The Final Presentation to Gabriel: Basis for the Uthmanic Collection
The last presentation of the Holy Quran to Gabriel was the reference and basis for the recitation of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ. It served as the criterion between them when they disputed about something in the Book of God, and when they resolved to collect the Holy Quran, it was also the foundation of that collection — they agreed to write only what was established in the final presentation, and they left everything else.
We have already seen, in the previous section, some of the narrations indicating that the reading upon which the Quran was collected is precisely what was presented in the last presentation. This is evidence of the effect of this final presentation on the collection of the Quran.
The Companions’ Reading Was One
The reading of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Zaid ibn Thabit, the Muhajireen and the Ansar was one. They used to read the general reading — which is the reading that the Messenger of God ﷺ recited to Gabriel twice in the year in which he died.
He also said: Zaid ibn Thabit recited to the Messenger of God ﷺ twice in the year in which God took him, and this reading became known as the reading of Zaid ibn Thabit.
[!scholar] Imam al-BaghawiSheikh, Imam, role model, preserver, Sheikh of Islam, reviver of the Sunnah: Abu Muhammad al-Husayn ibn Mas’ud al-Farra’ al-Baghawi al-Shafi’i — a leading authority in jurisprudence and interpretation, an ascetic content with little. Died 516 AH. See: Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’ (19/439). — Sharh al-Sunnah (4/525)
It is said that Zaid ibn Thabit witnessed the final presentation, in which what was abrogated and what remained were made clear.
The Uthmanic Collection Was Grounded in the Final Presentation
The narration of Muhammad ibn Sirin, on the authority of Kathir ibn Aflah, makes the connection explicit:
[!hadith] Ibn Abi Dawud — Kitab al-Masahif, Chapter on Uthman’s Collection
When Uthman wanted to write the Quran, he gathered twelve men from Quraysh and the Ansar, among them Ubayy ibn Ka’b and Zaid ibn Thabit. They sent for the four who were in Umar’s house, and they were brought. Uthman used to oversee them, and if they disputed about something, they would delay it.
Muhammad ibn Sirin said: I asked Kathir — who was among those who wrote — “Do you know why they delayed it?” He said: No. Muhammad said: I believed they were only delaying it in order to find the one who had the most recent experience with the final presentation, so they could write it according to what he said.
Conclusion
The final presentation of the Quran to Gabriel was the mainstay of this nation in preserving the Book of God. It collected what was proven to be recited from the Wise Book, and distinguished it from what was proven to be abrogated. The Uthmanic collection was not an arbitrary or politically motivated exercise — it was a systematic return to the most authoritative standard the companions possessed.
Sources:
- Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran (1/142)
- Sharh al-Sunnah by Imam al-Baghawi (4/525–526)
- Al-Burhan fi Ulum al-Quran (1/237)
- Al-Ahruf al-Sab’ah wa-Nuzulat al-Qira’at minha, pp. 270–271
- Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif, p. 33