Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 3219
sahih

Narrated Ibn `Abbas:

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Gabriel read the Qur'an to me in one way (i.e. dialect) and I continued asking him to read it in different ways till he read it in seven different ways."

حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي سُلَيْمَانُ، عَنْ يُونُسَ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُتْبَةَ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏

‏ أَقْرَأَنِي جِبْرِيلُ عَلَى حَرْفٍ، فَلَمْ أَزَلْ أَسْتَزِيدُهُ حَتَّى انْتَهَى إِلَى سَبْعَةِ أَحْرُفٍ ‏

‏‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 59, Hadith 30
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 4, Book 54, Hadith 442 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Prophet ﷺ would teach his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) the Quran and help them to master it perfectly. He ﷺ would recite it to them in different ways corresponding to many different dialects of Arabs in order to facilitate its recitation for Muslims. In this hadeeth, the Prophetﷺ mentions that Gabriel (peace be upon him) - the angel that conveys Allah’s revelation to His Prophets and Messengers – would send down the Quran to him and recite it to him in one way. However, the Prophet ﷺ continued to ask Gabriel to recite it for him in other ways until he recited it to him in seven different ways upon receiving the order from Allah, the Exalted, to make its recitation easier for his nation. Whoever recites the Quran in any of the seven ways, his recitation is accepted and valid. The scholars differed on the intended meaning of the seven different ways, and there are many views. The most likely correct ones are that they refer to seven Arab dialects, seven different aspects of words that give the same meaning, or they are seven different ways that are nothing more. This hadeeth proves the Prophet ﷺ recited the Quran in different ways..
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