Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:

إنّ هذا القران اُنزل على سبعة أحرف فأقرءُوا ما تيّسّر منه

“Indeed the Qur’an was revealed in seven (types of ) Haroof or words (or Qirats), so read (the way) that is easier to you”. (Sahih Bukhari )

In Sahih Muslim there is a Hadith which states that once Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was sitting near a pond which belonged to Bani Gifar clan and Angel Jibra’eel (AS) came to him and asked him to order his Ummah to recite Al-Qur’an as per a single Harf (word) or Qirat. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) told him that his Ummah was not capable of doing it, then Jibra’eel (AS) came again and asked Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to order his Ummah to recite Al-Qur’an as per two haroof (words) or Qirats. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) repeated the same words which he had said on first occasion, this process continued and in the end Jibre’aal (AS) asked Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to order his Ummah to recite the Qur’an as per seven Haroof or (words) or Qirats. This permission to recite Al-Qur’an as per seven Haroof was to make it easy for the Ummah.

What is meant by Haroof? There are many schools of thought about it, some say that these mean seven different types of words, some say seven different types of Qirats while others say that these mean seven different dialects of different clans of Arabs.

Imam Tahawi’s opinion: He says that Al-Quran was revealed in the same dialect which was used by Quraish, since Arabs were living in different tribes to follow the Quraish dialect, so in the initial days of Islam, these tribes were allowed to recite the Qur’an in their own dialect, choosing an equivalent word and Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) himself had chosen these equivalent words, e.g., word ‘Halumma’ instead of ‘T’aal’, both meaning the same thing. But this permission was only in the early days of Islam and later it became easy for other tribes also to follow Quriash dialect and this permission was lifted. (Mushkilul Aathar Lil Tahawi; Uloom-Ul-Qur’an)

Difference in Seven Types of Qirats:

1. Difference in nouns: In this there is difference either in number or gender. In one, word كلمة is recited and in other كلمات.

2. Difference in verb: In this there is difference of present, past or future tenses.

3. Difference of Aerab (diacritical marks): In which there is difference of Zabr (Fateh), Zer (Kasrah) and Pesh (Zammah).

4. Difference in number of words: In this there is difference of a word i.e., in one type of recitation (Qirat) a word is used and in other the same word is missing.

5. Substitutions of a word: In this an equivalent of a word is recited in other Qirat.

6. Difference in sequence: In this one type of word is preceding a particular word and in other the same word is succeeding that particular word

7. Difference in recitation: In this same word is recited differently in different Qirats.

Sahih Muslim narrates a Hadith on the authority of Hadhrat Ubai bin ka’b (RA): “While I was in the Masjid, someone entered and offered Salah in which he recited the Qur’an to which I objected (as he recited differently), then another person entered and he recited the Qur’an yet differently than his earlier friend. After they completed Salah, we all went to Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and I said, “This person recited the Qur’an to which I objected and then his friend also recited yet in a different way. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) asked both of them to recite the Qur’an and (once they recited), Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) admired their recitation. This created a great doubt (about the truthfulness of Islam) in my mind and I felt as if I have again reached towards the period of Jahilliya. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) sensed that and gave a (gentle) blow on my chest, I went all in perspiration and I felt as I was seeing Allah in this state that I could distinguish between right and wrong. Then he (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) told me, “O! Ubai, the Qur’an was sent to me and I was told to recite in one Harf (word), I recited by saying, O Allah, make it easy for my Ummah, then it was returned to me and I was told to recite in two Harf (words), I repeated the same till I was told to recite it in seven Haroof (words)”.

From this Hadith and those quoted earlier we understand that the Qur’an was revealed in seven Haroof. Now, here a few questions arise which need to be discussed viz;

1- Do these seven Qir’ats still exist?

2- Did Hadhrat Uthmaan (RA) abrogate six Qir’ats when he compiled the Qur’an?

3- The Qur’an is a word of Allah and has been promised everlasting protection, then how come some of the Qir’ats can be abrogated?

4- What is meant by the fact that Hadhrat Uthamaan (RA) asked the Sahabah to follow his compilation alone and that he unified all the seven Qir’ats in his one compilation?

Alaama Zarqani (RA) in Manaahil-ul-Irfan writes:

“All the seven Qir’ats or Haroof exist in the Qur’an that Hadhrat Uthmaan’s (RA) compiled. There was consensus amongst all the Sahabah about the fact that Hadhrat Uthmaan’s (RA) compilation contained all the seven Qir’ats (Haroof) and they all agreed to abandon their own compilations and follow the compilation of Hadhrat Uthmaan (RA). Hadhrat Uthmaan (RA) actually copied that copy of the Qur’an which was compiled by Hadhrat Abu Bakr (RA) which again contained all the seven Qir’ats or Haroof.”

Alaama Zarqani (RA) further writes:

“Their is a consensus amongst the most of earlier and later Ulema of Muslim Ummah that Hadhrat Uthmaan’s (RA) compilation contained all the seven Qir’ats or Haroof and it was same as was presented to Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) by Hadhrat Jibraeel (AS) in his last presentation in the last Ramadhan of Rasulullah’s (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) life .”

Imam Ahmad has quoted a Hadith in his Musnad that:

Hadhrat Jibraeel (AS) used to recite the Qur’an to Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) once during every Ramadhan. During the last Ramadhan of Rasulullah’s (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) life, Jibraeel (AS) recited Al-Qur’an (whole of it) twice. As quoted earlier from Imam Tahawi (RA), that in early days of Islam different tribes were allowed to follow their dialects and when the Qur’anic revelation got completed and the time of departure of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) came near, Hadhrat Jibraeel AS) recited Al-Qur’an to Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) which was as per the dialect of Quraish and which contained all the seven Qir’ats. Alama Zikariya(RA) says that Haztrat Uthmaan (RA) completed the Qur’an as per this last recitation of Hadhrat Jibraeel (AS).

Alama Ibne-al-Jazri says that I have studied these differences in the Qir’ats and have observed that they do not exceed three states, viz;

1. Difference of words and not meaning. For example the words like Maalik and Malik, both having same meaning.

2. Difference between these words with the possibility of incorporating them in a single word.

3. Difference between these words without the possibility of incorporating them in a single word, but they coincide in meaning with each other by some other reason, so no difference. (Manahil-ul-Irfan).