Kebanyakan manuskrip asal al-Quran yang masih ada pada kita sekarang, sama ada yang lengkap atau dalam serpihan yang agak besar, tidak berasal dari sebelum abad kedua selepas Hijrah. Salinan yang paling awal, yang dipamerkan di Muzium British semasa Pesta Dunia Islam 1976, berasal dari penghujung abad kedua. [Lings, M. dan Y. H. Safadi: The Qur'an, London, 1976, No. 1A. Lihat juga plat 6] Walau bagaimanapun, terdapat juga beberapa serpihan papirus al-Quran yang terpencil, yang berasal dari abad pertama. [Grohmann, A.: Die Entstehung des Koran und die altesten Koran-Handschriften', dalam: Bustan, 1961, hlm. 33-8.] Terdapat sebuah salinan al-Quran di Perpustakaan Negara Mesir, pada kulit kambing yang diperbuat daripada kulit pelanduk, yang telah ditarikh 68 Hijrah (688 M), iaitu 58 tahun selepas kewafatan Nabi ﷺ.

Most of the early original Qur'an manuscripts, complete or in sizeable fragments, that are still available to us now, are not earlier than the second century after the Hijra. The earliest copy, which was exhibited in the British Museum during the 1976 World of Islam Festival, dated from the late second century. [Lings, M. and Y. H. Safadi: The Qur'an, London, 1976, No. 1A. See also plate 6] However, there are also a number of odd fragments of Qur'anic papyri available, which date from the first century. [Grohmann, A.: Die Entstehung des Koran und die altesten Koran-Handschriften', in: Bustan, 1961, pp. 33-8.]There is a copy of the Qur'an in the Egyptian National Library on parchment made from gazelle skin, which has been dated 68 Hijra (688 A.D.), i.e. 58 years after the Prophet's death.

Tidak diketahui dengan tepat berapa banyak salinan Al-Qur'an yang dibuat pada zaman 'Uthman, tetapi Suyuti [Makhdum, 1.:

It is not known exactly how many copies of the Qur'an were made at the time of 'Uthman, but Suyuti [Makhdum, 1.:

Tarikh al-mushaf al-'Uthmani fi Tashqand, Tashkent 1391/1971 hlm. 17] menyatakan: 'Yang masyhur ada lima'. Ini kemungkinan besar tidak termasuk salinan yang disimpan oleh 'Uthman untuk dirinya sendiri. Kota-kota Makkah, Damsyik, Kufah, Basrah dan Madinah masing-masing menerima satu salinan. [GdQ, 111. 6, Nota 1.] Terdapat sejumlah rujukan dalam kesusasteraan Arab yang lebih lama mengenai topik ini, yang apabila digabungkan dengan maklumat terkini yang ada boleh diringkaskan seperti berikut:

Tarikh al-mushaf al-'Uthmani fi Tashqand, Tashkent 1391/1971 p. 17] says: 'The well-known ones are five'. This probably excludes the copy that 'Uthman kept for himself. The cities of Makka, Damascus, Kufa, Basra and Madina each received a copy. ' [GdQ, 111. 6, Note 1.]There are a number of references in the older Arabic literature on this topic which together with latest information available may be summarised as follows:

Al-Kindi (m. sekitar 236/850) menulis pada awal abad ketiga bahawa tiga daripada empat salinan yang disediakan untuk 'Uthman telah musnah dalam kebakaran dan peperangan, manakala salinan yang dihantar ke Damsyik masih disimpan di Malatja pada zamannya. [GdQ. 111, 6. Nota 1.] Ibn Batutah (779/1377) berkata bahawa beliau pernah melihat salinan atau helaian daripada salinan al-Quran yang disediakan pada zaman 'Uthman di Granada, Marakesh, Basrah dan bandar-bandar lain. [Salih, op. cit., hlm.87.] Ibn Kathir (m. 774/1372) meriwayatkan bahawa beliau pernah melihat sebuah salinan al-Quran yang dikaitkan dengan 'Uthman, yang dibawa ke Damsyik pada tahun 518 Hijrah dari Tiberias (Palestin). Beliau berkata ia "sangat besar, dengan tulisan yang indah, jelas dan kuat, dengan dakwat yang pekat, di atas kulit, saya rasa, yang diperbuat daripada kulit unta". [Salih, op. cit., hlm.88.] Sebahagian orang berpendapat bahawa salinan itu kemudiannya pergi ke Leningrad dan dari sana ke England. Selepas itu, tiada apa-apa yang diketahui mengenainya.

Al-Kindi (d. around 236/850) wrote in the early third century that three out of four of the copies prepared for 'Uthman were destroyed in fire and war, while the copy sent to Damascus was still kept at his time at Malatja. [GdQ. 111, 6. Note 1.] Ibn Batuta (779/1377) says he has seen copies or sheets from the copies of the Qur'an prepared under 'Uthman in Granada, Marakesh, Basra and other cities. [Salih, op. cit., p.87.] Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1372) relates that he has seen a copy of the Qur'an attributed to 'Uthman, which was brought to Damascus in the year 518 Hijra from Tiberias (Palestine). He said it was 'very large, in beautiful clear strong writing with strong ink, in parchment, I think, made of camel skin'. [Salih, op. cit., p.88.] Some believe that the copy later on went to Leningrad and from there to England. After that nothing is known about it.

Yang lain berpendapat bahawa mushaf ini kekal di masjid Damsyik, tempat ia kali terakhir dilihat sebelum kebakaran pada tahun 1310H/1892M.' [Salih, op. cit., h.89; Muir, dalam 'The Mameluke Dynasties' juga menulis bahawa manuskrip ini telah terbakar di Damsyik pada tahun 1893; lihat Abbott, op. cit., h.51.]

Others hold that this mushaf remained in the mosque of Damascus, where it was last seen before the fire in the year 1310/1892.' [Salih, op. cit., p.89; Muir, in 'The Mameluke Dynasties' also writes that this manuscript was burnt in Damascus in 1893; see Abbott, op. cit., p.51.]

Terdapat sebuah salinan Al-Quran lama yang disimpan di Masjid al-Husain di Kaherah. Tulisannya bergaya kuno, walaupun ditulis dalam tulisan Ki6, dan besar kemungkinan ia disalin daripada Mushaf 'Uthman. [Kamal, op. cit., p.56.]

There is a copy of an old Qur'an kept in the mosque of al-Hussain in Cairo. Its script is of the old style, although Ki6, and it is quite possible that it was copied from the Mushaf of 'Uthman. [Kamal, op. cit., p.56.]

Ibn Jubair (wafat 614H/1217M) melihat manuskrip itu di masjid Madinah pada tahun 580H/1184M. Ada yang mengatakan ia kekal di Madinah sehingga orang Turki membawanya dari sana pada tahun 1334H/1915M. Telah dilaporkan bahawa salinan ini telah dibawa oleh pihak berkuasa Turki ke Istanbul, dan dari sana ia sampai ke Berlin semasa Perang Dunia Pertama. Perjanjian Versailles, yang menamatkan Perang Dunia Pertama, mengandungi klausa berikut:

Ibn Jubair (d. 614/1217) saw the manuscript in the mosque of Madina in the year 580/1184. Some say it remained in Madlna until the Turks took it from there in 1334/1915. It has been reported that this copy was removed by the Turkish authorities to Istanbul, from where it came to Berlin during World War I. The Treaty of Versailles, which concluded World War I, contains the following clause:

"Perkara 246: Dalam tempoh enam bulan daripada tarikh berkuat kuasanya Perjanjian ini, Jerman hendaklah memulangkan kepada Baginda Raja, Raja Hijaz, al-Quran asal Khalifah Uthman, yang telah dialihkan dari Madinah oleh pihak berkuasa Turki dan dinyatakan telah diserahkan kepada bekas Maharaja William II." [Israel, Fred L. (ed.): Major Peace Treaties of Modern History, New York, Chelsea House Pub., Vol. ll, p.1418.] Manuskrip itu kemudiannya sampai ke Istanbul, tetapi tidak ke Madinah. [Maklumat yang sama mengenai salinan ini telah diterbitkan dalam sebuah majalah Kaherah pada tahun 1938 (Makhdum, op. cit., p.19). Anehnya, buku rujukan standard Geschichte des Qorans, bahagian ketiganya diterbitkan di Jerman pada tahun 1938, iaitu jauh selepas Perjanjian Versailles, walaupun membincangkan secara terperinci al-Quran 'Uthmani dan manuskrip-manuskrip lama, tidak membuat sebarang rujukan langsung kepada peristiwa ini. Selain itu, penulis History of the Mushaf of 'Uthman di Tashkent menunjukkan bahawa beliau tidak mengetahui bagaimana hendak menafsirkan rujukan ini.]

'Article 246: Within six months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, Germany will restore to His Majesty, King of Hedjaz, the original Koran of Caliph Othman, which was removed from Medina by the Turkish authorities and is stated to have been presented to the ex-Emperor William II." [Israel, Fred L. (ed.): Major Peace Treaties of Modern History, New York, Chelsea House Pub., Vol. ll, p.l418.] The manuscript then reached Istanbul, but not Madina. [The same information about this copy was published in a Cairo magazine in 1938 (Makhdum, op. cit., p.l9). Surprisingly the standard book Geschichre des Qorans, the third part of which was published in Germany in 1938, i.e. well after the Treaty of Versailles, although discussing the 'Uthmanic Qur'an and old manuscripts in detail, makes no reference whatsoever to this event. Also, the writer of the History of the Mushaf of ' Uthman in Tashkent, indicates that he does not know what to make of this reference.]

Nama ini digunakan bagi salinan yang disimpan sendiri oleh 'Uthman, dan dikatakan bahawa beliau dibunuh ketika sedang membacanya. [Ibn Sa'd: al-Tabaqat al-kubra, Cairo, t.t., Jld. 111, (1). hlm. 51-2.] Menurut sesetengah pihak, Bani Umayyah membawanya ke Andalusia, dari sana ia sampai ke Fas (Maghribi), dan menurut Ibn Battutah ia masih berada di sana pada abad kelapan Hijrah, dengan kesan darah padanya. Dari Maghribi, ia mungkin sampai ke Samarkand.

This is the name used for the copy which 'Uthman kept himself, and it is said he was killed while reading it. [Ibn Said: al- Tabaqatal-kubra, Cairo, n.d., Vol. 111, (1). pp. 51-2.] According to some the Umayyads took it to Andalusia, from where it came to Fas (Morocco) and according to Ibn Batuta it was there in the eighth century after the Hijra, and there were traces of blood on it. From Morocco, it might have found its way to Samarkand.

[Makhdum, op. cit., h.22ff.] Salinan ini kini disimpan di Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Ia mungkin naskhah Imam atau salah satu salinan lain yang dibuat pada zaman 'Uthman.

[Makhdum, op. cit., p.22ff.] This is the copy now kept in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). It may be the Imam manuscript or one of the other copies made at the time of 'Uthman.

Ia sampai ke Samarkand pada tahun 890 Hijrah (1485) dan kekal di sana hingga 1868. Kemudian ia dibawa ke St. Petersburg oleh orang Rusia pada tahun 1869. Ia kekal di sana hingga 1917. Seorang orientalis Rusia memberikan huraian terperinci mengenainya, dengan menyatakan bahawa banyak halaman telah rosak dan sebahagiannya hilang. Satu faksimili, kira-kira 50 salinan, mushaf ini telah dihasilkan oleh S. Pisareff pada tahun 1905. Satu salinan dihantar kepada Sultan Uthmaniyyah 'Abdul Hamid, kepada Shah Iran, kepada Amir Bukhara, kepada Afghanistan, kepada Fas dan kepada beberapa tokoh Muslim yang penting. Satu salinan kini berada di Perpustakaan Universiti Columbia (Amerika Syarikat). [The Muslim World, Vol. 30 (1940), hlm. 357-8.] Manuskrip itu kemudiannya dikembalikan ke tempat asalnya dan sampai ke Tashkent pada tahun 1924, dan sejak itu ia kekal di sana.

It came to Samarkand in 890 Hijra (1485) and remained there till 1868. Then it was taken to St. Petersburg by the Russians in 1869. It remained there till 1917. A Russian orientalist gave a detailed description of it, saying that many pages were damaged and some were missing. A facsimile, some 50 copies, of this mushaf was produced by S. Pisareff in 1905. A copy was sent to the Ottoman Sultan 'Abdul Hamid, to the Shah of Iran, to the Amir of Bukhara, to Afghanistan, to Fas and some important Muslim personalities. One copy is now in the Columbia University Library (U.S.A.). [The Muslim World, Vol . 30 ( 1940), pp.357-8.] The manuscript was afterwards returned to its former place and reached Tashkent in 1924, where it has remained since.

Rupa-rupanya pihak berkuasa Soviet telah membuat salinan tambahan, yang dipersembahkan dari semasa ke semasa kepada ketua negara Muslim yang berkunjung dan tokoh penting lain. Pada tahun 1980, salinan fotokopi daripada faksimili sedemikian telah dihasilkan di Amerika Syarikat, dengan kata pengantar dua muka surat oleh M. Hamidullah.

Apparently the Soviet authorities have made further copies, which are presented from time to time to visiting Muslim heads of state and other important personalities. In 1980, photocopies of such a facsimile were produced in the United States, with a two-page foreword by M. Hamidullah.

Penulis Sejarah Mushaf 'Uthmān di Tashkent memberikan sejumlah alasan bagi keaslian manuskrip tersebut. Alasan-alasannya, tidak termasuk pelbagai riwayat sejarah yang menunjukkan hal ini, adalah seperti berikut: