How was the Quran compiled into one book?

Why it was not one book at first

The Prophet ﷺ received the revelation piece by piece, over years, as events and questions arose. Al-Qastallani explains that this is precisely why he ﷺ did not have it bound into a single volume: abrogation was still occurring, so if it had been collected and then the recitation of some part lifted, it would have led to confusion and disagreement. Instead, Allah preserved it in the hearts of the Companions until the era of abrogation ended.

So the Qur'an was all written in his ﷺ time — but scattered. Al-Qastallani summarises the three stages: composition in the Prophetic era, collection into sheets (suhuf) in the time of Abu Bakr, and copying into codices (masahif) in the time of Uthman.

IslamWeb (fatwa 17828) makes the same point from the other direction: had it been collected in the Prophet's ﷺ lifetime, Umar رضي الله عنه would never have feared its loss at al-Yamamah.

The first collection, under Abu Bakr

The trigger was the Battle of al-Yamamah against Musaylimah and his followers. Ibn Kathir records that roughly five hundred of the reciters were killed that day. Umar رضي الله عنه saw the danger immediately and pressed Abu Bakr to gather the Qur'an before the carriers of it died in later battles.

Zayd ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه, who had written the revelation for the Prophet ﷺ, describes his own hesitation:

"By Allah, if they had tasked me with moving a mountain it would not have been heavier than what I was ordered to do of gathering the Qur'an."— Sahih al-Bukhari, from Zayd ibn Thabit

He gathered it from al-'usub and al-likhaf — palm stalks and thin white stones — and from the breasts of men, meaning both written fragments and memorised recitation. Ibn Kathir explains these materials: the 'asib is the palm frond above the base before the leaves grow, and the lakhfah a thin piece of stone; the Companions wrote on whatever they could.

Two details show how carefully this was done:

• Two witnesses were required. Ibn Kathir cites a report that Umar would accept nothing from anyone unless two witnesses testified to it.
• The last verses of Surah at-Tawbah were found with one man only. Zayd found them with Abu Khuzaymah al-Ansari and with no one else — and in another narration, with Khuzaymah ibn Thabit, whose testimony the Prophet ﷺ had made equal to two witnesses.

The completed sheets stayed with Abu Bakr until his death, then with Umar during his life, then with Hafsah bint Umar رضي الله عنها.

Ibn Kathir calls this among the greatest deeds of Abu Bakr, and ties it to Allah's promise:

"Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will be its guardian."— Qur'an 15:9

The second collection, under Uthman

The sheets were a single copy, not yet a standardised text for the whole Muslim world. The problem that forced the next step was disagreement — not over the Qur'an's content, but over recitation. Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman رضي الله عنه returned from the campaigns in Armenia and went straight to Uthman with a warning: "Save this community before it perishes." He had seen Muslims disputing readings, to the point of declaring one another disbelievers.

Uthman رضي الله عنه consulted the Companions present — Ali, Talhah, al-Zubayr and others — and they agreed on gathering the Qur'an upon a single harf (mode of recitation) so the people would not split. Ibn Baz records that Uthman formed a four-man committee headed by Zayd ibn Thabit, which produced the unified text, wrote it out, and sent copies to the regions so people would rely on them and the dispute would end.

Ibn al-Qayyim notes that Uthman did this specifically so it would not become a means to disagreement over the Qur'an, and that the Companions agreed with him. Ali رضي الله عنه later said that had he been in authority at the time, he would have done with the codices exactly what Uthman did.

What happened to the seven modes

A natural question follows: if the Qur'an was revealed in seven ahruf, what became of the others? Ibn Baz addresses this directly. He notes that the scholars of verification held the seven modes to be close in meaning, differing in wording, and that the seven or ten qira'at (readings) are still contained within what Uthman gathered — a letter more or less, an elongation, a marking. All of it falls within the one mode he collected. The aim was to preserve the speech of Allah and prevent a disagreement that would harm the Muslims and cause strife.

He adds that Allah did not oblige recitation in all seven modes; the Prophet ﷺ said, "So recite whatever is easy of it." Gathering the people on one mode was therefore a good act for which Uthman and the Companions are thanked.

Key takeaways

• The Qur'an was fully written in the Prophet's ﷺ lifetime but not bound into one volume, because abrogation was still ongoing and there was no fear of its loss.
• Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه made the first collection, into sheets, after the deaths of many reciters at al-Yamamah — on Umar's urging, and against Zayd's initial hesitation.
• Uthman رضي الله عنه made the second, gathering the community on a single mode of recitation and distributing copies to the regions to end disputes.
• The collection was verified, not improvised: written fragments and memorised recitation together, with witnesses required for what was accepted.
• The seven readings were not abolished — Ibn Baz holds they remain within the single mode Uthman gathered.

Further reading

• Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of the Virtues of the Qur'an, chapter on the gathering of the Qur'an
• Ibn Kathir, Fada'il al-Qur'an, section on the gathering of the Qur'an
• Ibn Abi Dawud, al-Masahif

And Allah knows best.