account of the collection and arrangement of the Qurán, as it stands at present, as given in traditions recorded by Bokhárí:—
"Zaid-ibn-Sábit, relates[1]:—'Abú-Bakr sent a person to me, and called me to him, at the time of the battle with the people of Zemámah; and I went to him, and Omar was with him; and Abú-Bakr said to me, "Omar came to me and said, 'Verily, a great many of the readers of the Qurán were slain on the day of the battle with the people of Zemámah; and really I am afraid that if the slaughter should be great, much will be lost from the Qurán, because every person remembers something of it; and, verily, I see it advisable for you to order the Qurán to be collected into one book.' I said to Omar, 'How can I do a thing which the Prophet has not done.' He said, 'I swear by God, this collecting of the Qurán is a good thing.' And Omar used to be constantly returning to me and saying: 'You must collect the Qurán,' till at length
- ↑ Mishkát, bk. viii. chap. iii. pt. 3.
order or division. These sections had each a technical name, e.g. the first was called "Bereshith," and the second "Noah." (See Dr. Adam Clark on Genesis.)
