If someone claims that merely altering the wording still conveys the intended meaning, none of the leading Muslim scholars—whether of the early or later generations—agrees with him. In the Qur’an both the wording and the meaning are from Allah, and the mode of recitation is a binding sunnah, a divinely prescribed practice revealed to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and received from him by his Companions. Therefore no one is permitted to recite even a single letter that has not been transmitted from the Prophet, even if the sense appears correct. If, however, what he means is that one may recite the Qur’an according to the various accepted modes (wujuh) established by the expert reciters, this is permissible, provided the person possesses sound knowledge of those modes. Regarding the narration of hadith by conveying the meaning while changing the wording, al-Ramahurmuzi reports in al-Muhaddith al-Fasil (pp. 529–530) that the scholars who transmit reports differ: some insist on keeping the exact wording, while others allow paraphrase so long as the meaning is preserved. Al-Shafi‘i’s description of the competent muhaddith, together with his emphasis on retaining the wording, implies that a narrator may transmit the meaning without the very words when he is thoroughly versed in the dialects of Arabic, its modes of address, its meanings and jurisprudence, and knows what alters a meaning and what does not. Someone with such qualifications may paraphrase, for his understanding safeguards the meanings and their rulings from distortion. One who lacks these qualities must adhere to the precise wording and is forbidden to depart from what he heard. This, according to my observation, is the position adopted by the jurists among the scholars. Among the proofs cited by those who demand adherence to the wording is the Prophet’s statement: “May Allah illumine the face of one who hears a hadith from us, commits it to memory, and conveys it,” and in another wording: “so he comprehends it and transmits it exactly as he heard it.” This sahih hadith is recorded by al-Shafi‘i (1/140), al-Darimi (1/74–75), al-Tirmidhi (2658, 2659, 2660), and Ibn Majah (231, 232). Those who forbade narrating hadith by meaning, even without adding to the wording, include Ibn ‘Umar, al-Qasim b. Muhammad, Ibn Sirin, Raja’ b. Haywah, Malik b. Anas, Ibn ‘Ulayyah, Yazid b. Zuray‘, and Wuhayb; it was also the view of Ahmad. See Tawjih al-Nazar by Shaykh Tahir al-Jaza’iri, pp. 298–314, for a comprehensive survey of the opinions and their evidence. (1) i.e., this was his constant practice. (2) Introduction to al-Jarh wa al-Ta‘dil, p. 234.