"Move not thy tongue with it [the Quran] to make haste therewith. Surely on Us is its collection and its recital." (75:16-17)

Thus, Allah Himself was responsible to collect and promulgate this Book. In another ayah, Allah says:

"And it is a Book of exalted power. No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it." (41:41-42)

Scribes: Some companions were specially entrusted to write down the surahs and 'ayat revealed to the Holy Prophet. Some of them were 'Ali bin Abi Talib, Ubayy bin Ka'b, 'Abdullah bin Rawâhah, Khalid bin Sa'id bin al-'As, and in later period Zayd bin Thabit among others.

As soon as a revelation was received, the Holy Prophet dictated it to one or more of the above-mentioned scribes.

Position of Ayat: At the time of dictation the Holy Prophet himself used to fix the position of that ayah or ayat in the surahs. The Quran, even before its revelation, was arranged as a Book in the "Preserved Tablet but the events during the ministry of the Holy Prophet necessitated revelation of ayat in a different order. But the Holy Prophet knew the original arrangement of the "Preserved Tablet" and directed the revealed ayat to be written accordingly. It is for this reason that we find Madani 'ayat in Makki surahs and vice versa.

Memorizing the Quran: The Holy Prophet used to stress the importance and reward of committing the Quran to memory. And hundreds of people responded to this prophetic enjoinment. As the eagerness of the people for memorizing the Holy Book increased, the Holy Prophet selected four principal instructors who learnt the Quran under his personal guidance and then trained the others, who in their turn, used to teach it to still others. Those four were:

1. 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud.
2. Sâlim Mawla Abi Hudhayfah.
3. Ma'adh bin Jabal.
4. Ubayy bin Ka'b.

The number of people who had memorized the whole Quran during the life-time of the Holy Prophet was so great that in the battle of Yamamah, fought just six months after the death of the Holy Prophet, 700 (or 500) huffaz (those who had committed the Quran to memory) were killed in one day only.

A Set Arrangement: All this memorizing presupposes a set arrangement of the ayat, if not of the surahs. Also, the Holy Prophet said that Gabriel used to recite before him the whole Quran in the month of Ramadan. Many companions used to recite the whole Quran once in a month and especially in the month of Ramadan.

The following are among those who had the whole Quran in writing with them during the life-time of the Holy Prophet: 'Ali bin Abi Tâlib, Sa'd bin 'Ubayd bin Nu'mân, Ab -Dardâ', Ma'âdh bin Jabal, Ubayy bin Ka'b, 'Ubayd bin Mu'âwiyah bin Zayd, 'Abdullâh bin Mas'üd, Zayd bin Thãbit and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari.

There are numerous traditions of the Holy Prophet which prove that the Quran was already a written Book. For example: "I am leaving behind among you two precious things... the Book of Allah...and my Descendants who are my family members..."

Also, when the Holy Prophet, a few days before his death, wanted to write something for the continued guidance of the Muslims, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab opposed it and said: "The man (i.e. the Holy Prophet) is in delirium; the Book of Allah is enough for us." These words at least prove that the Book of Allah was readily available at the time of the Holy Prophet.