to the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Al-A‘raj said, “I recited to Abu Hurayrah, and Abu Hurayrah recited to Ubayy ibn Ka‘b.”
As for ‘Abd Allah ibn Kathir, he recited to Mujahid ibn Jabr, and Mujahid recited to Ibn ‘Abbas. Ibn ‘Abbas recited to Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, and Ubayy ibn Ka‘b recited to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.
[As for Abu ‘Amr, he recited to Mujahid and Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, both of whom recited to Ibn ‘Abbas. Ibn ‘Abbas recited to Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, and Ubayy ibn Ka‘b recited to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.] (1)
As for ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amir, he recited to al-Mughirah ibn Shihab al-Makhzumi, and al-Mughirah recited to ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan.
As for ‘Asim, he recited to Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, and Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman recited to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib. ‘Asim said, “After leaving Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman, I would recite to Zirr ibn Hubaysh.” Zirr had recited to ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud.
As for Hamzah, he recited to ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, Sulayman al-A‘mash, Humran ibn A‘yan, and others. ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla recited to a group of ‘Ali’s Companions; al-A‘mash recited to Yahya ibn Waththab; Yahya recited to a group of the Companions of ‘Abd Allah; and Humran recited to Abu al-Aswad al-Du’ali, who recited to ‘Uthman and ‘Ali.
As for al-Kisa’i, he recited to Hamzah. As for Ya‘qub, he recited to Abu al-Mundhir Sallam ibn Sulayman al-Khurasani, and Sallam recited to ‘Asim.
I have mentioned the Quranic readings of these reciters because there is agreement on the permissibility of reciting according to them. As for the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, that I have cited throughout this book in support of a verse or in clarification of a ruling—they are drawn from works transmitted by audition among the hadith masters and imams. For the Quran must be elucidated through the sunnah, and upon these two rest the Sacred Law and the affairs of religion. I have omitted mention of objectionable reports and whatever is unsuitable for a work of exegesis. I hope that it will be blessed for whoever seeks it. Success is through Allah alone.