مشروع المصاحف الثاني في العصر الأموي

Abstract EN

Widely acknowledged and documented in the classical literature as well as in contemporary Quranic studies is the first masdJiif project, entailing Qur'an compilation, whose early beginnings are firmly rooted in the lifetime of’ the Prophet (js) and continued after his death (d.

11 AH) until it ultimately culminated in the production of the mmhaf of the third rightly-guided Caliph ‘Uthman b.

‘Aflan (d.

35 AH) who produced a codex which was to become unanimously approved by the Prophet’s Companions.

Several copies of this mishaf were produced and sent out to the Islamic metropolises (al-amdr).

However, the origonal miisjiaf of‘Uthman remained with him and later became known as al-Imam (master copy).

According to some reports, this occurred in the year 24 AH/early 25 AH.

Other reports, however, give the date 30 AH.

Half a century after the completion of the first masaJiif project, a second project, of a different nature, was accomplished, which aimed to complement and pursue the first.

Taking place in the city of \Vasil during the veal's 84 and 85 AH, it was initiated by the then Governor of Iraq, al-Hajjajj b.

Yusuf al-Thaqafi (d.

95 AH), endorsed by the Umayyad Caliph, ‘Abd al-Malik b.

Marwan (d.

86 AH), and supervised by al-Hasan al-Basri (d.

110 AH) who headed several committees which included the most prominent Qur’an scholars, readers and scribes of the time.

The project sought to achieve several objectives.

These included an-naqt (dotting) of similar-looking letters, the dividing of the Qur’an into ajzti' (pails) and the 'add (enumeration) of its dyahs, words and letters.

Of particular interest is the fact that this project was deemed necessary to ease the reading of the Qur’an and to ensure its correctness for non-Arabic speaking Muslims and the generations of Arabs whose mastery over their tongue left a lot to be desired.

Furthermore, the involvement of the major religious authorities of that period in this project contributed significantly to its legitimization.