In the name of Allah,
It was usual for the prophet’s companions to document the noble prophet’s (PBUH) hadith. They did not rely solely on their memories but also recorded the prophet’s hadith. This writing was done while the Prophet was still alive.
Several companions compiled hadith in written books called sahifas, which were used for lectures and passed down to their families and the next generations of Muslims (tabiun)[I]. Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn As is a Sahabi (d 63 A.H) known for the first written record of Hadeeth – Sahefatul Sadiqa. Its content is well preserved. He gathered legal rulings (Fatawa) of ‘Umar and had a few books on early history, Maghazi, and the Prophet’s biography[ii].
He loved writing and taking notes, recording what he learned from the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) himself gave him permission to write the hadith. He wanted to write down everything the Prophet (PBUH) said, but his colleagues told him not to because the Prophet might have been angry and said something that wasn’t meant for the record. He mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH).
‘’He (PBUH) signaled with his finger to his mouth and said: Write, by Him in Whose hand my soul lies, only right comes out from it.’’[iii]
Narrated Abu Huraira:
There is none among the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) who has narrated more Hadiths than I except `Abdullah bin `Amr (bin Al-`As) who used to write them and I never did the same.[iv]
Imam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal and others (Darimi, Ibn Munzir, Ibn Abd al-Hakam) have referred to this compilation of Abdullah ibn Amr RA and they gave other details as follows:
“It is narrated by Abu Qabil: One day we were with Abdullah ibn Amr RA; he was asked” Which town would be conquered first, Constantinople or Rome? Upon this, he sent for an old box, and taking out a book from it, looked into it and said: One day we were sitting in the presence of the Prophet (PBUH) and were writing down whatever he spoke. In the meantime he was asked: Which town would be first conquered, Constantinople or Rome? The Prophet (PBUH) replied: The town of the son of Heraclius will be conquered first – i.e. Constantinople.”[v]
The above information shows that it wasn’t just Abdullah ibn Amr who wrote down what the Prophet (PBUH) said. It was a whole group of his companions, writing them down while he was still alive.[vi]
References:
[i] Hadith literature, its origin, development and special features, Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi, page 3
[ii] Studies in the early hadith literature, M.M Azmi page 44
[iii] Abu Dawood 3646
[iv] Bukhari 113
[v] Musnad, II, 176. Hakim al-Nisaburi noted that this hadith is sound and fulfills the conditions set out by Bukhari. al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahîhayn, ed. Mustafa Abdulkadir Ata, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyye, 1411/1990, vol. 4, p. 468.
[vi] The earliest codification of the Hadith by Al Qazwini, edited by Muhammad Hamidullah, page 8