Compiler & Scholar of the Holy Qur'an
Qatadah relates that he heard Hazrat Anas (ra) say, “In the time of the Holy Prophet (sa), four people compiled the Holy Quran, who were all among the Ansar. They were: Hazrat Mu‘az (ra) bin Jabal, Hazrat Ubayy (ra) bin Ka‘b, Hazrat Zaid (ra) bin Thabit and Hazrat Abu Zaid (ra).” Hazrat Abu Zaid (ra) was the paternal uncle of Hazrat Anas (ra).
(Sahih Muslim, Kitab Faza‘il al-Sahabah, Bab min Faza‘il Ubayy bin Ka‘b…, Hadith 2465)
Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (ra) narrates that he heard the Holy Prophet (sa) say, “Learn the Quran from four people – Ibn Mas‘ud (ra), Salim (ra) the freed slave of Abu Huzaifah (ra), Ubayy (ra) bin Ka‘b and Mu‘az (ra) bin Jabal.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab Manaqib al-Ansar, Bab Manaqib Mu‘az bin Jabal, Hadith 3806)
Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) has explained this Hadith. Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) states:
“The Holy Prophet (sa) appointed a group of teachers who taught the Holy Quran; they [learned and] memorised the entire Holy Quran from the Holy Prophet (sa) and taught it to others. These were four esteemed teachers who were responsible for learning the Holy Quran from the Holy Prophet (sa) and teaching it to others and there were many companions under them who would also teach the Holy Quran to others. The names of these four esteemed teachers are Abdullah bin Mas‘ud (ra), Salim (ra), the freed slave of Abu Huzaifah (ra), Mu‘az (ra) bin Jabal and Ubayy (ra) bin Ka‘b. The first two were Muhajireen and the latter two were Ansar. With regard to their work, Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud was a labourer, Salim (ra) was a freed slave, while Mu‘az (ra) bin Jabal and Ubayy (ra) bin Ka‘b were chieftains of Medina. Thus, the Holy Prophet (sa) appointed qaris [reciters] keeping in view every member of society.
“It is narrated in a Hadith that the Holy Prophet (sa) used to say:
خُذُوا الْقُراٰنَ مِنْ اَرْبَعَۃٍ (مِنْ) عَبْدِاللّٰہِ بِنْ مَسْعُوْدٍ وَ سَالِمٍ وَ مُعَاذِ بِنْ جَبَلٍ وَاُبَیِّ بِنْ کَعْبٍ
“‘Anyone who desires to read the Quran should learn from the following four individuals; Abdullah bin Mas‘ud, Salim, Mu‘az(ra) bin Jabal and Ubayy bin Ka‘b.’
“These were the four people who either learned the entire Quran from the Holy Prophet (sa) or would recite it before him to ensure they did not make any mistakes. Aside from them, there were also many other companions who learned various portions of the Holy Quran directly from the Holy Prophet (sa).
“It is related in another narration that on one occasion, when Hazrat Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud [was reciting the Quran, he] pronounced a word differently. Hazrat Umar (ra) stopped him and said that it should be pronounced in such and such manner. Hazrat Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud stated that the Holy Prophet (sa) taught him to pronounce it in that very manner. Hazrat Umar (ra) took him to the Holy Prophet (sa) and complained that he did not recite the Quran correctly. The Holy Prophet (sa) asked Abdullah (ra) bin Mas‘ud to recite. When he recited it, the Holy Prophet (sa) said he was reciting correctly. Thereupon Hazrat Umar (ra) submitted, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah, you taught me to pronounce the word differently.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) told him that that was also correct.
“This shows that in addition to the four companions who learnt the Holy Quran from the Holy Prophet (sa), there were others who also used to learn portions of the Holy Quran from him. Hazrat Umar’s (ra) submission that he had been taught to pronounce a certain word in a particular way shows that he too used to learn the Quran from the Holy Prophet (sa) himself.”
(Dibachah Tafsir al-Quran, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 20, p427-428)