509. Narrated Zaid bin Thabit: Abu Bakr As-Siddiq sent for me when the people of Yamama had been killed (ie. a number of the prophet's Companions who fought against Musailama). (I went to him) and found Umar bin Al-Khattab sitting with him. Abu Bakr then said (to me), Umar has come to me and said: Casualties were heavy among the Qurra of the Quran (ie. those who knew the Quran by heart) on the day of the Battle of Yamama, and I am afraid that more heavy casualties may take place among the Qurra in other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost. Therefore I suggest, you (Abu Bakr) order that the Quran be collected." I said to Umar, "How can you do something which Allah's Apostle (SAW) did not do?" Umar said, "By Allah, that is a good project." "Umar kept on urging me to accept his proposal till Allah opened my chest for it and I began to realize the good in the idea which "Umar had realized." Then Abu Bakr said (to me). 'You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicion about you and you used to write the not have any suspicion about you and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle (SAW). So you should search for (the fragmentary scripts of) the Quran and collect it (in one book)." By Allah! if they had ordered me to shift one of the mountains, it would not have been heavier for me than this ordering me to collect the Quran, Then I said to Abu Bakr, "How will you do something which Allah Apostle (SAW) did not do? Abu Bakr replied, "By Allah, it is a good project." Abu Bakr kept on urging me to accept his idea until Allah opened my chest for what He had opened the chests of Abu Bakr and Umar. So I started looking for the Quran and collecting it from (what was written on) palm leaf stalks, thin white stones and also from the men who knew it by heart, till I found the last Verse of Surat At-Tauba (Repentance) with Abi Khuzaima Al Ansari, and I did not find it with anybody other than him. The Verse is: Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad (SAW)) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should from amongst yourselves receive any injury or difficulty. (till the end of "Surat-Baraa (At-Tauba) (9:128-129) Then the complete manuscripts (copy) of the Quran remained with Abu Bakr till he died then with Umar till the end of his life and then with Hafsa, the daughter of Umar. (Sahih Bukhari Vol. 6 -Virtues of the Quran - Hadith 509