Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving

All praise is due to Allah. Peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad.

According to many authentic reports, the Quran was revealed in seven modes of recitation. The Prophet said, ‘Jibrīl taught me to recite in one style. I returned to him and kept asking him to give more (styles), till he reached seven modes (of recitation). Muslim added that Ibn-Shihāb said, ’It came to my knowledge that these seven styles are not differing in meaning about what is permitted and what is forbidden.

Based on this report and other reports, the point of revealing the Qur’ān in seven modes is to facilitate reciting and understanding of the Noble Qur’ān for the Muslim Ummah. Muslims have the choice to read/recite in any mode of the seven. All are fully satisfactory as has been mentioned in some narrations. The companions of the Prophet recited Qur’ān in different modes, in the way they learned from the Messenger of Allah. Sometimes they even denied one another’s mode of recitation if they had not heard it from the Messenger (peace be upon him).

The Messenger validated all modes he taught the reciters as being revealed by Allah, Almighty. The differences between these ahruf were not so great as to prevent recognition of what was being recited.

In other words, even though Hisham was reciting the Qur’an in a different Harf from `Umar, ‘Umar could still recognize that Hisham was reciting Surat al-Furqan, thus showing that the ahruf were not radically different from each other.

Each one of these ahruf is complete in and of itself. “…so whichever one of them they recite, they are correct.“ The number of ahruf is exactly seven – not more, not less. The revelation of the Qur’an in seven ahruf started in Madinah, after the Hijrah.

The Meaning of the Seven Ahruf

Some scholars said that they are the seven major dialects of the major tribes of Arabia including Huzayl, Thaqif, Quraysh, Hawazen, etc.

Accordingly, the Qur’an we read includes all those seven dialects. Some understood them as aspects of style in the Qur’anic language which included commandment, prohibition, promise, threat, argument, narration and exemplification. A view states that the seven modes mean the seven points of distinction in which variations occur. Mostly they are grammatical variations which are commonly accepted in Arabic language.

The Most Accepted View

The Seven modes of recitation are seven ways of recitation which includes various modes of articulating certain phonemes differently. Those variants are referred to dialects  of Arabic tribes dominant at the time of the Messenger. Differences among those dialects reflect the different usage at the time of revelation, comprising variations in pronunciation and even minor differences in wording.  The method the Mushaf was copied encompassed all the seven modes through its scripts which were devoid of diacritics and dots. For example, the word fatabayyanu can also be pronounced fatathabatu in case we do not have dots.

Difference between Qira’at and Ahruf

Qira’ah means the recitation of something. They are various ways and manners of reciting the Qur’an that are in existence today. Each Qira’ah has its own rules of tajweed. Each qira’ah is named after the most prominent figure who was well known for it. The Companions received Ahruf from the Prophet, but Qir’at represents the paths of transmissions which were received by succeeding generation. For example, when we have one hadith from the Prophet it was narrated through three or more of his Companions and each companions conveyed it to three or four.

In this case, we should at least have 12 versions of the same hadith. This is the reason we assure that the ahruf are seven but Qira’at are more than  seven. Each reciter has his own narrators and sub-narrator.

Almighty Allah knows best.