He matched the Prophet’s description exactly and said, “When you return to your people, convey to him my greetings.” Abān accepted Islam once he got back. He was the brother of ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd al-Ashdaq (1), whom ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān later executed.

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah said, “The first person to write down the Revelation in the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was Ubayy ibn Kaʿb. When he was absent, Zayd ibn Thābit wrote; and ʿUthmān, Khālid ibn Saʿīd, and Abān ibn Saʿīd also wrote for him.” That, he explained, was in Madinah. As for the Makkan sūrahs, Ubayy was not present when they came down, and the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—had already written them in Makkah.

Scholars differ about the date of Abān ibn Saʿīd’s death. Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah, Muṣʿab ibn ʿAbd Allāh, al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār, and most genealogists say he was killed at Ajnādīn in Jumādā al-Ūlā of the year 12 AH (2). Others say he fell at Marj al-Ṣuffar in 14 AH. Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq reports that he and his brother ʿAmr were killed at Yarmūk, five days into Rajab of 15 AH. Another view is that he lived on into the caliphate of ʿUthmān, who appointed him to dictate the standard codex of the Qur’an to Zayd ibn Thābit, after which Abān died in 29 AH. Allah knows best.

Among the scribes, too, was Ubayy ibn Kaʿb ibn Qays ibn ʿUbayd al-Khazrajī al-Anṣārī (3), known as Abū al-Mundhir—some say Abū al-Ṭufayl—the leader of the Qur’an reciters. He attended the Second Pledge of ʿAqabah, the battle of Badr, and all subsequent campaigns. He was of medium height, slender, with a white head and beard, and he never dyed his grey hair.

Anas reported, “Four men from the Anṣār had collected the Qur’an: Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, Muʿādh ibn Jabal, Zayd ibn Thābit, and a man from the Anṣār called Abū Zayd” (4). Both Imams recorded this (5).

In the two Ṣaḥīḥs (6) Anas relates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Ubayy, “Allah has commanded me to recite the Qur’an to you.” Ubayy asked, “Did He mention me by name, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “Yes.” Thereupon Ubayy’s eyes overflowed with tears.

The phrase “to recite it to you” here means recitation for the purpose of conveying and making heard, not recitation for learning from him—no scholar understands it otherwise. We draw attention to this so that no one may think the opposite.