Did the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions (RA) forget some verses of the Qur’an?

The opponents of Islam cite some hadeeths and allege that the Prophet ﷺ himself forgot certain verses of the Qur’an. They further claim that this contradicts the Qur’an, where Allah says that He will not let the Prophet ﷺ forget the verses. They also allege that some Companions (RA) of the Prophet ﷺ forgot certain verses of the Qur’an. By making such claims, they try to prove that some verses of the Qur’an have been lost forever and that the Qur’an is no longer preserved (God forbid).

Did the Prophet ﷺ forget some verses of the Qur’an?

The opponents of Islam present the following hadith as evidence for their claim:

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ قَالَتْ سَمِعَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَجُلاً يَقْرَأُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ، لَقَدْ أَذْكَرَنِي كَذَا وَكَذَا آيَةً أَسْقَطْتُهَا فِي سُورَةِ كَذَا وَكَذَا ‏"‏‏.

Meaning: “Narrated from A’ishah (RA): The Prophet ﷺ heard a man reciting Qur’an in the mosque. He said: ‘May Allah have mercy on him. He reminded me of such-and-such verses which I had dropped from such-and-such surah.’” ^[1]

Similar narrations are also found in other places.

The opponents of Islam then quote a verse of the Qur’an and claim that this verse contradicts the hadith mentioned above:

سَنُقۡرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنۡسٰۤیۙ

Meaning: “Soon We shall make you recite, so you will not forget.” ^[2]

They cite this verse to argue that the Qur’an and hadith contradict each other, and that one nullifies the other (God forbid). However, they deliberately omit the very next verse. Had they mentioned it, their misleading claim would have collapsed, and it would become clear that there is no contradiction between the Qur’an and hadith. In Surah al-A‘la, the verse immediately after states:

اِلَّا مَا شَآءَ اللّٰهُ ؕ اِنَّهٗ یَعۡلَمُ الۡجَهۡرَ وَ مَا یَخۡفٰی ؕ

Meaning: “Except what Allah wills; surely He knows what is declared and what is hidden.” ^[3]

The Qur’an also states elsewhere:

مَا نَنۡسَخۡ مِنۡ اٰیَۃٍ اَوۡ نُنۡسِهَا نَاۡتِ بِخَیۡرٍ مِّنۡهَاۤ اَوۡ مِثۡلِهَا ؕ

Meaning: “Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring forth one better than it or similar to it…” ^[4]

From the straightforward translation of these verses, it is clear that while Allah promised to protect the Prophet ﷺ from forgetting the Qur’an, He may will for certain verses to be caused to be forgotten. Regarding the explanation of these verses in Surah al-A‘la, one of the earliest tafsir works, ‘Tafsir al-Tabari’, states:

“Bashar narrated from Abu Qatadah (RA) that the meaning of سَنُقۡرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنۡسٰۤیۙ is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would never forget what he recited as revelation from Allah. Except what Allah wills.

Some say that the word تَنۡسٰۤی here means abandoning or leaving aside.

Others say its meaning is: ‘O Muhammad ﷺ, you will never abandon practicing what you recite from your Lord, except that which Allah wills and declares to be ‘mansūkh’ (abrogated).’” ^[5]

In the explanation of the verse, ‘Tafsir Ibn Kathir’ states:

“Allah, the Exalted, promises that, O Muhammad! Surely I will make you recite, and thus you will not forget it. However, if Allah wishes to make you forget something, that is a separate matter.

Qatadah (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would not forget anything except what Allah willed. In short, the meaning of the verse is that no part of the Qur’an would be forgotten. But if any verse was abrogated, then remembering it would not be your responsibility.” ^[6]

Thus, it becomes clear from the Qur’an that if Allah wills, He can make the Prophet ﷺ forget certain verses. The tafsirs (commentaries of Qur’an) mention that among the things forgotten were the ‘mansukh’ (abrogated) verses.

Now let us turn to those hadeeths in which it is mentioned that the Prophet ﷺ forgot certain verses, and that when another person recited them, he remembered them. A simple reading of the hadith shows that there is no possibility of any Qur’anic verse being lost. Because at the very time when those verses were not in the Prophet’s ﷺ memory, another Companion was reciting them. Meaning, those verses were already preserved with the Companions. The very hadith presented by the opponents of Islam themselves refutes their misleading claim.

Now one might ask: why were those verses not in the Prophet’s ﷺ memory at that particular moment? Regarding this, Imam Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (Rh.), in his famous ‘Fath al-Bari’, explained:

قَالَ الْإِسْمَاعِيلِيُّ: النِّسْيَانُ مِنَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ لِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ يَكُونُ عَلَى قِسْمَيْنِ: أَحَدُهُمَا: نِسْيَانُهُ الَّذِي يَتَذَكَّرُهُ عَنْ قُرْبٍ، وَذَلِكَ قَائِمٌ بِالطِّبَاعِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ، وَعَلَيْهِ يَدُلُّ قَوْلُهُ ﷺ فِي حَدِيثِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ فِي السَّهْوِ: إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ أَنْسَى كَمَا تَنْسَوْنَ. وَالثَّانِي: أَنْ يَرْفَعَهُ اللَّهُ عَنْ قَلْبِهِ عَلَى إِرَادَةِ نَسْخِ تِلَاوَتِهِ، وَهُوَ الْمُشَارُ إِلَيْهِ بِالِاسْتِثْنَاءِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلا تَنْسَى إِلا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ﴾

قَالَ: فَأَمَّا الْقِسْمُ الْأَوَّلُ فَعَارِضٌ سَرِيعُ الزَّوَالِ لِظَاهِرِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ﴾ وَأَمَّا الثَّانِي فَدَاخِلٌ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿مَا نَنْسَخْ مِنْ آيَةٍ أَوْ نُنْسِهَا﴾

Meaning: “Isma‘ili (RA) said: Forgetting something of the Qur’an by the Prophet ﷺ can be of two types.

The first is forgetting it temporarily, then recalling it shortly after. This is part of human nature. The evidence for this is in his ﷺ own saying in the hadith of Ibn Mas‘ud regarding forgetfulness: ‘I am only a human being like you; I forget just as you forget.’ [Bukhari 401]

The second is when Allah removes it from his heart with the intention of abrogating its recitation. This exceptional matter is indicated in Allah’s words: ‘Soon We shall make you recite, so you will not forget, except what Allah wills…’ [Surah al-A‘la 87:6-7].

He said: The first type is a temporary matter that quickly passes, as is clear from Allah’s statement: ‘Indeed, it is We who have sent down the Reminder, and indeed We will surely preserve it.’ [Surah al-Hijr 15:9]. The second type falls under Allah’s words: ‘Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten…’ [Surah al-Baqarah 2:106].” ^[7]

Temporarily not recalling something and permanently losing it from memory are not the same. In the case of the Prophet ﷺ, the first occurred, not the second. And in the hadith under discussion, it is the first type that is mentioned. As a human being, sometimes it took a little time for certain verses of the Qur’an to come to his ﷺ memory, which he would describe as “forgetting.” But shortly after, it would return to his memory, for Allah had protected him from permanently forgetting the Qur’an. The Prophet ﷺ never permanently forgot any verse that was not abrogated.

If there had been dishonesty in his heart, and if he had been a liar or a false prophet, then he would never have admitted even the slightest human limitation. But he candidly and humbly acknowledged his human limitations, as in his statement:

عَنْ عُمَرَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَا تُطْرُونِي كَمَا أَطْرَتْ النَّصَارَى عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ، فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا عَبْدٌ، فَقُولُوا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

Meaning: “Umar (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians exaggerated in praising ‘Isa ibn Maryam (AS) [Jesus son of Mary]. I am only a servant, so say: the servant of Allah and His Messenger.” ^[8]

Did the Companions (RA) forget some verses of the Qur’an?

The opponents of Islam present the following hadith as evidence:

بَعَثَ أَبُو مُوسَى الأَشْعَرِيُّ إِلَى قُرَّاءِ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ ثَلاَثُمِائَةِ رَجُلٍ قَدْ قَرَءُوا الْقُرْآنَ فَقَالَ أَنْتُمْ خِيَارُ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ وَقُرَّاؤُهُمْ فَاتْلُوهُ وَلاَ يَطُولَنَّ عَلَيْكُمُ الأَمَدُ فَتَقْسُوَ قُلُوبُكُمْ كَمَا قَسَتْ قُلُوبُ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ وَإِنَّا كُنَّا نَقْرَأُ سُورَةً كُنَّا نُشَبِّهُهَا فِي الطُّولِ وَالشِّدَّةِ بِبَرَاءَةَ فَأُنْسِيتُهَا غَيْرَ أَنِّي قَدْ حَفِظْتُ مِنْهَا لَوْ كَانَ لاِبْنِ آدَمَ وَادِيَانِ مِنْ مَالٍ لاَبْتَغَى وَادِيًا ثَالِثًا وَلاَ يَمْلأُ جَوْفَ ابْنِ آدَمَ إِلاَّ التُّرَابُ ‏.‏ وَكُنَّا نَقْرَأُ سُورَةً كُنَّا نُشَبِّهُهَا بِإِحْدَى الْمُسَبِّحَاتِ فَأُنْسِيتُهَا غَيْرَ أَنِّي حَفِظْتُ مِنْهَا ‏(‏ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لاَ تَفْعَلُونَ‏)‏ فَتُكْتَبُ شَهَادَةً فِي أَعْنَاقِكُمْ فَتُسْأَلُونَ عَنْهَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ‏.‏

Meaning: “Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari (RA) once summoned the Qur’an reciters of Basra. Three hundred reciters then came to him and recited the Qur’an. He said to them: You are the best people of Basra and its reciters. So keep reciting it, and do not let long periods pass in laziness lest your hearts become hardened as the hearts of those before you hardened.

We used to recite a surah which we compared in length and severity to Surah Bara’ah, but I have forgotten it. However, I remember from it this much: ‘If the son of Adam were to possess two valleys of wealth, he would desire a third, and nothing fills the belly of the son of Adam except dust.’

And we used to recite a surah which we compared to one of the Musabbihat (surahs beginning with glorification), but I have forgotten it. I remember from it this much: ‘O you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do?’ (Surah al-Saff 61:2). And what you merely say without doing will be written as a testimony upon your necks, and you will be asked about it on the Day of Resurrection.”  ^[9]

In the same context, other hadeeths indicate that what is being referred to here are the ‘mansukh’ (abrogated) verses of the Qur’an, and that some verses were abrogated by Surah al-Takathur. ^[10]

In the explanation of this hadith, Imam Suyuti (Rh.) mentioned—

كُنَّا نَقْرَأُ سُورَةً كُنَّا نُشَبِّهُهَا فِي الطُّولِ وَالشِّدَّةِ بِبَرَاءَةَ فَأَنْسَيْتُهَا، هَذَا مِنَ الْمَنْسُوخِ تِلَاوَةً، الَّذِي أُشِيرَ إِلَيْهِ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: "مَا نَنْسَخْ مِنْ آيَةٍ أَوْ نُنْسِهَا"، فَكَانَ اللَّهُ يُنْسِيهِ النَّاسَ بَعْدَ أَنْ حَفِظُوهُ، وَيَمْحُوهُ مِنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ، وَذَلِكَ فِي زَمَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ خَاصَّةً، إِذْ لَا نَسْخَ بَعْدَهُ.

Meaning: “We used to recite a surah which we considered, in length and severity, similar to Surah Bara’ah (al-Tawbah), but I have forgotten it – this is from the category of abrogated recitations, as indicated by Allah’s words: ‘‘Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten…’’ [al-Baqarah 2:106]. So Allah made people forget it after they had memorized it, and erased it from their hearts. This occurred only during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, because after him there is no abrogation.” ^[11]

On this hadith, Imam Qurtubi (Rh.) mentioned—

أَحَدُهَا: نَسْخُ الْحُكْمِ وَبَقَاءُ التِّلَاوَةِ.

وَالثَّانِي: عَكْسُهُ، وَهُوَ: نَسْخُ التِّلَاوَةِ وَبَقَاءُ الْحُكْمِ.

وَالثَّالِثُ: نَسْخُ الْحُكْمِ وَالتِّلَاوَةِ، وَهُوَ كَرَفْعِ هَاتَيْنِ السُّورَتَيْنِ الَّتَيْنِ ذَكَرَهُمَا أَبُو مُوسَى، فَإِنَّهُمَا رُفِعَ حُكْمُهُمَا وَتِلَاوَتُهُمَا. وَهَذَا النَّوْعُ مِنَ النَّسْخِ هُوَ الَّذِي ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى حَيْثُ قَالَ: ﴿مَا نَنسَخْ مِنْ آيَةٍ أَوْ نُنْسِهَا﴾؛ عَلَى قِرَاءَةِ مَنْ قَرَأَهَا بِضَمِّ النُّونِ، وَكَسْرِ السِّينِ. وَكَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنسَى * إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ﴾، وَهَاتَانِ السُّورَتَانِ مِمَّا قَدْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنْ يُنْسِيَهُ بَعْدَ أَنْ أَنْزَلَهُ، وَهَذَا لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَعَّالٌ لِمَا يُرِيدُ، قَادِرٌ عَلَى مَا يَشَاءُ؛ إِذْ كُلُّ ذَلِكَ مُمْكِنٌ.

وَلَا يَتَوَهَّمْ مُتَوَهِّمٌ مِنْ هَذَا وَشِبْهِهِ أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ قَدْ ضَاعَ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ، فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ بَاطِلٌ؛ بِدَلِيلِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ﴾، وَبِأَنَّ إِجْمَاعَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَمَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ انْعَقَدَ عَلَى أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ الَّذِي تُعُبِّدْنَا بِتِلَاوَتِهِ وَبِأَحْكَامِهِ هُوَ مَا ثَبَتَ بَيْنَ دَفَّتَيْ الْمُصْحَفِ مِنْ غَيْرِ زِيَادَةٍ وَلَا نُقْصَانٍ، كَمَا قَرَّرْنَاهُ فِي أُصُولِ الْفِقْهِ.

Meaning: “[The types of abrogation:] One is: the ruling is abrogated but the recitation remains.

The second is: the recitation is abrogated but the ruling remains.

The third is: both ruling and recitation are abrogated, as in the case of the two surahs mentioned by Abu Musa (RA), where both their ruling and recitation were removed. This type of abrogation is what Allah referred to in His words: ‘‘Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten…’’ [al-Baqarah 2:106], according to the recitation of those who read it with ‘dhammah’ on the ‘nun’ and ‘kasrah’ on the ‘sin’. Likewise His words: ‘‘Soon We shall make you recite, so you will not forget – except what Allah wills…’’ [al-A‘la 87:6-7]. These two surahs are among those which Allah willed to be forgotten after having revealed them, because Allah does whatever He wills, and He is capable of whatever He wishes; indeed, all of this is possible.

And no one should fall into the misconception from this or similar cases that any part of the Qur’an has been lost. That is entirely false. The proof lies in Allah’s words: ‘‘Indeed, it is We who have sent down the Reminder, and indeed We will surely preserve it’’ [al-Hijr 15:9]. Furthermore, the consensus (ijma) of the Companions and those after them has been firmly established that the Qur’an with which we worship through its recitation and rulings is exactly what is preserved between the two covers of the Mushaf, without addition or omission, as we have explained in ‘Usul al-Fiqh’.” ^[12]

We see that the verses which some Companions forgot were actually abrogated verses, which were not ultimately part of the final Qur’an. This does not in any way cast doubt on the preservation of the Qur’an. Even if they had not been abrogated, the preservation of the Qur’an would still not be questioned. If some Companions forgot certain verses, does that prove that all Companions forgot them at the same time, or that those verses were not preserved anywhere else?!! In the next part of this article, it will be discussed how a vast number of Companions (RA) memorized the entire Qur’an (‘hifz’), and at the same time the complete Qur’an was preserved in written form.

Is it possible for any part of the Qur’an to be lost?

Even if, for the sake of argument, we assume that the Prophet ﷺ or some Companions had permanently forgotten certain verses of the Qur’an – this still does not prove that any part of the Qur’an was lost forever. Anyone familiar with the Qur’an’s preservation method would know that the loss of any part of the Qur’an is absolutely impossible.

عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَجْوَدَ النَّاسِ، وَكَانَ أَجْوَدُ مَا يَكُونُ فِي رَمَضَانَ حِينَ يَلْقَاهُ جِبْرِيلُ، وَكَانَ يَلْقَاهُ فِي كُلِّ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ فَيُدَارِسُهُ الْقُرْآنَ، فَلَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَجْوَدُ بِالْخَيْرِ مِنَ الرِّيحِ الْمُرْسَلَةِ‏.‏

Meaning: “Narrated by Ibn Abbas (RA): He said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was the most generous of people. He was even more generous in Ramadan, when Jibreel (AS) [angel Gabriel] would meet him. Every night in Ramadan, Jibreel (AS) would meet him, and they would recite the Qur’an to each other. Indeed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was more generous in goodness than the sent wind.” ^[13]

عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ كَانَ يَعْرِضُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم الْقُرْآنَ كُلَّ عَامٍ مَرَّةً فَعَرَضَ عَلَيْهِ مَرَّتَيْنِ فِي الْعَامِ الَّذِيْ قُبِضَ فِيْهِ وَكَانَ يَعْتَكِفُ كُلَّ عَامٍ عَشْرًا فَاعْتَكَفَ عِشْرِيْنَ فِي الْعَام الَّذِيْ قُبِضَ فِيْهِ

Meaning: Narrated from Abu Hurairah (RA): He said, Every year Jibreel (AS) would present the Qur’an once to the Prophet ﷺ, but in the year of his passing, he presented it twice. Every year the Prophet ﷺ would observe i‘tikaf for ten days, but in the year of his passing, he observed it for twenty days. ^[14]

From authentic hadeeths, we see that during Ramadan, the Angel Jibreel (AS) would recite the Qur’an to the Prophet ﷺ and listen to it from him. Even if, for the sake of argument, we assume that in the past the Prophet ﷺ had permanently forgotten some verses of the Qur’an, and other Companions had simultaneously forgotten them too, and those verses had been lost at that time [though in reality this did not happen] – even then, during Ramadan, by listening from Jibreel (AS), the Prophet ﷺ could have restored them! In the year of his passing, he listened to the Qur’an twice from Jibreel (AS) [Gabriel] in Ramadan. Therefore, there was no possibility of any verse being lost forever.

Not only that, there were a huge number of ‘Hafiz’ (memorizer) Companions (RA) who had memorized the entire Qur’an (‘hifz’). The ‘qira’at’ (recitations) of the Qur’an have been narrated from them. Among these ‘Hafiz’ Companions, notable were:

Among the ‘Muhajirun’ (Migrants to Medina): Abu Bakr (RA), Umar (RA), Uthman (RA), Ali (RA), Talha (RA), Sa’d (RA), Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (RA), Hudhayfah ibn Yaman (RA), Salim (RA), Abdullah ibn Abbas (RA), Amr ibn al-‘As (RA), Abdullah ibn Amr (RA), Mu‘awiyah (RA), Abdullah ibn Zubayr (RA), Abdullah ibn Sa’ib (RA), A’ishah (RA), Hafsah (RA), Umm Salamah (RA), and many others.

Among the Ansar (‘Helpers of the Migrants’): Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (RA), Mu‘adh ibn Jabal (RA), Abu Darda (RA), Zayd ibn Thabit (RA), Abu Zayd (RA), Mujamma‘ ibn Jariyah (RA), Anas ibn Malik (RA), and many others. ^[15]

Other ‘Hafiz’ Companions include: Umm Waraqah (RA), Maslamah ibn Mukhallad (RA), Uqbah ibn Amir (RA), Tamim al-Dari (RA), Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari (RA), and others. ^[16]

There were so many more memorizer Companions that mentioning all their names would make this article too lengthy. If such a vast number of people had completely memorized a book, could any part of that book ever be lost? Moreover, there were many other Companions who, even if they did not memorize the entire Qur’an, had memorized significant portions of it. From the very time of revelation, the Qur’an has been the daily recitation of every believer—recited in personal prayers, in congregational prayers, and generally in their daily lives. In the era of the Companions (RA), the practice of memorizing the Qur’an was much stronger than in our time. Thousands of memorizers from among the Companions and Tabi‘un were spread across the Muslim world. Allah said to the Prophet ﷺ:

وَأَنْزَلْتُ عَلَيْكَ كِتَابًا لاَ يَغْسِلُهُ الْمَاءُ

Meaning: “And We have revealed to you a Book which water cannot wash away.” ^[17]

A book whose preservation depends solely on written copies would be erased if water destroyed those copies. But a book preserved widely through memorization cannot be erased by water.

Not only through memorization but also in written form, the complete Qur’an was preserved from the very time of the Prophet ﷺ. The Companions who used to write down the Qur’an were known as “Katib al-Wahy” (scribes of revelation). Among them was Zayd ibn Thabit (RA), who later played a key role in the compilation of the Qur’an during the caliphates of Abu Bakr (RA) and Uthman (RA). It is narrated from Zayd ibn Thabit (RA):

كُنتُ أَكتُبُ الوَحيَ لِرَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم، وَكانَ إِذَا نَزَلَ عَلَيْهِ أَخَذَتْهُ بَرحَاءُ شَدِيدَةٌ، وَعَرِقَ عَرَقًا شَدِيدًا مِثلَ الجُمَانِ، ثُمَّ سُرِّيَ عَنهُ، فَكُنتُ أَدخلُ بِقِطعَةِ العُسْبِ أَو كِسَرِهِ، فَأَكتُبُ وَهُوَ يُملِي عَلَيَّ، فَمَا أُفرِغُ حَتَّى تَكَادُ رِجلِي تَنكَسِرُ مِن ثِقَلِ القُرآنِ، حَتَّى أَقُولَ: لَا أَمشِي عَلَى رِجلِي أَبَدًا، فَإِذَا فَرَغتُ، قَالَ: اِقرَأْهُ، فَأَقرَأَهُ، فَإِن كَانَ فِيهِ سَقْطٌ أَقَامَهُ، ثُمَّ أُخرِجُ بِهِ إِلَى النَّاسِ.

Meaning: “I used to write revelation for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When revelation descended upon him, he would be struck with extreme difficulty and sweat profusely like pearls. When that state would pass, I would bring palm stalks or their fragments, and he would dictate to me while I wrote. I would hardly finish when the weight of the Qur’an nearly broke my leg, so much so that I would say: ‘I will never walk on this leg again!’ When I finished writing, he would say, ‘Read it back to me.’ I would read it, and if there was anything missing, he would correct it. Then I would take it out to the people.” ^[18]

In addition to Zayd ibn Thabit (RA), many other Companions were engaged in writing the Qur’an: Abu Bakr (RA), Umar (RA), Uthman (RA), Ali (RA), Mu‘awiyah (RA), Zubayr (RA), Amir ibn Fuhayrah (RA), Amr ibn al-‘As (RA), Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (RA), Abdullah ibn Arqam (RA), Thabit ibn Qays (RA), Hanzalah ibn Rabi‘ al-Asadi (RA), Mughirah ibn Shu‘bah (RA), Abdullah ibn Rawahah (RA), Khalid ibn Walid (RA), Khalid ibn Sa‘id ibn al-‘As (RA), and others. ^[19] Approximately forty Companions’ names have been mentioned in this regard. ^[20]  We are not listing them all here so as not to make the article too lengthy.

During the time of the Prophet ﷺ, the Qur’an was being compiled. Some Companions were specifically tasked with this responsibility.

عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ جَمَعَ الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَرْبَعَةٌ كُلُّهُمْ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ أُبَىُّ بْنُ كَعْبٍ وَمُعَاذُ بْنُ جَبَلٍ وَزَيْدُ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ وَأَبُو زَيْدٍ ‏.

Meaning: It is narrated from Anas ibn Malik (RA): He said, four people collected the Qur’an during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, all of them from the Ansar: Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, Zayd ibn Thabit, and Abu Zayd (RA). ^[21]

They compiled the written Qur’an together. Although during the Prophet’s ﷺ time the entire Qur’an was not gathered into one cover in the form of a Mushaf—as was done later during the caliphates of the Companions—the complete Qur’an was indeed preserved in written form during the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime.

Thus, the Qur’an al-Karim, preserved by a vast number of Companions both through memorization and in writing—if at any time the Prophet ﷺ or some Companions forgot a portion temporarily, there was still no possibility of any part being lost. In reality, the Qur’an never permanently left the memory of the Prophet ﷺ; rather, apart from the abrogated verses, the complete Qur’an was memorized by him and by countless Companions. The allegation made by Islam’s critics that parts of the Qur’an have been lost is entirely baseless and unfounded.

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