sense of a few others, indicate is t!:lat•it was undertaken during Abu Bakrs time. The clear statement of traditions ٧ and ١٢ indicates that it was during Umars time (٦٣٤-٦٤٤).
b. Who undertook the task of collecting the Quran during Abu Bakrs time? Accord‌ ing to traditions l and ٢٢, the person who undertook this task was Zayd b. Thabit, whereas, according to tradition ٤, it was Abu Bakr himself, and he asked Zayd only to examine what he had collected from the sheets (kutub). On the other hand, tradi‌ tion ٥, as well as the apparent sense of some other reports, suggest that it was both
Umar and Zayd who undertook the task.
c. Was Zayd delegated to choose which verses would be included in the Quran? It appears from tradition l, or, in fact, it is clear, that Abu Bakr delegated the task to him. What Umar said to Zayd is clear in this regard: "You are a wise young man and we trust you. You used to record the revelation for the Messenger of God. So go and find [all the fragments of] the Quran and put them together." Tradition ٥ and a few others mention that the material was included in the text only on the tes‌ timony of [at least] two•witnesses, to the extent that when Umar came forward with the verse regarding the stoning, it was not accepted from him because he was the only one reporting it.
d. Did any verse remain unrecorded until the time ofUthman? The apparent sense of many traditions-in fact, their explicit statement-suggests that there was nothing left out until that time. However, tradition ٢ clearly states that some verses had been left out and were not recorded until the time of Uthman.
e. Did Uthman strike out anything that was recorded before him? The apparent sense
of many traditions, or, rather, their explicit statement, suggests that Uthman did not strike out anything from the text recorded before him. But tradition ١٤ explic‌ itly states that he did strike out something that was recorded before him, and that he ordered the Muslims to do the same.
f. From what source did Uthman collect the codex? Traditions ٢ and ٤ state explic‌
itly that in collecting the Quran he depended on the scrolls ( ul:zuf)
Abu Bakr. In contrast, traditions ٨, ١٤, and ١٥ explicitly state that Uthman col‌ lected it on the [basis of the] testimony of two witnesses, and from the reports of those who had heard the verse from the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his progeny).
g. Who asked Aba Bakr to collect the Quran? Tradition I says that it was Umar who
asked hkn, and Aba Bakr agreed with him after initially refusing to do [the collec‌ tion]. He then sent for Zayd and asked him to undertake the task. Zayd also agreed with him after initially refusing to do it. Tradition I ٠ mentions that both Zayd and
Umar asked Aba Bakr to do it, and that he agreed with them after consulting the
Muslims.
h. Who collected the first complete version (imam) of the Quran and sent copies of it to the different centers of the empire? Tradition ٢ states clearly that it was
Uthman, whereas tradition ١٢ also states clearly that it was Umar.
i. When were the two last verses of"Surat al-Baraa" appended? Traditions I, ll, and
٢٢ state clearly that they were appended during Abu Bakrs time. In contrast, the clear statement of tradition ٨ and the apparent sense of other traditions suggest that this was done during Umars time.
j. Who came forward with these two verses? Traditions l and ٢٢ state clearly that it was Aba Khuzayma. However, traditions ٨ and a also state clearly that it was Khuzayma b. Thabit. As mentioned by Ibn Abd al-Barr, there is no relationship whatsoever between these two men.٤