the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said:

“The Quran was revealed in seven modes, each satisfying and sufficient, so recite whichever is easy for you.”

They argued: If permission has been given to recite the Quran in seven modes, then other remembrances and supplications are all the more deserving of permission to be recited in several forms. It is well known that what is prescribed is to recite one of these forms, or to alternate between them on different occasions—not to combine them. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not combine these wordings on a single occasion. Rather, he used one on one occasion and another on another occasion—if he did indeed utter both. Where reports differ over a particular wording, however, he may have uttered both, or permitted both; alternatively, one narrator may have retained the wording accurately while the other did not. This applies, for example, to the words “grievously” and “greatly.”

As for such expressions as “and upon the family of Muhammad” and, in the other version, “and upon his wives and his descendants,” there is no doubt that he said one on one occasion and the other on another. Hence, some scholars have cited this as evidence when explaining the meaning of “family.” There are two well-known views on this.

The first is that they are the members of his household who are forbidden to receive charity. This is the expressly stated position of al-Shāfi‘ī and Ahmad. On this view, two positions are reported from Ahmad concerning whether charity is forbidden to the Prophet’s wives and whether they are members of his household:

The first is that they are not members of his household. This is the view of Zayd ibn Arqam, as reported from him by Muslim in his Sahīh.