During the early years of Islam, controversies arose because Muslims belonged to various Arab tribes other than Quraysh, and they read the Qur’an in seven ahruf until they became familiar with the Quraysh dialect. Likewise and for similar reasons, in the beginning of Uthman’s Caliphate the newly converted non-Arab Muslims also experienced difficulties in correctly reading the Qur’an. One Qur’an teacher taught the qira’at of a particular imam, another teacher taught the qira’at of another imam. Differences of opinion arose when students of these teachers came together and their teachers then accused each other when they learned of the differences. The final straw came when the Iraqi and Syrian soldiers who participated at the battles in Armenia and Azerbaijan argued over the reading of the Qur’an. The time had long come for the duplication and distribution of the master copy of the Mushaf (the manuscript bound between two boards) in accordance with the way it was written, compiled, and memorized during the age of bliss and tranquility in which the Messenger of God lived and the way it was bound as a book between two boards during the time of Abu Bakr’s Caliphate – efforts specifically intended to prevent differences in the reading and recitation of the Qur’an. In an event narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari, Hudhayfa ibn al-Yamani, the commander of the army that participated at the battles in Armenia and Azarbaijan, was terrified when he saw the controversies between the Iraqi and the Syrian soldiers arising over the reading of the Qur’an. Upon returning to Medina from the battle, he immediately found Uthman, even before stopping by his own house, and told him:
“O Commander of the Faithful! Come to the rescue of this ummah before they fall into a dispute over the Qur’an, as had the People of the Book (Christians and Jews) once fell into dispute over their Books.”
When Uthman heard this, he sent a message to our mother, Hafsa, asking her to send him the master copy of the Mus’haf (codex) which had been compiled and entrusted to her by Abu Bakr. Uthman also told her that they would duplicate the Mus’haf and give back the original to her. Hafsa sent him the Mus’haf that was in her possession.
For the task of copying the Mus’haf, Uthman assigned Abdullah ibn Zubayr, Said ibn al-As, and Abdur Rahman ibn Harith ibn Hisham under the leadership of Zayd ibn
Thabit. He instructed them: “In case you fall into any dispute with Zayd ibn Thabit over the Qur’an, write it in accordance with the Quraysh dialect, as it was revealed in that dialect.”
The master copy of the Qur’an that was entrusted to Hafsa was referred to as the Imam Mus’haf. This committee assigned to copy the Qur’an followed Uthman’s intructions precisely. Uthman returned the Imam Mus’haf to Hafsa and sent the various copies to several Islamic centers. He also ordered the burning of all of the other versions and pages of the Qur’an and private mus’hafs.
The actual number of these copies is a matter of dispute. It has been widely accepted that at least four, and at the most eight, exist. One of the copies was kept in Medina, the capital city of the Caliphate, while other copies were sent to such prominent Islamic centers as Kufa, Basra, Damascus, Mecca,
Egypt, Yemen, and Bahrain. It should also be noted thatUthman did not make or implement the decision of burning the different versions by himself. In fact, he made this important decision only after consulting with and receiving support from leading Companions. Ali’s words below against
those who criticized Uthman’s decision are illustrative:
“O people! Beware of God and refrain from rushing into extremes about Uthman and saying that he is the burner of the mus’hafs. By God, he certainly did this with the consent of the Companions of the Prophet.”
Ali later added that if he were Uthman, he too would have done the same thing.