alt=""/>ammad’s later memory? This isn’t necessarily a problem, depending on how you view things like the Qur’n’s self-abrogation. On the other side, perhaps Ibn ‘Abbs’s understanding had come from older Companions who clung to earlier ideas about the vision; does this mean that Muammad had not corrected them, and that they never learned of the new interpretation? Could the report in which Ibn ‘Abbs explained that Muammad had seen Allh with his heart or in a dream signify a reconciliation of conflicting opinions?
The traditional accounts mention the Companions arguing not only about the Qur’n’s meaning, but also its form. In one episode, ‘Umar disagreed with a junior Companion over a sra because they had memorized it at different times. Having memorized the sra first, ‘Umar conceded that his recitation of the sra was less authoritative, since the later recitation must have abrogated the sra as he knew it.16 In stories of the Qur’n’s compilation into what is now its recognizable form, we find Companions arguing with each other over the inclusion of verses and even suggesting that not all of the Qur’n had been preserved.
Amid political and theological strife, the Companions, Followers, Followers of the Followers, and post-Salaf generations worked to stabilize the Qur’n. According to popular Sunn history, the Qur’n was first collected during the caliphate of Ab Bakr. ‘Umar had come to Ab Bakr after numerous Qur’n reciters had been killed in battle and suggested that the Qur’n be compiled for preservation as a textual artifact. Ab Bakr objected: “How can you do something which the Messenger of Allh did not do?” ‘Umar answered, “By Allh, it is a good thing.” Ab Bakr accepted ‘Umar’s position and commanded Zayd ibn Thbit, who had been Muammad’s scribe. Zayd echoed Ab Bakr’s initial concern over departing from Muammad’s example, but Ab Bakr repeated what ‘Umar had said to him: “By Allh, it is a good thing.” What I find startling here is Ab Bakr’s precise order: “Search for the Qur’n and collect/assemble it.” Zayd had to search for something that was out there, beyond even the reach of Ab Bakr, to then gather what was scattered and give form to the formless. It would be unfathomable for many Muslims today to think of the Qur’n
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