SOURCE: Arthur Jeffery, "Introduction," in Materials for the History of the Text of The Qur'an: The Old Codices, E. J. Brill, 1937, pp. 1-11.

In the following excerpt, Jeffery outlines the "orthodox Muslim theory" regarding the compilation of the text of the Koran and argues that, contrary to some accounts, there was no extant collection or arranged version of the text at the time of Muhammad's death. Jeffery further explains the suppression of various codices of the text following the compilation of the Uthmanic edition.

Critical investigation of the text of the Qur'an is a study which is still in its infancy. Within the fold of Islam it seems never to have attracted much attention. The growth of the Qurra' is evidence that there was some interest in the question in the early days of Islam¹ but with the fixing of the text ne varietur by the Wazirs Ibn...