Sayyiduna Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Jibril (peace be upon him) said: O Muhammad! Recite the Noble Qur’an according to one mode of recitation. In another narration, it is stated: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jibril and Mika’il came to me, Jibril said to me: Recite the Noble Qur’an on one mode of recitation, but Mika’il said to you (peace and blessings be upon him): Ask for more allowance. So you (peace and blessings be upon him) requested for more allowance, then Jibril said: Recite it on two modes of recitation, but Mika’il again said: Ask for more, so you (peace and blessings be upon him) demanded further allowance, until it reached seven modes of recitation. Then they said: Each mode is sufficient and complete, as long as you do not end an ayah of punishment with an ayah of mercy, nor an ayah of mercy with an ayah of punishment. This matter of recitation is just like these words: ta‘ala and aqbil, halumma and idhhab, and asri‘ and i‘jal.

Sayyiduna Amr ibn al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Noble Qur’an has been revealed upon seven modes of recitation; whichever mode you recite with, you will be reciting correctly. Do not dispute regarding it, for disputing about the Noble Qur’an is disbelief.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I recited a verse and Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) also recited a verse, but his verse was different from mine. So I came to the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: Did you not teach me such and such verse in this way? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Why not. Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Did you not teach me this in such and such way? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Both of you have recited correctly. I (Ubayy) said: How can both be correct? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) struck his hand on my chest and said: O Ubayy! The Qur'an was taught to me and it was said: upon one or two recitations? The angel who was with me said: upon two recitations. I said: upon two recitations. But then he said: upon two recitations or three? The angel who was with me said: upon three recitations. I said: upon three recitations, until it reached seven recitations, each one satisfactory and sufficient. If you say غَفُورًا رَحِیمًا (Most Forgiving, Most Merciful), or you say سَمِیعًا عَلِیمًا (All-Hearing, All-Knowing), or you say عَلِیمًا سَمِیعًا (All-Knowing, All-Hearing), then Allah is just as He is. In another narration it is mentioned: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) struck my chest and said: O Allah! Remove doubt from Ubayy. Ubayy says: I became drenched in sweat and my stomach was filled with fear. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Ubayy! Two angels came to me, one of them said: Recite the Qur'an upon one recitation, the other said: Increase it, I also said: Increase it, he said: Recite upon four recitations, the other said: Increase it more, I also said: Increase it for me, he said: Recite upon five recitations, the other said: Increase it more, I also said: Increase it more, recite upon six recitations, the other said: Increase it more, he said: Recite upon seven recitations.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I met Jibreel (peace be upon him) at the place of Ahjar al-Mara, and I said: O Jibreel! I have been sent as a Prophet to an unlettered nation, among whom are men, women, slaves, maidservants, and extremely old people who have never read any writing. He said: The Noble Qur’an has been revealed upon seven modes of recitation.

(Second chain) The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) met Jibreel (peace be upon him) at the place of Ahjar al-Mara. Jibreel (peace be upon him) said: Your Ummah can recite the Noble Qur’an in seven modes of recitation. Whoever has recited in one mode, let him continue to recite according to his knowledge and not stop. The wording of Ibn Mahdi’s narration is as follows: Jibreel (peace be upon him) said: Indeed, there are weak people in your Ummah, so whoever recites in one mode, let him not turn away from it out of disinterest and go towards another mode.

Sayyiduna Ubayy ibn Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) met Jibreel (peace be upon him) at Ahjaz al-Mara. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Jibreel (peace be upon him): "I have been sent to an unlettered nation, among whom are many elderly men and women, and slaves as well." He (Jibreel) said: "Come, command them to recite the Noble Qur'an upon seven modes of recitation."

Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Qur’an has been revealed according to seven modes of recitation.

Sayyidah Umm Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: The Noble Qur’an has been revealed in seven modes of recitation; whichever of them you recite will suffice for you.

Sayyiduna Ubayy ibn Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The Noble Qur'an was revealed upon seven modes of recitation.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jibreel (peace be upon him) taught me one recitation, I requested him to increase the recitations and he kept increasing them, until the matter reached seven recitations. Imam Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) says: This difference in recitations is in reality about one and the same matter, it does not make any difference in what is lawful and unlawful.