Selepas kewafatan Nabi (ﷺ), timbul tiga kumpulan utama yang menentang Islam di Semenanjung Arab:

After the death of the Prophet (ﷺ), there arose three main groups opposed to Islaam in the Arabian peninsula:

Kumpulan pertama terdiri daripada mereka yang memutuskan bahawa mereka tidak mahu membayar zakat, cukai Islam, kepada sesiapa pun selain Nabi (r). Mereka tidak menganggap zakat sebagai rukun Islam seperti solat, puasa dan haji. Sebaliknya, mereka memandang zakat sebagai ufti, iaitu sejenis cukai yang dibayar kepada orang yang telah menakluki mereka. Oleh itu, apabila Nabi (r) wafat, mereka berpendapat bahawa mereka tidak lagi wajib membayarnya. Apabila Abu Bakar menjadi ketua negara Muslim, kumpulan ini enggan membayar zakat dan menghantar tentera ke ibu kota, Madinah, untuk menjatuhkan negara Muslim. Mereka menuntut supaya dikecualikan daripada membayar zakat, jika tidak mereka akan menyerang dan memusnahkan pusat-pusat Islam.71

1. The first group was made up of those who decided that they did not want to pay the Islaamic tax, zakaah, to anyone other than the Prophet (r). They did not feel that zakaah was a pillar of Islaam like salaah, sawm and hajj. They instead looked at zakaah as a tribute; a kind of tax paid to the one who conquered them. So, when the Prophet (r) died, they felt that they were no longer required to pay it. When Aboo Bakr became the leader of the Muslim state, this group refused to pay the zakaah and sent armies to the capital, Madeenah, in order to topple the Muslim state. They demanded to be excused from paying zakaah, or else they would attack and destroy the centers of Islaam.71

2. Kumpulan pertama disertai oleh mereka yang memeluk Islam untuk melarikan diri daripada kekalahan, serta mereka yang sekadar mahu berada di pihak yang menang. Kumpulan ini sama sekali tidak beriman kepada Allah dan Rasul-Nya. Mereka mahu memusnahkan Islam supaya mereka bebas melakukan apa sahaja yang mereka mahu. Oleh kerana tentera mereka yang enggan membayar zakat kelihatan kuat, ramai daripada golongan munafik ini menyertai mereka.

2. The first group was joined by those who had entered Islaam in order to escape defeat, as well as those who simply wanted to be on the winning side. This group did not believe in Allaah and His Messenger at all. They wanted to destroy Islaam so they could be free to do whatever they wanted to do. Since the armies of those who refused to pay zakaah appeared strong, many of these hypocrites joined them.

3. Kumpulan ketiga terdiri daripada beberapa orang nabi palsu dan nabi wanita palsu serta para pengikut mereka. Di Najd, di wilayah Yamaamah, seorang Arab dari suku Banoo Haneefah bernama Musaylamah mengaku dirinya sebagai nabi. Di bahagian selatan Arab, seorang lagi Arab dari suku ‘Ans bernama al-Aswad juga mengaku dirinya sebagai nabi, lalu menguasai Najraan dan Yaman. Di utara Arab, seorang wanita bernama Sajaah dari suku Banoo Tameem turut mengaku dirinya sebagai nabi dan bangkit memberontak terhadap negara Islam.72 Semua nabi palsu ini menyeru orang ramai keluar daripada Islam dengan mendakwa bahawa Allah telah mewahyukan kepada mereka hukum-hukum baharu yang menghalalkan kebanyakan perkara yang telah diharamkan oleh Allah melalui Nabi Muhammad ﷺ.

3. The third group was made up of a number of false prophets and prophetesses and their followers. In Najd, in the region of Yamaamah, an Arab from the tribe of Banoo Haneefah named Musaylamah claimed prophethood. In the southern part of Arabia, another Arab from the tribe of ‘Ans called al-Aswad claimed prophethood and took over Najraan and Yemen. In northern Arabia a woman named Sajaah from the Banoo Tameem tribe also claimed prophethood and rose in arms against the Muslim state.72 These false prophets all invited people to leave Islaam by claiming that Allaah had revealed new laws to them making allowable most of the things which were forbidden by Allaah through Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).

Muslim yang benar di bawah kepemimpinan Khalifah Aboo Bakr terpaksa memerangi tiga kelompok ini demi menegakkan kembali Islam di seluruh semenanjung Arab.

True Muslims under the leadership of Caliph Aboo Bakr were forced to fight these three groups in order to reestablish Islaam throughout the Arabian peninsula.

Semasa peperangan ini, yang dikenali sebagai Riddah (murtad), ramai daripada mereka yang telah menghafal sebahagian besar al-Qur'an terbunuh.73 Orang Islam yang banyak menyimpan al-Qur'an di dalam hati mereka mengetahui dengan baik ganjaran yang Allah janjikan kepada mereka yang berjuang untuk Islam, maka mereka sentiasa berada di barisan hadapan dalam setiap pertempuran.

During these wars, known as the Riddah (apostasy), many of those who had memorized large portions of the Qur’aan were killed.73 Those Muslims who had a lot of Qur’aan in their hearts knew well the rewards which Allaah has promised those who fight for Islaam, so they would always be in the front lines of all the battles

‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab menyedari bahaya apa yang sedang berlaku dan bimbang bahawa jika tidak ada tindakan segera dilakukan, al-Qur’aan akan hilang kepada generasi Muslim yang akan datang. Beliau pergi berjumpa Khalifah Aboo Bakr dan menasihatkannya supaya seluruh al-Qur’aan ditulis dalam satu kitab bagi memeliharanya daripada hilang. Pada mulanya Aboo Bakr enggan berbuat demikian, kerana Nabi (ﷺ) tidak pernah menyuruh mereka melakukannya. Beliau takut membawa sesuatu yang baharu ke dalam agama, kerana Nabi (ﷺ) telah memberi amaran kepada mereka tentang mengubah agama. Beliau tahu bahawa orang-orang Kristian telah sesat sebelum mereka dengan mengubah agama yang dibawa oleh Nabi ‘Eesaa selepas baginda meninggalkan mereka, maka Aboo Bakr sangat menentang sebarang perubahan dalam agama sebagaimana ia ditinggalkan oleh Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ).

‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab realized the danger of what was happening and feared that if something was not done immediately, the Qur’aan would be lost to future generations of Muslims. He went to Caliph Aboo Bakr and advised him to have the whole Qur’aan written down in one book in order to preserve it from being lost. Aboo Bakr at first refused to do so, as the Prophet (ﷺ) had not told them to do it. He was afraid of bringing anything new into the religion, because the Prophet (ﷺ) had warned them about changing the religion. He knew that the Christians had gone astray before them by changing the religion which Prophet ‘Eesaa had brought after he left them, so Aboo Bakr was very much against making any changes in the religion as it had been left by Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).

Namun, setelah memikirkan keadaan itu dengan teliti, beliau menyedari bahawa nasihat 'Umar adalah tepat dan bahawa ia sebenarnya bukan perubahan dalam agama. Nabi (ﷺ) telah memerintahkan mereka supaya menulis pelbagai ayat dan surah al-Qur'an semasa ia diturunkan, bagi membantu memelihara kesuciannya. Maka, menghimpunkan semua yang telah ditulis itu menjadi sebuah kitab yang lengkap hanyalah menyempurnakan apa yang telah dimulakan oleh Nabi (ﷺ).

However, after thinking over the situation carefully, he came to realize that ‘Umar’s advice was right and that it was not really a change in the religion. The Prophet (ﷺ) had ordered them to write down the various verses and chapters of the Qur’aan while it was being revealed in order to help preserve it. Compiling all of what was written into one complete book was then only the completion of what the Prophet (ﷺ) had begun.

Khalifah Abu Bakr meminta Zayd bin Thabit untuk bertanggungjawab mengumpulkan dan menuliskan keseluruhan al-Qur'an. Pada mulanya Zayd enggan melakukannya atas sebab-sebab yang sama sebagaimana Abu Bakr juga pernah berasa, tetapi setelah beberapa lama dia turut menyedari bahawa tindakan itu adalah benar.74 Zayd dipilih untuk tugas ini atas sebab-sebab berikut:

Caliph Aboo Bakr asked Zayd ibn Thaabit to be in charge of collecting and writing down the whole Qur’aan. Zayd refused to do it at first for the same reasons Aboo Bakr had, but after some time he also came to realize that it was right.74 Zayd was chosen for this task for the following reasons:

Beliau adalah salah seorang qari terbaik Al-Qur’an.75

1. He was one of the best reciters of the Qur’aan.75

Dia adalah antara segelintir orang yang telah menghafal keseluruhan Al-Qur'an semasa hayat Nabi ﷺ.76

2. He was one of the few who had memorized the whole Qur’aan during the lifetime of the Prophet (ﷺ).76

3. Beliau termasuk antara orang yang diminta oleh Nabi ﷺ untuk menulis Al-Qur'an.77

3. He was one of those whom the Prophet (r) asked to write down the Qur’aan.77

Dia adalah salah seorang daripada segelintir yang hadir ketika Nabi ﷺ membaca keseluruhan Al-Qur'an pada Ramadan terakhir dalam hidup baginda.78

4. He was one of the few who were present when the Prophet (r) recited the whole Qur’aan during the last Ramadaan of his life.78

Zayd memulakan proses ini dengan mengumpulkan semua bahan yang pernah digunakan untuk menulis al-Qur'aan. Kemudian dia menghimpunkan di sekelilingnya semua mereka yang juga telah menghafal keseluruhan al-Qur'aan atau sebahagian besarnya. Dia kemudian membandingkan apa yang telah dituliskan dengan apa yang dia dan yang lain-lain telah hafal. Jika semuanya sepakat, dia kemudian akan menuliskannya pada helaian kulit. Dengan cara ini, seluruh al-Qur'aan telah dituliskan semasa pemerintahan Khalifah pertama. Setelah selesai, Zayd menyerahkannya kepada Khalifah Aboo Bakr, yang menyimpannya sehingga kematiannya dua tahun selepas dia menjadi Khalifah.

Zayd began the process by collecting all of the materials on which the Qur’aan had been written. He then gathered around him all of those who had also memorized all of the Qur’aan or large portions of it. He then compared what was written down with what he and the others had memorized. If all agreed, he would then write it down on pages of leather.79 In this way the whole Qur’aan was written down during the reign of the first Caliph. On its completion Zayd turned it over to Caliph Aboo Bakr, who kept it until his death two years after he had become Caliph.

Sebelum kematiannya, Abu Bakr menyerahkan Al-Qur'an kepada 'Umar, yang telah dipilihnya untuk menjadi Khalifah kedua. 'Umar menyimpan salinan Al-Qur'annya bersamanya sehingga kematiannya, sepuluh tahun kemudian, di tangan seorang pembunuh bernama Abu Lu'lu'.80

Just before his death, Aboo Bakr turned over the Qur’aan to ‘Umar, whom he had chosen to be the second Caliph. ‘Umar kept his copy of the Qur’aan with him until his death, ten years later, at the hand of an assassin named Aboo Lu’lu’.80

Al-Qur'an kemudian diserahkan kepada puterinya Hafsah, yang merupakan salah seorang isteri Nabi ﷺ. Hafsah menyimpan Al-Qur'an di rumahnya di Madinah, tetapi beliau membenarkannya dapat diakses oleh sesiapa sahaja yang ingin menyalin daripadanya atau memeriksa ketepatan hafalan mereka.81

The Qur’aan was then turned over to his daughter Hafsah, who was one of the Prophet’s widows. Hafsah kept the Qur’aan in her house in Madeenah, but she made it available to anyone who wanted to make copies from it or check the accuracy of what they had memorized.81