Preservation of The Quran
Everything about the Quran including its recitation, the meaning and reasons of revelations are being preserved in the hearts of the believers before the Mushaf.
There are three stages of the Quran preservation which are:
During the Prophet ﷺ
During Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
During Uthman Al-Affan (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
Preservation during the Prophet ﷺ Era
In the Quran surah al-’Araf verse 158, Allah ﷻ said:
قُلۡ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيۡكُمۡ جَمِيعًا ٱلَّذِي لَهُۥ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۖ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ يُحۡيِۦ وَيُمِيتُ فَـَٔامِنُواْ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ٱلنَّبِيِّ ٱلۡأُمِّيِّ ٱلَّذِي يُؤۡمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَكَلِمَٰتِهِۦ وَٱتَّبِعُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَهۡتَدُونَ
Say [O Prophet], “O people, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and earth; none has the right to be worshipped except Him; He gives life and causes death.” So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him, so that you may be guided. [QS 7:158]
Rasulullah ﷺ was unlettered and chosen to be the Messenger of Allah ﷻ with purpose and wisdom. Most of the Arab people during the Prophet ﷺ time was unlettered as well, and Rasulullah ﷺ shared the same attributes like them. He ﷺ learned and taught based on the circumstances of that time.
Unlettered, umiyyeen doesn’t mean illiterate. During this time, poetries was famous and these showed that even though the people couldn’t read nor write, it didn't mean they did not have an understanding on valuing knowledge.
During the Prophet ﷺ era, the primary medium in the preservation of the Quran was through audible and oral transmission. The Quran was transmitted from Jibreel عليه السلام to Rasulullah ﷺ in this manner, and so do from Rasulullah ﷺ to the Sahabah. It was then, they would memorise the verses accordingly.
In the Quran, when Jibreel عليه السلام came down to recite the Quran, Rasulullah ﷺ will start repeating even before the verses were complete. Rasulullah ﷺ was worried for him not being able to memorise it. Hence, the verse 16 and 17 of Surah Al-Qiyamah was sent down to remind him ﷺ on how he ﷺ should memorise the Quran accordingly.
Allah ﷻ said in the Quran, surah al-Qiyamah verse 16 & 17:
لَا تُحَرِّكۡ بِهِۦ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعۡجَلَ بِهِۦٓ (16) إِنَّ عَلَيۡنَا جَمۡعَهُۥ وَقُرۡءَانَهُۥ (17)
Do not move your tongue [O Prophet] in haste trying to memorise it. It is upon Us to make you memorise and recite it. [QS 75:16-17]
Salah has been closely related to the Quran and its preservation. After the first revelation, the command that was revealed in Surah Al-Muzammil verse 2 to 4 was the two-prayers solat in the middle of the night:
قُمِ ٱلَّيۡلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلٗا (2)نِّصۡفَهُۥٓ أَوِ ٱنقُصۡ مِنۡهُ قَلِيلًا (3) أَوۡ زِدۡ عَلَيۡهِ وَرَتِّلِ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ تَرۡتِيلًا (4)
Stand up in prayer at night except a little,half of it, or a little less,or a little more, and recite the Qur’an at a measured pace [QS 73:2-4]
There were not many verses that were revealed then. Rasulullahwould repeatedly recite what has been revealed to him ﷺ over and over again, and this how the method of memorization works, repetition by years and years. The people during that era listened to Rasulullah ﷺ recitation over and over again, and with their prolific memorization, they memorised the Quran. Consequently, there would also be opportunities for the people to ponder upon the Quran in their Salah, with repetition of the Quran over hours from the limited verses.
The Arab people were prolific in memorising e.g. the poets. There’s no fiction or fact to support the statement that the people can’t memorise, understand language just by listening, no requirement to read. If the Quran was sent down and written for the unlettered group of people, it won’t be as productive, sustainable, attractive to the people to start with.
Today, we might not be able to empathise on the virtue of auditory transmission being the primary source preservation of the Quran as compared to written mode. Undoubtedly, it is difficult for the knowledge received via auditory and being memorised to get corrupted. One might be able to edit a page and share many of the corrupted copies, while one won’t be able to ‘edit’ what was in the heart of other people. When the Birmingham Mushaf were found and dated being the oldest copy of the Quran, it doesn’t matter about the date of the copy as Muslim didn’t base the content of the Quran on the authenticity and the validity of the written copy. It was based on what has been transpired from memorization, audible transmission.
However, it was possible the Quran was written by few who could read and write, but no emphasis on this being the mode of the preservations. As reported by Bukhari, the Prophet ﷺ would call upon Zayd (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) when verses were being revealed and asked to bring the writing instruments back then. Zayd reported being norm to write down when Prophet ﷺ orally recited to him and he ﷺ would ask Zayd to recite back to ensure the recitation is correct.
At first the Prophet ﷺ forbade the writing of anything other than the Quran, and he forbade them to write down his words for a while, so that the Sahabah would focus on memorising the Quran and writing it down, and so that the words of the Prophet ﷺ would not be confused with the words of Allah, and so the Quran was protected from anything being added or taken away.
The earliest insight of the Quran being written was regarding the Islam of Umar Al-Khattab (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) when he read the parchment with Surah Ta-Ha verse 1 to 5 written on it. The story is debated among scholars because of the issue of isnaad, however leeway is being given because it’s not the topic of halal and haram. If this story is acceptable, this is the first insight of the Quran being written.
On a side note, during that era, Islam was tested when 70 qaris sent by Rasulullah ﷺ to teach the pagans Quran were killed. Narrated by `Asim, “ I asked Anas about the Qunut (i.e. invocation in the prayer). Anas said, "It should be recited before bowing." I said, "So-and-so claims that you say that it should be recited after bowing." He replied, "He is mistaken." Then Anas narrated to us that the Prophet ﷺ invoked evil on the tribe of Bani-Sulaim for one month after bowing. ' Anas Further said, "The Prophet ﷺ had sent 40 or 70 Qaris (i.e. men well versed in the knowledge of the Qur'an) to some pagans, but the latter struggled with them and martyred them, although there was a peace pact between them and the Prophet ﷺ, I had never seen the Prophet ﷺ so sorry and worried about anybody as he ﷺ was about them (i.e. the Qaris).