observing the great disagreement in the copies of the Korân in the several provinces of the empire-those of Irak, for example, following the reading of Abu Musa al Ashari, and the Syrians that of Macdâd Ebn Aswad-he, by advice of the companions, ordered a great number of copies to be transcribed from that of Abu Becr, in Hafsa's care, under the inspection of Zeid Ebn Thabet, Abd'allah Ebn Zobair, Saïd Ebn al As, and Abd'alrahmân Ebn al Hâreth, the Makhzumite; whom he directed that wherever they disagreed about any word, they should write it in the dialect of the Koreish, in which it was first delivered.1 These copies when made were dispersed in the several provinces of the empire, and the old ones burnt and suppressed. Though many things in Hafsa's copy were corrected by the above-mentioned supervisors, yet some various readings still occur; the most material of which will be taken notice of in their proper places. The want of vowels2 in the Arabic character made Mokrîs, or readers whose peculiar study and profession it was to read the Korân with its proper vowels, absolutely necessary. But these differing in their 2 Not the whole chapter, as Golius says. Append. ad Gr. Erp. p. 180. 3 Elmacin. in Vita Abu Becr. Abulfeda. 1 Abulfeda, in Vitis Abubecr and Othmân. 2 The characters or marks of the Arabic vowels were not used till several years after Mohammed. Some ascribe the invention of them to Yahya Ebn Yâmer, some to Nasr Ebn Asam, surnamed al Leithi, and others to Abu'laswad al Dîli-all three of whom were doctors of Basra, and immediately succeeded the companions. See D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient. p. 87.