47/10. Chapter:
Jami at-Tirmidhi 3103 — Zaid bin Thabit and Collecting the Quran
Regarding Surat At-Tawbah
Hadith About the Collection of the Quran
Jami at-Tirmidhi : 3103
Jami at-TirmidhiHadith Number 3103
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ، حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ السَّبَّاقِ، أَنَّ زَيْدَ بْنَ ثَابِتٍ، حَدَّثَهُ قَالَ بَعَثَ إِلَىَّ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ مَقْتَلَ أَهْلِ الْيَمَامَةِ فَإِذَا عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ عِنْدَهُ فَقَالَ إِنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ قَدْ أَتَانِي فَقَالَ إِنَّ الْقَتْلَ قَدِ اسْتَحَرَّ بِقُرَّاءِ الْقُرْآنِ يَوْمَ الْيَمَامَةِ وَإِنِّي لأَخْشَى أَنْ يَسْتَحِرَّ الْقَتْلُ بِالْقُرَّاءِ فِي الْمَوَاطِنِ كُلِّهَا فَيَذْهَبَ قُرْآنٌ كَثِيرٌ وَإِنِّي أَرَى أَنْ تَأْمُرَ بِجَمْعِ الْقُرْآنِ . قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ لِعُمَرَ كَيْفَ أَفْعَلُ شَيْئًا لَمْ يَفْعَلْهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ عُمَرُ هُوَ وَاللَّهِ خَيْرٌ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ يُرَاجِعُنِي فِي ذَلِكَ حَتَّى شَرَحَ اللَّهُ صَدْرِي لِلَّذِي شَرَحَ لَهُ صَدْرَ عُمَرَ وَرَأَيْتُ فِيهِ الَّذِي رَأَى قَالَ زَيْدٌ قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ إِنَّكَ شَابٌّ عَاقِلٌ لاَ نَتَّهِمُكَ قَدْ كُنْتَ تَكْتُبُ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم الْوَحْىَ فَتَتَبَّعِ الْقُرْآنَ . قَالَ فَوَاللَّهِ لَوْ كَلَّفُونِي نَقْلَ جَبَلٍ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ مَا كَانَ أَثْقَلَ عَلَىَّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ قَالَ قُلْتُ كَيْفَ تَفْعَلُونَ شَيْئًا لَمْ يَفْعَلْهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ هُوَ وَاللَّهِ خَيْرٌ . فَلَمْ يَزَلْ يُرَاجِعُنِي فِي ذَلِكَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ حَتَّى شَرَحَ اللَّهُ صَدْرِي لِلَّذِي شَرَحَ صَدْرَهُمَا صَدْرَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ فَتَتَبَّعْتُ الْقُرْآنَ أَجْمَعُهُ مِنَ الرِّقَاعِ وَالْعُسُبِ وَاللِّخَافِ يَعْنِي الْحِجَارَةَ الرِّقَاقَ وَصُدُورِ الرِّجَالِ فَوَجَدْتُ آخِرَ سُورَةِ بَرَاءَةَ مَعَ خُزَيْمَةَ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ : ( قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ * فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَقُلْ حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ ) . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ .
Az-Zuhri Narrated from:
Narrated Az-Zuhri: "From 'Ubaid Bin As-Sabbaq, That Zaid Bin Thabit Narrated To Him, He Said: 'Abu Bakr As-Siddiq Sent For Me - (Regarding) Those Killed At Al-Yamamah - And 'Umar Bin Al-Khattab Was With Him. He (Abu Bakr) Said: "'Umar Came To Me And Said: The Fighting Inflicted Many Casualties Among The Reciters Of The Qur'An On The Day Of Al-Yamamah, And I Fear That There Will Be More Casualties Among The Reciters In Other Parts Of The Land, Such That Much Of The Qur'An May Be Lost. In My View, You Should Order That The Qur'An Be Collected.'"Abu Bakr Said To 'Umar: "How Can I Do Something Which Was Not Done My The Messenger Of Allah (ﷺ)?" 'Umar Said: 'By Allah! It Is Something Good.' 'Umar Continued Trying To Convince Me Until Allah Opened Up My Chest To That Which He Had Opened The Chest Of 'Umar, And I Saw It As He Saw It." Zaid Said: 'Abu Bakr Said: "You Are A Young Wise Man, And We Have No Suspicions Of You. You Used To Write Down The Revelation For The Messenger Of Allah As The Qur'An Was Revealed."He (Zaid) Said: 'By Allah! If They Had Ordered To Move One Of The Mountains It Would Have Been Lighter On Me Than That.' He Said: 'I Said: "How Will You Do Something Which Was Not Done By The Messenger Of Allah (ﷺ)?" Abu Bakr Said: "By Allah! It Is Something Good." Abu Bakr And 'Umar Continued Trying To Convince Me, Until Allah Opened Up My Chest For That, Just As He Had Opened Their Chests, The Chest Of Abu Bakr And The Chest Of 'Umar. So I Began Searching For Qur'Anic Material From Parchments, Leaf Stalks Of Date-Palms And Al-Likhaf - Meaning Stones - And The Chests Of Men.I Found The End Of Surah Bara'Ah With Khuzaimah Bin Thabit:Verily, There Has Come To You A Messenger From Among Yourselves. It Grieves Him That You Should Receive Any Injury Or Difficulty. He Is Eager For You; For The Believers (He Is) Full Of Pity, Kind, And Merciful. But If They Turn Away, Say: "Allah Is Sufficient For Me. There Is No God But He, In Him I Put My Trust, And He Is The Lord Of The Mighty Throne (9:128 & 129).'"
Reference : Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3103In-book reference : Book 47, Hadith 155English translation : Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3103
Summary of Jami at-Tirmidhi Hadith 3103
This Hadith about the collection of the Quran shows careful responsibility after the deaths of many Qur'an reciters at Al-Yamamah. Umar feared that more reciters might be killed and that parts of the Qur'an known by people could be lost. Abu Bakr first hesitated because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had not done that exact task in that form. Umar kept saying it was good until Abu Bakr accepted it, and later Zaid bin Thabit accepted the duty too. Zaid searched written materials and the memories of men. The Hadith teaches Quran preservation through care, trust, review, and seriousness. It does not present the task as easy; Zaid said moving a mountain would have felt lighter.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Companions treated the Qur'an with great care and fear of loss.
- A heavy religious task should be handled by trustworthy and capable people.
- Zaid collected from written materials and from the chests of men, as stated in the text.
- Abu Bakr and Umar supported a step they saw as good for preserving the Qur'an.
