Zaid b. Thabit

Zayd ibn Thabit al-Ansari al-Khazraji, may Allah be pleased with him, was one of the most learned and trusted companions of the Prophet ﷺ, serving as his primary scribe for Quranic revelation. He learned to read and write at a young age and the Prophet ﷺ instructed him to learn the Hebrew and Syriac scripts in order to correspond with Jewish and Christian leaders, which he accomplished within a short time. He was entrusted by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, upon Umar ibn al-Khattab's insistence, with the monumental task of collecting and compiling the written Quran after the Battle of Yamama, when many huffaz (memorizers) were martyred. He later led the standardization committee under Uthman ibn Affan that produced the authoritative written mushaf distributed to the major cities. He was considered the supreme authority in Medina on Quranic sciences and the laws of inheritance (fara'id), to which he dedicated himself so thoroughly that even 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas would sit at his door to learn from him. He narrated many hadiths from the Prophet ﷺ preserved in all major collections. He passed away around 45–55 AH.