7 Ahruf and the Revelation of the Quran

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The 7 ahruf and the revelation of the Quran with them

It is mutawaatir (transmitted with certainty by an irrefragable mass of narrators), from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family), that the Quran was sent down with seven ahruf. It is thus established from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) said: "أقرأني جبريل على حرف فراجعته فلم أزل أستزيده ويَزَيدُني حتى انتهى إلى سبعة أحرف" ¹ (Jibril made me recite upon one harf, I asked him to review it, and I kept asking him for more and he kept adding until he reached seven ahruf).

The meaning of "أستزيده" (I ask him for more) is: I ask Jibril to ask Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, for the addition beyond the harf, as a relief for the ummah, out of mercy and expansion toward it, until reaching seven.

It is likewise established that al-Miswar ibn Makhramah and 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Abd al-Qari heard 'Umar ibn al-Khattab say:

سمعتُ هشامَ بنَ حكيم يقرأ سورة الفرقان في حياة رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم- فاستمعت لقراءته فإذا هو يقرأ على حروف كثيرة لم يقرئنيها رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم- فكدت أساوره في الصلاة، فتصبرت حتى سلَّم، فلبَّبته بردائه فقلت: من أقرأك هذه السورة التي سمعتك تقرأ؟ قال: أقرأنيها رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم- فقلتُ: كذبت فإن رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم- قد أقرأنيها على غير ما قرأت فانطلقت به أَقُوده إلى رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم- فقلت: إني سمعتُ هذا يقرأ سورة الفرقان على حروف لم تقرئنيها، فقال رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: "أرسله، اقرأ يا هشام"، فقرأ عليه القراءةَ التي سمعتُهُ يقرأ، فقال رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: "كذلك أنزلت"، ثم قال: "اقرأ يا عمر"، فقرأت القراءة التي أقرأني، فقال رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم: "كذلك أنزلت، إن هذا القرآن أنزل على سبعةِ أحرف، فاقرءوا ما تيسر منه

"I heard Hisham ibn Hakim reciting Surah al-Furqan during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family). I listened to his recitation, and there he was reciting upon many ahruf that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) had not made me recite. I was about to protest against it during the prayer, but I waited until he had said the salam."

"I seized him by his cloak and said: Who made you recite this surah that I heard you reciting? He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) made me recite it. I said: You lie, for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) made me recite it otherwise than what you have just recited. So I set off with him, leading him by the hand, to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family), and I said: I heard this one reciting Surah al-Furqan upon ahruf that you did not make me recite."

"The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) said: Leave him, recite, O Hisham. He recited before him the recitation I had heard him recite, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) said: Thus was it sent down. Then he said: Recite, O 'Umar. I recited the recitation he had made me recite, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) said: Thus was it sent down. This Quran was sent down with seven ahruf, so recite what you are able to of it" ¹.

The scholars differed much over the meaning intended by the seven ahruf. What the verifying scholars prefer is the view of the imam Abu al-Fadl ar-Razi: what is intended by these ahruf are the aspects through which variety and difference occur, and they do not exceed seven:

• First: the difference of nouns in the singular, the dual and the plural, and in the masculine and the feminine. Example, the saying of the Most High وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ ²: the word "مسكين" was read in the singular and "مساكين" was read in the plural; example the saying of the Most High فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ ³, read in the dual, and "إخْوتكم" was read in the plural; example the saying of the Most High وَلا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَاعَةٌ ¹, read thus with the yaa of the masculine and "تقبل" was read with the taa of the feminine.
• Second: the difference in the conjugation of verbs in the past, the present and the imperative, as in the saying of the Most High فَمَنْ تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا ²: read thus as a verb in the past, and "يَطَّوَّعْ" was read as a verb in the present in the jussive; and likewise the saying of the Most High قَالَ رَبِّي يَعْلَمُ الْقَوْلَ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ ³: read thus as a verb in the past, and "قُلْ" was read as a verb in the imperative.
• Third: the difference of the case endings (i'rab), as in the saying of the Most High وَلا تُسْأَلُ عَنْ أَصْحَابِ الْجَحِيمِ ⁴: read with the dammah of the taa and the raising (raf') of the laam, "لا" being a negation, and read with the fathah of the taa and the jussive (jazm) of the laam, "لا" being a prohibition.
• Fourth: the difference by omission and by addition, as in the saying of the Most High وَسَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ ⁵: read thus with the retention of "الواو" before "السين", and read with its omission.
• Fifth: the difference by anticipation and by deferment, as in the saying of the Most High وَقَاتَلُوا وَقُتِلُوا ⁶: read thus with "وقاتلوا" anticipated and "وقتلوا" deferred, and read with "وقتلوا" anticipated and "وقاتلوا" deferred.
• Sixth: the difference by substitution, that is, the placing of one letter in the place of another, as in the saying of the Most High هُنَالِكَ تَبْلُو كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا أَسْلَفَتْ ⁷: read thus with an opened taa followed by a baa carrying sukoon, and read with two taa, the first opened and the second carrying sukoon: "تَتْلُوا".
• Seventh: the difference in the dialectal pronunciations, such as fath and imaalah, izhaar and idghaam, taseel and tahqeeq, tafkheem and tarqeeq. Also included in this type are the words over which the speech of the tribes differed, such as "خُطُواتِ", read with the taa moved by a dammah and read with its sukoon, and "بُِيوت", read with the dammah of the baa and read with its kasrah ⁸.