It is related from Anas bin Malik that, ʿḤudhaifa binuʾl-Yamán came to ʿOthmán; and he had been fighting with the people of Syria in the conquest of Armenia and Adharbíján with the people of ʿIráq. And their differences in reciting (the Qurʾán) had made Ḥudhaifa afraid, and he said to ʿOthmán, "O Commander of the faithful, assist this people before they differ in the Book, as do the Jews and Christians." Then ʿOthmán sent to Ḥafṣa saying, "Send to us the written pages. We will copy them into a number of copies, and then return them to thee." Then Ḥafṣa sent them to ʿOthmán, and he commanded Zaid bin Thábit and Abduʾlláh binuʾl- Zubair and Saʿíd binuʾl-ʿÁṣ and Abduʾlláh binuʾl-Ḥárith bin Ḥishám, and they copied them into a number of copies. And ʿOthmán said to the three who were of the tribe of the Quraish, "When you three and Zaid bin Thábit differ in anything from the Qurʾán, then write it in the tongue of the Quraish, for it only came down in their tongue." Then they did so until, when they had copied the written pages into a number of copies, ʿOthmán returned the pages to Ḥafṣa. And he sent into all regions with a copy of that which they had copied. And he gave orders with respect to all other written pages or complete copies of the Qurʾán that they should be burnt. Ibn Shiháb said, "Khárijah bin Zaid bin Thábit informed me that he heard Zaid bin Thábit say, 'I lost a verse from (the chapter entitled) Al Aḥzáb when we copied the Book, and which I used to hear the Apostle of God recite. Then we sought for it and found it with Khuzaimah bin Thábituʾl-Anṣári, namely, "Of the believers there are men who remain true to the covenant which they make with God.[1]" Then we placed it in its chapter in the Book.'"'—Al Bukhárí.
It is related from Ibn ʿAbbás that he said, 'I said to ʿOthmán, "What incited thee to give thine attention to Súratuʾl-Anfál—and it was one of the twice-sent—and to Súratuʾl-Barát, and to join them together? And thou didst not write the words 'In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate' (between them). And thou didst place them amongst the seven long chapters. What incited thee to that?" ʿOthmán replied, "A time used to come to the Apostle of God when many
- ↑ Súratuʾl-Aḥzáb (xxxiii) 23.
