How the Koran Was Written

Sheikh Abd El-Fatah El-Kady wrote in his book Al Mushaf Al-Shareef  (The Koran - Its History and Tests), pages 14 and 55.

The Koran was not delivered to Muhammad all at once.  It came piecemeal according to the events and occasions, as we read in the Koran. [It is] a Koran which we have divided [into parts form time to time], intervals:  We have revealed it by stages
(Surat Al-Isra 17:106)

He continues:

The Koran was written during Muhammadís like, on the branches of palm trees, on thin stones, on paper, on skin, on shoulders and side bones of animals.

All of the Koran was written during Muhammadís life, but was not collected in one volume. Its suras were not organized.  It was scattered on the branches of palm trees, skin and in the memories or breasts of Muhammad's "close friends" (Al-Sahaba in Arabic).

Not only were the Koranic writings disorganized, but there were seven different versions of them.  The reason for these different versions of the Koran is that the Koran was revealed to Muhammad in seven different ways (Al-Mushaf Al-Shareef, page 64).
Muhammad said in the Hadith:

The Koran has been revealed to be recited in seven different ways, so recite of it that which is easier for you (Sahih-al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, page 510).

Tabari, the great expositor of the Koran, said that the difference between, the seven versions of the Koran (Al-Ahruf Al-Sabaa) was not in the meaning but in the words.  To illustrate: A person can use the word grace, gracefulness. Or the work goods, possessions, or property. But the fact is that the difference in those seven versions were not purely of words but at times related to the basic content of the Koran's text itself.

After Muhammadís death, at the time of caliph Abu-Bakr, ,many of those who had memorized the Koran died while fighting the apostates in the battle of " Alyamama, "Omar feared that the death of those men would result in the loss of a great portion of the Koran and suggested to Abu-Bakr that the Koran should be collected in one volume.  Abu-Bakr was reluctant to do that, because Muhammad did not collect the Koran in one volume during his life.  After much discussion Omar persuaded Abu-Bakr to order the collection of the Koran. Abu-Bark ordered Aid Bin Sabot to do the job (Al-Mush Al-Shareef, page 59,60).

By Allah!  If they had ordered me to shift one of the mountains, it would not have been heavier for me than this ordering me to collect the Koran.  Zaid Ibn Sabit said.  Then I said to Abu-Bakr, " How will you do something which Allah's Apostle did not do?"
Abu-Bakr said " By Allah, it is a good thins"
(Sahih-al-Bukhari, Part 6, page 477).

It is quite clear that the collection of the Koran is something which Muhammad did not do.  It is also clear that the Koran was not completely written in one volume during Muhammadís life.  This is why Omar and Abu-Bakr feared the loss of great portions of the Koran, If the men who memorized it should die.

Therefore Zaid Ibn Sabit agreed to collect the various pieces of the Koran.  However, when Islam became the religion of many countries, every country used the version of the Koran which was known among them:  the Syrians read AbiKaabís version, the people of Kofa read Abdallah Ibn Massoudís version, others read Abu Moussa Alashabyís version and so on.
When Caliph Uthman took the caliphate, he was confronted by such confusion and sedition concerning the reading of the Koran in the different Islamic countries that he ordered it to be rewritten.

 Uthaman ordered Zaid Ibn Sabit and three other men form Quraysh, Abdullah Ibn Al-Zubeer, Saeed Ibn El-Uss, and Abdelrahman Ibn Al-Harith Ibn Hesham, to rewrite the Koran.  It was Uthmanís order to the scribes " If you disagree  with Zaid Ibn Sabit in anything of the Koran, write it in the language of Quraysh, because the Koran was revealed in the language of Quraysh."  They did
(Al-Mushaf Al-Shareef, Pages 66,70).

After Uthman competed his Koran he forced all the Islamic countries to have one Koran - and banned all other codices.  He finished the matter by burning all other codices of the Koran.

Dr. Taha Hussein , a well known author, college professor, and minister of education in Egypt, wrote in his book Al- Fitnato Al-Korba (The Great Sedition):

The prophet Muhammad said:  "The Koran was revealed in seven dialects all of them are right and perfect."  When Uthman banned whichever he banned from the Koran, and burned whichever he burned of it, he banned passages Allah has revealed and burned parts of the Koran which were given to the Muslims by the messenger of Allah.  He appointed a small group of the Sahaba (close friends of Muhammad) to rewrite the Koran and left out those who heard the prophet and memorized what he said.  This is why Ibn Massoud was angry, because he was one of the best men who memorized the Koran.  He said that he took from the mouth of the prophet seventy suras of the Koran while Zaid Ibn Sabit was yet a young lad.  When Ibn Massoud objected to the burning of the other codices of the Koran, Uthman took him out of the mosque with violence, and struck him to the ground, and broke one of his ribs (The Great Sedition, pages 160,161,181,182).