Islam |
According to Islamic traditions, Zayd ibn Thabit (زيد بن ثابت ) was the personal scribe of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and was from the ansar (helpers). He joined the ranks of the Muslim army at age 19. After Muhammad's passing he collated the Quran into a single volume from various written and oral sources. He was a noted expert on the Quran and spent much time reciting it.
When Zayd was 6 years old his father died in the Battle of Bu'ath. Zayd was 13 years old when he asked permission to participate in the Battle of Badr. Since he was younger than 15 years old, Muhammad did not allow him to do so, and sent him back. He then decided to try to win favor with Muhammad by learning the Quran. He was later appointed to write letters to non-Muslims and to collect and keep record of the Qur'anic verses. Zayd was among those chosen by Muhammad to write down the verses of the Quran. He used to spend most of his time reciting the Quran, and continued to learn the Quranic verses as they were recited by Muhammad. Zayd later volunteered to fight when he was 19 years old. This time he was accepted in the ranks of the Muslim army. Zayd's time to fight had come nine years after the establishment of the Muslim community in Medina.
Zayd had the role of writing down the Quranic verses that Muslims believe were sent to Prophet Muhammad from Allah through the Angel Jibrayil.
After Muhammad's death, Zayd, who by this time had become an expert in the Quran, was assigned the role of authenticating and collecting the oral and textual Quranic revelation into a single bounded volume. This initiative was high on the Caliph Abu Bakr's agenda, especially after the Ridda wars, and the Battle of Yamamah in particular, in which a large number of Quran memorizers perished. Umar convinced Abu Bakr that the Quran should be collected in one manuscript. During Abu Bakr's reign as caliph, he was given the task of collecting the Quranic verses from all over the Muslim communities. Zayd finally accepted the task and, according to him, started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men. When Zayd had completed his task, he left the prepared sheets with Abu Bakr. Before he died, Abu Bakr left the sheets with Umar who in turn left it with his daughter Hafsah. Hafsah, Umm Salamah and Aishah were wives of Muhammad who memorized the Quran.
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