HOW THE QURAN WAS COMPILED

Zaid proceeded to put the verses of the Quran down on paper in their correct order. The volume he produced was then handed over to the Caliph, and this remained in the custody of the Prophet’s wife, Hafsa. The third Caliph, Osman, arranged for several copies of this text to be sent to all the states and placed in central mosques where the people could prepare further copies. In this way the message of the Quran spread further and further, both through oral tradition and handwritten copies, until the age of the press dawned. Many printing presses were established in the Muslim world, where the beautiful calligraphy of the scriptures was reproduced after its content had been certified by memorisers of the Quran. Once again with the help of memorised versions and written texts, correct, authentic copies were prepared; and with the publication of these copies on a large scale, the Quran spread all over the world. Any copy of the Quran found in any part of the world at any time will be exactly the same as that handed down to the Muslims by the Prophet in his last days, arranged in the form still extant today. This article was originally published in The Pioneer, Dec 7, 1997. On Achieving Goals A purposeful man always looks ahead to the future —straightforward and not towards right or left. He always thinks of long-lasting consequences rather than momentary considerations. He looks at things not from the point of view of personal desires and whims, but from the point of view of reality.