readings have not been established through mass transmission from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Even if they are established, they were abrogated by the final review. For it is established in the authentic hadith collections:

“On the authority of ‘Ā’ishah and Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them, Gabriel, peace be upon him, used to review the Quran with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, once each year. In the year in which he passed away, he reviewed it with him twice. The final review is the reading of Zayd ibn Thābit and others.”

This is the reading that the Rightly Guided Caliphs—Abū Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān and ‘Alī—ordered to be written in the Quranic manuscripts. Abū Bakr and ‘Umar had it written on sheets during Abū Bakr’s caliphate, entrusting Zayd ibn Thābit with writing it down. Then, during his caliphate, ‘Uthmān ordered it to be written in Quranic manuscripts, sent to the provincial centres, and adopted by everyone, with the agreement of the Companions, including ‘Alī and others.

This disagreement must be considered in light of the underlying issue raised by the questioner: do the seven readings constitute one of the seven modes, or not? The majority of the early scholars and leading authorities hold that they constitute one of the seven modes. Indeed, they say that ‘Uthmān’s Quranic manuscript represents one of the seven modes and incorporates the final review in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, recited the Quran to Gabriel. The well-known and widely transmitted hadiths and reports support this view.

Groups of jurists, Quran reciters and scholastic theologians, however, held that this manuscript encompasses all seven modes. This position was expounded by groups of scholastic theologians