The Quran was arranged in complete book form during the Lifetime of the Holy Prophet

The Holy Quran declares that the teaching of the Book and the act of writing are among the main objects of the advent of the Holy Prophet and it considers the Pen as the means of educating man even when Allah is the teacher. 

“Who taught (to write) with the Pen,

(He) taught man what he did not know. (Al-Alaq 4-5)

“Nuun.  By the Pen and by what they write. (Al-Qalam 1)

The Holy Quran commands people to write down their business, their agreements, and other transactions, and keep witnesses to avoid doubts and disputes later on.  So it is not credible that the author of the Quran, Allah, who ordered mankind to write down their business transactions minutely did not want his book recorded in precise written form?  It is afterall the book containing the fundamental principles of truth and justice, the final and divine universal message, not for any section of humanity or for any limited time but for the human race as a whole for all time in all parts of the earth.  It is unthinkable to that Allah left the Quran in fragmentary form when he blames the Jews for fragmenting the book of Musa when they were exhibiting a part and suppressing the other.  

They do not estimate Allah with the estimation due to him when they say; “Allah did not send down anything to any man!” Say (O Muhammad); “Who sent down the book which Musa brought (A.S .) a light and a guidance to the people?  But you make it into (separate) sheaf’s of paper; part of which you show, and most of which you conceal, and you were taught what you did not know, neither you nor your fathers?” Say; “Allah” then leave them to the sport in engaging in vain discourse (Al-Anam:92) 

Emphatically Ali says; “Nay!  During the gradual revelation of the Quran there was no chapter, worse, sentence, phrase, word, letter revealed which the Holy Prophet did not recite to me and made me recite, and then dictate to me.  I wrote it in its proper place as ordered.  He dictated to me not only the text but also the necessary explanatory notes about the date, circumstances and the implications of every verse and chapter.  Besides this, the Holy Prophet taught me a thousand key notes to the inner meanings of the Quran, each keynotes leading to another thousand keynotes, and further inner meaning and so on.” 

It is the verdict against the claim, of any school of thought that the text in question was collected and arranged by anyone after the demise of the Holy Prophet.  Umme Salma (wife of the Holy Prophet) has narrated that the Holy Prophet said, “Ali is always with the truth (Haqq) and the Quran and the truth is always with him.  Until the day of Judgement they will not be separated from each other.”

The term Mus-haf, or collection, used then did not mean the text only.  It meant text with commentary and explanatory notes.  That collection also had been made by the recognized teachers, months before the demise of the Holy Prophet.  It will be discussed later that the recognized teachers refused to hand over their collection to the then ruling party’s, however, the ruling party’s decided to dispense with those collections and prepare their own.  It is recorded in books of traditions and history, that Zaid bin Thabit was selected for the task by them.  No record of historical value shows that Ali or other recognized teachers of the Quran took part in this official collection, on the contrary, each of them engaged himself independently in producing copies of this collections according to his insight and ability.  Of Ali’s transcendental ability we need say no more than what he said about his own Mus-haf (collection) .  It was based entirely on the revealed explanation dictated to him by the Holy Prophet.  The following statement of Ali relates not only to the commentary of the Quran, but also covers every minute aspect of his life from birth to death; “The Holy Prophet did not follow any but divine guidance and I did not follow any but the Holy Prophet’s guidance.”  The Holy Prophet said, “I and Ali are from one and the same divine Light.” 

Neither the so-called collection of Ali prepared after the demise of the Holy Prophet, nor his formal collection made during the life of the Holy Prophet was seen by any person other than the chosen members of the family of the Holy Prophet, i.e. the Holy Ahlulbayt.  The official collection prepared by Zaid bin Thabit under the order of the first Caliph also remained unpublished during the reigns of the first two caliphs and the early part of the third caliphs rule.  But before the beginning of this period text of the Quran along with the Ahlulbayt was widely known among the Muslims.  All that could have been done was to tamper with the interpretation of the existing text.  To the question of Talha, “Is all this in our hands Quran (revealed from Allah)?”  Ali’s answer was, “All that is in our hands (within the reach of the people) is Quran (revealed from Allah), and in this (which is available to all) is the proof of our right over the people and their duty to obey us.”  However, the futile dispute remains about the omissions and alterations in the arrangement and in some lettering but not about any additions at all.