Part I brief: As mentioned before, Quran was the prophet’s miracle and it is in Arabic because Arabs were incredibly skilled in writing poetry and pros. Hence,
the Holy Quran is the one book that nobody can ever come up with anything similar to it. After the death of the prophet (pbuh), the prophet’s companions
tried their best to keep Quran safe and collected.
• Uthamm’s Efforts
Even thought Quran has already been collected during the time of Abu Bakr, during Uthman’s era, people started to read it in different ways and Muslims
were considered about what will happen if the wrong recitals went viral.
“Hudhaifah came to Uthman at the time when the people of Syria and the people of Iraq were at war with Armenia and Azerbaijan. He was alarmed by their (the people of Syria and Iraq) differences in the recitation, so he said to ‘Uthman, “O leader of the believers! Save this nation before they dispute about the Quran as the Jews and the Christians did dispute about their books.” Therefore, ‘Uthman sent a message to Hafsah saying, “Send us the manuscript so that we may make copies and we will return the manuscript to you.” Saheeh Al-Bukhari
So, Muslims started collecting Quran again under the supervision of Uthman who asked a couple of trusted companions to make copies of the Mushaf. These
companions included Zaid ibn Thabit for a second time. These copies were kept, any other copies of the Mushaf were burned, and the original manuscript was sent back to Hafsah. The Mushaf Uthman collected is known by “the Uthmani Mushaf”, which is the one we’re reading from now, it has been saved and moved from generation to another for hundreds of years.
Nobody really knows the exact number of the copies Uthman made but many people believe that he made five copies other from his own copy. He sent each of these copies to: Mecca, Madina, Damascus, Kufa, and Basra.
Thanks to the prophet’s true companions, The Quran is read and memorised all over the world by millions of people who don’t even speak the same language. However, it’s recited and read the same way. As God said in Surah Al-Hijr
“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it”
• Musaylimah the Liar
It’s important to mention that collecting and perceiving Quran wasn’t an easy task, especially with the existence of some people who claimed to be prophets.
One of these people is called Musaylimah, and due to his lies and false claims, he was called Musaylimah the liar.
Musaylimah was a magician who would call his tricks “miracles”, and people would believe him. He could shove an egg inside a bottle and cut bird’s feathers
then stick it to the bird again. They were all illusions but people believed that he was a messenger from God Musaylimah didn’t only lie, but he himself believed his very own lies and convinced himself that he was a prophet. His audacity was unbelievable, to the extent that he sent a letter to our prophet (pbuh).
"From Musaylimah, Messenger of God, to Muhammad, Messenger of God. Salutations to you. I have been given a share with you in this matter. Half the
earth belongs to us and half to the Quraish. But the Quraish are people who transgress."
Despite being a fraud, many people of his tribe believed Musaylimah and they formed an army to convince other people to convert to Musaylimah’s religion.
After the death of the prophet, Abu Bakr led the Wars of Apostasy to demolish the liars who claimed to be prophets. During this war, Khalid ibn Al-Walid’s army
managed to defeat Musaylimah’s and his so-called religion died with him. Musaylimah himself was killed during the war by Wahshi ibn Harb, the same guy
who, before his conversion to Islam, killed the prophet’s uncle.
• Sajjah, the False Prophetess
Sajjah was a Christian women who also claimed to be a prophetess during the Apostasy movement. Since she was a beautiful woman and a poetess who would always speak in verse, people were bewitched by her charm and the believed her. Most of her followers were from the clan of her mother, Banu Taghlib, and also some were from her father’s tribe Bani Tamim. Sajjah was a smart woman who wanted to establish a strong empire for herself so that they would protect her in case of any wars. Furthermore, she married Musaylimah after she saw his growing power and she saw in it a great chance.
She didn’t marry Musaylimah for love but it was purely a political reason. Being the smart woman she was, once Musaylimah was defeated and killed, Sajjah
converted to Islam and asked Allah for forgiveness for what she had done.
• Conclusion
So, it’s obvious that even after the prophet’s death and after collecting Quran, the prophet’s companions had other crucial missions to protect Islam and Quran. They dedicated their lives to preserve Allah’s word and to protect it from self proclaimed prophets like Musaylimah, Sajjah, and many others who rebelled against Islam. Many Muslims died in these wars in order to defend Islam, and they sacrificed their lives to make sure that Allah’s word is above all words.
When we know the story of Quran and the efforts the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions exerted, we will feel more appreciation towards Islam and the Holy
Quran that numerous people sacrificed their lives to protect this religion. The least we can do is reciting Quran, memorising it, and trying to learn the original
language of it which is Arabic. Of course, there are no wars now, but there’s actually an inner war against ourselves and against all of the life’s temptations.
One can’t defeat these temptations without strong will to learn and read Quran because it’s God’s miracle and gift to humanity. May Allah (SWT) guide us all to the right path.