Zayd ibn Thabit
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Zayd ibn Thabit زيد بن ثابت | |
---|---|
Personal | |
Born | c. 611 C.E. |
Died | c. 665 | (aged 53–54)
Religion | Islam |
Parents |
|
Occupation | Scribe, theologian |
Zāyd bin Thābit bin al-Ḍaḥḥāk (
Biography
Zayd bin Thabit belonged to Najjar clan from Banu Khazraj. When Zayd was almost six years old, his father, Thabit died in the Battle of Bu'ath.[2][3] Zayd was 11 years old when he asked permission to participate in the Battle of Badr. Since he was younger than 15 years old, Muhammad did not allow him to do so and sent him back. He then decided to try to win favour with Muhammad by learning the Quran. He was later appointed to write letters to non-Muslims and to collect and keep a record of the Qur'anic verses. Zayd was among those chosen by Muhammad to write down the verses of the Quran. He used to spend most of his time reciting the Quran and continued to learn the Quranic verses as they were recited by Muhammad. Zayd later volunteered to fight when he was 19 years old. This time he was accepted in the ranks of the Muslim army. Zayd's time to fight had come nine years after the establishment of the Muslim community in Medina.
Muhammad's era: 610-632
Zayd had the role of writing down the Quranic verses that were allegedly sent to Muhammad from Allah through the Angel Jibra'il. Zayd had also been commanded by Muhammad to learn Hebrew[2] and he took a fortnight to master each of the languages including Persian, Coptic and Greek which he used to work as an interpreter of Muhammad.
Compilation of the Qur'an
After Muhammad's death, Zayd who became a Quran expert, was assigned the role of authenticating and collecting the oral and textual Quranic revelation into a single bounded volume. This initiative was started on the Rashidun Caliph Abu Bakr's agenda, especially after the
So during
Zayd ibn Thabit thus became one of the foremost authorities on the Quran, he was appointed the judge of Medina.
During the time of Caliph Uthman, by which time Islam had spread far and wide, differences in reading the Quran in different dialects of Arabic language became obvious. A group of companions, headed by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, who was then stationed in Iraq, came to Uthman and urged him to "save the Muslim ummah before they differ about the Quran".
Uthman obtained the manuscript of the Quran from
Zaid and other companions including
Death
Sources differ about his death year. However, the fact he died in Medina in 665 (45 AH) is taken as authentic.[2]
See also
- Zayd (name)
- Thabit (name)
- Muadh bin Jabal
References
- ^ "Zayd ibn Thābit". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Erul 2013, pp. 321–322.
- ^ Wensinck 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-975-389-406-7.
- ^ Sahih al-Bukhari; Hadith No.4987,7191.
Sources
- ISBN 978-184200-133-2.
- al-Athir, Ibn. Usd al-ghabah fi marifat al-Saḥabah (in Arabic). pp. 278–279.
Bibliography
- Wensinck, A.J. (2012). "Zaid b. Thābit". ISBN 9789004082656.
- The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition(12 vols.). Leiden: E. J. Brill.
- Erul, Bünyamin (2013). "ZEYD b. SÂBİT". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 44 (Yusuf – Zwemer) (in Turkish). Istanbul: ISBN 978-975-389-785-3.