Rather, the variation is simply one of conveying the meaning, for the incident took place in a single sitting and was not repeated; thus it cannot be said that he uttered every wording on that same occasion. Had he actually repeated them all, ʿImrān would have mentioned it.

Such differences are common in hadith transmission, as in the report about the woman who offered herself to him, where he said:

“I have married her to you for whatever portion of the Qur’an you possess,”

while another narration states,

“I have wed her to you,”

and yet another,

“I have given her to you in marriage.”