Dalail al-Tawfiq li-Ashah Tariq li-Jam al-Siddiq
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- Dalail al-Tawfiq li-Ashah Tariq li-Jam al-Siddiq
Dalail al-Tawfiq li-Ashah Tariq li-Jam al-Siddiq (Dala'il al-Tawfiq li-Asahh Tariq li-Jam' al-Siddiq, lit. 'Evidences of Success for the Soundest Path to the Siddiq's Compilation') is a research monograph in Quranic sciences by the contemporary scholar Arafa bin Tantawi on the compilation of the Quran during the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq . It was published as a peer-reviewed academic study in Majallat al-Buhuth al-Shar'iyyah (issue 113) in Jumada al-Ula 1442 AH (2020–2021 CE) .
Subject and Scope
The study examines the second major phase of compiling the Quran, carried out under Abu Bakr al-Siddiq in 12 AH (633 CE) . Following the death of seventy Quranic reciters (qurra') at the Battle of al-Yamama, Abu Bakr initiated the project on the counsel of Umar ibn al-Khattab and appointed Zayd ibn Thabit to head the compilation committee, gathering the text from palm stalks ('usub), stones (likhaf), and oral memory into a unified set of sheets with the collective participation of the Companions . The author presents a concise study aimed at combining foundational academic analysis with critical verification of disputed historical points and common assumptions surrounding this compilation .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into an introduction, four chapters divided into multiple thematic subsections (mabahith), a conclusion highlighting the primary findings, and comprehensive indexes :
- Chapter One: The Motives and Causes of Abu Bakr's Compilation (Bawa'ith jam' Abi Bakr wa-asbabuh wa-dawa'ih): Covers in three subsections the inception of the compilation initiative, the Companions' stance toward it, and the principal motives prompting the project .
- Chapter Two: Characteristics and Merits (Khasa'isuh wa-mazayah): Addresses in four subsections the main advantages of this compilation, the evidence that the arrangement of verses within surahs is divinely fixed (tawqifi), a survey and evaluation of scholarly positions on the ordering of surahs, and the historical emergence of arranging texts by chronological order of revelation rather than codex order .
- Chapter Three: Conditions and Manner of the Compilation (Bayan shurut jam' Abi Bakr wa-al-sifah allati tamma biha): Spans seven subsections treating the biography of Zayd ibn Thabit, his qualifications, the general reasons for selecting him, the distinct features and methodology Abu Bakr established for his committee, and the eventual fate of Abu Bakr's compiled sheets (suhuf) .
- Chapter Four: Chronology and Major Outcomes (Tarikh wa-zaman hadha al-jam' wa-abraz nata'ijih): Explores in two subsections the key historical results of the compilation and the accounts regarding who first applied the title Mushaf to the compiled Quran .
Answer updated