Who Were The Four Who Collected The Qur’an?

There are two hadiths that give the names of four who collected the Qur’an but one narration has Ubayy bin Ka`b  instead of Abu Darda.

Narrated Qatada: I asked Anas bin Malik: “Who collected the Qur’an at the time of the Prophet (ﷺ) ?” He replied, “Four, all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubayy bin Ka`b, Mu`adh bin Jabal, Zaid bin Thabit and Abu Zaid.”  (Bukhari 5003)

Ibn Hajar reconciles the narrations by saying the number four may have referred only to the Ansar, not all the companions, and it was said during a moment of tribal pride.

Also, “gathered” could mean they did so completely, with all modes, or they wrote it down—not just memorised it.

Others may have memorised it too but didn’t claim it or only finished after the Prophet ﷺ passed away. So the hadith isn’t denying others also knew the Quran.

Translation: The Hadith of Anas Ibn Malik, mentioned through two routes. His statement: “I asked Anas ibn Malik, who gathered the Quran during the time of the Prophet ﷺ?”

He said, “Four, all of them from the Ansar.” In the narration of al-Tabari from the route of Saʿid ibn Abi ʿArubah from Qatadah at the beginning of the hadith: “The two tribes, al-Aws and al-Khazraj, boasted. Al-Aws said: From us are four: the one for whom the Throne shook—Saʿd ibn Muʿadh, the one whose testimony was made equal to two men—Khuzaymah ibn Thabit, the one washed by the angels—Hanzalah ibn Abi ʿAmir, and the one protected by the bees—ʿAsim ibn Thabit. So al-Khazraj said: From us are four who gathered the Quran, and no one else gathered it. Then he mentioned them.”

It is also possible that Anas’s intent was that no one else from al-Aws gathered it, indicated by the context of mutual boasting. He did not mean to negate that from the Muhajirun.

In Saʿid’s narration, that statement is from al-Khazraj, and the speaker is not named, but since Anas transmitted it without objecting, it is as if he affirmed it—especially since he was from al-Khazraj.

Qadi Abu Bakr al-Baqillani and others responded to this hadith of Anas with several answers:

First interpretation: That the statement carries no implied restriction, so it does not necessarily mean no one else gathered it.

Second interpretation: That the meaning is: no one gathered it on all of the modes (qiraʾat) and forms of revelation except those individuals.

Third interpretation: That they were the only ones who gathered both the abrogated and the un-abrogated verses—this is close in meaning to the second.

Fourth interpretation: That what is meant by “gathered” is receiving it directly from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ without any intermediary, unlike others who may have received some parts through intermediaries.

Fifth interpretation: That they were the ones who actively taught and transmitted it, so they became known for it, whereas the status of others was hidden from those who were aware of their state. So it was limited to them according to what was known, though the reality might have been different. Or perhaps others concealed their memorisation out of fear of falling into showing off or self-admiration, while these four were secure from that and made it known.

Sixth interpreation: That what is meant by gathering is writing it down, and this does not negate that others gathered it by heart. These individuals may have gathered it both in writing and in memorisation.

Seventh interpretation: That what is meant is that no one else explicitly claimed to have gathered it—meaning completed its memorisation—during the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ except these four. As for others, they may not have made such a claim because they only completed their memorisation at the death of the Prophet ﷺ, when the last verse was revealed. It may be that the final verse and those like it were only present with those four among those who had already gathered the whole Quran before that point, even if others were present who had not gathered anything else besides that verse.

The eighth interpretation: That what is meant by “gathering the Quran” is obedience and compliance—hearing and following it, and acting upon what it entails. Ahmad narrated in al-Zuhd from the route of Abu al-Zahiriyyah: that a man came to Abu al-Dardaʾ and said, “My son has gathered the Quran.” Abu al-Dardaʾ replied, “O Allah, forgive! Only he has gathered the Quran who listens to it, obeys it, and acts upon it.”

However, most of these interpretations involve some degree of strain—especially the last one. Another interpretation is that what was meant was affirming that merit for al-Khazraj as opposed to al-Aws alone. That would not negate it from others outside the two tribes—such as the Muhajirun or those who came after them.

It may also be said: Anas only mentioned those individuals because the context of the conversation was about people connected to him personally, and it was relevant to his own group. But this too is far-fetched.

Fath Al Bari By Ibn Hajar (15/103-105)