Who is Zaid in this cut and paste about Kuran history

[yak]

"The book, drawn up by this method, continued to be authoritative and the standard text till 29-30 A.H. under the caliphate of 'Uthman. At this time the wonderful faithfulness of Arab memory was defective, and according to a general weakness of human nature, the Believers have been heard reciting the verses of the Koran in a different way. This fact was due specially, it is said, to the hundreds of dialects used in Arabia. Zaid was again asked to put an end to these variations which had begun to scandalize the votaries of the Prophet. That indefatigable compiler, assisted by three men from the tribe of Quraish, started to do what he had already done more than fifteen years before. The previous copies made from the first one written under Abu Bakr were all destroyed by special order of the caliph: the revelation sent down from heaven was one, and the book containing this revelation must be one. The critic remarks that the only guarantee of the authenticity of the Koran is the testimony of Zaid; and for this reason, a scholar who doubts whether a given word has been really used by Muhammad, or whether it has been only employed by Zaid on his own authority, or on the meagre testimony of some Arab reciters, does not transgress the strict laws of high criticism. If the memory of the followers of the Prophet has been found defective from the year 15 to 30 A.H. when Islam was proclaimed over all Arabia, why may it not have been defective from 612 to 632 C.E. when the Prophet was often obliged to defend his own life against terrible aggressors? And if the first recension of Zaid contained always the actual words of Muhammad, why was this compiler not content with re-establishing it in its entirety, and why was the want of a new recension felt by 'Uthman? How can it be that in the short space of fifteen years such wonderful variants could have crept into the few copies preceding the reign of the third caliph that he found himself bound to destroy all those he could find? If 'Uthman was certainly inspired only by religious purposes, why did his enemies call him ‘THE TEARER OF THE BOOKS’ and why did they fasten on him the following stigma: ‘He found the Korans many and left one; HE TORE UP THE BOOK’? ..." (Ibn Warraq, p. 85; bold and capital emphasis ours)

http://answering-islam.org.uk/BibleCom/jer8_8_ss.html

 

[muslimah.]

You will find the details of the history of the Holy Quran here:-

http://www.christianforums.com/t958...ts-revelation-and-history-of-compilation.html

 

[Arthra]

My guess is that we're referring to Zaid Ibn Thaabit. There's a good biography on him located at

http://www.geocities.com/Islamicwayz/zaid_ibn_thaabit.htm

The article says in part:

"Zaid was also entrusted with the weighty responsibility of recording the Divine revelation. When any part of the Qur'an was revealed, the Prophet (SAWS) usually sent for Zaid to bring his writing materials. Thus, Zaid acted as the scribe of the Prophet (SAWS) as well. However, Zaid was not the only scribe of the Prophet, different sources report that around 40 or more also took on this task [I have a few sources]. At the time of Abu Bakr's Khalifate, Zaid was asked to take on the heavy task of compiling the whole Qur'an into one manuscript--Since he was very trusted and was very knowledgeable of the Qur'an."