Compilation · a Light

The Qur'an was gathered into one book after a battle

After the battle of Yamama in the year 12 of the Hijra, in which a large number of those who had memorised the Qur'an were killed, Umar ibn al-Khattab went to the caliph Abu Bakr and pressed him to have the text collected in one place. Abu Bakr sent for Zayd ibn Thabit, who had written down revelation for the Prophet ﷺ. Zayd's own account, preserved by al-Bukhari, says he found the task heavier than being asked to move a mountain, and that he gathered the Qur'an from palm stalks, thin white stones and the chests of men who had learned it. The sheets he produced stayed with Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Umar's daughter Hafsa.

Zayd ibn Thabit · Madinah, c. 633 CE

Source · Sahih al-Bukhari 4986