Introduction: It is well known that there are seven variant ahruf in which the Qur'an was revealed. All Muslim scholars maintain this issue except some of Shi‘ah. Shi‘ah scholars reject all the hadiths which say that the Qur’an was revealed in seven ahruf, they say: these hadiths were not narrated through the isnad of ál al-Bayt. So they refuse all views as long as there is no hadith narrated in according to the methodology of She‘ah in accepting hadiths or refusing them. Despite this, al-Khu’i mentions that he views al-Rafi‘i’s opinion as closest to the truth! Many hadiths support that the Qur'an was revealed in seven ahruf, but the scholars differ on the meaning of the seven ahruf. The word ahruf is the plural of harf. Linguistically: harf' in Arabic refers to many meanings:

1- The border or the edge of something. For example, Allah says: “And among mankind is he who worships Allah (as it were) upon a harf (i.e., upon the very edge or in doubt)" [22:11].

2- A letter or a word, for example, means the letters of the alphabet.

3-To swerve from the truth, to distort. Allah says concerning the Jews
“…they have displaced (yuharifuna) words from their right places…” [4:46].

Religiously: none of scholars stated a specific definition of this issue. The reason is the great difference of opinion concerning the exact meaning of the seven ahruf. Al-Qurtubi tried to define the Ahruf saying: “Every variation of a word in the Qur’an is said to be a harf. So, for example, when we say the harf of ibn Mas‘úd, it means the way that ibn Mas‘úd used to recite that verse or word.” but this definition does not conclude all opinions which according to al-Suyuti have reached forty opinions: “The degree of difference of opinion (ikhtilaf) among the scholars is to the extent of forty sayings. Al-Suyuti has cited the forty different interpretations in his book Al-Itqan fi ‘Ulumi’l-Qur’an and after realizing their weakness has admitted in Tanwiru’l-Hawalik, a commentary on the Muwa>>a’ of Imam Malik, that this hadith should be regarded among the Mutashabihat (i.e. something whose meaning is not known): “To me the best opinion in this regard is that of the people who say that this Hadith is from among matters of Mutashabihat”. Ibn Sa‘dan declared that the true meaning of the ahruf was known only to Allah, and thus to attempt to investigate into this issue was futile! Muhammad ibn al-Jazari, perhaps the greatest scholar of the qira’át said: “I have sought to discover the meaning of these hadiths (about the ahruf), and have pondered over them, and contemplated this topic for over thirty years, until Allah opened my mind to that which is the correct answer in this matter”. That is why we cannot define al-ahruf al-sab‘ah by concluding all different meanings. However, some English authors had mistaken when they translated the Arabic word al-Ahruf al Sab‘ah as seven ‘modes' or ‘dialects’. In this essay, I preferred to mention the Arabic word ahruf or as a plural and harf as a singular which support all opinions.

The narrations of al-ahruf al-Sab‘ah:

Many hadiths mention that the Qur’an was revealed in seven ahruf. All scholars of Hadith cited these hadiths, including, al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmithi, al-Nasa‘i and Abu dawūd narrate to name but a few. Some of these hadiths is Mutawátir. (A mutawátir hadith is one that is reported by a large number of narrators in every stage of the chain, so much so that they could not all be mistaken or agree upon a lie) Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti lists twenty-one companions who narrated that the Qur'an was revealed in seven ahruf. Some of these hadiths are below:

1-'Umar ibn al-Khattáb said: “I heard Hisham ibn Hakim reciting Surat Al-Furqan during the lifetime of the Allah’s Messenger, and I listened to his recitation and noticed that he recited in several different ways which Allah’s Messenger had not taught me. I was about to jump over him during his prayer, but I controlled my temper, and when he had completed his prayer, I put his upper garment around his neck and seized him by it and said: “Who taught you this Surat which I heard you reciting?” He replied: “Allah’s Messenger taught it to me”. I said: “You have told a lie; for Allah’s Messenger taught it to me in a different way from yours”. So I dragged him to the Messenger of Allah and said: “I heard this person reciting Surat al-Furqan in a way which you haven’t taught me!” Then the Messenger of Allah said: “Release him! Recite, O Hisham”. Then he recited in the same way as I heard him reciting. Then Allah’s Messenger said: “It was revealed in this way”. Then he said: Recite O ‘Umar. I then recited it as he had taught me. Allah’s Messenger said: “It was revealed in this way. This Qur’an has been revealed to be recited in seven different ways (ahruf), so recite of it whichever is easier for you.”

2-Ubayy ibn Ka‘ab narrates that once the Prophet (PBUH) met Jibrîl, and said: “O Jibrîl! I have been sent to an illiterate nation. Among them are old and young men and women, and those who have never read any writing!” Jibrîl answered him, “O Muhammad, the Qur'an has been revealed in seven ahruf!”

3- Ubayy ibn Ka‘ab also heard two people reciting the Qur'an in a manner different from what he had learnt. After some discussion, both parties went to the Prophet (PBUH) and recited the same portion to him. He (PBUH) approved of both parties’ recitations. At this point, Ubayy narrates: “…there occurred in my mind a sort of denial and doubt that did not exist even in the time of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era)! When the Messenger (PBUH) saw how I was affected, he struck my chest, whereupon I started sweating, and felt as though I were looking at Allah in fear! Then the Prophet (PBUH) said: O Ubayy! A message was sent to me to recite the Qur'an in one harf, but I requested (Allah) to make things easy on my nation. A second message came that I should recite the Qur'an in two ahruf, but I again made the same request. I was then ordered to recite the Qur'an in seven ahruf.

4-Ibn 'Abbas reported that the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Jibrîl recited the Qur'an to me in one harf, and I recited it back to him, but I requested him to increase (the number of ahruf) and he continued to increase it for me, until we stopped at seven ahruf.” ibn Shihab al-Zuhri , one of the narrators of the hadith, said: “It has reached me that these seven ahruf are essentially one (in meaning), they do not differ about what is permitted or forbidden.”

5-Ubayy ibn Ka'ab reported that the Prophet (PBUH) was once on the outskirts of Madinah (near the tribe of Banu Ghifar) when Jibrîl came to him and said: “Allah has commanded you recite the Qur'an to your people in one harf”. The Prophet (PBUH) replied: “I ask Allah's pardon and forgiveness! My people are not capable of doing this!” Jibrîl then came again and said: “Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in two ahruf.” The Prophet (PBUH) again replied” “I ask Allah's pardon and forgiveness! My people are not capable of doing this!" Jibrîl then came a third time and said: "Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in three ahruf." The Prophet (PBUH) replied for a third time: "I ask Allah's pardon and forgiveness! My people are not capable of doing this!" At last, Jibrîl came for the fourth time, and said: "Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in seven ahruf, and in whichever harf they recite, they would be right.

.6- Abu Baqarah narrated that Jibrîl said to the Prophet (PBUH) “O Muhammad, recite the Qur’an in one harf”. Mika’îl said to the Prophet ask him to increase number, then till the number reached seven, then he said: each of these ahruf is sufficient unless you mix a verse of punishment with a verse of rewards and vice versa. Such as: ta‘ál, aqbil, halumma, asri‘ and ‘ajjil. All these words mean the same meaning (come)

These are the six main hadiths on this issue; the most important of them is the first hadith, which is narrated by Umar

Some comments on these hadiths: It is not necessary to explain these hadiths word by word in this essay, but I want to call attention to some points concerning these hadiths. These points will help us to understand the meaning of ahruf sab‘ah and choose the most convincing of these meanings, which are, as al-Suyuti said, forty opinions. When we read these hadiths we can notice that:

1-In the first hadith, Umar ibn al-Khattab says: “I heard Hisham ibn Hakīm recite Surat al-Furqan” that means that Umar knew the Surat which Hisham was reciting although he was reciting in another harf, and the ahruf were not radically different from each other. So the differences between these ahruf were not so great as to prevent recognition of what was being recited. In the third hadith, Ubayy ibn K‘ab heard two people reciting the Qur'an in a manner different from what he had learnt, then the Prophet (PBUH) approved them all, we notice in this hadith that Ubayy recognise their recitations, and he knew that their recitations were in the same Surat, and his recitation was different from theirs. So, these narrations reveal that the differences were in some words not all words in Qur’an, otherwise how could Umar and Ubayy recognise the Surat if it was different completely?

2-In the fourth hadith “Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri said: “It has reached me that these seven ahruf are essentially one (in meaning), they do not differ about what is permitted or forbidden”. So the differences were not in the meaning but in pronunciation and, as mentioned above, in some words not all. The sixth hadith supports this fact in which “the text of this hadith makes it clear that the difference between the seven ahruf is a difference of words which agree in meaning, not a difference in meanings entailing a difference of legal norms”

3-In the first hadith, we notice that the Prophet (PBUH) said to Hisham when he had finished his recitation: “It was revealed in this way.” And he said the same to Umar. That means the Prophet (PBUH) himself used to teach the variant ahruf to different companions, depending on the condition and situation of that companion. It can be assumed that the Prophet (PBUH) chose the particular harf to recite to a companion depending on which one would be the easiest for that particular companion to memorise.

4-Although Umar was a famous companion and long experienced in Islam and Ubayy was the best reciter they did not know anything about the variant ahruf. The cause for Ubayy's doubt was the fact that he was unaware of these ahruf. The same happened with Umar where he wanted to grab Hisham during his prayer. These narrations reveal that the Prophet (PBUH) did not teach all the ahruf to all the companions, otherwise Ubayy should have been aware of these ahruf.

5-The Prophet (PBUH) said to Umar and Hisham: “The Qur’an has been revealed in seven variant ahruf” and in the fifth hadith Jibrîl said to the Prophet (PBUH) “Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in one harf” three times, at fourth time Jibrîl came and said to the Prophet: “Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in seven ahruf, and in whichever harf they recite, they would be right”. That means the ahruf were revealed from Allah not from the Prophet (PBUH) or companions.

6-In the first hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) said to Umar and Hisham: “ recite whichever one is easy for you." Also in the second hadith he said to Jibrîl: “O Jibrîl! I have been sent to an illiterate nation. Among them are old and young men and women, and those who have never read any writing”. In the last hadith the Prophet (PBUH) answered Jibrîl three times: “I ask Allah's pardon and forgiveness! My people are not capable of doing this”, and the Prophet (PBUH) himself, in the third hadith, prayed to Allah to make things easy on his nation. These narrations reveal that the Prophet (PBUH) requested the number of ahruf to be increased in order to make the memorisation and recitation of the Qur’an easier for companions who came from different tribes or have different educational levels. Some scholars state that the ahruf were to ease the recitation. Indeed! These ahruf were a blessing and mercy for this Ummah.

7-In the last hadith, Jibrîl said to the Prophet (PBUH): “Allah has commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in seven ahruf, and in whichever harf they recite, they would be right”. This means every harf is complete reading in itself. And everyone should choose the easiest to him as the Prophet (PBUH) ordered Umar and Hisham: “recite whichever one is easy for you”. In the light of this point we can understand al-Qurtubi’s definition of ahruf: “when we say the harf of ibn Mas‘úd, it means the way that ibn Mas'úd used to recite that verse or word”.

8-In the last hadith, Ubayy narrates “the Prophet (PBUH) was once on the outskirts of Madinah (near the tribe of Banu Ghifar) when Jibrîl came to him….” This indicates that the revelation of the Qur'an in seven ahruf started in Madinah, after the hijrah, and it is well known that the different tribes accepted Islam after hijrah to Al-Madinah, but in Mecca, most Muslims were from one tribe (Quraysh). This suggests that the Qur’an was revealed in one harf (Quraysh’s harf) in mecca, and seven ahruf in al-Madinah. So we can say Quraysh’s harf was the original harf in which the Qur’an was revealed in, but after many tribes accepted islam after hijrah, it was difficult to those tribes to read the Qur’an in Quraysh’s harf, so the Prophet (PBUH) asked allah to allow those tribes to read the Qur’an in their own dialects, otherwise it was very difficult to them to recite in Quraysh’s dialect.

9-In the second hadith Ubayy says: there occurred in my mind a sort of denial and doubt that did not exist even in the time of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era)! Then the Prophet (PBUH) struck his chest, whereupon he started sweating, and felt as though he was looking at Allah in fear!. There is another hadith From Abu Huraiyrah:The Messenger of God said: "The Qur'an was sent down in seven ahruf. Disputation concerning the Qur'an is unbelief" - he said this three times - "and you should put into practice what you know of it, and leave what you do not know of it to someone who does."So we should consider these variant readings as mercy and facilitating not a source of disputation.

The meaning of seven ahruf (and discussing opinions):

Apart from hadiths of ahruf sab‘ah we mentioned before, there are no records to define exactly what these seven variant forms of reading were. As a result numerous different explanations have been given, some saying that this was to accommodate the different dialects of the Arab tribes and others that they were seven distinct forms conveyed to the centres of Islam by approved readers in the second century of Islam. Abu `Amr is said to have taken one of these to Basrah, ibn Amir took another to Damascus, and so on
As we saw before, Al-Suyuti mentions forty opinions about the meaning of the seven ahruf, but some of these opinions have no evidence, and another group has weak evidence, but there are some opinions have strong proofs and authentic evidence, so I will divide the opinions into three categories according to their evidence.

Opinions based on no evidence:

There are some opinions that are not supported by any hadith or evidence, such as following:

1-Seven different categories of text. For example: constrained and unconstrained, general and specific, literal and metaphoric, nāsikh and mansūkh. Other categories include those given by grammarians and linguists, specifying different verb forms

2-Seven different branches of knowledge, such as tawhīd, sharī‘ah, etc.

3-An esoteric interpretation by certain Sūfi groups, claiming that there are seven levels of knowledge, or seven degrees of meanings to each verse.

4-Some scholars said: “the word ‘seven’ does not specify the number ‘seven’. It means ‘many’. The word ‘seven’ is very often used in Arabic language to denote excess of something. Here also the hadiths do not intend that the ‘Readings’ on which the Qur’an is revealed are specifically seven, but it denotes that the Qur’an was revealed in ‘many’ readings.” This was the opinion of al-Qadi Iyad and others. A thorough examination of these opinions leads to the following results: Firstly: these opinions do not have any evidence. Secondly: the first three opinions contradict the purpose of the ahruf, as indicated above, i.e. to facilitate the memorisation and recitation. Such purpose is not achievable in the light of these opinions. The last opinion in this group contradicts ibn Abbaas’ hadith in which he narrated: the Prophet (PBUH) asked Jibril: “I requested him to increase (number of ahruf) and he continued to increase them for me until we stopped at seven ahruf.Thirdly: the disagreement between Umar and Hisham and others was about the letters (recitation) not the explanation, so these opinions contradict the hadiths

Opinions based on weak evidence: Some scholars suggest opinions to explain the meaning of the ahruf, and they mention hadiths to support these opinions, but these hadiths are not authentic; consequently they do not serve as evidence. These opinions are as follows:

1-These ahruf are seven variant ways to pronounce the words, without actually changing the letters, such as: Izhār, Idghām, tafkhīm…etc.This opinion contradicts the variations in words that occur in the qira’át.

2-The ahruf are seven types of verses in the Qur'an: apparent, command, recommendation, specific, particular, general and parable. There is a hadith to support this. ibn Mas‘úd narrated: The Messenger of God said: "The first Book came down from one gate according to one harf, but the Koran came down from seven gates according to seven ahruf: prohibiting and commanding, lawful and unlawful, clear and ambiguous, and parables. So, allow what it makes lawful, proscribe what it makes unlawful, do what it commands you to do, forbid what it prohibits, be warned by its parables, act on its clear passages, trust in its ambiguous passages", and say: "We believe in it; it is all from our Lord."

In this regard, ibn al-Jazari said: “this opinion is wrong, for the disagreement between companions was about reciting letters (ahruf) of the Qur’an not its explaining ” then he (ibn al-Jazari) explained ibn Mas‘úd’s hadith from three aspects, considering these seven things are not the same seven ahruf mentioned in the other hadiths. On the other hand, this hadith is refused due to defects in their chain of narrators (Isnād),ibn ‘Abdul Barr said: “ this hadith is rejected, for Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman narrated this hadith from ibn Mas‘úd, while he did not meet or see him”. Al-Bayhaqi narrated this hadith but he stated that what is meant by the seven ahruf is the kinds of meaning in which the Qur’an has been revealed, but the other hadiths refer to dialects . And this opinion contradicts Muslim’s hadith in which ibn Shihab said: “It has reached me that these seven ahruf are essentially one (in meaning), they do not differ about what is permitted or forbidden.” Al-Zarkashi stated: “ibn ‘Atiyyah said: this opinion is weak, for these types do not mean ahruf.

3-The seven ahruf are the same as the seven qira’át. This was the opinion of the famous scholar al-Khalīl ibn Ahmad al-Farāhidi.

The Qira’át were compiled by the famous scholar ibn Mujahid in the fourth century, and al ahruf were revealed during the Prophet’s life, so this opinion contradicts historical facts. Scholars used to call Muslims’ attention to distinguish between the ahruf sab‘ah and qira’át sab‘ah, where there is no relationship between them, None of the major scholars of Islaam held this view except al-Khaleel ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi, as ibn al-Jazari and ibn Taymiyyah said: "There is no difference of opinion among the scholars that the seven ahruf are not the same as the seven famous qira’át."

There are many of the Muslim masses understand the hadith of ahruf to refer to the qira’át. But I do not think that al-Farahidi could not distinguish between the seven ahruf and the Qira’át. He was the most famous scholar, and he was Seibaweah’s teacher, furthermore he died in 175 in according to Yaqout al-Hamawi, or 170 in according to Zirikli. The Qira’át was compiled in the fourth century by ibn Mujahid, how then can we resolve this contradiction?

Opinions based on sound evidence: These opinions are the ones that are worthy of serious investigation, as they have strong evidence historically and from the meanings of the hadiths. There are three opinions in this category:

1-The seven ahruf refer to the seven dialects (lughāt) of the Arabs prevalent at the time of the Prophet (PBUH). Each of these dialects belongs to a tribe among the Arabs. There is no agreement, however, among Muslim scholars as to which dialects the seven ahruf represented. But most scholars state that the seven dialects that are found in the Qur’an are: the Quraysh, Hudhayl, Tamīm, Hawāzin, Thaqīf, Kinanah and Yemen. (Other scholars gave the names of other tribes). Thus, under this opinion, various verses would be pronounced according to the pronunciation of that particular tribe, and words from one dialect would be replaced by other words used by that particular tribe.

Some scholars say that these seven dialects are spread throughout the Qur'an, meaning that part of the Qur'an is in the dialect of the Quraysh, other parts are in the dialect of Hudhayl, and so forth. Others say that the entire Qur'an is recited in each of these dialects, thus forming the seven ahruf.

This was the opinion of Abu 'Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam, al-Bayhaqi, ibn 'Atiyyah, al-Zuhri and others. This is a considerable view, otherwise Arabs will complain about the incomprehensibility, and they will refuse the Qur’anic challenge: {And if you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur’an) to Our slave (Muhammad) then produse a Surat of the like thereof and call your witnesses besides Allah, if you are truthful}Q. 2:23.If the Arabs tribes did not understand the dialect which the Qur’an was revealed in, the challenge would have been not imaginable. But some scholars, such as ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, al-Suyuti and Ibn al-Jazari, refused this view because: firstly, the number of Arab tribes was more than seven, why should seven be selected? But the supporters of this opinion maintain that what is meant is the most famous seven of the tribes. Secondly, there was a disagreement between Umar and Hisham although both of them were from the same dialect (Quraysh).

2- The seven ahruf denote seven ways of recitation (lahaját) such that words are replaced by their synonyms. In other words, the seven ahruf have the exact same meanings but different wordings. This was the opinion of at-Tabari, at-Tahaawi, ibn 'Abd al-Barr and others. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr ascribed this opinion to the majority of scholars. The hadith supporting this view is narrated by Abu Baqarah as in Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Jibrîl said to the Prophet “ O Muhammad, recite the Qur’an in one harf. Mika‘eel said to the Prophet (PBUH) ask him to increase number, then till the number reached seven, then he said: each of these ahruf is sufficient unless you mix a verse of punishment with a verse of rewards and vice versa. Such as: ta‘āl, aqbil, halumma, asri‘ and ‘ajjil. All these words mean the same meaning (come). Al-Suyuti stated that ibn Mas‘úd was teaching someone how he recites these verses: (Verily, the tree of Zaqqūm will be the food of the sinners) [Q.44: 43-44]. That man could not pronounce the Arabic word al-athīm (sinner), he pronounced al-Yateem (orphan) instead of. Then ibn Mas‘úd asked him: can you pronounce al- fājir (sinner)? He said: yes, Ibn Mas‘úd said: ok, say it instead of al-athīm. This way of recitation was allowed at the beginning of Islam, when those non-Qurayshi tribes could not adapt to the new dialect (Quraysh), but this permission was abrogated by the last recitation (al-‘Arda al-akhirah) between Jibrîl and the Prophet (PBUH), and only the harf of Qurash was allowed after this event. But “we can contest this interpretation because it is still permissible to recite the Qur’an in several ways, so that one can find an example of synonyms in Surat al-Hujurat, where fatabayyanu is also read fatathabbatu. Al-Tabari states that the six ahruf were not abrogated during the life of the Prophet (PBUH), but he justifies the dropping of the six ahruf on the grounds that the Prophet (PBUH) did not give his companions a binding command to preserve the ahruf, consequently the facilitation, in which the ahruf were for, was not necessary to preserve, and eventually there was no need of it. In fact, it became the cause of dissension amongst the Muslims, as those people new to Islam began arguing over the differences in the recitation of the Qur'an. Therefore, Allaah inspired ‘Uthman to discard the other six ahruf and collect the Qur’an in one harf, so that the Ummah would be united in its recitation. The companions agreed to this action of his, and the agreement of the companions is binding on the Ummah.

3-The seven ahruf refer to seven variant ways that the verse can be changed. In other words, whenever a difference is found between these ahruf, this type of difference will fall into one of the following seven categories:

i- Change in wordings, but the meaning is the same For example, in Surat Al-Qāri‘ah (kal-'ihnil-manfūsh) is changed to (kas-soof il-manfūsh).

ii- Differences in wordings or letters such that they conform to the Uthmani script of which was without dots or vowel points.For example, fatabayanū is changed to fatathabatū in Surat al-Hujurat:49:6, just by changing the dots. Also, in Surat al-Fātihah, māliki is changed to maliki without any change in the script of 'Uthmaan

iii- Change in word order. For example, in Surat al-Baqara: 2:159, wa qātalu wa qutilu is changed to wa qutilu wa qātalu.

iv- Addition or omission of a letter or word. For example, in Surat al-Hadid: [57:24] fa inna Allaha howal ghaniyyu al-hamīd is recited without the pronoun, fa inna Allaha ghaniyyn hamīd

v- The form of the word structure is changed. This change could be from plural to singular or dual (or other variations), or from feminine to masculine. For example, in Surat al-Mu‘minoon [23:8], the plural li amanãtihim is changed to the singular li amanatihim.

vi- Differences in inflection points (i‘rāb). For example, in Surat al-Baqarah [2:125]: wa attakhadhū mim maqāmi Ibrāhīma musalla is read in the command wattakhidhū

vii- Differences in pronunciation. For example, lessening the effect of certain hamzahs (called tas-hīl) or pronouncing certain alifs and yaas differently (called imālah). This was the view of ibn Qutaybah, al-Bāqillāni,, al-Rāzi and others. There is a very similar opinion to this opinion; it was ibn al-Jazari’s view. Some scholars give different categories, but their general thesis is the same.
I wrote down a comment above that some hadiths mention that the wisdom of revealing the Qur’an in seven is to ease and facilitate the recitation, but we cannot imagine this facilitation in according to this view. Where can we find the facilitation in this example: in Surat al-Baqarah[2:125]: wa attakhadhū mim maqāmi Ibrāhīma musalla and wattakhidhū…?or what the difference between: wa qātalu wa qutilu and wa qutilu wa qātalu if you are illiterate or not?

Conclusion: having read what different scholars have said about this issue, we could conclude that all scholars agree that the Qur’an was revealed in seven ahruf, and all of them agree that the seven were to facilitate the recitation and explanation, however they differ in the definition of seven and their meaning. Some scholars mention evidence to support their views, but other scholars do not. As we saw, some evidence are authentic and some evidence are weak. Now we can say that: any view, regardless its supporters, which has authentic and sound evidence is accepted on condition that the facilitation of recitation is available. According to this assumption, the view of al-Tabari, al-Ţahāwi, ibn 'Abd al-Barr and others, in which the seven ahruf denote seven ways of recitation (lahajāt), is reasonable more than the other. The view of ibn Qutaybah, al-Baqillani, Makki ibn Tālib, al-Rāzi is not wrong but the process of facilitation is not imaginable as it is in the view of at-Tabari. However ibn ‘Abd al-Barr ascribed this view to most scholars.It was temporary permission at the beginning of the different tries’ conversion to Islam. Most people were illiterate. Later on they became literate or many literate persons converted to Islam, the permission was abrogated, and all Muslims had to recite in according to the harf of Quraysh.