In the introduction to The Formative Period of Twelver Shīʿism, Andrew Newman stresses the lack of interest in Shiʿi ḥadīth compilations in Western ḥadīth studies:

Since then, by and large, there does not seem to be much indication that Western academia has changed its attitude towards Shiʿi ḥadīth compilations. In this regard the debate about the history of the text of the Qur’an has been constructed around the Sunni narrations, along with the study of some other peripheral evidences. The Sunni traditions on the issue singled out mainly the first and third Muslim Caliphs, Abū Bakr and Uthmān, as significant in the enterprise of the collection of the Qur’an. Little attention has been given to the related Shiʿi traditions on the subject, which claimed that the fourth caliph or first Shiʿi Imām, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, carried out the task before anyone else. Further, some Sunni traditions echoed these claims, yet they have been overlooked and did not find their place in the on-going debate on the issue. Considering Shiʿis’ longstanding opposition to the ‘orthodox’ version of Islam, their sources could potentially produce a different perspective on the issue and contribute additional evidence or arguments toward the debate.

In order to fill this gap in the field of qur’anic studies as well as in ḥadīth studies, the present thesis will examine the traditions on ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib's collection of the Qur’an. Since these traditions were not only recorded in Shiʿi sources and Sunni sources contain traditions in a similar vein, the thesis will also delve into the relevant Sunni traditions.

For the analysis of the traditions, the thesis will employ Harald Motzki's isnādcum- matn method. The method has proven to be an efficient tool in investigating early Islamic sources and has endured as a reliable method despite strong criticisms.