Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) was a young man of Medina. He wrote down the Qur'an as it came to the Prophet (ﷺ). After the Prophet's (ﷺ) death, he gathered it into one volume.
This guide tells his journey of faith. It shows how a boy who loved the Qur'an was trusted with its care, and how he carried that trust with great care and fear of Allah (﷾).
At a glance
- He grew up in Medina, and lost his father as a small child.
- He was about eleven when the Prophet (ﷺ) came to Medina, and he began to learn the Qur'an by heart.
- He wrote down the revelation for the Prophet (ﷺ), and wrote and read his letters.
- The Prophet (ﷺ) praised his knowledge of the laws of inheritance.
- Abu Bakr asked him to gather the Qur'an into one volume.
- In Uthman's time he helped copy that volume for every region.
- c. 611
He is born in Yathrib, the town later called Medina. Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir
- 622
The Prophet (ﷺ) comes to Medina. Zayd, about eleven, begins to learn the Qur'an by heart. Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir
- 622–632
He writes down the revelation for the Prophet (ﷺ), and writes and reads his letters. Sahih al-Bukhari 4990Sahih al-Bukhari 7195
- c. 633
Abu Bakr asks him to gather the Qur'an into one volume. Sahih al-Bukhari 4986
- c. 650
Uthman has that volume copied, with Zayd among the copyists, and sends a copy to every region. Sahih al-Bukhari 4987
- c. 665
He dies in Medina. Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir
Dates are in the Common Era. Early dates are approximate.
A boy in Medina
Zayd was born in Yathrib, the town later called Medina, about eleven years before the Prophet (ﷺ) came there. His family was of the clan of Banu al-Najjar. His father died when Zayd was still a small child, and he grew up with his mother. Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir
In 622 the Prophet (ﷺ) and the believers of Mecca moved to Medina. This move is called the Hijra. The early biographers say Zayd was about eleven at the time, and that he soon began to learn the Qur'an by heart. Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir
The scribe of the revelation
The Prophet (ﷺ) could not read or write. So when a passage of the Qur'an was revealed, he called a companion to write it down. Zayd became one of these scribes. Al-Bukhari, in his collection of hadith, gives a chapter the title "The scribe of the Prophet". Qur’an 29:48Sahih al-Bukhari 4990
One day a verse came down about those who stay at home and those who strive in the cause of Allah (﷾). The Prophet (ﷺ) sent for Zayd, and told him to bring his writing board, his inkpot and a shoulder bone to write on. As Zayd wrote, a blind man, Ibn Umm Maktum, asked what the verse meant for someone who could not see. Then more words came down, excusing those who are disabled, and the verse was written as it stands today. Sahih al-Bukhari 4990Qur’an 4:95
The Prophet (ﷺ) also told Zayd to learn the writing of the Jews of Medina. Zayd learned it. After that he wrote the Prophet's (ﷺ) letters to them, and read him their letters when they wrote back. Sahih al-Bukhari 7195
The Qur'an in his heart
Zayd did not only write the Qur'an down. He carried it in his heart. When Anas ibn Malik was asked who had gathered the Qur'an in the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime, he named four men of the Ansar, the believers of Medina. Zayd was one of them. Sahih al-Bukhari 5003
He was known for his knowledge too. The Prophet (ﷺ) praised a number of his companions, each for a gift of his own. Of Zayd, he said that he knew the laws of inheritance best: the shares that the Qur'an sets out for each member of a family. Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3790
Heavier than a mountain
Soon after the Prophet's (ﷺ) death, many who knew the Qur'an by heart were killed in a battle at Yamama. The Qur'an was still safe: it was written down, and many others knew it by heart. But Umar feared that more of them could be lost, and urged Abu Bakr, the first caliph, to have the Qur'an gathered into one volume. Abu Bakr sent for Zayd. Sahih al-Bukhari 4986Abu Bakr al-Siddiq
Abu Bakr told him that he was a wise young man, that they had no doubts about him, and that he used to write down the revelation for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). So he should look for the Qur'an and gather it. Sahih al-Bukhari 4986
Zayd felt the weight of it. He said that if they had asked him to move a mountain, it would not have been heavier for him. He asked how they could do something the Prophet (ﷺ) had not done. Abu Bakr kept telling him it was good, until Allah (﷾) opened Zayd's heart to it as well. Sahih al-Bukhari 4986
Then he set to work. He gathered the Qur'an from what had been written on palm stalks and thin flat stones, and from the hearts of the men who knew it. The sheets he wrote stayed with Abu Bakr, then with Umar, and then with Umar's daughter Hafsah, one of the Prophet's (ﷺ) wives. Sahih al-Bukhari 4986
One copy for every land
Years later, in the time of Uthman, the third caliph, the believers lived in many lands. Uthman borrowed the sheets that Hafsah kept, and had Zayd and three other men copy them. He sent a copy to every region, and gave the sheets back to Hafsah. Sahih al-Bukhari 4987Uthman ibn Affan
Zayd had once written single verses on bone and stone for the Prophet (ﷺ). Now he helped give the whole Book to every land. Allah (﷾) had promised to guard it:
We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).
Zayd lived on in Medina, teaching what he knew, and he died there around the year 665. Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir
What we can learn
Zayd's journey shows what it means to serve the Book of Allah (﷾).
- Start young. A boy who learned the Qur'an by heart grew into the man trusted with its care.
- Learn what is needed. He learned a new script because the Prophet (ﷺ) asked him to.
- Feel the weight of a trust. The task felt heavier than a mountain to him, and that made him careful.
- Serve without seeking praise. He wrote down what was revealed, not words of his own.
Whenever a Muslim opens the Qur'an or recites it in prayer, the work of Zayd ibn Thabit is in their hands.