Saying · Wars of Ridda (11–12 AH)
O Abu Bakr, we have lost many of the People of the Suffa, and they were all memorizers of the Qur'an. I am worried that unless you do something, if more of the memorizers die, we won't have the Qur'an.
During the Wars of Ridda, many Muslims were killed fighting Musaylimah al-Kadhdhab. Among the dead were many of the People of the Suffa, the poor Companions of the Prophet ﷺ who had once lived in a shelter in his mosque. Many of them were among the foremost memorizers of the Qur'an. Alarmed at these losses, Umar ibn al-Khattab RA went to the caliph, Abu Bakr RA. He warned him that unless he did something, more memorizers would die and the Qur'an itself would be at risk.
This conversation is remembered as the seed of the formal written compilation (mushaf) of the Qur'an under Abu Bakr RA's caliphate, underscoring the elevated status the sahaba accorded the People of the Suffa.
Other events recorded in 12 AH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
O Abu Bakr, we have lost many of the People of the Suffa, and they were all memorizers of the Qur'an. I am worried that unless you do something, if more of the memorizers die, we won't have the Qur'an.