English translation
4679. Narrated Zaid bin Thābit Al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه who was one of those who used to write the Divine Revelation: Abū Bakr sent for me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamāma [where a great number of Qurra' (those who know the Qur'an by heart) were killed]. 'Umar was present with Abū Bakr who said, "Umar has come to me and said, 'The people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamāma, and I am afraid that there will be more casualties among the Qurra' at other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Qur'an may be lost, unless you collect it. And I am of the opinion that you should collect the Qur'an.'" Abū Bakr added, "I said to 'Umar, 'How can I do something which Allāh's Messenger ﷺ has not done?' 'Umar said (to me), 'By Allāh, it is (really) a good thing.' So 'Umar kept on pressing, trying to persuade me to accept his proposal, till Allāh opened my bosom for it and I had the same opinion as 'Umar.'" (Zaid bin Thābit added: 'Umar was sitting with him (Abū Bakr) and was quiet. Abū Bakr said (to me), "You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness); and you used to write the Divine Revelation for Allāh's Messenger ﷺ. Therefore, look for the Qur'an and collect it (in one manuscript).'" By Allāh, if he (Abū 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 Qur'an. I said to both of them, "How dare you do a thing which the Prophet ﷺ has not done?" Abū Bakr said, "By Allāh, it is (really) a good thing." So, I kept on arguing with him about it till Allāh opened my bosom for that which He had opened the bosoms of Abū Bakr and 'Umar. So, I started to search for the Qur'anic material and to collect it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date-palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart). I found with Khuzaima two Verses of Sūrat At-Tauba which I had not found with anybody else, (and they were): "Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ) from amongst yourselves (i.e., whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad ﷺ) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided...)" (V.9:128) The manuscript on which the Qur'an was collected, remained with Abū Bakr till Allāh took him unto Him, and then with 'Umar till Allāh took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Ḥafṣa, 'Umar's daughter. (10) SŪRAT YŪNUS(The Prophet Yūnus) In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious,the Most Merciful.