Analysis of the text and references in the Report Attributed to Zayd ibn Thabit on the Compilation of the Qur’an and the Merit of al-Sham

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Qurʾanic Sciences and Exegesis Department, Faculty of Quranic Sciences in Mashhad, University of Qurʾanic Sciences and Thoughts. Mashhad, Iran.

2 PhD student, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.

10.30512/kq.2025.18765.3484

Abstract

The report “We were with the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), compiling the Qur’an from parchments…” appears in Sunni hadith sources in three distinct versions.  The first version includes both the compilation of the Qur’an and the praise of al-Shām. The second mentions only the Qur’anic compilation. The third contains solely the praise of al-Shām. Depending on which components are present, these versions have been cited either to support the idea of Qur’anic compilation during the Prophet’s lifetime or to affirm the merit of al-Shām. This article analyzes the text and references of the narrative to date it. By incorporating historical contextual evidence, it concludes that its dissemination probably occurred in the early second century AH. This dating is based on the death of the principal transmission agent, Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb (d. 128 AH), who serves as the common link across the report’s chains of references. The core theme of the report is the praise of al-Shām. Given the proximity of its circulation to the decline of the Umayyad dynasty, the emergence of such reports appears to have served political purposes, namely reinforcing the Umayyad authority and encouraging migration to al-Shām. Notably, the Qur’anic compilation motif is found only in the versions narrated in Iraq, where it functions as a rhetorical prelude to the praise of al-Shām. This component seems to have been strategically introduced to prepare the audience, particularly in Iraq, for accepting the main theme of the report. In this context, the compilation motif serves not as a historical claim in its own right, but as a familiar narrative device to lend credibility to the praise of al-Shām.

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Main Subjects

References

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Ketab-E-Qayyem
Volume 15, Issue 2 - Serial Number 33
September 2025
Pages 147-166

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History

  • Receive Date: 23 September 2024
  • Revise Date: 10 March 2025
  • Accept Date: 13 March 2025

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