THE COMPILATION OF THE QUR'AN
Caliph Uthman established a commission to prepare a text of the Quran from all available sources, including the compilation made during the reign of the first caliph, Abubakr [RA) and entrusted by him to Hafsa [RA), one of the Prophets [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] widows and the daughter of caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab [RA]. Zaid ibn Thabit [RA], one of the Prophets [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] former secretaries, played a leading role in this commission, as he had done in the previous compilation. During the Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him]s lifetime, Zayd (RA), a native of Madinah, used to write down Quranic passages as they were revealed. Sometimes between 650ﾕ652, an official version of the Quran was compiled, copies of which were sent to various centers of the Muslim world to be used as reference.
THE EXTENSION OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD INTO KHURASAN
During the year 650ﾕ652, Abdullah ibn Amir, the governor of Basra launched a series of successful attacks into the eastern provinces of Persia. He marched through Khurassan, overrunning Harat, Merv and Balkh. A column from his army crossed the Hindu Kush and captured Kabul while another concentrated on the southern region capturing Makran. Thus the boundaries of the Muslim empire were pushed as far as Oxus [Modern Amu Darya, Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan] reached the Indian border. This gave room for eastward conquests .
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited