Scribes of the Prophet(s.a.w) and others...

Scribes of the Prophet

Before we go on to study what they did, we must understand who the scribes were. Scribes were those people who preserved the revelations of Quran in writing and in memory.

How they carried out their work?

●      Close companions of the Prophet

●      Always stayed close to him

●      Whenever the Prophet received a revelation, he immediately dictated it to them, as he himself was illiterate

●      They would write it on pieces of wood, animal skins, palm leaves etc.

●      They would also learn the revelations by heart

●      They would add new verses and arrange them in order on the instructions of the Prophet

●      They preserved the word of Allah

●      Some scribes of that time were:

●      Hazrat Abu Bakar

●      Hazrat Umar

●      Hazrat Usman

●      Hazrat Ali

●      Hazrat Zaid bin Sabit

●      Hazrat Abdullah bin Masood

●      Hazrat Ameer Muawiya

(Apart from their names, you also need brief accounts of a few of them. More on that later!)

Importance of their work:

The scribes of the divine revelation hold immense importance in Islam as they made sure that the revelations must be in written form because the Prophet did not know how to read or write. Apart from writing them, they also learnt the verses so that they remained in their memory. Thus they played a vital role in the preservation of Quran in its original form. If they had not written the revelations, the word of Allah might perish forever. This shows that their work played an important role in preserving Quran for future generations.

Zaid Bin Sabit:

●      Chief scribe

●      Belonged to Khazraj tribe

●      Accepted Islam before Prophet’s migration at the age of 11

●      Wanted to participate in badr but Prophet did not allow him due to his young age

●      Prophet’s secretary in 3 AH

●      Took part in Trench and Tabuk expeditions

●      Could speak many languages

●      Learned Hebrew to talk to jews

●      Had a very good memory

●      He was a memorizer of the Quran

●      1^st ansar to swear allegiance to the Prophet

●      Compiled Quran during 1^st and 3^rd caliphate

●      Qazi of Medina during 2^nd caliphate

●      Public treasurer in 3^rd caliphate

●      Clear and beautiful recitation with proper punctuation

Abdullah Bin Masood:

●      Early convert

●      Suffered persecution

●      Migrated to Abyssinia

●      1^st Muslim to recite Quran openly in Makkah

●      Attended to the needs of the Prophet

●      Killed Abu Jahl in Battle of Badr

●      Narrated 800 ahadis

●      Known as Sahabi bin Sahabiya

●      Prophet asked companions to learn recitation from him

Emigrants and Helpers

Emigrants                                         Helpers

●      Early converts                                    - people of Medina

●      Suffered persecution                           -took the pledges of Aqabah

●      Traders by profession                        - invited the Prophet to Medina

●      Migrated to Abyssinia                         - paired with emigrants

●      Migrated to Medina                            - shared property with them

●      Left belongings and families                - fought in battles

●      Participated in battles                          - 238 of them in Badr

●      1^st 4 caliphs were amongst them          - Prophet came back to Medina after

●      Remained loyal to Prophet                      conquest of Makkah to repay for

●      Paired with Ansar                                   the loyalty of Ansar

●      About them, Quran says: “ those who   - dropped down their demand for 

strive with their might and main in           caliph after the Prophet’s demand

 Allah’s cause, with their goods and      - Quran mentions them and holds 

their persons have the highest of               in high honor

 ranks in Allah’s sight”

Other Important People surrounding the Prophet

1.        Ameer Muawiya:

●      Son of Abu Sufyan

●      Accepted Islam after Conquest of Makkah

●      Prophet’s secretary

●      Governor of Syria in 2^nd caliphate

●      Continued this post in 3^rd caliphate

●      Build the first naval f;;et of 500 ships

●      Fought the Battle of Camel and Siffin

●      Conquered North Africa

●      Founder of Ummayad dynasty

2.        Ubbay Bin Kaab:

●      Belonged to Khazraj tribe

●      Took the pledges of Aqabah

●      Wrote letters for Prophet

●      Wrote last verse of Quran

●      Memorizer of the Quran

●      Had a beautiful recitation

●      Member of the consultative body in 1^st caliphate

3.        Khalid Bin Waleed:

●      Amongst the Quraish

●      Accepted Islam after treaty of Hudaybia

●      Known as Saif Ullah

●      Changed the course of Battle of Uhad

●      His bravery led to victory at Mutah after original leaders had died

●      Leader of one squadron at Battle of Badr

●      Fought wars against Persians and Romans.