The readings, and on how many modes (ahruf) the Quran was revealed

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf (modes)."
Ahmad, al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Asim bin Bahdalah, who is thiqah (trustworthy); there is some criticism of him that does no harm.

With the chain of Ahmad, it is reported from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I met Jibril at the place of 'Ahjar al-Mira', and I said: 'O Jibril! I have been sent to an unlettered nation, who do not know how to read and write; among them are men, women, boys, girls and elderly people who have never read any writing.' Jibril said: 'Indeed, the Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf.'"

It is likewise reported from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) met Sayyiduna Jibril at the place of "Ahjar al-Mira", and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been sent to an unlettered nation who do not know how to read and write, and to people who have never read any writing." Sayyiduna Jibril said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty commands you to recite the Qur'an in one harf." Sayyiduna Mika'il said: "Ask him for more." (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked for more.) Sayyiduna Jibril said: "Recite it in two ahruf." Sayyiduna Mika'il said: "Ask him for more." (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked for more.) Until it reached seven ahruf.
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Asim bin Bahdalah, who is thiqah (trustworthy); there is some criticism of him that does no harm, and the remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf; in whichever harf you recite, you will be correct. Do not fall into dispute, for disputing about it is disbelief (kufr)."
Ahmad recorded it.

Abu Qays, the freed slave of Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates: Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) heard a man reciting a verse of the Qur'an and asked him: "Who taught you this?" He said: "The Messenger of Allah." Sayyiduna Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allah taught it to me differently from this." Then both of them came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). One of them said: "O Messenger of Allah! Such-and-such a verse," and then he recited that verse. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It was revealed like this." Then the other said: "O Messenger of Allah!" Then he recited that verse before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked: "O Messenger of Allah! Is it not like this?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It was revealed like this." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, this Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf, so whichever reading of these you recite, you will be correct. Do not fall into dispute about it, for disputing about it is disbelief (the narrator is unsure; perhaps the words are:) doing so amounts to disbelieving in it."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih; however,
this narration is "mursal".

Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man recited in the presence of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) objected to him in this regard. He said: "I recited it before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not have me change anything in it." The narrator says: Then the two of them gathered with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and one of them recited it before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "You have recited well." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) felt uneasy about this, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Umar! The Qur'an, all of it, is correct, as long as forgiveness is not turned into punishment, or punishment into forgiveness."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) said: "O Sayyiduna Muhammad! Recite the Qur'an in one harf." Sayyiduna Mika'il said: "Ask him for more!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him for more, and Sayyiduna Jibril said: "Recite it in two ahruf." Sayyiduna Mika'il said: "Ask him for more!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked him for more, and he said: "Recite it in three ahruf." Sayyiduna Mika'il said: "Ask him for more," until it reached seven ahruf. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (or Sayyiduna Jibril) said: "All of them are sufficient and healing, as long as a verse about punishment is not made into mercy, or a verse about mercy is not made into punishment; it is like your saying: ta'al or aqbil (both mean 'come'), or halumma or idhhab (both mean 'go'), or asri' and a'jil (both mean 'hurry')."
Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani recorded something similar, except that he recorded the words "idhhab and adbir" (meaning 'go away'). Its chain contains a narrator, Ali bin Zayd bin Jud'an, who has a poor memory, but he has been corroborated; the remaining narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) met Sayyiduna Jibril while he was at the place of "Ahjar al-Mira". Sayyiduna Jibril said: "Your nation will recite the Qur'an in seven ahruf; whoever among them learns to recite according to any harf, let him recite according to what he has learned, and let him not abandon it." Ibn Mahdi narrated these words: "Among your nation are weak people, so whoever learns to recite according to a particular harf, let him not leave it and turn to another."
Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains a narrator who has not been named.

Sayyiduna Abu al-Juhaym (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Two men differed about a verse of the Qur'an. One said: "I learned this verse from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself." The other said: "I too learned it from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." The two of them asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about it, and he said: "The Qur'an may be recited in seven ahruf, so do not fall into disagreement about the Qur'an, for disagreeing (or disputing) about the Qur'an is disbelief (kufr)."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf, and disagreeing (or disputing) about the Qur'an is disbelief (kufr)" (he said this three times) "so when you come to know it, act upon it, and whatever you do not know, refer its ruling to the one who knows it."

In one narration the words are: "The Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf (such as): 'All-Knowing, All-Wise', 'Forgiving, Merciful'."
Ahmad recorded all of these narrations with two chains, the narrators of one of which are the narrators of the Sahih, and al-Bazzar recorded something similar.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Samurah (bin Jundub) (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an was presented to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) three times (it was reviewed)." (The narrator says:) They (the scholars and Companions) held that this (common) reading of ours is the same as the final presentation (in accordance with the last review); (the narrator says:) now I do not know whether this sentence, that is, "they held that our reading is the final reading", is part of this same hadith or from another narration.
Al-Bazzar (may Allah have mercy on him) recorded it, and all its narrators are narrators of Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Sayyiduna Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf."

In one narration the words are: "three ahruf".
Ahmad, al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani in all three (of his Mu'jams) recorded it; the narrators of Ahmad, the narrators of one of al-Tabarani's two chains, and the narrators of al-Bazzar are the narrators of the Sahih.

Abu al-Minhal Sayyar bin Salamah narrates: It reached us that one day, while Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) was on the pulpit, he said: "I ask, by Allah, any man who heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'The Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf, each of which is sufficient and healing.'" The narrator says: He was still standing when so many people stood up that they could not be counted, and they testified that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said: "Indeed, the Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf, and each of them is sufficient and healing." Then Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I too am a witness (to this) along with them."
Abu Ya'la recorded it in al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator who has not been named.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf, and each of its verses has an outer aspect and an inner aspect." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also forbade that a man lie flat on his back. The narrator says: I think the words in the narration are: "in the mosque, and place one foot on the other."
Al-Bazzar and Abu Ya'la in al-Kabir recorded it; in his narration the words are: "Each harf of it has an inner aspect and an outer aspect."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat with its last part abridged. The narrators of Abu Ya'la are thiqat (trustworthy). In al-Bazzar's narration it is mentioned that it is reported via Muhammad bin Ajlan from Abu Ishaq, and at its end he said: Muhammad bin Ajlan narrated no report from Ibrahim al-Hajari other than this one. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Muhammad bin Ajlan narrated from Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i; if this refers to Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i, then the narrators of al-Bazzar are also thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to command us to recite the Qur'an just as he had taught us to recite it, and he would say: "It has been revealed in three ahruf, so do not disagree about it, for it is blessed, all of it; recite it just as you have been taught to recite it."
Al-Tabarani and al-Bazzar recorded it; however, he (al-Bazzar) recorded the words "Do not turn away from it" in place of "Do not dispute about it". The chain of both is da'if (weak). A route of it has already passed whose narrators are the narrators of the Sahih, and that narration is abridged.

Fulfulah al-Ju'fi narrates: I too was among those who became alarmed about the Qur'an (copies) and came to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) about it. When we came to him, one of those present said: "We have not come to you to visit; rather, we have come to you because this news has reached us." He said: "This Qur'an was revealed to your Prophet from seven gates in seven ahruf (here the narrator is unsure about one word), and the (revealed) Book before it used to be revealed from one gate in one harf."
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: from him, a different narration is reported in the "Sahih".
Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Uthman bin Hassan al-Amiri, whom Ibn Abi Hatim mentioned without criticising him or declaring him trustworthy; the remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

Abd al-Rahman bin Abis narrates: A man from Hamdan, who was one of the students of Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), related this to us. The narrator says: Abd al-Rahman did not mention that man's name. That man narrates: When Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) intended to go to Madinah, he gathered his students and said: "By Allah! I hope that, with regard to the religion, its understanding and the knowledge of the Qur'an, your state is the best among the armies of the Muslims. There is no disagreement in this Qur'an; it does not grow old, and it does not wear out through frequent recitation. Whoever recites it according to one way, let him not abandon it out of aversion to it; and whoever recites according to any of those ahruf which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught, let him not abandon it out of aversion to it. For whoever denies one verse of it is as though he has denied the whole of it. It is like one of you saying to another: 'I'jal, hayya, hala' (that is, 'come')." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say:
Ahmad recorded it within a long hadith, and al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator who has not been named, and its remaining narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Umar bin Abi Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "Indeed, the (other revealed) Books were sent down from heaven from a single gate, and the Qur'an has been sent down from seven gates in seven ahruf: the lawful, the unlawful, the clear (muhkam), the ambiguous (mutashabih), the striking of parables, command, and restraint (forbidding something). So treat as lawful what it makes lawful, regard as unlawful what it makes unlawful, act upon its clear verses, stop at its ambiguous verses, and take admonition from its parables, for all of it is from Allah Almighty, and none take heed except those of understanding."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Ammar bin Matar, who is extremely da'if (weak), though some declared him thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "Indeed, every single harf of this Qur'an has a specific limit, and every limit has a point of ascent."
Al-Tabarani recorded it.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf, and disputing (or disagreeing) about the Qur'an is disbelief (kufr)."
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Muhammad bin Amr, who is hasan al-hadith (fair in hadith), and the remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, the Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf, and all of it is healing and sufficient."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Maymun Abu Hamzah, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Sulayman bin Surad (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Two angels came to Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). One of them said: "Recite the Qur'an according to one harf." The other angel said: "Ask him for more." So he kept asking for more until that angel said: "Recite according to seven ahruf."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Ja'far, whom I do not know, and the remaining narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).

Zayd al-Qassar reports about Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him): We were with him in the mosque, and he narrated hadiths to us for a while; then he related: Once a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) taught me a surah; Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) taught me the same surah; and Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) taught me the same, and their readings differ. So whose reading should I adopt?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was beside him (peace and blessings be upon him), and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Every person should recite as he has been taught; all of it is good and beautiful."
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Isa bin Qirtas, who is matruk (abandoned).

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: "The Qur'an has been revealed from seven gates in seven ahruf, all of it healing and sufficient."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyidah Umm Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf; whichever of them you recite by, you will be correct."
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).