The Seven Modes of Recitation



The Seven Ahruf (modes of recitation) are part of Islamic doctrine and a Muslim MUST ACCEPT IT...



Saheeh Bukhari

Volume 6, Book 61, Number 513:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas:

Allah's Apostle said, "Gabriel recited the Qur'an to me in one way. Then I requested him (to read it in another way), and continued asking him to recite it in other ways, and he recited it in several ways till he ultimately recited it in seven different ways."

Volume 6, Book 61, Number 514:

Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab:

I heard Hisham bin Hakim reciting Surat Al-Furqan during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle and I listened to his recitation and noticed that he recited in several different ways which Allah's Apostle had not taught me. I was about to jump over him during his prayer, but I controlled my temper, and when he had completed his prayer, I put his upper garment around his neck and seized him by it and said, "Who taught you this Sura which I heard you reciting?" He replied, "Allah's Apostle taught it to me." I said, "You have told a lie, for Allah's Apostle has taught it to me in a different way from yours." So I dragged him to Allah's Apostle and said (to Allah's Apostle),

"I heard this person reciting Surat Al-Furqan in a way which you haven't taught me!" On that Allah's Apostle said, "Release him, (O 'Umar!) Recite, O Hisham!" Then he recited in the same way as I heard him reciting. Then Allah's Apostle said, "It was revealed in this way," and added, "Recite, O 'Umar!" I recited it as he had taught me. Allah's Apostle then said, "It was revealed in this way. This Qur'an has been revealed to be recited in seven different ways, so recite of it whichever (way) is easier for you (or read as much of it as may be easy for you)."


Volume 006, Book 061, Hadith Number 582.

Narated By Abdullah : That he heard a man reciting a Qur'anic Verse which he had heard the Prophet reciting in a different way. So he took that man to the Prophet (and told him the story). The Prophet said, "Both of you are reciting in a correct way, so carry on reciting." The Prophet further added, "The nations which were before you were destroyed (by Allah) because they differed."

See the commentaries for these hadith here http://hadith.al-islam.com/Display/h...p?Doc=0&n=7440

Saheeh Muslim

Book 004, Number 1782:
'Umar b. Khattab said: I heard Hisham b. Hakim b. Hizam reciting Surah al-Furqan in a style different from that in which I used to recite it, and in which Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had taught me to recite it. I was about to dispute with him (on this style) but I delayed till he had finished that (the recitation). Then I caught hold of his cloak and brought him to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and said: Messenger of Allah, I heard this man reciting Surah al-Furqan in a style different from the one in which you taught me to recite. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) told (me) to leave him alone and asked him to recite. He then recited in the style in which I beard him recite it. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) then said: Thus was it sent down. He then told me to recite and I recited it, and he said: Thus was it sent down. The Qur'an was sent down in seven dialects. So recite what seems easy therefrom.

Book 004, Number 1784:
This hadith has been transmitted by Zuhri.

Book 004, Number 1785:

Ibn 'Abbas reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Gabriel taught me to recite in one style. I replied to him and kept asking him to give more (styles), till he reached seven modes (of recitation). Ibn Shibab said: It has reached me that these seven styles are essentially one, not differing about what is permitted and what is forbidden.

Book 004, Number 1787:

Ubayy b. Ka'b reported: I was in the mosque when a man entered and prayed and recited (the Qur'in) in a style to which I objected. Then another man entered (the mosque) and recited in a style different from that of his companion. When we had finished the prayer, we all went to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said to him: This man recited in a style to which I objected, and the other entered and recited in a style different from that of his companion. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) asked them to recite and so they recited, and the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) expressed approval of their affairs (their modes of recitation). and there occurred In my mind a sort of denial which did not occur even during the Days of Ignorance. When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saw how I was affected (by a wrong idea), he struck my chest, whereupon I broke into sweating and felt as though I were looking at Allah with fear. He (the Holy Prophet) said to me: Ubayy. a message was sent to me to recite the Qur'an in one dialect, and I replied: Make (things) easy for my people. It was conveyed to me for the second time that it should be recited in two dialects. I again replied to him: Make affairs easy for my people. It was again conveyed to me for the third time to recite in seven dialects And (I was further told): You have got a seeking for every reply that I sent you, which you should seek from Me. I said: O Allah! forgive my people, forgive my people, and I have deferred the third one for the day on which the entire creation will turn to me, including even Ibrahim (peace be upon him) (for intercession).

Book 004, Number 1789:

Ubayy b. Ka'b reported that the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) was near the tank of Banu Ghifar that Gabriel came to him and said: Allah has commanded you to recite to your people the Qur'an in one dialect. Upon this he said: I ask from Allah pardon and forgiveness. My people are not capable of doing it. He then came for the second time and said: Allah has commanded you that you should recite the Qur'an to your people in two dialects. Upon this he (the Holy prophet) again said: I seek pardon and forgiveness from Allah, my people would not be able to do so. He (Gabriel) came for the third time and said: Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in three dialects. Upon this he said: I ask pardon and forgiveness from Allah. My people would not be able to do it. He then came to him for the fourth time and said: Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in seven dialects, and in whichever dialect they would recite, they would be right.



See the commentaries for these hadith here http://hadith.al-islam.com/Display/h...p?Doc=1&n=1765



Malik's Muwatta

Book 15, Number 15.4.5:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Urwa ibn az-Zubayr that Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd al-Qari said that he had heard Umar ibn al-Khattab say, "I heard Hisham ibn Hakim ibn Hizam reciting Surat al-Furqan (Sura 25) differently from me, and it was the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who had recited it to me. I was about to rush up to him but I granted him a respite until he had finished his prayer. Then I grabbed him by his cloak and took him to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, I heard this man reciting Surat al-Furqan differently from the way you recited it to me.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Let him go.' Then he said, 'Recite, Hisham,' and Hisham recited as I had heard him recite. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'It was sent down like that.' Then he said to me, 'Recite' and I recited the sura, and he said, 'It was sent down like that. This Qur'an was sent down in seven (different) ways, so recite from it whatever is easy for you .' "



See the commentary for this hadith here http://hadith.al-islam.com/Display/D...?Doc=7&Rec=634



More hadith related to the Seven Ahruf could be found in Sunan Abu Dawud, Kitab Al Salah, Bab: Anzala Al Quran Fi Saba'at Ahruf, Hadith no.1261,1262 &1262. (Source)



Scholars still have not come to a consensus regarding what these Seven Ahruf are. Some said that the Quran was revealed in seven different ways (not all the verses, only some) with synonyms replacing certain words. For example, besides saying "ehdina al sirat al mustaqeem" in one harf it would read "arshudna al sirat al mustaqeem" in another and they would both mean the same thing, which is "Guide us unto the right path". It seems to me that this is the strongest opinion as to what the seven ahruf are.

Also the ten Qira'at are the different ways of reciting the Quran, which (according to the strongest opinion of the scholars) contain parts of the seven ahruf in them. It is also very important

to mention that these Qira'at have

MUTAWATTIR NARRATIONS GOING STRAIGHT BACK TO THE COMPANIONS OF THE PROPHET

, which means that the Prophet approved of them. Once we have strong evidence as we do now knowing that the Prophet approved of them then that is enough for the Muslim to know that they are all good and divinely accepted.

If one properly understands the concept of the seven ahruf and the Qira'at you would do nothing but conclude that the Quran is indeed a great miracle and it proves even more that the Prophet (peace be upon him) could not have authored such a book. Read more here.
When one studies the concept of the seven ahruf and Qira'at you will indeed find that scholars are not forming a consensus regarding what the seven ahruf are exactly. However, at the end of the day one thing that the scholars do have a consensus on is the fact that all of the readings that we have today are indeed CONFIRMED BY THE PROPHET AND THIS IS BACKED UP BY MUTAWATTIR NARRATIONS GOING BACK TO HIM AND HIS COMPANIONS and that is good enough for the Muslim.



I will not be writing about them in detail because there are already excellent articles available regarding them. If one wants to fully understand this issue then you must read all the following links...



MUST READ ARTICLES ON SEVEN AHRUF AND QIRA'AT

http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archi...quran/#article

http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archi...uraan/#article

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Qur...raat/hafs.html

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Qur...aat/green.html

http://www.sunnipath.com/Resources/P...0040P0022.aspx

http://www.sunnipath.com/Resources/P...0040P0023.aspx



Conclusion

One must fully understand these concepts in order to be able to respond back to attacks against Islam regarding this issue and make them understand that this is part of our religion and show them the wisdom behind it. Don't let Christian missionaries fool you by letting them say, "Well we won't criticize your variants if you don't criticize ours" because this comparison is fallacious. Their variants are due to forgeries being inserted into the text and scribal errors, and this is unlike Islam which confirms that these variants are a part of our religion confirmed by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and there is a great wisdom behind it.