• The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam used to recite the Qur'ān Al Kareem before angel Jibrīl Alahi Wa Salam once every Ramadān, but he recited it twice (in the same order we have nowadays) in the last Ramadān before his death. Jibrīl Alahi Wa Salam also taught the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam the seven modes of recitation.

• Each Ayāt received was recited by the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam, and its location relative to other Ayāt's and Sūrah's was identified by him.

• The Sūrah's were written by scribes, selected by the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam, on any suitable object - the leaves of trees, pieces of wood, parchment or leather, flat stones, and shoulder blades. Scribes included Ali bin Abū Tālib Radi-Allahu 'anhu, Mu'āwiyah Ibn Abū Sufyan Radi-Allahu 'anhu, Ubey Ibn Ka'ab Radi-Allahu 'anhu, Zayed Ibn Thabit Radi-Allahu 'anhu.

• Some of the companions wrote the Qur'ān Al Kareem for their own use.

• Several hundred companions memorized the Qur'ān Al Kareem by heart.

• Umar bin Al' Khattab Radi-Allahu 'anhu urged Abū Bakr Siddīq Radi-Allahu 'anhu  to preserve and compile the Qur'ān Al Kareem. This was prompted after the battle of Yam amah, where heavy casualties were suffered among the recites who memorized the Qur'ān Al Kareem.

• Abū Bakr Siddīq Radi-Allahu 'anhu entrusted Zayed Ibn Thabit Radi-Allahu 'anhu with the task of collecting the Qur'ān Al Kareem. Zayed Radi-Allahu 'anhu had been present during the last recitation of the Qur'ān Al Kareem by the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam to Angel Jibrīl Alahi Wa Salam .

• Zayed Radi-Allahu 'anhu, with the help of the companions who memorized and wrote verses of the Qur'ān Al Kareem, accomplished the task and handed Abu Bakr Siddīq Radi-Allahu 'anhu  the first authenticated copy of the Qur'ān Al Kareem. The copy was kept in the residence of Hafsa Radi-Allahu 'anha, daughter of Umar bin Al' Khattab Radi-Allahu 'anhu and wife of the Prophet Muhammad Sala-llaha Alahi Wa Salam .

• Uthmān Radi-Allahu 'anhu ordered Zayed Ibn Thabit Radi-Allahu 'anhu, Abdullāh Ibn Al Zubayr Radi-Allahu 'anhu, Said Ibn Al-Aas Radi-Allahu 'anhu, and Abdurrahman Ibn Harith Ibn Hishām Radi-Allahu 'anhu to make perfect copies of the authenticated copy kept with Hafsa Radi-Allahu 'anha. This was due to the rapid expansion of the Islamic state and concern about differences in recitation.

• Copies were sent to various places in the Muslim world. The original copy was returned to Hafsa Radi-Allahu 'anha, and a copy was kept in Madīnah.

• Dots were put as syntactical marks by Abo Al-Aswad Al Doaly, during the time of Mu'āwiyah Ibn Abū Sufyan Radi-Allahu 'anhu(661-680 CE).

• The letters were marked with different dotting by Nasr Ibn Asem and Hayy Ibn Ya'amor, during the time of Abdulmālik Ibn Marawan (685-705 CE).

• A complete system of diacritical marks (damma, fataha, kasra) was invented by Al Khalil Ibn Ahmad Al Faraheedy (d. 786 CE)

Article by Abū Redwan