Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 264
264 biographical portion with reference to the incident of Bi’r Ma‘unah, the Holy Prophet in the fourth year of the Hijrah despatched seventy of his Companions as instructors for certain tribes and every one of them knew the Quran by heart. Those who had committed the Quran to memory spent the greater part of their time in reciting it to others at all hours of the day and night. Hafiz Abu Ya’la relates that the Holy Prophet was informed on one occasion that Abu Musa was instructing the people in the recitation of the Quran in his house. The Prophet asked to be led to some part of the house where he could listen to Abu Musa without his presence becoming known to the assembled company. He was led to such a place and having heard Abu Musa recite the Quran he approved of his recitation and was much pleased with it and observed: "He recites the Quran in the beautiful manner of the Prophet David. " 339 This shows that the Holy Prophet took pains to supervise the recitation of the Quran by people other than the four whom he had appointed as the principal teachers of the Quran and was anxious to see that no error should creep into their recitation. Imam Ahmad Hanbal relates on the authority of Jabir bin ‘Abdullah that on one occasion when the Holy Prophet came to the mosque he found people reciting the Quran and he said: "Recite the Quran and recite it well and strive to win the pleasure of God through it, before the time comes when people will recite the Quran correctly but with the object of making it a means of earning their livelihood rather than a means of the purification of their hearts. 340 Jabir bin ‘Abdullah relates that the company that was engaged in the recitation of the Quran on this occasion comprised not only the Muhajirin and the Ansar but also desert-dwellers and non-Arabs. Those who had become competent to recite the Quran during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet could be numbered in thousands. Immediately after the death of the Holy Prophet, when Musaylimah declared war and marched against Medina at the head of a hundred thousand warriors, Abu Bakr sent Khalid bin Walid in command of thirteen thousand soldiers to oppose him. As this number included many who had only recently accepted Islam and had not yet become imbued with its spirit or traditions, the Muslim forces were pressed back at several points. At this juncture some of the Companions of the Holy Prophet who knew the Quran by heart put forward the suggestion that all those in the army who had the Quran by heart should be formed into a separate force and should be sent forward to oppose Musaylimah’s men. It was thought that as these people appreciated the true value of Islam and the need of safeguarding it with their lives, their zeal and devotion would prevail against the much larger numbers of the enemy. Khalid bin Walid accepted this suggestion and formed a special force of those who knew the Quran by heart. These numbered three thousand. This force attacked Musaylimah’s army with such vehemence that it was forced to retreat and was eventually beleaguered and destroyed. On that occasion these three thousand chose as their motto: "O ye that know the Surah al-Baqarah by heart" (Surah al-Baqarah was mentioned as it is the longest