What does this Hadith Mean: "The Qur'an was collected in the lifetime of the Prophet (ﷺ) by four..."

Question

In this Hadith which is found in Bukhari and Muslim it says:

Anas Ibn Maalik said, "The Qur'an was collected in the lifetime of the Prophet (ﷺ) by four (men), all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubai, Mu`adh bin Jabal, Abu Zaid and Zaid bin Thabit.
[ Sunnah Ref: Bukhari 3810 ]
[ Sunnah Ref: Muslim 2465a ]

And I want to know what "collected" means here.

Does it mean these four men compiled a physical mushaf or does it mean they memorised the Qur'an?

Answer 1

It means 'collected in their chests' i.e. learned and memorized. In the same sense that the Quran says:

لا تحرك به لسانك لتعجل به

إن علينا جمعه وقرآنه

Move not your tongue with it, [O Muhammad], to hasten with recitation of the Qur'an.

Indeed, upon Us is its collection [in your heart] and [to make possible] its recitation.

^{— Quran 75:16-17}

‏{‏إن علينا جمعه وقرآنه‏}‏ أن نجمعه في صدرك

'It is for Us to collect it' means we will collect it in your chest

^{— Bukhari 4928 and Muslim 448a}

And there are many other examples of texts in ahadith and athar of the sahaba where 'collecting the Quran' is used to refer to one who is a Hafiz, such as Bukhari 5036, Abu Dawud 587, Ibn Majah 1346, Jami at-Tirmidhi 2382 etc.

At least some of these Sahaba were also scribes and wrote down verses of the Quran on physical objects during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ. However, I am not aware of any evidence that they compiled a bound paper mushaf at that point, rather it is known that it was done later during the caliphate of Abu Bakr.

قوله جمع القرآن أي استظهره حفظا

^{— Fath al-Bari}