Bayan rasuwar Khalifa na biyu, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, wata majalisa da ta kunshi shida daga cikin shahararrun sahabban Annabi ﷺ ta zabi ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan ya zama Khalifa na uku.

After the death of the second Caliph, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, a committee made up of six of the most famous companions of the Prophet (r) chose ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan to be the third caliph.

A lokacin mulkin Halifa ‘Umar (634-644 CE/13-23 AH), daular Musulunci ta fadada har ta wuce iyakokin tsibirin Larabawa zuwa Masar, Siriya da ‘Iraaq. A mulkin Halifa ‘Uthmaan da ya biyo baya, fadadawar ta ci gaba zuwa Farisa, Indiya, Rasha, China, Turkiyya da kuma ko’ina a Arewacin Afirka. Mutane da yawa daga cikin wadannan yankuna sun karbi Musulunci kuma sun koyi karatun Alqur’aani daga Musulmai na farko. An saukar da Alqur’aani ga Annabi (ﷺ) a cikin harsunan Larabci guda bakwai daban-daban, kuma Musulmai na farko sun koyar da Alqur’aani bisa karance-karancensa daban-daban.

During the reign of Caliph ‘Umar (634-644 CE/13-23 AH), the Islaamic state had expanded beyond the borders of the Arabian peninsula into Egypt, Syria and ‘Iraaq. In the subsequent reign of Caliph ‘Uthmaan, the expansion continued on into Persia, India, Russia, China, Turkey and across North Africa. Many of the people of these regions accepted Islaam and learned the recitation of the Qur’aan from the early Muslims. The Qur’aan was revealed to the Prophet (ﷺ) in seven different Arabian dialects, and the early Muslims taught the Qur’aan in its different readings.

A cikin lardunan Musulunci, wasu Larabawa sun fara fariya da cewa yarensu ya fi na sauran. Haka kuma, idan sababbin Musulmi suka yi kuskure a karatun Alkur'aani, wani lokaci yana da wuya a iya bambance ko kuskure ne da gaske ko kuwa ɗaya daga cikin karatu bakwai da Annabi ﷺ ya koyar. Waɗannan matsaloli a ƙarshe sun zama tushen rudani a lardunan Musulunci da ke wajen Larabawa. Ɗaya daga cikin sahabbai mai suna Huthaifah ɗan al-Yamaan ya lura da wannan rudani yayin da yake a ‘Iraƙi, kuma ya ji tsoron cewa hakan na iya kaiwa ga rarrabuwar al'ummar Musulmi da canza Alkur'aani. Bayan ya dawo birnin ƙasa, ya sanar da Khalifa ‘Uthmaan abin da ya ji kuma ya gani. Khalifa ‘Uthmaan ya fahimci muhimmancin lamarin, sai ya kira manyan sahabbai tare domin nemo mafita ga wannan matsala.

In the Muslim provinces, some Arabs began to boast that their dialect was superior to that of the others. Also, when new Muslims made mistakes in their recitation of the Qur’aan, it was sometimes difficult to tell whether it was really an error or whether it was one of the seven reading which had been taught by the Prophet (r). These problems eventually became a source of confusion in the Muslim provinces outside of Arabia. One of the sahaabah by the name of Huthayfah ibn al-Yamaan noticed the confusion while he was in ‘Iraaq, and feared that it might lead to a breakup of the Muslim nation and the changing of the Qur’aan. On his return to the capital, he informed Caliph ‘Uthmaan of what he had heard and seen. Caliph ‘Uthmaan realized the seriousness of the situation and called the major sahaabah together in order to find a solution to the problem.

Sun yanke shawarar yin kwafi na hukuma na Alqur'ani daga wanda aka tattara a zamanin Khalifa Abubakar, tare da takaita mutane ga karatunsa kawai. Uthmanu ya nemi Hafsa ta ba shi kwafin asali na Alqur'ani, sannan ya kira Zaidu ɗan Thabit ya jagoranci kwamitin malamai huɗu na Alqur'ani wanda zai ɗauki nauyin yin kwafin hukuma.82

They decided to make official copies of the Qur’aan from the one compiled in Caliph Aboo Bakr’s time and limit the people to its recitation. ‘Uthmaan asked Hafsah for the original copy of the Qur’aan and called on Zayd ibn Thaabit to head a committee of four Qur’aanic scholars who would take on the task of making the official copies.82

Bayan an kammala kwafen, sai aka mayar da ainihin kwafin ga Hafsah. An yi jimillar kwafi bakwai, aka aika daya zuwa Makkah, daya zuwa Shaam, daya zuwa Basra, daya zuwa Kufa, daya zuwa Yaman, daya zuwa Bahrain, sannan aka ajiye daya a babban birni, Madina.83 A bayyane yake cewa kwafi daban-daban membobin kwamitin ne suka rubuta su daban-daban.84 Khalifa 'Uthman ya aika da wani malami na hukuma mai karatun Alqur'ani tare da kowane kwafi, domin a warware duk wata matsala da za ta iya tasowa daga baya.85 Ya kuma umarta a lalata sauran kwafin Alqur'ani duka, saboda mutane sun yi rubuce-rubuce a kan kwafinsu na kansu, kuma wasu kwafin ba su cika ba.86 Daga nan aka yi sabbin kwafi duka daga kwafin hukuma, wanda ake kira Mushafi 'Uthman. Ta haka aka kiyaye Alqur'ani daga kowane irin sauyi ko asara. An kammala wannan aiki a shekara ta 646 Miladiyya, shekara biyu bayan 'Uthman ya zama sabon Khalifa.

When the copies were completed, the original was returned to Hafsah. A total of seven copies were made and one was sent to Makkah, another to Syria, one to Basrah, one to Koofah, one to Yemen, one to Bahrayn, and one was kept in the capital, Madeenah.83 Apparently, different copies were written by different members of the committee.84 Caliph ‘Uthmaan sent an official reciter of the Qur’aan with each copy in order to clear up any problems which might later arise.85 He also ordered that all other copies of the Qur’aan be destroyed, as people had made notes on their personal copies and some copies were incomplete.86 All new copies were then made from the official copy, called Mushaf ‘Uthmaan. In that way the Qur’aan was saved from any kind of change or loss. This process was completed in the year 646 CE, two years after ‘Uthmaan became the new Caliph.

Mushafin Madinah an ajiye shi ne a Masallacin Annabi. Akwai ambaton sa a cikin rubuce-rubucen zamani game da gobara a Masallacin a shekara ta 654 bayan Hijira, wacce ta haifar da babbar barna. Duk da haka, an ceci mushafin. Wasu rahotanni sun nuna cewa Turawan Usmaniyya sun kai shi Istanbul a lokacin Yaƙin Duniya na Ɗaya, amma yanzu ya ɓace.87

The Madeenan Mus-haf was kept in the Prophet’s Mosque. A reference to it appears in contemporary accounts of a fire in the Mosque in 654 AH which caused extensive damage. The mus-haf was, however, saved. Some reports suggest that it was transferred to Istanbul by the Turks during World War I, but it is now lost.87

Mus-hafin Siriya an ajiye shi a Masallacin Jami‘ da ke Dimashƙu. Ibn Katheer (ya rasu a shekara ta 774 bayan Hijira) ya ambaci ganinsa, haka ma Ibn Batootah (ya rasu a shekara ta 779 bayan Hijira) da Ibn Jazaree (ya rasu a shekara ta 833 bayan Hijira, wato 1430 CE). An kasance ana kulle shi, amma ana fito da shi domin jama'a su gani bayan sallar Juma'a. Wata gobara a shekara ta 1892 CE, wato 1310 bayan Hijira, ta lalata masallacin, mus-hafin kuma ya lalace tare da shi. Haka nan, an kwafa shi a rubuce kwafi guda kafin lalacewarsa, sannan aka kai wannan kwafin zuwa Istanbul a lokacin Yakin Duniya na Farko.88

The Syrian mus-haf was kept in the Jaami‘ Masjid in Damascus. Ibn Katheer (d. 774 AH) mentioned seeing it, as did Ibn Batootah (d. 779 AH) and Ibn Jazaree (d. 833 CE/1430 AH). It was kept locked up, but was brought out for public viewing after Jumu‘ah prayers. A fire in 1892 CE/1310 AH destroyed the masjid, and the mus-haf perished with it. A handwritten copy of it made shortly before its destruction was also transferred to Istanbul during WWI.88

Wata tsohuwar rubutacciyar mushafi a kan fatar barewa tana nan a Dar al-Kutub as-Sultaaneeyah da ke Masar. An rubuta ta da rubutun Kufi ba tare da digo ko alamomin harakoki ba. A baya an ajiye ta a masallaci mafi tsufa a Alkahira, Masjid ‘Amr Ibn al-‘Aas. Wani mutum daga ‘Iraaq ne ya kawo ta can a shekara ta 347 bayan hijira, yana mai ikirarin cewa ita ce mushafin da ‘Uthmaan yake karatu a lokacin da aka kashe shi. Wannan bayani mai tarihi al-Maqrizee ne ya ruwaito shi, wanda ya rubuta a shekara ta 378 bayan hijira. Tun a wancan lokaci ma an yi shakku game da wannan ikirari. A wasu shafuka akwai tabon jini, sai dai tsoffin mushafai da dama na Alkur'ani an shafa musu jini domin su goyi bayan ikirarin cewa su ne mushafin ‘Uthmaan.89

An early manuscript on gazelle parchment exists in Dar al-Kutub asSultaaneeyah in Egypt. It is written in Kufic script without dots or vowel markings. It had been previously kept in the oldest mosque in Cairo, Masjid ‘Amr Ibn al-‘Aas. It was brought there in 347 AH by a man from ‘Iraaq, who claimed it was the mus-haf that ‘Uthmaan was reading when he was killed. This information was reported by the historian al-Maqrizee, writing in 378 AH. There was scepticism about the claim even at that time. There are bloodstains on some of the pages, but many ancient Qur’aanic manuscripts had blood applied to them to support the claim that they were the mus-haf of ‘Uthmaan.89

Akwai wani rubutu a Tashkent wanda ya fi kowane dacewa da da'awar cewa yana cikin kwafen da ‘Uthmaan ya umarta a rubuta. An saye shi a ƙarshen zamanin tsakiya daga wani mai mulki Musulmi a Tsakiyar Asiya, amma daga baya ya fada hannun Rashawa a lokacin da suka ci ƙasar. Sun kai shi St. Petersburg, amma bayan juyin juya halin Bolshevik, a shekarar 1923, aka mayar da shi Samarqand. A shekarun 1940 aka kai shi Tashkent, inda yake a yau. Hukumomin Soviet sun ba malaman Musulmi damar daukar hotunan wannan rubutu. Gidan Hyderabad a Philadelphia ya buga kwafinsa, tare da rubutun Larabci na zamani mai digo da alamomin baka gefe da gefe.

There is a manuscript in Tashkent that seems to be the best candidate for the claim to be one of the copies com-missioned by ‘Uthmaan. It was purchased during the late Middle Ages by a Muslim ruler in Central Asia, but eventually fell into the hands of the Russians when they conquered the country. They took it to St. Petersburg, but after the Bolshevik revolu-tion, in 1923, it was returned to Samarqand. In the 1940s it was transferred to Tashkent, which is where it is today. 90 Soviet authorities allowed Muslim scholars to photograph that manuscript. Hyderabad House in Philadelphia published a copy of it, side by side with the modern Arabic text with the added dots and vowel markings.

Irin ka'idojin nazari guda da malaman Littafi Mai Tsarki suka yi amfani da su wajen binciken rubuce-rubucen Littafi Mai Tsarki, wadanda suka bayyana kurakurai da sauye-sauye masu yawa a cikinsa, an kuma yi amfani da su ga rubuce-rubucen Alkur'ani da aka tattara daga sassan duniya. An kwatanta tsoffin rubuce-rubucen Musulunci daga dukkan zamanun tarihin Musulunci da aka samo a Laburaren Majalisar Dokokin Amurka da ke Washington, da Gidan Tarihi na Chester Beatty da ke Dublin, Ireland, da kuma Gidan Tarihi na London, da wadanda ke gidajen tarihi na Tashkent, Turkiyya da Masar. Sakamakon irin wadannan bincike duka ya tabbatar da cewa babu wani sauyi da aka samu a rubutun daga asalin rubutunsa. Misali, "Institute fur Koranforschung" na Jami'ar Munich da ke Jamus, ya tattara ya kuma kwatanta sama da kwafi 42,000 na Alkur'ani cikakku ko marasa cikakku. Bayan kusan shekaru hamsin na bincike, sun bayyana cewa, dangane da bambance-bambance tsakanin kwafe-kwafen daban-daban, babu wani bambanci, sai dai wasu kurakurai na lokaci-lokaci da masu kwafi suka yi, wadanda ba wahala a gano su. Wannan cibiya ta lalace sakamakon hare-haren bama-baman Amurka a lokacin Yakin Duniya na Biyu.91

The same principles of analysis that were applied to Bible manuscripts by Bible scholars, and which exposed its many flaws and changes, have been applied to Qur’aanic manuscripts gathered from around the world. Ancient manu-scripts from all periods of Islaamic history found in the Library of Congress in Washington, the Chester Beatty Museum in Dublin, Ireland and at the London Museum have been compared with those in museums in Tashkent, Turkey and Egypt. The result of all such studies confirm that there has not been any change in the text from its original writing. For example, the “Institute fur Koranforschung” of the University of Munich, Germany, collected and collated over 42,000 complete or incomplete copies of the Qur’aan. After some fifty years of study, they reported that in terms of differences between the various copies, there were no variants, except occasional mistakes of copyists, which could easily be ascertained. The institute was destroyed by American bombs during the Second World War.91