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Mushaf (Arabic:مُصْحَف,romanized: muṣḥaf,IPA:[musˤ.ħaf]; pluralمَصَاحِف,maṣāḥif) is an Arabic word for acodex or collection of sheets, but also refers to a written copy of theQuran.[1] The chapters of the Quran, whichMuslims believe was revealed during a 23-year period inMuhammad's lifetime, were written on various pieces of paper during Muhammad's era. Two decades later, these papers were assembled into one volume under the thirdcaliph,Uthman ibn Affan, and this collection has formed the basis of all written copies of the Quran to the present day.[2]
In Arabic,al-Qur’ān means 'theRecitation', and Islam states that it was recited orally by Muhammad after receiving it via the angelGabriel. The wordmuṣḥaf is meant to distinguish between Muhammad's recitations and the physical, written Quran. This term does not appear in the Quran itself, though it does refer to itself as akitāb (كِتَابٌ), or book or writings, from yaktubu (يَكْتُبُ) or to write, in many verses.[3][4]
Some Islamic scholars also use the termmuṣḥaf to refer to all the revelations contained within the book itself, while usingal-Qur’ān to refer to all verses revealed to Muhammad during his lifetime, including thoseabrogated and removed from themuṣḥaf prior to its final written form, as mentioned in somehadith.[5] For this reason, these scholars say that there is only one possible version of the Quran, but multiple possible versions of themuṣḥaf.[6]
