How the Qur’anic verses were gathered

How were the Qur’anic verses gathered?

The words and meanings of the Qur’an, as well as their revelation and conveyance to people have all been realized with God’s guidance. The intervention of any entity, including the Prophet, is not relevant in this context. The same is also true for the order of the verses in the Qur’an. The present sequence and arrangement of the Qur’anic verses as they are found today were made by divine decree, not according to
the opinion of others or achieved by comparison. This is something that the Islamic community as a whole is in agreement on; all the Qur’an mushafs that were compiled both during and after the life of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, have had the same sequential order and there have been no differences since that time. Whenever Archangel Gabriel delivered a Revelation, he would dictate it to the Prophet and instruct him to place it in its exact sequential position within the chapter it belonged to.
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, read the verses to his Companions immediately upon their revelation and had them placed in their exact position among the chapters and verses that had been revealed at an earlier date. God’s Messenger followed the same sequential order of verses and suras when reciting during the prayers, while speaking and advising his Companions, and on various other occasions; he also recited all the suras that had been revealed up until that time with Archangel Gabriel once a year. In his final year on the earth Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, met with Gabriel twice; their recitation in this year is known as “the final presentation.” Each time the Prophet recited the Qur’an with Gabriel it was carried out in the same sequential order that is found today in the Qur’an. Today there are a number of reliable narrations concerning Gabriel’s dictation of the place, position and order of each revealed portion, as well as narrations about God’s Messenger’s dictation of the
Revelation to his scribes and his orderly recitation of the chapters during the prayers. All these plainly indicate that the sequence of the Qur’anic verses were determined by God.

 

Akgul, Muhittin (2009). The Quran in 99 Questions (Abdullah Erdemli Trans.). New Jersey: Tughra Books. (Originally published in Turkish as Kur’an İklimine Seyahat)