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Jami' at-TirmidhiChapters on Tafsir

Zayd ibn Thābit al-Ansāri, one of the scribes of the Qur'an, reported: Abu Bakr As-Siddīq sent for me when the people (of the battle) of Yamāmah were killed. I found ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb sitting with him

Chapter: Regarding Surat At-Tawbah

Authentic 4 scholars’ grades Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3103

Narrator:Zayd ibn Thābit

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 ‏)‏ ‏.‏

Zayd ibn Thābit al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) one of the scribes of the Qur'an, reported: Abu Bakr as-Siddīq sent for me when the people (of the battle) of Yamāmah were killed. I found ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb sitting with him. Abu Bakr said: "‘Umar came to me and said: 'The death toll was heavy on the day of (the battle of) Yamāmah and I feared that many of the memorizers of the Qur'an would be killed on other battlefields, and a large part of the Qur'an might be lost unless you collect it. Can I suggest that you collect it?' I said to ‘Umar: 'How could I do something that the Messenger of Allah had not done?' ‘Umar said: 'By Allah, this is good.' ‘Umar kept on debating with me until Allah opened my heart to it and I accepted ‘Umar’s point of view." Then Abu Bakr said: "While ‘Umar was sitting with him silently: 'You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicions about you. You used to write the revelation for the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). So track down the Qur'an and collect it.' By Allah, had he ordered me to move one of the mountains, it would not have been harder on me than what he ordered me to do in collecting the Qur'an." I said to Abu Bakr: "How could you do something that the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had not done?" Abu Bakr replied: "By Allah, this is good." Abu Bakr kept on talking to me about it until Allah opened my heart to what He had opened the hearts of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar to. So I tracked down the Qur'an, collecting it (written) on parchment, shoulder blades, and palm stalks, and from the hearts of men, until I found these last two verses of Sūrat At-Tawbah from Khuzaymah al-Ansāri; I did not find them with anyone else: {There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer, [he is] concerned over you...} until the end of the two verses [Sūrat At-Tawbah: 128-129]. The sheets on which the Qur'an was collected remained with Abu Bakr until he died, then with ‘Umar until he died, and then with Hafsah, the daughter of ‘Umar.

Reported by At-Tirmidhi (No. 3103), Al-Bukhari (No. 4679, 4986, 4989, 7191, 7425) and Ahmad (No. 54, 72, 20657).

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Explanation

Zayd ibn Thābit al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Abu Bakr As-Siddīq summoned him during his caliphate, after the Companions of the Prophet had fought against Musaylimah the Liar in the battle of Yamāmah in 11 AH. The battle was sparked due to Musaylimah's claim to be a prophet and also due to the apostasy of many of the Arabs. Many of the Prophet's Companions were killed in those battles. Zayd went to Abu Bakr and found ‘Umar sitting with him. Abu Bakr told Zayd that ‘Umar had come to him and told him that many of the Companions had been killed in their battles with Musaylimah and he feared that more of the Qur'an memorizers would be killed in subsequent battles with the disbelievers, and consequently parts of the Qur'an could be lost. So ‘Umar had proposed that the Qur'an should be collected. Abu Bakr wondered how he could do something that the Messenger of Allah had not done. ‘Umar replied that collecting the Qur'an would be better than leaving it scattered around. Abu Bakr said that ‘Umar had talked to him about collecting the Qur'an until he had felt comfortable with the idea and decided to collect it. Zayd ibn Thābit commented that ‘Umar was sitting there, silently. Then Abu Bakr said to Zayd that he was an intelligent young man whom they could not accuse of lying or forgetfulness. As Zayd had written the revelation for the Messenger of Allah, they suggested that he should track down the Qur'an and collect it. The whole Qur'an had been written down during the Prophet's life, but it had not been collected in one place nor were the Sūrahs arranged in their current order. Zayd commented that moving a mountain would have been easier for him than collecting the Qur'an. He wondered how Abu Bakr and ‘Umar could do something that the Prophet had not done. Abu Bakr said that this would be good, and he continued to talk to Zayd about the benefits of collecting the Qur'an until he felt comfortable with the proposal and decided to collect the Qur'an for the public interest. Zayd collected the Qur'an written on parchments, shoulder blades, and palm stalks, and also from the hearts of men who had fully memorized it, such as Ubai ibn Ka‘b and Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal. In this way, the text that was written on parchment and shoulder blades would be further evidence to what had been memorized by the Companions. He only found the last two verses of Sūrat At-Tawbah written down by Khuzaymah ibn Thābit al-Ansāri. These are the verses that state: {There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer, [he is] concerned over you...} until the end of the two verses [Sūrat At-Tawbah: 128-129]. The sheets on which the Qur'an were collected remained with Abu Bakr until he died, then with ‘Umar until he died, and then with Hafsah, ‘Umar’s daughter (may Allah be pleased with them all). The Shias objected to Abu Bakr's collection of the Qur'an, because he had done something that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had not done. Abu Bakr did not do anything objectionable, as he embarked on this project for the sake of Allah, His Messenger, and His Book. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had allowed this as in the Hadīth reported by Abu Sa‘īd: ''Do not write anything from me other than the Qur'an.'' [Muslim]. So Abu Bakr did nothing other than collecting the Qur'an that was already written. Thus, the Shias' objection to Abu Bakr's collection is baseless.

Explanation in Arabic

يحكي زيد بن ثابت الأنصاري رضي الله عنه أن أبا بكر الصديق أرسل إليه في خلافته بعد قتال الصحابة -رضي الله تعالى عنهم- مسيلمة الكذاب ببلاد اليمامة سنة إحدى عشرة، بسبب ادعائه النبوة وارتداد كثير من العرب، وقد قُتل فيها كثير من الصحابة، فذهب إليه فوجد عنده عمر بن الخطاب -رضي الله تعالى عنه- فقال أبو بكر لزيد: إن عمر أتاني فقال: إن القتل قد اشتد وكثر في الصحابة في حرب مسيلمة الكذاب، وإني أخاف أن يكثر القتل بقراء القرآن وحفاظه في الحروب التي يقع فيها القتال مع الكفار، فيذهب كثير من القرآن، وإني لأرى أن تجمع القرآن. قال أبو بكر: فقلت لعمر: كيف أفعل شيئًا لم يفعله رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ؟ فقال لي عمر: جمع القرآن واللهِ خير من تركه. قال أبو بكر: فلم يزل عمر يكلمني في جمع القرآن حتى شرح الله لذلك صدري ورأيت أن أجمع القرآن. قال زيد بن ثابت: قال أبو بكر ذلك وعمر عنده جالس لا يتكلم. ثم قال أبو بكر لزيد: إنك يا زيد رجل شاب عاقل ولا نتهمك بكذب ولا نسيان، وقد كنت تكتب الوحي لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فيه فتتبع القرآن فاجمعه. وقد كان القرآن كله كُتب في العهد النبوي لكن غير مجموع في موضع واحد ولا مرتب السور. قال زيد: فوالله لو كلفني أبو بكر نقل جبل من الجبال ما كان أثقل عليَّ مما أمرني به من جمع القرآن. ثم قال زيد لأبي بكر وعمر: كيف تفعلان شيئا لم يفعله النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ؟ فقال له أبو بكر: هو والله خير. قال زيد: فلم يزل أبو بكر يكلمني في جمع القرآن حتى شرح الله لذلك صدري ورأيت أن أجمع القرآن؛ لما في ذلك من المصلحة العامة. فقام زيد بتتبع القرآن ليجمعه من «الرقاع» ومن «الأكتاف» جمع كتف وهو عظم عريض في أصل كتف الحيوان ينشف ويكتب فيه، ومن جريد النخل الذي يكشطون خوصه فيكتبون في طرفه العريض، ومن صدور الرجال الذين جمعوا القرآن وحفظوه كاملًا في حياته صلى الله عليه وسلم كأُبي بن كعب ومعاذ بن جبل فيكون ما في الرقاع والأكتاف وغيرهما تقريرا على تقرير، حتى وجد زيد آيتين من سورة التوبة مع خزيمة بن ثابت الأنصاري لم يجدهما مكتوبتين مع أحد غيره: {لقد جاءكم رسولٌ من أنفسِكم عزيزٌ عليه ما عَنِتُّم حريصٌ عليكم} [التوبة: 128] إلى آخرهما. وكانت الصحف التي جُمع فيها القرآن عند أبي بكر حتى توفاه الله، ثم عند عمر حتى توفاه الله، ثم عند حفصة بنت عمر -رضي الله تعالى عنهم أجمعين-.

وقد اعترضت الرافضة على فعل أبي بكر في جمعه القرآن، وأنه فعل شيئًا لم يفعله رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وليس في فعله رضي الله عنه ما يُنكر؛ إذ هو من النصح لله ولرسوله ولكتابه، وقد أذن فيه -عليه الصلاة والسلام- بقوله في حديث أبي سعيد في صحيح مسلم: «لا تكتبوا عني شيئا غير القرآن»، وغايته جمعُ ما كان مكتوبا قبل ذلك، فلا يتوجه اعتراض الرافضة على الصديق.

  • حفظ الله -تعالى- لكتابه من التغيير والتبديل, وأنه جمع في ذلك بين حفظه في الصدور والسطور.
  • شدة اتباع الصحابة لسنة النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم-, وبعدهم عن مخالفته.
  • جمع القرآن من أعظم فضائل أبي بكر الصديق حين سبق إلى ما لم يسبق إليه أحد من الأمة.
  • أن من سبقت له معرفة بالأمر فإنه أولى بالولاية، وأحق بها ممن لا سابقة له في ذلك ولا معرفة.
  • الأخذ بمبدإ الشورى سنة النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم- وسنة الخلفاء الراشدين من بعده.
  • جواز اتخاذ الكاتب للسلاطين والحكام، وأنه ينبغى أن يكون الكاتب عاقلاً فطنًا مقبول الشهادة.
  • جواز مراجعة الكاتب للسلطان فى الرأي ومشاركته له فيه.
  • العمل بالمصلحة المرسلة فيما لم يرد به نص.
  • في الحديث منقبة لعمر ولزيد بن ثابت -رضي الله عنهما-.

Classical commentary

Al-Mubarakfuri — Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi

قَوْلُهُ : ( بَعَثَ إِلَيَّ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ ) أَيْ أَرْسَلَ إِلَيَّ رَجُلًا. قَالَ الْحَافِظُ : لَمْ أَقِفْ عَلَى اِسْمِ الرَّسُولِ إِلَيْهِ بِذَلِكَ ( مَقْتَلَ أَهْلِ الْيَمَامَةِ ) نُصِبَ عَلَى الظَّرْفِيَّةِ , أَيْ عَقِبَ قَتْلِ أَهْلِ الْيَمَامَةِ , وَالْيَمَامَةُ بِفَتْحِ التَّحْتِيَّةِ وَخِفَّةِ الْمِيمِ : اِسْمُ مَدِينَةٍ بِالْيَمَنِ , وَكَانَ مَقْتَلُهُمْ سَنَةَ إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ مِنْ الْهِجْرَةِ , وَالْمُرَادُ بِأَهْلِ الْيَمَامَةِ هُنَا مَنْ قُتِلَ بِهَا مِنْ الصَّحَابَةِ فِي الْوَقْعَةِ مَعَ مُسَيْلِمَةَ الْكَذَّابِ , وَكَانَ مِنْ شَأْنِهَا أَنَّ مُسَيْلِمَةَ اِدَّعَى النُّبُوَّةَ وَقَوِيَ أَمْرُهُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِارْتِدَادِ كَث…

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Scholars’ grades

ScholarGradeApplies toWork
Al-Albanid. 1420 AH AuthenticSahih The hadith No. 3103
Zubair Ali Zaid. 1435 AH AuthenticSahih Bukhari The hadith No. 3103
Ahmad Shakird. 1377 AH AuthenticSahih The hadith No. 3103
Bashar Awwad Ma'ruf AuthenticHasan Sahih The hadith No. 3103

Other versions

Authentic Sahih al-Bukhari 4679

who was one of those who used to write the Divine Revelation: Abu Bakr sent for me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra' were killed). `Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said, `Umar has come to me and said, The people have…

أَرْسَلَ إِلَىَّ أَبُو بَكْرٍ مَقْتَلَ أَهْلِ الْيَمَامَةِ وَعِنْدَهُ عُمَرُ، فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ إِنَّ عُمَرَ أَتَانِي فَقَالَ إِنَّ الْقَتْلَ قَدِ اسْتَحَرَّ يَوْمَ الْيَمَامَةِ بِالنَّاسِ، وَإِنِّي أَخْشَى أَنْ…

Narrated by Zayd ibn Thābit

Authentic Sahih al-Bukhari 4986

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq sent for me when the people of Yamama had been killed (i.e., a number of the Prophet's Companions who fought against Musailima). (I went to him) and found `Umar bin Al- Khattab sitting with him. Abu Bakr then said (to me), "`Umar has come to me and said: "Casualties were heavy…

الْقَتْلَ قَدِ اسْتَحَرَّ يَوْمَ الْيَمَامَةِ بِقُرَّاءِ الْقُرْآنِ وَإِنِّي أَخْشَى أَنْ يَسْتَحِرَّ الْقَتْلُ بِالْقُرَّاءِ بِالْمَوَاطِنِ، فَيَذْهَبَ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ وَإِنِّي أَرَى أَنْ تَأْمُرَ بِجَمْعِ…

Narrated by Zayd ibn Thābit

Authentic Sahih al-Bukhari 4989

Abu Bakr sent for me and said, "You used to write the Divine Revelations for Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) : So you should search for (the Qur'an and collect) it." I started searching for the Qur'an till I found the last two Verses of Surat at-Tauba with Abi Khuza`ima Al-Ansari and I could not find these…

تَكْتُبُ الْوَحْىَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَاتَّبِعِ الْقُرْآنَ‏.‏ فَتَتَبَّعْتُ حَتَّى وَجَدْتُ آخِرَ سُورَةِ التَّوْبَةِ آيَتَيْنِ مَعَ أَبِي خُزَيْمَةَ الأَنْصَارِيِّ لَمْ أَجِدْهُمَا مَعَ أَحَدٍ…

Narrated by Zayd ibn Thābit

Authentic Sahih al-Bukhari 7191

Abu Bakr sent for me owing to the large number of casualties in the battle of Al-Yamama, while `Umar was sitting with him. Abu Bakr said (to me), `Umar has come to my and said, 'A great number of Qaris of the Holy Qur'an were killed on the day of the battle of Al-Yamama, and I am afraid that the…

بَعَثَ إِلَىَّ أَبُو بَكْرٍ لِمَقْتَلِ أَهْلِ الْيَمَامَةِ وَعِنْدَهُ عُمَرُ فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ إِنَّ عُمَرَ أَتَانِي فَقَالَ إِنَّ الْقَتْلَ قَدِ اسْتَحَرَّ يَوْمَ الْيَمَامَةِ بِقُرَّاءِ الْقُرْآنِ، وَإِنِّي أَخْشَى…

Narrated by Zayd ibn Thābit

Authentic Sahih al-Bukhari 7425

Abu Bakr sent for me, so I collected the Qur'an till I found the last part of Surat-at-Tauba with Abi Khuza`ima Al-Ansari and did not find it with anybody else. (The Verses are): -- 'Verily, there has come to you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves..(till the end of Surat Bara'a) (i.e…

أَرْسَلَ إِلَىَّ أَبُو بَكْرٍ فَتَتَبَّعْتُ الْقُرْآنَ حَتَّى وَجَدْتُ آخِرَ سُورَةِ التَّوْبَةِ مَعَ أَبِي خُزَيْمَةَ الأَنْصَارِيِّ لَمْ أَجِدْهَا مَعَ أَحَدٍ غَيْرِهِ ‏‏{‏لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ‏}‏…

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Authentic Mishkat al-Masabih 2220

Abū Bakr sent for me after the slaughter of those who fought at al-Yamāma and ‘Umar b. al-Khattāb was with him. Abū Bakr told me that ‘Umar had come to him and drawn attention to the extensive slaughter among Qur’ān readers at the battle of al- Yamāma, saying he was afraid that if readers continued…

وَعَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ قَالَ: أَرْسَلَ إِلَيَّ أَبُو بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ مَقْتَلَ أَهْلِ الْيَمَامَةِ. فَإِذَا عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ عِنْدَهُ. قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ إِنَّ عُمَرَ أَتَانِي فَقَالَ إِنَّ…

Narrated by Zayd ibn Thābit

Also reported by… (1)
  • السنن الكبرى للنسائي (7967)إِنَّكَ غُلامٌ شَابٌّ عَاقِلٌ ، لا نَتَّهِمُكَ ، قَدْ كُنْتَ تَكْتُبُ الْوَحْيَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ ، فَتَتَّبِعُ الْقُرْآنَ فَاجْمَعْهُ

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